《Truthful Transmigration》 Chapter 1 Headlights lit up the dark country road in front of the beat up old station wagon that John Miller was driving. After another busy day he found himself nodding off, barely able to keep his eyes open. Almost nobody took seriously the fact that driving tired was just as dangerous as driving drunk- especially not tired people. Besides, if tired people could choose not to drive tired, they would¡­ but the whole world was tired. Might as well ask people not to work enough to support their families. Darkness covered his vision. He must have nodded off for a second, because he didn¡¯t notice a small figure run in front of his car. Not until it was too late. On the left side of the road was an oncoming truck¡­ and to the right was a ditch that his instincts told him to swerve towards. Maybe they were right, given the circumstances, but he couldn¡¯t believe he ended up like that. He didn¡¯t even have the presence of mind to wonder who was running across a dark road in the middle of the night. Instead, there was a sharp impact and he fell unconscious. When he woke up, he knew something was wrong. His whole body hurt. He was groggy, but he knew that his whole body shouldn¡¯t feel like he was being stabbed. He wasn¡¯t dying or anything, but there was no way the hospital didn¡¯t give him any painkillers. He lay there for a while, not even willing to open his eyes. He couldn¡¯t handle seeing what was around him, acknowledging it was real. Maybe he was lucky and he was still dying in the ditch. That way, at least his life insurance could pay out. He simply couldn¡¯t handle more hospital bills¡­ and the rest of his family was even less prepared for that. His family¡­ was¡­ John breathed out heavily. It hurt. His lungs burned¡­ though strangely only on the inside. He had to open his eyes. He probably had a concussion or something. Giving up and dying wouldn¡¯t help anybody. A little bit of money might help his family for a moment, but they needed more than that. He was the only one earning money¡­ and he also couldn¡¯t just die on them. They were family, and he couldn¡¯t do that to them. When he opened his eyes, he found it was much brighter than he anticipated. Not bright exactly, but early morning sun instead of midnight. Was it really possible that nobody involved thought to call the police, and everyone else who passed by hadn¡¯t seen his car in a ditch? As his eyes adjusted, he saw he was wrong about something. Several somethings, in fact. First, he wasn¡¯t in a ditch. He was in a room. Not a hospital room though. He was lying on his back on hard stone, seeing light stream in through unfamiliar windows. The windows in his training room. That he¡¯d never seen before. But were definitely¡­ his? Or at least, his parents. He slowly sat up. Did people dream while dying? This was just like a dream. Weird and surreal. He knew he felt pain, but he couldn¡¯t place it. He was able to sit up, even though he should have been dying. He knew things that weren¡¯t true. As he looked down at himself, he expected to see horrible wounds anyway, but he saw very clearly arms and legs and a somebody¡¯s torso. His torso. But also it wasn¡¯t. Neither were the arms and legs. The most noticeable thing was that they were covered in strange clothing. Were those¡­ loose silk? Yes, he knew that. The finest silks in the region, woven from the finest stoneworm silk. John held a hand to his head. Definitely a dream. But wasn¡¯t he supposed to be able to do something once he was lucid? He could sit up, but nothing around him changed. He looked down to where he would find his t-shirt and jeans¡­ but only saw more silk. What the hell even was a stoneworm? Dreams made no sense. He honestly had no idea what they were¡­ except they produced fine silk. The finest in Marble County. He remembered that. And his body hurt. He looked over everything he could see. First of all, his hands weren¡¯t what he remembered them looking like. Not that different, but he did know the back of his own hand. His arms and legs were a bit too¡­ muscular? Not chubby. He¡¯d put on a few pounds lately. Even before that, he¡¯d never looked like this. But he couldn¡¯t see a single wound. Yet he hurt everywhere. It was¡­ awful. Strangely, the pain didn¡¯t change with his slow movements. Not significantly, anyway. It was like the pain was inside of him, but not part of his body. Not quite. Where was it then? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The answer came to him quite clearly. It was in his meridians. His mind immediately recoiled at that thought, because it was strange. Weren¡¯t meridians a chinese medicine thing? More importantly¡­ that wasn¡¯t even the same word. He knew it meant the same thing, but¡­ he wasn¡¯t thinking in the same language. English and¡­ whatever the hell Western Trade Dialect was. He threw up on the ground next to him. Someone was in his head. That was his initial thought, but it was no less unsettling to his stomach when he came to the unfortunately more logical conclusion that he was in someone else¡¯s head. Because he was thinking all the thoughts and summoning all of the memories, but the memories weren¡¯t his. They belonged to¡­ Fortkran Tenebach. Whoever the hell that was. Except when he thought about it, the memories came flooding back to him. The most prominent of those was the very last memory. He was dead. John¡­ was probably dead. But Fortkran Tenebach was definitely dead. He recalled his final moments, as he was attempting to break through from the Spiritual Collection Phase to the Foundation Phase. He messed up and his meridians shattered. He- John- knew what these things were somehow, but using only his own memories he only had a vague concept of what that might be, besides the obvious. Some sort of levels of power for martial arts related power of some sort. That was the best he could do, especially with his own memories being fuzzy. He hoped they would come back smoothly, but before that he should probably stop dying on the floor of ¡®his¡¯ training room. He shakily stood up. At least his muscles worked. He staggered out of the room barely able to open the door, along through familiar-yet-new hallways towards his room. He saw a few servants and did his best to look like was in better condition than he was. He didn¡¯t know their names¡­ why didn¡¯t he know their names? There were only ten or twenty of them, and they¡¯d been around for years. Was his memory that messed up? His room was close by, though not immediately adjacent to the training room because of the space requirements. Fortunately, Fortkran remembered where some medicine was. John was slightly surprised to see wrapped paper around little pellets. They looked like kibble, kind of, but apparently they were medicine. Well, sure. This one should be good for repairing damage to meridians. His memories weren¡¯t clear on the exact details of that, but the sinking feeling in his stomach told him it was almost certainly nothing compared to what he had. Completely destroyed and exploded meridians. Enough to kill him, apparently. Well, it was better than nothing¡­ and he didn¡¯t want to see the family doctor right now. Fortkran was habitually stubborn about those things, and John¡­ wanted to avoid people until he could at least slightly sort out his head. The pill went down easily, and almost immediately he felt the effects. His logical side told him that was the placebo effect. Pills didn¡¯t work that fast. However, the feeling of some sort of warm, smooth, comforting liquid being formed inside his stomach only increased. The memories native to this place knew what to do with that, and he was soon sitting down on a small mat in his room. He closed his eyes, concentrating to direct the medicine into his body. Strangely enough, it worked. Just because his memories told him it would didn¡¯t mean he had expected it to actually work. For one thing, the memories of his body didn¡¯t seem¡­ completely reliable. There were gaps that didn¡¯t just seem to be fuzziness, but things never learned to begin with. The medicine soothed his internal wounds. It dulled the pain from a large mass to more manageable and discrete little pathways. He could feel his meridians, like an extra set of blood vessels going throughout his body. They were¡­ in extremely terrible condition. That much was sure. As he carefully directed the medicine into them it only seemed to stop things from falling apart¡­ though hopefully the recovery would just be slower than the soothing part. John¡¯s head hurt. Physically less than it had, but the mental stress certainly didn¡¯t help. What should he do next? All he wanted to do was go to sleep. He was in the body of a dead man with his memories- there wasn¡¯t any other trace of him- and in a strange world he barely understood, though he felt like he should have. Was sleeping advisable injured as he was? Absolutely not. Was he going to do it anyway? Of course. It was better to collapse on a bed than on the floor, and he had no capacity to talk with anyone. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he could speak the language¡­ though he had memories of it, they weren¡¯t his. He was the one in control- as much as anyone could be called in control of a body that barely moved. He drifted off to sleep- real sleep, not the strange half-sleep he¡¯d experienced while he was probably dead. It was nice and peaceful and he almost didn¡¯t care if he woke up. But he did¡­ at least a little. Chapter 2 Waking up once again was ultimately less disorienting than the first time, but more disappointing. John found that he was still in someone else¡¯s body¡­ and perhaps more significantly in a different world. Fortkran Tenebach had certainly died, and John was fairly certain he had too. He was reminded of various forms of media where vaguely similar things happened. In those situations, people usually scrambled around to get sent back to their world. Certainly, he had responsibilities to attend to on Earth, and he would prefer to get back¡­ but realistically he couldn¡¯t. What was he going to do, save the kingdom and then step through a portal back home instead of staying with new friends and statistically someone that had been fallen in love with? He wasn¡¯t even in a kingdom. The Stone Conglomerate was an allied group of smaller cultivator nations that basically governed themselves but acted in each others¡¯ defense. As far as he knew, there wasn¡¯t anyone that needed saving. Probably someone, but he couldn¡¯t do it. Because he was¡­ a normal person. And in a world of cultivators- even though he barely comprehended it- that meant he was a tiny ant. Even among his own family- or Fortkran¡¯s family at least- both his parents were late Foundation Phase cultivators and his grandfather was beyond that in the Soul Expansion Phase. He¡­ this body¡­ had been close to Foundation Phase but failed at the moment of breakthrough, dropping him back to the bottom of the Spiritual Collection Phase. Or below the bottom, since he didn¡¯t have a scrap of spiritual energy inside him. And his meridians¡­ well, maybe they were very slightly recovered after taking the medicine. John found himself cursing for his body¡¯s reluctance to not seek out help. What were hired healers for if not seeking out when injured? However, it was too late to change that. He had arrived where he was. When he thought of telling anyone what happened, his body rejected the idea. He could override his feelings, but perhaps they were there for a good reason. Perhaps telling anyone would be a mistake. But he at least wanted to change some things. He got dressed- at least he had memory of where clothes were and what was appropriate to wear. Anything he set his eyes on he recognized naturally. Accessing memories wasn¡¯t too hard, but the gaps on knowledge he thought he should have were strange. But maybe it was just hunger. He knew Fortrkan¡¯s parents wouldn¡¯t be up so early- falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon had certainly made him wake up before normal- so he could have breakfast without having to talk to them. Avoiding people seemed like a good idea at the moment. What was he supposed to say, ¡®Hi, sorry but your son is dead and I took over his body¡¯? That was¡­ extremely untactful, and potentially unwise. And he didn¡¯t want to lie, so avoidance was the best tactic. It seemed like they didn¡¯t speak every day anyway, so he could keep that up until he had a chance to think. When he entered the dining room, a servant quickly stuck his head out of the kitchen. ¡°Young master¡­ you¡¯re early.¡± The servant hesitated a moment, ¡°We can get started on whatever you wish, of course, but it takes time¡­¡± ¡°Just get me something quick.¡± John thought for a moment. What did he eat normally? Something like pancakes drenched in sugary syrup and slathered with butter. That was fine occasionally, but wasn¡¯t he supposed to be a martial artist? He looked down, finding he wasn¡¯t fat¡­ but that didn¡¯t seem like the best breakfast diet regardless. ¡°Just cook me something hearty. Sausage and eggs.¡± The servant nodded. ¡°Of course, young master.¡± He turned to leave, but John called after him. ¡°Wait!¡± The servant turned around. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The servant hesitated half a moment and turned. ¡°It¡¯s Wolfe, young master.¡± After Wolfe turned his back, John frowned. He¡¯d seen that servant before. Probably every day, but he didn¡¯t know his name. And asking his name made him nervous. But he needed to know the names of his servants. Even though he was from modern Earth, John wasn¡¯t planning to upset the social system. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be fitting to become buddies with his servants, but knowing their names seemed entirely appropriate. Was he supposed to not? He didn¡¯t get a feeling either way. Just that Fortkran hadn¡¯t thought it important. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ----- Breakfast had been delicious- there were creatures resembling chickens in this world, but he wasn¡¯t sure if the eggs were from them or something else. They were certainly quite large in either case, and quite rich. The sausage was excellent as well. John had the feeling he didn¡¯t want to know how much his food cost, though he couldn¡¯t compare it to how much the servants made because he honestly didn¡¯t know that part. Just that the clan was well off, having several high ranking cultivators- at least for the area they lived in. From the few memories he had of watching cultivators fight or sparring, he knew how much difference each cultivation level made. And each phase was split up into nine levels. Either of his parents could probably kill him with a single finger. Not that they would¡­ if they thought he was Fortkran. He would deal with that later. First, he wanted to try to at least fix some problems with himself, like having lost all of his cultivation. That was important, and even though he had a cushy life as a young master of a clan he was expected to cultivate and do well at it. Fortkran had some cultivation methods memorized, but there was a slight problem. He hadn¡¯t cultivated until he had been blessed by the family¡¯s guardian beast. Even though his eyes had seen it, he didn¡¯t know what it was. Just a changing shape in the darkness¡­ and intimately connected to that element. Was darkness bad? John thought about that. Fortkran didn¡¯t seem like he had been the most pleasant fellow, as he was going through the memories, but there was nothing about the elemental darkness that had seemed malignant. He hadn¡¯t had to kill anyone or kick a puppy to use the power. It just seemed to be something that absorbed the force of attacks as armor and could be added to his own strikes to damage enemies- much like any other energy. In theory. In partly remembered theory. Fortkran had cultivated more or less diligently¡­ but he hadn¡¯t done a lot of reading. John planned to rectify that, and the Tenebach clan just so happened to have a private library. Sitting at a desk inside the entrance of the library was an older man, but John could feel a sense of power coming from him. He couldn¡¯t quite place the magnitude of it, but if he recalled correctly he should have been at the thirteenth cultivation level, about middle Foundation Phase. He stood as John entered and bowed. ¡°Good morning, young master Fortkran.¡± ¡°Good morning Dionsio,¡± John inclined his head. Apparently names were worth remembering if the owner was strong. He agreed with that, but that wasn¡¯t the only reason to remember someone¡¯s name. ¡°I¡¯ll just be browsing the shelves.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Dionsio returned to his seat. John internally breathed a sigh of relief as he moved behind the shelves. Hopefully the man hadn¡¯t noticed his drop in cultivation. Though maybe he thought it was being hidden. Either way, it was too late to change anything. He browsed the shelves for books. At least he was able to dredge up a few memories of the library, though they were indeed few. Mostly he had to figure out the organizational system before he was able to pick a few books off the shelves. An important one was ¡°An Overview of Spiritual Totems¡±. John knew Fortkran had been able to connect to a spiritual totem of the third layer¡­ a reasonable enough achievement for a first totem, but nothing impressive for a young master of a clan. It was known as the Claws of Darkness, and had allowed him to have a unique combat style. However, John was unable to feel any connection to it. Perhaps he just needed to cultivate, but he was hoping he could select one once he began cultivating. Or at the very least he wanted to be informed for the second totem he could bind to once he reached Foundation Phase. The worst case scenario- besides just being a cripple now- was that he couldn¡¯t connect to a totem at the Spiritual Collection Phase at all. He hoped that wasn¡¯t true, but the thought crossed his mind. He picked up a few other books. He had enough to keep himself occupied for a long time¡­ and to keep him from thinking about Earth, and how things were going there. Because he couldn¡¯t do anything about that, and instead had to deal with what he had now. He also went further into the back, past a set of wards that easily allowed him passage. That was where actual cultivation methods were kept. He picked out a few basic ones. They weren¡¯t tied to a particular element, so anyone could cultivate them in theory. Theory, theory, theory. So much theory, and he didn¡¯t know if he could do anything at all. Maybe it didn¡¯t matter if his meridians recovered. Maybe John, who wasn¡¯t even from this place, couldn¡¯t do it. He hated that thought too. As he left the library, he caught an uncomfortable shift out of the corner of his eye. As the young master of the Tenebach clan, he could take whatever he wanted from the library for however long he wanted. But perhaps Dionsio would like some assurances. He turned around and stepped back inside, placing his armful of selections on the desk. ¡°I decided it was time to review some basics. You can let anyone looking for these particular works know they are in my hands.¡± Fortkran wouldn¡¯t have said they could come talk to him and he would give it to them, so John didn¡¯t either. On the other hand, Fortkran had borrowed some books that never made it back to the library¡­ and John was going to make sure they did. Or at least any he could still track down. Chapter 3 Cultivation manuals seemed to be extremely¡­ dense. John could see why the former owner of his body had been reluctant to dive into them. But all it took was a bit of interpretation to find what was important. When the book said a cultivator must have a mind as still as water and a flawless heart, what it really meant was that it was best to practice cultivation somewhere with no distractions. One area he did need to pay attention to even the fine details was the actual cultivation itself, gathering spiritual energy and passing it through his meridians. The first part wasn¡¯t dangerous and was actually supposed to be quite relaxing, but the second had obvious dangers. The path that spiritual energy circulated through the meridians clearly made a difference, though he would need more experience to know how. The dangers from a lack of control were extremely apparent to him, because he found his meridians in their current state. Breaking through to the next stage was harder than normal cultivation, but the results were still clear. Failure was¡­ unpleasant. It wasn¡¯t clear to John if he could collect spiritual energy, but if he was going to do so his training room was the right place. It was set up for that very purpose without distractions and with a small spiritual gathering array. As he walked into the room with that awareness in mind, he felt his hairs stand on end. Certainly, something was different, but it was hard to say what exactly. He sat down and steadied his breathing, looking over the manual in front of him once again. This was the moment he would give himself a pep talk, but an internal one seemed more appropriate. ¡®You can do this, John Miller. Even if your name is extremely plain, this is something almost everyone in this world can do. And if you can¡¯t¡­ why are you even alive again?¡¯ So the internal pep rally didn¡¯t actually help. What did help was the sound of a trickling fountain and the calming atmosphere. He closed his eyes and reached out for spiritual energy. At least he had Fortkran¡¯s memories to guide him¡­ including a number of initial failures. It was both surprising and extremely natural when he condensed spiritual energy inside his dantian- a strange organ akin to a stomach for storing spiritual energy, in the same way that meridians were veins that carried spiritual energy and not blood. In a way, since all the spiritual energy flowed from there, it was more like a heart¡­ but hearts didn¡¯t really store blood. Maybe¡­ lungs? Or maybe it didn¡¯t have to have an exact analogue. He wasn¡¯t sure how long it took, but as he breathed in he pulled in spiritual energy, and as he breathed out he expelled mostly just air, leaving the spiritual energy behind in his dantian. It took more than an hour to fill up what he had with the wispy, misty feeling spiritual energy. It was slow, but the process wasn¡¯t unpleasant even so. The next part, however, was much less comfortable. As he first attempted to circulate the spiritual energy through his meridians he felt a stabbing pain. They had been completely ruined the day before, after all. It made sense that they wouldn¡¯t take well to being used. John sighed. Could he really do nothing? If he continued to take medicine, the benefits would flatten out and the side effects would build up. He looked through some of the cultivation manuals for answers. He was fortunate that one of them mentioned damaged meridians. It seemed as long as the cultivator was careful, damaged meridians could actually benefit from cultivating. Of course, the potential was also there to cause harm. But though it was his first time making the attempt¡­ he also strangely had experience that came into his mind. He was still getting used to having memories that weren¡¯t his. Would it ever not be strange? Slowly, carefully, he began again. He didn¡¯t force anything, just pulling a tiny strand of spiritual energy through the beginning of the path. When he felt the pain, he recognized that it wasn¡¯t so bad. It was an aching pain, not of hurting himself but stretching something that was in bad condition. As long as he didn¡¯t take it too far, it would be good for him. As the spiritual energy moved through the damaged meridian, tiny fragments of it broke off, seeping into his body. His body should have already been fortified by spiritual energy as Fortkran had cultivated almost to the Foundation Phase, but it seemed the damage had stretched to more than just the meridians. Though, his body was still better than what John had been used to. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Eventually the strand dried up¡­ but John immediately reached for another to pull along the same path. It went slightly further¡­ further¡­ until he settled into a slow, methodical pattern. As he did so, his thoughts wandered. ----- The only sound in the room was a steady beeping. Rhythmic¡­ but not pleasant. Even so, it was better to have it than not. The rising and falling sound let John and his mother know that John¡¯s father was still alive. The doctors said he would likely recover. He was young enough that a heart attack wasn¡¯t the end of things. That said, it couldn¡¯t be taken lightly either. John had rushed from his class at university when he got the call. Now, he was sitting uncomfortably next to his father, who was asleep. He didn¡¯t need to be there¡­ but being anywhere else he would have the same worries and none of the support. The same was true in the other direction- he could provide support to his parents by his presence. His homework sat open on his lap, but his pencil hadn¡¯t moved in half an hour. ----- The hospital room was just the start. With a heart attack came all sorts of complications- and bills. It wasn¡¯t long before John had to drop out- with his parents unable to pay for him, and insurance not covering all of the bills. He got a job working part time at a burger joint. A stopgap job just for the moment, to bring in some extra money. Things started to turn for the better¡­ until disaster struck once again. Once more the news came with a phone call, not from either of his parents but a cousin. A fire had burned down their home. They needed a place to stay, just for a little bit. John and his parents were happy to do so¡­ but helping out was another drain on time and energy. ----- A wracking cough filled his lungs. Or¡­ someone¡¯s lungs. John wasn¡¯t sure if it was appropriate to call them his yet. He couldn¡¯t hold back as he coughed up black gunk- black and dark red¡­ blood and something else. It was disgusting¡­ but once he could breathe again, he felt better. His meridians¡­ were still in a bad state, but the throbbing ache was lessened. He had used up most of the spiritual energy he had gathered, but he felt better. Even the black gunk¡­ probably wasn¡¯t bad. Fortkran Tenebach¡¯s memories knew that cultivation could cleanse the impurities from the body. John hadn¡¯t thought it would be quite so literal, but there were other memories of something similar. It was disgusting, but he ultimately felt better. Now that he knew he could cultivate, at least at a basic level, he needed to know something else. Spiritual energy was the basis of all cultivation, and martial techniques let a cultivator use them¡­ but the core of a cultivator¡¯s true power came from spiritual totems. The difference between a Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator with one and one without was¡­ several times as much power. Twice, three times¡­ even up to five times as much for those who reached the fifth layer. The latter was only accomplished at the Spiritual Collection Phase by world-shattering geniuses, and honestly maybe not at all. The stories weren¡¯t necessarily so accurate¡­ but either way Fortkran had managed to get a third layer totem. As for the difference at Foundation Phase, it was literally everything. Or said another way, nobody reached Foundation Phase without a spiritual totem. They aided cultivation as well as combat. And at Foundation Phase cultivators could gain a second spiritual totem, and add to their power. John couldn¡¯t feel a connection to the Claws of Darkness, even now that he had spiritual energy. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could ever reconnect with his real family, but Fortkran¡¯s family was relying on him to cultivate properly. It was the only way to achieve any real status in the world, and personally he didn¡¯t feel like being on the bottom rung in a second world. So he needed a spiritual totem. Once again, he had memories to guide him. They were better than an instructor¡­ but worse than personal experience. Even so, he was ecstatic to find that as soon as he had the intention to reach out to the spiritual plane and the totems therein that he was pulled out of his body. It was a strange, jarring feeling- but exactly what was supposed to happen. He found himself floating among totems representing anything, of every element. There were swords covered in fire and frost, and some radiating only a sense of pure sharpness. John looked around for anything with the darkness element, spotting a few¡­ but as he approached he felt a pressure- from the entire area. He would have to overcome that pressure to choose a totem¡­ and on higher levels the pressure would be even more. John let himself be pushed back into his own body. Everything was fine. He hadn¡¯t expected to actually connect to a spiritual totem on his first attempt anyway. He had to get used to the process and strengthen his spiritual energy, then push towards the deepest and strongest level he could, before finally finding something that suited him. So he¡¯d accomplished his goal. He couldn¡¯t even reach out for the spiritual plane if he wasn¡¯t eligible for a totem. As far as dying went, things had been pretty good for him- being taken from his world and put in a body with nearly destroyed meridians was still probably better than death. Though he wasn¡¯t sure how he would feel once someone found out who he really was. He still had to consider that. He couldn¡¯t keep up his honestly pathetic facade for long. Chapter 4 When he got called to the family¡¯s formal meeting room, John knew he was caught. He¡¯d spend the last week avoiding his parents as much as possible, but there were limits to that. He had to eat, and though their interactions at meals had been limited they must have picked up on it there. If nothing else, it was probably obvious that his cultivation was in tatters. Should he have mentioned that? Probably. Yet not mentioning it was also something the original Fortkran Tenebach would have done. What a mess. ¡°The family is waiting for you, young master,¡± a servant gestured to the doorway to the formal meeting room. John could vaguely sense a number of people through it. It was nice, actually, being able to sense spiritual energy. He wasn¡¯t that good at it yet, but it was a useful ability. Too bad he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it or anything else he¡¯d learned when he was dead. ¡°Thank you, Charles,¡± John nodded his head to the man by the door and opened it. When he stepped inside, he saw someone he hadn¡¯t recognized by their spiritual energy. Not with his own memories anyway. Once he saw her face the memories of her were triggered much more substantially. They¡¯d only met once or twice in person, but he regularly received paintings of her so he would recognize her as she aged. Her dark skin was reminiscent of her father and grandfather. Their marriage had been arranged by the grandfathers of the clans¡­ before they were even born, in fact. A political alliance, not particularly strange to Fortkran but a bit alien to John. She was his fiancee, Matayal Brandle. Her presence made things more awkward¡­ but not that much. He did note she was in the Foundation Phase, and the second level even. All of the other figures in the room provided even more pressure, looking at him. His parents radiated a stronger Foundation Phase energy, and he withered under the stares of two of his uncles. But what made him almost collapse unconscious was the most overbearing pressure in the room, his grandfather and the only Soul Expansion Phase cultivator in the clan. His grandfather wasn¡¯t even trying that hard. Even so, Luctus Tenebach had that sort of impression on people. He was the first one to speak. ¡°Fortkran. I am sure you have some idea of why you have been called here.¡± He bowed as he stepped into the room and moved to his position. ¡°I have an inkling, yes. Please, allow me to explain myself before you make any judgements.¡± Luctus waved his hand, which was enough. John tried to pick his words carefully, ignoring the thought that he should just lie. ¡°One week ago¡­ I¡­ Fortkran Tenebach was cultivating.¡± John closed his eyes as he spoke, unable to stand up to the pressure of looking at those in front of him. ¡°He was attempting to break through to the Foundation Phase. Perhaps he was unprepared or too hasty, or perhaps he was unlucky, but he failed. In that process, his meridians were destroyed¡­ and he died. That same night, at least as far as my memories go, I was traveling. I lost control and went off the road¡­ and then I died. Somehow, my wandering soul found its way into Fortkran¡¯s body, reviving it enough to seek healing medicine.¡± John shook his head. ¡°I did not take his body of my own intention, but I am sorry to say that Fortkran Tenebach is dead and I have taken possession of it.¡± When he opened his eyes, the expressions he saw weren¡¯t the anger he thought he might see. Instead, there was disbelief, confusion¡­ and an unreadable face. John felt as if Luctus was seeing through him, into his very nature. For all he knew, he was. That might be possible, especially at such a cultivation level. He trembled, unable to shake off the fear of death. All it would take was one move by anyone else in the room, and that would be it. Finally, Luctus spoke. ¡°Your words¡­ are difficult to believe. They seem like a convenient excuse to forgive you your¡­ behavioral flaws. Your cultivation mishap¡­ is also disappointing.¡± John blinked. He didn¡¯t believe him? But it wasn¡¯t just about his cultivation failure either. Had he¡­ had Fortkran done something that was worth reprimanding so formally? John passed through memories that weren¡¯t really his. Sure, he was quite impolite to the servants. He was a bit of a slacker in his cultivation, and he didn¡¯t choose healthy meals. When he went into town he apparently spent a bit too much money on himself. Then there was the gambling¡­ that hadn¡¯t really come up, because John hadn¡¯t probed that area of memories. Then the prostitutes. That wasn¡¯t a good look for a young master of a clan. John grimaced. That wasn¡¯t the whole list either, but it was all he could handle. ¡°I hadn¡¯t¡­ come across some of those memories.¡± That was it then. He was going to die either way¡­ or be disowned with no skills of use in the world. He couldn¡¯t even say he didn¡¯t deserve it. Or¡­ that Fortkran didn¡¯t, anyway. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Once again, his grandfather spoke. ¡°Can you¡­ prove you are a different person?¡± Could he? Did he even need to? He was so different¡­ but then again, people could act differently for many reasons. Had they not even noticed? ¡°I um¡­ have my memories from my previous life.¡± Just the eyes told him that wasn¡¯t enough. He hadn¡¯t even told them he was from another world, but substantiating his words would be impossible regardless. He could just make things up. ¡°I no longer have my spiritual totem for the Spiritual Collection Phase. I was planning to connect to a new one¡­¡± Nope, not good enough. What else? ¡°... I could go see the guardian beast.¡± Luctus stared sternly at John¡­ or at least at the body he was in. ¡°You must be aware that attempting to receive a second blessing from the guardian beast will only result in death.¡± ¡°It is¡­ once per person,¡± John bowed his head. ¡°I don¡¯t even know if it would do it, since I¡¯m technically not a Tenebach.¡± He couldn¡¯t think of anything else though. ¡°Fine. You may make the attempt,¡± Luctus proclaimed. ¡°If you die, you die. If you receive a second blessing¡­ or if you are a different person that receives a first blessing, we can consider forgiving your actions.¡± ¡°... thank you.¡± John didn¡¯t know what else to say. Maybe that wasn¡¯t even appropriate, because he was about to go meet a shadow beast that was going to kill him. ----- The family¡¯s guardian beast was kept underground¡­ or perhaps it was better to say it chose to dwell there. It lived in a dark cave, as much as it lived at all. Perhaps someone had more knowledge about it, but Fortkran didn¡¯t know much more than that. John probably should have tried to figure it out, but he barely had time for all the things he¡¯d tried to do, and honestly he had been pretty confused about the whole thing. He wondered if he would end up in a new body¡­ but probably not. Even if the guardian beast didn¡¯t tear his soul apart, the chances of ending up in another body had to be pretty slim, though he didn¡¯t know the mechanism for such a transfer to begin with. Maybe he should just kill himself¡­ but he wasn¡¯t brave or crazy enough for that. And maybe a bit too hopeful. He walked into the dark cave, waiting where the deepest shadows dwelled. ¡°Oh great guardian beast, I come to seek your blessing.¡± The sound that came out from the darkness was a strange combination of the growl of a wolf and the hiss of a snake¡­ he thought he heard some bird in there as well. Strangely enough, the shadows pulled away from him, such that he could see most of the cave¡­ except the creature itself. It was merely a silhouette, but not one that remained fixed in any one way. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach¡­ young master of the Tenebach clan. You know I do not provide a second blessing to anyone. How extremely foolish.¡± John went into a full panic. ¡°I¡­ umm¡­ how do I explain this¡­¡± His mind raced¡­ but the panic suddenly snapped into a sort of honest clarity. ¡°I¡¯m not him. He died and I just happened to end up in his body. I was sort of hoping you could tell that¡­ and wouldn¡¯t choose to kill me. And even though I can¡¯t possibly be from the clan¡­ the only way for me to live is to get this blessing.¡± The shadowy voice barked, seemingly from all directions- and even inside him. ¡°Hah! A foolish bluff. You should know I can easily dispel your lie. Like this!¡± The shadows jumped, spreading back throughout the room and simultaneously seeping into John. It was cold and dark. Freezing, uncaring, concealing¡­ and mysteriously full of more than he expected. ¡°Look! You are¡­¡± he felt the darkness swirling around, ¡°... not lying. How curious.¡± The shadows pulled away, out of their uncomfortable position inside him. He got the feeling of a face pressed up right next to his, though he couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°I don¡¯t give blessings to the same person twice. It¡¯s pointless. Even those I favored¡­ the result was the same. But I can see your cultivation¡­ or at least that of your body¡­ has completely reset. Your meridians are in a bad state¡­ but they will heal. Now I am curious. So you¡¯ll be getting your wish¡­ one way or another. Strange human from another world.¡± As those last words were spoken, the darkness dived back inside of him¡­ more forcefully and completely. There was a strange instant where the entire room was revealed around him, without light to make it visible but without a speck of darkness to hide it. Then his mind was overwhelmed and his consciousness faded. Chapter 5 When John awoke, the cave was dark. That was what his mind said it must be, but he could see into the furthest corner¡­ despite there being no source of light. Just in case, he checked himself. Clearly, no light was coming from him. In fact, he could sense it would be quite the opposite. Inside his meridians¡­ once more and for the first time ever¡­ flowed spiritual energy with an attribute of darkness. However strange it was, the unpleasant aspects of it were actually muted. It was chill, but not freezing. Dark¡­ but the comforting sort that brought about sleep. Not the sort of darkness that concealed things. Not from him. Not anymore. ¡°Well.¡± John stood up. He was a bit shaky, but in a good way. As if he had just run a marathon. It was unpleasant, but he felt like he would be better after he recovered. ¡°I guess it worked.¡± He bowed into the darkness, though he was nearly certain the guardian beast couldn¡¯t see him. ¡°Thank you for your blessing.¡± John thought for a second. ¡°Would it be inappropriate to ask for your name?¡± There was a cackling, echoing from the far ends of the caves and from inside of him at the same time. ¡°Last time¡­ he didn¡¯t even think about it. I think I will decline to tell you my name at this time¡­ but you may come to know it in the future.¡± John nodded, still unsure if he could be seen, and made his way back outside where his family waited. Fortkran¡¯s family? Whatever. The prominent members of the Tenebach clan¡­ plus one other. He bowed respectfully upon seeing them. ¡°The guardian beast has seen fit to bless me. I hope that you now believe my words are true.¡± His grandfather, Luctus Tenebach, stepped forward. A hand was placed on his head, and he felt his internal darkness being pulled on¡­ just slightly called to by the energy inside the powerful figure in front of him. As the powers touched, they recognized each other, though one was old and one was new. There was a sigh, and then he spoke. ¡°I have no idea who you are, but you have to be better than him.¡± He was taller than John, enough to be extra intimidating as his face became close, ¡°You will be better than him, won¡¯t you? It seems you know how to behave, but we need you to keep it up.¡± ¡°I can!¡± John held up his hands, ¡°I might uh¡­ not know everything I should do¡­ but I can learn.¡± His parents stepped forward next. ¡°You¡¯re really someone else?¡± His father looked over him. ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe. But we talked to the servants¡­ you¡¯re clearly not the same. Good. Welcome to the family.¡± His fiancee Matayal stepped forward and held out her hand. Almost by instinct he took it and kissed it. He felt her almost pull back, but she let him. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t seem to have made the wrong move. John smiled awkwardly. ¡°Technically we haven¡¯t met before.¡± He looked at everyone. ¡°I will be happy to be part of the family.¡± ----- Fortkran¡¯s positive feelings for his own family had been¡­ somewhat limited. However, even though he didn¡¯t take note of them John was able to recall memories that showed them in a better light. Though he¡¯d been chastised many times it had always been for things he deserved. They¡¯d just been trying to make him better. He hadn¡¯t been able to see that. John wasn¡¯t that much older than him, but he was more experienced with the world. Maybe that just meant he¡¯d made his mistakes and faced hardship earlier, but he found himself growing closer to his new family. It wasn¡¯t quick, but he grew closer to them every time they interacted. He still thought about his family on Earth, but there was no way to get back to them. He explained some details of who he formerly was to his family. They found it strange, but it seemed there was some precedent for those claiming to be from other worlds. It was extremely rare, but then again a cultivation clan was more likely to encounter oddities. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. John found himself with new responsibilities¡­ which were just old responsibilities he hadn¡¯t really been taking care of. The basic summary of them was just to not screw anything up. Don¡¯t make the clan look bad. Also, he was supposed to cultivate properly. He had no problem with that, because he was aware he couldn¡¯t do much in the new world if he didn¡¯t. It was actually quite easy, because he had the direct guidance of his grandfather. There was a large amount of information about later phases he wasn¡¯t prepared to make use of yet, but it was good to know where he was aiming, and to talk to someone with actual experience. Fortkran had received some guidance, but apparently he was unpleasant enough to teach that it had been cut off. John had those memories, but Fortkran had just assumed he had learned what he needed to- even with no evidence to support that. His current ability to cultivate was still limited, even after the blessing. He hadn¡¯t yet formed a connection to any spiritual totem, so he was mostly filled with undirected spiritual energy. Not completely undirected, but it was surprisingly less darkness focused than he thought it would be. Taking his time to get a proper spiritual totem was wise, and even encouraged. The higher layer of spiritual totem he could connect to the better. It wasn¡¯t related to his cultivation power directly, but instead his ability to sense them as well as to resist the pressure of the higher levels. It was more related to the purity of his spiritual energy and the meridians that the spiritual energy flowed through. Immediately after the blessing he¡¯d been able to stay in the second layer of spiritual totems for longer, and the more he cultivated and recovered his meridians the more he would be able to do. Soon enough, he might take a step into the third layer of spiritual totems, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he could go beyond there. Eventually he would have to pick a totem to allow his cultivation to truly progress. ----- John found himself once again in the sea of spiritual totems. It was often called a sea, anyway. It didn¡¯t really matter what it was called, though. The point was, spiritual totems could be connected to a cultivator in that place that was not a place. Theoretically all cultivators had access to every totem, though confirming that completely was impossible. Regardless, John browsed through them. The space between them was nothing, but traversing it could take time. He had to move himself carefully to stop and see each totem as he passed it. There were at least hundreds on each layer, though he was more easily able to approach some of them. He now once again had his affinity for darkness. Thinking of Fortkran as someone else was more correct, but all those memories and the body were his now. Nobody was around to voice a complaint. So his affinity for darkness let him more easily approach anything that shared that element. However, any of the basic elements were within possibility. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would want to connect to an air or fire totem, and certainly light would be out of the question¡­ but water or earth were associated with darkness. Since he resided in Marble County which was part of the Stone Conglomerate, he had more access to cultivation techniques that fit along the lines of earth. The Tenebach clan had at least basic cultivation methods for any element, but more for darkness and aligned elements given their affinities and just what they could get their hands on. He didn¡¯t have to pick darkness, but it would be the easiest. However, that wasn¡¯t always the best in the long run. He now had an affinity for darkness, but was his mental affinity appropriate for that? Would he learn it well? That was impossible to say in the long run. Spiritual Totems were catalogued as well as possible in the library. He could research which ones he might like to form a connection to there more easily¡­ since he was limited in the time he could be in the spiritual sea. But experiencing them firsthand was better when he could. Even without forming a connection, he could get a sense for how a particular totem worked. Its elements, strengths and weaknesses, and its potential. But much of that seemed to be based on the layer. It seemed almost pointless to even bother looking at those on the first layer, but at least it got him used to the pressure so he could take a look around the second layer. He was eyeing a few things. He hoped to reach the third layer soon. He knew he would definitely not be choosing the Claws of Darkness again- not because they were a poor choice, but he didn¡¯t want to make the same choice. He liked one he found on the second layer. It had a sense of subtlety, a person darting between shadows and striking suddenly. He thought it was called The Dancing Shadow or something. That said, something from the third layer would probably be better. But first he had to keep making the attempts to get himself used to the pressure and tempering his meridians to be as strong as they could to support him. Chapter 6 Cultivation came with a refreshing feeling like exercise, but like exercise there was only so much of it one could reasonably do in a day. John wasn¡¯t equivalent to an olympic athlete, but even they didn¡¯t spend twenty four hours per day exercising. He worked as hard as he thought was reasonable to push himself, both for his own gains and for his new family- and the only people he really knew. They were relying on him to at least be decent¡­ and he needed their support. When his cultivation fell apart after trying to break through to the Foundation Phase, he lost years of progress- though at least he retained the experience that went with it. Along with spiritual energy cultivation, he engaged in a little bit of physical exercise. Weapons training was included there, and he was technically glad to have access to excellent trainers. At least he would be once his body stopped aching. Yet even when he was exhausted, he sought out the library. He supposed he needed to find some sort of entertainment to keep him from going crazy, but for the moment he was focused. He was studying up on what spiritual totems the clan had record of, and comparing his own experiences and insights with what was written. First layer spiritual totems were weak but knowing about them couldn¡¯t hurt, so he started there. ¡°Hrmn¡­¡± he heard over his shoulder. Even without looking, he could recognize Matayal, his fiancee. Sensing others spiritual energy seemed to be an important ability. Of course that meant he¡¯d given his drop in cultivation away when he came to the library the first time and saw Dionsio, but he hadn¡¯t been fully aware of that. It could have even been sooner¡­ and perhaps his parents had looked for him when he was avoiding them. John looked back towards Matayal. Suddenly having a fiancee was strange. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about arranged marriages to begin with, and especially not one who had been arranged to marry¡­ not him. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like they¡¯d ever been close. As for the woman herself, he had no objections to her. She was attractive, with dark skin that seemed uncommon in the nearby area, and of course very talented in cultivation. In this world, that was one of the things that mattered most. Her personality seemed pleasant enough. Even so, he wasn¡¯t particularly eager to actually marry someone he barely knew and didn¡¯t really choose to. That said, the current state of engagement seemed sufficient for making all parties happy at the current moment. ¡°You¡¯re staring at my face,¡± she frowned. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re just¡­ new. But if you¡¯d prefer¡­¡± She turned her head back and forth, though she had to be able to sense the lack of others nearby without doing so. ¡°Absolutely not. You¡¯re already much better than¡­ the previous you. At the very least you can put up a good face for a time.¡± John knew that eventually she would recognize his genuineness, but he could also see her caution. ¡°You still sounded disappointed.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I¡­ was hoping you would have more skill in cultivation now.¡± Her eyes rested on the book that was still open to totems of the first layer. ¡°... Regardless, I have seen your effort. Gerben and Caelia suggested that it might be good for you to spar with someone to get a better feel for mobilizing your spiritual energy in a practical manner.¡± In short, his parents were telling him to do it. Nicely. He didn¡¯t mind that. ¡°Perhaps that would be for the best. I assume you¡¯ve scheduled something for tomorrow?¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°You will need to rest well.¡± ----- A good day started with a good breakfast. It was much easier for John to have a good breakfast when he didn¡¯t have to cook it himself. To be fully honest, having cooks and servants made it impossible for him to reasonably complain about anything that happened to him. Sure, he might be heading out to get beat up, but at least he would be comfortable before and after. Also, he was supposed to be learning something so ultimately it would be good for him. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After he ate a moderately sized breakfast, enough to fill him up but not overstuff him and hamper his movements, he geared up for the day. First was his armor. It was real armor, though not heavy. However, it was much more than just padding for sparring. The knowledge that he would be fighting with ¡®safe¡¯ weapons didn¡¯t particularly make him feel better. After all, spiritual energy was the most dangerous part. Matayal was a Foundation Phase cultivator, so she could kill him with basically no effort. Not that he thought she would. If he was going to die, it would have already happened. As far as such things went after a few weeks, he thought both she and the rest of his family had a fairly solid opinion of him. They were clearly still taking into account his ¡®newness¡¯, but he was as well. In his head he was still John, but at least he properly responded to being called Fortkran. Weapons¡­ he had to pick a weapon. He wasn¡¯t interested in claws, even with some experience there. They required getting to close, which was a foolish idea against someone better than him. Even so, a spear wasn¡¯t quite what he wanted. He settled for a long two-handed sword- or a rounded piece of some extremely durable piece of wood that was vaguely sword shaped, anyway. It had a crossguard, at least. He was fairly certain that even if he was using a real sword, he couldn¡¯t hurt a Foundation Phase cultivator, but being safe was for the best. He faced Matayal in the family¡¯s sparring field. The private one, because they had many. The Tenebach clan had some cousins and the like, and while some might be a better match his current status was being kept under wraps. He didn¡¯t have to reach the Foundation Phase, but he should at least once again reach the ninth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase. But now¡­ he was more or less in the first. Then again, he hadn¡¯t been trying to increase his cultivation level. He still hadn¡¯t even chosen a totem. ¡°Ready?¡± Matayal asked. She looked quite intimidating in her own armor, with her hair tied back. She had a sword of her own, a lighter one-handed version similar to the real sword she used. John nodded. After he did so, she nearly disappeared from his sight. He knew she restricted her offensive power to be similar to an early Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator, but even without directly calling on her two spiritual totems she would outclass him. The air in front of her shimmered like a mirage, and all he could do was stab his sword in front of him to try to catch her. His guess had been right, but she swiftly flowed around beside him, striking his side. His spiritual energy cushioned him from the blow, but he still most certainly felt it. John did his best to keep his form, moving his sword as little as possible to achieve what he wanted. Matayal¡¯s water-type cultivation easily moved with any parry he did, but he was at least able to somewhat limit her attacks. And even when he was struck by water elemental spiritual energy, he gained something from it. Besides, pain, of course. He could feel how it moved¡­ how it flowed. Of course, of all elements water elemental spiritual energy flowed most traditionally but the point was he got to experience it in action. He even manipulated his own energy to try to better resist it. With his spiritual energy being darkness infused, he was able to make some attempts. He managed to freeze some of it- one of the main interactions between darkness and water was ice. However, he was pretty sure Matayal let that happen. As he was thinking he would prefer not to get hit so much, he thought about absorbing it. Darkness could pull in other elements¡­ in theory. So he tried. His concentration probably got him struck a few extra times before he finally managed even the slightest success, but he thought he got something. There wasn¡¯t a net gain in spiritual energy on his end, but he wound up with a bit of watery spiritual energy of his own. Coating his weapon with it and swinging it at Matayal was exhilarating for the several seconds he had it before she blasted it away from his weapon and he was left to return to his normal energy. He thought that maybe he could try converting a bit of his energy to every element to see what it was like, before selecting his totem. Afterwards, it would be much harder to do. A small sacrifice for growing several times in power- and of course it would be much easier to get whatever sort of spiritual energy he actually wanted once he was attuned to a relevant totem. John continued absorbing little bits of water elemental spiritual energy, using them for defense where they were at least able to absorb a blow or two. He felt his control was improving greatly. It would be good for him, as long as he remembered as much as possible after he passed out. Because while he absolutely couldn¡¯t win, he didn¡¯t want to stop before he absolutely had to. He had thought his body might give out first, but instead it was his spiritual energy. He was drained empty, but it was quite satisfying nonetheless. He managed to collapse more or less gracefully to one knee and then onto his side before he truly lost consciousness. Chapter 7 His mind once again came down from his state of connection with the sea of spiritual totems. He¡¯d finally clawed his way up to the third layer for a few moments, confirming that with his spotting of the Claws of Darkness that Fortkran had used. He didn¡¯t have long to look over other totems, but he got a strange feeling. He wanted to be as strong as possible in this world of cultivation, but compatibility was important. But there was something else tugging at him. He was quite capable of attuning to any of the darkness element spiritual totems he could reach. That meant he should find one he liked on the third layer and accept that. But even though he could stay in the second layer for extended periods, he found himself drawn to the first layer. First layer spiritual totems were the weakest available. However, there were a subset of spiritual totems that could grow in power. In the first layer, the most well known were the elemental seeds. For those who couldn¡¯t access totems of the second layer, they were ideal. With proper training, the seeds could sprout into elemental trees of the second layer and make up for the deficiency with enough time. It was less efficient than just selecting a spiritual totem of the second layer that had the qualities that suited the user required, but enough for those who couldn¡¯t do better. Yet John felt himself drawn towards them, even though he could reach the third layer. Was that something related to his perspective as an otherworlder? If so, was it good or bad? Tempering the growth of spiritual totems wasn¡¯t exclusive to the elemental seeds, just more difficult. He didn¡¯t want to go down the wrong path. So, he took advantage of his position to consult the strongest cultivator he knew. His grandfather, Luctus Tenebach. He explained his thoughts. ¡°... and I¡¯m not sure how to pick the right totem. I know it is unwise to delay too long, but making the wrong choice affects my entire path of cultivation.¡± Luctus nodded, taking in John¡¯s explanations. ¡°A difficult decision. Here is my advice. Continue thinking on your problem. A cultivator¡¯s intuition can be very important, but you must make sure it is not a passing fancy. It is possible to take something suited to the user from a level below what the cultivator can achieve and make it just as good¡­ but you must also determine that there is not anything else equally suitable and more powerful or you will waste your potential.¡± Luctus sighed, ¡°You¡­¡± speaking of him as he was before was always an awkward subject, ¡°The one good quality you previously possessed was confidence, if not skill, in cultivation. The Claws of Darkness were quite compatible with you. That may not be the case anymore, but I urge you to find something that fits so well. Once you have taken the time, I will be willing to consult with you on specifics of your intended spiritual totem.¡± He nodded. ¡°Thank you, grandfather.¡± ----- He had been hoping his thoughts were just a passing fancy. After spending more time on the third spiritual layer he found some darkness element totems that suited him even better than The Dancing Shadow. One didn¡¯t have a name that he could find, so he dubbed it Peaceful Night. Then there was The Cave, a particularly appealing spiritual totem because it combined the elements of darkness the Tenebach clan was attuned to and the earthen spiritual energy of the Stone Conglomerate. But John couldn¡¯t help but find himself drawn to something that didn¡¯t fit at all. It was tangentially connected to darkness, but it was a contradictory spiritual totem. Dubbed simply Foul Air in his guide, it was representative of certain sorts of unbreathable air that would build up in a mine. However, air was aligned with light and not darkness, which would make it particularly difficult to use. Added that he would have only very limited access to cultivation and combat techniques that worked with air type spiritual energy and he wondered why he couldn¡¯t just ignore it. He returned once more to the library. Dionsio, the Keeper of the Library, inclined his head. ¡°Young master, it is good to see you return.¡± Dionsio was actually sincere about that¡­ this time. John had tracked down most of the books he¡¯d never returned, and now that he was more confident with his position he was willing to ask for advice on books. That made searching easier and made Dionsio happy, which was great. ¡°Thank you, Keeper.¡± John placed down some of the books he had borrowed. ¡°I believe I am finished with these. As for what I require next¡­ I recall reading about elemental cultivation paths. Single elements were most popular, of course. Then there were the aligned elemental cycles. Some cultivators also focus on particular weapons, and rely less on the elemental natures of their spiritual totems. I would like to read anything with more in-depth details on those sorts of things.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Dionsio nodded. ¡°Of course. Most of those will be in the limited section.¡± He took John to the back. As the young master of the clan, there were no parts of the library off limits to him. He was aware that there were a few books kept separately by his parents and some of the older generation, but he might even be able to get access to them if he had need. However, he had no desire to delve into any forbidden and dangerous techniques. ¡°This one might do¡­¡± Dionsio pulled a thin book off the shelf and handed it to John. ¡°And perhaps¡­ this one.¡± He pulled out a larger scroll, clearly quite old. ¡°If those do not have what you are looking for, this section here is most likely to have what you want, unless you change your method of inquiry.¡± John nodded. ¡°Thank you very much for your assistance, Keeper.¡± Being polite to people was good. Dionsio deserved the respect for his position or his knowledge or his cultivation, and all together even more so¡­ but John was doing his best to respect the normal servants as well. He still gave them orders, of course, but that was their job. If he was going to take on the responsibilities of power he might as well get some of the benefits. ----- The texts Dionsio recommended had just what he needed. Though it was a bit hard to puzzle through the older scroll, it explained some details about cultivation paths that the small book was lacking in. Once he had finished perusing them, he set them down and considered. Was the decision he was making the right one? He couldn¡¯t know. But he couldn¡¯t pull himself away from the idea. In addition to single elemental paths, weapon paths, and aligned cycle paths, there was the idea of a full elemental path. In theory, a full elemental cycle was one of the optimal choices. Nobody could say for sure it was the most optimal, but it covered weaknesses quite well. In theory. In practice¡­ it was rarely so useful. It was difficult. Elements were aligned with each other in different ways. With light were fire and air, and darkness supported earth and water. Any of those triplets were compatible with each other. Crossing over the triplets, however, made things much more difficult. There were two methods, the paths of supporting and overcoming. Water doused fire, fire scorched earth, earth withstood air, and air controlled water completing the cycle. Light and Darkness could fit in at various points. In the other direction was support. Earth let fire grow stronger. Fire could heat water into different states, which led to clouds in the air, which could rain to feed the earth¡­ and such. It worked in theory. In practice, the beginning might be weaker¡­ and even completing half a cycle required reaching the Soul Expansion Phase- which was where his grandfather currently was. At that point a cycle of aligned elements had completed, and a single elemental focus remained steady throughout. With proper resources and talent and some luck, the Soul Expansion Phase might be reached by John¡¯s parents age or even a bit earlier, but the support of the cycle wouldn¡¯t yet be showing its power and the lack of focus would dominate. The full cycle would require three more whole phases to complete¡­ and it wasn¡¯t clear if it would be stronger than the others. Perhaps more versatile. Even so, John was willing to try it¡­ but he hesitated because he had a more ridiculous idea. The texts he read presumed the cultivator would reach for the highest level of spiritual totem they could obtain. His idea was that picking the right totems from consecutive layers might support the path better. Maybe he was wrong¡­ but he had a few in mind. But even if it worked¡­ would it be better than anything else? He hated not knowing, and it would be too late to change his mind later. He couldn¡¯t bet on his meridians being damaged just enough to allow him to repair them, recultivate, and pick a new totem and he didn¡¯t know of any other way to start over. Plus there was the matter of time. ----- In his position as Fortkran Tenebach, he didn¡¯t want to make important decisions all on his own. Even though it was his own cultivation, it didn¡¯t affect just him. His grandfather hadn¡¯t suddenly stopped being wiser, so even though he wanted to immediately run off and attempt his plan, he consulted his grandfather. He expected immediate rejection at the idea which had no basis in anything but intuition. It wasn¡¯t like he was the first person to cultivate, and untold generations had tried what they thought was best. ¡°...¡± Luctus Tenebach remained silent after he finished his explanation. He was clearly thinking, so exercising patience was the right option. Finally, he spoke. ¡°You have a truly ambitious plan. However, it will make you weak. Being weak and ambitious is a dangerous combination.¡± Fortkran bowed his head. ¡°I understand, grandfather. It was a foolish idea.¡± As he turned to leave, his grandfather spoke behind him. ¡°Strength is everything in cultivation. If you are weak, you will suffer and struggle, and you may die. You may work harder than anyone else for the same result. A more difficult path does not necessarily lead to a greater reward. But¡­ I will not say your plan is entirely without merit. If you are wrong¡­ you will be only half as strong as you should at the Foundation Phase. Maybe less. Consider this¡­ when you make your choice.¡± Chapter 8 Darkness. The sort of darkness before dawn. A calming yet depressing time where only a few cars were on the road. John pulled into the parking lot of Brad¡¯s Burgers. ¡®Brad¡¯ himself had never existed, but Humberto¡¯s Hamburgers was too long of a name for marketing. Or at least so said the man himself. John sighed as he entered the place. As fast food jobs went, he supposed it paid fairly well. It was just¡­ he had higher expectations for himself. Like finishing his degree and getting a real job. Not that what he was doing now wasn¡¯t work, but it wasn¡¯t a career. Sweeping floors and flipping burgers wasn¡¯t really something he wanted to do long term¡­ but they¡¯d been hiring and it was better than a big chain. The sizzle of the patties on the grill was satisfying, at least, and at this time of day the kitchen wasn¡¯t crowded. There wasn¡¯t much of a breakfast rush at burger joints, though John had been surprised at how many people dropped by¡­ and got actual burgers. They had a small breakfast menu as well as a few ¡®breakfast burgers¡¯ which had things like eggs on top and different buns, and sometimes sausage patties. Humberto himself came into the kitchen, grabbing the burger spatula and flipping some patties. ¡°That¡¯s fifteen seconds too much on that side, Miller.¡± John sighed. He didn¡¯t intend to let it happen, but it just came out. Humberto was nice enough¡­ but he was very critical of work. And extremely observant. ¡°What¡¯s wrong young man?¡± John couldn¡¯t help but be honest. ¡°It¡¯s not a big difference. You correct me on every little thing, but ignore the others. Every time it¡¯s some little thing I¡¯m doing wrong.¡± ¡°Is that how you see it?¡± Humberto asked. He took a deep breath, flipping a few more patties and tossing others into buns, working as he spoke. ¡°Perhaps it looked that way. The thing is, I already told them what they were doing wrong a hundred times. If they¡¯re not going to fix it, why say it again? You fix whatever I tell you is wrong and get a little bit closer to perfect every time. You¡¯ll need to know exactly what makes things right in the future.¡± John nodded, continuing his work as well, but couldn¡¯t help but say more. ¡°Why does it matter if my work is slightly better when 90% of them are going to be the way everyone else does it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s always important to have that little bit of extra quality,¡± Humberto said, ¡°And when I am not here, someone will have to know how to do things just right.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± John asked. Humberto might have been a tough boss, but he paid well and did more work than anyone else. He was there for opening and closing. John was too, but he needed the hours. ¡°Did I not mention it yet?¡± Humberto tilted his head, ¡°I¡¯m opening a new location. So this place will need a manager.¡± ¡°What?¡± John asked. He wasn¡¯t sure if he heard right. ¡°I thought you would sound happier. It¡¯s not really any more work, just a bit different. And the pay is much better.¡± ¡°Are you saying¡­ you want me as manager?¡± ¡°Of course. Why would I pick anyone but my hardest worker who knows how to make everything perfectly? Or close enough.¡± John breathed a sigh of relief. He physically couldn¡¯t work any more hours, but he couldn¡¯t search for a better paying job either- even if he were qualified. Being promoted to manager? That would at least help the family make ends meet. ----- John slowly breathed out a black fog. Not a gross one filled with impurities, though he still found it unsettling. Cultivating was¡­ much different from how he thought any sort of magical or supernatural abilities would work. Then again, everything was different from what he thought before he tried it. This particular thing just happened to involve more thinking and meditation instead of throwing fireballs at things. Though some people could do that. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. He was currently in his peak state. Though reliving old memories left a bitter taste in his mouth, he was also filled with determination. There was no manager around him to tell him exactly the right way to do things- and to be honest, some people liked their burgers done fifteen seconds more or less. Everyone was different in tastes and styles and what cultivation was best for them. John might not know what was best for him, but he had at least taken the time to attempt to figure it out. He couldn¡¯t go with anything but what he believed was the best. His essence rocketed to the first layer of the sea of spiritual totems. That was trivial, having done it so many times that he could even reach the third layer and stay for ten or twenty minutes. Then he found himself in front of the Seed of Darkness. He hesitated for only a brief moment before reaching out, coaxing it to form a connection with him. Or maybe coaxing himself to form a connection with it. Was there a difference? The seed moved, gently flowing into him and sinking into his dantian. That was it. He thought it would be more momentous and dramatic, but as he carefully pulled himself out of the first layer he found it was still inside him just as it should be. Taking careful stock of his dantian, he saw the spiritual energy he had condensed flowing into the seed. It seemed like the seed might absorb everything he had if he let it. Perhaps he would, but in that case he needed to really give it everything. Was that the right way? He would have to actually monitor its progression, but it was part of him now. So far, at least, everything was going well. He began using his cultivation method, the one Fortkran had experience with. It was the best darkness element one the family had, and it still suited him. He absorbed spiritual energy from the world around him, already thickened by the formation underneath him in the training room. He took the energy through his meridians, a process which was beneficial to both the spiritual energy and those strange veins that carried it. The particular process aligned it better to the darkness element that he was suited for. Had been made suited for, maybe, by the guardian beast. The seed happily absorbed the darkness elemental energy, filling up and up. Finally, he felt it reach its peak. He only had a few remaining wisps of energy, even after replenishing himself as much as he could. Then he waited, watching the seed. It was just a little point of darkness- like a black hole, or what he imagined one would be like. Much less powerful, of course. As he watched a small wisp of darkness energy trickled out of the seed. As he touched it, he could feel it was much denser than the elemental energy he had put in. He had thought getting a spiritual totem would be like adding one to one, but he was wrong. He now understood how much Matayal had been holding back when they sparred. Instead of adding one to one, he felt more like he had added one to zero. Without the totem, his spiritual energy was¡­ nothing. Fortkran hadn¡¯t been that aware of his own power before the totem, so he hadn¡¯t noticed before. Of course, if he was now at a one she was at least a six or something. He knew she had at least two third level spiritual totems, maybe better. She was still an entire phase ahead of him. ----- A tide of water poured over him. He found himself forced back step by step, but each step he absorbed a little bit of the impact and even fortified himself with it. He was right about how much stronger Matayal was, but while he had traditionally lost completely to her, at least now she was serious about her actions. With a flick of his wrist his sword took an invisible path towards her, striking her straight in the side, only for the momentum to be absorbed by the water elemental barrier around her. A moment later her sword came up and touched the tip of his throat, poking through his own defensive barrier. John sighed. ¡°I lost again.¡± Matayal lowered her weapon. ¡°Of course you did. I¡¯m in the Foundation Phase. If I was matching your defensive level, I might have actually been injured by that. I underestimated you. That said¡­ my final attack was something you should have been able to deal with. You put too much into your own attack and forgot defense. That¡¯s dangerous¡­ especially if you don¡¯t defeat your opponent.¡± John nodded. ¡°I know. I was just hoping to finally manage something before you left.¡± Matayal turned around, her dark hair flowing down her back. ¡°Ambition can be good. Just make sure it doesn¡¯t get you killed.¡± She paused as she was stepping away. ¡°Do you know why I came here?¡± ¡°... I thought it was something to do with the family. But I suppose it was about me. Or how I was.¡± ¡°You are correct. I came here to talk with your family about how we could break off the marriage without losing our alliance. Our grandfathers are longtime friends, after all. I didn¡¯t want to go against his specific wishes, but you¡­¡± she turned her head over her shoulder, ¡°or at least who you were¡­ I couldn¡¯t abide. But now I am¡­ content enough to leave things as they are.¡± John didn¡¯t know what to say- so he said nothing. She turned her head back forward and said one final thing as she left. ¡°I will see you again in the future. I hope you are stronger- much stronger- at that time. For both of our sakes.¡± Chapter 9 No matter how much spiritual energy he fed the Seed of Darkness, it was happy to absorb it and trickle out more refined spiritual energy. The Claws of Darkness had required more work to refine spiritual energy, though with their position as a third layer totem the ultimate result had been stronger. Even so, John was happy to fill up his dantian with what he had. Mostly out of curiosity, he attempted another circulation of his cultivation technique with the already refined spiritual energy. The most immediate thing he noticed was that the effect on his meridians was more pronounced. The darkness had a chilling effect as it passed through, not unpleasant but like a cool glass of water on a hot summer day. The more powerful energy was partly absorbed into his meridians, tempering them. That was a necessary part of passing through the levels of cultivation. Even if he could somehow obtain stronger spiritual energy immediately, if his meridians and dantian couldn¡¯t handle it he would be in a bad state. He already had experience with that¡­ trying to break through to Foundation Phase too early. When the spiritual energy completed its circulation and returned to the seed, it once again absorbed it. The reabsorption was much slower, and the twice refined energy it slowly produced was only marginally different. Even so, every little bit counted for something. He continued cultivating until he had refined everything as much as he could, filling himself comfortably full of spiritual energy. Then he had other duties to attend to. ----- With his previous experience cultivating, it only took two weeks to pass through all of the early stages of the Spiritual Collection Phase. Soon enough he was at the fourth level out of nine. Not an impressive accomplishment given his age of around twenty years old, but at least he was no longer almost powerless. The official story was that Fortkran Tenebach had an inspiration which caused him to choose to reset his cultivation and start over from the beginning. For all but the core members of the Tenebach clan- his parents, grandfather, and a pair of close uncles- that was the story they knew. Some might have suspected different, but they certainly wouldn¡¯t mention it. Now that he had a spiritual totem, he was able to spar with a wider variety of people. That started with cousins, and while it was somewhat humiliating to fight cousins a year or two younger than himself¡­ they were about the right level for him to compete with. Some of them were at the third level but with second or third tier spiritual totems, and he had to admit that he was more or less matched with them. Sometimes inferior. He tried not to let it bother him. He had to relearn everything. His fighting style was new, even to his old self, and he was used to being stronger¡­ or not fighting at all, respectively. With a spiritual totem from the first layer, he found it hard to compete in direct confrontation. It was fortunate that he had access to all of the family¡¯s library to pick out some technique that suited him. The first thing he had learned was a simple footwork technique, a more basic movement of a movement technique. Hidden Steps was the name, and it synergized well with the darkness element to make it hard to predict his movements. He was also studying a basic swordsmanship manual and spending time with trainers who had experience. He had yet to learn an actual martial technique with a sword, but he could at least coat his weapon in his spiritual energy to augment it, and he was more efficient about it now. The opponent who matched Fortkran most closely was Tempkeit, a cousin just one year younger. He was similarly of the fourth level, and his spiritual totem was of the first layer. In short, he was considered a mediocre talent. Before John took over, Fortkran had thought nothing of him. Afterwards, he saw how hard he worked. Hard work wasn¡¯t everything in cultivation, but even if strength was important a good personality was much nicer to have around. Tempkeit didn¡¯t take any defeat personally, and when he won he wasn¡¯t overly domineering. His totem was known as the Shadowed Palms, and he fought barehanded as well as Fortkran could fight with a sword. Even so, there was a bit of something lacking. Of course, the power wasn¡¯t much to speak for¡­ but the more relevant part was the experience. It was likely there weren¡¯t many good sparring partners for him in the past, so he had to train on his own. With his mediocre talent, he was also not able to get much time with any trainers. That was the harsh reality of the situation- the Tenebach clan didn¡¯t have infinite resources, and so personal training was reserved only for those who would likely get the most out of it. As the Young Master of the clan, Fortkran had access to anything reasonable- and sometimes unreasonable requests, though John had avoided those as much as possible after taking over. Spars with Tempkeit were much different than facing Matayal. She was in the Foundation Phase, and while she had limited her offensive capacity she kept her defenses. That meant Fortkran had to more precisely know the limits of his own strength as well as his opponent, so that they wouldn¡¯t injure each other. There were people on standby if there was an accident, and they indeed occasionally injured each other, but with spiritual energy defending them they could reduce most of the damage. Fortkran¡¯s spiritual energy flowed around him in a thin layer. It wasn¡¯t weak, just condensed. When a palm struck him the energy distributed the force of the blow around his body. In addition, he could absorb some of the attack¡¯s spiritual energy. He found it was easier with the darkness element, especially of family members, but he could do it with anything he¡¯d encountered so far. He hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to test it with light elemental spiritual energy¡­ but any such conflict would be quite destructive. As opposite elements, light and darkness would interact violently, more than any of the central elements. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. His sword swept through the air, barely reflecting light from the mid-day sun. Tempkeit¡¯s palm came up, his fingers sliding the blade up and over his head. Even without gathered spiritual energy his palms were empowered, able to withstand a moderate strike from a sword, with a small amount of spiritual energy and a sharp blade. Without using a weapon, his reach was less¡­ but he was able to more quickly maneuver. In addition, the flow of energy around him was quicker. Fortkran wanted to force his sword back down, but the redirected momentum carried it up and by the time his energy redirected it he had missed. His feet carried him back and away, but he still had to use his arm to block a palm strike from Tempkeit as he stepped forward inside his reach. He managed to gather enough energy that he would only bruise instead of breaking anything, and a small portion of the energy found its way to mingle with his own. He could use it, but it was a bit sluggish compared to the rest. He didn¡¯t have any sense that it was trying to hinder him, but merely that he didn¡¯t understand it as well. He figured he needed to get used to controlling it, so after taking a defensive stance and absorbing a few more strands of energy he gathered it on his sword. It wasn¡¯t really to the credit of the spiritual energy that he slipped his attack past the attempted parries and into Tempkeit¡¯s chest, and it barely held enough to pierce through most of the energy protecting his ribs¡­ but he would likely be better the next time. Tempkeit stepped back. ¡°You are victorious once more, Fortkran.¡± He bowed slightly. ¡°I am afraid I have reached my limits for the day. I look forward to sparring with you again at the earliest opportunity.¡± Something felt strange about how he spoke. It wasn¡¯t that his words were false, but they still felt unnatural. Then again, his status was much lower¡­ so being overly polite was quite reasonable. Perhaps in the future they might break down that barrier of caution and have deeper interactions beyond just sparring. ----- John found himself called to meet with his grandfather Luctus. Though the servant said to come at his earliest convenience, he knew that meant immediately unless he was in the middle of cultivating or perhaps having wounds patched up. He still wasn¡¯t used to that, or the speed at which seemingly huge cuts could heal with medicines that had seemingly magical power. He didn¡¯t have any indication that magic was real in this world, but cultivation was certainly magical even if it wasn¡¯t magic. He was concerned about side effects of medicines, but he supposed that his body was also very different than on Earth. It would probably be fine. He knocked on the door, but even as his knuckles touched he got a response. ¡°Come in, Fortkran.¡± As he stepped into his grandfather¡¯s room, he found him sitting at his table looking over some papers and having some tea. It was unlike any tea he had tasted on Earth, but it was certainly heated water infused with plants. Some of it he liked, and some he didn¡¯t- though he was certain it was all ¡®good¡¯. ¡°I have heard your cultivation is progressing rapidly.¡± ¡°Yes, grandfather. My¡­ previous experience is quite helpful in that regard. I know how far I can push myself, and just being used to cultivating helps.¡± ¡°Good. Progress as much as you can. In two months, there¡¯s a competition we will have you join in. Control of an area high in spirit stones is the prize.¡± He knew something about such competitions. If cultivators fought directly over every opportunity, the various sects and clans would wipe each other out in just a few years. There was no point in losing a Foundation Phase cultivator just to get the resources to raise another. While there were certainly lawless regions where the strong could take whatever they wanted, the Stone Conglomerate was an overall peaceful place, with rules in place to prevent too much fighting. Tournaments were a reasonable replacement for fighting, and served to provide opportunities for younger generations. ¡°I hadn¡¯t heard of this before. Is this a new region?¡± Luctus shook his head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°... oh.¡± Even if he had been stronger before, he hadn¡¯t been informed of the tournament. Perhaps it was just because it had been early, but he got the feeling even if he was going to be chosen to participate before, he wouldn¡¯t know much ahead of time. Now he needed to properly prepare¡­ and they felt it was better to let him know. ¡°I will do my best to be as strong as possible when the time comes. What are the restrictions?¡± ¡°Below twenty-three years of age, and not yet in the Foundation Phase. There are other opportunities for your older cousins in the Foundation Phase, but you need not concern yourself with them.¡± Luctus shook his head, ¡°Truthfully, there is very little value to be found in winning. However, it is enough to motivate more clans to participate, so a better appraisal of the younger generation can be seen. There might be some large sects looking for potential members but¡­¡± ¡°... I will not look like much, even if I do well. The benefits for joining most sects around here won¡¯t be better than my position currently affords, regardless.¡± ¡°You understand. Perhaps if your plan works out as you intend, but as for the moment you appear to be mediocre to those on the outside. The most important thing is to understand your limits in the tournament. Even if you lose, we need to look good. If an opponent is too strong, surrendering early might be better. I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± ¡°I do. Though I will at least attempt to surpass the first round or two.¡± Chapter 10 A sword swung down towards Fortkran with the weight of a thousand boulders. Or at least¡­ one boulder and one very large man. Blocking the attack was a terrible idea, and even parrying it was extremely difficult. He managed a half-dodge half-parry. The sword crashed into the ground, cleaving it apart. That left him a chance to counter with his own sword, striking for the throat of the man in front of him. Then his armpit was tapped by the enemy¡¯s sword. ¡°Very good, young master Fortkran.¡± The large man in front of Fortkran was Brage. He was the swordmaster of the Tenebach clan, and even though he was only a couple steps into the Foundation Stage at thirty years old, his swordsmanship left no question to his ability. Quite a few cultivators had met their ends- or at least their significant embarrassment- at his hands when they underestimated him for his relatively lower cultivation. ¡°You¡¯ve improved greatly.¡± Fortkran nodded. ¡°Thank you. I feel much more confident. So, what did I do wrong?¡± ¡°As I said, you¡¯ve improved greatly¡­¡± ¡°You could have cut off my arm before my blade reached you. You didn¡¯t even go past my cultivation level.¡± Brage scratched the back of his head, ¡°Well, I do have a second spiritual totem. That empowers me quite a bit.¡± ¡°Look, you¡¯re not paid to compliment me,¡± the thought flashed through his mind that perhaps he was, to some degree, ¡°I need you to make me as strong as possible. I thought that was a perfect time for a counter, with your sword digging into the ground. But obviously it wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright. It was a feint. You have to know I¡¯m an earth element cultivator. Bouncing my sword off the ground isn¡¯t so difficult. It might seem like an overswing that will lose all momentum, but instead it comes back in a snap. You can tell by reading the way my energy was arranged. Too much on the backside of the sword that was never going to connect with you, so I can have enough power on the reverse. Then there was the way it was always planned to reflect off the ground, though that¡¯s a more subtle thing than the quantities of energy.¡± Fortkran nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have to watch for that. Should I step in more?¡± ¡°That can do it. I more or less make it go straight back along the trajectory it was on, with only small deviations. Someone else might do better though. You might instead strike my arm, with it extended so far.¡± ¡°I understand. What else? Even tiny things. I need to know what you see so I can fix it.¡± ¡°Well, as long as you¡¯re asking¡­ your stance was a smidge narrow. The angle of your blade was off for that particular guard, and you telegraph your attacks too much. Even if all I know is that you¡¯re attacking and not how with your darkness element aiding you, it helps me.¡± He would need to keep training with Brage every day. He would also train with his grandfather on the darkness side of things, then there was cultivating on his own, increasing his base level of power. He had an actual goal in the tournament. He needed to be as good as possible. Winning would be desirable, but probably not realistic. At best he might return to the fifth or sixth level by that time, a significant margin weaker than peak ninth level cultivators. That wasn¡¯t counting they might have higher tier totems. Though¡­ he could feel the Seed of Darkness advancing. It might be equivalent to a full second tier before he reached Foundation Phase. Or maybe it would be slightly after. Judging how long either would take was sort of nebulous. It had taken five years to first reach the ninth level of cultivation, but he was fairly certain he could do it in one or two now. Experience paid off, even if it wasn¡¯t his experience. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ----- In private, John wondered if he had been too ambitious. The thought that he could be twice as powerful as he was now if he¡¯d just made a different choice grated on him. But¡­ he couldn¡¯t help it. For his first life he¡¯d first been drifting along a gentle current until a storm hit. Then he¡¯d merely been trying to hold on. He hadn¡¯t become a manager at Brad¡¯s Burgers because that was his life goal. He¡¯d done it because that was where he¡¯d ended up. He put in the effort¡­ but it wasn¡¯t the best place he could have ended up. Humberto was a good boss, and it wasn¡¯t a bad job, but he¡¯d been getting a college education before that. He was going to be¡­ something. A so called ¡®real job¡¯. Though managing a restaurant- even a fast food place- was also a real job. But if he was going to do it, he wanted even more. Humberto hadn¡¯t stopped at one location, and perhaps he shouldn¡¯t either. That was why he planned to complete a full elemental cycle. Even just getting halfway meant he¡¯d have to pass where his parents currently were, and then he¡¯d have to surpass his grandfather. Could he really make up for eighty years and more? John decided not to worry about it. There was a saying, shoot for the moon and if you miss you¡¯ll land among the stars. Of course, realistically someone would end up in wide open space¡­ technically just as among the stars as anywhere else. But motivational phases weren¡¯t supposed to be literal. If he planned to complete a full elemental cycle and only managed to reach late Foundation Phase in twenty or thirty years, he would still not be an embarrassment to his family. If he reached Soul Expansion Phase at all he could be content. The step beyond that was the Consolidated Soul Phase. If he made it there, then the clan he now found himself a part of could be very proud. Beyond that¡­ there weren¡¯t enough cultivators in the Stone Conglomerate that had reached that level for it to have a set name. Even the names for the other stages were generic but not entirely accepted. Earth cultivators might go by Pebble, Boulder, Hill, and so on. However, the fifth phase could be called anything from Brilliant Radiance, Mountain, Demigod, or something like the Pure Spirit Phase. Or just the fifth phase, which was easiest to understand. Some people like that existed, but that was too far off to consider, even though his lifespan would increase as his cultivation did. In short, he¡¯d planned out a full elemental cycle and would carry it as far as he could. Maybe he¡¯d change his mind at Foundation Phase if he found a totem that perfectly suited him in a higher layer, but somehow he wasn¡¯t sure if he could afford to do that. He might feel like he failed. Then again, he could consider that before doing anything. In the short term, he had a tournament to win¡­ or at least avoid making a terrible display of the clan. He¡¯d siphoned some earth elemental spiritual energy in his matches with Brage. As he circulated the small remnants he hadn¡¯t used in battle through himself, he felt it absorb into his meridians, tempering them. It was a slightly different feeling than the darkness he had, but he didn¡¯t have enough to learn more. The same was true with Matayal¡¯s water elemental energy. At most a few percent of his total had been a different element, and it was all gone after the first cycle. Once he was at his peak, he pulled out the technique scroll for Gravity Blade. With a name like that, one would expect that he would be manipulating one of the fundamental forces of nature. While his family had access to fairly good techniques, anything made for those at the Spiritual Collection Phase was a bit more¡­ modest. The exact effect wouldn¡¯t be apparent until he actually was able to perform the technique, but the basic description was that it would add force to his blows among other things. He circulated his spiritual energy through the prescribed path to eventually reach his hands, where it then extended to his sword. It was much too slow to be used in combat like this, but he did feel something more than just the normal darkness element on his sword. He gave it a swing. It felt sluggish. Like someone was trying to hold it in place. As it was he doubted he would hit harder- he could barely even make it move, and striking someone who was at all aware of him would be difficult. However, he could certainly refine the technique, both his formation and control of it afterwards. Then he would know whether or not he was wasting his time¡­ but he doubted that a truly worthless technique would be in the Tenebach library. Especially one of the darkness element, which they could easily vet for basic functionality. All he had to do was keep practicing so he could see how this ¡®gravity¡¯ actually worked. Chapter 11 When inside the bounds of dealing with his new family, he was Fortkran Tenebach. Having a second name was like having a weird nickname he hadn¡¯t chosen. Then again, he hadn¡¯t chosen his actual name, so he probably just needed time to get used to it. Either way, his body at least was able to pick out his name properly, so he heard his name get called. He had been watching the early matches, checking out potential future opponents. Now, it was his turn to fight. He was nervous, because this would be his first real fight. The chance of dying was¡­ very low. The tournament had protections set up so that people were extremely unlikely to actually die¡­ but this would be his first fight in his new life where someone didn¡¯t have his best interests in mind. They would just want to win, not to make him better. He stepped up to the arena, a fairly plain stone square about ten meters on a side. It had enough room for Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators to maneuver around, though those who preferred long range tactics would be somewhat at a disadvantage. Fortkran hadn¡¯t paid enough attention to notice the other name that was called out until he stepped up and his memories recognized Gergely Jancovics. The Jancovics clan was similarly made up of darkness element cultivators¡­ but the relations between them and the Tenebachs was not friendly in the slightest. The man in front of him was about the same age- somewhere in his early twenties- but he was somewhat larger than Fortkran. He knew muscle didn¡¯t matter that much in cultivation, but size was still intimidating. Still, he wouldn¡¯t let that show. When Gergely stepped up on stage, he immediately had something to say. ¡°So it is true¡­ you failed in cultivation and dropped back from where you were. It seems the Tenebach clan isn¡¯t so great after all.¡± Fortkran had many things he wanted to say in response, even though Gergely was technically right. However, anything he said might be overconfident. He¡¯d only managed to reach the sixth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase, and Gergely was in the seventh. Along with that his spiritual totem was of the second tier. Not a particularly impressive resume, yet better than what Fortkran had. So he said nothing, because even if he lost at least he would only be a minor embarrassment. No reply might have indicated timidity, but he didn¡¯t plan to be timid in the actual match. As soon as the referee called for the match to start, Fortkran sprang forward.Gergely had a warhammer and shield- a common combination of weapons in the Stone Conglomerate. Darkness wasn¡¯t inherently suited to hammers, but Gergely¡¯s spiritual totem or just his training might have made it a better choice. Certainly, he couldn¡¯t criticize someone for picking what suited them. Two steps from where he could attack, Fortkran activated Hidden Steps, quickly moving around to the side where Gergely held his hammer. His sword came down, coated in energy. Despite the awkward angle Gergely managed to react and parry with his warhammer, swinging around to swipe at Fortkran with his shield. The two of them exchanged blows, their energy clashing. Fortkran was unable to get any real advantage with his early gambit, but he also didn¡¯t lose out. He was still taking stock of his opponent when he felt Gergely gathering more energy for an attack. The arena around them was covered in darkness and some portion of it concentrated on the hammer. Dodging the attack without being able to see would be difficult¡­ but Fortkran could see. Swirling darkness didn¡¯t impede his sight to any serious degree, as part of the blessing from the family¡¯s guardian beast. The attack was made with the confident that it would be unseen, but instead he gathered energy for his own technique. He wasn¡¯t so used to fighting against a hammer, but the trajectory of one wasn¡¯t much different from a sword¡­ and Brage was a thousand times more skillful. Even if Fortkran could barely do anything against Brage, with Gravity Blade he latched his sword to the hammer, pulling it even more strongly along its path while making sure it didn¡¯t hit him. The hammer crashed into the ground and was pulled out of Gergely¡¯s hand. Fortkran instantly followed up by reversing the direction of his swing, not with the same explosive power he¡¯d seen before but quick enough to catch his opponent of guard. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The shield came up, Gergely¡¯s energy preventing him from cutting it in two. He pulled away¡­ but took a little bit of the energy with him. He wasn¡¯t so experience that he could say for certain, but the darkness energy he got seemed less pure than the rest that he had encountered among his clan. Then again, while the Jancovics clan somewhat considered themselves rivals to the Tenebachs, they really weren¡¯t. The previous Fortkran shouldn¡¯t have ever found himself in a match with Gergely. Fortkran added his own darkness to the arena, and as thin as it was he clearly had more effect on his opponent. He managed to slip around behind him, and when Gergely looked around for him and decided to dash for his weapon, he slashed at him from behind. Gergely¡¯s energy wasn¡¯t condensed enough to prevent his slash, and Fortkran¡¯s sword cut through it and the thin armor underneath. If the formations of the arena hadn¡¯t activated, it might have cut even deeper through flesh and bone. He could have killed someone. The thought was somewhat unpleasant for a person who hadn¡¯t gotten into anything more violent than a fistfight¡­ but it was quickly tempered by the exhilaration of winning. Besides, he hadn¡¯t killed him. The referee could clearly sense things sufficiently through the two layers of darkness energy, declaring Fortkran the winner. Gergely was barely able to walk out of the arena, but as he was going Fortkran managed to say something. ¡°No matter what changed with my cultivation, you should have considered if your own was good enough first.¡± Yes, that seemed good enough. It didn¡¯t admit much of anything and was somewhat insulting to the loser without going too far. Well, perhaps he would get more practice with that. First, though, he would have to win more. While he couldn¡¯t say he won easily, he was able to make up for the difference in raw power by better technique. He couldn¡¯t say that it was his own personal skill at play, but rather the fact that he had the personal attention of many skilled teachers, including his Soul Expansion Phase grandfather. Fighting against any lesser trained darkness with worse weapon techniques than Brage felt easy. At least it seemed his efforts had paid off. ----- The next match was later the same day against an earth cultivator. That was entirely expected, being one of the most prominent cultivation types in the country. This opponent was a woman, Cosima Valdez. There was no real grudge between their clans, but of course both sides would try their best to win. Fortkran had seen her previous match, and she had probably seen his. Even with the darkness from both him and Gergely, she should have at least picked up some idea of how he fought. She carried a thin staff, but Fortkran knew not to underestimate it. It was thin, but made out of stone- and he¡¯d seen her knock her previous opponent out of the ring with it, throwing him a total of five meters. The ring out was a loss, even if her opponent had somehow been able to stand with all of the broken ribs. Fortkran politely bowed his head, and got the same in return. Then the match began. The two circled each other, looking for openings. The staff had more reach than a sword but that didn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t be used up close. A cut was more damaging than a strike in most cases, but that required him to land a solid blow¡­ and it wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Cosima was the first to unleash a few careful strikes, not committing to anything but instead testing Fortkran¡¯s guard. He felt the weight of her staff, both its natural weight and the enhancement from the earth energy. She seemed more skilled than his previous opponent, but he couldn¡¯t lose to her. Not because she was a woman- though there was certainly still some sexism in this world- but because he was from a large clan and was expected to reach at least the third or fourth round. As the young master of the clan it would be disappointing if he couldn¡¯t reach the finals, but he at least couldn¡¯t lose in the second round. Fortkran had to be careful with how he moved. Hidden Steps might prevent his opponent from instantly recognizing where he moved, but in her previous match he had seen her throw someone off balance without even touching them. He flashed around to the side, attempting to get past her guard. As soon as he moved he saw her slam the butt of her quarterstaff down to the ground, and he felt the earth tremble. He nearly fell over¡­ and indeed if he had committed to his attack he would have lost his balance. Instead, his movement had been a feint that he might have been able to turn into an actual attack if she hadn¡¯t reacted at all. Now he just needed to figure out how to deal with her technique and perhaps he could pull out the win. With no enmity between the two of them, it felt much like a spar. He wanted to win, but he wanted to learn even more. It was actually sort of fun. Chapter 12 The best techniques Fortkran had worked when his opponents directly interacted with him. Absorbing some of their energy, while minor, gave him an advantage. He could redirect their attacks with Gravity Blade and try to disarm them. When Cosima shifted the ground around underneath his feet he just had to rely on foot techniques to keep himself steady. At least he¡¯d had the basics drilled into him over and over, even if that particular occurrence hadn¡¯t come up. The one advantage that Fortkran had was his opponent eventually had to attack. She found a good enough opening to take a swing at him, and he used Gravity Blade to parry while his sword slipped down her staff, controlling her movement with his energy and what muscle he had to prevent the quarterstaff from coming down on his shoulder. There was enough force behind it he knew his energy couldn¡¯t withstand the blow, but he managed to avoid the attack and bring his sword to bear on Cosima. As his sword slid down her staff she had to let it go to prevent her hands from being sliced, and even as she stepped away his sword tore through her thick defensive energy. ¡°I surrender,¡± Cosima called out. Fortkran stopped his follow-up attack. The match was his¡­ though he couldn¡¯t say it had been easy. He¡¯d had to push himself to the limits to not get struck by the attack to his shoulder- or really, targeted at his head so that even dodging he¡¯d likely get hit on the shoulder. ----- So far, Fortkran had done a good job representing the Tenebach Clan. Even if he was only in the sixth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase, his performance was good enough that it was overlooked. However, training and determination would only take him so far against opponents also determined to win¡­ and with better cultivations. His next opponent was a sturdy woman with a rarely seen element. At least, in the Stone Conglomerate. She was a fire type cultivator, which wasn¡¯t unheard of¡­ but one of the few in the tournament. Fire didn¡¯t innately overcome darkness. It would overcome earth and be weak to water, but against darkness who had the advantage relied on who had the higher cultivation. Of course, a higher cultivation was always better, but it wasn¡¯t unlikely for a cultivator with an elemental advantage to overcome a few levels of difference in cultivation with all other factors being equal. Fire and darkness weren¡¯t directly related in the cycle, but each could overcome the other with increased efficiency if there was a difference in power. Fortkran could sense that his opponent, Maura, was in the eighth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase. There was little hope for him to win, especially since he had never fought a fire type cultivator before- and Maura had certainly faced darkness cultivators. All the advantages of his extra training and the affinity boost from the family¡¯s guardian beast meant nothing with a big enough gap in power. It wouldn¡¯t be too shameful if he lost, or even if he gave up beforehand¡­ but this was a good opportunity. He¡¯d never fought a fire cultivator before, but he readied his sword against her twin axes. Fire was near the end of his list if he intended to complete a full cycle of elements in his cultivation¡­ but it was never too early to learn something. Especially since he might face more opponents of the sort outside of a tournament. As she moved, her axes left trails of fire in the air. Those weren¡¯t just for effect, but Fortkran could feel heat from the trails of flame. Thus, even if he dodged an attack it prevented him from carelessly moving in for a counter. Fighting against two weapons was new to him, but his trainers had occasionally used their fists or feet to attack when he focused too much on their weapons. With spiritual energy, a fist wasn¡¯t necessarily less dangerous than a sword. He could parry one axe and dodge another as long as he stayed light on his feet. Even during their brief exchanges, he could feel his sword heating up. He dispersed the fire elemental energy, absorbing just a bit of it inside him. The mixture of fire and darkness was like lying in the sun with his eyes closed, and equally pleasing, but he didn¡¯t have much time to dwell on it. He could tell he was exerting more of his energy to disperse Maura¡¯s fire than she was, which meant he was already on the back foot. He could try to look for a good opening before he ran too low on energy, but he opted instead to prolong the battle as much as possible, keeping up his defensive tactics. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Instead of dispersing the fire directly away from his blade, he found if he waited for another attack he could also force it back on his opponent. That worked twice, before she took advantage of her better control of the fire to double up on the power. His sword nearly melted in his hands¡­ except not really. His palms were nearly burning even with the wrap separating him from the tang of his sword, and he was sweating not just from exertion but from the heat encompassing the arena. He ducked under a swing, directly blocking the other axe with his sword. With Gravity Blade and the advantage of two hands, he pulled one axe away from her, sending it sliding across the arena¡­ but he found she was nearly as good with a bare hand as with an axe. It was just lacking in reach. With the advantage of two cultivation levels, she wasn¡¯t even afraid to deflect his sword with her bare hand¡­ bare except for a thick coating of fire elemental spiritual energy, of course. Forktran longed for the peaceful chilling he normally felt from the darkness inside of him, but it was too overwhelmed. He at least managed to hold his ground for a few minutes further before his sword was knocked off target by her axe and her flaming fist reached his chest, even as he attempted to dodge. The fire burned through his spiritual energy, his armor, and his flesh¡­ though not terribly deep. The arena¡¯s defenses came to his aid, and she hadn¡¯t actually tried to kill him. Even so, the burns were one of the most painful things he had experienced. Behind damaged meridians, but more than anything in his former world. ----- One advantage of being a young master from a sizable clan was that he had access to good medicine. After the match he was taken aside and quickly had cooling ointment applied to the burns. The doctor assured him the wounds were only superficial and would heal cleanly, but they served as a gentle reminder to him of his mortality. He had fought in a tournament, but in the future he might be asked to fight in a real battle¡­ perhaps to the death, if it came down to that. He knew the Tenebach clan had no immediate plans to throw him into something they thought he wouldn¡¯t survive, but if he was going to be a part of them, he had to do his share. His grandfather Luctus came to him after the doctor left. ¡°An adequate performance. More than adequate, given your current cultivation level.¡± ¡°Thank you. I thought I was improving a lot¡­ and perhaps I was, but I realize now how much further I have to go just in the Spiritual Collection Phase.¡± Fortkran circulated the energy inside of him, which reinvigorated his body and helped soothe his wounds. The tidbits of fire energy he collected were carefully touched to the seed of darkness, and he felt for adverse reactions. However, it readily absorbed the fire, growing slightly. It wasn¡¯t something he could actually measure, but it was similar to a few days of cultivation. He would love to absorb more different elements, but trying more than tiny amounts of them was risky. ¡°Even though you did well,¡± Luctus continued, ¡°Be aware that people will still remark about the young master of the Tenebach clan losing to someone at the eighth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase. It was known that you were previously close to Foundation Phase¡­ but do not mind the words spoken about you. Only be aware of who is saying what, and why. Some will think us weak¡­ and you will need to continue growing to prove them wrong.¡± Luctus sighed, ¡°If you had embarked on the most speedy path of cultivation with a third tier totem, you likely could have won several more battles. However, all that is important is that you continue to grow.¡± Luctus closed his eyes, and Fortkran could see and feel his darkness energy flowing over him. ¡°You are growing quite well, and the Seed of Darkness seems like it will properly mature under your care. Let your successes and setbacks in this tournament remind you to keep working hard in your cultivation. There will be many more important things in the future¡­ and I can say that even as you grow in success, so too will our expectations grow.¡± He nodded. That was how this world was. Cultivation was about continuous growth, and if a cultivator stagnated¡­ they lost much of their value. However, even without the reminder¡­ growing stronger was personally satisfying. Perhaps it might not be enough to push himself through the hardest moments without other motivations, but being able to measurably compare his increases was extremely satisfying. He was also motivated to be stronger so that he wouldn¡¯t get injured again¡­ or at least, that future injuries would be reduced as much as he was able. Chapter 13 Though he had been defeated and dropped out of the tournament, Fortkran would be remaining to watch the final rounds. There were several reasons, firstly that he had come with his family¡­ and had no desire to walk back to the Tenebach estate on foot. Going by carriage was much more pleasant, especially since they had an enchanted carriage and particularly fast iron-hooved horses. He wasn¡¯t sure if their hooves were actually iron, but they certainly had a metallic sheen to them. Another reminder he was now in a different world. The more practical reason to stay was that watching battles was good for his training. Not as good as fighting himself, but he could glean something from seeing people stronger than him fight. Everyone remaining in the tournament was either eighth or ninth level in the Spiritual Collection Phase. Though Fortkran had seen better techniques, there was something about real matches instead of sparring that brought out the best in people. Besides, watching his Foundation Phase parents train was¡­ a bit much. Their movements were too quick to keep up with, so he didn¡¯t learn much. His grandfather was another stage ahead of them, and didn¡¯t have many people he could reasonably train with. Not nearby, anyway. A ninth stage earth cultivator from the Emerson clan won. Stuart Emerson was one of the favorites for the tournament, so nobody was surprised. If Fortkran had not dropped in cultivation he might have been a match with his third tier spiritual totem, but then again he wouldn¡¯t have even known about the tournament. His family hadn¡¯t been willing to include him as he was before¡­ or as the previous person in his body was. He was certainly a different person, but his memories were still around, ready to present themselves as appropriate. While useful, Fortkran found that remembering things was often inconvenient despite its utility. He just wished some of the things he remembered hadn¡¯t happened, but he couldn¡¯t exactly change that. Thus was the case when a young man about his age appeared in front of him. Fortkran vaguely recognized him, but as he spoke the memories came flooding back. ¡°I have come upon you at last, Fortkran Tenebach!¡± the young man spoke from outside the family¡¯s box, which they had not yet departed after the conclusion of the final match. The man possessed the most common earth elemental spiritual energy for Marble County. ¡°I have been training for the past years to outmatch you, and now it appears I have reached my goal! I demand a duel for the injustices you inflicted upon my sister!¡± To Fortkran¡¯s chagrin, that information didn¡¯t tell him enough to properly identify the man in front of him. He really preferred avoiding thinking about his past when he didn¡¯t have to, because it reminded him why the family was so willing to just¡­ replace him with someone they didn¡¯t even know. That was convenient for John, but it didn¡¯t mean there were no problems that would bother him from the past. Like this. Fortunately, the young man continued. ¡°I am Kyros Tomasson, and I invoke the official rite of the duel with Fortkran Tenebach!¡± There were a number of things to process with that statement. First, that name¡­ there was certainly a Tomasson he remembered. Presumably the man¡¯s sister. There had been inappropriate advances made when he was drunk once¡­ and later when he wasn¡¯t drunk. However, things hadn¡¯t gone further than that. That was good, because he wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready to handle some of the more serious situations. But a formal challenge for a duel still required a response. He could refuse, but that wouldn¡¯t look good. It would either be an admission of weakness or guilt. Losing would be bad as well, and the man in front of him was eighth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase, and his aura didn¡¯t indicate he had a low tier spiritual totem. He would be difficult. He felt the eyes of his family on him. He could refuse, but he didn¡¯t think that would resolve the situation in the best possible way. ¡°Very well. In order to defend my honor, I accept your challenge. In one month¡¯s time we shall have a standard duel here in the arena.¡± A standard duel was not a death match, though there could certainly be serious injuries, the arena¡¯s defenses would do their best to prevent death. One month was the longest a duel could be delayed without the consent of both parties, and he doubted that the man would be willing to wait. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Very well.¡± Kyros Tomasson deflated slightly when it was clear he wouldn¡¯t get to duel immediately, but he knew the official rules just as well as any. ¡°In one month¡¯s time.¡± With that, he turned to leave. Though the Tenebach clan had many cultivators who could easily subdue him, in a city and following proper protocol there wasn¡¯t much they could do. Not that it would look good for anyone beyond his stage to get involved unless he actually attacked. Fortkran sighed. He knew his parents would want an explanation- or maybe they already knew about the incident in question. Either way, they would speak on it later. ----- Gerben Tenebach, Fortkran¡¯s father, stood across from him on the training field. While the current controller of the body wasn¡¯t responsible for what had happened, he had to deal with the consequences. The family had agreed that the duel was the most appropriate course of action- not that they could have backed out at this stage- but winning was important. That meant training, and training meant¡­ difficulties. Gerben Tenebach favored a steel whip, a very difficult to deal with weapon. When controlled with energy, it could move however the user pleased- though it was still affected by normal laws of physics. However, just because it had momentum in one direction didn¡¯t mean energy couldn¡¯t be expended to immediately pull it in the other. Fortkran found that to be true many times in a row. Once more they prepared themselves, and Fortkran moved forward, taking a proper stance. Even though his father had lowered his level of output to slightly above Fortkran, he found himself unable to keep up. He could barely match the movements of the whip, and it almost immediately twisted around the base of his sword and yanked it out of his hands. Even using his own energy to try to maintain his grip didn¡¯t help. However, he did pull away the barest traces of his father¡¯s energy. He would later be able to feel it and inspect it to try to advance his own cultivation more quickly, which he needed to do. If he didn¡¯t reach the seventh level within the next month, his chances of winning the duel were very low. Though he had no weapon, Fortkran was not without the ability to defend himself. In some ways, it was easier to move without a weapon, because his spiritual energy moved throughout his own body much more easily than on a weapon. He used his energy to slap away the whip as it came towards him, then grabbed onto another section, yanking on it. Even as it twisted out of his grasp, he kept control over it for a brief section with what he had learned from using Gravity Blade. Then he was struck by the whip. His energy shook, nearly breaking. It could have been broken, but this was for training. He wasn¡¯t supposed to be truly injured¡­ but if he didn¡¯t do his best, he would indeed end up hurt. As the familiar energy struck him again, he tried to direct it around his body instead of letting it concentrate in a single point. His success varied, but he kept his feet long enough to step forward and attempt an elbow strike. Wisps of darkness rose around him in front of his father¡¯s eyes, but they didn¡¯t successfully obscure his vision. Why would it? He had the same blessing of the family¡¯s guardian beast and could see through darkness¡­ especially that of someone much weaker. Fortkran still tried though. He had to be able to change something such that it would work. This time, it just ended up with him completely wrapped up by a whip, slowly getting crushed. He gritted his teeth, resisting the pressure as long as he could. His bones creaked and his energy trembled throughout him, flowing out from his dantian into his meridians until he was run dry. Right before everything fell apart, he spoke. ¡°I surrender.¡± His father nodded, and the whip loosened. ¡°That is¡­ enough for now. Continue your cultivation. Remember that you absolutely cannot lose this duel.¡± He nodded. His life might not be on the line¡­ but that didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t an important part of his future in jeopardy. If he didn¡¯t show enough improvement, his family might be willing to dispose of him like their previous son. He hoped they would be more sympathetic than that, and the original Fortkran had truly crossed the line too many times¡­ but it was a bit hard to fit in with his new family. Chapter 14 It was late when John got home. It always was, after he had taken the manager position. He went in early and came home late. He hadn¡¯t really noticed, but that was the same as Humberto had done. It was also a lot more work than it seemed each hour, and with more of them¡­ John sighed. At least the pay was good enough. He needed every bit he could get. They were barely staying on top of bills as it was. Kyle was still awake, sitting in front of the television. ¡°I noticed you didn¡¯t show up for work again today,¡± John started. ¡°I can¡¯t pay you if you don¡¯t show up¡­ and honestly with your inconsistency, I would have fired you if you were anyone else. Do you know how hard it is to get someone to fill in a shift without notice?¡± Kyle looked over at him from the couch. ¡°Sorry. Flipping burgers isn¡¯t exactly my idea of a dream job.¡± ¡°No shit,¡± John snapped. ¡°Do you think I wanted to drop out of college and flip burgers myself? While you guys are staying here, the least you could do is show up to work instead of staying home watching television all day.¡± ¡°...Sorry,¡± Kyle turned off the TV and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to show up on time for my shifts¡­¡± ¡°Good.¡± John watched as Kyle walked away. He sighed. Somehow, he¡¯d forgotten to eat even though he worked with food all day. Maybe he¡¯d have cereal. He grabbed a bowl, half filled it with cereal before the box ran out, and poured the last bit of milk that was even less sufficient than the amount of cereal. He sat down heavily at the table, shoveling the food into his mouth. As he sat he noticed the newspaper splayed out all over the table. They didn¡¯t have a paper delivered, but there were still places to get them. There were several papers, actually, all opened. Parts of them were circled. Jobs as a handyman, electrical engineer, IT, anything that vaguely fit Kyle¡¯s skills. Any would pay better than working at Brad¡¯s Burgers. However, the number of them that were x¡¯d out indicated that there hadn¡¯t been any success. John glanced over at the couch, where he imagined the old laptop also had job search sites open. Having found out he was at least partly wrong to yell at his cousin didn¡¯t make him any less angry¡­ just less sure where to direct it. ----- He breathed out, slowly, his breath a smoking cloud of darkness. It had been unsettling to see that when it first started happening, but now it was normal. John, for he was John even if he had to deal with Fortkran¡¯s problems, found that old memories often resurfaced when he was cultivating. It threw him off until he dealt with them somehow. Now that he could actually do anything now, but he could at least consider things from a more removed perspective. Things had been pretty bad sometimes, but at least they¡¯d held on. Right now, he had something more frustrating to deal with. His life was probably not at risk, but he had problems the former owner of his body had left behind. He doubted this would be the only one to resurface, just the first. ----- It was easier to really attack Brage when John imagined he was swinging at Fortkran. That was who was responsible for the whole mess, after all. Not himself, and not Kyros. Kyros was probably in the right with the whole thing, but it wasn¡¯t possible to just let him have his way. While they used different weapons, Brage was still the best opponent for John to fight against considering the elemental types. He wasn¡¯t as overwhelming as Gerben Tenebach, which was surprising considering he was still in the next phase, a full five levels ahead. That didn¡¯t mean it was easy, but at least he felt like he had the slightest bit of a chance to land a blow. He knew channeling his anger into attacks wasn¡¯t productive, but it was better to do it in a safe environment than lose his head in the actual duel. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. By now, Brage¡¯s sword bounding off of the ground at him was nothing new. He dodged the initial attack and the rebound, stepping in when Brage overswung backwards. His sword slashed along his ribs, only barely cutting through the man¡¯s defensive energy¡­ and then Brage¡¯s larger sword was slicing down at him at terrifying speeds. Only a hurried execution of Hidden Steps allowed him to dodge out of the way, but the shockwave as the attack hit the ground still knocked him off his feet. ¡°Not bad, young master,¡± Brage held out his hand to lift John up, ¡°But that was a false opening.¡± John sighed, ¡°Your sword repelled off the ground behind you too¡­ no wonder you overswung so much.¡± He took the hand and stood up. ¡°I thought I had you.¡± ¡°To be fair¡­ you almost did. You recognized the opening and took it immediately. If you had been slower it would have been dangerous, but at that speed you could have turned my feint into a real opening. You just needed a bit more behind your weapon.¡± John cracked his neck. ¡°My swordsmanship isn¡¯t quite there yet. My best hope is my cultivation. I should be able to break through to seventh level in time.¡± ¡°Good. That won¡¯t make you safe, but it will certainly help.¡± ----- For the rest of the month, he cultivated and sparred, mostly against Brage. He learned that when fighting a stronger opponent, it wasn¡¯t possible to just hope to match them and wear them down. He needed decisive blows, without leaving himself open. He wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d done with that, but his secondary objective had gone well. He¡¯d broken through to the seventh level¡­ and perhaps equally importantly he had much more practice absorbing earth energy. Brage had to have noticed him doing it by now, but he hadn¡¯t commented. Then again, what was he going to say about the young master¡¯s cultivation choices? His parents and grandfather were more qualified to speak to him there. It felt like cheating to show up to the match with new armor and a sword from the family¡¯s vault. However, he¡¯d had enough of being poor in his previous life. He might as well take advantage of the wealth he had now while he could. Beating down someone less fortunate than him who was probably justified wasn¡¯t exactly something he wanted to do¡­ but to even make that a consideration, he had to actually win. Besides, he wasn¡¯t planning to kill the man. Kyros stood across from him, wielding an axe in one hand and a shield in the other. In general earth cultivators liked big, weighty weapons. They fit their attributes well, but John hoped he could take advantage of those particular attributes. The arena¡¯s referee announced the two participants. ¡°Kyros Tomasson brings grievances against Fortkran Tenebach, which shall be settled by this duel. Begin!¡± John moved quickly. He wasn¡¯t really Fortkran. He just needed to keep his family¡¯s honor intact, and he preferred not to be injured as well. He hoped to catch Kyros flat footed, but his sword was blocked by the shield. He moved around to that side to avoid the axe swinging in retaliation, and began to look for openings. Kyros was eighth level, near the peak of the Spiritual Collection Phase. John was just one step behind him, but his spiritual totem was of the first level. It was growing, but it certainly couldn¡¯t match a second tier totem yet. Kyros had at least that- perhaps a third tier totem. John found Kyros to be much less skilled than Brage. That was obviously going to be the case, but the fact that he was being seriously attacked instead of taught made up for some of it. He parried attacks that came too close, siphoning as much extra energy as he could. He had it in mind to take an earth elemental spiritual totem at the Foundation Phase, for his next step in his optimistic cycle of elements. He didn¡¯t have an affinity for it yet, but he¡¯d gotten used to it. He could slip a little bit of it into his attacks to provide extra momentum or around his feet for more stability. He didn¡¯t know what Kyros¡¯ spiritual totem was. He couldn¡¯t discern a special feature, which might have meant it was just for basic empowerment. Hopefully that was the case. He continued stepping around Kyros, whose feet remained relatively still. It wasn¡¯t a disadvantage for him, however, but merely part of his style. He turned as necessary to face the man he thought was Fortkran, each swing of his axe coming uncomfortably close. Then one went slightly wide. Unlike with Brage, the attack wasn¡¯t vertical- there was no earth to reflect off of, and that meant reversing the momentum would take the full effort expected. He slapped the axe even further wide with a quick application of Gravity Blade, his sword pushing back towards Kyros. His neck was open, but John aimed for his shoulder instead. He cut through the armor¡­ and the tip of his sword sunk into flesh before clanking against bone¡­ not nearly as deep as he had imagined. So that was it. Stone Bones. One of the most basic but still quite effective spiritual totems of the second layer. It wouldn¡¯t mean a literal transformation of Kyros¡¯ bones into rock, but they would be extremely sturdy¡­ and it came with a general toughness improvement. Enough that the man didn¡¯t seem to mind pushing against his sword to try to tackle him to the ground. He should have gone for the neck. Chapter 15 As Kyros rushed towards John, he tried to keep his sword pressing into the shoulder as the somewhat larger man jumped on him. His sword sliced along the bone, but it didn¡¯t deter the man, unable to cut through them. If John had been willing to potentially kill he might have been able to cut deep enough into his neck to bring him down, but he couldn¡¯t give up his old world morals just yet. It didn¡¯t help that Fortkran had been in the wrong, though he wasn¡¯t sure the actions deserved such brutality. Kyros¡¯ axe came down right next to John¡¯s head. It would have been through his head, but he found himself to be extra flexible when he needed to be. Even so, he was now pinned underneath the man, and the axe in the ground prevented him from dodging in that direction. A fist the size of a shotput slammed down into his face. His nose shattered and the back of his head felt like it cracked. Darkness spiritual energy kept his head from being crushed, but he was seeing stars¡­ and he was fairly certain it wasn¡¯t night yet. His eyes didn¡¯t do much good at the moment, but he felt the other hand grab him by the neck and then the same fist come crashing down towards him again. Somehow, he wasn¡¯t worried about dying- though it was a possibility. Instead, he was using it as a learning opportunity. He couldn¡¯t move, and darkness wasn¡¯t right to resist a direct attack. He needed something else¡­ and the only other element he had access to was earth. Quite a lot of it, directly above him. He pulled as much energy out of Kyros as he could, solidifying it all around his head. Having a single target to focus all his defenses on was extremely useful. The telegraphed attacks helped, and when the fist contacted his head he heard a snapping sound. Was it his head, or the fist? Ah, right, the Stone Bones totem. He could replicate the energy, but not that. At least his nose hadn¡¯t been shoved back into his head, and his skull remained three dimensional for the most part. Kyros gathered more energy on his fist, and as it began to come down towards him John changed tactics. He didn¡¯t have time to surrender or anything, and he really didn¡¯t want to. If he died after a month or two of this new life¡­ so what? He was barely invested in it so far. He¡¯d tried, but so far¡­ he just wanted to be strong. And that meant trying to win, not survive. His leg came up between the legs of the man on top of him. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was an honorable move, but he doubted that pummeling a man on his back was honorable¡­ or any fighting. The area he hit distinctly didn¡¯t have any bones, and the disruption slowed Kyros for a moment due to the pain. His fist merely scraped by John¡¯s face, scraping skin with the speed it possessed and leaving a trail of blood. He could have probably crippled Kyros, but he was burdened with a bit of sympathy for him. He pushed himself away as Kyros¡¯ weight lifted slightly, rolling to his feet. He couldn¡¯t reach his sword, but the axe was there. He pulled on the handle facing away from himself, but found it stuck. He grunted with frustration, and channeled more of the earth elemental spiritual energy he had stolen, forcing the ground to push it out. Kyros was just getting to his feet when John gathered all of his remaining energy in a wide swing, chopping directly into the man¡¯s ribs. To his credit, Stone Bones prevented him from being chopped in half. John was counting on it. With the direct hit he still had a huge gash on his side, and the axe cut halfway through several ribs. John pulled back, barely able to see, wondering if the match would be called against him. He was out of energy, after all¡­ and he needed more of his own to steal anything from Kyros. A moment later there was an announcement. He could hear it happening, but he wasn¡¯t sure what it was. His ears were ringing, blood was streaming from his nose, he saw stars¡­ and he could barely stand. A few moments later he felt a hand on his arm. His father, maybe? Then he was taken away. Somehow he remained semi-conscious until he arrived at the medic, who put him out with a faint push of water elemental spiritual energy, a nice refreshing splash of cool and then nothingness. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ----- Two weeks later, John looked at himself in the mirror. It was obvious his nose had been broken, but it had healed up very well. Cultivator medicines and all that. He¡¯d also stopped bleeding from his nose, which was good because it was hard to be dignified with blood streaming all over you. His family hadn¡¯t said anything about the duel, except that he had won¡­ somehow. Kyros was alive- and would probably recover on his own. John was glad about that, because he hadn¡¯t really deserved anything. Fortkran was the one who deserved it¡­ but he was dead. He just hoped the additional problems from his past were few and far between. The biggest effect from the match was actually inside John. Down inside his dantian where the Seed of Darkness lived¡­ he found it to be quite a bit more than a seed. It wasn¡¯t a massive tree or anything¡­ but there were clearly discernible ¡®leaves¡¯ and ¡®roots¡¯. Still much before a real sapling, but something special indeed. The roots sucked up any spiritual energy that entered his dantian, before a refined version was squeezed out like sap. It was still darkness, but there were traces of earth in it. That just further solidified his choice for his next totem. He still had to get there, though. Fighting so seriously against an eighth level Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator had propelled his own cultivation forward, but he still had some way to go before reaching eighth level himself. That would take time and dedicated cultivation, but he felt confident in the process. Where he was less confident was the other things he was responsible for now. The Tenebach family had some spirit stone mines, though they weren¡¯t particularly dense. The spirit stones were quite valuable as gems, or usable as a source of spiritual energy for cultivation. There was a certain amount they could speed up cultivation by drawing upon their energy, and so both cultivators and non-cultivators liked them for different reasons. After the duel, John was placed in charge of one of them. It wasn¡¯t as if he had to work as a miner. In fact, the job could have been entirely ornamental. There was already a manager there, and the mine was doing fine. However, he felt it was his job to make sure it produced as much as it could. He¡¯d done a small tour of the mine, but hadn¡¯t really seen anything that could be improved. He was planning to visit again, now that he had healed up more. Maybe he¡¯d notice something that his fatigued self hadn¡¯t. Or maybe he¡¯d just profit off of not doing anything at all, but he felt like his parents didn¡¯t want that. ----- Edgar was a large man who managed several of the mines in the Tenebach family. He had once been a miner himself before he worked his way up to being properly the foreman. For the moment, Fortkran- and that was who he had to be at the moment, working for his family- was trying to assure him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The production has been going fine. We just thought that a different perspective might give us some enlightenment about the mines. This one is new, after all.¡± Edgar nodded. He was a gruff man, but he wouldn¡¯t dare be impolite to the young master of the Tenebach family¡­ and Fortkran didn¡¯t intend to give him a reason to. ¡°Very well. Feel free to tour the outside. If you want to go in, don¡¯t go past the first branch without me.¡± Fortkran nodded. The spirit stone mine was probably stable, but nothing was perfect. Free spiritual energy could mess with even seemingly stable mines. The workers were all cultivators, and they could survive a minor collapse, but it was still dangerous even for those who knew what they were doing. That said, the conditions at the Tenebach mines were apparently better than elsewhere. Some places just wanted to dig things out as quickly as possible without concern for the workers. The pay was high enough some people would still do it. Fortkran looked over the ore coming out of the mine. While in some places the spirit stones were peeking out, there was a small refinery nearby that would chip away at the rock, occasionally melting it off as necessary. Spirit stones were tougher than normal rock, so there was little chance of damaging it in either case. Still, it was more efficient to refine somewhat locally and not carry extra tons of rock far away. There was still nothing Fortkran had noticed could be improved after a day, but that would be far too quick. Maybe there wouldn¡¯t be anything at all, except some financial documents he had to look over. Did he need to try to improve the supply chain? Humberto had managed that stuff for Brad¡¯s Burgers, picking the suppliers even when John ran the first store. He could take his time. For the moment he planned to cultivate. He found himself gravitating towards the castoff pieces of ore and the remnant spiritual energy there. The mines themselves had more, but cultivating inside destabilized things more. As for the tailings, they were much less active than the spirit stones and not in danger of collapsing a cave. It wasn¡¯t that much more than the ambient energy¡­ but perhaps¡­ there was something to make of it. It was too heavy to transport, but he might be able to do more than just personally cultivate with it. Chapter 16 Cultivation usually made John¡¯s thoughts drift to his past life. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but when his mind was focused just on the spiritual energy around him, his less conscious parts drifted into memory. John¡¯s mind focused on the spiritual energy around him. In spirit stone mines, it condensed into rock- and thus would be heavily earth attributed. As an allied element, it was quite simple for him to convert it into darkness, but he wanted to keep it in its natural form as long as possible. It would inevitably be transformed by the seed of darkness, but before that he could have the experience of refining and controlling earth elemental spiritual energy himself. He would need that experience when he reached the Foundation Phase and got his second spiritual totem, if everything went according to plan. Just like darkness, earth had its positives and negatives. It was solid and durable, but likewise stiff and difficult to change. Loose dirt lost the properties of rock, its solidity, but it gained moldability. That was the sort of earth that plants would grow out of, given proper care. That included water, air, and sunlight¡­ in most cases. He thought the seed of darkness would be much the same. At least it seemed to like varied elements for it to absorb, though he wasn¡¯t sure if light of any form would be beneficial to it. Eventually, he completed a number of circulations of his cultivation. He continued until he was pleasantly fatigued, the point after which his cultivation would require more effort for less return. John stood up from the tailings. It hadn¡¯t been a dignified place to cultivate, but it was useful. It was being wasted anyway, if unused. He still had no idea if they could make use of them for others¡­ perhaps the workers might cultivate in the tailings to become stronger, though it wouldn¡¯t support many people. John toured the mines once again, going deeper with Edgar. He still didn¡¯t know what he was looking for, but it had to be something. His new family wouldn¡¯t be wasting his time, would they? If he was strictly supposed to be ornamental, they would have hopefully said so. Fortkran of the past might have taken the opportunity to do little, but they knew he was different. Yet they also had to know the mines were operating well under Edgar¡¯s management. Was there something specific they expected him to figure out? Almost everything was being used to its fullest potential. The tunnels were efficiently laid out and sufficiently safe. Workers didn¡¯t have long periods of standing around waiting for others, always having something to do. They also got breaks to recover themselves, which John knew was an important part of work. It might seem more efficient for workers to go all day, but each hour gained wasn¡¯t a real hour of work. In fact, each hour of work would be less productive, resulting in a net loss past a certain point. This wasn¡¯t even a conscious decision by workers, though frustration could add on top of physical fatigue and make them conspire to only appear to be working. Unlike at Brad¡¯s Burgers, the mine didn¡¯t have a limited amount of work to do each day. A fast food restaurant would serve all the customers it had to and deal with any inventory that needed handling, but working longer hours didn¡¯t bring new customers. Sometimes more labor was needed in a single period, but that required more workers and not longer hours. A mine just had continuous work until it was fully mined out¡­ but that also meant that consistency was more important than speed. Mistakes and injuries meant time and resources dealing with that- even if they were the careless sort of mine that didn¡¯t care about their workers at all, they had to hire someone new. The Tenebach family¡¯s mine was perhaps worse working conditions than many places on earth, but better conditions than most of Marble County. With the workers being cultivators, they could handle the difficulty well enough. John couldn¡¯t see that an extra five minutes of break or anything else similar would make any sizable difference. Was there something more? Were they missing patches of spirit stones? John did his best to sense the area around the mine. Dense spiritual energy permeated the area, both the cause and effect of the spiritual stones. There were indeed some traces of spirit stones left in the walls, but he could only sense them deep in, small amounts not worth the cost to extract. They might eventually grow, but in that case leaving seed stones behind was better. Something kept tickling at the back of his mind, but he couldn¡¯t figure it out. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. He returned home. His new home was much bigger, and while it grew more like home every day¡­ it wasn¡¯t yet really his home. Moving from one house to another without any warning was quite a shift. John sought out the library. ¡°Good evening, Dionsio.¡± ¡°Good evening, young master Fortkran.¡± Dionsio bowed his head. ¡°What brings you here today? A new combat technique perhaps?¡± John shook his head. ¡°Not this time. Though now that you bring it up, I should learn more. First, though, I have to learn more about spiritual stones. Where might I find books on the subject?¡± ¡°Follow me, young master, and I will show you.¡± Dionsio led him through the library, straight to shelves with related material. He pulled down a few books. ¡°I think these might be the best, though depending on what exactly you¡¯re looking for¡­¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John looked over them. One was simply titled ¡®Spirit Stones¡¯. Another was titled ¡®Earthen Treasures¡±, and a third was ¡®Condensed Spiritual Energy¡¯. ¡°I¡¯ll look through these and return them later.¡± ----- Reading was faster now that John was a cultivator. His brain had to work faster to react to attacks, so it made sense it could parse words more quickly. His eyes wouldn¡¯t hold him back, and his thoughts were faster, though it was hard to say how much exactly. He hadn¡¯t measured calculation speed before he started cultivating, but he knew answers came to him faster. Cultivation manuals were usually quite dense, so they took just as long to read through as books he was used to, but merely speaking about spirit stones in general terms wasn¡¯t so hard to read. Spirit stones were exactly as they said. Stones made from condensed spiritual energy. Specifically, that of the earth element. That was the most abundant energy in the Stone Conglomerate, so of course spirit stone mines were the most frequent and most potent. Earthen Treasures didn¡¯t have anything useful to say on the subject, though its information was something John thought he would go back to for other reasons. Condensed Spiritual Energy, however, connected to that thought John couldn¡¯t shake and also couldn¡¯t express. Spirit stones were condensed earth elemental spiritual energy. However, they weren¡¯t the only thing of the sort. There was also spirit air, fire, water¡­ and extremely rarely, light and darkness. None of the others condensed into nice little rocks, but of course they didn¡¯t. Earth was rocks. Water was next easiest to identify and transport. Air required special techniques to bottle, and fire required extremely durable containers. Any of the condensed forms of spiritual energy could also be produced by cultivators, if they gathered enough and chose to condense it into a more physical form. It wasn¡¯t an efficient use of their efforts, because they could have directly used it for cultivating¡­ but a few people used the method to make money. Then again, condensed spiritual elements could work almost directly like money, except for the fact that judging their exact value was more difficult. It wasn¡¯t like every spirit stone was exactly the same size and quality. Produced ones could be consistent, but even then as the cultivator grew more skilled and powerful they might change. There was actually the technique to produce condensed spirit elements in the book. Not something John was interested in learning immediately...but at some point might want to use it. However, the most important part was it sparked his mind. The air in the mines had been quite¡­ heavy. The entire energy was suffused with spiritual energy¡­ he could have easily overlooked the details of the air. Perhaps in some places, condensed air was being gathered? Apparently it would be small bubbles perhaps two finger widths across, remaining in coherent form for the most part. Yet it could easily be batted to the side and fall apart into more spread out energy. Had there also been a few pools of water? He wasn¡¯t sure about that, but John felt the hands of his grandfather. He knew that John planned a cycle of elements. Since he wanted to cycle through a conquering path, air would be third on the list. Perhaps his grandfather had visited the mine and sensed it¡­ then thought it would be a good opportunity. Now if he could just determine if there was actually any of it, and if they could reasonably gather it, he might actually get some results. Chapter 17 Elsewhere in the world, special powders made to detect the presence of condensed spiritual air were commonly available. In the Earth Conglomerate, air elemental spiritual energy was rarer and thus rarely formed into dense clumps¡­ and nobody had need for it. Thus, there were few ways to detect it. John could use his own spiritual energy to try to detect it, but if he disturbed it he might cause it to disperse. Darkness was one of the opposition elements to air, after all, so their reactions were prone to be violent. That could be related to why cultivation inside the mine might cause collapses as well. So instead of a special powder purposefully made¡­ John was carrying a sack of flour. He would blow it into a tunnel or chamber, watching how it swirled around- or if it just settled to the ground directly. He wasn¡¯t sure if it would work, but it wasn¡¯t as if a sack of flour was costly. Edgar might think he was crazy, but he said nothing as he escorted John through the tunnels. After several hours, John was about ready to give up. Maybe it was crazy to think there would be condensed spiritual air in a spirit stone mine. It was probably more crazy to try to use flour to discover where it was. Storing it in glass bottles was also a bit silly, but he really had no other ideas. He blew the last handful of flour into a room, ready to turn and leave in a huff. Somehow it felt more appropriate than honest disappointment. Maybe that was Fortkran seeping into him, or maybe he just took his new status too seriously. Then the fine powder swirled strangely in one patch of air. John¡¯s eyes could see quite well in the darkness, and the flour mostly avoided a section. John stepped closer, pulling out a bottle. If that was what he was looking for, how would he get it in? He would just have to try something. He formed a thin net, sweeping it through the air. He hoped it would repel the condensed spiritual air without dispersing it. Up close, he could barely sense anything¡­ but something ended up in his bottle. John corked it, looking inside with his eyes. There was some flour, but a few gentle shakes showed there was something more than just normal air inside. If he squinted, he thought he could see the light bending slightly around a sort of bubble. ----- Over the next few days, John managed to capture several more bubbles of condensed air. As long as he got them in a bottle, they weren¡¯t in significant danger of dispersing as long as he handled the bottle gently. Even when the condensed air lost its form, it just tried to escape the bottle and would eventually reform, except when it expanded too forcefully and cracked the bottle. Deeper in the mines, at the bottom of particular mineshafts, there were also pools of water. Most of it was just that- regular old stagnant mine water. However, some of it was condensed by the powerful spiritual energy in the area. To John¡¯s benefit, it reacted much more nicely with his darkness element, happily letting him scoop up the little beads which wobbled like jello. He started to gather them into bottles, and eventually ended up with at least ten times as many bottles of water beads compared to the condensed air. It wasn¡¯t enough to make a business out of, but spirit water was at least something sought after in the area. With his current plans¡­ he wouldn¡¯t be attempting to attune to a water elemental totem until he was more powerful than his grandfather. Water would be the fourth step in the cycle of elements, and he would get his fourth totem at the Consolidated Soul Phase. That was extremely far off¡­ even if everything went relatively smoothly. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to study some, however. ----- Handling spiritual air was quite difficult. Even contained inside a bottle it pulled away from John¡¯s darkness, sometimes unraveling or reacting with his energy so that both were destroyed. The effect was even stronger when he tried to use a bit of earth, though he did manage to seal a bubble of spiritual air within a rocky shell. It wasn¡¯t useful for anything, but he had done it. It was likely to explode at any time, though. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Controlling the earth itself was hard enough. It was an allied element, but his nature wanted to convert it to darkness instead of using it as it was. The blessing of the family¡¯s guardian beast was responsible for his darkness affinity, though the Tenebach family bloodline was also attuned to it naturally. It was just less powerful at first, receiving a boost that helped begin cultivation. If he was going to cultivate earth next, he needed something like that. At least, if he didn¡¯t want to struggle through the first half of Foundation Phase. ¡®Earthen Treasures¡¯ had some things to say on that subject, and John had been browsing for what might be most available in the area. The Earth Conglomerate had such things in abundance, but the quality and expense of them varied drastically. The Tenebach family wasn¡¯t without money, but there was a limit to how much they could spend on his cultivation. They had other things to manage, after all. It might be best to find one himself. It seemed likely that staying around the clan all the time would stagnate him eventually. He could probably reach the peak of the Spiritual Collection Phase ¡®again¡¯, but going beyond that could require some experience, luck, or treasures. The more he had, the better his chances. Before he went off adventuring, however, he needed to finish his job with the mine. ----- Deep, deep in the mines the air was foul and the light of even a lantern hadn¡¯t been seen in years. Edgar would have needed one, but John made him stay further away. He could filter the air going into his lungs, and he didn¡¯t need a torch at all. He could see quite well in the dark, and he wanted it to be exactly that way. The old unused area of the mine were indeed more dangerous to traverse, but John was now an eighth level Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator. At the very least, he was far beyond the capabilities of a normal person. As long as he kept his own spiritual energy internal and didn¡¯t stir up the abundant energy throughout the mine, he could avoid any hazard that would come to him. It was only his supposition that there might be condensed spiritual darkness in the depths of the mine. He hadn¡¯t seen any indication during their tours¡­ but that was why he was in old sections. Torches created light, and even though the light of a torch was very weak indeed light was the opposite of darkness. It was prone to extreme reactions in the presence of the other¡­ and the book ¡®Condensed Spiritual Energy¡¯ indicated that it would need time to build up. Months or years, probably. Any well-trafficked areas would not have any. But with even spiritual air being present, darkness wasn¡¯t unlikely. John could indeed sense that the spiritual energy in the area was highly concentrated with both earth and darkness. Darkness was certainly a lesser component, but it would do well with the surrounding earth. John continued deeper, watching his footing on now-uneven ground that had been pitted by flows of water or just never properly smoothed to begin with. Mine tunnels gave way to a natural cave, and two steps inside a clump of darkness came swooping down towards John. He was used to far corners being dark, so he hadn¡¯t immediately notice the clump up towards the ceiling, despite its contrast with the surroundings. When it flew towards him, shrieking, he reacted with a punch. The spiritual energy around the bat dispersed enough for him to discern that was indeed what it was, but it wasn¡¯t a small creature. Its wingspan was as wide as he was tall, and the energy it carried protected itself from his counter, though he knocked it back. He hadn¡¯t expected to need his sword in the mines, but he carried it at his side regardless. As the bat swooped towards him once more, he concentrated his energy onto the blade. Though the bat had some power, it was likely just a fifth level spiritual beast, equivalent to a cultivator of the same level of the Spiritual Collection Phase. Perhaps a bit more powerful, but as a beast it was less able to make good use of that power. As his sword struck the bat he felt significant resistance for a moment before his sword sliced it in two. If he¡¯d been at the fifth level as well he would have lost that competition, but then he wouldn¡¯t have chosen to fight directly. The beast¡¯s corpse might be worth something¡­ though the spiritual energy it controlled had already started dispersing. It didn¡¯t seem as if it would retain anything like some would. Looking around the cave, there were no other beasts¡­ but there was another patch of darkness. It was much smaller, perhaps two hands across. John couldn¡¯t see through it at all despite his affinity for the darkness. Perhaps that was just what he was looking for. He moved closer cautiously, not wanting to miss any other hidden creatures or other sorts of danger. Chapter 18 The sphere of darkness almost flickered like a torch, the area it was making impossible to see bending and waving. John approached cautiously, not wanting to disturb it too much. He didn¡¯t have any containers specially made for it, but he was fairly certain from his readings it just needed to be kept out of the light. He gently reached out with his hand and curled his fingers around it. It felt like¡­ nothing at all. Yet it moved with his claw grip, and he was able to stow it in a small box he was carrying. John wrapped some of his own darkness energy around the box to keep out any stray light. He wondered if there might be more condensed darkness in the depths of the mines. He kept searching, watching for any hidden bats or other creatures. He saw several, but he moved slowly past and they didn¡¯t bother him. He didn¡¯t really want to fight anyway. In the end, he found two more patches of condensed darkness. He gingerly stowed those away and returned to meet a relieved Edgar. It was John¡¯s own decision to go off into the darkness, but that didn¡¯t mean Edgar was comfortable with the young master going off alone. It was strange being important¡­ and even more so when he felt like he didn¡¯t deserve any of it. ----- In the end, there wasn¡¯t much to be done for the efficiency of the mine. However, Fortkran Tenebach presented his findings to his family. The family would sell the spiritual air and water, but allowed him to keep to condensed spiritual darkness to aid his own cultivation. Perhaps that was what they had wanted to begin with¡­ as well as being able to show that he could do something. There were a lot of things from the old Fortkran that needed to be recovered from. ----- It was possible to cut off all light from outside his own personal training room. John now understood why that might be important. After closing himself off he carefully took out one of the boxes with condensed spiritual darkness energy in it. He carefully pulled out the seemingly insubstantial substance, holding it between his hands close to his body. He concentrated on it, pulling its energy into himself one strand at a time. It was much more pure darkness than any of the free spiritual energy, and he found it much easier to absorb. The Seed of Darkness inside of him greedily drank up its power, releasing only a small portion for his own use. However, John felt it growing more powerful. The condensed spiritual energy seemed endless, but it gradually faded. Even so, his cultivation had advanced significantly in the past few hours. He could do that at least once more, and perhaps even break into the ninth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase. As the spiritual energy poured into him through his meridians, he felt the effects it was having on him inside and out. His body grew stronger bit by bit- nearly inconsequential, but useful when added to his ability to control spiritual energy. His core of power in his dantian expanded and grew, the Seed of Darkness¡¯ leaves and roots growing more pronounced. As he absorbed the last traces of energy from the second condensed spiritual darkness, he felt a ripple through himself as the Seed finally became a full sapling. John was certain it was now fully a second tier spiritual totem¡­ still not worth much for someone from a cultivation family, but he was hoping his path might become something more in the future. ----- Soon enough he found himself speaking to his parents and grandfather. ¡°I request an opportunity to go out into the world to temper myself. The previous time that ¡®I¡¯ attempted to break through to Foundation Phase I was unprepared. Now I have a more difficult path ahead of me, and I want to be ready. In addition to that, I believe I will need a proper earth elemental treasure to propel my advancement.¡± His father Gerben Tenebach inclined his head. ¡°We appreciate you taking the initiative in this matter. While it might be better if you were able to reach Foundation Phase here, if your path of cultivation would be best served by this we will support you.¡± He turned to Luctus, Fortkran¡¯s grandfather. ¡°Indeed. Of course, we will not send you out empty handed. Some fortuitous encounters are found in the wilds, while some in cities. We shall send one of your uncles with you as a guardian, as well as provide you with sufficient funds to attempt to purchase something of benefit to you. An auction is coming up in Marble City. Perhaps you shall find something there. If not, the city will be able to direct you to opportunities.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Fortkran inclined his head, ¡°Thank you, Grandfather. I will be certain to act in a way that will bring honor to our family.¡± Sometimes, it was good to mention that he was a different person, in more ways than one. He might not have been as interested in honor as this current society, but nobody wanted a screwup in the family. ----- Marble City was the capital of Marble County, as its name might make clear. There were probably many other towns named similarly, but everyone in the area knew what was meant when Marble City was mentioned. John had memories of visiting before, but he hadn¡¯t properly taken in the sights. While he¡¯d seen bigger buildings on Earth, he wasn¡¯t sure if they were more impressive. There were grand buildings and even palaces where members of the most powerful cultivation families throughout the Stone Conglomerate might stay- or at least visit. The Tenebach clan was one of the larger forces in the county, but in the entire country they were only considered somewhere around the upper middle. There was a small estate in the city, but since they didn¡¯t live far it was pointless to have more when they could just return to their own lands. A small estate, of course, was still more luxurious than most of what John had experienced on Earth. The former Fortkran had grown used to the luxury, but John was determined not to take it for granted. He still had a few days until the auction which he would spend cultivating peacefully. He didn¡¯t bring any retainers, though the estate had its own servants. His guard was his uncle Aydan, a man past the middle of the Foundation Phase. He was two levels behind Gerben and Caelia, and was unlikely to reach Soul Expansion Phase without significant expenditure of resources. It was still possible, because he was still young enough, but he was a steady cultivator unlikely to experience any sudden change. If he hadn¡¯t been part of the Tenebach family and received the guardian beast¡¯s blessing, he might have done similarly well as an earth element cultivator. ----- John knew that technically he had two purposes for showing up at the auction. Coming without his parents meant that he was being given some free reign of his own- though people would likely assume his uncle was still there to restrict his movements. Perhaps he was, but John was also supposed to buy something at the auction. Or at least bid on enough things. Demonstrating that the Tenebach family had money to spend and more importantly would let him spend it was a reminder that he existed and was still the heir, despite his failure to advance to Foundation Phase. He really hoped he would find something useful. All of the likely popular items for the auction had been announced ahead of time to drive up interest. Most of them weren¡¯t that useful to him. It was unlikely he would find an affordable weapon or armor that was better than what the clan could provide. There were a few earth elemental treasures suitable for Foundation Phase experts, but winning a bid with one of them would be difficult. A treasure could provide him with abundant energy and perhaps some insights into the earth element that would help with a breakthrough to Foundation Phase and securing the spiritual totem he wanted, but he didn¡¯t need one so powerful. However, though they were generally more common in the area they were also in high demand. Perhaps there would be some less powerful ones that weren¡¯t listed that he could bid on. The announcer for the auctions was an attractive woman. John understood why, because those tactics had been quite effective on the former Fortkran. Maybe he wasn¡¯t completely immune now, but he was at least responsible enough to bid properly on things he actually wanted or needed. The first earth treasure came up, and John threw in a token bid near the beginning. It was the core of a giant rock creature that had been destroyed by a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator¡­ and soon its price skyrocketed to five times the starting bid, and similarly approximately that much of John¡¯s budget. Following that were a number of trinkets that weren¡¯t particularly useful or were instead overpriced. ¡°As a special event,¡± the woman on stage paused dramatically, ¡°This year we have a special opportunity for the lucky visitors today. We have six slots to the Great Crystal Caverns, which will open once again this year. We would have loved to advertise this, but the keepers of the caverns- known as the Order of the Amber Heart- are adamant that only those who are fated should be given the opportunity to receive the slots.¡± John grinned inside. His grandfather had probably heard about this, and likely many others. Still, that explained the amounts he¡¯d been provided. Presumably, it would be best to buy two slots¡­ which meant going toe to toe with some of the other families. The Crystal Caverns were a great series of ancient earth mines which constantly produced Spiritual Stones and earth element treasures. Well, constantly in the way they only opened up every decade or two¡­ but it was one of the great features of Marble County- maybe even the whole of the Stone Conglomerate. John prepared himself for bidding¡­ wondering what his strategy should be. Chapter 19 It was fortunate that Fortkran had liked to win bids but didn¡¯t like to spend more than he had to. Thus, there were some pretty good memories to work from. Now all John had to do was consciously execute a plan based on them. This was one of his first public appearances in his new life, and while he wouldn¡¯t directly interact with everyone he knew they would be watching him. Somehow, that made the whole thing almost as nerve wracking as a fight to the death. Yet treating it like a battle allowed him to apply a certain vigor to it. He scanned the crowd, taking in his opponents. This was a free-for-all, but he didn¡¯t have to worry about being swamped by lesser opponents. Only the strongest mattered. At least Fortkran¡¯s memory wasn¡¯t so faulty as to miss out on members of rival clans. Gastone Boyce was more than a year younger than Fortkran and from a rival clan in the area. They would certainly be interested in securing slots to the opening of the Great Crystal Caverns as earth cultivators. It wouldn¡¯t be so hard to secure just one¡­ but John needed two. It would be a huge risk going without a guardian, since in the depths of the caverns if he got in a conflict he could disappear and nobody would be able to point fingers at anyone in particular. John started with an aggressive opening, driving up the bid quickly on the first slot. He locked eyes with Gastone, taunting him to keep up. Soon others dropped out of the race, leaving only John, Gastone, and one other bidder, Kasimir Roldan, from another powerful clan in the area. The price was pushed higher and higher. John kept being aggressive but nobody backed down. He called out a final price with pain on his face¡­ and Kasimir outbid him. Nobody else seemed willing to pay more, and the first slot went to the Roldan clan. John sank back into his seat, but firmly stood up again as the second auction began. It wasn¡¯t just numbers he called out, it was attacks on the other two clans. They needed the slots as well, and couldn¡¯t let themselves be outbid so easily. The speed of his bids was the clashing of weapons. He had to restrain himself from actually putting too much spiritual energy into his voice. The second bid climbed higher, reaching the same point. Once again Kasimir outbid John¡­ and John looked towards Gastone¡­ taunting him. His gambit paid off, and Gastone placed one higher bid, securing the first place for the Boyce clan. With six slots, the three competitors could easily share among themselves¡­ but anyone would want to bring along three or more members. It wasn¡¯t long before the third slot went to Gastone. For the fourth slot he seemed content to stay more cautious with bidding, but Kasimir was matching John point for point. John carefully watched his opponent, pushing towards the highest price he had bid. Then he took a gamble, increasing his bid by nearly a third. His face remained confident and Kasimir looked as if he wouldn¡¯t bid¡­ until the auctioneer caught his glance. A single bat of her eyelashes and Kasimir outbid him once more¡­ and John sat down. Now¡­ he had to hope he was right. Gastone¡¯s timidity in the fourth round indicated he didn¡¯t have much left to spend¡­ so it was important that John made Kasimir overspend. Was it enough? John let each of them bid once before jumping to just slightly over half the final price of the fourth bid, the most expensive yet. This was the point that mattered most. Because while he¡¯d thrown out huge bids in previous rounds¡­ he didn¡¯t have to pay any of them. He could have, but he would have spent most of his budget for the most expensive one. His assumption was that Gastone and Kasimir had similar budgets¡­ and when neither of them outbid him he found himself justified. The fifth slot was his¡­ and the sixth¡­? Each of the other two bid once, then outbid him once more when he jumped to the same price¡­ but when he made another confident increase they backed out. John smiled internally, then externally when he had two slots secured and a quarter of the budget left. He wondered if he might buy something else¡­ though he didn¡¯t know of anything he was interested in. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. John finally bid on a darkness attributed treasure. It was a small pot, though its uses were unknown. The Tenebach clan had many of those that passed through their hands, but they also used most of them. Having one more would be good, and he might be able to use it to improve his cultivation. He couldn¡¯t break through to Foundation Phase without ruining his plans, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t grow stronger. If he found it wasn¡¯t useful to him, another clan member would love to have it. Neither Kasimir or Gastone bid on it, since they had little use for darkness attributed things- and it seemed their guardians were sternly looking at them from behind. ----- Elemental treasures contained spiritual energy much in the same was as spirit stones and the like, but they could have other uses. Absorbing their energy for cultivation was one thing that could be done, and while it could contain quite a significant amount the treasure would be destroyed. That was useful when necessary for a breakthrough, but trying to find other uses was better. The pot certainly had enough darkness radiating from it, but upon opening it John found nothing special inside. The auction hadn¡¯t said there would be anything inside, but he¡¯d hoped there would be profound symbols or something he could learn from. Many techniques were developed from treasures found in the world, either natural or created in ancient times. Besides the energy, it just seemed to be a pot for holding things. What specific sort of thing John wasn¡¯t sure, but it seemed powerful enough to contain quite a variety of volatile objects. Perhaps it would be best to keep it for some time to see if he could store something in it. Maybe a treasure from the Crystal Caverns. It might do to conceal its energy, making him less likely to be targeted. Though he had secured a second slot- and thus would be able to bring his current guardian and uncle Aydan along with him- that didn¡¯t mean there would be no conflict. Indeed, as long as nobody was killed most tactics were considered fair game. A Foundation Phase cultivator could guarantee at least he could escape, and so both sides would have the courtesy of leaving the others alive. Fighting a Foundation Phase cultivator to the death if they could prevent him from escaping would leave them open to others who might want to take whatever they found. John¡¯s thoughts went to the Crystal Caverns. The Order of the Amber Heart were the keepers of the caverns and spoke of fated entrants and the like¡­ but he figured the reason they auctioned off slots to enter the caverns was because of the dangers. If only their own disciples entered they would bear all of the risks. Auctioning off places was guaranteed income, and the fact that they gave others the opportunity meant that nobody rose up against them for monopolizing such a powerful place. The Order of the Amber Heart could take on two or three large clans with the power they had gained over their centuries long reign, but they certainly couldn¡¯t handle the entire county going up in arms. The Crystal Caverns were basically an extremely large spirit stone mine¡­ though with more dangers and less actual ¡®mining¡¯ going on. Taking the time to tear apart the stone walls was wasteful when natural treasures might have been created every decade. It was said they hadn¡¯t been fully explored, either, though the tunnels near the entrance were quite well mapped out. They changed slightly with each decade, but mostly in width and crystal formations within. The crystals themselves were constantly growing, but incredibly difficult to extract quickly for the amount of earth energy they contained. Finding those that had already broken off from time was quite a benefit, but most important were the treasures. Even the creatures that inhabited the caves had valuable bodies, various creatures ranging from diamond shelled turtles to giant moles with claws sharp enough to burrow through rock to creatures of stone and crystal itself- which was the same material as the caverns but free from constraints, as long as they could be slain. Apparently the time when the caverns opened up was actually the safest time, where the spiritual energy was least volatile and the inhabitants were more docile. Without that, it was possible the Order of the Amber Heart might have been interested in just mapping the whole place themselves in a consistent fashion, taking everything that was within. John was excited about the possibilities¡­ but quite aware of the dangers as well. But he¡¯d already died once, so he might as well move forward with confidence. He¡¯d rather not end his new life with a whimper of giving up. Chapter 20 There wasn¡¯t much time between the auction and when the Crystal Caverns would be opening. Just enough to stop by the Tenebach clan and do some research. John already remembered the basics since it was famous enough¡­ but he hadn¡¯t expected to actually go, either the him of now or the previous inhabitant of his body. His uncle Aydan knew more, but reading the records was better than just going off of information sticking around in people¡¯s heads. Aydan nodded as he read over the information. ¡°These reactive zones it speaks of¡­ much like the mines we control, they are areas where disturbances in energy might set off chain reactions. In short, those beyond a certain level are in danger if they enter- unless they do not summon large amounts of spiritual energy. However, Foundation Phase cultivators like myself would prefer not to weaken ourselves to be similar to Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators. Whether you enter a reactive zone yourself is up to you. I won¡¯t be able to protect you, but there won¡¯t be many stronger than you who can make use of their power.¡± Aydan held out his hands in a shrug, ¡°There are often treasures that are the cause or effect of such reactive zones, but sometimes they are just dangerous areas. We would do best to start with safer areas before we attempt anything else.¡± John nodded. ¡°Of course. I will have to see one myself before I can judge whether it would be safe to go in. It does make me feel better about going myself instead of giving my position to someone like father or mother.¡± ¡°Quite right,¡± Aydan inclined his head. ¡°And while there might be some inefficiencies involved with including a member of the younger generation, many clans will be bringing their young potentials. You already saw the Boyce and Roldan clans will be participating.¡± ¡°Is there anything else of which I should be aware?¡± ¡°Just that darkness will likely be less useful than you anticipate. The Caverns are not deep and dark in all sections. Crystals reflect and disperse light¡­ and some of them emit it as well. That said, clever uses of darkness can still keep you concealed if necessary, and there will still be darkness in the wider caverns you can use to assist you.¡± John nodded. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could feasibly use earth at the moment without a spiritual totem associated with it, but he did have enough practice that he might be able to throw someone off with it, since they likely wouldn¡¯t expect it. The biggest problem, though, would be dealing with others who had higher tier spiritual totems than himself. Kasimir and Gastone should have at least third tier spiritual totems, and the Order of the Amber Heart had to have at least one disciple with a fourth tier. Instead of competing directly it would be better to avoid conflict. ----- Just approaching the Crystal Caverns he could feel them. Even before John and Aydan reached the entrance, they walked over them. Beneath their feet were at least hundreds of meters of dense stone, but strong earth elemental spiritual energy still leaked out of the caverns. That was even more true towards the entrance, leading them straight to it. Of course, so did their guides and the road. They were of course being escorted by members of the Order of the Amber Heart. There were so many Foundation Phase cultivators among them¡­ but then again, that was to be expected. Fortkran would have been at the Foundation Phase already if he hadn¡¯t pushed himself too hard, and even John could have returned to that stage if he just wanted to push his cultivation forward. But he wanted to be strong. So he was taking a slightly slower path. Hopefully it would pay off. Otherwise¡­ well, most people didn¡¯t get a second chance at life to begin with. At least he was trying not to squander it. As they all gathered at the entrance to the caverns, John saw a surprisingly large number of Order of the Amber Heart disciples at the early Foundation Phase. Wouldn¡¯t it be better for them to have stronger cultivators and then those with the best potential before Foundation Phase? Then he smiled to himself. Just because he had to pay for a slot didn¡¯t mean the Order had to limit itself to a small number of candidates. Considering they could send literally all their disciples and elders in, they were already being conservative. There were a few hundred cultivators totals- mostly from around the Stone Conglomerate but some from further away who had managed to obtain a spot. If the Crystal Caverns weren¡¯t so massive, John would have been concerned that there were too many people. As it was, though, he was more concerned that the quality of those around were too high. He had to be able to get somewhere first to get anything¡­ or defeat them and take their treasures, but that was the risky for political and personal safety reasons. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Johannes Dalen, the head of the Order of the Amber Heart came out personally to open the entrance. Before he began, he turned to the gathered cultivators and gave a sort of speech. John could see the influence of many decades of cultivating earth energy, his skin having the tone and texture of granite¡­ and his steps being heavy, though his movements were agile. ¡°Welcome. The Crystal Caverns possess an immense bounty, but also immense danger. Even you fated entrants may not come out unscathed. However¡­ it is quite unnecessary for deaths to happen. Be cautious¡­ and courteous to your fellow cultivators. I am sure there will be conflicts¡­ but do remember that this is for the benefit of all.¡± Strangely enough, he sounded like he meant it. That also included the next part. ¡°Now then, prepare for what fate has in store for you.¡± John had thought that Johannes would be working with the gathered elders to remove the overwhelmingly powerful barrier he felt over the entrance, but instead he reached forward with his bare hands and entirely without aid tore it asunder. Was that power¡­ beyond the Soul Expansion Phase? If he had reached Consolidated Soul¡­ the Order of the Amber Heart would be gaining even more power in the region. ¡°Go now! Enter!¡± the man gestured¡­ and people began to move. John caught Ayden¡¯s eye, and the two moved simultaneously, Ayden keeping pace with his slower ward. ----- Crystals of all sizes, shapes, and colors filled the caverns, glittering in the sunlight. The floors were covered with loose pieces of crystal that had gotten dislodged from the walls and ceiling. There were stalactites and stalagmites as well, covered in layers of crystal with various thicknesses. Each chunk might contain as much energy as a spirit stone from the Tenebach mines, though not nearly as condensed. If John just wanted to cultivate with earth elemental spiritual energy, he could have sat down in the entrance of the caverns without a care in the world. However, settling for that when he could have more was pointless. He could cultivate and carry out an entire armful of crystals and it would still not be worth the price of a single one of the slots to enter. They needed more. Swiftness was key. As the young master of the Tenebach clan, John was responsible for picking the direction they went. He had asked Ayden to inform him if he sensed anything in particular that he wished to see, but everything good would be deeper in the caverns. Even their map from the previous time only showed about half of the tunnels in the same place, so it was doubtful that anybody had an advantage. The way the energy slowly stirred into motion indicated not even those of the Order of the Amber Heart had been in the caverns recently. He couldn¡¯t have followed them even if he wanted to. With powerful earth all around them, cultivators with that affinity moved swiftly, the ground pushing them along with each step. John had to go for a more conservative approach, using as much energy as he could replenish as he moved along. He wasn¡¯t the only cultivator that wasn¡¯t primarily cultivating earth, and tunnels went up and down and split so many times he had to be able to get somewhere first. Thus, he avoided tunnels where he sensed others. Without light from the surface like the entrance, only the occasional glowing crystal lit the tunnels they were in, but neither John nor Aydan needed that to see. That said, their eyes were adjusted to the dark¡­ so when they came upon a brightly lit cavern, they nearly blinded themselves. Even with his eyes closed, John found it too bright¡­ and what¡¯s more, he could see the source. It radiated energy, powerful light that seemed as bright as the sun. Aydan quickly stepped forward, grabbing a fist sized crystal in his hand- and placing it within a box. The sense of powerful energy was cut off, leaving only the remnants. John could see that there were many smaller crystals emitting lights in the area, though their intensity combined was nothing compared to the single crystal. Neither he nor Aydan could use the crystal they found, but they could trade it or sell it later. Still, they weren¡¯t deep in the caverns yet. There had to be yet more exciting things to find¡­ along with the expected dangers. Chapter 21 Shards of crystal flew like spears towards John, but their trajectories were simple and straight. He simply dodged out of the way and allowed them to impact the wall behind him. The sound of their collision was thunderous and grating to the ears. A section of the cavern itself seemed to be alive, a collection of the crystals taking a vaguely coherent form and attacking both him and his uncle Aydan. Regular attacks with his sword couldn¡¯t break through the crystals forming the creature, but if he gathered energy for a Gravity Blade it carried enough momentum to shatter some. The creature was gradually getting smaller. He knew Aydan was watching for his own safety, but that didn¡¯t mean the situation was without danger. He had to watch out for himself as he made his attacks. Fortunately, the creature was big and slow- and after propelling any of the shards at a distance it no longer had much control over them. Dodging wasn¡¯t so difficult, though he couldn¡¯t afford to slip up. The irregular footing of the ground was the biggest problem, and John used a bit of earth energy to get it to conform to him as he moved around. He navigated towards the empty section that was now mostly smooth stone where the creature had first stood up. He ducked under a wide swing from something akin to an arm and parried a crystal shard the size of a spearhead. As soon as the thing followed him into the area, John used Hidden Steps to confuse it, slipping around to the opposite side of where it appeared he was going. He had already been gathering darkness around his sword, and swung it down with great force. As his sword broke through its exterior, the creature shattered into a million pieces, but the force of them wasn¡¯t much individually and those that flew towards him deflected off of his energy defenses. In the middle of a ring of shattered crystal was what appeared at first to be a simple spherical pebble¡­ but on closer observation carried with it great earth elemental spiritual energy. An earthen treasure. John carefully picked it up and sealed it in another container so that it wouldn¡¯t disrupt further activities. ¡°Good job,¡± Aydan complimented him, ¡°Though perhaps the power of your blows could use a bit of work.¡± John shrugged. It was hard to fight on uneven ground, and darkness wasn¡¯t well suited for direct attacks against solid targets. Once he had an earth elemental totem, however, he could make good use of earth for such straightforward tasks. Perhaps he could use the treasure he¡¯d just gotten for that purpose, but they weren¡¯t done with the Crystal Caverns yet. They hadn¡¯t even gotten to any of the real opportunities yet. Though, both of them could sense a particular destination they were heading towards. They moved along through the caverns towards a powerful source of energy. It could be danger, but danger also meant opportunities for growth and potential treasures. As they got closer, Aydan shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re not the only ones to have sensed this. Others are moving in.¡± He held out his hand to stop his nephew. ¡°Wait. That crystal¡­¡± he waved his hand, a flicker of energy touching it briefly¡­ and the crystal then exploded, and even from fifty meters back John felt the shockwave of energy. ¡°Extremely unstable. Watch for more of those.¡± Along with the increased frequency of unstable crystals, there were more living crystals that attacked the pair. John could handle one alone, but they came in twos and threes, or sometimes even more. The numbers increased as they moved towards their destination, where eventually the narrower tunnels opened up into a grand cavern a kilometer across. There were only occasional lights from glowing crystals, but it would be enough for a regular cultivator to see by- the two of them having the blessings of the family¡¯s guardian beast merely made everything clearer. Hundreds of crystal beasts of various shapes and sizes moved throughout the cavern. A particularly large conglomeration of pinkish crystals slowly undulated towards the center of the cavern. Something powerful was there, though whether it was that mass or something it was protecting was unclear. They weren¡¯t the only ones to have arrived. There were several other Foundation Phase cultivators around. John recognized the guardians of Kasimir Roldan and Gaston Boyce. There were also several members of the Order of the Amber Heart present. None had yet made a move into the room. Nobody wanted to be the first to attract the danger, though all were eagerly hoping someone else would so they could reach whatever the treasure might be. There was just one thing missing. There were no other Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators around¡­ even though who should have been with their guardians. One of the Amber Heart cultivators saw them. He smiled. ¡°I might look over there, if you feel you have the fortune necessary.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. John¡¯s eyes followed his gesture towards a smaller tunnel leading away. The energy in there was clearly different. A reactive zone. ¡°I¡¯m sure your disciples are already in there.¡± ¡°Indeed, some are. If you have the fate, you may obtain something there. If not¡­ then the better will take it.¡± The man smiled, ¡°That would be Renato, one of our top disciples. But you might still learn something.¡± John looked to Aydan, who shrugged. At least he didn¡¯t seem to sense any malice in the man from the Order of the Amber Heart. Just confidence in himself and that disciple. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I¡¯ll be of much use here anyway. I might as well try.¡± Aydan nodded. ¡°Do be careful, Fortkran. Such places can be¡­ dangerous.¡± Of course, the most dangerous thing might not be the place itself, but the other people there. There were certain protocols to follow, but that was only necessarily true if there were witnesses around. Unfortunately, this world seemed the sort where significant progress required facing dangers. John carefully made his way into the reactive area. At the very outskirts he tested how it responded to his energy. As expected, his current energy wasn¡¯t enough to set it off¡­ but it made things feel shaky. He would still have to watch what he did in the area, especially in a fight. The chances of there not being combat was low¡­ unless he didn¡¯t find anything of value. The air grew thick and acrid. The earth elemental spiritual energy was extremely dense, but not in a usable way. It was like walking through mud. He was tempted to use his energy to push against it, but he knew that would do the opposite of what he wanted. He could see why Foundation Stage cultivators wouldn''t¡¯ want to try. The whole tunnel might just decide to crush them. It almost felt like that regardless. John followed the path until the tunnel diverged. He couldn¡¯t particularly feel a stronger energy in either direction. He considered just picking randomly, but he was already behind. He might as well try to find the right way. He opened up his senses, feeling out for¡­ something. Eventually, the left path felt like something more, though much of the energy shared the same signature down both paths. Perhaps they looped around on each other. Not running into any immediate dangers only made John more nervous. He felt like he was merely unable to discern the danger rather than there being none. He kept careful track of which tunnels he went down so he could find his way back out. A particular clump of crystals had a sort of look he could solidify in his mind. Cultivator brains were good for something at least. The tunnel diverged again, but instead of left and right¡­ it was forward¡­ and down. Or perhaps it would be easier to say there was a large pit in this particular tunnel. It was roughly circular, similar in size to the tunnel- about three meters across. It would have normally been easy to jump across, but the uneven footing and dense energy made John hesitate. He carefully looked down the pit¡­ and found it continued at least a hundred meters nearly straight down before curving out of sight. What was worse were the crystals lining the walls appeared razor sharp. The energy down below was even more dense¡­ and while that might mean great treasure it also had another signature with it. The scent of death. A careful probe with his energy saw the darkness devoured before it even reached a third of the way down. John shook his head. He wasn¡¯t going to go into a death zone¡­ but he might pick his way around. The crystals on the side should hold up well enough for him to skirt around it. He still felt something up ahead that would likely be worth his time. Chapter 22 Sharp crystals dug into John¡¯s palms, threatening to cut into his skin despite the layered energy protecting his hands. He was glad he only had to shuffle a few steps to the side to get past the pit. He really didn¡¯t want to fall into a death area. He still had many plans for his new life. Then he was across and breathed a sigh of relief. That reminded him of how heavy the air was. It was like it was filled with grit. Earth elemental spiritual energy found its way into his lungs, but fortunately the Seed of Darkness was happy to absorb that and purify his lungs. It just took a little work. As he approached closer, he was even more certain that the particular concentration of energy he felt was an earthen treasure. John began to notice the walls and floor thinning in crystal density before he eventually stepped into a cavern that was completely bare¡­ except for one small clump of crystals, about the size of two fists put together. At the same time as he saw it, John felt another cultivator with an aura of earth stepping in from a different tunnel. The young man clearly also saw the treasure. The young man- who radiated the aura of the Amber Heart¡¯s cultivation method- smiled. ¡°It appears that one of us is fated for this treasure. I believe it to be me.¡± He pointed a stone club he had towards John. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach, are you not? Do you wish to concede it to me, or duel for it?¡± Something about such a polite offer of a formal duel in the middle of dangerous caves made John smile in return. From the expression of this disciple, he thought he would be disappointed if John just gave up. ¡°It may be your fate, or it may be mine.¡± John readied his sword in front of him. ¡°I am indeed Fortkran Tenebach. Your name¡­?¡± ¡°Renato, of the Order of the Amber Heart.¡± The earthen energy around the man condensed into something akin to a layer of stone. ¡°Then we shall fight. One shall walk away the owner of the treasure¡­ and I hope the other will walk away enlightened from the combat.¡± If it was someone not from the Order, John would have not considered the possibility of a ¡®fair¡¯ duel. He was still slightly cautious about Renato, but if he conserved enough of his strength to flee he saw no reason why this other young man would attempt to kill him. Staying behind to secure the treasure would be more important. It was just a question of whether he was attempting to catch him off guard and defeat him in a single blow- though it would certainly be odd to suggest the duel in that case. Renato moved first, his feet crashing into the stone floor of the cavern, their weight obvious. The man himself was not bulky, but he clearly carried the weight of a boulder with him. No¡­ a mountain. John felt the power of a fourth tier spiritual totem from his opponent. They were both at the peak of Spiritual Collection Phase¡­ but that difference might spell his defeat. The stone club swung with great momentum and unexpected speed. John dodged backwards out of Renato¡¯s reach, but the energy around the weapon clipped against his own defenses, shearing off a portion of his darkness. Renato didn¡¯t hold back, stepping forward and swinging back and down towards John. He stepped to the side¡­ and his experience training with Brage told him to use Hidden Steps to move around to the side of Renato. The stone club rebounded off the ground with even more speed, but John swung his sword straight into Renato¡¯s side. Stone cracked, but he didn¡¯t break through the defenses. The two continued to exchange attacks, John staying light on his feet and Renato directly attacking and withstanding. It wasn¡¯t a weak fighting style either. He had the defenses to back it up, and his stance allowed his attacks to be swift enough that Fortkran was hard pressed. He found himself constantly pulling in energy from around them¡­ but even if he could refine the earth elemental spiritual energy, Renato could do better as a true earth element cultivator. With matching cultivation levels and nearly matching skill, the advantage of the environment and a higher tier spiritual totem were quite obvious. However, John wasn¡¯t willing to just give up on the earthen treasure. It was powerful enough that it might be just the right sort of thing to give him the boost he needed to have a powerful breakthrough to Foundation Phase. He was confident in reaching that level without such support, but it wouldn¡¯t be the same. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! A plan started to develop in John¡¯s head. He continued to press the attack, striking at Renato to prevent him from being able to freely attack. John felt his reserves of darkness elemental spiritual energy drying up faster than he could replenish them¡­ though he still had earth energy to pull on. John prepared his plan. It was a bit of a risk¡­ but if it failed he would probably just end up with a set of broken ribs. His sword cut down at an angle, slicing towards Renato. The attack was so obvious that even Renato was comfortable stepping a half step to the side to avoid it. John just hoped he didn¡¯t notice how much earth energy was included. Hopefully those senses would be dimmed by the abundance around them¡­ or Renato might just not believe that John could control it. His sword struck the ground¡­ and the oft used rebound technique propelled it back towards Renato at a slightly different angle. The attack struck Renato in the side, and John pushed with all the earth energy he could gather to push away Renato¡¯s own energy. Of course, that was only slightly possible¡­ but he at least weakened the strength of the stony barrier around him. Renato was sent flying into the wall¡­ but that didn¡¯t make John confident. Swords were for cutting. Being sent flying meant the momentum was dispersed. He pointed his sword towards Renato, watching carefully. A moment later, Renato stood up¡­ and then leaned on his long stone club. ¡°Hmmn¡­ I had not expected such control of earth from a darkness element cultivator. I deeply desired this one¡­ but perhaps you might truly make better use of this treasure.¡± Renato waved. ¡°Go ahead and take it. I¡¯d prefer to conserve my remaining strength for future treasures.¡± John kept his eyes on Renato just in case his words weren¡¯t sincere, but he was able to pick up the treasure and store it in a concealing box with no issues. Renato was already walking back out the tunnel he came from¡­ but just as John finished sealing the treasure away, Renato came out of the tunnel again- backing away with his weapon at the ready. ¡°What¡¯s this then?¡± A voice John found annoying- though perhaps more because of its owner than any particular quality of the sound- came from the hallway as Kasimir Roldan stepped out from the tunnel. ¡°One of the leading disciples of the Amber Heart, and a Tenebach. Tired out from a skirmish, no less.¡± Next to Kasimir was another cultivator, close to the peak of Spiritual Collection Phase as well. ¡°We¡¯re going to need you to hand over that treasure you just found, as well as any others. Then we can let you scurry around to find replacements without any further issues.¡± A reasonable duel didn¡¯t make for instant friendship¡­ and John was closer to the tunnel he¡¯d entered from. ¡°No chance.¡± He darted off down the tunnel, making use of what earth energy he could gather to smooth his movements as he came back into an area with irregular footing from extreme crystal growth. He¡¯d hoped that Renato might slow the two cultivators down, but Renato wasn¡¯t far behind. He couldn¡¯t blame him though. The two of them seemed faster than Kasimir and his ally, though they couldn¡¯t keep running forever. They hadn¡¯t fought to complete exhaustion, but they certainly weren¡¯t at their peaks. ¡°Ah, damn.¡± John spotted the pit again. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem to get past it before the others caught up but¡­ ¡°Why, what a coincidence,¡± Gastone Boyce was standing on the other side¡­ along with one more peak ninth level cultivator. ¡°I sensed something special down this tunnel, and it came right to me.¡± John seriously doubted there were any coincidences involved anywhere. He must have been sensed and they could have figured out where he was going. He looked to Renato who shrugged. Kasimir and the other were only a short distance behind, and they were getting closer. ¡°Tch. Bad luck for you, Tenebach. Now, hand over that treasure.¡± John pulled out the box and opened it up. ¡°This one?¡± Then he tossed it over his shoulder into the pit. ¡°Whoops. I dropped it.¡± The first to react was Renato. Instead of moving to break past the other cultivators or anything John might have expected, he dived down the pit after the treasure. His head turned to follow that motion, and that slowed his reaction to Kasimir¡¯s charge enough that he could only block. He had stopped several meters away from the pit for that very reason¡­ but it hadn¡¯t been far enough. He found himself going over the edge¡­ and he slammed into one of the walls on the way down. He felt the crystal shards slicing through his flesh and felt the true cruelty of the world of cultivation. The sense of safety he¡¯d felt from the agreements not to kill others in the Crystal Caverns was, of course, not entirely binding. If he got a third life, John vowed not to be so flippant. Chapter 23 It was physically impossible for every crystal shard on the edge of the pit to cut John as he fell, but it certainly felt like that was what happened. The fall lasted several lifetimes, and he was only barely able to summon enough of his remaining energy to prevent his body from falling apart on the way down, though it was devoured by the area even as he fell. It was almost difficult to believe when he found himself at the bottom¡­ even vaguely conscious still. Unless he¡¯d blacked out for a few minutes. Next to him he sensed Renato. He turned his head to see disciple of the Order of the Amber Heart in only slightly better condition than himself. ¡°Why are you down here?¡± Renato crossed an arm over his chest and held up the clump of crystals sticking out in all directions. ¡°You threw this away, so I would say you have no claim on it anymore.¡± ¡°You wanted it that much?¡± John shook his head. As he moved to sit up, the ground stabbed into him. Not so much as the bladelike crystals on the way down, but in the dull pain of stepping on an unbreakable thing on the ground¡­ like lego. He scrounged around in his pack, though it was half on the floor already. He pulled bandages out of the pile and started applying them with some herbs. ¡°Why give up on it then? You could have won that fight.¡± ¡°Perhaps. Though I imagine we would have ended up here regardless.¡± Renato shrugged. ¡°I felt that fate was guiding my hand.¡± ¡°But now we¡¯ll both just die,¡± John shook his head. ¡°It will just be slower.¡± John winced. ¡°Well, slower for you maybe. Or quicker. The energy down here¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite something. Condensed. Hungry.¡± Renato took a deep breath, a serene smile on his face. ¡°Dangerous. Perfect for a breakthrough.¡± ¡°Unless you explode. Don¡¯t forget that can happen.¡± John shifted and heard something crack beneath him. It wasn¡¯t him¡­ but the crystals couldn¡¯t possibly be that weak. When he looked down he realized he wasn¡¯t lying on a bed of crystals at all. Irregular hard objects? Absolutely. But aside from a few poking through, he was mostly on a layer of bones. ¡°Oooh, that¡¯s not good.¡± ¡°What¡¯s not good?¡± Renato asked. ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°The bones¡­? Oh, you can¡¯t see in the dark.¡± John held up half of a shin bone. Or maybe not. The bone radiated energy¡­ from the environment, or did it belong to the former cultivator? ¡°These are bones.¡± ¡°Ah. I see.¡± Renato reached around and picked one up, feeling it in his hands. ¡°Hmm, that does seem to be the case.¡± He pulled his hand away and rubbed his fingers together. ¡°Dusty.¡± John dug his hand into the pile. ¡°Bone dust. And many little shards. Like people exploded down here.¡± He walked over to the edge of the pit. He barely had the energy to stand, let alone lift himself up by sharp crystals. He didn¡¯t need to bleed anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t sense them at the top¡­ though who knows if I even could.¡± John shook his head. ¡°You dropped your urn,¡± Renato held up the darkness element treasure. ¡°I thought you¡¯d want to know. Don¡¯t want to leave it down here.¡± ¡°You say that like¡­ we can get out of here. Can you even stand up?¡± ¡°Almost certainly.¡± ¡°Pretty sure you have someone¡¯s leg through your leg.¡± ¡°Correct. Do you have any more bandages you could lend me?¡± ¡°Did you not bring any?¡± Renato held up a bundle of cloth that was completely torn to shreds. ¡°Of course.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Ah. I see you found the walls too.¡± John handed him the rest of his roll of bandages. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Renato pulled the shard of bone out of his leg and wrapped the bandage around it. He attempted to use energy to help seal the wound, but the energy around them reacted, focusing on the energy and pushing into the wound. Fortunately, it was only for a moment. ¡°I suppose I shall settle for wrapping it.¡± ¡°Might as well.¡± John picked up the pot. ¡°You said this was an urn?¡± ¡°Is it not?¡± John opened it. ¡°Might be.¡± He frowned as he turned it around. The thin layer of bone dust that was on everything- including getting into his lungs now that they¡¯d stirred it up- simply wasn¡¯t on the urn. With nothing better to do than hope something useful would happen, John dug for a handful of bone shards and dust and tossed them in the urn. Nothing happened. He put the lid on and shook it. Maybe it just didn¡¯t stick well. Upon opening the lid¡­ he found no dust or bone shards inside¡­ and the energy had seeped from the bones into the urn. ¡°Fascinating. I¡¯d love to have a chance to study this.¡± ¡°Then just live.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we can climb out of here. Two exhausted Soul Collection Phase cultivators like us¡­¡± ¡°We mean it, you know. The Fate thing.¡± Renato held the earthen treasure they¡¯d fought over firmly between his two hands. ¡°We could be fated to die here, or some of the extras¡­ but maybe we were supposed to end up exactly here. If so¡­ won¡¯t we end up something special? I don¡¯t know you that well, but without bragging I can say I¡¯m not just an average disciple. It would be a shame to just give up.¡± John thought for a few moments. Was he anything special? His talent was¡­ fine. But there was indeed something that made him special. He couldn¡¯t say how many people transmigrated into new bodies only to die within a few months- but he was hoping that something about that made him special. ¡°Well, I do need to get back to my family.¡± ¡°Exactly. And with two of us, the chance of one of us making it out is twice as high. If it¡¯s me, I promise to carry as much of your body as I can with me to return to your family. I¡¯d appreciate being brought back to the sect if I explode myself.¡± Renato shifted slightly further away. ¡°We don¡¯t have that much room down here, but we either die not breaking through¡­ or try to make something of ourselves. Might I try my breakthrough first? I¡¯d rather we not interfere with each other.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± John said. If he didn¡¯t have to try to breakthrough in a danger zone, he would be quite a bit happier. He didn¡¯t have the energy for it regardless. He moved away and started adding more bones into the pot. How much could it hold? If it started seeming unstable he would stop, but he found himself quite curious. He messed with the urn while watching Renato. He was actually gathering energy, disturbing the area around them. He was right that they had to try, but it was crazy to do so. The energy was thick and dense like stone crushed by the weight of a mountain above. The crystal treasure in Renato¡¯s hands was dense in a different sort of way. As Renato began cultivating, he drew the power into his body¡­ and into his bones particularly. Immediately the energy reacted, pushing down on him like a crushing wave. Renato¡¯s body trembled, but he didn¡¯t stop. He was like a whirlpool at the center of the energy, drawing in power faster and faster. It was already beyond the point a Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator could handle¡­ probably beyond what a Foundation Phase cultivator could or should deal with¡­ and it wasn¡¯t slowing. John felt Renato¡¯s bones trembling, a keening sound coming from them. He was going to explode¡­ and that wasn¡¯t going to be good for John either. Thinking was for those who had options. Sometimes when there was a rush of customers you just started working, not thinking about whether you could handle all the orders but just doing it. Likewise, John had no options now. Renato was moments from exploding and wiping him out along with him. He threw himself next to Renato and placed his hand on his head, atop his skull where he had the most contact close to bone. He was able to siphon energy off of others and convert it to his own, and that was what he began to do. The sapling inside of him greedily consumed the incoming energy, but John felt his meridians trembling under the power coursing through them. Fortunately, he was merely drawing in from a secondary source, so the whirlpool of condensed energy in the area didn¡¯t focus on him. However, his body still was having trouble standing up to just being next to it. Then John felt a tugging. The urn was still in his other hand, and it began to pull energy out of him into it. The urn charged with earth elemental energy, and soon it was filling to the brim. John pulled the energy back into himself. He¡¯d already attempted to break through to Foundation Phase once in his memories. The problem then hadn¡¯t been a lack of energy, but certainly more would have been better. Now he had far too much¡­ but energy flowed from the condensed crystals and the surroundings into Renato, from Renato into him¡­ into the urn and back into him. At all times they were just a moment away from an explosion¡­ until finally it happened in a great cataclysm of energy. Chapter 24 Waves of energy reflected back and forth between the two cultivators and the walls around them, seeming to grow stronger. In a desperate attempt to absorb some of the energy, John let himself be pushed along by it, moving in such a way that would soften the damage as much as possible. He found that his instincts seemed to have done him some good, but he didn¡¯t move as he expected. His body remained where it was, but his soul flew off into the sea of spiritual totems. He hadn¡¯t planned to immediately pick a spiritual totem¡­ but the process would help him absorb more energy. If he didn¡¯t, he would likely die. If he was too slow¡­ the same. However, he had already taken the time to peruse his options. There was one he particularly liked. The Cave had been his choice, an earth elemental totem that also had ties to darkness. As he was moving towards his chosen totem, he felt something tugging at him. The darkness treasure. It lead him towards¡­ a pile of dirt. It smelled foul, like rotting things. But of course, that was what it was. A moment later, his impression of it changed. It smelled like fresh soil. Had it transformed into a different totem? Not at all. That was merely what it was. Dirt. This particular visage of it was the aspects of it that involved the decay of life into particularly nutrient rich soil. That is to say¡­ compost. The world around John trembled, threatening to break. He knew his body was in a precarious state as well. Earth element with ties to darkness? Check. Second tier? Check. Able to grow? Probably. With the prompting of the treasure with him, he really couldn¡¯t second guess things. Maybe this was fate, or maybe it was just good enough for him to not die. His ¡®hand¡¯ stretched out, forming a connection between himself and the spiritual totem. There was endless abundant energy to make use of, and he needed to do so to not be torn apart. He fused with the totem and it formed a representation of itself inside his dantian. He found himself back in his body, a whirlpool of energy. Foundation Phase was a bigger change inside of himself than he¡¯d thought it would be. He didn¡¯t have time to take a full stock of things, but the single step he¡¯d taken was more than just the doubling in power he¡¯d thought it would be. Next to him, Renato had also broken through. Energy continued to reverberate from them to the walls and back, but as the two of them manipulated it it slowly fell into a pattern of destructive interference. In short, it slowed and stopped gradually. John coughed up a mouthful of black liquid. Blood? There was certainly some of that in it. His bones were creaking and his skin torn apart, and his internal organs were a mess. But¡­ he felt great. That was probably just the high of adrenaline. Renato was sitting as still as a statue. Actually, it was more than that. His skin had taken on a greyish pallor. John still felt some life from him, but it was faint. Then there were cracking sounds. It was awful to listen to¡­ but when he finally saw a layer of stone fall off Renato like peeling skin, John was relieved. The other man blinked as he was finally able to move his body. ¡°Well. It does seem that we haven¡¯t died. I appreciate your assistance. I wasn¡¯t able to handle the energy as well as I thought.¡± John shrugged, ¡°Me neither.¡± He looked up above them. The tube that had been lined with myriad sharp crystals was now worn smooth, which explained the few pieces sticking into his head, and the layer of dust all around them. He was glad that he¡¯d unconsciously filtered the breath going into his lungs¡­ though he supposed he might not have as much trouble breathing earth as he might have thought. Renato narrowed his eyes. ¡°Earth? Were you¡­ unable to properly connect to a darkness totem?¡± ¡°This is¡­ intentional.¡± More or less, anyway. He didn¡¯t want to explain the whole thing to someone he¡¯d known for an hour or two¡­ or however long it had taken them. Even if they had gone through life and death together. ¡°So, Renato¡­ how about we try to climb out of here?¡± Renato looked up. ¡°Smooth walls. That¡¯s more troublesome. We are in danger if we summon enough energy to pierce the walls¡­ but together it should not be a problem. It is not such a wide pit, after all.¡± He stood up and held out his hand, ¡°Shall we continue to work together for our survival, Fortkran Tenebach?¡± John took his hand and pulled himself up, trying not to show the full extent of pain his body was in. ¡°Gladly.¡± He looked around. ¡°I seem to have misplaced my treasure.¡± Renato sighed, ¡°Me as well. Perhaps they were destroyed. I certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to find those specific shards of crystal among the rest here. Now then, despite the heaviness of this place¡­ we can just walk out.¡± ¡°Walk?¡± John raised an eyebrow. Renato turned, finding the narrowest part of the tunnel heading up, then placed a foot against the wall, his back to the middle. ¡°Walk. Just stand back to back, and we can move ourselves without relying on external uses of energy.¡± John did as he suggested, pressing his foot against the other wall. Their backs pressed into each other, feeling much more stable than the actual configuration truly was. Then he pulled up his other leg, and he was in the air. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Coordinating with Renatos movements wasn¡¯t the easiest thing in the world, but they moved slowly. If they had merely been in a normal tunnel of the size they were in, it would have been trivial for them to get out. A relatively fit person could move up a chimney like they were in without too much trouble. Theirs happened to be smooth with occasional razor-sharp crystals¡­ and in a cave full of energy that resisted their movements and taunted them to try to use their own energy, at which points it would reverberate through them and potentially break them apart. They moved one step at a time. The fall probably wouldn¡¯t kill them, though they couldn¡¯t be sure that they wouldn¡¯t hit the ground harder than the first time, falling without the luxury of scraping against the walls¡­ and with higher cultivations, the chamber below might react poorly to their landing. But they were able to keep all their use of energy just to their bodies until they reached the top. ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest,¡± John admitted. ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to how we stop being like this.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just have to push off. Ready?¡± John sighed. ¡°As much as I¡¯ll ever be. On the count of three?¡± And it was as simple as that. The two of them ended up on opposite sides of the pit, but they were out. ¡°I do believe I shall be leaving this way,¡± Renato said. ¡°I believe there were some minor treasures I passed by. You know your way back out?¡± ¡°I do. Be careful.¡± ¡°Of course. I will not forget to control my energy to below a certain level until we leave.¡± That was also a reminder for John. He found that moving through the tunnels was like walking through mud. The dense energy pushed on him harder, and he wanted to push harder back¡­ which would have been a mistake. He was barely able to keep on his feet, despite the energy he found swirling inside himself. When was the last time he ate? He wasn¡¯t sure about that. His bag had been fully destroyed, so he didn¡¯t exactly have anything munch on. He started finding his way towards the exit. Hopefully, his memory wouldn¡¯t fail him. Fortunately, the energy didn¡¯t decide to crush him for being a Foundation Phase cultivator, though he kept his energy well under wraps, using it as little as he could. He just hoped he didn¡¯t have to fight. As he walked along, John felt slightly more at home¡­ yet more intimidated. He now had an earth elemental spiritual totem, but that just made him more aware of the danger of the Crystal Caverns. He passed through the room where he¡¯d parted with Aydan. The pinkish crystals were mostly removed, whatever power they had taken away. He didn¡¯t see any bodies, but he wasn¡¯t sure that they wouldn''t have been absorbed by the place itself. The damage to all parts of the walls, floors, and ceilings indicated there had been a significant amount of combat in the area. John would have liked to stay to seek more opportunities, but he was at the end of his stamina, and without a method to recover it. It was said that high tier cultivators could sustain themselves on the power of the universe¡­ but maybe they just had bags full of food and didn¡¯t like to admit to a little snacking. His stomach grumbled as he found his way towards the real exit of the Crystal Caverns, using his memories and his vague sense of the outside world to guide him. He didn¡¯t spot anyone on the way out, nor any creatures. He supposed he¡¯d already traversed the path once, but it was still strangely empty. As he stepped outside the caverns into the setting sun, he saw a mere handful of people. Among them, he recognized Johannes Dalen. Were they so free as to wait outside? ¡°Young fellow,¡± Johannes spoke first, ¡°You are quite tight on the timing. We were about to seal this place.¡± ¡°Seal it? But isn¡¯t it open for¡­ weeks?¡± ¡°How long do you think it has been?¡± He didn¡¯t actually know. It was quite easy to lose track of time while cultivating¡­ especially in strange places and exceptional circumstances. He wasn¡¯t even really sure how long he¡¯d been down in the Crystal Caverns before everything happened. It could have been half a day, or two days. ¡°Now then, move aside so we can begin the sealing.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± John said, catching himself, ¡°Please, Sect Master. Has Renato come out? He was in there with me¡­ a few hours ago.¡± ¡°Renato?¡± Johannes narrowed his eyes. ¡°I have not seen him.¡± ¡°Can the sealing wait a few more hours? He was taking a different path out, one with which he was familiar.¡± Johannes burrowed into John with his gaze. ¡°You certainly know the right things to say. He is one of our most prized students. However, what I overheard¡­ indicates that he might not return. If you are asking us to wait for the sake of someone else¡­¡± John clapped his hands together and bowed his head, ¡°I swear that I was with Renato not long ago. I know no others I care for who went into the tunnels, except my uncle Aydan Tenebach. I¡­ assume he is already out?¡± The sect master of the Order of the Amber Heart shook his head, ¡°I did not keep track of him in particular, but I can say all of those who will leave¡­ are already out. As for you¡­ we will have you wait here. If Renato is really on his way out¡­ we will owe you some sort of favor for delaying us. Otherwise¡­ well, we¡¯re not interested in starting conflict. We¡¯ll merely forbid you from returning at the next opportunities the caverns open. But the sealing should begin as soon as possible¡­¡± John moved over out of their way and sat. He knew his words were true¡­ hopefully, Renato had a better sense of time and would hurry to the exit. He didn¡¯t have any more supplies than John himself. To take his mind off of the subject he started to gingerly cultivate. As the two energies he now possessed flowed through his meridians they entered his body, repairing his wounds. His mind eventually found its way to his dantian, where he found his two spiritual totems¡­ though they appeared much like one. The Seed of Darkness had become a sapling, and now it sat in a pile of compost. Plants go in dirt. John grinned tiredly to himself and hoped Renato made it out¡­ for several reasons. He didn¡¯t exactly have many friends, and he¡¯d quite like the chance to come back to the Crystal Caverns. Chapter 25 Though they were being polite about it, John knew he was just a step short of being held captive by the Order of the Amber Heart. Then again, he could feel how the Crystal Caverns were reacting now while they were still unsealed. He couldn¡¯t help but watch nervously, hoping Renato was able to make it out. He said he was going to stop by and grab some treasure he¡¯d seen¡­ but how long would that take? Was his path out longer? Worries filled John¡¯s head. He wasn¡¯t sure if they were friends, but as someone he¡¯d at least fought death with he would much prefer Renato to live. Just as Sectmaster Johannes was reaching the peak of his impatience, Renato came running out of the trembling caverns. ¡°Sect master,¡± he bowed, ¡°Elders. It seems more time passed than I anticipated.¡± Renato¡¯s eyes landed on John. Johannes had a twinkle in his eye but tried to speak sternly. ¡°You are fortunate that Fortkran Tenebach told us you had been seen recently. Otherwise, we would not have waited. Now then, step aside so we can finish sealing the Caverns.¡± Renato¡¯s arrival was a huge sense of relief for John. There were many practical benefits¡­ like goodwill from a large faction and one of their disciples in addition to having one of the few people he liked in this new world still alive. He felt somewhat wrong for judging someone by the value they could have for each other, but then again that was what people did on Earth all the time. Usually they were just less open about it. However, his interactions with the Tenebach clan here was all about what mutual benefits they could provide. Speaking of which¡­ ¡°It is good to see you made it, Renato,¡± John inclined his head. ¡°I must go find my uncle.¡± ¡°I can lead you to the guest area,¡± Renato offered. ¡°They will at least know if he has gone back to the clan.¡± It wasn¡¯t hard to find the right place. Renato took his time walking, clearly fatigued from his flight out of the Crystal Caverns, but soon enough John sensed Aydan. He had only just managed to reach the door and raise his hand to knock when it opened. ¡°...Fortkran? You arrived at the very last minute, it seems.¡± Aydan looked over him, clearly recognizing his advancement to Foundation Phase. ¡°But not without some benefits for your efforts. Good. You can never be sure what will be in danger zones. I would have liked to stay behind to welcome you out but¡­ that would have just wrapped us up in the same trouble.¡± Aydan looked at Renato, who was standing nearby. ¡°You don¡¯t need to mind me, sir.¡± Renato bowed his head. ¡°I won¡¯t give up any secrets you share. Though I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be more comfortable if I left.¡± He nodded to John. ¡°Fortkran. Make sure to visit sometime. I could use a good sparring partner outside of the sect¡¯s styles.¡± He also probably wanted to win, since Renato hadn¡¯t quite gone all out in their little duel. But John could sense his friendliness. ¡°Of course. Good fortune to you.¡± ¡°I could always use more. And to you as well.¡± With Renato¡¯s departure, Aydan waved John inside. ¡°Foundation Phase. And¡­ earth elemental spiritual energy. Quite a surprise.¡± ¡°This was always the plan¡­¡± John shook his head, ¡°Though I would have preferred less chance of death.¡± ¡°Tell me about it,¡± Aydan asked. ¡°We have time. I have sent for some of your uncles to escort me back¡­ us, now. I didn¡¯t want to risk¡­ well, I can tell my story after yours.¡± John explained what had happened, leaving out some of the less important details. Though, he made sure to mention how people had attempted to kill him. ¡°The Roldans and Boyces, huh? It¡¯s mostly your word against theirs, though if that fellow from the Order of the Amber Heart backs you up there might be something to gain. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be quite surprised to find you alive. As for what happened with me¡­¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ----- A dozen Foundation Phase cultivators of various levels stood at the perimeter of the room, waiting for others to make the first move. However, their hesitation allowed the Crystal Caverns to make the first move instead. As they looked towards the moving creatures of pinkish crystal, their presence was noticed. Though in the case of the creatures, it was more that they were finally acknowledged as some sort of threat. The hundreds of creatures moved in unison, and a wave of earth elemental spiritual energy poured from them, along with a hail of sharp fragments of crystal. Aydan himself sensed their flow and dodged past them, though some of the Amber Heart cultivators withstood the attack directly. That opened up the floodgates, with the cultivators all breaking into movement. Aydan himself avoided going directly for the center of the room, instead circling around the edge of the cavern watching. Several masses of living crystal moved towards him as he drew his warhammer. Unlike what many people thought of warhammers, they weren¡¯t big and heavy. Certain sorts of cultivators could get away with oversized weapons, but the base size was a rather smaller weapon. It had a haft long enough to hold in two hands, but the head had a spike merely ten centimeters long, and the whole head including the hammer side was probably around a kilogram. It still had some mass to it, but it relied more on speed to hold its energy rather than merely mass. The first creature to approach was shattered by the hammer side as Aydan gathered his energy. He was fairly certain they had no eyes, and living in an environment that had no natural light meant it would do him little good to try to intensify the darkness in the area. Other cultivators were fighting using their senses or using light sources, but of course Aydan had no need for such. He kept light on his feet, always ready to avoid the needlelike rains of crystal, and as the crystal creatures got close he also needed to avoid the much more ponderous swings their human-sized forms could produce. He found himself fighting several creatures at once, only occasionally getting a chance to counterattack. However, though they carried the strength of an early Foundation Phase cultivator, they didn¡¯t have the technique that went with it, and their teamwork was limited. In short, as long as he didn¡¯t let himself get hit he could take them out one at a time. Because he¡¯d remained at the perimeter, there weren¡¯t as many after him. But that was a disadvantage as well. There was something in the center, that he could sense¡­ and those who had gone closer were more likely to be able to get their hands on it. Before Aydan could move in, another handful of cultivators started entering the room, fighting their way towards the center of the oblong cavern. Though since there were others ahead of them, they were barely delayed. Meanwhile, for Aydan to reach the center he would have to pass at least a dozen crystal creatures and potentially fight two cultivators from the Order of the Amber Heart. The chance that they would interfere with each other instead of choosing to stop him was¡­ minimal. Aydan shattered the last of the creatures near to him, and was preparing to leave the area. No sense expending energy on something he couldn¡¯t benefit from. However, as he was trying to determine exactly what it might be, and if it was worth risking his life fighting several people at once¡­ he noticed something. There was certainly a concentration of energy in the center of the room, but there were small pulses elsewhere. He had to wait for the feeling to come again before he was sure. There would certainly be something special at the center of the room, but with the cavern being more of an ellipse it had two focal points not actually at the center. Aydan swept his gaze around the room, and noticed that some of the crystal creatures were forming up to defend locations that weren¡¯t just the center. Darkness was more than just one thing. It could be just as its name said, actual lack of light¡­ but beyond that it was one of the elements best able to specialize in stealth. Those around couldn¡¯t really see Aydan, but they could feel his energy and use their own to sense him. But if he restrained his own energy, they would have to be actively looking exactly where he was. He hoped that the crystal creatures weren¡¯t able to actively sense anything. After making sure nobody was actively sensing him at the moment, Aydan slowly lowered his energy signature. That meant retracting most of his defensive energy as well, so he would be vulnerable to an attack if it came. He slowly moved through the dark cavern towards one gathering of crystal creatures, particularly large ones at least half again as tall as a man. If he was right, he would be able to slip past them¡­ and if not, he would have to react quickly enough to not find himself crushed or pierced through. Aydan slowed even his breath as he stepped one foot at a time, limiting his vibrations through the ground. Ten meters from the creatures. Five. Then he stepped between two of them¡­ hoping they weren¡¯t just pretending to be fooled. Chapter 26 As he stepped inside the ring of animated crystal, Aydan held his breath. He didn¡¯t want to do anything to disturb the situation he was in and alert them to his presence. The fact that he had really avoided their notice was already better than he worried, but he wasn¡¯t done. He was looking for something. It was clear enough that the energy emanated from the middle of the creatures, but there wasn¡¯t just something obvious to go pick up. His senses told him that what he was looking for was buried under the surface. That was a problem. It wasn¡¯t deep, but digging through crystal without energy and without obviously alerting those around him? A fool¡¯s endeavor. Aydan bent down and inspected the crystals. He wasn¡¯t willing to give up yet. One patch was a shade darker, and he reached down to touch it. These particular crystals were cold to the touch- expected and normal, except for the fact that many in the Crystal Caverns also carried fire elemental spiritual energy, though everything was mixed with earth. He twisted and pulled on the crystals, but couldn¡¯t provide much force. If he snapped one off, he imagined the creatures around him would notice. His defenses were down, since his energy was being concealed to the best of his ability. Aydan didn¡¯t give up, continuously jiggling the crystals in the area¡­ and one moved. It had grown loose from its neighbors and slid out with repeated coaxing. Aydan didn¡¯t want to rush things, but it wasn¡¯t as if he had unlimited time. Battle continued in the rest of the cavern, and soon enough someone else would notice the strange behavior of the guardians around him. There were layers upon layers of crystals, and Aydan reached through the small hole he¡¯d made and felt the crystals below. He was fortunate enough to find another loose crystal¡­ or perhaps the nature of what he was looking for resulted in looser crystals. Soon enough he was up to his elbow in the ground, carefully placing the removed crystals in a small pile nearby. He could see it, as the crystals gradually darkened, a deep purple crystal at the bottom of his little hole. He reached down for it cautiously, not sensing any immediate danger from it. He carefully touched it with the hem of his sleeve, then the tip of a finger. With no reaction from either, he gently wrapped his fingers about it and pulled. Nothing happened. The crystal didn¡¯t move in the slightest. He tried to get a better grip, to wiggle it back and forth¡­ but even as he put more strength into it it remained firm. He removed a bit of an area around it, but nothing changed- and it was firmly attached to the rock below. Aydan looked around. Other cultivators were moving in on his position. He wasn¡¯t sure if they could sense him- though there was no light on him at the moment, and he didn¡¯t recognize any darkness elemental spiritual energy from them. At least, he hoped they couldn''t see him¡­ but once they got close their active sensing would pick him up regardless. He reached down towards the crystal and waited. The instant the guardians reacted to their approach he called upon his energy, enhancing his strength and surrounding himself in his accustomed layers of protection. For a terrifying moment he thought the crystal wouldn¡¯t give¡­ but the rock snapped and the crystal came free just in time for him to dodge out of the way of a spray of crystal shards. At least, mostly out of the way. He snapped his head to look over to the other point of the ellipse that might have a similar crystal. He saw someone else already there, crystal in hand. Aydan shook his head. He wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to get it anyway. The fight over the pinkish crystals at the center had reached a crescendo, shattering the floor around it as cultivators fought and revealing some blood-red crystals as well. It might not have been actual blood- colors were difficult without light, even with practice¡­ but it felt like it. Aydan focused his energy on footwork techniques, slipping past a guardian charging towards him with a fist the size of his head and an arm of equal thickness. A cultivator with a massive hammer swung down at him a moment later, shattering the ground and sending him tumbling. Aydan called upon all his ability to move quickly, hiding the crystal as well as he could in a prepared container. He hoped nobody had seen it or would be able to come after him, but he was treated as an enemy by all he passed in his quickness. Aydan had to choose between not getting crushed by a giant rock monster and facing a sword. In that moment, his left arm came up, energy deflecting the blow as much as he could. A long slice was cut along the outside of his bone and he slipped out of the caverns, moving quickly and turning nearly random corners where he would hide before moving closer to the entrance. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ----- Aydan held up his arm, which was covered in bandages, ¡°I¡¯ll probably have a nasty scar. But I took some medicines to heal the bone and muscle as much as they can.¡± ¡°What about the crystal?¡± John asked. ¡°I¡¯d rather not bring it out here. I¡¯ll show it to you when we get back.¡± John nodded. Aydan had already mentioned sending a letter requesting escort. The Tenebach clan could send enough forces to deal with anyone who might plan to rob them. For the moment they would be safe staying with the Order of the Amber Heart, since they had a reputation to uphold. Anything that happened nearby would be under their protection¡­ and with a handful of Foundation Phase cultivators a battle would cause enough of a ruckus for any local authorities to come to their aid. It wasn¡¯t like they would be traveling through the wilderness or along untamed roads. The path from the Order of the Amber Heart to Marble City and then the Tenebach clan was relatively safe¡­ as long as they couldn¡¯t be taken out swiftly and secretly. ----- While waiting, John planned to take the time to cultivate. If nothing else, he wouldn¡¯t be near such abundant earth elemental spiritual energy most of the time. The Stone Conglomerate of course had more than many places, but the amount varied significantly. The Order of the Amber Heart had one of the best locations, though what was best varied somewhat depending on particular cultivation methods. John had planned to add a spiritual totem with the earth element for the Foundation Phase, and he¡¯d certainly accomplished that goal- though in a more dangerous manner than he had intended. Still, he was satisfied with what he had, and its synergy with the Seed of Darkness. John didn¡¯t know of a name for his totem. Perhaps it might be called Decaying Earth. ¡®Compost¡¯ sounded too¡­ straightforward and plain. While people in this world understood crop growth, that didn¡¯t mean they made compost like on Earth¡­ and it was especially unlikely to find it in various sizes of bin on personal property. A mix of manure and less foul smelling forms of earth was a more likely fertilizer than intentional compost. That said, Fortkran hadn¡¯t really delved deep into the farming traditions in the area. Closer study of his totem revealed something extremely pleasing to John. While he had taken science classes throughout highschool and in the years of college before he had to drop out, he couldn¡¯t say he was familiar with compost on a deep level. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise to notice some interesting byproducts of the process- even as replicated in a completely nonphysical manner by a spiritual totem. The first thing John noticed was that it was a bit warm. Without any physicality, warmth was really an abstract thing¡­ but in short, fire elemental spiritual energy was distributed throughout the pile of earth. It was much less in comparison to the earth element produced, but still quite present. John was momentarily worried that it would throw off his plans, since if he was going to become attuned to fire next he would have to go in a weakening path instead of conquering path. However, there was also water¡­ and air. Only small traces, but they covered all of the core elements. Light was¡­ so far removed from his obtainable plans that he supposed it didn¡¯t matter if he never was able to complete the full cycle of elements. There was something else John discovered inside his dantian as well. He hadn¡¯t expected it¡­ but that was more from a lack of actual cultivation experience than it being something that couldn¡¯t be anticipated. The natural treasure he¡¯d bought at the auction- the pot- was now inside of him. John couldn¡¯t say whether it was really the same thing. With cultivation being possible at all, the world didn¡¯t work according to the laws of science he was raised to understand. There were still throughlines that kept things consistent, but also others layers that were harder to understand. His mind as John found it strange that an actual, physical thing was inside him¡­ but his knowledge about cultivation said this was normal. Or at least, possible. Sufficient levels of attunement to natural treasures could let them fuse with a cultivator. It wasn¡¯t the same as having an extra spiritual totem, but instead it was a tool he could call upon. Theoretically. It wasn¡¯t like he could just grab it with his hands¡­ but he should be able to use it somehow. He might even get some insights into special techniques if he studied it carefully. Now that he was Foundation Phase, Fortkran understood what having two spiritual totems did for him. While they were only both equivalent to second tier, the synergy between them was quite something. He would at least be able to display more power than someone with equal tier totems that were somewhat neutral. He should also be able to match power with someone who had a third tier totem or two if their synergy was minimal. But matching power directly wasn¡¯t the best method anyway. He needed to learn more techniques to enhance his abilities in other ways. Though some amount of raw power was always necessary, and quite welcome. He was looking forward to testing it out when he got a chance. Chapter 27 In Fortran Tenebach¡¯s private training room, John slowly and deliberately swung his sword back and forth in front of himself. He¡¯d thought Gravity Blade would have a better pulling ability when mixing in earth elemental spiritual energy, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. The problem was¡­ his memories of science on Earth and his understanding of concepts in the world where he was now didn¡¯t entirely mesh. It wasn¡¯t that gravity had nothing to do with earth¡­ but Gravity Blade wasn¡¯t really gravity. Even if it was, adding a tiny amount of mass wouldn¡¯t have helped. He already knew it wasn¡¯t actually gravity, but he had hoped he might gain something. He might still be able to find a way to increase the pulling power it had. However, he also supposed he should expand out to have more sorts of techniques. The Tenebach clan library had a large number of techniques, especially focused around the clan¡¯s specialization of darkness, and of course many earth techniques were available since they were in the Stone Conglomerate. John found the formalized version of the technique Brage had unknowingly taught him, ¡®Rebounding Earth¡¯. A formal technique would help smooth out some of the flaws and make it more efficient. In theory he could develop his own version to the same point, but why waste years or decades of work to try to do it on his own? It wasn¡¯t as if he was going to stop trying to make it better, but starting with something that clearly worked was smarter. One thing that earth had was strong defensive techniques. They were not without their drawbacks- usually limiting mobility- but if there was something he couldn¡¯t dodge¡­ a proper defensive earth technique might be the only thing to keep him in one piece. Not the best thing to rely on- but learning more techniques was only going to open up more options for him. Learning at least the basics so he would know if they would actually have value didn¡¯t take long, and each one he studied expanded his ability to learn more in the future. He found the description of one called Diamond Defense appealing¡­ but cultivating that properly involved ingesting actual diamonds. Not just regular diamonds either, but ones with a large amount of inherent earth attribute. A truly extravagant defensive technique. He was in good favor for the moment, but spending such excessive amounts for his cultivation wouldn¡¯t make him stay in the best graces of his family. Unbreakable Boulder didn¡¯t require such extravagant material usage, and instead merely proper comprehension and practice. It came with two stances for ¡®movement¡¯. One was simply called ¡®Rolling Down the Hill¡¯, and the other was ¡®Steady in the Valley¡¯. In short, the first one he would absorb the momentum of a blow and move with it¡­ while the second he would withstand an attack and drive the force into the ground to keep his position. He would prefer a good dodge to either of those options in most cases, but studying defensive techniques also let him develop his usage of energy for defense in general. At the minimum, he could call upon his earth energy to defend himself at a lesser level without reducing his mobility. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t spend all his time cultivating. There were occasionally jobs he was called upon to do for the family¡­ and social situations that needed attending to. John was fortunate that he already had a fiancee, because that meant he didn¡¯t have to deal with young women looking for suitors. Not for himself, at least. He didn¡¯t often attend parties. John had never really interacted much with ¡®high society¡¯ and the previous Fortkran had been¡­ perhaps a bit too eager at certain points in the past. But whether or not he attended, they always occurred. People with money liked to show it, and it was better to not have every single interaction between cultivators be fighting over resources. Though that didn¡¯t mean parties weren¡¯t without conflicts of other sorts. It was just that usually fewer weapons were involved. John spotted his target across the ballroom. It wasn¡¯t so hard to spot green hair, especially not such a vibrant shade of it. Cultivators were fond of dying their hairs exotic colors, and there were certain methods to make the change more or less permanent¡­ but it was likely that this woman¡¯s hair was ¡®natural¡¯, as such things went. Alina was her name, and the clan she was from had such hair for several generations. The environment where they lived contributed to them having their exotic hair, as well as a very slight greenish tinge to their light brown skin. The Milanovic clan was from the Green Sands, a desert northeast of the Stone Conglomerate. It was a fire attributed area, with a lonely volcano standing at the center. It was unlikely anyone would take such an area as a natural formation, but how it came to be that way was unknown. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Alina was a young woman at the Foundation Phase, a cultivator with reasonable prospects. That was why it was worrying that she had given so much attention to Tempkeit, who had a first rank totem and was merely at the sixth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase. Perhaps it was nothing¡­ so far, she had merely chosen to dance with him for a majority of a few balls. John didn¡¯t want to diminish his cousin who had been one of his few available sparring partners, but he certainly wasn¡¯t the best dancer. To avoid making himself too obvious, John first took the opportunity to dance with Cosima Valdez. He had quite an enjoyable battle with her back when they fought in the tournament. The way she danced¡­ John almost felt like she was preparing to knock him off his feet at any moment. But perhaps that was just a habit of her movements. ¡°You are quite different,¡± she said as they moved. ¡°Not just your advancement to Foundation Phase¡­ do I sense earth energy?¡± Fortkran wasn¡¯t really trying to hide it. If he was lucky, people would underestimate him and think that having two different element totems would make him weaker. ¡°That¡¯s right. It just seemed like the right choice at the time.¡± She smiled. ¡°Earth is always the right choice. Watch your step.¡± The ground trembled beneath them as they moved. Nobody would actually dare to attack someone else at a formal event, but showing off was another matter entirely. Spiritual energy allowed people to display abilities far above normal humans, though the way it was done varied significantly. Perhaps Cosima was empowered by the fact that she had the young master of the Tenebach clan with her, but she had no trouble flinging them around the area¡­ shaking several others on the dance floor off their feet. John might have been a bit worried about the same happening to himself if he hadn¡¯t advanced to the Foundation Phase along with her. However, everything felt good natured to him¡­ just a young woman having fun at a dance. Eventually, their rounds came to an end. ¡°It was pleasant to see you again,¡± John inclined his head. ¡°I would be willing to engage in an actual spar with you if you find the time.¡± She smiled tauntingly, ¡°I won¡¯t go easy on you, Fortkran Tenebach.¡± After excusing himself, he found his way over to Alina¡­ who was somewhat predictably dancing with Tempkeit as the next song started up. Fire swirled around the two of them, mostly green flames from Alina but a small amount of smoky black and red came from Tempkeit. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves well enough. Alina¡¯s hair swirled about them as Tempkeit just did his best to keep up with the movements given his lower cultivation. When the next song ended, John stepped forward and offered his hand, ¡°May I have this dance?¡± Alina looked from him to Tempkeit and back. ¡°Very well,¡± she smiled at Tempkeit even as she took John¡¯s hand, and the next song started up. Someone had been watching for the moment, and the next song was even more energetic than the last. Though it merely swirled around him with no intent to harm him, John found that the green flames were quite a bit more than uncomfortably hot. More relevantly, when he subconsciously tried to absorb some of the energy it singed his meridians. It wasn¡¯t that it was too powerful for him, not with such a tiny amount¡­ but he merely wasn¡¯t ready to absorb it. In the cycle of elements he was pursuing, fire would be one of the last. Anything more than the insignificant amounts he produced seemed to be too much. Though he recalled having the ability to absorb at least a little bit more from others. ¡°What brings you to these balls so often?¡± John asked. Attempting a conversation while dancing so vigorously was a bold move, but John and Alina twirled between other couples even so. It was no different than dodging attacks from multiple foes¡­ and much less lethal if he made a mistake. ¡°I like to dance,¡± Alina smiled. ¡°And I personally find the prospects in the Green Sands somewhat lacking.¡± She spun around quickly, raising her leg up to merely brush over the top of John¡¯s head. It was never meant to hit him¡­ but it took his whole effort not to pull back regardless. ¡°I thought to look here and found something I liked. But what about you¡­ don¡¯t you have a fiancee?¡± ¡°Indeed I do,¡± John admitted. ¡°And when she returns, I will need to be a capable enough dancer. So I must take any opportunity to practice.¡± Alina looked at him carefully. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Perhaps she recalled some rumors about what Fortkran lived his life like previously. Either way, she had her guard raised and he wouldn¡¯t get much information. Perhaps he would do better to speak to Tempkeit. Chapter 28 Tempkeit Tenebach was not one of the most talented cultivators in the clan. If he was in a normal family, perhaps he might have been seen differently¡­ but as it was, he did not have a high ranking totem nor did he progress through cultivation especially quickly. John knew he didn¡¯t have as many advantages as himself, and was disappointed to find he was only at the seventh level of the Spiritual Collection Phase. Not disappointed in Tempkeit, necessarily, but more in the world. It made sense to give those who would be more effective more resources, but that merely widened the gap between them. That was sort of the point, though it was intended more to make a particular clan better than others. There could be internal discord, but the Tenebach clan was quite stable. Even though John restrained himself to use only energy equivalent to the same level, it would never be quite the same. For one thing, he had two totems¡­ and that greatly affected the quality of his spiritual energy. Still, it was as fair as things could get. It had been some time since John sparred with Tempkeit. He felt bad about that, because the other had worked with him when he was one of the only viable candidates. He had somewhat left him behind. However, while John could see his cultivation progress wasn¡¯t as quick, he¡¯d clearly gained experience. Tempkeit¡¯s totem was called Shadowed Palms. It lead to an interesting style of fighting unarmed, and he was quite able to block John¡¯s attacks barehanded. But beyond his increase in experience, John sensed something more. He wasn¡¯t able to tell what it was until Tempkeit parried his sword with one palm and struck the other directly into his chest. John staggered back¡­ not particularly injured, but also sensing something. There was a bit of fire in there. Was it the influence of Alina? No, that wasn¡¯t it. He¡¯d felt her energy, and this was quite different. He wasn¡¯t sure it was new, either. He had just grown more sensitive to small amounts of elements. He only paused for a moment before returning to the spar, thinking about it. ¡°What do you think about fire?¡± John asked. ¡°Fire? Well, she¡¯s uh¡­ it¡¯s a fine element,¡± Tempkeit floundered at the sudden question. ¡°Is that so?¡± John smiled. ¡°Were you aware your totem is displaying signs of the fire element now?¡± It was mere traces, really, but the amount didn¡¯t matter. ¡°No¡­ how could¡­¡± Tempkeit frowned slightly. ¡°Sometimes environment and people can have that effect. Has anything changed?¡± John knew some of the answer, but even if things didn¡¯t go the direction he wanted he had a plan. ¡°Not¡­ really¡­¡± Tempkeit was obviously unsure what to say. ¡°I danced with Alina Milanovic at the ball, as you know. Her spiritual energy is much stronger than mine. Perhaps some traces¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if just once would make a difference. Have you seen her often?¡± ¡°Well I¡­¡± Tempkeit blushed slightly, ¡°I sort of wish that were the case. I go to social events with the hope she will be there, but we don¡¯t interact all that much. It¡¯s not like I have a chance to get closer to her.¡± That seemed to be all the information he would get. With that, John decided to be helpful as much as he could. ¡°Perhaps it is an innate quality of your totem. Just a small amount. I might suggest looking into the fire element to see if you can take advantage of it. And let me know if anything happens with Alina,¡± John grinned slyly, ¡°I think she might like you.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if encouraging the situation was a good idea. If she really did just like him, it wasn¡¯t a problem¡­ but hopefully if there was some sort of plot happening, he might overhear something. The idea of someone plotting through members of the Tenebach clan made his head hurt, but he understood the chance was very real. ----- As John cultivated more, his thoughts returned to Earth less frequently. It wasn¡¯t as if he forgot his former life, but he was many months detached from the situation now. He couldn¡¯t change anything in his former life, even if he wanted to. Even so, sometimes the calming nature of cultivation could bring him back. The first time he hired someone all on his own for Brad¡¯s Burgers, the first time he had to fire a worker- which fortunately hadn¡¯t been Kyle- managing inventory and shipments for the location where he had been made manager. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Though cultivation was certainly hard work sometimes, John was able to compare something important. Working hard when you had very little was much harder than when your needs were taken care of. Those who didn¡¯t need to work might choose not to, but having put in an equal amount of effort in both situations he found that his new life was basically easy. Except perhaps that time he almost died, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that was really different from Earth. The only difference is he wasn¡¯t worried about someone dying because they couldn¡¯t afford a medical bill. He worried about his family. Things had been better, but without him- he really hoped they were without him instead of having him replaced with Fortkran things might be more shaky. However, the one shining light was Kyle. John wondered if he ever got that promotion he was gunning for. He needed it. It was too bad that just having the talent and doing the work wasn¡¯t necessarily enough. John¡¯s thoughts bounced all over the place as his energy swirled around inside him, flowing through his meridians and being refined by the developing sapling that was the Seed of Darkness. He wanted it to grow up to be a great tree. His cultivation was the thing that gave him value, at least to the world around him. He might earn some value in other ways to those who knew him, but to the world as a whole that was it. While he might not care about the world as a whole, he did care about himself¡­ and doing his best to make something of himself while he had the chance was what he wanted to do for himself. ----- ¡°In short,¡± John finished his explanation, ¡°I believe there might be some genuine feelings on Alina¡¯s part. I will keep monitoring the situation, though.¡± Both of his parents, Gerben and Caelia, as well as his grandfather Luctus were meeting with him. It wasn¡¯t exactly a formal meeting, but it wasn¡¯t relaxed either. Luctus nodded. ¡°How is your cultivation going?¡± ¡°It will be difficult to say if the path I have chosen was correct before I reach Soul Expansion Phase¡­ but my totems are supporting each other and growing in strength. I don¡¯t believe I could nurture the Seed of Darkness beyond the second level without the support of my other totem. It will still likely be a slow process.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Luctus nodded. ¡°Our initial expectations were to just have you return to a modest standing. You are still not at the top of the youngest generation in the clan, but your progress is commendable. How confident are you in reaching the Soul Expansion Phase? You spoke about it quite confidently.¡± He looked over at his parents, who were close to the edge of the Soul Expansion Phase themselves. ¡°I have found confidence to be important. As for actually reaching it, I have no¡­ previous experience at the Foundation Phase. But my cultivation continues to progress smoothly. I have no doubt I will need to go out seeking more treasures and resources, especially as I near advancement, but for the moment staying in the Stone Conglomerate seems to be the most prudent. On that topic¡­ I would like your permission for something I plan to attempt. You see¡­¡± ----- The chances of running into someone particular in a large place like Marble City were low. The likelihood of reaching for the same exact technique scroll in a shop at the same time and grasping it, only to look over at someone who had tried to kill you was nearly nonexistent. But as John looked over at Kasimir Roldan, he reacted calmly, just as any young master of a clan should. ¡°Kasimir Roldan. Who would have thought I¡¯d see your cowardly face again? I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d go outside after violating the terms the Order of the Amber Heart set forward.¡± John didn¡¯t plan to give Kasimir a moment to respond, ¡°I challenge you to a duel for your attempt on my life!¡± Calm, rational young masters didn¡¯t yell at people in the middle of a shop and demand a duel. Unless, of course, they were pretending to be something else. ¡°I have no idea what you mean,¡± Kasimir turned up his nose as much as he could. ¡°So you won¡¯t admit to trying to kill me. And of course, you will refuse a duel because you can¡¯t surround me with lackeys.¡± John brushed past Kasimir as he moved towards the entrance of the shop. ¡°My grandfather once said the Roldan clan had at least some honor, but clearly that¡¯s changed over the generations.¡± ¡°Stop right there!¡± Kasimir called out behind John. They had gathered quite an interested crowd around them. ¡°Of course I shall accept a duel! We can go over to the arena this very moment!¡± John hid a smile, hopefully as well as he¡¯d concealed his cultivation. Kasimir had advanced to the Foundation Stage after the Crystal Caverns, which wasn¡¯t surprising at all. However, he¡¯d merely picked up another third tier totem. Theoretically that should have meant that John was further behind, but things weren¡¯t quite like that. For one, Kasimir probably hadn¡¯t been studying a technique specifically to counter him. ¡°Very well. Let us fight!¡± Chapter 29 The guardian Kasimir had with him did not seem particularly enthusiastic about Kasimir accepting a duel on the spur of the moment, but he also didn¡¯t seem worried. Why should he be? Kasimir had two third tier spiritual totems. John knew one was referred to as Avalanche, a heavily momentum based earth elemental totem. It was hard for people to keep their totems unknown forever, at least the general idea behind them¡­ and sometimes they liked to brag about them. Kasimir Roldan¡¯s second totem wasn¡¯t much to brag about though. It was just another third tier earth totem. John wasn¡¯t sure if he could disparage someone for only having third tier totems when he had a first and a second- or two second tier, if he counted it after the advancement his first one had undergone. Even so, he¡¯d intentionally made that choice. There was likely nothing special about Kasimir¡¯s second totem. It was just that their tier would theoretically make him about fifty percent stronger- if one presumed that adding together the total tiers of totems was the proper method. It was certainly common, but John wasn¡¯t sure if it was actually correct. Though higher tier totems certainly had a measurable impact on the amount of energy someone could hold. The dueling arena had some defensive formations set up that would lessen injuries¡­ but duelists still had to sign a waiver indicating that they knew they could be seriously injured regardless. It was less likely if cultivations were closely matched, but if one could overpower another by a significant margin, the arena¡¯s defenses wouldn¡¯t be very helpful. Unlike spars, they would be using real weapons¡­ it was just usually not lethal. Beyond that, the arena was in charge of any betting or the like. John and Kasimir were only fighting ¡®for honor¡¯, with no monetary gain or loss on the line, so the arena didn¡¯t need to collect the potential winnings from them first. John would have liked to bet some money, but bringing it up would be a bit too confident for how he was trying to appear. The arena itself was an open, flat area. There was plenty of room to maneuver, and there were a variety of possible starting distances. However, both John and Kasimir were primarily melee focused in their cultivation, so it was easy to agree they would start close, a few steps outside of sword range. ¡°Kasimir Roldan versus Fortkran Tenebach!¡± the referee declared to the mostly empty audience- only a few people had actually followed to watch. ¡°Begin!¡± Kasimir had a large, two handed sword. That didn¡¯t mean his movements would necessarily be less agile for the size of his weapon. Even a sword of that size was only a couple kilograms at most. It was quite thin¡­ and this particular sword would be even lighter, since the blade was made of obsidian. An obsidian blade worked well with earth, and could be made extremely sharp. Of course, any cultivator¡¯s weapon was extremely dangerous- whether or not it suited them mattered the most. John had his standard sword at his side, and in his hands was¡­ nothing. As the match started, darkness wreathed his fingers. He charged towards Kasimir, deflecting the sword with one hand while the other clawed at his gut. It would have been nice if it were so easy to win, but even though he got inside Kasimir¡¯s guard the man was still able to defend himself. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to claw through his armor, especially with earth elemental spiritual energy supporting it. Even so, John kept him on the back foot, stepping forward as quickly as Kasimir could back away to stay inside his optimal reach. A sword was not made for cutting someone nearly pressed up against the wielder, though it wasn¡¯t useless. John fought with his bare hands, so the fact that he had to deflect a weapon skillfully enough to not have his energy broken through evened things out. Despite John doing his best to pressure his opponent, Kasimir had time to taunt. ¡°Is that it?¡± Kasimir laughed, drawing his sword inward toward John¡¯s shoulder, forcing him to dance around him, ¡°I¡¯d heard your cultivation ran into setbacks. It seems you couldn¡¯t even handle your first totem until you reached Foundation Phase.¡± John slashed out angrily at Kasimir. He didn¡¯t even have to fake all of it, though he was more angry at the previous him. As for the third level Claws of Darkness he was imitating now, he absolutely intended to make Kasimir recall that information. It was the same reason he was only displaying his darkness element, which was going to run out before Kasimir¡¯s. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He kept pressing close, his energy clashing directly against Kasimir as he harassed him with a rain of blows, stepping around him and staying close so he couldn¡¯t perform a proper counterattack. Both of their steps were augmented by their energy as they moved¡­ and then John faltered, his claws fading. From the position he was in, Kasimir only had to take a single step back sweeping down with his sword. Without energy, John could only hope he could dodge out of the way. But of course, that would only be if he were out. Instead, he was still at half power¡­ more than that, since he¡¯d been drawing in bits he pulled off of Kasimir. His body sprang forward, shoulder checking Kasimir. It was like running into brick wall, but what did he have earth elemental spiritual energy for if not bowling over walls? The crossguard came down on his shoulder, but he sent Kasimir staggering back. He stepped close again, a solid uppercut striking into the man¡¯s jaw. He had a few traces of darkness left to help form a ¡®Gravity Blade¡¯, though without any blade at all. It merely imparted extra momentum to his fist, something earth was already excellent at. To his own credit, Kasimir didn¡¯t end up with a broken neck or jaw, merely staggering backwards. However, he hadn¡¯t been at all prepared, and when he stopped his momentum by leaning forward John was already grabbing his wrist and upper arm, flipping him over onto the ground behind him. Perhaps he should have practiced on a bag of steel ingots, but at least the technique was solid enough that the man¡¯s weight didn¡¯t stop him. Unbreakable Boulder¡¯s stance let him keep his own feet, though it wasn¡¯t exactly the way it was intended to be used. John had already considered what he would do. He didn¡¯t like the thought of killing someone, but Kasimir had absolutely intended his death in the Crystal Caverns. The sword was in his hand in a moment, his body weight and his earth energy driving it down into Kasimir, piercing through armor and slicing muscle and bone. However, his intent to kill didn¡¯t become a reality. ¡°I surrender!¡± Kasimir had twisted and diverted the attack with his own energy so that the sword only went into his shoulder- but it pierced straight through into the ground below. One arm would be useless, and he was already in a disadvantageous position. John grabbed the hilt of his sword. He couldn¡¯t continue attacking his opponent after a surrender, or he would face serious consequences¡­ but he didn¡¯t have to be gentle when he pulled his sword out, either. ¡°This is what happens when you don¡¯t find me tired after another duel and you have no lackeys with you.¡± John turned and walked away, keeping his defensive energy in place just in case. Kasimir might suffer heavy consequences if he attacked outside of the duel, but that wouldn¡¯t help John if he was injured. He walked towards where Aydan was waiting- he had no reason to change guardians, since they got along well enough- and walked out of the arena. Once they were further away, Aydan surrounded them with a bit of energy to block prying ears. ¡°That went well.¡± ¡°Right.¡± John nodded. ¡°But I can¡¯t say it was as easy as it looked.¡± He breathed out heavily. ¡°If it was a fair fight, I couldn¡¯t overcome the distance in totems.¡± ¡°Fights should never be fair,¡± Aydan said, ¡°Not real ones, at least. Always take advantage of your opponent¡¯s weaknesses and assumptions.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I get it¡­¡± John shook his head, ¡°I thought my idea for cultivation would just make me more powerful, but two elements out of six is a pretty pathetic ¡®cycle¡¯, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not that my totems don¡¯t support each other, but they¡¯re still low tier. For now.¡± ¡°You are certainly more ambitious now,¡± Aydan said. He was now one of the few members of the Tenebach Clan who had been let in on what actually happened. ¡°Or at least, your ambitions lie in more practical places rather than doing whatever you want.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t like the idea of doing what I want¡­ but I can¡¯t, really, if I¡¯m not strong.¡± John knew he wouldn¡¯t have made the same decisions as Fortkran regardless, but some things he understood. The desire for pleasures and luxuries still existed, he just had experience without even some of the more basic things Fortkran had access to. Like a big bed and cooks willing to make him whatever he wanted. And money. Having money was nice. He was even expected to spend some of it on luxuries, just to assuage any suspicions. He wasn¡¯t sure if some of the plays he watched were really better performed than a good movie, but with cultivation involved some ¡®practical effects¡¯ were quite entertaining live. Some things were quite flashy, and being able to feel the heat of fire in front of him really changed things¡­ even if he also knew that the fire was rather weak. Chapter 30 Writing down the proper method to learn a technique was a lot harder than John had thought it would be. Sure, he could put words to paper¡­ but how would they be interpreted by another? Describing patterns to circulate energy through the meridians was at least more formulaic, but there was also another problem. The technique didn¡¯t even really exist yet. He stared at the meridian diagram. That was the part he was most certain about, but even then he might find changes that needed to be made. He¡¯d thought that writing it out might help him develop it, but he wasn¡¯t sure that was the case. It just showed he wasn¡¯t a master of anything yet. Anything that worked for him he just did without the ability to explain it in detail. Then again, it was a very specialized technique. He was trying to formalize his ability to absorb spiritual energy from others. It was certainly a darkness element technique, but it might also require the particular totem he had. The Seed of Darkness, now grown into a proper sapling, was also a significant part of the process. He had gone over the various totems available, as much as they were listed, along with observing the sea of spiritual totems himself. There were a few that had similar properties that might work, but he couldn¡¯t exactly just swap out spiritual totems and test. They were a permanent choice. Well, considering what happened with Fortkran¡­ a mostly permanent choice. He didn¡¯t relish the thought of dropping his cultivation in the hopes that he could regain it and choose a different totem. Especially not when he was satisfied with what he had. It just made it harder to know if other people could practice his technique. As for improving it, he could just use it. The problem he had was¡­ he wasn¡¯t sure if it was safe. Obviously combat techniques were never meant to be safe, but there was a difference between absorbing loose spiritual energy and something another cultivator was wielding. He didn¡¯t care if it was safe for actual enemies, but if he was just sparring with someone he wanted to avoid long term ill effects. He had some ideas for it that would absolutely come with long term negative effects. Directly trying to access the energy in another cultivator¡¯s dantian wouldn¡¯t be easy in the slightest¡­ it might not even be efficient enough to be worthwhile, but it would certainly be damaging if he could pull it off. He was nearly certain that if he absorbed the energy of an attack- around a weapon or otherwise launched at him- there would be no harm in it. The closer it was to the cultivator, and the more a part of them it was, however, the blurrier the line became. ----- Brage was absolutely a master of the sword. Even with nearly matching cultivations, John found himself unable to keep up with him as he became serious. However, the more they trained¡­ the more John wondered if he would ever master the sword. His skills were certainly improving with time¡­ but he wasn¡¯t sure if the sword fit his style. Sometimes he felt like the heavy weapons favored by the earth cultivators around him would be the right choice, but he wasn¡¯t going to just use the earth element. They lacked a certain subtlety that suited darkness. Though they couldn¡¯t just summon top-of-the-line masters with a snap of their fingers, the Tenebach clan could provide competent trainers for any sort of weapon imaginable. While it was said that there were advantages and disadvantages to every weapon, some weapons were just disadvantages. Some ¡®weapons¡¯ were used merely because they were what people had access to. Many of them such as the scythe originated as farming implements. There was almost never a use for a weapon that relied on pulling towards the user like those did. Of course, there were ¡®scythes¡¯ with the same shaped blades but positioned like on a proper polearm. Once enough adjustments were made, it was quite functional as a weapon- but it was no longer the original thing except in name. John trained with everything anyway, bad facsimile of a weapon or not. He trained with swords- straight swords, rapiers, curved swords, and large two handed ones. Sometimes he would use a shield of varying sizes along with a sword or other weapon. Axes were good for using their weight to break through armor- and with the effects of spiritual energy, most cultivators could be considered to be wearing heavy armor regardless of what they wore. A portion of that effectiveness was the user¡¯s own energy, but along with the weighty hammers axes were the best if a direct blow was actually struck. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Polearms were basically every other form of melee weapon on a long stick. They had the major advantage of reach- if your opponent couldn¡¯t reach you before they were impaled, crushed, or chopped apart then you were the victor. Unfortunately, cultivators had the ability to react and move quickly, slipping inside their reach, which lessened them to just the level of being quite effective. If there were one sort of weapon that was always better, someone would have figured it out before John. He did take to smaller weapons like daggers and claw weapons, likely because of his previous experience. They had less power, but it hardly mattered if he was able to strike a vulnerable point or gather his energy. Not much good for fighting anything larger than a human, though. Flexible weapons like whips were quite popular for users of the darkness element. It was about tricking the opponent and controlling their actions. Disarming them of their weapons or making them lose their footing was all well and good¡­ though a whip couldn¡¯t kill someone. Not with the weapon itself, except perhaps by strangling. A proper application of energy could suffice, but better were chain weapons with blades. The sickle and chain was one such weapon, heavier than a whip and not capable of exactly the same maneuvers, but still useful for binding weapons or people- and sturdier. There were various versions of it with different names¡­ though of course all of them were somewhat different than the names on Earth. Entirely different languages would do that. John was glad he hadn¡¯t actually had to learn the local language. Melee weapons weren¡¯t the only options. If he was exploring the breadth of weapons, the technically best were those usable at range for the same reason polearms were good. If your opponent died before they even got to attack, you were safe. Light weapons like throwing daggers and darts were easy to conceal. John supposed he might as well keep some on his person, just in case. Larger throwing weapons like javelins were reasonable for a battlefield, but a bit cumbersome for a cultivator. He might carry a handful on his person in a quiver, but if he was going to do that¡­ he might as well have a bow. Though the way each weapon used the power of its user was different. Crossbows technically existed, John found out¡­ but they had a major flaw that was normally their advantage. They didn¡¯t use any of the muscle power of the wielder outside of loading, and even then they could just use mechanical advantage to make the process easier. Cultivators had bodies better that could go beyond the power of normal humans, so a crossbow had minimal reason to be used instead of any other method of launching a projectile. Even with better materials, there were some mechanical limitations by the size. John made his decision of weapon by not deciding. He was still most trained with the sword, so until he found a weapon good enough to replace what he had, he found no point in doing so. He could easily carry a dagger and a handful of hidden weapons, and if he were riding in a carriage having a bow along wouldn¡¯t be a bother. Training with a variety of weapons would benefit him in fighting against them in the future- and he had no doubts he would be doing much fighting with other humans- so he would continue to seek out different options. ----- While staying home and training all the time was a reasonable activity for the young master of a clan, doing exclusively cultivation and weapons training was a good way to fall behind. John needed more practical experience, and since there were no appropriate events happening in the Stone Conglomerate¡­ traveling was the option. He could potentially take care of something else at the same time. While for the next stage he would prefer to go somewhere the air element was prominent, it was very rare for such a place to be adjacent to areas aligned with earth, as opposed elements. A closer option was to go to the Green Sands. There were some untamed areas where he might train against beasts, and he might learn about opportunities as well. Likewise, many sects were willing to have their students spar with traveling cultivators- both sides could learn from different styles- so even if he didn¡¯t face any real dangers he could learn more than just remaining stationary at home. That said, while danger could certainly lead to growth¡­ he was absolutely going to be bringing his uncle Aydan along. Other young masters would have a guardian, and he would as well. It would be foolish to not use the advantages he had. And as long as he wasn¡¯t a terrible person about it, it would be at least a net neutral for the world, and a positive for himself. Chapter 31 It was surprisingly easy to arrange for a long trip out of the country. Even a regular cultivator wouldn¡¯t have much trouble, though of course John had the advantage of money. That meant he could ride in a carriage and bring more than just the necessities along with him. Sure, a storage bag could hold quite a few things, but if he was on a trip he wouldn¡¯t normally bring along extra sets of formal clothes. They would just get wrinkled, and trying to unwrinkle clothes with just spiritual energy was a pain. Having the room to store them properly was quite nice. John finally had the chance to see more of the Stone Conglomerate with his own eyes. Though he wasn¡¯t much into tourism, he found himself impressed by some of the cities they passed by. Great stone walls a dozen or more meters high protected cities. John wondered if they were actually practical, but he supposed they would serve well enough to slow down weaker cultivators. Even at the Foundation Phase he would find it difficult to scale the walls. He just hoped that the walls weren¡¯t filled with bodies of workers who died building them. He didn¡¯t actually know how they were built, but their sheer size actually made it less likely that slaves were the primary source of labor. It would require strong cultivators to perform the labor¡­ and attempting to keep strong cultivators as slaves was a foolish endeavor. Unless the average cultivation of a nation was beyond the Foundation Phase, or had most of its leadership in the Soul Expansion Phase¡­ it would just be asking for trouble. Not that John approved of slaves regardless. He might not think that all of the same morals applied the same way as on Earth, but slavery was quite unacceptable. He was glad the Tenebach clan only had paid servants- who were treated well. Better, now that the old Fortkran wasn¡¯t around. John took stock of his uncle Aydan as he listened to the sound of wheels on stone. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that the Earth Conglomerate had abundant access to stone and those who could work it, so even roads between cities were mostly made out of stone- smoothly paved and not just cobble, either. Aydan was in the mid Foundation Phase. Well, he had been. The fifteenth rank overall and the sixth rank of the Foundation Phase was just on the edge of late Foundation Phase¡­ and now he was one rank higher than that. His experience and rewards from the Crystal Caverns had been quite beneficial. John¡¯s own parents were only slightly higher in cultivation, though it had to be noted they didn¡¯t focus on cultivation as much as some of the clan. There were many political affairs to deal with, though they cultivated enough to be among the higher ranking people in Marble County. Fortkran had spent about a decade to nearly reach Foundation Phase- though only four of five of those years had any true dedication to cultivation. John had recovered that cultivation in just under a year total. His parents were fairly young, but with another twenty years they were only eight ranks ahead. Yet he could already feel why that might be the case. Despite access to resources and plentiful spiritual energy in the area, cultivating at the Foundation Phase was more difficult. It didn¡¯t help that John had no previous experience doing so, and that his totems were somewhat weak. However¡­ he couldn¡¯t complain. Most people in the Stone Conglomerate didn¡¯t have the chance to enter the Foundation Phase. A majority of people weren¡¯t cultivators- or would eternally be in the early or mid Spiritual Collection Phase- and of those who passed that point less than half made it past early Foundation Phase. The rates were higher in certain areas, and some countries had more spiritual energy which increased the overall level of cultivation. Though John felt strong, he was just reaching the level of actual effective power in Marble County. He needed to continue to focus on his growth¡­ especially since his totems were still weaker than they should be. He was able to cultivate on the road to a certain extent, but it wasn¡¯t as if he would increase in rank in just a couple weeks. The journey was actually so long¡­ indicating how large the Stone Conglomerate actually was. Of course, riding in a carriage wasn¡¯t the fastest method of transport for a cultivator, but with decent horses it wasn¡¯t slow either. When they arrived at the border, there was little delay. Cultivators were generally free to travel as they wished, and the Stone Conglomerate and the Green Sands had no recent conflicts. Not as entire regions, at least. Individual clans or sects might fight, but nobody was interested in maintaining borders against them. Making it more difficult for criminals to move in and out of the country was all that the border guards really did. The border was mostly arbitrary- outside of what the Stone Conglomerate cared about and likewise for those in the Green Sands. Stony hills with anything of value in them long since mined out. However, the hills gradually flattened out¡­ and John was able to see in the distance his first sight of the Green Sands. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. John had seen green sand on earth. In little bottles, it was sort of cool. However, on the horizon, sparkling in the sun¡­ it was quite an impressive sight. Nearby it was merely a mix between dirt and stone with a bit of dull green, but further on the horizon it was like sparkling emeralds. Even though it merely turned into sandy hills of green sand and occasional strange plants, John found the scenery quite beautiful. He liked the country already. That lasted until sometime before noon. ¡°It¡¯s hot¡­¡± he said. Of course, Aydan already knew that. He wasn¡¯t sweating, but John had felt him resisting the heat with his energy. The entire energy was suffused with fire elemental spiritual energy¡­ and that meant heat. The opposite wasn¡¯t necessarily true, though usually heat came with spiritual energy as well. ¡°Of course it is. Did you not hear about it?¡± ¡°I just thought it would be¡­ like a normal desert.¡± Sweat dripped down his brow despite his best efforts to insulate himself from the heat. Aydan smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®normal¡¯ deserts are full of cultivators. So when it is said to be hot¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s hot for cultivators,¡± John melted into the seat under him. ¡°I wish we had air¡­ blowers.¡± Aydan knew of John¡¯s true past, at least in general. And bringing up the idea of air conditioning was reasonable anyway. ¡°Unfortunately, air elemental treasures- natural or artificial- are quite rare in the Earth Conglomerate. They don¡¯t last as well, even if they are brought over. Still, you should be able to protect yourself well enough with your energy.¡± John had been trying. He couldn¡¯t use too much, because he had to maintain the effect all day. It just seeped into him in a way he couldn¡¯t control. ¡°... I think I¡¯m weak to fire,¡± John concluded. ¡°Of course. You have earth elemental spiritual energy, after all. Not that darkness is well suited to resist fire either.¡± If John were to be honest¡­ his discomfort was exaggerated somewhat. It was just that everything had been so comfortable up to that point it threw him off. A little bit of sweating wasn¡¯t too bad, though he wondered what their driver must have felt. Perhaps the open air was better. Later in the afternoon was better, and John supposed he should just consider it training. If he let himself be defeated by the environment before even fighting beasts or sparring with cultivators, what good would he be? But complacency was easy. They came to a proper city in the evening, where they stopped at an inn. John knew it was stupid to think that they would be camping in the sand or stopping at an oasis, but that was what he had imagined. The buildings were even made of familiar stone- they weren¡¯t too far to transport it from the Stone Conglomerate. The city was actually built around a large oasis, but they weren¡¯t setting up little tents next to caravans with camels. They¡¯d also been traveling along a road- not quite what the Stone Conglomerate had, but it was clearly maintained and wasn¡¯t just covered in mounds of sand. John was glad they could afford to stay somewhere nice, with thin silk sheets that weren¡¯t too hot. Because while he could tough it out, he was going to save his toughness for when it was actually important. ----- They set out early before dawn, something John completely understood. For the sake of the horses, they would be stopping at midday now that they were fully inside the border of the Green Sands. John was surprised to see mesas- not at all made of the same green material as the sand, but a normal light brown. Sandy brown, or sometimes reddish. Once he thought about it, it made sense. The green sands weren¡¯t a natural part of the terrain, at least not as much as the rest. Somewhere in the center of the green sands was a giant volcano. While it rarely had true eruptions, it produced a large amount of olivine which eroded off to form the green sands in the region. An hour after dawn, Aydan frowned. He knocked on the front of the carriage. ¡°Stop the carriage. I need to check something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± John asked. ¡°I feel agitated spiritual energy. Combat, most likely.¡± He stood up. ¡°Come, let¡¯s see if we can take a look. We may want to get involved¡­ or specifically avoid doing so.¡± Chapter 32 Most of the Green Sands were not populated. It was a desert, after all. With that being the case, cultivators who could survive in the desert had numerous places to hide without anyone being able to find them. That led to the rise of banditry. The roads were regularly patrolled, but smart bandits merely had to watch for patrols to pass before trying to find a juicy target. If they found a small enough group, they could attack and get away before anyone could react. That was exactly the sort of thing that seemed to be going on in front of the two members of the Tenebach clan. The bandits wore coverings on their faces- good for both the desert sands and so they could remain unrecognized when they chose to sell their ill-gotten gains in the cities. Aydan looked at the scene, ¡°Looks like they chose a difficult target.¡± Though the number of those being attacked were small, John could feel a number of late Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators among them, and one at the Foundation Phase being pressed by two bandits of similar cultivation. More than that, there was a familiar sensation to them. John spotted green hair among the defenders. Not Alina, since she was in the Foundation Phase, but certainly another of the Milanovic clan. Was it fate¡­ or just coincidence? He wasn¡¯t sure if there were cosmic forces that guided things. On Earth he could have sworn there weren¡¯t, but in a world with cultivation it might be different. The chances of stumbling upon a battle as it was happening weren¡¯t terribly high, but it wasn¡¯t even slightly unlikely for the Milanovic clan members to be traveling in the Green Sands. ¡°They could use some help, though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Aydan said. ¡°It would not hurt to befriend some locals, and it doesn¡¯t appear to be a dispute between clans. Not that one side is willing to admit to, at least. Are you ready?¡± John nodded, his feet propelling him forward. The surface of the road was packed and easier to move on, but sand was all just earth and wouldn¡¯t restrict his movements too much. Understanding this was a real battle and not just a safe match, he held a throwing dagger ready as he approached to get the most out of his time. When one of the bandits was blinded by a sheet of green flames, he took the opportunity to fling the throwing dagger at his back. It carried the weight of earth behind it¡­ which mostly meant that when it hit, it penetrated deep into his back. ¡°Members of the Milanovic clan! The Tenebach clan will support you against these bandits!¡± While his attack had hopefully indicated his intentions, a formal declaration would help people be more at ease at additional cultivators adding to the fray. There was no harm to it since he¡¯d already used up the element of surprise they had- and Aydan had reached one of the Foundation Phase cultivators before he even attacked. While he would have liked to assist with the other Foundation Phase cultivator, the bandits had the advantage of numbers and several of them turned on him immediately. They were in the seventh through ninth levels of the Spiritual Collection Phase, nothing extremely impressive¡­ but not everyone had the opportunities he was given. Though that didn¡¯t mean John would be charitable towards attempting to steal people¡¯s lives and property just because they weren¡¯t as high in cultivation. Instead of trying out something exotic John pulled out his sword, parrying some of the curved blades of the bandits and staying light on his feet in the sand alongside the road. He was just looking for a good opening to attack when he had to dodge some arrows. He¡¯d almost been too late to sense the further away archers, but at least his reflexes were quick enough. It was quite troublesome to avoid them as well as the other melee combatants, though. His dodges weren¡¯t perfect, and he found his energy having to take the brunt of several hits. Less than a minute into the fight and he was sweating. The heat of the desert, physical exertion, flames being thrown around nearby but not at him¡­ and he certainly noticed this wasn¡¯t the best place for him to fight. He was lucky to be ahead of his opponents in rank or he might have quickly perished, despite all of Brage¡¯s efforts teaching him. He couldn¡¯t just overpower all of them at once¡­ though if his totems were a bit stronger, perhaps that would be possible. He wasn¡¯t interested in just letting himself get worn down, so he settled for a half-decent chance and slashed the wrist of one bandit. That left him open to a blow to his side, but he solidified his defenses and let it push him back. Unbreakable Boulder¡¯s Rolling Down the Valley¡­ though it really wasn¡¯t more than just letting himself be pushed back to absorb a blow. It needed a stronger attack to show its real value, but it was fine to not worry about that and in fact preferable he didn¡¯t need to use it to its fullest extent. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! John waited for the next person to step in, slashing out with his sword as a counter. Just the tip managed to graze them, but a seemingly excessive amount of energy was involved, slicing straight into their shoulder, tearing through their defensive energy. About half of the cultivators were fire element, but including his current target many of the others used the earth element. He pulled in some of the energy he tore away, absorbing it and refining it inside himself without regard for its former owners. He found that the first exchange came out more or less even, but as he started absorbing energy from blows he parried he managed to keep himself at sufficient levels of energy. Enough that he could afford to be more aggressive, and soon he finished off the injured bandit and slashed another. The addition of two unexpected cultivators had thrown off the bandits, and they soon began to flee. No matter the possible gains, they had to be alive to make use of it. John¡¯s eyes locked on some of the fleeing archers, solidifying the sand underneath him as he moved after them. He cut down two, but another fled at a different angle that took him away from the rest. John didn¡¯t want to get too far from the rest of the group, so he let that one go. It was very unlikely he would die to a single cultivator lower in cultivation than himself¡­ but he could always make a mistake. Or there could be unknown backup. The Milanovic clan¡¯s Foundation Phase cultivator was removing the face coverings of the bandits. ¡°Pfeh. Nobody important. Just foolish bandits. Though we do appreciate your assistance,¡± he inclined his head to Aydan, and to John- though it wasn¡¯t strictly necessary. ¡°We hadn¡¯t thought there would be trouble on the main roads, and we got too relaxed to be nearly home. I am Ruric Milanovic.¡± Among the group was a young woman with vibrant green hair. She was certainly similar to Alina, though whether she was a sister, cousin, or some more distant relation wasn¡¯t immediately obvious. ¡°Tena Milanovic,¡± she inclined her head. ¡°You mentioned the Tenebach clan?¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± Aydan said. ¡°This is young master Fortkran Tenebach. It is at his request we came to your aid.¡± That wasn¡¯t really something he¡¯d pushed for. Aydan had basically agreed from the outset, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to say it was his idea. ¡°Alina has been attending many balls recently. We could not just stand by when we saw who you were.¡± John watched for reactions to the name. It was entirely possible there were different factions of the clan. Even the Tenebach clan had members who didn¡¯t like each other as much, despite their relatively high level of unity. Tena inclined her head. ¡°Perhaps we should thank her for bringing our clan into your thoughts, then. Forgive my prying, but it is a bit odd for darkness cultivators such as yourself to come to the Green Sands. Is there anything specific you are looking for, or is this merely a training journey?¡± ¡°Training, for the most part,¡± John said. He would have liked to appear more dignified, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from sweating. Nobody else appeared even a little bit uncomfortable. ¡°I was hoping to find some fire cultivators to spar with, if nothing else.¡± ¡°Instead you found battle,¡± Tena smiled. ¡°But I¡¯m sure this skirmish was probably not sufficient for the young master of the Tenebach clan. Why don¡¯t we travel together for a while? I can introduce you to some of the talents in the area.¡± Left unsaid was a mutual defensive pact while they were traveling. Few people would want to attack Foundation Phase cultivators, but John realized he should have perhaps had a larger entourage. Though there were benefits to being subtle and small in number, and able to escape quickly. ¡°We¡¯d be quite glad to join you, of course.¡± Though he didn¡¯t look forward to showing his weakness to the heat. Then again, how would he overcome it if he didn¡¯t face it? ----- There were no further incidents on the way to the first large city- Vrona. The sight of the city was quite impressive. Water that at first appeared almost as emerald green as the sands themselves flowed in a nearby river, and it was clear the city was built atop a particularly large oasis. Emerald buildings rose up out of the ground, but those that stood out more were rustic reds and browns that contrasted more with the environment around them. Various familiar crops were grown along the river, though there were some grains he also didn¡¯t recognize. Then again, even the normal wheat had a bit of a greenish tinge to it. Not sickness, but merely some traces of the minerals in the area. The small amounts that made it into people¡¯s diets were presumably not bad for their health since generations of people, normal folk and cultivators, had grown up in the area without issue. John was relieved to find the city somewhat cooler, not because the sun was any less hot¡­ but because there was less sand absorbing and reflecting the heat. The surfaces of the city were slightly better about the way they did so, at least. Though as he approached his destination, he could already feel heat building up. This particular location intentionally gathered heat instead of letting it disperse. Just attempting to spar in a building that seemed like it should be on fire might be challenge enough. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t embarrass himself. Chapter 33 The Furnace Sect certainly had named themselves rightly. Sweltering heat built up inside the area they controlled. That was their preferred place to train. For other fire type cultivators it wasn¡¯t a disadvantage when sparring¡­ but John felt like he was about to melt just stepping into the area. For the sake of his own dignity and the Tenebach clan, he couldn¡¯t let that happen. He did his best to not appear like he was straining himself just being in the area. Tena Milanovic introduced him to the sect elder who was currently present. ¡°This is Fortkran Tenebach, from the Stone Conglomerate. He has come to the Green Sands for training, and wishes to spar with students of some of the great sects, including the Furnace Sect.¡± The elder nodded his head. ¡°Of course, we encourage our disciples to spar with those outside of our discipline. I shall see who is available. What cultivation level would you prefer to spar against?¡± ¡°I have heard of the Furnace Sect¡¯s reputation, and I believe a disciple with similar cultivation at the early Foundation Phase like myself should be appropriate.¡± There wasn¡¯t another answer he could give. He was at the tenth rank , and while it might not be inappropriate to spar against someone a cultivation rank below him where there was an attribute disadvantage¡­ one rank below would be someone in the Spiritual Collection Phase. That wasn¡¯t a good look. Saying he could beat someone higher rank than himself was not only a bit arrogant, but probably untrue. He knew he had some ability, but doing so at an element disadvantage¡­ he wouldn¡¯t want to try it. Anything could happen in a battle, but that also included him losing horribly more than half of the time if he overestimated himself. ¡°Of course, follow me to the sparring arena.¡± The elder led him into the complex, and it only seemed to get hotter. It was the sort of heat that would kill a normal human, and it made John realize how much different he was in just the past months. This was a world of rapid change and great power. He had been swept up in its tides, though he had no idea if that was a bad thing or not. John didn¡¯t like the fact that he could see the air. Heat waves radiated from every surface in the courtyard where they finally arrived. At least everything should be quick. Either he would learn to overcome heat somehow¡­ or be destroyed. Though that didn¡¯t necessarily have to happen in a single battle. As he was waiting he continued to watch the ground radiating heat waves into the air. There was something about it. Maybe it was just that everything reminded him of cultivation now. Then again, maybe everything was cultivation¡­ or cultivation mirrored the world, more accurately. Sometimes it was a strange funhouse mirror, but a mirror nonetheless. The ground was earth, heat was fire, air was air¡­ and if he wanted water it was probably his sweat. How long were they going to take to find someone? John watched his sweat fall to the ground, expecting it to sizzle like encountering a frying pan. It seemed things weren¡¯t quite that hot, as it merely splattered. It did evaporate extremely quickly, however. Soon, a servant arrived with refreshments. It seemed the Furnace Sect had no intention to win by letting him collapse on his own at the start of the match. The cool water they had in a cup was already heating up¡­ but he drank it down quickly to lower his internal temperature. He watched the radiating heat more. Just discerning that there were elements in the area didn¡¯t do him any good. That was always true. What could he learn? Earth radiated heat into the air. Unfortunately, that was only when the concentration of heat on the earth was higher than the air around. If he had control over air or water he could cool himself with convection, but one of those was still some way off, and the other even further. Inside of him, the sapling was only able to absorb a small amount of heat, mostly what was produced by his other totem and little more. It didn¡¯t just feed on other elements, it needed a proper balance. A tree in the sun for too long could shrivel and die. At the very least, it needed enough water and good soil. After a short eternity, an opponent for John finally arrived. It was probably merely a few minutes, and he knew if they had been stalling it would have been longer¡­ but it had certainly seemed to drag on. A young man of around the same age, in his early twenties, arrived along with the elder. He wore light armor and had at his side a chain weapon. John was glad he¡¯d studied those at least a little bit¡­ because they could be quite tricky weapons. The elder explained the expected rules for the spar. There was nothing strange about it, but making it clear was still reasonable. No killing your opponent, though the sparring area should stop that from happening. As a friendly spar, of course, any attempt to maim the opponent would be a breach of protocol. Accidents could happen, but intent was important. John could probably get away with something because of his status¡­ but he had no quarrel with the Furnace Sect or intent to gain quarrels. That would happen all too often on its own. ¡°Karolis, Fortkran, ready yourselves¡­¡± the elder made sure they were prepared. ¡°Begin!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Flames immediately climbed along the length of the chain in his opponent¡¯s hands. A cultivator would be protected from the heat of their own fire element for the most part, but not entirely. At least his intentions were obvious. Both ends of the chain had weights, instead of one side at least having a blade of some sort. While a weight might break an arm, that indicated the intent wasn¡¯t to cause damage with the weapon itself. It was merely a catalyst for carrying fire elemental spiritual energy. His opponent swung the chain faster and faster. If John stepped inside it would easily wrap around him, and he had already missed the best opportunity to move in. However, his opponent also had to attack at some point. Keeping up the level of energy he had on the chain wasn¡¯t possible forever- even in an advantageous environment. In fact, it was already starting to glow red-hot. Doubtless the material could withstand the temperature, but whether Karolis could keep it that way was another question. John held his sword low and ready. Seeing that John wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to step in, Karolis stepped forward. As he did so, John released darkness elemental spiritual energy throughout the area, dulling his vision and senses. It wasn¡¯t enough to fully blind him, but it would at least slightly hamper him. He moved forward, extending his chain in a large sweep. John knew that blocking it would just let it wrap around himself or his sword or both. His sword slashed up to push the chain higher while he himself ducked down. Guided by Karolis¡¯ energy, the chain tried to wrap around him regardless¡­ but John dashed under the chain quickly enough to avoid its reversing direction. Even so, he felt its heat wash over him, adding to his already growing temperature. He wished he could make use of it somehow, but it just wasn¡¯t possible yet. John dashed forward while the chain was extended, feinting with his sword at Karolis. Of course, Karolis had a length of chain in both hands ready to stop his blow. John hadn¡¯t committed fully, pulling his sword away as Karolis attempted to wrap around it. He wasn¡¯t concerned about his weapon being damaged by the heat, but he certainly wanted to avoid being disarmed. The majority of the chain whipped back towards the two of them as Karolis yanked on it. John had to quickly move around behind, using Hidden Steps so Karolis couldn¡¯t anticipate his exact movements. Regardless, the chain swung around again. John was ready with something else, holding up his shield to block it. As the chain began to wrap around the shield, he used his own energy to free his arm from the shield and push it away. The shield was merely a burden- since he couldn¡¯t truly block with it, having a free hand was better. With his sword hand, he slashed at Karolis- who dodged out of the way. Karolis already had the elemental advantage, and that would only build as they continued the battle. John had to win quickly, before he exhausted himself. Of course, trying to rush things could lead to mistakes¡­ which was why he had to be clever about it. With his left hand he threw a dagger covered in twisting darkness to keep Karolis occupied while he looked for a good opening. The chain was troublesome if he let it wrap around him, but it also took a long time to come to bear at a distance or to retract. John planned to use that. He let himself be pushed back to a less optimal range for himself and began to gather earth elemental energy, something Karolis knew was defensively weak against his attacks. However, John twisted darkness energy along with it to hide his intentions and to add a little bit of something more. He held his sword behind him, concealing as much as he could as he reversed his grip on his sword. Karolis began a wide sweep with the chain, just at mid level so John would either have to drop to the floor or jump over it. Either way, John imagined it would alter its trajectory to meet his movements. Just to provide another minute advantage, his left hand threw another dagger as he performed his maneuver. Hopefully, considering dodging would prevent Karolis from reacting to his plan. He pushed his sword out to the side to meet the chain, blade down and crossguard above it. As his sword pushed into the chain it was immediately folding around it, but John¡¯s arm was already moving downward. It was a combination between Unbreakable Boulder and Gravity Blade. In short, earth and darkness combined to bring stability and ¡®gravity¡¯ holding it to the blade as he drove it into the ground. He was already vaulting over the chain as it spun around beneath him, but he drove the blade deeper into the ground. The floor of the courtyard was merely stone, not protected from the attacks of cultivators because it could easily be replaced. The crossguard of the sword caught the chain against the ground, though the loose end still grabbed out at John¡¯s leg, brushing against him and causing searing pain. The handful of meters between the two combatants was small for cultivators. While his blade might not even remain holding the chain for ten seconds, John was already to Karolis with a dagger drawn in two seconds. The chain in Karolis¡¯ hand almost became a liability, restricting his movements as he attempted to block with it. However, a flurry of slashes and stabs from John kept him from disentangling his chain. Cuts appeared along his arms, as most of his energy had been used for offense. Karolis eventually dropped the chain as John pushed him away from where it was attached. He wasn¡¯t incapable of fighting without a weapon, but it still put him at a disadvantage. Fiery fists could burn John only if he was ready to take a slash along his arm in exchange. Before he built up too many injuries, he used his remaining energy to leap back. ¡°I concede!¡± John bowed, ¡°A well fought match. I¡¯m sure my tactics would not be so easy to repeat again¡­ but I could not overcome the disadvantage otherwise.¡± Karolis did not seem particularly upset at his loss, though perhaps a tad disappointed. The elder of the Furnace Sect got his attention. ¡°Would you like to arrange for another sparring partner?¡± John shook his head. ¡°Not at this time. Perhaps tomorrow.¡± He would have to be prepared to lose tomorrow. He wouldn¡¯t lose on purpose, but he still couldn¡¯t overcome the weakness to fire directly. ¡°Thank you for the opportunity.¡± Aydan put his hand on John¡¯s shoulder as they stepped out of the area. ¡°You did a good job.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John said. His shoulder hurt a bit from being held up by just a handful of fingers, but it was much more dignified than collapsing on the streets. He still had to move his legs to support a small portion of his weight, but at least he made it back to the inn¡­ where he promptly dunked his head in a bucket of water. Chapter 34 With a certain level of exhaustion, initially falling to sleep was easy enough. However, John inevitably woke up to feel the burns all over himself. Though he¡¯d avoided most direct hits from the fire, he¡¯d still accumulated damage over the course of the spar. He applied some ointments all over his body, but he knew that cultivating would be the best way for his body to recover in the long run. The flow of spiritual energy would accelerate his healing¡­ and he might even be able to improve his ability to resist fire. Fire elemental spiritual energy was all around him, as expected anywhere in the Green Sands. The inn was cool enough inside, but the fire element was always within arm¡¯s reach. John circulated his energy around his body and especially to the surface, the skin and muscles most affected by the burns. Reddened skin started to heal slowly, one bit at a time, and the dull throbbing pain lessened. John focused on the interplay of his own spiritual energy and the fire element all around him. It was hard to make sense of what was happening on a larger scale¡­ so he dove deeper. ----- ¡°Damn!¡± John jerked his hand away from the hot griddle. He ran over to the sink and turned on the tap. He knew better than to touch a hot griddle, of course, but accidents happened in the kitchen. Just usually not to him. They couldn¡¯t happen to him. If it happened to an employee, he¡¯d tell them to take a day or two off. Shuffle around their schedule a little bit, and they still made the same weekly wage without having to come in with a scalded hand. But he didn¡¯t have days off. He was the manager, and he needed to work. He couldn¡¯t just pay himself if he didn¡¯t come in, and even if he did¡­ who would run things? Nobody had been fit to replace him as assistant manager yet. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was too picky, or just unlucky with the hires. This time would be fine. The griddle wasn¡¯t even on, just still hot. That was the thing about metal griddle and stovetops. They could handle so much heat, absorb it, but they kept it for so long as well. It built up and only slowly dispersed. It had simply been off long enough he¡¯d been careless in his hand placement. ----- John breathed out slowly, expelling his breath that was theoretically full of impurities. More than just carbon dioxide? That wasn¡¯t as clear. He¡¯d put that on the ¡®hard to tell¡¯ part of cultivation for the moment. Knowing things and remembering them were quite different. John knew that he wasn¡¯t from his current world, but he rarely interacted with it mentally anymore. There was something about the memories he had while cultivating. Occasionally they belonged to Forkran, but usually they were his own. There was something to that. Experiences seemed to guide his cultivation, even if it wasn¡¯t clear how. Not just practice cultivating, but anything. Sometimes it wasn¡¯t obvious how¡­ and sometimes he just was clearly reminded of a blatant detail. Darkness and earth both absorbed fire. It wasn¡¯t a problem to withstand it to a certain point¡­ but beyond there his defenses didn¡¯t help. That was because he never made use of it. The Seed of Darkness could only process a certain amount of fire elemental spiritual energy. Likewise, when he defended himself from fire with the earth element he wasn¡¯t negating the fire. The heat still built up, not far from himself. He could solve that by carrying his defenses apart from himself, but that would be more energy intensive. That might be necessary, but that was basically just accepting weakness to fire. It was quite early to cultivate fire even if he eventually reached the full cycle of elements¡­ but he might be able to at least improve his reaction to it. Merely absorbing the fire element would burn him from the outside in. If he pulled it in and circulated it through his meridians, they would scorch. He might be able to slowly build up his tolerance, but that wasn¡¯t sufficient. It would also require sustained cultivation for quite some time, where he would be better off cultivating the elements he had totems aligned with to directly improve his strength. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Experimentation¡­ sometimes got a bad name. Scientists in laboratories generally didn¡¯t just throw together random chemicals and watch as they exploded. They made explosions on purpose, usually. But experiments often involved not knowing what would happen¡­ but having some idea about it. If one considered the periodic table, common table salt was sodium chloride, but other alkali metals could form similar compounds. Those weren¡¯t generally edible salts, but with otherwise similar chemical properties. In short, while John was planning to experiment with his cultivation¡­ he had a good idea what was going to happen. And he would start slowly, in case it didn¡¯t work as he thought. He began to pull in fire elemental spiritual energy from around himself. Just a little bit at a time, to not strain his meridians. Normally he would feed the energy to the sapling, but it was already near its saturation point for fire. Instead, he kept it removed, forming a small ball of fire in his dantian. It started with a pleasant warmth, as it should have. He continued to build it up a little bit at a time until it started becoming uncomfortable. Then he sat and watched it. Though it might perhaps superficially resemble a sun, it was more like a torch. That was what he could handle at the moment. Heat poured off of the fire inside his dantian, warming the Sapling of Darkness and his second totem, Compost. They naturally processed energy, but as the heat suffused into them the process sped up. Sometimes too much, in ways that unbalanced the process. On the other end, the ball of fire would be too small to do much of anything and sputter out. Ultimately John found a proper limit and let things work as they would. Though he wasn¡¯t actively controlling anything, the energy he absorbed slowly circulated through his meridians. Perhaps just a few percent of what he could do if it was intentional, it was like air currents circulating through a room. Would actual air element help with that? It was hard to say, as air elemental spiritual energy was quite sparse in the Green Sands and he had no way to convert much of anything to it. It was next in the cycle, but he was still at the beginning of Foundation Phase and quite far from Soul Expansion Phase and a third totem. Though he did find that he was approaching the eleventh rank of cultivation. ----- Subsequent sparring matches reminded John that he hadn¡¯t actually found a way to deal with the buildup of fire element he experienced when defending against it. Mostly he just kept his defenses wider, further from his body. The Furnace Sect brought out incrementally stronger cultivators for him to spar with, not higher cultivation but with better spiritual totems. Eventually he found himself taking a loss, but that was quite reasonable. It was good to let them regain some face, since he hadn¡¯t shown up just to crush their students. Frankly that would have been a terrible idea, because even if he had the elemental advantage there could certainly be people with higher tier totems than himself. While that wouldn¡¯t necessarily make them win, it could lead to a significant advantage. John was quite happy to let them obtain their victory and move on. It was only a matter of a few days, but the Milanovic group was also interested in moving on. Tena had also engaged in sparring with members of the Furnace Sect, but unlike John she was able to defeat people one rank higher than herself, at the peak of the Spiritual Collection Phase. Then again, she was from one of the best clans in the Green Sands, and the fiery arena suited her just as well as her opponents. John¡¯s thoughts returned to the fight with the bandits. He hadn¡¯t gotten to make much use of his energy absorption technique, but he could definitely fight stronger opponents making use of that. Just not so much against fire element cultivators. It was quite comforting to be back in the carriage and traveling. It protected him from the sun, and he could continue to heal from his various burns as he cultivated. It helped that Tena and her guardians rode ahead in their own carriage, absorbing much of the fire element directly along the road and leaving behind more earth, which he could convert into darkness as well. As he cultivated, John considered several ways to make use of the buildup of fire. If he had a proper fire totem, he could control the energy and use it in a counterattack. Closest to being usable would be some sort of air totem, or just control of air to convect it away from himself. A small portion he could pull inside of himself, and that would grow with time¡­ but that wasn¡¯t sustainable in a combat situation. Perhaps the best defense was merely never giving the opponent a chance to attack. Not really possible in a spar, but in an actual battle he would have no compunctions about killing his opponent before they could react. That meant enhancing some of his darkness techniques, like Hidden Steps. Though mostly, John was just looking forward to removing himself from the Green Sands. Everything would feel so easy somewhere else. Chapter 35 As he spent more time in the Green Sands, John grew used to being miserable. Though maybe that was just his stubbornness. It wasn¡¯t as if he was the only earth elemental cultivator in the Green Sands. Aydan was unable to offer help, because he cultivated darkness and merely resisted the heat with his more powerful spiritual energy. Aydan had more experience, but he couldn¡¯t offer anything to John besides encouragement to continue practicing his control of spiritual energy. That would just take time. A reasonable solution to any cultivation problem, if he just wanted to be normal. The problem was that he felt like he had everything he needed to know and just couldn¡¯t put it together. It would be much more rewarding if he could figure it out himself. ----- Though the majority of time spent on the road was devoted to cultivating, there were also moments of conversation. He traded news back and forth with Tena and the others, though most of it didn¡¯t matter to him at the current moment. Going straight into the topics John wanted to speak about was socially inappropriate, but eventually the opportunity presented itself. ¡°Alina has been attending some of the Tenebach¡¯s balls,¡± Tena commented, ¡°How is her dancing?¡± John considered for a moment, looking for just the right words. ¡°I think ¡®vigorous¡¯ might be the best description. Quite a different style from what is typical in the Earth Conglomerate.¡± ¡°I see. Which do you prefer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite attached to our more traditional dances, I must admit. I believe her preferences are somewhat more interesting.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Tena raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if she has mentioned it, but she often dances with my cousin Tempkeit.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Tena asked. ¡°A rival for your position?¡± ¡°The Tenebach clan¡¯s line of succession is quite stable, but even if it weren¡¯t¡­ he would not be a main competitor. I believe he has recently achieved the seventh rank. One might wonder at the target of her interest.¡± For her part, Tena looked quite surprised. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot say, since she has not spoken to me about this. Perhaps it is merely a passing fascination.¡± Tena¡¯s response didn¡¯t necessarily mean anything for Alina¡¯s motives- merely that she didn¡¯t know them. John had no interest in interfering if she was truly interested in Tempkeit, but there was always the possibility of political machinations. ¡°I suppose time will tell.¡± ¡°Indeed. She might also change her target¡­ say to the young master of the clan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid to say that I am already spoken for. I am arranged to marry the lady Matayal Brandle. The Tenebach clan has found that polygamy leads to quite messy lines of succession and infighting.¡± John couldn¡¯t say that, despite growing up on Earth, the idea of polygamy didn¡¯t appeal to a certain part of him. However, if he were to be logical about it¡­ people barely held together marriages between two people. Where more were involved there was far too much jockeying for position, even if one were to ignore love as a factor. Merely the time commitments alone¡­ it was best to relegate it to stories or for use by emperors who didn¡¯t care that their whole empire would fall apart into a million little pieces when they died. ¡°Now that you mention it, I heard about that before,¡± Tena nodded, ¡°In that case, I would expect she¡¯s doing exactly as she wishes. She usually does.¡± With that, the conversation moved on to other topics, and the journey continued. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ----- Travel stopped in the middle of the day for the sake of the animals avoiding the heat, and at night both because of darkness and a need for rest. Large canvas shades were set up to shelter the animals and people from the sunlight, and the better airflow and range of movement they allowed for compared to a carriage made it more comfortable for the humans. Not too long after the shades were set up the temperature of the sand went from intolerably hot to almost pleasantly warm to even a little bit cool¡­ comparatively, anyway. John lay on his back in the sand. One big problem with sand was how it liked to find ways to stick with you forever¡­ but with a little bit of earth elemental spiritual energy he could push it away when he no longer desired its presence. For the moment he didn¡¯t mind having sand all through his hair and in his boots. Even the cultivators of the Milanovic clan seemed to enjoy the mid-day break- though many of them chose to cultivate out in the noon sun instead of taking shelter. As he lay on the tolerably cool sand, John thought about cultivation. This was as close as he was going to get to a proper location for him to cultivate unless they found a cave. There wasn¡¯t any natural darkness, but he could feel the earth elemental spiritual energy in the ground still. It was even somewhat easier to control, as it didn¡¯t clump together. Sand was looser than dirt, and the spiritual energy with it seemed to share some similar properties. More important than it being easier to use, though, was that John had a realization. Perhaps he should have had it earlier, but Fortkran seemed unaware of the idea he had. John couldn¡¯t say he had immense scientific knowledge, but on Earth it was quite easy to casually learn information that wasn¡¯t easy to discover independently. That was one thing the education system had managed, at least. He might have gone into science if he¡¯d been able to continue college, but he knew at least the basics for most fields. Whether everything would translate to cultivation in his current world¡­ that was a different question. Physics seemed to work more or less the same, but spiritual energy threw kinks into things. As he lay on his back, he sent his senses down into the warm sand. It didn¡¯t hold onto heat for long, but John¡¯s problem wasn¡¯t letting go of heat when in the shade. That he had handled just as well. Deeper, the sand was a bit warmer since it was insulated and able to retain some more heat. However, that was all within the first meter or two of sand. Below that, it was cooler- there was enough insulation that it never got hot to begin with. John didn¡¯t think he was able to add so much depth to his earth elemental spiritual energy that he would never overheat, but he had a better idea. He just had to reach down into the ground. He made a few attempts, and then realized he would have to give up his comfort to truly test what he wanted. So he stepped out into the sun, allowing himself to overheat quickly. He returned to the shade, and while he knew it was better to stretch his limits, he needed to test the principle first. He circulated his earth elemental spiritual energy through himself and into the ground, carrying along with it excess heat. His biggest difficulty was reaching deep enough into the ground, but he absolutely felt some heat disperse. When he retracted his energy, he was cooler- and very little of it was used up, since the heat was merely coming along for the ride and he didn¡¯t use its potential to move around earth. If John tried to directly move the heat into the ground, the results were much worse. But he already knew that. He had almost no control over the fire element, but it very much stuck to him and found its way into his spiritual energy. He alternated between sun and shade until he was more practiced, then began sitting in the sun, circulating as much energy down into the depths below him as he could. Beyond how far down he could reach, he also discovered another limitation. The ground eventually heated up with his efforts, and that meant it was less able to siphon off heat. That could be solved by moving to a different location, but it was relevant nonetheless. At the moment, it wasn¡¯t practical to use in combat. He had to be firmly planted on the ground and concentrating solely on his connection through the earth. Active attacks would overwhelm him, but the principle was solid. As he gained more control, he would be much more effective. If he could expand the radius his energy extended, he could not only reach deeper but wider, allowing for a much greater volume of earth to absorb energy. John felt himself ever closer to reaching the eleventh rank of cultivation. All he needed was one more step. He felt like he could achieve it at nearly any moment, though he didn¡¯t want to make the attempt in front of others. If he failed, it would be bad for his image. If he succeeded¡­ he would just seem to be showing off. In addition to that, though there were no current troubles with the Milanovic clan, breakthroughs could reveal weaknesses to those watching, and he would rather not share any of those with others. But once they found a proper place¡­ he would be eager to make the attempt. Chapter 36 Riding in the carriage was an extremely comfortable way to travel. It did a decent job of keeping out the heat, though it certainly wasn¡¯t capable of protecting from all of it. Comfortable seats, just the right amount of soft and hard, allowed sitting all day to be quite pleasant. It was too bad John was giving all of that up. There was cultivating to do, and it wasn¡¯t possible to perform in comfort. An unfortunate conclusion, but such it was. Heat was everything. Hot sun bore down from above, baking John¡¯s head and upper body. The heat and light reflected off of the sand below, warming him from all sides. A small amount was also on the inside, a miniature sun to feed the sapling inside of him. That tiny portion was allowed to pass through his barrier, while the rest was directed around him by his earth elemental spiritual energy. A minor but constant expenditure of energy was require to redirect the heat deep into the ground. There were no problems with it overheating, because each step took him to a new location. His movement was far too quick for the heat he transferred to oversaturate the ground, even with the high amount of fire elemental spiritual energy in the Green Sands. Though he was able to replenish spiritual energy as he moved, John found his expenditure higher than what he could recover. Even so, it was a slow drain and he was able to maintain the effect all the way until the afternoon break. At that point the heat was at its highest point, and he spent his time recovering in the shade. John could not help but track the growth of the sapling inside of him, as well as its advancement towards the next tier. As expected, there was a very long way to go. He was still in the first rank of the Foundation Phase, close to the second but still very solidly in the early part of Foundation Phase. It would be strange if his totems were approaching the third tier so quickly, and they weren¡¯t. There was growth, but it seemed slow. Perhaps proportionately it was slower. There wasn¡¯t just a seed sprouting into a sapling, but a sapling growing into a tree. The proportional size difference between the first two was quite significant. A tree might no longer be called a sapling at two or three times the height, though of course that varied significantly by type. Within the space of his dantian, the starting size of the seed had been at a size he would have compared to a centimeter in diameter. A large seed, compared to most. Even so, he now had a tree a hundred times as tall- with a total volume many times that. Actual size wasn¡¯t quite real inside his dantian, but regardless the sapling was more or less waist height if he were to compare to the proportions of trees he would actually see. There were few trees in the Green Sands, but the deserts were not completely bare of life. They stopped near one such tree for the rest, a scraggly thing which had only thin branches and small leaves. It was, however, a real tree- not a cactus or a yucca but an actual sort of tree one might recognize outside of a desert. Of course, it would be considered quite sickly anywhere else. Its branches and leaves did not provide any reasonable amount of shade, not that a person could truly be underneath it with how low such branches started. It had some traits of the desert around it- an emerald green pervading its leaves and bark. Not the green of normal plants, but also darker than one would expect for oxidized copper. John studied the plant closely during his rest. His sense of spiritual energy pulled him down into the plant¡¯s roots. The roots varied in thickness, from strangely thin and tangled near the surface to thick and hollow deeper down. Deep, deep into the ground- a dozen meters or more- the tubular roots found little pockets of water. Carrying it to the surface seemed like it would be impossible, but that was what the tubes were for. They were too wide for water to climb with capillary action, but instead something much more interesting took place. The plant channeled fire elemental spiritual energy from the surface to the bottom of its roots, boiling the water into steam which found its way up the roots, where it condensed in some of the cooler parts of the ground, near the gathered roots. The fact that it channeled spiritual energy did not necessarily make the plant valuable. It might technically be a spiritual plant, but valuable spiritual plants needed to build up concentrations of spiritual energy or produce useful medicine inside them. While studying the plant was interesting, it was of little use to humans. John supposed if people were willing to dig out the roots they might use it for tubing- but smiths would do better to make it themselves. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Were there principles John could take from it? Not at the moment, he didn¡¯t think. He¡¯d already independently figured out how transferring heat into the ground would benefit him. He didn¡¯t have roots to channel steam, and nothing to do with it even if he could. Even so, it was interesting to see how an otherwise dull plant became fascinating beneath the surface. ----- From half of the day before and the entirety of the final day of travel, the group¡¯s destination was clear on the horizon. Zolvolj was what the volcano that stood up from its surroundings was called, though John was aware that wasn¡¯t its official title. The name merely meant something like ¡®grumpy¡¯, and it was easy to see why. The majority of the Green Sands was, of course, green. That was true of the volcano as well, but there were also orange-red trails of molten rock trickling down its banks, as well as black smoke rising into the sky. The smoke rose in a steady stream, though occasional gouts produced larger clouds. ¡°Not too much longer now,¡± Tena said. ¡°The Milanovic clan makes its home on the south face.¡± Of course they did. Why would fire cultivators not live directly on an active volcano? That would imply concern for their own lives, and not just their cultivation. Though perhaps the constant activity was actually a benefit in more ways than one. It provided large amounts of fire elemental spiritual energy, of course, but in addition the constant flow of magma released gradually meant that pressure probably wasn¡¯t mounting to a giant eruption. At least, not as quickly. It was still somewhat unsettling to approach the area, but the Milanovic clan wasn¡¯t the only one to make their homes on the slopes of Zolvolj. John continued his cultivation and transfer of spiritual energy and heat into the ground. He was worried that the ground near the volcano would be warmer, but the effect was not noticeable until they got much closer. As it approached midday, they stopped slightly early. John was quite able to see why. A flow of lava had made its way across the road they were following around the base of the mountain. ¡°We can clear this out ourselves,¡± Tena said, ¡°Though perhaps you might be able to help, Fortkran, with your control of earth energy.¡± He watched as some of the lead cultivators channeled heat out of the flow, uphill slightly off the road. The rock quickly cooled from red-hot to a crusty black, but John could sense that it was still extremely hot. He was still a dozen meters away, and he could feel a bit of the heat¡­ or perhaps that was imagination. He could certainly feel it when he moved to just a handful of meters away, slightly behind the fire cultivators. The flow of the lava was very slow, but it was easy to see why they had stopped it before the road. The cultivators there were focusing their efforts together to cool down a layer of stone, turning it into a wall. It would only be temporary, perhaps a few hours¡­ but that would be quite sufficient. Those after then would have to handle the situation themselves. Of course, the sensible path would be to loop around further from the base of the mountain so that flows would never reach so far, but John wasn¡¯t going to tell that to people who chose to live on a volcano. It was a good chance to exert himself to a greater extent. Even though it was no longer red-hot, the rock was still quite malleable. John raised it up, heightening and thickening the little wall they were building as others drew away excess heat. It was like molding clay¡­ if the clay was on fire. Because even though just his energy was interacting with the lava, it was so hot he began to overheat. He could just let his energy fall away, but he hadn¡¯t been training himself for nothing. Channeling the heat down into the ground was much more difficult since it was on another order of magnitude- even with the fire elemental cultivators taking away much of the heat- but it allowed him to maintain his work without giving up large amounts of spiritual energy all at once. Even so, if walking along during the day was a marathon, this was more like a sprint¡­ a sprint where he was weighed down with a full suit of armor and maybe even extra weight on top of it. Even though he channeled the energy as well as he could, the sheer quantities John was working with still resulted in him nearly throwing his own energy away. It was only a few minutes before he was completely exhausted, but they¡¯d created a little wall¡­ and the remaining cultivators pulled all the heat out of the flow crossing the road. It was quite a relief to have the option to step into the carriage and melt into it for the remainder of the journey, replenishing his energy to the best of his efforts and doing almost nothing else. But at least he¡¯d been able to help slightly, even though he was weak to fire. Eventually, his eyes closed and he nodded off. A nice nap would leave him fresh for when they arrived. Chapter 37 The more someone cultivated, the less conscious effort it required. Of course, to maximize the effectiveness of cultivation still required concentration. But even as he napped, John pulled in spiritual energy from around him, filling himself up and even refining it to a slightly greater level through the Sapling. To some extent, it even included the miniature sun inside of him, though its efficiency was less than a tenth that when he was conscious of it and managing its power. A sigh escaped John¡¯s mouth as he woke up from his rest. The carriage still rolled along with a pleasant lull¡­ but along with consciousness came his awareness of the heat. It didn¡¯t suddenly get better just because he was a little more proficient in cultivating. That said, the concentration of fire elemental spiritual energy was higher closer to the volcano. The fact that it affected him about the same as the heat when he¡¯d first entered the Green Sands actually showed how much he had improved. Outside of the carriage he could see buildings and sense cultivators. They should have arrived at the lands of the Milanovic clan. The slowing carriages confirmed his assumption. When they finally stopped, he stepped out of the carriage to be met with a strong breeze. Though the air was still warm, it maintained a cooling effect relative to the rest of the atmosphere. A slight smile crossed John¡¯s face allowing his mouth to be filled with sand. So, that was how it was going to be. He had to defend himself from even the nearly-comforting breeze. As he adjusted his defenses to divert the sand around himself, he thought he sat a smirk from Tena. Then her eyes flashed as she looked forward towards an approaching group. Three cultivators at the Foundation Phase- two middle aged men who were clearly guardians of the third, younger man. He was at the tenth rank, the beginning of Foundation Phase, just like John found himself. ¡°Friends of yours?¡± he stage whispered to Tena. She rolled her eyes. Of course, the aggressive way fire elemental spiritual energy swirled around the group made it all clear. ¡°Tena!¡± the young man who led the way didn¡¯t even put on a good fake smile. Either he wasn¡¯t trying or needed to practice much more. ¡°It is good to see you returned safely. We heard about the attack.¡± His eyes turned to John, who he had pointedly not looked at before. ¡°And who is this?¡± ¡°One would think you could remember a name, Erik. It was in the message we sent ahead.¡± Tena stood as tall as she could against a cultivator two ranks higher- and more importantly in the next phase. ¡°This is Fortkran Tenebach. He and his guardian assisted us during the bandit attack. They have come to stay as guests.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Erik raised an eyebrow. ¡°They arrived just as you were attacked. What a nice¡­ coincidence.¡± As he spoke, his energy bore down on John. It wasn¡¯t an attack¡­ but it wasn¡¯t not an attack. It was quite a commonly accepted practice to use the pressure of one¡¯s cultivation to force another to capitulate. A socially acceptable form of attack, but still a form of aggression. The heat around John multiplied with Erik¡¯s energy. His recent practice immediately took over, and his earth elemental spiritual energy absorbed the heat and drove it down into the ground beneath. That ground was already warm, even deep. He hadn¡¯t thought about that, but it made sense. They were on a volcano, after all. Even though he wasn¡¯t able to bleed off as much heat as he would like and began to sweat profusely, he was holding his own. ¡°So¡­¡± Erik poured more of his energy into the oppression, ¡°What dark plots does the Tenebach clan have here?¡± John looked him directly in the eyes as sweat dripped down his face. Not very dignified, he was aware, but he held his gaze firm. As his sweat began to evaporate, he appreciated the cooling effect it had. He internally grit his teeth as he resisted the pressure with his earth energy, until it finally let up as he nearly reached the end of his energy. John breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Nothing to say?¡± Erik smiled, confident in his suppression. Erik looked to Tena, ¡°One should be careful when associating with outsiders.¡± With that, he turned around and began to walk away. John immediately took a step forward and grabbed his shoulder. Up to that point, he had only been using his earth energy. His darkness elemental spiritual energy had been kept tightly wrapped up inside of him, and it was naturally inclined to hide itself. As John¡¯s hand squeezed Erik¡¯s shoulder, he spoke carefully one word at a time. ¡°I have not yet responded to your baseless insinuations.¡± Hungry, chilling darkness flowed out of him and around the two of them. While the pressure on him had indeed made him sweat, it wasn¡¯t from the strain of exertion. His earth energy had been nearly used up, but Erik had also used perhaps two-thirds of his own energy, as it was displayed less efficiently. ¡°The Tenebach clan has no connection to bandits. We merely acted to assist fellow honorable cultivators.¡± John wanted to reach his darkness inside of Erik and tear out his spiritual energy, but his rational side told him that was just the heat messing with his head. A cultivator needed to be confident in their actions, but there was a fine line between confidence and arrogance. If he went too far, it would ruin any good relations they had build up with the Milanovic clan, despite Erik being from a different faction in the clan. He didn¡¯t hesitate to tear away the energy on the surface, however. ¡°I require an apology for your insults to the Tenebach clan.¡± His grip squeezed tighter as Erik tried to pull away. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. A wave of heat rushed towards him as one of the guardians with him stepped forward. ¡°That¡¯s enough! Unhand Erik.¡± Before the energy could touch him, Aydan and Rurik held it away with their own energy- though either one of them could match him individually. ¡°A significant breach of decorum, Patrik. But this incident can be glossed over once Erik apologizes. Or you can do it in his stead.¡± The second guardian seemed contemplating getting involved, but even with the addition of his energy they could only match the other two. The only chance to sway things in their favor would be to escalate to actual attacks. John turned a paling Erik toward him, leaning close. ¡°Apologize.¡± ¡°I-I-I-¡± Erik¡¯s teeth were chattering as he tried to speak. ¡°I ap-p-ologize for my insin-sin-uations against the T-Tenebach clan.¡± John immediately withdrew his energy around himself, and let go of his grip. ¡°Apology accepted. I continue to hope the Tenebach clan and the Milanovic clan can work together to the benefit of each other,¡± John¡¯s face lit up with a smile. It was only as the other group pulled away and exited the courtyard that he realized his smile wasn¡¯t a pleasant fake, but a genuine smile. Just not for reasons he was happy with. Was that aggressive darkness the former Fortkran, or something from the guardian beast? Had he been influenced by the teachings of the clan¡­ or was that really him? He¡¯d never had a situation where he could act in that manner on Earth. Being aggressive with customers, even terrible ones, would only result in bad publicity for the burger shop. Tena watched until the group had left. ¡°A solid display, but I imagine he¡¯ll find ways to cause more trouble for either of us in the future.¡± She shrugged, ¡°Not that you should have capitulated either.¡± Aydan placed a hand on John¡¯s shoulder. ¡°If he is wise, that young man will pick other battles to fight.¡± He leaned in close to John¡¯s ear, ¡°Do be careful with how you display your power. The reputation of darkness users is already¡­ lacking.¡± John nodded. He understood that. A fire user could burn someone¡¯s face off, but if he drained the color from someone¡¯s face it made people uneasy. Then again, it made him uneasy too. Just not quite as much as he thought it should have. ¡°If you have some private rooms available, I could use a moment.¡± The aftermath of the ¡®battle¡¯ was still flowing through him, and he didn¡¯t want to miss a good chance to cultivate. ----- The Milanovic clan didn¡¯t have many rooms suited for cultivating elements other than fire, but likewise those rooms they did have weren¡¯t very frequented. One room was specialized for cultivating earth element and passed the fire element on to other areas. That was just what John needed- freedom from the heat. He already had a small sun burning inside of him. Too large, even. He¡¯d absorbed more fire into himself than intended, but perhaps that was useful at this moment. Heat flowed through him, but he also swirled with earth and darkness. Along with minor traces of other elements, he furiously circulated his energy through his meridians. Each cycle that it returned to his dantian it was absorbed by the Sapling of Darkness, purifying to another level before flowing back out into the rest of him. The cycle accelerated and the pressure inside of him built until there was a sudden expansion as he broke through to the eleventh level, the second level of the Foundation Phase. He released his breath, fire and smoke pouring from his mouth instead of a black goop. It wasn¡¯t a major step to go from the tenth to eleventh level, but it wasn¡¯t trivial either. It showed he could continue advancing at a reasonable pace even in Foundation Phase. Advancing every month or two for the entirety of Foundation Phase was likely out of the question, but if he could do that he would surpass his parents in less than two years. They weren¡¯t the peaks of cultivation within the clan, but as long as he could reach a level similar to them he would have long term security within the clan. That wasn¡¯t where John set his eyes, however. At the very least, he wanted to match his grandfather at the Soul Expansion Phase. Chapter 38 There had been no conscious intent to choose sides between the factions in the Milanovic clan, but even so it happened. In a way, he¡¯d been forced into it, but John would have made the same decision regardless. He certainly didn¡¯t have deep knowledge of the inner workings of the clan, but a simple decider had been Erik. He¡¯d chosen to try to suppress John because of his proximity to Tena without considering the standing of the Tenebach clan. If nothing else, it was a reckless choice he had been allowed to make. Of course, it was just posturing. Nothing worth a declaration of war or even a solid commitment to one side- but it shoved John pretty firmly into a camp. If it was just political maneuvering, John was glad to lend his hand to those he knew- but there was no level of relation between them that would require him to step in if the conflict escalated. His personal power wasn¡¯t enough to actually influence things solidly to one side or the other, but he could speak for the Tenebach clan if it became necessary. He hoped it wouldn¡¯t. The Milanovic clan¡¯s land was as he would expect for anywhere in the Green Sands, but even more. It was, after all, on the slopes of Zolvolj. The concentration of fire elemental spiritual energy was higher in the area, and that meant more heat. John was quite pleased to have broken through to the second level of the Foundation Phase, because he needed the extra power to overcome the heat. Native inhabitants of the area clearly survived without issue, but he was most certainly not a native to the area. As he possessed the earth element, he was even weaker to the effects, even though it only made up about half of his energy. If he tried to go completely without energy protecting him from the heat¡­ he would probably just die. That wasn¡¯t an exaggeration. While they didn¡¯t have the same methods of sensing heat, the Green Sands had to be consistently above 50 degrees Celsius during the day, inside or outside. Sometimes it was even hotter inside. There wasn¡¯t a single servant of the Milanovic clan who wasn¡¯t a cultivator of some sort, usually fire. Earth cultivators were more common closer to the Stone Conglomerate, but their numbers dwindled further into the Green Sands. Even so, they were the second most prominent element. Air was rare but not unseen. Water and darkness¡­ John was pretty sure he represented almost half of the population of darkness element cultivators in the Green Sands. Then again, another could have been passing through. Light and darkness cultivators were more rare to begin with, but there were a few light cultivators around. John took careful interest in how the earth element servants handled the heat. He had come into his understandings entirely from a combat-focused methodology. He needed to be able to dissipate a large amount of heat all at once. However, there were many servants merely in the early Spiritual Collection Phase who weren¡¯t sweating all over the place. Some of that might be getting used to the heat, but that could only go so far. They did sweat though. Even some of the young fire element cultivators seemed to find things too hot. Some of their success was simply choosing the right place to be. Paths through the clan¡¯s buildings that weren¡¯t so hot- and that included underground tunnels. However, as they had to serve the cultivating clan members they couldn¡¯t stay underground where it was relatively cool. Relative was important. Because while it only took a few meters of sand to insulate from the heat above in other parts of the desert, the clan was on top of a volcano. An active volcano. Beneath the surface might be cooler, but too deep and it was warm or hot again. This was one anomaly caused by fire elemental spiritual energy and not just normal thermal movement. The fire element came from both above and below the ground. That said, the ground was still cooler below the surface, and would likely remain that way unless it was extremely deep, close to lava chambers. That was known to happen, but not on accident. In the end, John could tell that the servants with earth elemental energy struggled¡­ but not as much as he had despite his higher cultivation. They made the smart decision to not face the heat directly, and along with their adaptation to the heat they used most of their cultivation resisting the temperature. There were still a few tricks he picked up. None of the others seemed to reach into the ground to dissipate energy, not when he was watching at least. However, several modified the attributes of their earth energy. Instead of putting up a stoic barrier, they were like shiny ceramic. In essence, they found a way to reflect heat, especially that from the sun. It seemed like it could be quite easily overwhelmed, but for non-combat purposes John found it to be comfortable enough with the amount of energy he could bring to bear, and decently efficient. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ----- When he was invited to a dinner party, John realized he hadn¡¯t found himself invited to many gatherings outside of the Tenebach clan. Fortkran wasn¡¯t a very pleasant sort, nor was he proactive in seeking out social engagements. The Milanovic clan was far enough that travel wasn¡¯t exactly convenient. Alina attending Tenebach events regularly was somewhat of an anomaly for that reason, though she of course had other activities in the Stone Conglomerate. The dinner party was in the evening, when it was cooler. That was of course for the sake of the guests. Most of them cultivated the fire element, but John and Aydan were included among others. Besides, the glaring midday sun was disruptive in other ways. John found himself seated among the younger generation next to Tena, an implicit declaration that he was with her faction. There were many questions about the Stone Conglomerate, because even though it was possible for cultivators to travel far and wide not all of them did. Besides, such questions made for polite conversation. ¡°Alina has been in the area quite frequently as of late,¡± Tena explained to some of the others. ¡°Her presence brought our clan into the mind of young master Fortkran here. Perhaps he might not have acted so quickly to assist against the bandits, if he had not recognized the signs of the Milanovic clan.¡± Tena¡¯s green hair was rather obvious, though some of the others who were part of the clan had more subdued colors. John considered her words. He really would have hesitated longer if he hadn¡¯t recognized the group, even though they were clearly under attack by bandits. After all, there was little to gain from it. He didn¡¯t like the thought that saving people who were just defending themselves could just be taken in terms of gains and losses, but that was how the world was. Maybe Earth too, but people were less willing to admit it. The topic eventually moved on to cultivation. It was, after all, the thing that everyone cared about most. Tips and tricks were exchanged, thought mostly surface level. People wanted to keep whatever advantages they had, and if they were going to share deeper details it would mostly be with steadfast allies¡­ instead of temporal ones. With the change of topic, various avenues of discussion opened up¡­ including some less polite questions. ¡°So tell me, Fortkran,¡± a young man with the trademark green hair of the Milanovic spoke, ¡°Is it true that cultivating two elements makes someone weaker?¡± John looked over the teen. He saw no malicious intent, merely curiosity¡­ and an oblivious ignorance of the daggers Tena was staring at him. ¡°The issue there is whether the cultivator¡¯s totems synergize with both elements or not. If each totem is only supporting half of your cultivation, it¡¯s quite a bit less efficient.¡± One of the young men closer to the same age decided to redirect the conversation before it could go further. ¡°I suppose you could talk to Erik, to ask if he felt weak. But Tena, are you and Fortkran planning to participate in the Ascent?¡± John had heard of the Ascent, but only in passing. Tena was quite helpful in answering the question. ¡°I was uncertain if he would be interested. Climbing up a volcano is of more use to fire element cultivators than others. It can be quite beneficial for us, but it is less practical for others. The rewards aren¡¯t of much interest, either. But it is an interesting training opportunity for all. Are you planning to stay another week, at least?¡± John nodded. He didn¡¯t have a strict time schedule, and for a special event he was quite interested. As long as he wouldn¡¯t embarrass himself. ¡°I would be quite happy to participate, if the event is open to outsiders. I would certainly prefer that to idle cultivation.¡± In actuality, it sounded awful. Maybe good training, but it was already hot enough. Climbing closer to some of the source heat was an atrocious thought. But¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be good training if it was easy, would it? Chapter 39 The rooms for guests staying with the Milanovic clan were quite nice, where they could be. There was nothing to do about it being overly hot all the time- that was the entire purpose of the location they had picked. Other than that they were quite comfortable. The furniture had soft cushioning, made of fibers John didn¡¯t recognize. It was likely something native to the Green Sands, since it endured the heat well. Certainly nothing with a low ignition point. He sat with his uncle Aydan, enjoying glasses of cool water. The water felt like more of a luxury than all of the fine wines he¡¯d gotten to consume- or mostly had consumed in memories he¡¯d gained. Of course, there were some that were quite good, and if they were chill, he wouldn¡¯t mind having a small glass of them if they were available. They wouldn¡¯t last long, however, so it would have to be nothing he wanted to savor. ¡°It should indeed be a good training opportunity,¡± Aydan said about the Ascent. ¡°It is likely to be less rewarding than the Crystal Caverns, as the chances of finding any sort of natural treasure are¡­ minimal. But as long as you are aware of your limits, it should also be safer. You do not have any enemies of significant aversion to yourself here. Erik might wish ill for you, but it is unlikely anyone will cause trouble in such an open event.¡± John nodded, ¡°Hundreds of people climbing up the side of a volcano doesn¡¯t exactly leave much hidden. That¡¯s the whole point, though. I¡¯d like to say I¡¯d make it to the top first¡­ but even among my generation, that is unlikely. Still weak to fire. That might be true until I reach Consolidated Soul.¡± ¡°Until? You sound pretty confident,¡± Aydan smiled. ¡°To be honest I have no idea,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I haven¡¯t found anything that really stopped me yet. Foundation Phase is slower, but I don¡¯t have much experience with it either. So I¡¯m not just¡­ recultivating. It doesn''t feel that slow, though. It can be difficult, but that¡¯s because I don¡¯t spend extra time. I don¡¯t know if I should, or not.¡± ¡°My advice won¡¯t do you much good,¡± Aydan said. ¡°I had little choice but to take the slow and steady path with my talent.¡± ¡°Right. I just have to not be a stupid hare.¡± Aydan tilted his head. ¡°Hmm? What do rabbits¡­?¡± ¡°The tortoise and the hare? Oh, right.¡± Strangely enough, he couldn¡¯t remember an equivalent parable. Why was that? ¡°Obviously a tortoise is slow and a hare fast, but they ended up in a race¡­¡± John explained the parable. ¡°So the point is not to be arrogant and assume you¡¯ve won before the end.¡± ¡°It is better to be a hardworking hare then. Fast and steady is the best. But, there must also be times of relaxation too,¡± Aydan nodded. ¡°Sure, but not before the race is over.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t really apply to cultivation, though,¡± Aydan said. ¡°Why not? Well, I can sort of see¡­¡± John pursed his lips. ¡°If you aren¡¯t fast enough, you might not even make it to the end.¡± ¡°Not just that,¡± Aydan flourished his nearly empty glass, ¡°But it presumes there is an end. While it applies quite cleanly to specific competitions, cultivation is not the same.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to say it¡¯s simple to surpass the demigod phase and become a god- or even if that¡¯s a sensible name for those phases- but once you reach the end, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Who told you that the sixth phase is the final one?¡± ¡°All of the cultivation manuals say so. Everyone I¡¯ve talked to.¡± Aydan nodded. ¡°They might be right. But tell me, what cultivation phase were those people in? Those you spoke to, those who wrote it?¡± ¡°Well, Grandfather is at the Soul Expansion Phase, and I believe I read some writings from a Consolidated Soul expert.¡± John thought for a few moments, ¡°But I suppose they were still a few phases below the limit.¡± ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s hard to truly know if that is the limit or not. Though most will never even get close enough to glimpse it.¡± Aydan smiled, ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t forget that cultivation isn¡¯t just you against the path. There are others along the way. I don¡¯t suppose a hare will do much against a turtle, but a fast rabbit might kill a slow rabbit. Or something.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Maybe I could be a fast turtle,¡± John said. ¡°Or just a hawk. Well, it¡¯s not supposed to cover everything anyway. Parables are a bit too simplified for that.¡± ----- Standing at the base of Zolvolj, John thought it looked especially grumpy. However, apparently the particular amount of smoke and steam emanating from the volcano was the optimal amount for climbing. More or less. He was having a hard time deciding what animal he¡¯d like to be. A desert tortoise might still cook. Hares would just be burnt bunnies. Unfortunately he had no ability to be a hawk and fly over, and if he could do that he wouldn¡¯t really need to train with the climb. He wondered how geckos handled the heat. They were good climbers. There were other lizards more known for being in the desert. Or maybe he should just be a human. Hands were pretty nice. But he did need to pick a pace to move at. If he was too fast he¡¯d wear himself out, but too slow and the heat- which he could see increased more towards the top of the volcano. He really, really didn¡¯t like how well his eyes were able to pick out the heat and the fire elemental spiritual energy that was related to it. Ayden stood nearby. The two of them were off to one side of the Milanovic clan, not really separate but not part of them. Then again, there were many little groups among the clan. Either actual factions or just friends who wanted to compete against each other. Most of the younger generation was present, and many from the older generation were along to serve as guardians. They were mostly there to prevent serious injuries if possible, and carry away those who reached their limits. On either side of the Milanovic clan were many others from the Green Sands, as well as a portion from elsewhere. Most were the same proportions of cultivators he had sensed- a majority fire, some earth who were used to the heat, and then smaller groups. John wasn¡¯t exactly sure what starting at ¡°The Rumble¡± meant, but he figured he would be fine if he just waited until everyone else started moving and went with the flow. At least he shouldn¡¯t embarrass himself that way. While it was technically a race with prizes for the fastest, it wouldn¡¯t be him. Maybe a race through the dark or something in his element, but this wasn¡¯t it. It was ten more minutes during which John began to get bored when he felt it. Then he saw it. Pieces of debris spewed out of the top of the old volcano, and lava began to pour down it in what looked from his current distance like thin rivulets. It wasn¡¯t an eruption. If the volcano was actually erupting there would be quite a bit more happening. However, it was something like a mini-eruption. It certainly made the ground tremble beneath him. John had the feeling it wasn¡¯t entirely natural but as others began running up the slopes, he did too. The first part was quite easy. It was really just running. Running in heat up a slope, but it wasn¡¯t anything like climbing yet. It did quickly get steeper. That was where earth energy became quite handy. He could make the terrain suit him better, and though he couldn¡¯t affect the slope as a whole he could make sure he stuck to it as well as possible. The Rumble was just the start, however. It continued, repeating almost regularly. John looked at some of the more experienced people around. Neither younger disciples nor guardians seemed concerned. It should be normal, then. John continued his normal ascent, and he just had to start dodging boulders dislodged from higher up. Perfectly normal mountain climbing stuff. If he believed movies, at least. And who wouldn¡¯t? There weren¡¯t really that many boulders, but over the entirety of the slope there were certainly unnatural amounts of rolling rocks. Even small rocks could be a problem if they were going fast enough, but he could deflect the smaller ones with just the right sort of nudge of earth energy. After twenty minutes of running up the slope it was steep enough that it really required climbing in many places. That seemed like the easy part. Earth energy was quite suited for the task, searching out good handholds and avoiding weakened places that would crumble underneath him. Legs and arms moved in tandem as his lungs burned. Maybe even actually a bit literally. The physical exertion was something a cultivator could handle on its own, but the heat of the volcano was harder, especially higher up. Even the fire element cultivators were circulating their energy in special ways to protect themselves, or expending their energy and absorbing more. There was only so much they could cycle through, but that was mostly up to their aptitude. John pushed the heat into the ground beneath him. That worked about as normal at first, but as he climbed more it had to go deeper and deeper to find cool enough ground. He knew his technique wouldn¡¯t work forever, especially as they climbed higher. Aydan remained near him, the extra handful of cultivation levels he had making keeping pace with John rather easy. As he looked up the mountain, John only felt that it grew taller and taller. Steeper slopes, more heat, boulders, and even direct flows of lava covered his sight. Even so, the sparkling green slopes beneath were quite a sight. He looked at the fire element cultivators- most of those with similar cultivations who were ahead of him- and shook his head. He couldn¡¯t compete with people who were literally in their element and had done it before. He just had to do his best. He needed to use the competition to improve himself and at least appear decent while he did so. Chapter 40 There was some confidence to be gleaned from the fact that John was able to keep ahead of those at the Spiritual Collection Phase, even those attuned to the fire element. Many of those in the Foundation Phase pulled ahead, but he didn¡¯t let himself get concerned with that. He had to focus on the mountain itself. Zolvolj was a grumpy volcano, and at its current moment it was having something like a minor eruption. Rocks of various sizes continued to roll down the mountain, propelled by the shaking and other rocks behind them. Defending against those and the heat kept his energy constantly in use. The slopes continued to steepen until the only way forward climbing and the terrain was not something that could be run up or hiked for more than a short distance between cliff faces. Climbing gave a small bit of advantage back to John. Sticking to a rock face was easy enough, and pulling up his own weight with muscles and energy was simple. He didn¡¯t need perfect footholds and handholds, but if he needed them he could make his own. Fire elemental spiritual energy wasn¡¯t so easily used for the same purposes, so John was able to avoid falling further behind those in his age range. He pulled himself up over the edge of a cliff, his uncle Aydan following shortly behind. It was nice to have the sense of safety he provided, even if John could still get himself hurt or killed if he did something extremely stupid. He liked to think he was better than that, of course, but he might still do something moderately stupid. A few moments of a break to catch his breath and channel heat into the ground were quite beneficial. He¡¯d used perhaps a third of his energy, but he was leaning a bit more heavily on the earth side of things. It was hard to tell exactly, but he was also about a third of the way up the mountain. That didn¡¯t mean he could make it to the top. He needed to conserve some energy for the descend, and as he went higher he would expend more energy per distance covered because of the heat and other obstacles. John looked ahead, watching other run up slopes and climb cliffs. Some went straight ahead, others choosing to spend the time moving around to find an easier climb. If they were lucky the latter group would spend less energy and climb faster, but if they took too long it might not be so beneficial. Even fire type cultivators couldn¡¯t sustain themselves indefinitely on the slopes of Zolvolj. Case in point, there was a young man with blue hair around John¡¯s age- somewhere in his early twenties- collapsed onto his hands and knees. It was clear he¡¯d pushed himself too hard and too fast. The blue haired young man had fire elemental spiritual energy swirling around and into himself. He was recovering nicely, but he didn¡¯t seem to have the will to get up. John watched him for a good minute, as he stared up the mountain without doing anything. John shook his head and ran up to him. He grabbed under an armpit and yanked him to his feet. ¡°It¡¯s too early to give up now. Don¡¯t rush. You don¡¯t have to win this time. Just get some experience for the next one.¡± The young man looked at John. His eyes gleamed for a moment. They were a similar bright blue to his hair, not the normal blue of eyes but of flickering fire. He seemed about to say something as a response, but just shook his head. ¡°Good luck,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t actually plan to be here next time, so I need to see where I can go.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what made him try to encourage that particular person. He saw others ahead who had pushed themselves too hard and early but felt no desire to stop to speak to them. John supposed that maybe he didn¡¯t like the idea of someone giving up so easily when they clearly had the ability to go further. As a minor courtesy, he created more handholds and footholds on the cliff immediately in front of the blue haired young man. It was a bit of extra expenditure, but it was actually good for his own morale. Mentality was important for cultivation, so he felt it at least evened out. Dealing with trembling ground, heat, and tumbling rocks had been enough to keep John quite occupied. However, now he was approaching areas with open lava flows. They weren¡¯t fast, so he didn¡¯t have to dodge them. He did need to navigate around them, however. If they weren¡¯t wide, he could jump over to the other side. That wasn¡¯t always the right idea, however, because he might just have to go back if there was another larger flow further uphill. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The way they spread out in little rivers of fiery heat meant that he couldn¡¯t avoid them completely if he wanted to keep ascending. They crisscrossed all over the slopes, so he merely had to pick out the best routes. That meant not taking too long and not taking too much energy to avoid. The biggest danger was when they drooped slowly over the edge of a cliff. Lava was extremely viscous, but it was still able to splash when it fell a significant difference. All it would take was a tiny bit of molten rock splashing onto his arm to make him regret everything. Actually, he could probably resist just a little bit- but it would eat through his energy in moments. He didn¡¯t plan to test his hypothesis. There was a nice climbing path up the next face in front of him. It wasn¡¯t too vertical, even. One slight issue was that there was lava about to pour over the edge and down the cliff face. It was only ten or so meters up. John could tell any of the other climbs would be significantly more difficult, so he decided to redirect the flow. His first move was a mistake. Lava was just melted earth, so of course he could control it with his earth energy. When his energy reached up and touched the front of the flow to try to push it over to the side, he was reminded that it was melted stone. A burst of heat poured back towards him through his energy. He immediately abandoned the branch of energy he¡¯d stretched out to touch the fire. There went a significant expenditure to no effect. John took a few deep breaths- the air was starting to become acrid, and he had to use his energy to protect the inside of his lungs from scalding. Most of his darkness energy was devoted to negating the heat in his lungs now. He couldn¡¯t go that much further¡­ but he wasn¡¯t at his limits just yet. He hoped. It would still be more efficient to redirect the flow and climb the path he had intended, though after his previous waste the net total would be lower. But if he could just do it right it could make up for some of the waste. The lava was creeping forward, about to spill over the edge. Instead of directly touching the lava with his energy- a foolish idea- he reformed the earth in front of it into a little channel going off to the side. There was little soil, so it was mostly carving rock¡­ but he pulled stone out of the trench and created a little wall on the downhill side. The lava flow was redirected¡­ for the moment. He wouldn¡¯t expect it to hold for more than a minute or two, but it wouldn¡¯t take that long to make the climb. His hands and feet stuck to the wall, finding little crevices and places that stuck out naturally as he pulled himself up one bit at a time. At the top of the climb he came face to face with the flow of lava- or at least as close as he ever intended to. It was a nice, glowing orange a meter away from his face. Not flowing towards him still, thankfully, but he felt the heat as he pulled himself up. He quickly shuffled away from the lava flow. As he took a stop to disperse heat he¡¯d been collecting into the ground, he felt how hot the land below him was becoming. His energy was now below half, his lungs burned, his eyes were drying out. His water was running low, and what he did have was warm. He could go further but he still had to get down the mountain. This was sufficient. He found he¡¯d managed to struggle a bit short of halfway up the mountain. There were a number of Foundation Phase cultivators he had passed on the way, some who were taking their time and some who were already heading back down. It was good enough. John took a moment to look around for anyone he knew. There were few of those. Tena was still in the Spiritual Collection Phase, so it was no surprise she was much lower than him on the slopes. Parallel with him on the slopes was Erik. Their eyes met and John was tempted to push himself just a bit further¡­ but he wanted to return with dignity. Climbing down cliff faces might be harder without energy, but John was able to twist together a bit of darkness and earth energy and trail his hand along with the friction that created to descent down any non-sheer cliff face. Since he was taking basically the same route back down, he was able to re-use handholds and footholds he¡¯d made on the way up. John soon passed the young man with the blue hair, who was slowly making his way further up the mountain. John gave him a thumb¡¯s up, then immediately regretted it. There wasn¡¯t much response, but while it didn¡¯t mean anything to Fortkran¡¯s memories, that didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t an offensive sign elsewhere. Well, he meant well and would probably never see that guy again if he thought it was supposed to be rude. Hopefully his low-energy smile had been friendly enough. The further he got down the mountain the easier things became- though the lower his energy reserves were. He took his time, not too slow so he didn¡¯t overheat but not too quickly either. He eventually made it back to where a crowd of people was waiting in just the condition he¡¯d been hoping for. He was exhausted but still able to hold his head up high. He watched with a smirk as Erik was stumbling down the mountain, clearly having pushed himself too far to get just a bit ahead of John. Patrik was watching him with an impassive face, but he might actually have to help him down the last stretch. That would be just perfect. Chapter 41 It was unlikely that John¡¯s performance climbing Zolvolj impressed anyone, but he found the results sufficient for his own purposes. He didn¡¯t have a poor showing either and he was still working to recover his reputation after, well, Fortkran. He sat with Aydan in a nice, moderate temperature underground chamber. They were having what was effectively afternoon snacks- it would often be called ¡®tea¡¯ if it was a meal, but neither of them were interested in having a hot drink. Instead, their olivine cups were filled with the coolest water they could get. John took a sip as he nibbled on some strangely spicy cookies. It seemed the residents of the Green Sands weren¡¯t content with just one kind of hot. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have reason to stay much longer. I¡¯ve learned most of what I can here at the moment. I¡¯ve had enough struggling against people of similar cultivations as well.¡± Aydan nodded, ¡°I agree. You seem to have learned quite a bit, but there is only so much you can do of one sort of training before it diminishes in value. It might be useful to return here when you are stronger, but you have all of the experience we can reasonably expect for now.¡± John nodded, ¡°What about you? Were you able to improve your own abilities?¡± ¡°Somewhat,¡± Aydan explained. ¡°Darkness only has an indirect connection to fire, in that they¡¯re mutually destructive. I must confess that I mainly deal with the heat by overpowering it, but I certainly learned some from this trip. I came here before when I was younger, and I can say I¡¯m much improved.¡± He took a sip of his relatively cool water. There were a few drinks that did well in constantly hot temperatures, but none of them were particularly pleasant for those used to life outside the Green Sands. ¡°Did you learn anything else interesting?¡± John shrugged, ¡°Not that much. Just some of the internal politics of the Milanovic clan. I¡¯m glad my position in the Tenebach clan is secure.¡± ¡°We learned a long time ago that internal strife greatly weakens the clan. There are sufficient opportunities for individuals to expand their power without stealing it from each other. Though it does not hurt that your grandfather is so powerful.¡± John pondered for a few moments. Aydan had been trusted with basically everything. He knew John¡¯s secrets, at least, which meant he was at least equal in knowledge of the internal affairs of the Tenebach clan. ¡°How close do you think things were to a change when I¡­ reset my cultivation?¡± ¡°If you had perished there, your parents might have tried to have another child. Another twenty years might seem long to you, but it¡¯s not so big in the grand scheme of things. Personally, I am glad things turned out how they did. Just the right things changed after you reset your cultivation without causing too many problems for the clan.¡± John nodded. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was technically any better at cultivation, but he was more devoted and stayed out of trouble. At least the kind of trouble that made the clan look bad. There was a certain amount of trouble he was just expected to get up to, like the scuffle with Erik. Even almost dying in the Crystal Caverns was ¡®good¡¯. Cultivators who could survive more near death experiences were held in high regard. ----- Having learned a lesson from previous incidents, John stayed with the Milanovic clan until a contingent of them set out to the southwest to visit one of the cities. While two Foundation Phase cultivators traveling together were a formidable force, they could be overwhelmed with numbers if someone decided they wanted to take the risk for their wealth. They would almost certainly kill a large number of Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators before they died, but they had limits. If some Foundation Phase enemies were thrown in they wouldn¡¯t have much chance. So traveling with a larger group- and perhaps more importantly members of a clan near their territory- was safer. It was likely that it was an isolated incident, but they still made sure to find another group traveling to the Stone Conglomerate. That was best for their personal safety. John had grown somewhat used to the oppressive heat near Zolvolj, so it was almost soothing to be in heat near the extremes of what Earth could have. Then when they left the Green Sands, he felt almost strangely light. His control over his spiritual energy, especially that of the earth element, had improved greatly. Constantly needing that control was quite useful for training. While he¡¯d certainly trained his control elsewhere, eventually he would grow tired and stop. But if he stopped in the Green Sands, he felt like he might have died. It was a good motivator- even if it was probably just going to be extremely uncomfortable. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Upon returning to the Stone Conglomerate, John took stock of how many people were cultivators. Almost everyone who had any sort of talent cultivated as much as they could, but there were clearly more non-cultivators. After all, they wouldn¡¯t just die if they didn¡¯t cultivate. John wondered how the children who weren¡¯t from large clans lived in the Green Sands. Perhaps they didn¡¯t. There were precious few reasons to live in the Green Sands if one weren¡¯t actively cultivating. It could also be that the heat resistance would transfer to children. John was aware that not all bloodline traits were entirely inborn- a parent¡¯s training could affect children they had afterwards. John wasn¡¯t sure how that worked with genetics, but he accepted it as another layer he just didn¡¯t understand completely. ----- It was quite nice to be back home, spending time in his own rooms and sleeping in his own bed. He also got to train in his own training chambers, tuned just for him. It had been attuned to focus on darkness by default, but some modifications had been made to gather more earth element as well. If John weren¡¯t careful, he might find himself focusing only on earth. That was the most abundant type of spiritual energy in the Stone Conglomerate, after all. But he knew that would be foolish. He had just returned from the Green Sands after all, and there were other fire attributed places. Just because he¡¯d learned to handle the weakness earth had to fire didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d negated it. Darkness still fared better against fire- he¡¯d just focused so much on earth because it was new and because it would be a shame to have half of his energy be useless. If he still intended to go through with a cycle of elements, he needed to avoid neglecting any part of his training. Air would be next on the list, but he still had another seven levels before he had to pick a totem. It would be too late if he waited until he finished the eighteenth level, but he wasn¡¯t in a rush. He browsed the third layer of the Sea of Spiritual Totems, but he found it difficult to spend too much time there. If he didn¡¯t have specific requirements it wouldn¡¯t have been too hard to find an air element totem that was strong- but he wanted something that could grow and preferably it would be multi-elemental as well. For obvious reasons, the details recorded on third layer air elemental spiritual totems were somewhat sparse in the Stone Conglomerate. ----- Since he was fully overwhelmed with the fire element in the Green Sands, John hadn¡¯t had much chance to practice his self-made technique. However, his general increase in control of spiritual energy allowed him to have some improvements. He finally decided on a name. It wasn¡¯t awe inspiring or inspiring. It was no Cat Hidden in the Darkness or Boulder Rolling Down the Mountain or Oriole Stalks the Mantis. It was just Spiritual Energy Absorption. He found that name preferable to Vampirism, both because of the negative connotations and because there just wasn¡¯t quite anything like vampires in the world. There were a variety of blood-suckers, but he wasn¡¯t inclined to name it after any of them. John also took the time to learn some other techniques. Though the earth element was good for augmenting attacks and defense, in the right environment it was also a good way to control opponents. Sinking in the Mire, which was alternately titled Quicksand, was a regimented technique to control the ground. Turning stone into soft earth and allowing people to sink into it didn¡¯t have to directly conflict with an enemy¡¯s energy, so it was useful in many situations. Even if he could only sink one foot a centimeter or two, that could throw off someone¡¯s stance significantly. Eventually he should be able to entrap people fully in the ground, but complete liquidation required either extreme power or some control of water as well. John was counting on eventually having the latter, but since he wouldn¡¯t have a water element totem until the Consolidated Soul Phase he would have to assume he would mainly be using it as a fully earth element technique. He also learned a darkness element technique. John found it strange that techniques that didn¡¯t straightforwardly kill people were often taken as ¡®dishonorable¡¯, but that was just how darkness techniques were. The most straightforward things were techniques like Gravity Blade. Personally John felt no qualms as long as he didn¡¯t plan to make people suffer unnecessarily. If they were fighting, why shouldn¡¯t he do his best to win? Clinging Affliction was one such technique. It was an augment for attacks, but rather than being made to simply crush through an opponent¡¯s defenses and kill them, it was something extra he could add on after he broke through. Clinging Affliction left a relatively small amount of darkness energy behind in wounds, where it would then slowly continue to open the wound and disrupt energy flow. The trick was making it so people couldn¡¯t just rip it away. It was also another thing that was difficult to practice. If he had a large attack made for breaking through defenses, he could use that safely enough in a practice arena- even if he went too hard his opponent should avoid major injuries. For Clinging Affliction to work at all, however, his opponent had to be wounded. It was also clear this particular technique would be painful- not pain for pain¡¯s sake, but still not something he¡¯d inflict on anyone who he wasn¡¯t actually enemies with. But it didn¡¯t have to be trained on people. John didn¡¯t have the heart to use it on poor innocent animals, but there were some decidedly non-innocent beasts that lived in the world. Some even made use of energy. They would be the most appropriate targets for training. Chapter 42 Despite the name, a stone forest had nothing to do with a forest. John wouldn¡¯t have put it past the world to have a forest made out of petrified trees, or even trees made of stone that could still grow somehow. Instead, it was just a place with vertical spiky rock outcroppings. The specific arrangement came with less visibility than a regular forest since they were basically wandering through a number of connected canyons. John wasn¡¯t alone. He rarely was, except when training in his personal quarters. However, he had more than just Aydan along with him as his guardian. The Southeastern Stone Forest was not too far from the Tenebach clan¡¯s main location, and when he expressed his desire to train there a sort of expedition was formed. He was quite aware of the actual purpose. Despite the fact that he had been appearing in public for a number of things, much of the clan assumed he was much the same as he had been before. While they might have taken his improved behavior as a sign of growth, it was also possible to assume he was just better at hiding indiscretions. More importantly, however, his cultivation had reached a more appropriate level for his age and standing. Because he had recovered from his loss quickly and even properly continued into the Foundation Phase, it was simple enough to let people assume that it had been on purpose somehow. There were rumors that he had done it to get a second blessing from the guardian beast- something he chose to neither confirm nor deny. The less he spoke of it, the better. Some mystery surrounding him was appropriate as the young master of the clan. The contingent of those on the training expedition mostly contained youth in the late Spiritual Collection Phase or early Foundation Phase. There were also a number of mid to late Foundation Phase guardians including Ayden. They were all uncles or aunts of some sort, though the actual relation might be more distant than anyone he would have considered a relative in his former life. Notable among the younger generation were Tempkeit, Magtel, and Crystin. John mostly took notice of Tempkeit because he knew him somewhat better, but he was also doing a decent job of progressing towards Foundation Phase. He seemed extra motivated to grow stronger because of the interest of Alina, and John couldn¡¯t blame him. There was nothing inherently shameful about being weaker than a woman, especially in a world where cultivation negated any significant physical advantages men had. That said, men were still generally encouraged to be more active on the fighting side of things and cultivation level was strongly involved with that. If things were actually serious enough between the two, Tempkeit would need to be at least Foundation Phase to be considered as a marriage partner, at least by the Milanovic clan. Magtel was an older cousin, though the difference wasn¡¯t extreme. He was several years older than John, in his mid twenties. He was one of the better talents and had one of the upper levels of cultivation among the younger generation. At rank 14, that put him solidly in mid Foundation Phase. Considering his age, it was likely he would be able to reach Soul Expansion Phase. It could be quite a difficult step to overcome, but he certainly had the potential. Crystin was a woman John would have been worried about if the internal politics of the Tenebach clan weren¡¯t so stable. She was very close to the same age as him but was currently rank 13. Since each rank took longer than the last, the gap between them was bigger than it seemed. She was quite aware of Fortkran¡¯s merely acceptable training speed given his position and she had no qualms letting her distaste be known. It had to be admitted that Fortkran probably deserved some of the snide comments she had, but it still ruffled John¡¯s feathers. He was more dedicated to cultivation now, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean he would be stronger if he matched her in cultivation. She had a fourth tier spiritual totem. Two of them, in fact. Her first totem was from the fourth layer, so it wasn¡¯t strange that her second was as well. It could even have been from the fifth tier. While John was happy that he didn¡¯t have to directly compete with them, he also had to put on a good showing in front of them. The whole thing wouldn¡¯t have been arranged if his grandfather didn¡¯t think he was capable, but John was quite aware that the current level of his spiritual totems was still holding him back. Perhaps he would need to make them grow more quickly. To that end, he was absorbing what fire elemental spiritual energy he could from the sun in the sky to form his own little internal sun. It was still pathetically weak, but it was something he could do to speed the process somewhat. It was unlikely he would be able to handle a higher proportion of fire until he got an appropriate totem, but he would still be able to increase its magnitude as his overall level grew. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ----- The creatures suited to stone forests were those that did well with its peculiar terrain. There were a number of actual trees and plant life as well, but not enough to give much cover like a proper jungle. Instead, climbing and flying creatures were the most prominent. There were several forms of monkeys and dozens of types of wall-climbing lizards. All varieties of birds and bats likewise lived in the Southeastern Stone Forest. Most of them were like normal animals. Nothing of interest for a cultivator to fight, merely creatures that survived by eating whatever was smaller than them and avoiding the notice of everything bigger to the best of their ability. It was just that things got significantly bigger if they were able to make use of the abundant earth elemental spiritual energy in some way. Thus, the group was hunting for rock lizards and stone snakes primarily. Unlike the things in the Crystal Caverns, they were still animals. They merely had tough skin and sometimes could make active use of energy. John set out from the base camp they had set up, going in vaguely the same direction as Magtel. It would have been safest if they all traveled in one large group, but that was because any creature vaguely proficient in survival would know to avoid large groups. They wouldn¡¯t get any training at all if everything ran away before they got close. Aydan followed behind, doing his best to conceal himself and his energy. John could only tell where he was because of his own affinity for darkness. Even then, if he didn¡¯t think about it for a moment he would lose his sense of Aydan¡¯s location and have to find him again. He was of course generally a handful of steps behind him, but not always directly behind him. The creatures living in the stone forest generally blended in with the terrain, but picking them out wasn¡¯t impossible. He was a cultivator, after all, so he could sense living creatures and how they were different from the rocks they clung to. That difference was more slight with some particularly advanced creatures, but they would generally not be too close to the base camp. Its location was chosen for a reason. John managed to spot a lizard about as long as he was tall clinging to the grey-white stone walls of the ¡®forest¡¯. Once he noticed its presence its eyes gave it away, but if it remained still it was only a tiny area to pick out that didn¡¯t camouflage it nearly perfectly. Whether the creature had intentions to ambush him as he walked by or not, he planned to fight it. He reached out with his spiritual energy towards it, but it moved before he could weaken the rocks it was holding on to. While it didn¡¯t seem to hold any spiritual energy inside itself to use for special techniques, it could clearly sense something wrong when he tried to use it. Because it moved, however, he got a better handle on its location. He tried to loosen the energy beneath it again as he threw a darkness charged knife with his free hand. Controlling two different types of energy for different tasks was difficult, but it was something he was going to have to get used to. Especially if he wanted to make use of more than two, because at a certain point if he could only use one third of his energy at a time he would be pretty ineffective. He didn¡¯t quite get the speed or accuracy he wanted from either action, but the knife just scraped against the lizard¡¯s tail. His energy cut through its hide, but it was just a small cut. Though he¡¯d been hoping for more, the cut only grew very slightly larger as Clinging Affliction did its work. He didn¡¯t have much practice for it. If he didn¡¯t get a direct hit, he would need to focus his energy all on whatever part would connect so he could make the most of it. Even though the attack was small, the lizard was clearly not pleased. It leaped off the wall, twisting in two directions as it sprang through the air. A quick use of Hidden Steps allowed him to avoid its many claws and its teeth while at the same time he performed a little counter, slicing with his sword. Once again he was practicing Clinging Affliction, and with a bigger wound he got a more serious cut imbued with more spiritual energy. It wasn¡¯t enough, however. He felt the energy continuing to cause damage, but just because it might kill the creature by the time it finished didn¡¯t mean it was going to stop attacking him. John found he was much safer just trying to finish the creature off directly, not that he doubted that to begin with. It was a technique for when a small wound was all that could be accomplished, not some ultimate technique that was useful in every situation. If he were more mobile than the lizard was in its natural environment he might have tried dodging it for a while, but he preferred to find another opponent instead. Chapter 43 At first glance, a cobra that was five meters away seemed like it would be of no threat to John. While he was quite aware of how quickly a snake could strike, it couldn¡¯t cover that much distance even if it was coiled to spring at him. Even so, when it snapped its head forward he was fully on guard. Jets of poison shot out of its fangs towards his face. John steeled himself, his spiritual energy warding his body while he refused to move a muscle. The poison went from its quite accurate trajectory towards his face to flying mostly over his head, without him interacting with the poison in any way. Gravity didn¡¯t suddenly reverse and pull it up. Instead, he moved down. He didn¡¯t duck. That would ruin the whole point of the exercise. Instead, he sank into the ground, just above his ankles. That was enough for the poisonous spit aimed at his eyes to miss him. Mostly. Some of it trailed low and brushed against his forehead. He wrapped his energy around it, darkness encircling it and flinging it away. Behind him, vertical trails of the poison dripped down the bark of a tree, leaving behind grey bark. The tree was a fairly typical pine, and the stone forest didn¡¯t actually contain stone trees. Mostly. But the petrification poison of the gorgon cobra turned almost any organic material to stone, at least enough to make it nonfunctional. It seems things remained organic enough to be edible. John stepped out of the earth- it was simpler than manipulating the earth to raise him back out of it, and he didn¡¯t want to waste energy in a fight. Even if he was testing something, he wanted to retain some caution. He remained still for a moment, hoping the gorgon cobra would be interested in spitting at him again. It wasn¡¯t really a good dodge- he could have just ducked to more effect- and he needed practice. Instead, it charged him. A rational enough reaction given the circumstances. It wouldn¡¯t have an infinite reservoir of poison and it couldn¡¯t miss if it injected it into him. He held his sword at the ready, flinging a throwing dagger with his off hand. The goal was to pierce into the snake, because even a small wound that was deep enough was a great vessel for Clinging Affliction. The snake twisted slightly, causing him to only hit the side of its hood instead of closer to its center, but it slowed the creature enough that it had to abort its attack to slip under his sword. He didn¡¯t have much familiarity fighting snakes yet. Gorgon cobras were a dangerous variety because they were more dangerous in most every category. Durability, petrifying venom, speed. An appropriate enough target for someone at the Foundation Phase, though not really a challenge. He was just getting used to a different sort of opponent. Only fighting humans would skew his thought process too much, and he would realistically have to fight dangerous beasts more in the future. They gathered in places with high concentrations of spiritual energy and those same places could have natural treasures, rare medicinal herbs, or exotic and valuable materials. Sometimes humans tried to tame such stretches of wilderness, but more often than not humans living in an area threw off the balance of the ecosystem. That still happened when they came to hunt in various areas, but there was a large difference between what humans would allow to live next to them and what they would allow in hunting areas. Gorgon cobras would not be allowed to live within twenty kilometers of civilized areas, if it could be managed. Snake and sword moved back and forth. John managed several slices along the creature but he was never able to get the right angle to chop through it. Being several meters in length John would have expected the snake to be ten or fifteen centimeters across, but it was more like twenty or twenty five. With hard scales and constant movement, getting in a good strike was difficult. If he used Clinging Affliction, he was also somewhat less able to augment the sharpness of his attacks with his energy focusing on the secondary effects. However, the initial dagger to hit the creature¡¯s hood was clearly causing it significant discomfort, and the additional wounds built up enough to slow the creature. Confidence was important, and as the creature lunged at him one final time he sliced his sword up from below its neck. His sword slowed as it cut into the creature, but it redirected the snake as well. His attack merely cut halfway through the creature, but halfway was sufficient to kill almost anything. The gorgon cobras were durable but not freakishly so. It was simply a matter of attacks being good enough to cause the damage to their internal organs and muscular structure. Though it was definitely dying, the creature still twitched and flapped about unnervingly. John kicked it away, dislodging it from his blade. He watched until it stopped moving before he moved closer. With another slice of his sword he fully decapitated the head, storing that in his bag. He didn¡¯t have the skill to properly remove the venom sacs, but those were absolutely the most valuable part of the creature. Its scales had some value as well, so John sliced a line along its length and pulled them off. He could spend several years learning how to properly dissect certain creatures, but that wasn¡¯t really an optimal use of his time at the moment. John swept his senses around. Aydan was still there, silently and stealthily watching for if John massively messed up somehow. It was also possible to run into a group that was far larger than expected which wouldn¡¯t really be his own fault¡­ but still quite deadly without a bodyguard. His senses also picked up the feeling of a nearby fight. Magtel, if he remembered the energy signature correctly. He couldn¡¯t quite pick out whatever he was fighting against. The distribution of earth elemental spiritual energy throughout the area pretty smoothly matched the creature. At least it probably wasn¡¯t another gorgon cobra- those concentrated energy in their venom sacs. Rapidly turning something to stone obviously couldn¡¯t be an entirely chemical process. Though the rules of this world were different enough, maybe it could be. Spiritual energy was many times easier to gather than obtaining whatever exotic things that would require, if such a thing existed at all. John hurried over towards the fight. Magtel probably didn¡¯t need help. His bodyguard should be there, after all. But John needed to display his ability, and he would like to take the chance to build up relations. Magtel would certainly know his intentions, but that wasn¡¯t a bad thing. They were family, they should try to maintain good standing with each other. Something the former him hadn¡¯t been particularly good at. Not particularly interested in doing more than the bare minimum of, rather. He kept up whatever he needed to get away with what he wanted to do, though he was certainly never fooling anyone to his nature. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After passing around several bends and turns John was finally able to spot the battle with his eyes. Magtel was surrounded in a cloak of darkness, not that anything else would be expected from a member of the Tenebach clan. Even John naturally swirled darkness around him, and he was only half darkness element at the moment. Halfish. His darkness was a bit more ¡®purified¡¯ than his earth. Magtel wielded his sword in two hands, though it was not large enough to require such. The additional hand allowed him to guide it more accurately and added a bit of muscle power- though the latter was probably negligible compared to just using some spiritual energy. He was currently fighting several snakes, quite different from the gorgon cobra. These were constrictors, but their resemblance to actual snakes was a bit stretched. They were still basically long tubes, but the body was broken down into dozens of smaller segments around twenty centimeters long. The segments were irregular in texture, lumpy and looking quite like natural boulders. The reason for the segments was obvious as John watched and listened to the creatures move. He¡¯d heard the constrictors were made of stone, but he¡¯d thought that just meant their scales or maybe the appearance and toughness. Instead, they hardly had anything like scales at all. They were closer to a collection of individual hunks of rock that scraped against the ground. Like a particular sort of rock snake from popular games on Earth, but with slightly more respect for physics and anatomy as they slithered along the ground. The part most resembling actual scales was where the different segments met, the only actually flexible parts of the creature. John wondered if they would be biologically classified as snakes on Earth, but it was a fine enough name to call them based on the other features. Magtel was constantly on the move, deflecting the creatures when they sprang towards him and swiping at them as he found the opportunity. If he stopped moving the four creatures would be able to surround him, and if one of them then managed to properly attack he would find himself in dire straits. Though they were constrictors and therefore likely had no venom, they still had massive jaws and sharp fangs. They could easily pierce through energy and grab an arm. They were also not above using their whole length as a weapon, flipping around to whip with their tail or sweeping under his legs to try to unbalance him. John quickly moved forward, moving at an angle where he would be behind the group of snakes. Though he softened his steps and concealed his presence, he wasn¡¯t able to attack before the snake closest to him flicked at him with its tail. It was unclear if his energy had been sensed or if he was smelled or some other exotic sense, but at least he¡¯d gotten close. He quickly leaned to avoid the attack, not difficult since the creature hadn¡¯t been looking at him. The snake quickly turned fully towards him and began to attack in earnest. Though it was full of many openings, John found himself unable to damage it easily. Most of its body seemed to be more or less solid rock, tempered to harder toughness with earth elemental spiritual energy most likely. He aimed for the joints between the segments, but he found that the irregular shape of the segments deflected his attacks more often than the curve of the creature allowed him to strike at the joints. He was certain he could eventually find a good opening, but he preferred to try something else first. If the constrictors were made of stone, couldn¡¯t he control it? He gathered earth elemental spiritual energy as the main force of his next attack, swinging straight towards the creature¡¯s body. Naturally it struck one of the large segments head on, but instead of barely damaging it his sword cut a single centimeter into the creature. It turned out that softening living stone was harder than uncontrolled earth, but since these creatures didn¡¯t actually seem to have control of spiritual energy he was still able to affect their bodies to some extent. As consequence of his attack, John was battered in the side by the creature¡¯s tail. He had underestimated how much mass it had- which was silly because he¡¯d seen it was made of stone- so his attack hadn¡¯t deflected its body as much as he¡¯d anticipated. His defensive energy softened the blow such that his ribs didn¡¯t collapse, but he thought they were at least bruised. He was also pushed back by the force of the blow and took the chance to get his footing. It had clearly meant to knock him off his feet instead, but being able to manipulate the ground under his feet had its advantages. He still needed more practice though. The stone constrictor coiled and then sprang towards him, but he was ready. The creature gave little thought to defense and John attacked the exact same spot- this time combining earth and darkness. It wasn¡¯t quite what he wanted, but he managed to get a little bit deeper into the snake and leave behind a bit of lingering darkness. While Clinging Affliction continued to work at it, John allowed the force of his attacks to push himself away from the creature instead of trying to knock it away. When it attempted to coil around him instead, he sank the ground beneath it while raising the section under his feet. Such a large area of control was a bit too slow, so the maneuver didn¡¯t quite work as planned. He still had to jump up and over to avoid his legs being trapped. He continued attacking the single segment when he found the chance, and finally got deep enough to damage something important. The stone snake started to back off, clearly concerned to be injured. However, even as it started to slither away John knew his energy was burrowing into it. It might not die quickly, but it wouldn¡¯t survive the wound. While John was occupied, Magtel had used the reduced pressure to slay one of the other constrictors. John hadn¡¯t been able to pay much attention, but Magtel¡¯s current tactics seemed to be based around minimizing the snake¡¯s senses and aiming for the joints between segments where the creature was less armored and thinner. Extra energy allowed him to keep his attack angled where he wanted even against the rough surface while the creatures moved, and he¡¯d nearly severed one of them. When John approached and distracted one of them, Magtel finished his single opponent quickly. The final stone snake turned to flee at that before John could seriously injure it. All in all, John thought he performed well. Magtel was still older and several ranks of cultivation higher than him, so it was expected that he would be more able to kill the creatures in a timely manner. He probably could have won the battle alone, but he appreciated it nonetheless as it allowed him to retain some spiritual energy and not have to stop and rest in a dangerous area. Chapter 44 Fighting creatures influenced by earth elemental spiritual energy was useful for John¡¯s techniques to grow. Some abilities were quite worthless to him, like that of the stone constrictors. Their use of spiritual energy was all for constructing their bodies, and John had no intent to modify his own physique. That was the sort of thing that could easily cause permanent damage if done wrong, and he would be much better off seeking an established technique. Even so by studying the creatures he gained some insight that would help him create stronger earth defenses, or at least more flexible ones. Earth elemental spiritual energy could harden like rock, and while that provided solid defense it also ended up limiting movement. Studying their joints gave him some ideas, though adding weak points into his defenses was something he should be cautious about. In that way it was much like joints in armor, and he¡¯d prefer if the weaknesses in physical armor and his spiritual energy defenses didn¡¯t align. But those were the parts that needed the flexibility the most. That was why he didn¡¯t make his spiritual energy solid for the most part. It was rarely useful compared to just cushioning blows with spiritual energy. It was somewhat less efficient in receiving damage but had no particular weaknesses besides brute force. A much more interesting and active technique was something he was developing based on the gorgon cobras. Their petrifying venom was quite something. He sought out more of them intentionally, though he didn¡¯t engage more than one at a time. The very thing he was interested in was also the dangerous part of them. He gathered the venom, but it didn¡¯t have the same effectiveness after the creatures were deceased. That was why he had to study how they manipulated spiritual energy when they were making the attacks. That very thing also taught him more about how to avoid stray droplets, since those became the largest concern. He could avoid direct attacks, but anything vaguely in line with the intended target was also at risk. John tried using the venom on some of the creatures he fought. The results were ultimately disappointing. It didn¡¯t remain potent for long outside of the venom sacs and his attempts to replicate the manipulation of spiritual energy by the creatures had only mediocre results. It wasn¡¯t a complete waste of time, however. If the venom lasted well in storage and remained potent on a blade John would have been able to use it to some extent, but even then it would merely be a consumable. There was nothing wrong with that, but gorgon cobras didn¡¯t live in a wide variety of places. He would only be able to collect so much on his own, or purchase it for increasingly prohibitive costs the further he traveled. Not something worth developing a complicated technique for just to make the petrification actually work. But he didn¡¯t need to do that. He discovered he¡¯d been going at it from the wrong angle. He shouldn¡¯t have ever tried to use the gorgon cobra¡¯s venom and its manipulation of spiritual energy to try to replicate its effects. John was quite aware rapid petrification was completely impossible with normal physics. And he was a cultivator, not a snake. The snake required the venom to replicate an effect it couldn¡¯t produce with just its energy, but John couldn¡¯t produce venom. He could, however, expertly manipulate spiritual energy. The closest technique he had to what he wanted was Clinging Affliction. That technique was vaguely like a poison- get it in a wound and it continued to cause damage on a scale only vaguely related to the injury. Earth elemental spiritual energy wasn¡¯t suited for the same sort of corrosive effect but it was perfect for the hardening. John watched viper gorgons extensively. He watched how their venom petrified trees and the flesh of other creatures they fought, sensing the finer details with his spiritual energy. Sometimes it was difficult to concentrate quite like he wanted because of the little issue where they were usually trying to kill him, but he¡¯d grown used to fighting them that he could handle it without using his full concentration. Now he was trying to replicate the effect on the easiest target. He held a leaf in his hand, injecting earth elemental spiritual energy into it and willing the whole thing to harden. He took it between his fingers and it snapped. He supposed that was progress, because it had been a fresh leaf instead of a dry one. In fact, he didn¡¯t actually want it to be hard stone. Brittle was perfectly fine. It was just unclear how much of an effect he¡¯d managed. The color had barely changed over the course of a few minutes, which made it far too slow to use in combat. But that was only a first attempt. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The next four leaves he managed to work more quickly, with the final one taking only five seconds to turn grey. He was having some effect at least. However, when he tried to snap the leaves he noticed a problem. At least half the time he¡¯d merely been creating a skin of stone on top of the leaf. It was hard to tell if he¡¯d done that for all of them because sometimes the leaves would tear apart anyway, leaving just the stronger veins behind. They were barely petrified. Veins. That was the key, wasn¡¯t it? Gorgon cobras spit their venom, but that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t prefer to inject it. It was just a secondary possibility. John inspected the effects on trees and the like. The petrification went deeper than he could currently manage, but only a few millimeters. That was significant, but only if he hit a critical point. Maybe sensitive organs like eyes or ears. Otherwise, it would just be damage to skin or fur and barely deeper. But the creatures that were bit were more thoroughly petrified with the venom injected into their bodies. So John started with the veins of leaves. It helped that he could work from the inside out without really damaging them beyond the point that they were removed from a tree. He could work from where they had been attached up through the veins and out into the membranes between the veins. It was a bit harder at first, but that made sense. Controlling energy inside any other organism was always more difficult than attacking from the outside. After snapping a few, he found they were quite more sturdy than the other leaves. That wasn¡¯t actually what he wanted. Preferably, he would make a more brittle stone. That might not always be the correct solution, but it would be easier to break through- or have whatever he targeted do that themselves. The exception for when he¡¯d want that is if he wanted to weigh something down with a useless limb. Even if it was used as a bludgeoning implement, a completely inflexible limb would be easier to avoid. And, if it was made of stone, easier to deflect. John had no illusions that when fighting an equally matched opponent that he would be able to freeze an entire limb. No matter how good he got, that was unlikely. But if he could petrify the right joint or tendon, it could basically incapacitate a limb with just a tiny amount of damage. It came to mind that if he was attacking those places he could also just hit hard enough to do the damage with his weapon, but it was another sort of situation where it worked like Clinging Affliction. If he could make a fast but shallow attack that nobody saw as a threat but corrode or petrify with that, it could be greatly effective. It might also be effective on large beasts. Some things would barely register if you stuck a blade five centimeters into their arm, but if that counted as a trivial wound of some sort it would open the creature up to major secondary damage. He just had to make sure that it was more efficient than simply stabbing deeper. It would certainly be effective against creatures with regenerative abilities, since they could stop bleeding and seal up stab wounds sometimes in a handful of seconds. Nothing John was aware of actually healed instantly, but if he slashed something and the flesh on the outside clung together and didn¡¯t continue to bleed, the actual relevant damage was lessened. John tapped his current leaf against the side of a tree and it crumbled to dust. He¡¯d managed to make it brittle and powdery, but he was fairly certain that was only because the initial density of the leaf had been low. It was unlikely to work quite so well on other things. A small hunk of bark had quite a bit more mass in it and seemed more solid for each bit of it. He continued transforming pieces of bark until he found an ¡®optimal¡¯ hardness to make them, the most brittle he could manage while keeping efficient. The bark snapped quite nicely, but the transformation of a piece as wide as his palm still took half a minute. That was with active effort, and if he wanted to do something like that in a wound he¡¯d have to leave behind sufficient energy and take the loss of efficiency that came about from not touching his target directly. For a week of work, however, John felt he was doing quite well. Even if the technique didn¡¯t pan out, he had learned much about controlling earth elemental spiritual energy. He knew there were abundant teachers and techniques available to him, but he liked figuring things out on his own if he could. He could seek help if he got stuck. Now he just had to practice the technique on something active. The lizards in the area should do nicely. Though they had tough hides and camouflaged well with the walls, they used most of the spiritual energy they absorbed to help them grow larger. Unlike the stone constrictors, they weren¡¯t already made out of stone, so he should be able to transform them. He¡¯d start with attacks wherever was easiest to hit so that he could get a hang of the process without worrying about striking a critical area. Chapter 45 A couple weeks of training against the creatures in the Southeastern Stone Forest provided quite a bit of improvement for John¡¯s abilities. Sparring against people could only go so far. Real combat against a variety of creatures provided valuable experience that couldn¡¯t be gained by sparring or solo experimentation and meditation training. The element of danger was a factor as well, though John had to admit he¡¯d probably never been in any real danger so far. But he wasn¡¯t going to tell Ayden to leave him alone just so he could be in more danger. He doubted it would actually help in any way, and if he actually needed protecting it could be disastrous. While extreme danger was said to create geniuses, it also killed most people. Why should he risk being one of them? Of course, John wasn¡¯t content to just coast along with his family¡¯s resources. Fortkran had been, but John wanted to be more than just ¡®okay¡¯ or ¡®acceptable¡¯. Of course, Fortkran hadn¡¯t even been that all the time, mostly because of the other detriments he had. John¡¯s mind went back to the Crystal Caverns. He¡¯d separated from Ayden and almost died. Sure, he experienced a period of explosive growth. If he hadn¡¯t, he would be dead. There was no way to guarantee the positive outcome, so he¡¯d rather grow at a manageable pace. He didn¡¯t have growing totems for nothing. Upon reflecting back to the Crystal Caverns, he was reminded of the natural treasure he¡¯d purchased and subsequently integrated into himself. He hadn¡¯t made much use of it since that time, mostly because it didn¡¯t do much. It was a pot¡­ or an urn, really. It was meant to store things, but storing energy inside it did nothing except keep him from accessing it. The only thing that it had ever reacted to were bones. John had thrown some bones from the kitchen into it only to have them disappear with no effect. However, now he had bones from creatures imbued with spiritual energy. The results were¡­ unspectacular. Unsurprisingly the difference between bones of cultivators that had been bathed directly in earth elemental spiritual energy for unknown decades and the bones of creatures that had lived a decade or two at most was significant. It did process the bones into some spiritual energy that was easy to absorb, but was otherwise of little use. In addition, since he didn¡¯t take the time to remove the bones from the body of the creatures he ended up with what were effectively piles of mush he had to dump out of himself. Or in the case of the stone constrictors, piles of rocky mush. Still, the fact that he could restore some amount of spiritual energy with that method wasn¡¯t useless. The earth elemental spiritual energy extracted from the creatures was sufficiently nourishing to his second totem. The pile of compost wasn¡¯t much to look at, but it was quite active. When he tried to see if he could use the remains of the creatures he was fighting- minus their bones- he was quite disappointed. It made sense that his dantian wouldn¡¯t accept physical objects not contained by the natural treasure, but he was hoping that somehow the pot might convert the bodies into a more spiritual form. But it seemed to be just the bones. An oddly specific natural treasure, but that was the way they tended to be. Along with his training John had continued to interact with the other members of the Tenebach clan who were training. They seldom actually needed his help, but nobody resented him taking some pressure off of them when they were fighting a group. He wasn¡¯t stingy with the bodies either, allowing people to take whatever they pleased. The bones weren¡¯t of much use to anyone, so those usually remained for him. John made sure to show off a little bit in front of those who were weaker than him. After all, he wasn¡¯t planning to just show how nice he was. He also needed people to learn that he was strong. Strong enough, at least. It would still take some time to catch up to Crystin and Magtel, but he was confident in his own rate of growth. ----- After finishing a quick battle with a gorgon cobra- John had no desire to study them anymore- he saw Aydan looking off into the distance. Of course, there were merely stone formations in that direction, but the placement of his head didn¡¯t necessarily indicate he was using his eyes. Even though sensing with spiritual energy didn¡¯t actually require heads to turn towards a target, it was an instinctive reaction among cultivators. Either Aydan felt no reason to suppress that instinct or intentionally chose to make it obvious. John extended his own senses in the same direction. The feedback he got was merely large amounts of earth elemental spiritual energy. Fortunately he¡¯d been training in the stone forest long enough to be able to filter that into different types. Otherwise he¡¯d be hard pressed to find the creatures hiding all around the area. In the end, finding what Ayden was looking at wasn¡¯t particularly hard. It was just distant, so his senses didn¡¯t pick it up automatically. He felt a mix of many different sources of spiritual energy, primarily earth but there were also a handful of sources of darkness mixed in. There was also something big. It almost felt like part of the stone forest was moving, but that wasn¡¯t quite it. It also wasn¡¯t entirely wrong, since whatever the thing was happened to be engaged in battle and he soon heard the sound of a section crashing to the ground. It was muffled at John¡¯s distance, but still distinct enough. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Should we go take a look?¡± John asked. He started moving in that direction immediately. If Ayden really thought they shouldn¡¯t go he could turn back, but he only got a short nod from his guardian. The two of them weaved their way through the stone forest as they approached closer to the source of the commotion. It became increasingly clear that there was a large battle happening, primarily between the large creature and some other native inhabitants, but it also included some cultivators. Members of the Tenebach clan. The first thing his eyes saw were spikes of stone waving about through the air. They were quite similar to what made up most of the stone forest, but the makeup was slightly different. They were actually a bit more regular in shape. Soon enough John was able to get a better picture of what was happening as there just so happened to be a large open area where the fight was happening. Based on the half-destroyed sections of stone, it probably wasn¡¯t so open when the battle began. The giant lizard seemed to have quite a bit to do with that. The creature was of a size that made the other ¡®giant¡¯ lizards he¡¯d encountered look small. The thing was probably six meters at the shoulder, with massive spikes of rock growing in a row down its back, atop its head and along its tail, as well as out of its elbows and other places along its limbs. Some of them seemed to be broken off, but beyond that the creature looked basically unharmed, even with several strong Foundation Phase cultivators fighting it. That didn¡¯t count the other creatures who seemed to be taking its intrusion into their territory personally. There were quite a few things gnawing on the lower parts of the creature. Magtel and Crystin as well as a few other younger members of the Tenebach clan were standing off to the side while their guardians fought. Magtel turned his head and inclined his head to acknowledge John. ¡°Fortkran! Good to see you. It seems we¡¯ve encountered the rare appearance of a thousand year lizard.¡± Though it was called that, it could have been anywhere from just a few hundred years to a few thousand. Depending on how long it had been alive it could be much more dangerous. That said, the spiritual energy it gave off was vaguely comparable to the Foundation Phase. It certainly had much larger stores than any of the cultivators present, but its output in any one area was limited. ¡°It would be quite a prize to take it down. We¡¯re still assessing its abilities.¡± ¡°If I might, young master,¡± Ayden was looking intently toward the creature. ¡°Go ahead and assist. I imagine the rest of us will be joining the battle soon,¡± John answered his unspoken question. ¡°What have you learned so far?¡± John asked. ¡°Besides the fact that it¡¯s gigantic? Not much,¡± Magtel grinned. ¡°It seems to have little reaction to most attacks, doesn¡¯t concentrate its energy for defense or attack- not that it needs to- and isn¡¯t much bothered by darkness.¡± Crystin elaborated, ¡°It seems to have enough sense of everything while it can¡¯t see that it hardly matters. A meter to the right or the left is a big miss for most things, but that¡¯s about as accurate as it got anyway.¡± ¡°Any special abilities?¡± John asked. ¡°Not that it¡¯s used,¡± Crystin responded, ¡°Though one or two would be expected.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have to worry about poisons on its bite or claws,¡± Magtel said. ¡°Right. We¡¯d be dead either way,¡± John nodded. The thing moved quickly, not because it was particularly agile but just because it managed to bite and swing its tail at a proportional speed to what he¡¯d expect from a smaller lizard. So, when it swept its tail¡­ It flicked from one side of the creature to the other, creating a shockwave that made the earth tremble even when it didn¡¯t connect with anything. ¡°It seems to be putting quite a bit of pressure on the guardians. Do you know of anyone else nearby we should wait for?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe so,¡± Magtel said. ¡°This area¡¯s a bit more dangerous so not many were hunting here.¡± ¡°Then we should get in positions.¡± John continued to watch the two story high creature rampage around. ¡°Getting up onto its back would be ideal, though those with ranged attacks might prefer to keep some distance.¡± John didn¡¯t have to take command of the situation, but he did have training on tactics and he was the young master of the clan, so he felt he should. ¡°I suggest breaking through the other creatures around one of its rear legs and climbing our way up.¡± Magtel and Crystin only hesitated a moment before nodding. At least that meant his plan didn¡¯t sound completely stupid. They might not enjoy receiving orders from someone lower in cultivation than they were, but neither of them were appropriate to be in command either. If it wasn¡¯t him, they¡¯d just have to take orders from one of the guardians. The guardians were currently quite occupied, so ¡®Fortkran¡¯ it was. And he would do his best to get everyone out alive- and not too injured. It wouldn¡¯t be a good look if he led them into trouble. Chapter 46 Directing cultivators wasn¡¯t like directing soldiers- something John had no experience in- nor was it really like directing employees. Maybe it was more like new hires who had experience. In short, he knew everyone was competent but not the full extent of what they could do. Still, being from the same clan they¡¯d undergone at least a baseline of similar training. John ¡®remembered¡¯ that from earlier in his life, though probably not as well as he should have. Even so, their situation didn¡¯t call for anything extremely complicated. They formed the simplest sort of formation, a box with John at the front-middle and Magtel and Crystin on the front corners. Those positions were actually more important than the center, because they would face enemies from a wider angle. The remaining members extended the rows behind them, and the whole formation would be intended to push through a group of enemies. With larger numbers on their side or enemies with a better sense of tactics a wedge might be more appropriate, but a box would do just fine for their purposes. The enormous lizard the guardians were engaged with generally remained in the same area, but each shift of its mass could move it a great distance. Each of the guardians were from the fifteenth to eighteenth rank of cultivation, more or less in the late Foundation Phase. Their own movements were swift as they dodged around, sometimes leaping up to strike at the creature when they found an opening. Though their attacks could pierce through its energy, they still had to deal with its durable hide and the sheer amount of it they had to get through to attack vital organs. So far none of them were on the creature¡¯s back, instead they circled around it to keep it constantly trying to find a target. For a moment it was facing the group of younger cultivators, but as it began to turn its side towards them John ordered the attack. The darkness elemental spiritual energy of the group weaved together to form a large concealing area as they sprang into action. Between them and the leg were masses of the ¡®weaker¡¯ creatures in the area; gorgon pythons, stone constrictors, smaller versions of the lizard, and even a few varieties of birds pecking at it from the sky. The creatures were mostly focused on the monumental intrusion, but as the group of cultivators approached they were recognized as a threat as well. The front row consisting of Magtel, John, and Crystin pushed through the creatures. The three of them now had several weeks of fighting these sorts of foes, while most of the individual beasts hadn¡¯t fought even a single cultivator. They were able to quickly dispose of those directly in their path, and those they didn¡¯t instantly slay moved back from the group of cultivators, unable to pick out a single target clearly in the darkness. It didn¡¯t conceal just vision but dulled other senses as well- especially precise targeting of spiritual energy, or it would be useless against other cultivators. It was not long before the group reached the leg of the great lizard- or rather before the leg reached them. As it turned and stomped, John called upon his earth elemental spiritual energy to soften the ground beneath its foot. He couldn¡¯t move that much earth all at once, but he could make it more willing to move. Some of it compressed under the creature¡¯s massive bulk, and some squished out to the side. The spray of dirt scattered off the defensive energy of those in front, but it was actually a significant hazard. However, its leg sunk several meters into the ground, throwing it slightly off balance. At the same time the guardians kept its attention, preventing it from moving for a moment. The younger cultivators began to leap onto the creature, grabbing onto the conveniently protruding spikes of rock. Some attempted to climb up using its scales to various levels of success- the gaps between the scales were quite large but in some places its defensive energy was a smooth sheet that covered any crevices. However, its energy defenses weren¡¯t so consistent that they found no openings. John landed on one of the spikes of stone that so much resembled the majority of the stone forest. As the creature tried to regain its footing it shook widely, but with actual stone beneath him he found it easy to latch on with earth elemental spiritual energy. The stone spikes were unprotected by energy, though that didn¡¯t necessarily make them weak points. John quickly leaped upwards, grabbing onto a higher spike and flipping himself up on top of it. The creature lurched once more as it got its foot free, causing Crystin to be too low in her jump. John reached down to grab her hand, yanking her up next to him. There was no time to say anything as they continued up towards its back. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°We must destroy one of the spikes on its spine!¡± John said as people made their way solidly onto its back. Its movements were still wild, but they had better footing and could accelerate with the beast- though some had to hold onto the various spike formations. ¡°That should leave a weak point we can attack through!¡± No doubt the giant creature took exception to their presence on it, but they had not yet caused it any damage and it clearly wasn¡¯t flexible enough to attack them. Even its tail, the most flexible part of it, was far too unwieldy to be used on anything smaller than the size of a hut. Its own stony protrusions even provided cover for the group. John channeled his earth energy into a stone protrusion next to him, as close to the base as he could without coming into contact with the creature¡¯s energy. ¡°Everyone attack together! As low as you can! On my mark!¡± Magtel continued to wield his sword in two hands, while Crystin had a spear she stabbed forward. Both had some sort of technique they were using to increase their power, and the other handful struck simultaneously as well. There was a crack, and the spike of rock a meter thick at the base tumbled. The great lizard upon which they stood roared, the sound so loud as to nearly knock them off their feet itself. Their eardrums would have shattered if not for the protection of energy. The creature also flailed about, intending to fling them off- but John had chosen a point in the middle of its back where most motion would be slight. Several of the others were sent sliding, but caught themselves before falling. Falling from the height of its back would be several stories, not fatal for Foundation Phase cultivators but it would leave them in the dangerous position beneath its legs. John noticed something as he looked at the broken off section of stone. He wasn¡¯t quite sure if he was right, but testing his theory wouldn¡¯t be hard. ¡°The three of us will continue our attack here! The rest of you keep yourselves steady!¡± Magtel and Crystin were the strongest, but John was the only one who had earth elemental spiritual energy. He would be quite useful for piercing through the rock. ¡°Try piercing attacks. I¡¯d like to break a relatively small hole in the base of this instead of shattering the whole thing.¡± Concentrating their energy into finer points would also make their attacks stronger. Since they were relatively safe as long as they watched their footing, they each took a few moments to gather their energy before attacking together. Two swords and a spear pierced into stone, stone which gave way almost like sandy soil. Much of that was due to the power of their attacks, but the rest was manipulation by John. They did indeed have small holes, but their weapons couldn¡¯t reach anything internal. If they extended their energy beyond their weapons to their limits it might be enough, but that would reduce the power of their attacks. However, John reached down and pulled with his earth energy. The shattered and broken bits of stone in the middle left a half-meter diameter hole in the creature. And¡­ there was no energy moving to protect it. Whether it didn¡¯t realize the weakness or couldn¡¯t move its energy through the surrounding layer of stone, John didn¡¯t care. ¡°Who wants to go in?¡± John asked. He had sort of wanted to do it himself, but he wasn¡¯t the strongest among them. Crystin immediately took the chance, stepping down up to her waist. The placement of the stone spikes was directly above the middle of the lizard¡¯s back- and its spine. Holding her spear point down, she gathered her energy and stabbed. The spine was bigger around than she was, so a single stab wasn¡¯t enough- but John heard the cracking of bone as she tried to make her way to the spinal cord to sever it. The creature¡¯s energy reacted to that. John was able to confirm that it couldn¡¯t control its energy in such a way as to directly defend that position, but it was doing something even more worrying. The energy around the gap Crystin was standing in started to push inward, trying to break the stone that made up part of its own body. John immediately reinforced it with his own earth energy, holding it firm. While the lizard had a monumental amount of energy, it maintained its limited ability to shape it. Each individual area was merely in the realm of what a Foundation Phase cultivator could output. Being only rank eleven, John was on the weaker end of that spectrum but he managed to hold on long enough for Magtel to back him up. Darkness energy didn¡¯t have the same solidity that earth did, but instead it disrupted the control of the lizard. But though their efforts were holding, the two of them would run out of energy soon enough- and the lizard had a seemingly endless supply to draw upon. Chapter 47 Darkness coated a spear as it stabbed down over and over. Hits began to crack through the solid spine of the building-sized lizard, working its way towards the spinal cord. Crystin focused on her offense while Magtel and John used all their energy to protect her from the crushing circle of energy around her. The energy seemed to only be able to flow over the hole in what was formerly a stony spire and now merely resembled an open manhole. John felt his energy wavering, but he used what darkness element energy he had left to use Spiritual Energy Absorption. He couldn¡¯t overcome the rate at which he was expending spiritual energy, but the creature actually only had a relatively loose grasp on the vast reserves of energy it controlled. John was able to handle feeding a portion of it to the Sapling of Darkness, regaining about half of the darkness elemental spiritual energy than he was spending. Meanwhile another portion he took control of, to his limits of controlling earth elemental spiritual energy. That was quickly consumed under the constant pressure from the giant creature¡¯s reserves. Then there was another portion he was just able to rip away from the creature¡¯s control entirely, freeing it back into the atmosphere. That slightly lessened the pressure they had to deal with. The crunch of bone breaking was followed by a slightly softer sound. ¡°Yes!¡± Crystin exclaimed. She continued stabbing down into the lizard¡¯s spinal cord, trying to completely sever the back end. She was making decent progress, but the creature roared. A wave of energy shot out from it in all directions, pushing everyone around it away- except for Crystin, who was in a dead zone of its energy. At the same time, it started to roll over onto its back. Crystin looked torn between continuing her assault and protecting herself. ¡°Just get away!¡± John called out as he was toppling through the air. He had been ready to be tossed to the sides, but being pushed directly away was unexpected. ¡°You¡¯ve done enough damage!¡± Crystin caught his eye, then stabbed her spear one more time, deep into the spine. The lizard took quite some time to rotate- perhaps only a second or two, but that was quite a bit of time to a cultivator. As it was more or less on its side, Crystin pulled herself out of the hole and sprang away, leaping as far as she could to get out of the crush zone. Her spear was left behind, sticking slightly out of the hole in the creature¡¯s back. John had been tossed almost directly straight up, so he came back down just along the creature¡¯s side after it flipped over. He stabbed out with his sword into its ¡®softer¡¯ underside, to surprising effect. Then again, the creature had just pulsed all of its energy to repel those around it and hadn¡¯t reinstated its energy defenses yet. Either it had finally expended everything it had, or was simply slow in its control of energy. Perhaps some of both. His sword cut nearly its full length into the creature, his weight and momentum carrying him down. On most creatures, a one meter deep cut would be far more than lethal- but for this particular creature John felt he was barely through the scaly skin into the flesh. Still, it slowed his fall and wasn¡¯t an irrelevant amount of damage. More importantly, the guardians took advantage of the lizard¡¯s lack of defenses and compromised position. Before it could even begin to tumble back to its front, a half dozen powerful attacks had been aimed at its neck and head. The lizard tried to turn itself over, but its rear legs flopped about wildly and its lower body didn¡¯t twist the way it wanted to. John used what little energy he had left to help propel his leg muscles, moving away from the side of the creature at top speed until he was a good hundred meters away. It was fortunate that the other beasts in the area were either crushed or more interested in the giant creature than him, because he would barely be able to defend himself. The creature began to flip over onto its belly once more, but its rear was slow at the process. It couldn¡¯t hold its bulk with just injured front legs, and those legs intermittently swiped out at the more powerful cultivators, to little effect. Once all of the younger cultivators were to a safe distance, the guardians retreated to a safe distance while the great lizard breathed its last breaths. Miraculously nobody had perished. Magtel and Crystin¡¯s guardians had anticipated aydan¡¯s help in their battle plan, and they likely could have eventually won on their own. The younger generation were the ones at risk when they got involved, but missing the chance to participate in such a battle would have been a terrible waste. The one most injured had taken a bad fall at the end, when everyone was pushed away, broken bones all over him. The Tenebach clan might need to supply some expensive medicines for some of the worse wounds people had to make sure they properly recovered, but the expenses would definitely be worthwhile. After all, they had just come into some new wealth. Exactly how much such a creature was worth wasn¡¯t a simple question. Even so, its whole body was deeply infused with earth elemental spiritual energy. Every piece of it was like gemstones, but even if it was valued the same as scrap iron¡­ there was so much of it that it would still have value. There quite simply weren¡¯t enough people to carry all ten or twenty tonnes of it back to the clan. After chasing off the smaller creatures who wanted to feed on it, the Tenebach clan moved their base camp to next to the creature while they sent for reinforcements. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The next week was basically spent on guard duty, either preventing beasts from nearing the camp around the edge or on top of the giant lizard keeping birds off of it. John found it was a decent cultivation spot, though. Something about the lizard drew in earth elemental spiritual energy, even after it was dead. A small piece of it might not have that much attraction, but the whole lizard absolutely would. Eventually the reinforcements arrived, carts and wagons not far behind and professional dismantlers among their numbers. The Tenebach clan didn¡¯t have any sort of spatial storage large enough for the creature, so it was broken down into components. Individual claws the size of people, layers of skin and scale, organs, and more. The only components that were ignored were the spines on its back, which were simply pillars of rock. It was already possible to find better rock in the Stone Conglomerate, so the value of those was quite low. Larger bones were carried separately, and two dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators were assigned to carry the creature¡¯s ribcage. The spine was separated into segments, and even the area that Crystin had damaged still had value. The tail was dragged along by powerful beasts, and now everyone was part of the escort. Not everyone was a member of the Tenebach clan. While it would have been nice to monopolize it for themselves, it was safer to call on local allies and promise them a portion of the creature. It seemed that defeating the creature was only the first step. ----- Though many members of the Tenebach clan were in the late or even peak of Foundation Phase, they had very few Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. It was possible there were a few secret family guardians John wasn¡¯t aware of, but he knew of a dozen including his own grandfather Luctus Tenebach, who was currently in mid Soul Expansion Phase. Three of them had been able to come to their aid a few days after they began traveling out of the Southeastern Stone Forest. John hoped their presence was simply an excess, but he knew that wealth could be quite dangerous. The Stone Conglomerate wasn¡¯t a lawless country where they could just be attacked and robbed on the road with no consequences, but there were always opportunists willing to take some risk. Outside of controlled areas, the laws stretched quite thin where it was simply the word of one group against that of another. If some valuable parts of the great beasts were stolen, there wasn¡¯t much hope to retrieve them. The great lizard was large enough and therefore valuable enough that slaughtering everyone wholesale so nobody could speak of it might be worthwhile. It wouldn¡¯t be worth anything if the clan could later manage to condemn those who did that if they lost their people. Personally, of course, John valued his life more than the value of the lizard. He really wasn¡¯t going to bet on getting a third life. Transmigration couldn¡¯t be that common. Even in this world, people usually had no memories from former lives. They weren¡¯t a reincarnated or transmigrated person, or it really didn¡¯t matter. If you had no memory of a previous life, were you the same person? John wasn¡¯t sure, but he really would prefer not to test it for no reason. So he kept his guard up, not that he was the main influencing factor in the success of every battle. However, no ambush came so he needn¡¯t have bothered. There was, however, a straightforward blockade across the road. His eyes picked out a few familiar faces. Both Kasimir Roldan and Gastone Boyce, plus of course older members of their clan. Did they really intend to start a clan war? An old man stepped forward. Soul Expansion Phase. John couldn¡¯t feel any others, but that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t any. There were too many faces to try to memorize, and some were reclusive. ¡°Forces of the Tenebach clan. We had prior claim to that great lizard. We had prepared our forces and declared our intentions, only to have you poach it.¡± So that was the angle they were going for. Those dumb claims might at least shield them from some of the charges of banditry. ¡°However, we are not unreasonable. Since you were the ones to defeat it, an even split of the profits would be acceptable.¡± In short, give up what the Tenebach clan had earned or risk people dying. One of our own stepped forward. Benval Tenebach. John wasn¡¯t sure quite how he was related to him, he was a bit off from the main bloodline but at the Soul Expansion Phase just like the other. ¡°Karan Roldan, is it not? With all due respect¡­¡± What followed was the longest string of profanities John remembered hearing. Some of the things he told him to do John didn¡¯t even want to think about how they could be accomplished. It did, however, trigger more memories about Benval. ¡®Fangtongue¡¯ was what they called him. He was forbidden from being sent on any diplomatic mission, and the reason was quite obvious now that he had some exposure to the man. ¡°... and your sister too. Now get out of our way.¡± John raised his eyebrows. Was he trying to provoke them? If he wasn¡¯t, he sure did a good job of acting like it. But there was something more. He felt it, just under the surface. If they did not share the same blood and the blessing of the guardian beast, John might not have noticed anything, but there was a subtle darkness flowing out of Benval Tenebach. Perhaps the extreme aggression was just for show. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Benval said, ¡°Just run home to your mommies. Or fight, you airheads.¡± Okay. Maybe he had just learned to use his unnecessary aggression in a beneficial manner. It was, funnily enough, the last thing that made those in front of them the most angry. Airhead was kind of a lame insult unless you were talking about an earth element cultivator, in which case it was¡­ still very lame. But in the Stone Conglomerate it was pretty serious. John smirked, but the way the ground started trembling he knew we were in for a fight. John just hoped Benval knew what he was doing. The arrayed forces weren¡¯t balanced all that much in the Tenebach¡¯s favor that a fight was necessarily beneficial. Then people began to move, and John locked his eyes on Gastone, and then Kasimir. If they were fighting, then one of those two were going to die. It didn¡¯t matter that being kicked into the death zone was ultimately beneficial to him, it was the intentions that mattered. And now was a perfect time for revenge. He just needed to stay away from the Essence Collection fights and those at late Foundation Phase. Chapter 48 Something akin to battle lines formed up. Even if cultivators didn¡¯t fight in ranks, nobody wanted to be the first to press too far forward and find themselves surrounded by enemies. A good portion of the stronger cultivators were already at the front, making up the majority of the attacks and counter attacks that were happening. Overall the fight was fairly even, but the battle had just begun. Both sides pushed against each other in differing levels of coordinated attacks. The Tenebach clan¡¯s members made up more than half of their side, so their combined area of darkness was more effective than the efforts of the Roldan and Boyce clans to control the earth as one, since the two clans merely shared an elemental affinity and not the whole core of their cultivation. Allies of the Tenebach clan moved to either side, since the darkness didn¡¯t exactly distinguish friend from foe as it interfered with vision and senses. John drifted towards the left side, still within the area of darkness. He positioned himself behind the front row for the moment, looking for openings to make use of throwing daggers. Nobody was so careless that he could easily strike their throat or another vital point, but he alternated between Clinging Affliction, Spiritual Energy Absorption, and his yet unnamed petrification ability. Since a majority of those they were fighting were earth element cultivators they could likely resist the petrification, if they expected it. Once a particular person resisted either of his attacks, he usually didn¡¯t target them with the same one. Darkness flowed over the shifting ground as the two clashed. Each side employed a myriad of weapons and techniques, but they were matched by their opponents. Neither side was able to gain much advantage yet, but the lines of battle shifted and warped. Soon enough, John found himself on the front edge next to other early Foundation Phase members of the clan. Both Magtel and Crystin had drifted to the other side of the battle, but John managed to position himself next to a few of those who had been at the training exercise and who had fought with him, at least in a few skirmishes against the native beasts. It was better to have some connection, at least. John traded blows, swinging with his sword to attack and parry both the opponent directly in front of him with a spear and those to either side as they attacked his allies. As he fought he made the most he could of Spiritual Energy Absorption to keep himself as close to the peak as he could. He couldn¡¯t sustain himself forever that way, but in such a large scale fight it was important to last as long as he could. It was possible to retreat if he had to, but the more active combatants the better they would do. The battle shifted, as the left side was pressed back along the road. It was clear that they were going for the ribcage or some of the other parts that had been left behind for the battle. John wouldn¡¯t give his life for any of it, but he wouldn¡¯t just let them have it either. Benval likely wouldn¡¯t have been chosen to be the forefront if they weren¡¯t provoking the enemy into attacking for a reason. He just didn¡¯t know what it was, besides the obvious idea that they thought they had the advantage. It seemed pretty even, though. At least John didn¡¯t feel any advantage on the Tenebach¡¯s side, since they were steadily being pushed back. He moved with the flow, of course, because he didn¡¯t have the personal power to turn the battle. Not yet, at least. Somehow he found himself facing both Kasimir and Gastone. He¡¯d already beaten Kasimir once, by appearing as if he were exhausting himself before revealing his earth elemental spiritual energy. However, that trick wouldn¡¯t work again and while John had been growing stronger since that point, Kasimit wasn¡¯t just sitting around doing nothing. Adding on Gastone¡¯s presence, his all too reasonably shaped warhammer adding to Kasimir¡¯s threat and John couldn¡¯t do much but keep on the defensive, maneuvering himself to where allies could relieve some of the pressure occasionally. He had to thank Brage again. His training was keeping John safe more than his current level of cultivation. His spiritual totems were still individually weaker than the other two, and though they worked in tandem to a somewhat better effect, he wasn¡¯t yet ready to fight two peers at once. Then it happened. He stepped forward, thrusting his sword at an opening left by Kasimir. For all he could tell it wasn¡¯t any sort of feint, and his sword stabbed forward with sharpness and weight. He felt the ground shift beneath his feet, countering the motion with his own movement and some of his earth control, but his sword went off target, slicing along Kasimir¡¯s shoulder instead of stabbing into his chest. From the side, Gastone was swinging his warhammer. John couldn¡¯t dodge, and prepared himself to take the hit. He hardened his earth elemental spiritual energy and was ready to do his best to absorb the impact as he was knocked back. Instead, there was a loud clash as boulders collided, the shockwave from the impact sending him sliding back a half step. ¡°Do you require assistance, Fortkran Tenebach?¡± A heavy stone club smashed into the ground, creating a momentary barrier between John and the other two. That gave him a moment to recognize Renato. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll gladly accept, Renato.¡± He didn¡¯t know they had called upon the Order of the Amber Heart for help, but he doubted it was just a coincidence. Then again, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for them to be anywhere in the Stone Conglomerate and go to see a battle happening. Then again, there were far too many of them he was sensing now- and the lack of hesitation at joining the Tenebach¡¯s side was obvious. John¡¯s senses covered the two behind the wall, and he gestured to Renato and around to the left, then to himself and around to the right. They rounded the corners of the already crumbling earthen wall at the same time, and while John knew it wouldn¡¯t be much of a surprise to either Kasimir or Gastone, he didn¡¯t want to fight Kasimir more. He was too agile for someone with the strong defenses of an earth cultivator, while the time fighting Gastone John felt he was less of a problem. Not that he would take his opponent lightly. John had already spent more than a quarter of his energy before they got to where they were, and Gastone was a bit more fresh. But he didn¡¯t want to call off the fight. This was revenge. These two had forced John and Renato into the death zone. John chose to ignore that technically Renato jumped down after the treasure he tossed in, because nobody would have had to make that decision if they hadn¡¯t been blocked in. John¡¯s sword wove its way around Gastone¡¯s attempts to block. Warhammers were made for offense, and while it would certainly break his bones if he was hit by the hammer side- and the spike would certainly puncture deep into his body- he just had to not let that happen. He had an idea for a technique he wanted to try, but it was in no way ready for use in combat. Instead, he kept pestering Gastone with small cuts with his sword while his opponent had to deal with thrown attacks with his off hand. Slicing through earth elemental spiritual energy wasn¡¯t as hard when he¡¯d been cutting through actual rock so much lately, but that still didn¡¯t make it trivial. Even so, he started getting an advantage as he wounded Gastone without expending too much of his own energy. Renato nearly ignored Kasimir¡¯s attacks while he made wide sweeping swings with his stone club. Kasimir only tried parrying twice before he realized he couldn¡¯t afford to directly clash with Renato. He was one of the favored disciples of one of the strongest factions in the region, and John could feel how much the earthen treasure had done for him. John didn¡¯t focus on that battle, but he felt one particular swing from Kasimir. It cut right through Renato¡¯s defenses and into his ribs¡­ except it didn¡¯t make it through the surface, instead deflecting off of the bones. Yes, nearly dying had done them both some good. He would just prefer not to repeat that sort of thing too often. He continued looking for openings in his own fight. A quick thrust here, a slash there, and he was wearing down Gastone. They had drifted somewhat into the area controlled by the Tenebach clan, which gave John more of an advantage from sharing in the darkness as well as making it difficult for Gastone to retreat carelessly. Nobody seemed free to fight him at the moment as most of the Amber Heart cultivators were focusing on the center of the battle, but Gastone couldn¡¯t just retreat. The battle shifted to beneath the giant ribcage, limiting some of their range of motion as the ribcage acted as giant pillars in between them. John circled around them, continuously attacking until he found just the right opening. With a twist of his sword Gastone¡¯s hammer was flying through the air, and a continuation of his motion John¡¯s sword cleaved towards Gastone¡¯s neck. Then he felt overwhelming danger. One of the late Foundation Phase cultivators of the Boyce clan had launched an attack. He had to pull back to defend himself. So he did, but he twisted the energy on the very tip of his sword as he did so. It would be lost regardless, so as it cut through the surface of Gastone¡¯s energy he let it split off from him. A massive force rent the ground where he would have been standing if he¡¯d committed more fully to the attack. Before there could be a follow up, a strong energy pressed down on the battlefield. Everyone instinctively moved into a defensive stance, except those most familiar with Johannes Dalen, Head of the Order of the Amber Heart. John had only seen him twice, but as the man stood above him on the ribcage of the great lizard, he shivered slightly. Even though he was ¡®merely¡¯ at the early stage of Consolidated Soul, the man was still the strongest he had ever met. He¡¯d almost forgotten that the man had advanced before the last opening of the Crystal Caverns, and perhaps everyone else had too, for all the shock John discerned. ¡°This battle seems entirely unnecessary. I don¡¯t know how you thought this attempted theft would go unnoticed. But today I am feeling merciful. Take your dead and flee. At least your lives will be spared, but there will certainly be recompense for your actions at a later date.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Benval said. ¡°Run away with your tails between your legs. And don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re all-¡± John thought Benval must have exhausted his list of profanities in the initial encounter, and was quite surprised when the man came up with an entirely new list. Before he finished it, the enemy forces had gathered up their bodies and left. The Tenebach clan and their allies had some losses as well, but they had certainly come out ahead. And while it might have been convenient if they could slaughter the Roldan and Boyce clan members and be done with them, their side would certainly incur more losses during that time, even with the help of the Order of the Amber heart and Johannes Dalen. Besides, even though they were attacked, slaughtering them to the last man was an inappropriate response. At least, it wouldn¡¯t be good for their reputation. This would be better. John didn¡¯t know how much they owed the Order of the Amber Heart for their help, but it was certainly worth the cost. Hopefully they would stay around and he could talk with Renato, since they¡¯d hardly had any chance to speak and they were probably friends. Chapter 49 Battle came at a moment¡¯s notice, and left the same way. Now people were dead, and people were more upset about the indignity of being attacked than the loss of life. John crossed his arms and thought for a moment. He was disappointed that he fell into the same camp. None of those who died he actually knew, and he didn¡¯t have to deal with them. That was the mindset that Fortkran had, and John wasn¡¯t sure if he should try to go against it since he was now living in this world. But first, there was something he could fully appreciate happening in front of him. Gastone was carried off for the sake of swiftness, but more than that he had been standing in shock after John¡¯s attack. John watched as he felt his spiritual energy eat Gastone¡¯s and use it to petrify him. Sadly the process was not swift nor extremely efficient. Only the outer part of his shoulder was petrified before one of the elders noticed and tore apart the remaining energy. John estimated only the skin plus maybe a millimeter or two had been properly petrified. The arm would likely be unusable, but it was a totally recoverable injury. If the Boyce clan wanted to spend the money on it, anyway. ¡°That is quite an interesting method of attack,¡± Renato said. ¡°How does it work?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same as gorgon cobras, more or less.¡± John was aware that techniques weren¡¯t easily shared in this world, but he wasn¡¯t really giving away anything critical, and Renato was a friend. ¡°It hardens the body on a miniscule scale. I learned it from fighting them.¡± John wanted to say ¡®microscopic¡¯ or ¡®cells¡¯, but he didn¡¯t quite have the right words for that. Though people did have some understanding of things on that level, he didn¡¯t know the proper words. ¡°Fascinating,¡± Renato said. ¡°You learned it from gorgon cobras?¡± His face didn¡¯t show much emotion or change, but John thought he detected proper curiosity. Though it could just have been because he was looking for it. ¡°Watching how their venom petrified things, yes.¡± That gave Renato more information, but John had only spent a few weeks to learn it. It wasn¡¯t something terribly profound. It wasn¡¯t currently that effective of a technique. If he got close enough to someone¡¯s heart to petrify it, he should have just sliced it. With Gastone, its effects took too long to come to fruition, and it functioned so well mainly because of confusion. With more practice, however, and especially if he combined it with Spiritual Energy Absorption and Clinging Affliction, it could dig into people and petrify them with the use of their own energy. At the current moment it would be most effective on people like Gastone who used the earth elemental spiritual energy it needed, though if they comprehended it they were also most able to stop it. ¡°I¡¯d like to try to learn it,¡± Renato said. ¡°Perhaps we could exchange techniques? You do practice the earth element now.¡± A straightforward proposal, one that likely would have been considered inappropriate for two people who had merely spent a few hours together total, had those hours been different. However, sharing a good spar followed by nearly dying together certainly accelerated whatever their friendship was. John smiled, ¡°I¡¯m sure we can figure something out.¡± He continue to look where the Boyce and Roldan clans had retreated to, ¡°Too bad those two got away again.¡± ¡°Yes. They are quite troublesome. However, their actions did lead to our breakthroughs at that time. So we can thank them as they die.¡± Renato said that all without John detecting bitterness in his voice. ¡°It was unfortunate that we had no more witnesses of their actions to justify larger retaliation. But today¡¯s incident will provide fuel for proper retaliation.¡± John nodded. There were so many people present that they couldn¡¯t get away with just the losses they had incurred in battle. It wasn¡¯t enough to justify wiping them out, but the attempt would be costly for anyone who tried. It wouldn¡¯t be possible for the Tenebach clan to get the Stone Conglomerate as a whole to support them, and even with the Order of the Amber Heart on board, it would cost them lives while publicly requiring reparations would do more. Even if financial damage to the clans wasn¡¯t as viscerally satisfying as killing their heirs, John supposed he would have to settle for what he could get. But that didn¡¯t mean they would be getting off easy. Cultivators could be quite vindictive to those who broke their laws- especially when they lost a conflict. John supposed that overall ¡®might makes right¡¯ was still how things were done, but the collective might of the Stone Conglomerate and their laws would be used to squeeze them of their assets without physical danger to anyone¡­ such as John himself. ¡°It¡¯s too bad you couldn¡¯t do much to Kasimir in that short time.¡± Renato nodded, ¡°I was unable to conceal my intent to batter him to a pulp, so he was able to defend himself. He was sadly able to walk away with minimal broken bones.¡± ¡°Speaking of which,¡± John said. ¡°You alright? I can see some of your ribs.¡± Kasimir had gotten a good strike on him, but Renato seemed to be holding up fine. ¡°Do not worry. The muscles will recover in time, and my bones hold strong. I only regret I failed to prepare a sufficient retaliation.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The two of them talked and grumbled for a while while everyone was gathering back into a semblance of order. Johannes Dalen, head of the Order of the Amber heart, nodded at seeing them together. John had to admit that secondary to the near death experience they shared, he wanted to keep in good standing with Renato because he was one of the most promising disciples of a powerful sect. On the other hand, Renado probably also considered his status as the young master of the Tenebach clan. People could still be friends and also want things from each other. They were just dealing with larger possibilities than a store manager of a burger joint on Earth. ----- There were public praises for everyone¡¯s participation in the training excursion and the associated defeat of the great lizard. The resources it provided were almost secondary to the recognition it brought. The ribcage especially was paraded through cities, with Fortkran and the other members of the younger generation in prominent positions. Everyone probably knew that their efforts were secondary to the success of that battle, but even if their guardians had been controlling most of the danger they were still responsible for a good portion of its defeat. Now John was with his parents and Aydan in his grandfather¡¯s Luctus¡¯ very comfortable sitting room. ¡°You did an excellent job, taking charge of the younger generation in that battle,¡± Luctus commended him. John inclined his head. He knew he was able to speak more freely in this private setting, ¡°I relied heavily on the cultivation of Magtel and Crystin.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Luctus agreed, ¡°But Magtel¡¯s greater cultivation seems to merely be an element of time. Crystin will be a hard target for you to surpass, but your progress is promising. It is also relevant that their positive words about you were more than just politeness and upholding the image of the clan. The Tenebach clan is proud to have minimal internal conflicts, but it doesn¡¯t happen naturally. It takes work.¡± John nodded. That was part of the reason they had been considering Fortkran¡¯s removal in some fashion. He wasn¡¯t good for their internal synergy, external image, or the marriage alliance with Matayal¡¯s grandfather. It was constant work to repair the damage to reputation caused by Fortkran, but easier than replacing him. Except of course it happened anyway, quite on accident. John liked his new family, though he had to admit they were a bit more distant and there were less warm fuzzy feelings to be had. Then again, there were long patches with his family on Earth where he would have been happy with somewhat cold and detached instead of hostile. Sometimes families were work. His parents echoed the same sentiments as his grandfather. Approval. Something the old Fortkran had rarely experienced, though John was certain it wasn¡¯t for lack of searching for something. He remembered being praised for his cultivation efforts, even though both efforts and results were not particularly inspiring. Perhaps they had been a little too eager to praise, because Fortkran ended up quite spoiled. But still, family could only be expected to try their best to raise a child. Fortkran was still responsible for his own actions, in the end. ¡°What do you plan next for your training?¡± Luctus asked. Implied in the words were the fact that whatever he wanted, within reason, they would supply him. Though they might suggest more efficient methods if he was too far off of what they thought was sensible. ¡°Some time here, training with weapons and honing my techniques, might be the best for the near future. Perhaps until I reach the twelfth rank.¡± He mostly just needed more time for that, having plenty of varied experiences to draw upon for enlightenment. ¡°Then I had thought to visit the Shimmering Islands. Experiencing more of a different elemental style will be good, and I wish to seek out Matayal.¡± His fiancee that he¡¯d barely interacted with was still an odd point, but not something particularly upsetting. He might prefer to marry for love, but if that wasn¡¯t an option he would at least like to start off with some sort of real relationship before the time came. That included her clan, as well. ¡°The storms in the Shimmering Islands also come with air elemental spiritual energy, which will inform my next step in the cycle, though such a time is still far off.¡± His parents weren¡¯t even in the Soul Expansion Phase yet, where cultivators could obtain a third totem, but he knew they would be delighted by the unstated implication he would surpass them. Though maybe not before they reached it. Their cultivation had been steadily increasing since his arrival and they were now at the very peak of the eighteenth rank. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a coincidence or if his replacement of Fortkran had allowed them to put aside certain worries and focus on cultivation. ¡°An excellent idea,¡± Luctus stated. ¡°Perhaps if everything is in order, I shall accompany you. I haven¡¯t seen Netanel in person in quite a while.¡± John frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t have any intentions to accelerate the marriage¡­¡± Luctus smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry my boy. There¡¯s no rush for that now. I just feel like visiting an old friend. Besides, you should travel with more accompaniment now that you¡¯re starting to be recognized as a relevant factor here.¡± A reasonable point. And since Gerben and Caelia handled most of the clan¡¯s affairs, Luctus was free to travel. He was also a much better choice than Benval for various reasons, despite their similar levels of power. John had some fond thoughts of old Fangtongue, but he might want the option to not start conflicts. Chapter 50 Being out in the field fighting monsters, the environment, or people was useful for a while, but eventually came time for simple cultivation. Just sitting down, absorbing spiritual energy and refining it to be one¡¯s own. In turn that increased the capacity and skill of the user, with noticeable jumps upon achieving a new rank. With each rank he gained, John gained greater understanding of why people might undergo closed door cultivation, where they were locked off from the world for an extended period of time purely cultivating their energy. He could see how it might be a benefit when one had sufficient experience with the world and merely needed time free from distractions. Every day as he trained there were distractions. Simple ones from eating and sleeping to larger things where he got involved with family business and mandatory social interactions. Perhaps without any distractions he might have saved some weeks of time before he broke through to the twelfth rank. In the grand scheme of things that time wasn¡¯t such a big deal, but it delayed the journey he wanted to go on. Maybe it was just the sensibility he had from earth, where exact times and dates were important. Visitors might arrive days or weeks off target- even cultivators who had more control over the length of their journey- and nobody really bat an eye. Mostly John still found it strange that an entire trip was focused around him. Servants were one thing- the fact that they would conform their work to fit his needs made sense. It was the fact that his grandfather was waiting that made it weird. Someone more important. Luctus didn¡¯t seem concerned about the time estimate being off by a few weeks. John could have cultivated on the road, but there was no pressure to hurry or get moving. Then again, perhaps Luctus knew his idea of how long the step would take wouldn¡¯t be precise. John thought he was pretty good at judging, but apparently not that accurate yet. It wouldn¡¯t just be him and Aydan traveling together this time. There was of course Luctus, but also Crystin and another guardian for her. But even then it was more than just the five of them that would be traveling through the Stone Conglomerate. While the group could quite easily handle themselves in most circumstances, with recent conflicts it was best to be safe. Even if they were traveling through the more civilized parts of the Stone Conglomerate it wouldn¡¯t do them much good if the Roldan or Boyce clans were determined to just kill them regardless of the consequences. While both clans had been strictly penalized for their actions, the penalties hadn¡¯t involved any executions. Instead, they were merely forced to pay steep penalties. They had to give up resources and sell off lands to cover all of it, but their martial power remained basically the same. So they also had a large group of members of the Tenebach clan traveling along as well. If they weren¡¯t necessary, it was still a display of their forces that weren¡¯t normally seen outside of Marble County. Sometimes it was good to make sure people remembered you existed. ----- Along the way, as they traveled, Luctus taught them about controlling the darkness element. John had access to his grandfather¡¯s teachings whenever he wanted, but he always had other things he needed to learn as well. He couldn¡¯t just become a copy of his grandfather. Especially not with an earth totem. What Luctus was teaching the group was something that couldn¡¯t be done with just the two of them, either. The teachings focused on group formations. John had the feeling that most of the training was specifically for him and Crystin, because the older members seemed to already have experience with it. John knew the basics, but he got practice not just in supporting formations adding energy for the leader to use but also in the lead positions. A group formation was quite similar to how they had naturally spread darkness over the battlefield during their most recent conflict. However, instead of each individual filling up an area they contributed some of their own energy to be guided by a leader. For the concealing aspect of the area of darkness, each individual taking care of their own area was perfectly usable, probably even more efficient than if they had contributed to a group formation. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The actual usefulness of the group formation came to where the group couldn¡¯t do something individually. Usually this took the form of powerful attacks or defense. While ten people could attack the same target, if they needed to concentrate their power into a small area their attacks would inevitably interfere with each other. That was the case even for people with exactly the same style, be they members of a sect or a clan. So instead of forming individual attacks, the energy was instead given over to a controller who could use it to break through solid defenses or protect against extremely powerful attacks. At peak performance, the power of a group formation was more than just the additive force of each individual. Achieving such a level took many hours of coordination practice and trust between the members. Even then, a group formation wasn¡¯t always the right answer. They generally weren¡¯t better for attacking individuals in a wide area because the controller would have to divide their attention. Likewise, individual members weren¡¯t necessarily well defended by a group formation. While they were giving up energy to the formation¡¯s controller they were vulnerable to smaller attacks aimed at individuals. John stood at the core of a group formation. The actual arrangement of individuals could vary. In this case the core was the point of a wedge, with him at the front. It was a formation that was used primarily for channeling energy into attacking a stationary defense. The whole formation contributed energy starting at the widest point in the rear and increasing until it reached the grasp of the controller, who would be responsible for the final attack. There were ten people in formation, made up only of those at the Foundation Phase. John was still learning, but no matter how good someone was at controlling a formation guiding energy from those an entire phase higher was basically impossible. John was still in the early Foundation Phase, so that was his limit. The first few times he¡¯d been given the leading position had been a struggle. It was like he was trying to grab a flooding river with his bare hands. If it had been a river of his own energy it would have been one thing, but even if it was given over to his control it still wasn¡¯t his. That being the case, he managed to eventually gain a measure of control. Now he was doing it once more, drawing on his prior experience leading a group formation but also his memories of Spiritual Energy Absorption. That technique took an enemy¡¯s spiritual energy and turned it into his own, but not perfectly. When energy was trying to listen to him, it was much simpler. It had simply been overwhelming to begin with. As the river of energy flowed towards him, he didn¡¯t try to grab onto it. It would never be part of him, flowing through him. Instead, it needed something else. He added his own energy, little tendrils of it throughout the whole rushing river- and especially along the edges. The willing energy naturally latched onto his own and moved wherever he led it. In this case, it was a random boulder in the wilderness. Darkness crashed into the rock, stabbing through it and out the other side. A jagged hole about the size of a head had been bored through the boulder for the entire two meters of it. That was pretty good, but John had really been aiming for an area about two fingers wide. Still, he grinned and turned towards Crystin. She looked away. She was still two ranks ahead of him- she¡¯d finished going from rank thirteen to fourteen in about the time he¡¯d taken to get to twelve. It might not be so easy to catch up to her in cultivation, but she had not been able to achieve as much success at the head of a group formation. John was certain that the flow of energy had been just as smooth, and it wasn¡¯t some sort of strange scheme to make him in particular look good. He had a decent talent for controlling different energy, which he supposed made sense. He had both earth and darkness element spiritual energy of his own, and he¡¯d spent time handling fire. The latter was difficult, but he knew it should be. It was a conquering element for earth and opposed to both earth and darkness. John gave up on getting a response from Crystin. He sort of just wanted any positive response from his cousin, but they weren¡¯t really friends. Fortkran hadn¡¯t been a great guy, and fighting a few battles together hadn¡¯t suddenly erased the negative opinion of him. Still, he felt the response was more just not wanting to be one-upped rather than anything truly negative. Somewhere around a neutral opinion of him as a person, and slightly positive about his abilities? Well, even if he was wrong about the specifics everything was better than it had been and trending in the right direction. Chapter 51 Spears had the advantage of reach over swords, which meant that it was quite important to get inside their optimal range when possible. A properly skilled spear wielder knew this and prevented that from happening as much as possible. It was never possible to have a perfect defense and the addition of spiritual energy could negate some of the difference between weapons, but John still found himself in a difficult situation. He was lower in cultivation and Crystin had no obligation to go easy on him. He didn¡¯t really mind in general because he learned a lot, but he¡¯d prefer to win more. Crystin had the skill to beat him consistently, but unlike life or death battles it was inevitable that John would take the advantage eventually. It just didn¡¯t appear to be the current match. Short jabs with her spear kept John on his toes, forced to constantly move. He could parry her spear to create an opening to move in, but Crystin was usually able to withdraw her spear as quickly as he could step forward- and combined with her own movements away from him, it presented quite a challenge. He could force her to dodge or block if he used throwing daggers with his free left hand, but if he didn¡¯t win the subsequent exchange he usually lost out on spiritual energy expenditure. A thrown weapon required all of the energy to penetrate enemy defenses up front, and it was difficult to recover any of it afterwards. Attacks with melee weapons still expended energy used to propel them but the portion used to increase their cutting edge was not expended unless there was a collision. Maintaining two types of spiritual energy allowed John to store slightly more compared to someone of the same cultivation rank, but ultimately he had to be more efficient than his higher rank opponent. That meant decisive moves, and sometimes those ended up with him on the losing end. John thrust his sword forward, but Crystin countered with her spear aimed right at his torso. The attack was aimed so that he could either dodge and give up on his attack, or take the attack and get nothing in return for his efforts. But there was always another option. His sword was too far to parry the attack, but he did have a free hand. More importantly, he had a shiny new gauntlet covering his wrist. Even before the spear touched him Crystin¡¯s energy was cutting through his own, but the gauntlet protected his wrist and arm, allowing him to deflect the attack. Crystin had committed hard enough to her counter that she wasn¡¯t able to pull back in time, and his sword stabbed into her stomach. Or it would have, but they were limiting the total amount of energy they used. It merely stopped as it pressed against her armor, but they both knew how things would have gone. Having a full shield would have been more defensively useful, but John liked the option to have his hand free for throwing daggers and grabs. A bare hand also wasn¡¯t something that could be ignored in the world of cultivation, though without the force multiplier of a proper weapon true unarmed combat was inferior to using weapons in most cases. ¡°Good. You¡¯re both doing well,¡± Luctus praised them. ¡°I am filled with confidence for the future of the Tenebach clan.¡± John and Crystin bowed to each other, and to Luctus. Luctus was John¡¯s grandfather, but to Crystin he was technically a great-uncle of some sort. The fine details didn¡¯t matter, since he was a powerful member of the clan and the former head. Currently Gerben was clan head, and he likely would be for at least a decade. Even if John surpassed him before then, having someone experienced with administrative functions in charge was better. Both Gerben and Caelia were young enough that there was no rush for John to take over. In addition to sparring with Crystin, training with group formations continued. Everyone was getting better at their positions and contributions, though focus was mostly on John and others who would eventually be tasked with leading larger formations in battle. Just not in real circumstances for another few years. ----- Travel though the Stone Conglomerate was leisurely, disregarding the efforts spent on training. They were in no rush, traveling a reasonable distance every day and attending to various duties. Among those duties was visiting prominent clans and sects. They only briefly stopped at the Order of the Amber Heart, and there were a handful of other allies and potential allies on the way. Their current stop was at the Marble Mountain Sect. They had impressive lands under their control, towering gateways leading up to their core, and overall rivalled the Tenebach clan in power. John didn¡¯t have anything he needed to do but observe and keep relations cordial. Typical fare. Crystin was in the same boat, but her position was somewhat more awkward. John was engaged to be married which was an easy way to get out of many situations. Crystin, meanwhile, was not yet engaged. The particular purpose of their visit wasn¡¯t to arrange anything involving her, but the fact that it was an option brought many suitors. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Marble Mountain fit its namesake by its disciples looking like they were chiseled out of marble. Most cultivators were conventionally attractive- cultivating always had at least some measure of improvement to the body- but there were different types of results that were had. The cultivators of Marble Mountain weren¡¯t shy about showing off their results- toned bodies ranging from trim and fit to large and burly generally came with as little clothing as required to preserve modesty. Honing the body was not particularly rare among earth element cultivators, but Marble Mountain was one of the best. They produced some of the strongest cultivators and also some of the least reserved. John stood in a pleasant garden, not far from a statue that honestly could have been one of the disciples of Marble Mountain if not for the complete lack of color. The one area they differed from marble was their skin tone, though there were a few who ended up nearly white for one reason or another. John was talking to a particularly burly specimen. He had to weigh at least three times what John did, and John wasn¡¯t small or light. However, when compared to a seven foot tall giant with biceps bigger than his head, John looked quite small. ¡°... I haven¡¯t seen her in a bit,¡± John explained. ¡°I understand,¡± the man said in a voice that was surprisingly not all that deep. He didn¡¯t sound quite so much like he ate gravel as some of the others, either. ¡°Crystin is a beautiful sparkling night flower. I regret that I missed the opportunity to talk to her earlier. So if you see her, tell her Grag wished to speak with her.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to pass your message along.¡± John grinned, wiggling some of the fingers in a hand behind his back. The natural gloom made by the large hedges provided shadows to hide in, and the Tenebach clan was able to take advantage of them. After Grag stepped away, John turned. ¡°You heard what he said, night flower.¡± ¡°Uugh,¡± her voice slipped out of the darkness, ¡°When do you think we¡¯ll be leaving?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, probably.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t come soon enough,¡± Crystin said. ¡°There are too many. Even if I liked any of them, there¡¯s not really much choice on my part.¡± ¡°There might be some, though,¡± John said. ¡°If you were just talented or from a powerful clan, you¡¯d still get many suitors. Being both of those and attractive is all sorts of danger. But my fiancee was chosen before I was born.¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± Crystin said, ¡°I bet you could get out of it if you really wanted.¡± ¡°If anyone was getting replaced in that arrangement, it would have been me.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that any different?¡± she said. John shrugged, ¡°She would have still been betrothed to the heir. It just wouldn¡¯t have been me.¡± ¡°The heir is always the firstborn of the main line,¡± Crystin said. ¡°You couldn¡¯t be replaced.¡± ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± John said. ¡°Because it¡¯s happened before. The main line usually only has a single child, but there are occasions where they have a second. Like if the heir dies. My parents are still young enough.¡± ¡°The Tenebach clan doesn¡¯t let heirs die so easily.¡± ¡°Not from outside threats, true, but it¡¯s not too hard to make a mistake in cultivation and¡­¡± John dragged a finger across his throat. ¡°That¡¯s the end. Almost happened to me.¡± Technically, Fortkran did die from his failures in cultivation. ¡°It was then I realized that I needed to think more about the clan.¡± Or think about the clan at all, instead of stupid selfish stuff. Honestly, if Fortkran had been sensible he would have known he could have gotten more of life¡¯s pleasures if he just waited instead of being greedy about it. But he wasn¡¯t patient, and that had almost cost him his life in two separate ways. ¡°Is that what it was?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°Everyone noticed you changed after that. Some people said you intentionally reset your cultivation, with how quickly you recovered.¡± ¡°I wish,¡± John said. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t quite so easy. Now then, I think we should be able to sneak back to our own chambers. The shadows are deep enough for you, and I can keep you covered. As long as you avoid sparkling.¡± Crystin grumbled at his teasing, but it was the good kind. They were actually growing somewhat closer, instead of just being acquaintances who happened to be related. Chapter 52 Prior experience with coasts had been limited for John. He didn¡¯t live near the coast, but he had visited a few times. Seen some beaches, got sunburned, the standard. Fortkran¡¯s only knowledge of the ocean was more limited- he hadn¡¯t had a reason to travel for weeks towards the Shimmering Islands, which was also the closest sea. Thus, there were only drawings and paintings of ships that he¡¯d gone by, and not too many. He probably shouldn¡¯t have been surprised by Dolomite Harbor, but he hadn¡¯t really seen any depictions of it. The city itself wasn¡¯t enough to give John pause. He¡¯d seen much bigger cities on Earth, and equally impressive cities after his transmigration. The styles were fairly typical for the Stone Conglomerate, large stone buildings that seemed to compete with each other for height. Nothing skyscraper sized, but the Stone Conglomerate didn¡¯t have many people beyond the Soul Expansion Phase and materials to match. While there might be better materials than on Earth, the engineering practices were less sophisticated. There were probably some extremely ostentatious towers at various clans and sects, but Dolomite Harbor was just a practical city. People spent most of their time passing through. The impressive part of the city was the actual harbor, where it met the water. John had expected docks built out into the water, and he wasn¡¯t technically incorrect about that. It was just everything else that was exceptional. Instead of gentle slopes down to the shore, Dolomite Harbor had nearly sheer cliffs leading down to a large cove. Massive ramps and stairways were carved into the cliffs, and the removed stone had seemingly been used to create the sprawling docks. There were hundreds of ships- actual ships, not the little fishing and pleasure boats that made up most of what he¡¯d seen before. There were smaller boats too, dotting the harbor. John had expected ships akin to galleons and while there were indeed some close to that type, many of them looked quite a bit more modern. The difference was the materials. He expected wooden ships, but a large number of them were clearly metal- some painted, some not. He saw a few he was pretty sure were made of some kind of stone, but those were rare. The metal ships still had sails and he could see places for oars, but they were a strange sight to behold. It didn¡¯t appear to be just plating along the outside, either. John had a lot of questions. He probably should have had more of the answers, but he couldn¡¯t change the past. So instead he just asked. ¡°Do you know why most of the ships are metal hulled? Isn¡¯t that too heavy for the ships to move quickly?¡± His grandfather Luctus was quite willing to answer his inquiries. ¡°It is necessary to resist the danger of the seas,¡± he answered. ¡°And they are able to provide sufficient force to move them at a reasonable pace.¡± John nodded. ¡°What about that? Those rods sticking out of the tops of most of the masts?¡± He couldn¡¯t see much use for them. They were too skinny to do anything structural. ¡°Those are to attract lightning from the sky and channel it safely,¡± Luctus explained. ¡°Oh! Lightning rods,¡± John nodded. ¡°I should have thought of that.¡± He¡¯d already known about the storms in the Shimmering Islands, he just hadn¡¯t thought it would affect the design of ships so much. However, in an area high in water and air elemental spiritual energies, frequent violent storms were expected. There were no signs of any storms on the horizon, but they were merely on the boundary. Their group proceeded directly down to the docks. They had arranged for passage on one of the ships, and it should already be in port. As their group was a large portion of its passengers, they had been able to arrange for them to change schedule slightly. They hadn¡¯t known if they would be a few days off in their travel time or not. As expected, the Wavecutter was waiting for them. It wasn¡¯t one of the largest ships in the harbor, but John sensed there was more to this particular ship than immediately met the eye. It wasn¡¯t just the materials. There was something more hidden beneath the sleek exterior. Luctus called up to the deck. There were many proprieties to be observed when boarding a ship, and even though they could have just hopped up that was highly inappropriate. Besides, it was much easier to board when they lowered a ramp. It almost invisibly folded out of the railing in the midsection of the ship. The captain himself came to meet them in short order, showing them to their rooms. Captain Sohan was a man with a powerful build, but not quite what was expected of some earth cultivators. It seemed he cultivated both earth and water, with an imbalance towards earth. John supposed that made sense, because the man was somewhere around the nineteenth or twentieth rank, early in the Soul Expansion Phase. With three totems and two elements, it would be difficult to have perfect proportions of each type of spiritual energy. Though upon further inspection, rather than being imbalanced it felt quite purposeful, as if the man were an island surrounded by swirling tides. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Their cabins were small, but that was to be expected. This wasn¡¯t a luxury cruise, but a journey through potentially dangerous environments. The fact that he had his own cabin, despite it basically just being a bed with a chest at the foot he had to step over to reach it, was already more than most people could have expected. He placed his things in the chest. Spare clothes and spare weapons, for the most part. Some of his own notes on the techniques he was developing, in waterproof cases. They would be remaining in port for several days yet. They weren¡¯t the only ones who would be traveling on the Wavecutter, but not terribly many other rooms were left after their whole entourage. John planned to explore the city some the next day, but he had something else he wanted to do first. He¡¯d been to lakes before. Large bodies of water existed elsewhere, but the difference in the quantity and quality of water elemental spiritual energy was different in a lake and a sea. Some special lakes were extremely abundant in such energy, but none of those were in the borders of the Stone Conglomerate. While they were just on the border, John could feel the already significant amounts of water element around him. The cabin was close to water level, so it wasn¡¯t even far. Just through the hull of the ship. He could get closer if he went outside and jumped in the water, but that was a bit inappropriate for the young master of a clan. Perhaps some other time. He started with just sensing it. He had certainly experienced water elemental spiritual energy before, but the majority of it was carried by cultivators- Matayal among them. Earth was everywhere, even in the Tenebach clan- and even in the Green Sands. He still felt a large amount of earth from the great cove surrounding the harbor, but the immediate area around him was more significantly populated by water. It was cold. Not nearly so much as ice, but water tended strongly towards cold. High heat capacity, he supposed. It wasn¡¯t as if water couldn¡¯t be hot, but on average it wasn¡¯t. The same with earth. For an element he had no real experience with, it was comforting. Most of that feeling was because he compared it to fire, the weakness of his earth element and an opposed element of darkness. It was the final allied element he had no experience with. Just feeling it didn¡¯t give him any particular insights. It was water, and there wasn¡¯t much to it if it just sat there. He tried to reach his energy through the hull of the ship to swirl the water around a little bit, but found himself blocked once he wasn¡¯t just sensing. Rather than cause trouble, he walked up on deck. The sailors weren¡¯t too busy at the moment, but he made sure to stand in an out of the way section of railing. Once there, he reached down into the water. Swirling it slightly was fun, but not useful. He didn¡¯t have the capacity to significantly change the flow of water, with random waves brushing against the ship bearing more total momentum. Now that he was on deck, he realized that his sensing had been limited by the hull as well. It wasn¡¯t just metal being in his way, but whatever other protections the ship had. Even from on deck, he could feel deeper into the water. There, he sensed currents moving about in what felt like a random fashion. Eventually he would need to come to understand it, but he wasn¡¯t in any hurry. It wasn¡¯t something that bore a particular threat to him, and he would have plenty of time on the journey. That was what it was for. As for controlling water himself, he¡¯d not be able to do much with it until he had an appropriate totem. It was easier than controlling fire, or at least not as unpleasant, but unless he wanted to splash water on someone he wouldn¡¯t find much use for it in the immediate future. He could probably pick up a bucketful of water and block a fire attack with it, but if there was so much water around he could just go in the water for less effort. He thought back to his spars with Matayal. He hadn¡¯t been strong enough to make her really exert herself, so he didn¡¯t find any deep insights from her moves. He did think back to how he first used something like Spiritual Energy Absorption. Directly using the water elemental spiritual energy to protect himself would doubtless be better than trying to control the water around him, if he found need of it. John looked to the small ball of fire playing at being a ¡®sun¡¯ inside his dantian. He would need to continue his studies to determine how to add water into the system in larger amounts, and how much. Unlike the actual sun which was extremely far away, the little ball of fire warming his totems was quite susceptible to influence. He could easily put it out on accident, and it would be a pain to rebuild it. Even though he felt its presence only had minimal benefit at the moment, his regular care of it was useful for his training. Fire was enough of a problem for him that he didn¡¯t want to let his experience dealing with it fade into memory. Chapter 53 There had been little chance for John to enjoy tourism in his new world. For the first part of his time he was in a place he remembered as a hometown, so even though things were technically new to him they felt quite ¡®normal¡¯. He was still able to enjoy the entertainment available, but he didn¡¯t find it to be anything special. In the Green Sands, he hadn¡¯t really been able to enjoy anything. He was too focused on not burning up during that time to really enjoy anything about the area. Cultivation was enjoyable to some extent, but not to the point it could replace other forms of recreation. When he thought of tourism, many things came into John¡¯s mind. There was a big emphasis on visiting particular buildings or interesting places, but it was also about food and culture. As expected from part of the Stone Conglomerate, nothing was so drastically different about the culture as to draw his attention, but its position did open it up to new and interesting food. A majority of that food was fish, or other things from the sea that were technically not fish but still fell in the same category. He could have gone to fancy restaurants to see how they served it all, but he didn¡¯t feel like spending that much money. The very best would likely require prior reservations and enough cost to buy a weapon or armor with decent spiritual enchantments. Some people extolled the virtues of fine food, comparing it to miraculous medicines suited for improving cultivation- but people on Earth ate shark fin soup and used rhino horns as medicine and both of those were neutral at best. John didn¡¯t doubt that some meals might be beneficial to cultivation but many more would be of no benefit or straight up scams. He might enjoy a tasty meal, but he could also enjoy crunchy and greasy fried fish for a tiny fraction of the price. For the most part, John just had a relaxing stroll about the city. He didn¡¯t get in any fights or spend ridiculous amounts of money at an auction. He mostly just took the time to relax from a very nice spot he found looking down over the lower part of the harbor from the edge of the cliffs. The smell of the sea was quite enjoyable from his vantage point, with the nice smell of salt but not the smell of fish and the like. A gentle breeze blew over him, and he felt there was a perfect balance of elements around him. A perfect balance, not necessarily the perfect balance. It certainly wasn¡¯t an even mix. Earth and water were most prominent, with a nice breeze of air from the Shimmering Islands. Fire was only minimally present in the form of warm but not too warm sun. The light that came with it was too bright, but¡­ in a good way? It was that moment where you step outside into the sun and then your eyes adjust. Unpleasant and then quite comfortable. Darkness elemental spiritual energy wasn¡¯t highly present outside of John himself, but he had just the right amount of shade for everything to feel right. Others probably all had their own ideas about a perfect balance of elements, but this was one for John. Not for fighting or cultivating, but just for being. For a while, that was good enough. Then he was filled with desire to cultivate down on the docks. No special epiphany, but just a simple desire to test out what he could do. He turned to his uncle Aydan- a quiet guardian for the most part, and a nice source of stability. ¡°How hard its it to stand on water?¡± Aydan cracked a grin at the sudden question. ¡°Is that what you were thinking about? The answer is¡­ it varies. You could certainly spread out a large enough bubble of spiritual energy to prevent yourself from sinking for a time. Properly standing on the surface without distorting it significantly would require use of air or water.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go try it.¡± With that declaration, they started heading down the stairs to the harbor. Going up and down them several times in a day would be a real pain if he wasn¡¯t a cultivator, but his body had improved to better than it could have ever been on Earth and a little bit of support with spiritual energy left him nearly able to run up and down the long, winding stairs. He probably would have tried it, if not for all the people around watching and getting in the way. He did have to keep his dignity. For the same reason, he didn¡¯t choose to go to the docks by the Wavecutter. He didn¡¯t need more family and the like watching him mess around. He was probably going to end up dunking himself in the water at some point, and he preferred if only a bare minimum of people watched it happen. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He found some creaky old docks with no boats tied up. The stone it was made out of was cracked and crumbling and he wondered just how old it had to be for that to happen. Likewise, he wondered why it was sitting unrepaired. It seemed that even cities of cultivators fell behind on infrastructure repairs. John stayed to the sturdier parts of the pier, sensing for structural stability with his earth elemental spiritual energy. He wasn¡¯t practiced with uses like that, but he could at least tell if it would hold his weight. He moved out to the end of the dock and looked down at the water. Deciding to save the inevitable dunking for later, he sat down with his legs over the end, dangling his feet towards the water. Creating a barrier around his feet to keep the water away from them wasn¡¯t hard. More difficult was spreading it out to cover a large enough area that it could hold his weight. He wove his darkness and earth energy together, creating a sort of shell. He noticed water splashing into it and pooling inside, so he adjusted it to be one directional. The task was more difficult than he thought, creating a large barrier instead of just a skin around his body. Finally he was satisfied with what he had and stepped onto the water. He nearly toppled over onto his back, because his bubble of energy wasn¡¯t attached to anything. The only thing that let him keep his feet was that the energy was his and he could force his body to orient with it. He just stood there for a few moments, bobbing up and down with the waves, holding out a hand to keep himself from being pushed against the pier. He had a problem. He couldn¡¯t move. He had a little semicircle of spiritual energy pushing away water and in turn pushing back to hold him up. But it was below his feet. He shifted one foot forward. His grip on the pier was the only thing that prevented him from toppling once more, as the bubble under his feet shifted with his ¡®stationary¡¯ foot. He needed to attach it to himself differently. Maybe widen it out so that where he stepped was still inside the shape. At its current size it was taking energy that felt like what he would use in active combat, though some of that was his lack of efficiency with a new task. Expanding it so that the bottom of the trough was the width of his stride instead of the natural separation of his feet would significantly increase that. Changing the shape¡­ was not easy. That was the point that he went splashing into the water. The tenuous structure he¡¯d created tore apart as he tried to expand it, leaving enough holes for him to straight up fall into the water. His reaction was fast enough to close his mouth so he didn¡¯t get a lungful of water, and he was swimming with his head above the surface a moment later. Then he stretched out on his back, just barely supporting himself with his energy to make up for the weight of his soaked clothing. He thought on what he had done wrong. Though it would be more complicated, having one semicircle of energy centered on each foot would be better. There was certainly a better configuration, but he could do that. If he was trying something similar with physical objects they would bump into each other¡­ but with just his own energy it could slide right through. John slowly created another ¡®raft¡¯ underneath himself, then pulled himself into a sitting position. It was nice, bobbing up and down on the waves. Then he added another, starting above his head. He slowly pushed down, squeezing the water out of his hair. It was a gentle process, and he didn¡¯t just blindly try to push away water. He kept even pressure, and avoided messing with any water inside his body. Except a brief stop to dry out his nose. His body certainly wasn¡¯t dry when the second platform reached his feet, but he stood up gingerly and attached each to one foot. One foot stretched out, and he could feel that his balance was still shaky with them. He adjusted them to not attach so much to the bottom of his foot and instead have their bottom towards the water. With that, he was able to walk around for a bit¡­ a very little bit, before he found his energy waning. He was, after all, constantly pushing with seventy kilograms of force. That was just the weight his legs held supporting his body all the time, but temporary constructs of energy couldn¡¯t use the solidity of his muscles and bones to resist. It just burned through its power as it provided that barrier between him and the harbor water. Before he could get dunked again, he hopped back onto the pier. He certainly wouldn¡¯t be trying to fight atop the water at any point soon. It took nearly his full concentration just to balance. Still¡­ it was a reminder that he was not at all a normal person anymore. At least, not normal for Earth. Where he currently was¡­ he might have been higher in cultivation than many people, but comparing to actual cultivators he was still near the low end. It turned out a year of hard work and more years of prior experience just weren¡¯t sufficient to make up for a lifetime. Though he was quite pleased with his progress, especially how quickly he moved through the Spiritual Collection Phase. That could normally take several years, as Fortkran had experienced. He wasn¡¯t the most hard working young master in the world, but Fortkran hadn¡¯t been lazy about cultivation either. John was making better use of things, though. His clothes and hair were still a little bit wet. He would take his time heading back towards the ship, just in case there was anyone there he needed to make a good impression on. He could try to squeeze out the last bits of water, but he might damage his clothing if he did. He had no significant practice with the water element yet, besides what he¡¯d done in the last day and his spars with Matayal shortly after he transmigrated. Best to take things at the proper pace. Chapter 54 The day had come for the Wavecutter to depart. John watched curiously as the other passengers boarded. It might have been rude to judge them by their cultivation, but that was the first thing he could tell about them. The majority of the available space on the Wavecutter was taken by members of the Tenebach clan, with most of the others being of little interest. He took some interest in a young woman of similar age and cultivation with a guardian in the Soul Expansion Phase. They were quite focused on boarding so he didn¡¯t stop them to introduce himself, but he took note of them. The Wavecutter having already been prepared to depart and all the passengers aboard, they were leaving the harbor within the hour. They passed by the stone cliffs at the edge of the harbor and out into the open sea, the sight of which John hadn¡¯t seen in quite some time. Something about it struck him. Perhaps it was his ability to sense spiritual energy that made it so resplendent, but he found himself impressed by the vast openness of the sea and the way the light struck it. He almost expected some sort of cultivation insight¡­ but instead he just got to appreciate the view. ----- The beautiful sparkling seas lasted all of an hour. Then the winds and rain came. Sudden storms weren¡¯t unexpected in an area with so much air and water elemental spiritual energy, instead they were just part of life. Even in the roaring storm, the Wavecutter remained comfortable. It rolled with the waves steadily instead of violently shaking. John steadied himself on his bed, legs crossed as he sent himself up into the air to feel the storm. Wind and water crashed into each other. Lightning came from the skies, striking the boat. He reached out for the power all around, drawing in the feeling of it. But it wasn¡¯t enough. It was too faint, too distant. The hull of the ship blocked him. He stood up, exiting his small cabin. His steps slowed briefly as Aydan joined him. His uncle took his duties very seriously, and John appreciated that. Even if he didn¡¯t feel like what he was doing would really be dangerous, he had no need to turn the man away either. Above decks he had imagined a lot more yelling and running around. Instead, the helmsman calmly drove the ship as waves washed onto the deck. Sailors moved around with calm purpose, checking on various parts of the ship as they moved. Standing by the stairs to the lower decks, John didn¡¯t think he would get in the way. He caught the eye of Captain Sohan, who nodded in acknowledgement. John smiled. It was just like walking around the deck normally. What he felt was a wild storm was just an everyday occurrence for them. Lightning flashed over the water. The sound followed a moment later. John felt it wash over him, a deluge of air elemental spiritual energy. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t much, but in the Stone Conglomerate pure air energy was rare. He let it absorb into him. It wrestled against him, but he held onto it with his earth energy. The two elements were enemies, but earth was the conquering element in that exchange. John felt the power. He wondered if he could absorb a lightning bolt. His eyes and ears simply stopped working as lightning struck the ship. His senses overwhelmed, John almost felt as if he had been the one hit instead. However, he recovered a moment later. His energy protected him from any real damage, and he realized the middle mast¡¯s lightning rod had drawn the bolt to it. He could feel the heat it generated along the path it flowed. At first John was afraid that the mast would catch on fire or the metal core melt, but he felt the cooling mass of the sea flowing up from the bottom. The mast wasn¡¯t just made of common materials, and at least part of it continued through the ship to the water below. A fascinating solution, though it had potential for catastrophic failure. His hair stood on end, even as the rain soaked him and no more lightning struck the boat. John reached out to the air energy in the wind and the remnants of the strike, grasping onto them. He had no totem to aid his control, but his earth energy was quite capable of containing it. He absorbed a small part of it, circulating it through his meridians carefully. A cooling breeze and a pleasant tingling filled him. Inside his dantian, he felt something like a swirl of air. Faint, but certainly new. John wanted to get closer to the lightning. Maybe he could just touch it. However, he knew better than that. Perhaps he might resist a lightning bolt. Even normal humans often survived getting struck, but there were always complications. That was even more the case where spiritual energy and cultivation were involved. If one was careless, lightning could ruin the meridians in moments. No, he would be staying in a reasonable position until he had more experience. As it was, the experience was enlightening. As the storm began to die down, he returned below decks. As he walked down the hallway a head peeked out from behind a door. John turned to face the figure and bowed in a sweeping motion. ¡°How do you do. I am Fortkran Tenebach. We didn¡¯t have the chance to be introduced earlier.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The young woman continued to stare for a time. Finally, she responded. ¡°Keahi. Were you¡­ outside in the storm?¡± ¡°Of course. There is nowhere else to be but in my cabin or the mess. It¡¯s not meal time, so¡­¡± John shrugged. Keahi had a strong sense of water element around her, so he would be quite surprised if she was not from the Shimmering Islands. ¡°Such storms are new to me. I suppose you have grown bored of them?¡± ¡°Bored?¡± Keahi¡¯s face was hard to read- though she seemed somewhat lax in her assumption that the darkness would help conceal her expression. Her eyes turned away. ¡°No, I do not¡­ appreciate the storms.¡± Interesting. Someone from the Shimmering Islands afraid of storms. John didn¡¯t think teasing her about it would go over well, so he decided against it. ¡°I¡¯m sure the larger ones can be quite intense. For now, though, it is a novel experience.¡± There was an uncomfortable silence for a time, but Keahi hadn¡¯t retreated into her room or said any departing words. Finally, she spoke. ¡°Did you say you were Fortkran Tenebach?¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± he bowed again. ¡°Pleased to meet you, Keahi.¡± ¡°Likewise,¡± she was mostly hidden behind the door, but he had the feeling she responded in kind from the way her head bobbed. ¡°Good fortune with your cultivation.¡± With that, she closed her door. Interesting. It seemed she¡¯d heard of him. The Tenebach clan was powerful, but it wasn¡¯t so prominent that he expected his name to be well known in the Shimmering Islands. Perhaps she was merely a water cultivator from the coast of the Stone Conglomerate. That wouldn¡¯t be so strange, though her name indicated otherwise. He turned to look at Aydan, who provided no comment. ----- Upon further consideration, it was rational enough for a water element cultivator to fear lightning storms. John had never found himself afraid of them, even on Earth, but plenty of people feared lightning. When it was your weakness, it made more sense. John didn¡¯t find himself afraid of fire, but he certainly had a healthy respect for it. He¡¯d developed countermeasures, but they weren¡¯t perfect by any means. He¡¯d also been dealing with fire in controlled environments. If his first interactions with it had been negative, he doubted his feelings would be the same. The storm went almost as quickly as it arrived. He found himself back up on deck a couple hours later, having gone over all of the insights from the storm. He could spend more time in his room circulating his energy, but he would have plenty of time for focused cultivation later. Up on deck, he could enjoy the trip while cultivating less seriously. He enjoyed the gentle breeze, the spray of water, and even the warm sun. After some time, Keahi came out of the cabins below. There weren¡¯t exactly many places to go- they weren¡¯t on a cruise ship. John briefly wondered if cultivators would be interested in such a thing. Many liked luxuries, and cruise ships were catered towards pleasure seekers- especially those with wealth. While the engineering standards might be weaker than on Earth, better materials might make up for it to get the size necessary. Though, he had no intention to try to construct or run one. Even without any effort, he could sense Keahi approach him at his position next to the railings. ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it? The sea? Some places it is so clear one can see to the bottom, ten or a hundred meters below.¡± On Earth, John would have doubted that second measurement. It was probably technically possible, but extremely unlikely. Here, the world took things to extremes. ¡°What about Pualani? Have you been there?¡± Pualani was their destination, and thus where Matayal lived. They would be stopping at other places along the way, but the Wavecutter would ultimately bring them there. ¡°Yes,¡± Keahi nodded. ¡°I actually live there. The sea sparkles like diamonds, though the clarity of the water greatly varies. In some places, it is quite¡­ dark.¡± ¡°Dark water is usually from sediment, is it not?¡± John wasn¡¯t sure if that was necessarily the case here, but that was what he remembered. ¡°Sometimes,¡± Keahi said. ¡°But not always. Some places have darkness element in the depths.¡± ¡°That would suit me just fine,¡± John shrugged. ¡°So what brings you to the Shimmering Islands?¡± Keahi asked. ¡°Several things, visiting my fiancee among them.'''' John didn¡¯t want to get off on the wrong foot. He knew people could just talk, but it was better to have some things clear. ¡°It¡¯s also a good place to train. The Tenebach clan mainly trains in darkness, but the Stone Conglomerate adds much influence of earth. I¡¯ve visited the Green Sands,¡± he made a face, ¡°and now I thought to seek out other elements to experience them.¡± He didn¡¯t mention his intentions to complete a cycle of elements with his cultivation. It was ambitious, and possibly even bragging in a way. After all, his grandfather was among the top of the clan and only in the Soul Expansion Phase, barely enough to complete a half-cycle if that had been his path. ¡°Is that so? Then perhaps we might spar later, I could use more experience training against different styles. In port, I imagine. Captain Sohan probably wouldn¡¯t like us to do so on the ship.¡± John grinned, ¡°Probably not. Though I have the feeling the ship wouldn¡¯t give out before us.¡± The two of them continued to talk for a time before going their separate ways- though it wasn¡¯t as if they were ever going to be far apart on a ship. Chapter 55 The roar of a single strike of lightning never seemed to end, the tremendous sound echoing off the waves and through the ship continued until the next strike took over. The respect John had for the storms of the Shimmering Islands was ever increasing with the intensity of the storm. He went nearly sideways as the ship rocked, sliding into the corner of the floor and the door, then back towards the side with the small porthole. It was an interesting exercise in reorienting himself as everything shifted around him. If he was the version of himself on earth, he probably would have instantly fallen and hit his head in a violent accident. Thoughts of watching the storm from up on deck briefly passed through his mind, but they never even got to the point of true consideration. Every sensible part of him instantly rejected the idea. There was no way he could avoid being flung into the sea, and even if he wasn¡¯t the power of the lightning was too much. He felt it once more, closer. John took a deep breath. Was he afraid? Should he be? He heard occasional cries from up above, but they were loud merely because of the roaring wind they had to combat and not panic. If the sailors weren¡¯t worried, he shouldn¡¯t be either. He couldn¡¯t remain completely calm, but perhaps that would have been too much anyway. He needed to be on alert for what happened with the ship as it tossed and turned. There was a moment when he couldn¡¯t see or hear. His brain only realized later that it was flooded with light and sound as the ship was struck directly. He almost expected the ship to fall apart right then, as he felt the unfathomable amounts of air elemental spiritual energy. But of course, the ship wasn¡¯t so weak as to be torn asunder by a single strike. The previously subtle defenses on the ship were awakened to full power, channeling the lightning around and through the ship. As sight and hearing came back to John, there was only one response he could have. He waited for a lull in the swaying and tumbling of the ship before he stepped out into the hallway, firmly closing the door behind him. A few moments later, he was next to the contained portion of the lightning rod in the middle mast which pierced through the ship. Though it still had walls with defenses to prevent energy from moving through between him and it, this was the closest he could reasonably get to the lightning. Another strike, away from the ship. The Wavecutter swayed side to side, and John thought it might have done a full rotation once. He ran around the surface of the hallway to keep himself oriented and used his energy to soften the impacts when he bashed into the sides. He knew he could strap himself in his room and be fine, but he wasn¡¯t going to give up his chance. A second strike, further. A third, closer once more. Then another bolt of lightning impacted the ship. John¡¯s hair stood on end and his whole body tingled as the power channeled through the lightning rod next to him, the reinforcements and energy defenses between them merely dampening the power. John reached out with a tendril of earth, letting the escaped energy flow along the outside of himself back into the ship below. Earth was a conquering element to air, but he still needed to be cautious. He wouldn¡¯t be taking such power into his body and especially not his meridians, not without much more experience. In the confines of the hallway, the echo of the lightning was muted but would have still ruptured his eardrums if they were undefended. He couldn¡¯t see the lightning, as there were no windows. He stood for a moment, letting the relatively small amount of air energy that got into the corridor settle down before catching it. It was no longer lightning or electricity at all, just free but wild energy. He carefully controlled it, containing it with his earth energy. It tingled inside him, but was only the smallest fraction of a fraction of the bolt that had struck the ship. Some fresh air entered the little elemental ecosystem he had in his dantian, and he practiced controlling it. It was easier than the fire by a long shot, though he was certain he couldn¡¯t control much yet. He would need more practice to even have the smallest effect, but he wouldn¡¯t have any significant capacity to use and store air energy until he had an aligned totem. Like the small fire inside him, he could only use it as a slight boost to cultivation and to acclimate himself to it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. He continued to feel the lightning as it flowed through the area nearby and occasionally struck the ship. He guided the portions that came into the hall around himself, trying different patterns and guiding it along longer paths. He knew electricity liked to travel along the path of least resistance, but actually creating that path wasn¡¯t trivial. He could guide it outside of himself as long as it ultimately went downward towards the deck of the ship and the water below, or occasionally to the side. It didn¡¯t just flow along a single path, either. Lightning liked to fork, and the remnants shared that property. The current of electricity around him split down available paths. He could possibly force it into one by making that one the most attractive, but that meant potentially not covering his whole body in energy. He¡¯d rather take things one step at a time and not end up in an early grave. Or any grave, really. Dying wasn¡¯t a pleasant idea. He wasn¡¯t sure if cultivators at the peak actually gained immortality, but it was certainly a tempting concept. ¡ª¨C The exceptionally large storm eventually died down to a minor one and then nothing. John had expected to see some kind of damage from the storm, but everything looked basically pristine once he felt it was safe to go up on deck. Captain Sohan grinned as he saw John. ¡°Did you enjoy the Wavecutter¡¯s specialty? Normally captains have to go around such storms, which can take days. That one, we probably saved two or three. It¡¯s why the Tenebach clan chose this ship in particular.¡± John nodded. He¡¯d heard some of that before. ¡°Are there any that you do have to avoid?¡± ¡°Oh, aye,¡± Captain Sohan folded his sturdy arms in front of him, ¡°Nothing is invincible. Storm like that takes a lot out of this ship, besides. It can recharge with time, but for much more it needs expensive power sources. And a century storm will take out any ship not in a protected harbor. Even then, if the harbor isn¡¯t properly ready the great storms will wipe out a good portion of them. Usually only happens when control of the port changes hands to someone new and a few decades pass without incident.¡± ¡°I¡¯d almost like to see one of those storms,¡± John said, ¡°Maybe when I¡¯m stronger.¡± ¡°Hah! Ambitious one, aren¡¯t ya. I¡¯d say good luck to you then, though I¡¯ll preferably be somewhere else.¡± ¡ª¨C There were a few more minor storms and several days of full sun before they next reached port in Hanahi. Nothing came even close to matching the intensity of the big one. The port wasn¡¯t a large one, but it was a good place to stock up on further supplies. The Wavecutter did its best to maintain a small supply of fresh food along with the more typical fare. While the port itself was nothing remarkable, the island of Hanahi itself was a tropical paradise. John wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d ever been to a better beach in his life. The sand was soft and the water crystal clear with sea life of all kinds just off shore. The only complaint he had was that the sand on his bare feet was a little bit hot from the sun- a trivial complaint considering he had been to the Green Sands. Even the slightest intent to protect himself with his energy dealt with it. The palms that lined the beach had no coconuts- either they weren¡¯t in season or they were some other sort of palm tree. John didn¡¯t care much either way, except for the possibility of one falling on his head. Apparently that was no joke, with what was basically a heavy rock falling from several stories up. He felt like they might grow even bigger here, but it might be offset by his own energy. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Keahi asked. ¡°Just thinking about coconuts falling on my head,¡± John said. He didn¡¯t actually know the word in the language of the current world for coconut, but he managed an approximation. Keahi gave him a local word once he described them. Interestingly enough, though naming conventions might differ significantly in each area, language was somewhat more standardized than on Earth. It wasn¡¯t just one language, but the frequent travel of cultivators between areas spread a common language that a majority of people could speak, if not exclusively. ¡°So¡­ ready for that spar?¡± ¡°Right here?¡± Keahi asked. ¡°Seems good enough. We have earth and water. Unless you know of any pockets of darkness that like to develop along the beaches here, this is as good of a place as any. More interesting than flat terrain, too.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Keahi answered. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then. I also want to spar with Crystin. I mostly just get to fight water element cultivators and some variety will be nice.¡± Chapter 56 Water splashed as a spear struck out. John only managed to just get out of the way, though the water clung to him to try to hinder his movements. A short burst of energy pushed it away and he took the opportunity to regain a proper stance. What an annoying fighting style. He was supposed to be the one unbalancing his opponent with the surrounding elements. Shifting sand around was quite easy, after all. Unfortunately, since they were on a beach, the terrain matched them both well enough. A quick flick of his left hand and a dagger pierced forward through the air. It quickly impacted a bubble of water, dismantling it but losing most of its momentum and the energy guiding it in the collision. Water was just too good at absorbing those impacts, and Keahi had an endless reserve of it to draw upon. Not that he could actually damage the water itself regardless. He found her movements were both aggressive enough to defeat him yet reserved enough to maintain a form of defense. The way Keahi moved was intended to drive him towards the sea, but he wouldn¡¯t let that happen. As she shifted to try to be on the landward side of him, her attachment to the water went down. It also meant the sand beneath her feet was less waterlogged, and thus easier for John to control. Just pulling the sand beneath one of her feet apart as she stepped forward for an attack was better than any other defense he could muster. It was unfortunate that they happened to be fighting on a bright day. Suffusing the area with darkness energy to hinder her senses wouldn¡¯t work nearly so well in the bright sun. He¡¯d have to try something more subtle. He concealed his energy as he danced back and forth in the same area, not letting himself be driven too far toward the sea. His sword deflected her spear when necessary and he sought out undefended sections in Keahi¡¯s defenses with his throwing daggers. Unfortunately, she was able to maintain a shield on most of the entirety of her front, using her water elemental spiritual energy to control the nearby water which was more efficient than simply blocking with her energy. It would be a constant drain to her as she held it up for defense, but she would also be able to refresh her reserves from the environment if he didn¡¯t engage her in a fight. His sword cut through the shield of water in front of her, barely touching her- or rather barely scraping against her energy defenses. For his aggression, John had to fling himself away and just barely managed to deflect an incoming thrust. The overall victor of the exchange was Keahi, if one simply compared expended energy. A small section of her barrier collapsed. One might have thought it was a lack of control on her part while counterattacking, but John knew better. The two of them were not enemies, so he wouldn¡¯t use Spiritual Energy Absorption to pull energy from inside of her, but slipping it out of her grasp when it was fully external like that would not cause any real harm. Spears had the advantage of reach, though that advantage was minimized by the speed a cultivator could move past the optimal reach. A competent spear wielder could still use it up close by holding further up on the weapon, but it lost some advantage there. His little test had forced him to back up, so now he was dealing with the spear at its best range. Both fighters were fairly evenly matched, with the ability to counter nearly any move their opponents had. The ultimate winner would be one who could think ahead and gain the advantage of several successful moves in a row. Sword and spear clashed, water clinging to John¡¯s sword. He pushed it away with his stolen water energy with some of his darkness to make up the difference. Beneath his feet, earth shifted. Though it was not efficient, he still suffused the area in a thin layer of darkness. A dagger flew around behind Keahi, seeking to circumvent her water barrier. It worked, but she still had her personal energy defenses. John didn¡¯t have the power to fully reverse the direction of the weapon and bring it up to the same speed, so it was barely a threat. He stepped back. Keahi moved forward, thrusting her spear. His gauntleted left hand parried the spear as he moved forward. At the same time, the sand beneath Keahi¡¯s feet collapsed, sinking her up to her waist. He thrust his sword forward. His left hand grasped the spear, the water surrounding it flowing over him and trying to pull him back while at the same time the spear tried to retreat. Keahi released her spear, unable to dodge half buried in sand, and attempted the same sort of move John used to deflect his sword. Her buried stance was not ideal, and though she was half successful, he still managed a cut along her left side. It could have been more, had the battle been serious. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Water was suddenly spraying up out of the sand all around them, but Keahi released it from her control immediately. ¡°Damn, you were a second faster.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not surprised to see we had similar thoughts. Allied elements have many similarities.¡± He reached out his hand to help pull her out of the pit, loosening the sand as he yanked her up to the surface. ¡°I¡¯ll get you next time,¡± Keahi grinned. ¡°Possibly,¡± John smiled back, ¡°But I don¡¯t intend to make it easy.¡± This was one aspect of cultivating John enjoyed without reservation. Friendly spars were pleasant even if they were intended as training for serious combat. Engaging in actual combat was still somewhat strange for a person from Earth who hadn¡¯t experienced much violence, but he understood the necessity. If he didn¡¯t have the strength to defend himself, he couldn¡¯t accomplish much of anything in this world. Keahi took a break to refresh herself and deal with the small wound on her side while Crystin waited nearby. She had been able to watch their spar, which might give her an advantage but was a waste to disallow. If she saw and exploited weaknesses in Keahi, that just gave her something specific to work on. Both women wielded spears, but because Crystin had no terrain advantage they both began fully on the beach instead of with Keahi near the water. The two of them took each other¡¯s measure before they began. John watched the spar with interest. He was easily able to see through Crystin¡¯s concealment- using darkness to limit the senses of any member of the Tenebach clan would be extremely difficult with the guardian¡¯s blessing. That allowed him to watch the way the two of them moved. He was especially interested in how they stepped on the sand without controlling it like he had chosen to do. Their footwork as spear wielders would be slightly different than his own, but he could still learn something. With the whole of her energy devoted to darkness, Crystin¡¯s techniques were more focused than John¡¯s. She emphasized her control over the energy surrounding her weapon while at the same time disrupting her opponent¡¯s energy. It was different from how John took it under his own control, and if John was correct it relied on numbing the connection between the cultivator and their energy. It wasn¡¯t possible to make them completely lose control of it all, but it was still effective enough when their weapons crossed. The fight was expertly maneuvered towards the water, and Keahi once again prepared the attack she had almost readied to use on John. Water rose up all around Crystin, and even if she was expecting it she couldn¡¯t completely avoid it. The water clung to her arms and legs, slowing her movements as Keahi powerfully thrust her spear towards Crystin¡¯s torso. That would have perhaps been the end for Crystin, but she had the advantage of this being her first battle- and her cultivation was superior. She was able to use that power to her advantage, overcoming the restrictions on her limbs as she dodged and countered with her own attack. Her spear stopped short of Keahi¡¯s chest, not because Crystin didn¡¯t have the reach but instead because Keahi wasn¡¯t able to avoid the attack in time. With some time to rest, Crystin next sparred with John. They were both familiar with each other, and though Crystin was not quite fully rested and John could take advantage of the sand, she overcame him. The advantage of her higher cultivation and more powerful totems meant she would win more often than not, but John was still disappointed to not pull out two wins. ----- Energy swirled through John¡¯s meridians and into his dantian. Though there was little natural darkness in the area, converting different types of spiritual energy in a controlled environment was always possible. With the Seed of Darkness- now a proper little sapling inside his dantian- it was even easier. The plant would absorb all types of energy and ultimately purify it into darkness. It was reveling in access to abundant water energy. The sapling was growing, though he wasn¡¯t sure how much. It was hard to accurately measure its growth since there was nothing to compare against. He could vaguely compare it to his dantian, but neither thing was truly physical. Size and space were merely ideas when related to such spiritual objects. Both of John¡¯s spiritual totems were growing types. He wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d made the right decision in choosing his path, but now that he had set himself upon it he wanted to see it through to the end. His totems should be able to reach the third tier as he approached rank 18 and was ready to step into the Soul Expansion Phase and select a third spiritual totem. That would be sufficient speed, but John wasn¡¯t convinced they couldn¡¯t reach that level sooner. The more they grew the stronger he would be, and the totems would in turn aid his cultivation and growth in ranks. At the current moment they were right on track- second tier and a bit more than a third of the way to the next. Likewise, his cultivation at the twelfth rank was not far from advancing to the thirteenth. Maybe if he could get a little bit of lightning. More sensibly, he might absorb air elemental spiritual energy in the form of wind. He¡¯d have to hope for a moderate windstorm without too much lightning, so he could stand on the deck and gather the right amount. Air nourished earth, so he was looking forward to seeing its effect at pushing him to higher cultivation. Chapter 57 Besides a moderate amount of sparring when they landed, John hadn¡¯t gained much in the way of combat experience while aboard the Wavecutter. In a friendly spar he couldn¡¯t practice any of his better techniques to their full extent, because they weren¡¯t the sort of things that worked with half-assed commitment. Spiritual Energy Absorption was useful for gaining control of surface level spiritual energy, but reaching deeper was dangerous. Clinging Affliction barely had any merit unless it was layered on a real injury, and Bite of the Gorgon was never safe. He doubted anyone would be happy with being just a little bit petrified, and though he could help recover most of the damage he was much more suited for real combat. That was fine, since he would rather be viable in actual combat if it was a choice between that and sparring. He wasn¡¯t useless, of course. Gravity Blade was a practical skill for disrupting an opponent and focusing his attacks and his swordplay had continued to improve under Brage¡¯s instruction. Even if he didn¡¯t focus on a specific technique, generic control of his own energy was always useful. Real world experiences were often important for a cultivator to advance, but John didn¡¯t find himself lacking in those. Even if he hadn¡¯t encountered life threatening battle since the situation in the Southeastern Stone Forest and the battles afterwards, he could likely still advance another rank or two without issue. Comprehension was also an important part of cultivating, and he quite enjoyed spending time fiddling around with his elemental spiritual energy. Ever since transmigrating into the body of Fortkran Tenebach, he had been in a period of quick growth. Nothing was as fast as the first few months where he advanced through all of the Spiritual Collection Phase, but he¡¯d caught up to other talented individuals in the clan and was at least keeping pace with them. It would be preferable to immediately surpass them and show great might, but the path he¡¯d chosen wouldn¡¯t be able to display such effects. Maybe that had been a mistake, but backing out now would be an even worse mistake. ----- John wasn¡¯t crazy. Neither was his grandfather Luctus, which was why he insisted on accompanying John to the crow¡¯s nest during the next storm. It was one of the ¡®small¡¯ ones which didn¡¯t involve the ship nearly flipping over. It still involved high winds and lightning as well as large waves, filling the atmosphere with abundant water and air energy. It was the latter that John was after at the moment. He confidently sat cross-legged in the crow¡¯s nest at the peak of the middle mast and allowed himself to sink into his dantian. He ignored his grandfather standing tall next to him, focusing on his own cultivation. There was a constant storm of air element in the form of wind. John acknowledged the wind¡¯s power, but knew its wrath was insignificant compared to lightning. He began to absorb that first, feeding it directly into his other two totems. Air nourished earth and the Sapling of Darkness seemed to absorb a little bit of everything without issue. He actively circulated the energy through his meridians, into and out of his dantian. All along its path through his body it nourished him, feeding his body and spirit. In most cases, no change was visible during a single cultivation session. Cultivation was all about the accumulation of effort over time whether that time was weeks, months, years, or decades. However, while there were continuous changes to be had cultivation also had leaps as one went up in rank, or from one Phase to the next. That was the sort of step forward John was going for as he rapidly absorbed air elemental spiritual energy, as well as water and smaller amounts of other elements where they were present. Then the lightning began. Every time it struck the lightning rod in the mast next to him he felt a surge of energy- even though he was only pulling in the remnants. He wasn¡¯t so foolish as to direct a bolt of lightning towards himself. Not on purpose. His grandfather was present to make sure it wouldn¡¯t happen on accident, either. The rush of air element from the lightning was intense. It was much stronger, and he was absorbing from closer to the source than he had before. He could feel the charge building up in his meridians, and he made sure to circulate his energy continuously so he could absorb it as much as possible before the next strike. If necessary he could skip one, but there was no guarantee how long the storm would last. Storms were sudden and fickle on the Shimmering Sea. Focusing purely on cultivation was difficult. All of his senses were overwhelmed by the storm. The repeated strikes of lightning next to him would have struck him deaf and blind were it not for his defensive energy. As it was, his ears and eyes were numb. Chilling rain poured down on him and was whipped into him by the wind. The boat rocked back and forth, relatively minor compared to the big storm but amplified by his position in the crow¡¯s nest. Then there was the smell. Salty sea air was all he smelled at first, but as the lightning began he smelled something else. Something burnt, though nothing on the ship was catching fire. The smell of ozone from the lightning in the air. It was so strong he swore he could taste it. Instead of trying to cut off his sensations, John tried to accept them. They were just signs of the elements he was trying to absorb. Calmly sitting next to repeated lightning strikes might have been nerve wracking if he was afraid of lightning- or even if he didn¡¯t have his grandfather watching over him- but as it was he felt a sense of calm. The worst part was actually the flashes from the lightning. Even with his eyes closed, it was painful. That was from bursts of light element. Light was aligned with air, and the most straightforward example of that was lightning. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. John had the ultimate ambition to complete a full cycle of elements that should even include light. Even so, he completely kept the light out of his meridians and dantian. He had no desire to wrestle with danger, and without any totems aligned with light he would simply hurt himself trying to absorb it. Tiny amounts of it were one thing, but sudden bursts would tear him apart. Lightning and thunder. Surges of energy circulating through him, greedily being absorbed by his totems. Wind and rain. The flow of energy increased, building to a crescendo. Pressure inside his dantian increased, spiritual energy threatening to burst. The strain reached its limit. A final strike of lightning and he pushed through to the next rank. That put him at the thirteenth rank which was also the beginning of mid Foundation Phase. With that, his dantian expanded slightly, increasing how much energy he could store. The storm continued, but instead of trying to absorb more John allowed the surrounding energy to wash over him while he stabilized the roiling energy that was still inside him, enough to fill the newly expanded area quite comfortably. He grinned to himself. Maybe when he had an air elemental spiritual totem he would come back and actually try to absorb some lightning. It wasn¡¯t so crazy of a thought if he was at the Soul Expansion Phase. Just a little bit crazy. ----- As its name implied, the Wavecutter split the waves ahead of it, leaving an impressive wake behind the boat for something that had no motor. John had seen it before during their journey, but he was paying more attention now because it might be the last time he saw the ship. At least, he didn¡¯t believe they were planning to pay for it to stay in dock once they reached Pualani. They were about to arrive, and then they would be staying for a month- perhaps more. The journey itself was one of weeks, so dropping in for a few days would be a misuse of time. While staying too long might be disrespectful, a month was quite reasonable. Besides, the Tenebach clan had no intent to be excessively burdensome. They intended to have a mutually beneficial alliance. The docks of Pualani bore little resemblance to those in Dolomite Harbor, except in size and function. John had expected some sort of harbor to protect ships from the frequent storms in the Shimmering Islands, but instead there were only straight wooden docks jutting out into the open sea. When he gave an inquisitive look to Captain Sohan, he smiled. ¡°The storms never touch this area. I¡¯d suspect a huge defensive formation, but no one¡¯s seen sign of it. The most obvious place to look would be those rock formations back there,¡± he gestured behind the ship, ¡°There¡¯s a large ring of them around the island. Nothing special about them as far as anyone knows, but something about their placement probably keeps this place safe from storms. Nothing above moderate winds and a bit of lightning has hit this island in the centuries of recorded history it has.¡± John wondered if Sohan¡¯s definition of moderate winds at all matched his own, but clearly they couldn¡¯t be too bad if it meant ships were safe without a proper harbor. As the island became more visible in front of them, John looked it over. It was covered in plantlife, trees and bushes and all sorts of colorful flowers. The buildings were the same, with the various plants made to grow over and around the doors and windows and along the eaves of the buildings. The buildings themselves were mainly made out of woods that John didn¡¯t recognize. Some had thatched roofs but many had wooden shingles and other styles that were common elsewhere. It was a complete architectural difference from the Stone Conglomerate, but not an unexpected one. Even growing up on Earth where buildings could be made of brick and concrete he never saw so many stone buildings. The buildings of Pualani weren¡¯t too off from what he had seen earlier on Hanahi or some of the island styles on Earth, though with certain cultivator flares. There was just one thing that surprised John. ¡°I expected the island to be bigger,¡± he commented. ¡°Is that right?¡± Sohan grinned. ¡°Take a look over there.¡± With his eyes directed, John spotted more signs of green on the horizon, both to the right and left of the island in front of them. The large amount of sea he saw in between had made him assume there was nothing more. In a way, he was right. ¡°Are those completely disconnected?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. But it¡¯s all Pualani. A great flower with five petals- and another island in the center.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know how I missed that,¡± John shook his head. He had read up on the Shimmering Islands, but apparently he had missed that detail. Then again, Pualani wasn¡¯t the only major location in the Shimmering Islands, so while the information had been plentiful it wasn¡¯t surprising it was incomplete. Tourism wasn¡¯t a big feature in this world, and he¡¯d been reading more practical cultivation based information than a brochure explaining the place¡¯s natural beauty. After learning about the full expanse of Pualani, he no longer thought it was small. He¡¯d thought they would go around the island in front of them since he did know Matayal lived more towards the center, but apparently there were only docks for seafaring vessels on the outer islands. Smaller boats were available to transport people back and forth between the islands, and to the central island. John smiled. While he wasn¡¯t here for a vacation, island paradises were something he was able to appreciate. Chapter 58 The reason for keeping sailing ships on the outer rings soon became obvious. Though the channels between the islands were far wider than necessary for passage, high sandbars in certain points made the water between the sections of Pualani very shallow- to the point some sections even rose out of the water. Shallow draft boats carried those who wished to go to the central island, though John also saw a small number of swimmers and a few people walking atop the water. The swim wouldn¡¯t be hard for cultivators, but it would be a bit undignified to be walking around soaked with water. The central island had more extensive structures with large walls separating the grounds of various clans and sects. The architectural style was similar, with an increase in size and the addition of large courtyards as well as covered patios. The reason for the second was quite obvious, as even during the short time they¡¯d been on the approach it had started raining. John didn¡¯t have the control over water to completely prevent getting wet unless he wanted to exhaust himself, but he kept rain from getting into his bag with his spare clothes. Nothing a cultivator wore was so delicate as to be easily damaged by water, but he still didn¡¯t want everything to get soaked. Walking along with the Tenebach clan with no attempt at subtlety were Keahi and her father Malosi. It had been clear from early on that they had some connection to Matayal and her grandfather. There had been interest in them as members of the Tenebach clan, but nobody had detected any malicious intent. They hadn¡¯t actually hidden anything about themselves, but John had refrained from asking for details. He hadn¡¯t said anything that needed to remain secret, but he found himself pleased that they hadn¡¯t peeled off somewhere. The two of them merely pretending to be friendly for the duration of a journey had been a possibility, and with the clan being as strong as it was they were bound to have some enemies. Soon enough they arrived at a pair of massive wooden gates as tall as five men, with similarly high walls. John doubted any tree available in such quantity would be a sufficient defense by itself, but he felt the energy flowing through the gates and along the walls indicating they were strongly warded. He had expected nothing else. The guards atop the walls next to the gate sounded a bell as they approached.. ¡°Members of the Tenebach clan,¡± said a somewhat older guard at the peak of Foundation Phase, ¡°Welcome.¡± There was a momentary pause before he saw Keahi and Malosi standing slightly apart, ¡°And the two of you as well, friends of the clan.¡± The gates began to open, slowly and dramatically. John had the feeling that was for a reason. It would not do for the members of the family to be seen rushing around, but with the gates open a crack he could feel a powerful energy ahead of them, quickly joined by one he recognized as Matayal. By the time the gates were opened wide enough to actually see, a row of guards was standing on either side of the path leading up to a covered area where Matayal and Netanel Brandle stood side by side. John could have guessed at the latter from his strength and position, but truthfully he knew him from a painting he¡¯d seen. Similarly, his first ¡®memory¡¯ of Matayal was a painting of her. The company from the Tenebach clan and the other two walked forward, Luctus and John at the front with Keahi and Malosi slightly behind and to one side. ¡°Welcome!¡± the booming voice of Netanel demonstrated his power. ¡°It seems you have arrived in good health. I am very pleased to see it.¡± Netanel and Matayal cupped their hands and bowed to Luctus and John, and John bowed in return. ¡°Yeah, good to see you too old man,¡± Luctus grinned. ¡°Is that how you treat a sworn brother you haven¡¯t seen in decades? I should beat your hide for that. Honestly, I can¡¯t believe you haven¡¯t even reached late Soul Expansion yet.¡± The switch to extremely casual talk was somewhat jarring, but the big grin Netanel had on his wrinkly old face was relieving. ¡°I was busy managing clan affairs. Old clans have a lot to deal with.¡± ¡°Sounds like a pain, honestly,¡± Netanel said. He did a little half wave to John. ¡°Hey. You finally here to get hitched?¡± ¡°...¡± John had to reconfigure his brain to respond. His training to respect his elders and especially his future grandfather was eventually suppressed and he was able to answer. ¡°Not just yet. We seem to both be doing well in training, and it would be a shame to disrupt that.¡± He could sense Matayal had gone from eleventh to fifteenth rank in the time he hadn¡¯t seen her, though his current cultivation at the thirteenth rank was much closer than he had been before. ¡°Hah!¡± Netanel grinned, ¡°Plenty of training two people can do together better than alone. Marriage is good for your cultivation.¡± Matayal was staring daggers at her grandfather, which he pointedly ignored. ¡°But I suppose there¡¯s no reason to rush into things.¡± He looked to Keahi and Malosi. ¡°Good to see you two made it just fine. Didn¡¯t expect you to come with these guys.¡± Malosi didn¡¯t seem quite comfortable with being casual, though he tried his best. ¡°Yes, we ended up on the same ship. A delightful coincidence.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°How about we get everyone settled in?¡± Netanel suggested, ¡°The girls can get a chance to talk without us stuffy old folk, and then maybe Matayal and Fortkran can spend some time together.¡± He raised his eyebrows suggestively. Matayal was clearly indignant, but she took the opportunity to branch off from the rest with Keahi. John waved goodbye with a pleasant smile on his face. Hopefully her reaction was merely from the excessively casual nature of her grandfather. He¡¯d thought they had at least a decent understanding of each other, if not a particular closeness. But he¡¯d get his chance to talk to her later. ----- If he was visiting simply on vacation, John would be in paradise. That was the world people used for places like this. It did rain fairly often, but inside was dry and covered patios were abundant. He could sit in the sun soaking up rays sipping on a drink. Though he honestly thought that would get boring quickly. Just relaxing would get old quickly. He¡¯d like to go around and explore the island, but it wasn¡¯t exactly filled with nature. There were plenty of plants and trees around, but on the central island basically every piece of land was occupied. The plants were all part of gardens- beautiful gardens, but not really nature. Soon enough he found himself alone with Matayal among some of the best flowers in the gardens. John was able to appreciate flowers more with the enhanced senses of a cultivator, and the Matayal clan¡¯s gardens meticulously cultivated only the most beautiful and pleasant smelling plants that could be found. In some cultures two young folk off by themselves might be considered inappropriate, but given the nature of their engagement it wasn¡¯t a concern. They were basically married already, and calling it off would be more akin to having a divorce. Not that John had any intentions of the sort at the moment. Netanel¡¯s comments were right- couples could help improve each other¡¯s cultivations, but the opposite was also true. If they were incompatible they could hinder each other. It wasn¡¯t a matter of elements mismatching except in the case of light and darkness. All of the other elements supported each other in some fashion, so at least one partner would benefit. Incompatibility was more about personality and control. Emotional entanglement from intimate relationships could extend to spiritual energy entanglement, and if those entangled didn¡¯t work well together it was likely one would end up hurt. Usually the one with the supporting element. Their current position was remote enough to have privacy, with the pleasantness of it being secondary to the reason they were there. Matayal had brought John out to talk, and there were many things to talk about. His current cultivation among them. ¡°You have grown significantly stronger,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°That should be expected, with the resources available to me.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± she said, ¡°But with the sort of totem you selected, your growth could have been much slower. Yet not only are you in mid Foundation Phase, your first totem has advanced to the second tier. As for your second¡­¡± she frowned slightly. ¡°You wonder why I took an earth elemental spiritual totem as my second?¡± Matayal nodded in response to John¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯m intending to complete a full cycle of elements.¡± Matayal tried to keep her face passive, but the very effort indicated to John that she wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°Ambitious.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite about it. If you think I¡¯m overconfident in my talent, you can say it.¡± ¡°Your second totem¡­¡± Matayal felt his revealed cultivation, ¡°Is merely at the second tier. I had hoped your talent would at least match¡­ before.¡± Even if they were somewhere private, mentioning that he was from another world was best kept for stronger security. ¡°I could have picked a third tier totem,¡± John replied. ¡°I just chose not to. This one was quite compatible with my first. Besides,¡± John slowly circulated some of his energy, hoping she would be able to feel what he was going for. It wasn¡¯t so easy to determine the specific details of another¡¯s totem if they didn¡¯t want it to be revealed, but he wasn¡¯t hiding anything. His most important secret was already known to her, and if there was to be any trust between them he needed to share the complete truth. ¡°It¡¯s another¡­ growing type totem?¡± She pursed her lips in thought for a few moments. ¡°Very ambitious.¡± It still didn¡¯t sound like a positive pronouncement, but he could see she was taking time to think it over. ¡°Well, hopefully you understand now. I think this is a good path. We¡¯ll both know in a few short years, once I reach Soul Expansion Phase.¡± ¡°A few years, huh¡­¡± she looked at him askance. ¡°Think I can¡¯t?¡± John held himself up high. He did have some pride in his ability. He¡¯d already gotten so far in the time since his coming to this world. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. Some people run into roadblocks along the way. I suppose it is reasonable to reserve judgement until later. A few years is not too long of a wait to see your progress.¡± Matayal nodded her head, somewhat satisfied. ¡°Now I should be open with you as well. It should be obvious that I tread only the path of water like my grandfather. My totems are more traditional, but still given proper consideration. Let us discuss them as well.¡± John nodded. Things were still extremely formal between them, but they¡¯d only really interacted with each other for a few weeks. He couldn¡¯t expect much different in that time, and Matayal was a more formal person in general- unlike her grandfather. Chapter 59 The informal way that Matayal¡¯s grandfather Netanel acted was quite awkward for John. While his life on Earth had certainly involved less formality than his current situation, he still had an expect for some level of formality. Netanel was a strong cultivator, patriarch of a powerful clan, and his future grandfather-in-law. John might have been comfortable with casual conversation with nearly anyone else, but Netanel was a step too far. He wasn¡¯t unpleasant to be around, just awkward sometimes. John didn¡¯t always know how to react. ¡°Fortkran.¡± Netanel had adopted his rare formal tone and posture. ¡°Yes?¡± John turned towards him, looking away from the clear sea in front of them? ¡°Can you swim?¡± Netanel kept his eyes forward as he asked. ¡°Of course,¡± John answered easily. How would he not know how to swim? He didn¡¯t know that his casual answer would have such significant consequences. Netanel looked down at him, smiling, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Then his energy covered John, accelerating him forward and tossing him into the air. After the initial burst of speed, normal physics took over. John had time to take in his surroundings as he hung in the air for several seconds. He had to admit, the surroundings were majestic. Beautiful buildings, plants, and trees covering the nearby land. Crystal clear waters twenty meters below him at the peak of his arc, and clear skies above his head. Gravity returned him to the earth moments later and his momentum had him skipping atop the water before he finally stopped and sank. It took a moment to orient himself and get his head above water, and he was coughing and sputtering as he looked around. Processing what just happened took several more seconds. What was the point of tossing him into the sea? Just to verify that he could indeed swim? His eyes settled on Netanel¡¯s grin from the distant shore, and he realized. This was just the equivalent of shoving someone into a pool. A friendly prank, as far as things went. John was quite certain that even if he showed no ability to swim Netanel could reach him and pull him out in mere moments. If a Soul Expansion Phase water element cultivator couldn¡¯t do at least that, John didn¡¯t understand anything about the world. The question was how to react. He couldn¡¯t assume it was anything other than a friendly gesture, and thus he should respond in kind. He just couldn¡¯t imagine him being able to respond exactly in kind. Even if he could, he was currently being watched and that made it impossible. He imagined if he was a water element cultivator he would surf back to land and drench him with the wave, but he could barely support himself atop the water with his current abilities. He began to swim, making use of his abilities to reduce the drag of the water as much as he could. He doubted his method of swimming would impress a water element cultivator, but it was good enough to get him back to land in a timely fashion. As he stepped ashore he could see Netanel judging his reaction. He kept his face blank- though he didn¡¯t have the ability to completely pull that off, he was actually quite satisfied with just that impression. One problem of soaking in the sea was that sand would stick to his wet clothes, but he kept the earth off of him with his spiritual energy. He walked forward, until he nearly passed Netanel. Then he turned, his face doing his best evil-yet-friendly grin. ¡°Take care to watch the shadows for vengeance from the Tenebach clan.¡± Netanel laughed uproariously, which was exactly the sort of response he wanted. ¡°Oh? I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± John wondered if he¡¯d been called over to the shore just for that moment, and considered if he should just be on his way. However, Netanel had something more to say. ¡°What¡¯s your name, kid?¡± John looked at him askance. ¡°Fortkran. You just said it.¡± Netanel¡¯s energy bubbled around the two of them, separating them from the rest of the area. ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. You¡¯re just a bit too hesitant to respond to that name. I was told, you know. I¡¯m one of the parties involved with this situation after all, and your grandfather wouldn¡¯t keep it a secret from me. A transmigration, from another world even. So, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°... John. John Miller.¡± ¡°Well, John John Miller, good to meet you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just-¡± the look on Netanel¡¯s face told him all he needed to know. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Frankly, it was a relief he knew. And strangely enough, a comfort that he¡¯d asked his name. His family had been quite happy to have him replace Fortkran Tenebach, but they hadn¡¯t really talked much about who he was. Not where it was unnecessary for understanding his abilities, anyway. He¡¯d certainly told them his name, but he wasn¡¯t sure if they would remember. Aydan was the only one who¡¯d shown more interest, and he supposed the two of them had spent the most time together traveling on the road. Memories of Fortkrans parents and grandfather still dominated, but John¡¯s memories had more about Aydan. ¡°Nobody really asked that before.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. People want you to fill a role here. Your parents and Luctus need that. And Mayatal¡­ she takes after her mother. She¡¯s the logical and practical sort. Never appreciated a little dunk, either. ¡®Oh, is this a new form of training?¡¯¡± Netanel rolled his eyes. ¡°Her explanation to me was extremely short. She basically just said the engagement would be continuing as planned after all.¡± Netanel looked around the beach by his feet, then with the motion of his hand a wave came up on the shore, molding the sand into the shape of two reclining chairs and then immediately pulling the water out of them, leaving them dry. He sat in one, and John took the other. ¡°How do you feel about the engagement?¡± ¡°I think it will be good for the clans,¡± John responded. ¡°That¡¯s the point,¡± Netanel shrugged, ¡°But what do you feel? What do you think of Matayal?¡± Answering that was tricky. Even if Netanel was the casual sort, he also clearly had strong feelings about his family. John didn¡¯t feel that honesty would be out of place, but he tried to choose the right wording. ¡°I have no complaints in terms of beauty, cultivation talent, or background. Her personality¡­ it seems like we¡¯ll need to work on getting the most out of the relationship for the two of us. At first it all felt quite sudden. Being someone else, being in an arranged marriage¡­¡± John shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s not so common on Earth.¡± ¡°Transmigration?¡± Netanel asked. ¡°I actually meant arranged marriages. They happen, but they¡¯re generally considered old fashioned in my country. Transmigration wasn¡¯t real on Earth. It was just a fantastical thing.¡± John frowned, ¡°Though I suppose it could have been, but no claims were sufficiently believed. Nor anything supernatural.¡± ¡°And what is supernatural?¡± Netanel asked. That was one place where the difference in language didn¡¯t quite serve his purposes. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ monsters and magic and spiritual energy didn¡¯t exist. At least not in anything but small amounts. Otherwise everyone would have been able to know about it.¡± ¡°Could there not have been a large sect suppressing the information?¡± ¡°The world doesn¡¯t work like that. At least, my world didn¡¯t. Oh, people tried to keep things secret but that never lasted long with the internet and phones in every pocket.¡± ¡°Can you explain those things?¡± Netanel asked. ¡°Internet, and phone?¡± John nodded, just leaning back in the chair and chatting about his world, just the right amount of sun making it through Netanel¡¯s bubble of water elemental spiritual energy to ensure a comfortable atmosphere. The information he had wasn¡¯t really of any use to anyone in this world- they could do many things that Earth couldn¡¯t, and John couldn¡¯t replicate any technology from Earth in sufficient detail to actually make it function. Just having someone interested was enough to get him to talk for a while. ¡°I see,¡± Netanel nodded. ¡°So you managed a ¡®burger joint¡¯? It seems like a simple meal, but it must have been good.¡± John nodded. ¡°They were pretty good. Unhealthy, though. Loads of fats, carbs, salt. Didn¡¯t stop people.¡± ¡°Cultivators focus on purity,¡± Netanel said. ¡°You¡¯d never see sects fall into debauchery of any sort.¡± John was about to comment on that, but Netanel continued. ¡°Except the ones too focused on dual cultivation and the gluttony sects and the mercantile sects who hold money above everything. And all the other sorts.¡± Netanel gave a wide grin, ¡°But except for all of the exceptions, cultivators are perfect.¡± ¡°Same for Earth, then,¡± John grinned. ¡°So how do chain restaurants work?¡± Netanel asked. ¡°You said they offer the same experience everywhere?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± John nodded. ¡°It¡¯s all about supply chain, making sure quality ingredients of the right type are available at all of them. Refrigeration is important, because even if it only takes a week to drive across the country many things would spoil in that time.¡± ¡°We freeze things here, but it can be quite a costly process. It hasn¡¯t been¡­ industrialized, I believe is the term you have.¡± ¡°Well, at least you aren¡¯t overconsuming all of the world¡¯s natural resources and polluting the entire planet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Netanel said. ¡°Why, the nearest cursed zone is days away from Pualani, and there are entire sections of the planet we haven¡¯t even scouted out the resources of.¡± The two of them shared a bitter laugh over the ways that humans would be humans. Cultivators as a whole might be slightly more conscious of long term consequences, but that didn¡¯t stop greedy individuals or groups from ravaging the lands as it suited them. Though he basically performed no cultivation for the entire day, John didn¡¯t consider it wasted at all. He could easily see why his grandfather became friends with the man, when he had an honest interest in learning about others. Sure, part of it was probably to make sure he wasn¡¯t marrying his granddaughter to a psychopath, but he could have learned the information in a different manner. John appreciated his straightforward and friendly manner. Chapter 60 The elements in the environment weren¡¯t optimal for cultivating darkness or earth elemental spiritual energy, but the sapling was adept at converting different types of spiritual energy. The change in environment was still beneficial for John, as it allowed him to continue to familiarize himself with elements less common around his home. That included solitary training as well as sparring with various juniors of the brandles, Keahi, and of course Matayal herself. The latter was still ahead of John in cultivation, but he was able to put up a much better showing than before without Matayal having to lower her use of energy to his level. Though both John and Matayal now used single handed swords, their styles were only vaguely similar. In the most general sense, they contrived to create openings in their opponents that they could take advantage of, but that was true of all forms of combat. John¡¯s style was taught by Brage, an earth element cultivator and swordmaster. His style focused on aggressive techniques to disrupt an enemies¡¯ footing and then take advantage with a heavy slash. Matayal¡¯s style appeared more defensive, focusing on good footwork and well timed counter-thrusts. Even where her defensive movements were insufficient, the water element excelled at absorbing impacts and dispersing the force away from the body. Earth¡¯s defensive abilities could soak large hits, but the user still had to withstand the impacts. As they fought, John had the feeling he could defeat Matayal if he went all out. He was fairly certain he was intended to feel that, because while he had secret techniques and ones too dangerous for normal sparring, she should as well. Perhaps she was even holding back in terms of energy, because she had higher tier totems than him as well as being at the latter part of mid Foundation Phase. He decided that must be it. Water didn¡¯t hide things as completely as darkness, but there were always things lurking under the surface. ----- While John wasn¡¯t privy to all of the events in motion, he was given free reign to wander the grounds as he pleased. Netanel was quite insistent that he truly meant that, private rooms of clan members exempted. Not that John had any interest in snooping through people¡¯s things. Sometimes he overheard things quite by coincidence. At least, he thought so at first. The clan buildings favored wide open yards, but there were wards in place that could prevent snooping. Yet he still overheard without even making an attempt. First was a meeting with the Kekoa clan. ¡°Very well,¡± Netanel¡¯s voice drew his attention as he passed by one of many possible meeting areas. ¡°In the coming months we will send some of our juniors to the Kekoa clan for some educational sparring.¡± ¡°I am glad to hear it,¡± came a grandmotherly voice. ¡°Both of our clans could benefit from the arrangement.¡± ¡°Yes. I am certain that will be the case.¡± If John didn¡¯t know the voice- and didn¡¯t sense Netanel¡¯s energy- he would have assumed someone else was speaking. It was formal and stiff. Given what he knew, that meant they were not actually on friendly terms. The second time, he was quite certain that the wards had been active until he got close. He hadn¡¯t even sensed anyone¡¯s energy, but then he could- and hear as well. Was he unconsciously doing something to circumvent the wards? No. He also wasn¡¯t terribly close. So he listened, hoping to glean some useful information. ¡°-should work together to secure control of the area.¡± ¡°I am aware of how this will benefit the Kauhane clan,¡± Netanel said flatly, ¡°But I am uncertain how this would be beneficial to myself or my clan.¡± ¡°The resources of the island-¡± ¡°Are quite distant and not terribly significant,¡± Netanel interrupted. ¡°What is it you actually want?¡± ¡°We simply thought it would be better to work together with a local power. Interacting with foreign influences will only weaken Pualani.¡± ¡°An interesting thought,¡± Netanel¡¯s tone of voice didn¡¯t betray any actual interest, ¡°But the Brandle clan is quite secure in our position here. We do not need to make marginally beneficial commitments.¡± It seemed that the Kauhane clan likely wasn¡¯t pleased with the Tenebach clan¡¯s presence. He could understand why he was allowed to hear, though honestly Netanel could have just as easily spoken to his grandfather. So far most of the interactions had been from local clans, but later John heard about or interacted with others. He wondered which of the issues that came up would affect himself or the Tenebach clan the most. The answer came as he was laying under a nice tree in the garden. Though he could vaguely be said to be cultivating, he was mostly just lazing around. His fiddling with the various elements around him and circulating spiritual energy were just because he found it interesting. Higher intensity cultivation sessions filled most days, and a short break was quite appreciated. He sensed two figures approaching. One was clearly Netanel- the old man¡¯s power was quite distinctive and he¡¯d gotten quite familiar with him during the weeks the Tenebach clan had been staying on Pualani. The other figure was a surprise, similarly powerful somewhere in mid to late Soul Expansion. It was hard to tell exactly with his passive perception, and actively scanning some sort of elder seemed inappropriate. That didn¡¯t mean he had to cover his ears, though. Netanel¡¯s energy brushed over him but he made no attempt to divert their path away or cover their conversation, which was as much approval as he could ask for. ¡°-quite a long trip from the other side of the Shimmering Islands, I¡¯m sure,¡± Netanel actually kept his tone more pleasant, but John didn¡¯t sense the sincerity of his more casual self. ¡°I wonder what could bring you all the way here, Setiawan?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. There was a little bit of back and forth pleasantries before the question actually got an answer from the other. ¡°We have a sort of proposition for you. The Brandle clan has grown strong under your leadership. Even with your limited numbers, you maintain the position as one of the contenders for the primary clan in the Shimmering Islands. However, your roots are still shallow. It would be beneficial to form an alliance between the Brandle and the Wibawa.¡± ¡°Perhaps you are correct,¡± Netanel stated simply. ¡°Your stability could be useful. What manner of alliance would you propose?¡± ¡°It is quite traditional to have an alliance of marriage between the main branches,¡± Setiawan Wibawa suggested. ¡°It is indeed traditional. How unfortunate that I only have a single grandchild, and she is already engaged to be married.¡± ¡°Then it sounds like it is not too late. My grandson Anwar is a fine candidate.¡± ¡°Such decisions are not to be made lightly,¡± Netanel responded. ¡°It would be inappropriate to act like a fickle clan.¡± With that, they were moving out of John¡¯s range of hearing. Sneaking after them would likely be difficult. So many guests came to visit, though few of them actually stayed with the clan. None of those whose conversations he¡¯d been allowed to overhear. However, he was even more certain that he was being sought out when he felt Netanel approaching as he sat in the waves, feeling the motion of the water as it washed over him, along with carried sand. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve had quite a few visitors lately!¡± came and energetic but still clearly older female voice. ¡°Any proposing marriage to young Matayal? My grandson could use some anchoring points in his life.¡± ¡°Kusuma. You already know.¡± ¡°Tch. Fine. I won¡¯t push for that. Though if any of her cousins are interested¡­ at least think about it. So who¡¯s the lucky young man?¡± ¡°That would be Fortkran Tenebach. Right over there, in fact.¡± John supposed remaining still at that would be somewhat suspicious, so he turned to face them and rose to his feet. ¡°Greetings to the two seniors. You mentioned me?¡± The older woman had long hair that moved with an unseen breeze. She shared a look with Netanel and raised an eyebrow. ¡°This some kind of stuck up brat?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Netanel shrugged, ¡°He¡¯s just good at disguising himself.¡± Netanel clapped the woman on the back. ¡°This is Kusuma Mulyani. We¡¯re old friends.¡± Netanel frowned. ¡°Speaking of which, if you¡¯re serious about that we need to make sure none of your grandsons are my grandsons.¡± A bolt of lightning struck Netanel from the clear skies. It did little more than make his hair stand on end, but John felt the power from his position. He doubted he would have still been standing, and perhaps not even alive. ¡°Listen you old dolt. You may not have taken any precautions, but I did.¡± Kusuma¡¯s hair coiled over him, lightning arcing between the strands. Then it settled down, and she smiled as she turned back to John. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you. At least, a few things. I knew your grandfather, back in the day. Same as this guy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you have some interesting stories,¡± John grinned. ¡°I¡¯d love to hear them sometime.¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know if it would be appropriate for an old woman like me to talk about your grandfather behind his back. But maybe I could be convinced.¡± Her energy swept over John like a wind. Gently, but thoroughly. ¡°Kind of weak, honestly. Not a match for Anwar, with that split cultivation.¡± John grimaced at the blatant and harsh review of his abilities. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about Anwar, but I am confident in my own cultivation path.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± she asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like much. And I doubt anything you¡¯ve got will make up for the difference in totems. I¡¯m predicting a loss for sure.¡± ¡°Is there something I don¡¯t know about?¡± John asked. ¡°Or is this merely speculation?¡± ¡°Oops.¡± Kusuma covered her mouth with her hand in a way that indicated nothing was at all accidental. ¡°My my, I¡¯ve let slip something. That kid¡¯s certain to challenge you to a duel in the coming days, once he gets his ass in ¡®optimal condition¡¯.¡± ¡°Why?¡± John asked. He had some ideas, but he wasn¡¯t entirely sure. ¡°For Matayal¡¯s hand.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how I have anything to do with that,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m the fourth most relevant person in that arrangement.¡± ¡°Oh? Fourth how?¡± Kusuma asked, her hair wiggling and rubbing against itself like curious fingers. ¡°Netanel and my grandfather made the arrangement, and Matayal herself certainly has an opinion. I¡¯m at best the next most important to that.¡± Kusuma managed something akin to a girlish giggle. ¡°Oh, I like this one. Say kid, I have a few granddaughters¡­¡± ¡°Careful,¡± Netanel said. ¡°They might be related to you.¡± ¡°Most of them aren¡¯t!¡± Kusuma coughed. ¡°That is to say, I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t become an issue.¡± ¡°I will have to decline,¡± John didn¡¯t know a proper casual method to refuse. ¡°I¡¯m honestly not certain about being involved with one woman, let alone more.¡± ¡°I guess you don¡¯t have to take after your grandfather in every way,¡± Kusuma grinned. ¡°Though the way you carry yourself certainly reminds me of him.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± John wondered what she meant by that. ¡°I hadn¡¯t noticed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the confidence. Even if you don¡¯t always have something to be confident about.¡± John didn¡¯t have anything to say to that, and since he figured preparing for a duel he¡¯d probably have to fight seemed more important than hearing about old stories he wasn¡¯t sure he wished to be privy to, he chose to excuse himself from the situation. He wondered when he would be strong enough to be able to shrug off political obligations, but decided the answer was probably never. The stronger he got, the more he would matter to others, even if he didn¡¯t want to. Chapter 61 Thoughts about how to prepare for a specific duel at an unknown future time ended with inconclusive results. John was aware that Anwar used water element spiritual energy, and there was no training he could do to suddenly improve his ability against that. He¡¯d already been sparring against Matayal and Keahi and several others from the Brandle clan, and what was probably a few more days wouldn¡¯t matter. The fact that Anwar was waiting to be in ¡®optimal condition¡¯ probably meant he was close to a breakthrough. John gathered information on him through others, where he found he was currently twelfth rank. That meant he couldn¡¯t really refuse the duel on the basis of cultivation, since they would be equal. With matching cultivations, John would not be concerned except for one thing. Anwar was one of the ¡®geniuses¡¯ that occasionally cropped up. Both of his totems were fifth tier, which would make him more than twice as strong in a direct fight. He¡¯d made up for a tier or two in the past, but three was more than he was comfortable with. Did he have to win? He didn¡¯t, but he also couldn¡¯t make a terrible showing. That would make things disfavorable for the Tenebach clan and the Brandle clan. Nothing would actually come of it if he didn¡¯t accept any foolish terms for what the duel meant. Even so, John also didn¡¯t want to plan to lose. A defeatist attitude wouldn¡¯t help him overcome the difficulties he would be facing. It didn¡¯t seem that Anwar was planning to spar with anyone, instead spending all his time in his room cultivating. That meant John could only learn of his tactics from others. As many from the Shimmering Islands, he used a spear as his weapon. Though spears were hardly needed for cultivators to fish, they were one of the more optimal weapons for fighting sea beasts- and still good weapons when fighting humans. John learned about a few techniques Anwar was particularly fond of and practiced alone to try to think of proper counters. He could spar with Keahi, but he couldn¡¯t be the only one spying. Displaying more of his skills and his training to overcome Anwar¡¯s techniques would be counterproductive. ------ It was only a few days later that the time came. Everyone just sort of seemed to know, because while John was out in the gardens alone people from the three clans converged on his location. Before any of them, however, John noticed Kusuma standing nearby obviously and suspiciously. He inclined his head towards her, and in return got a wide grin and a nod. At least someone was excited about things. Nearly simultaneously he felt his grandfather and Netanel approaching from one side with Setiawan and someone who had to be Anwar approaching from the other direction. There were a few moments of fanfare as the various parties greeted each other, and then Anwar stepped forward. He had a mid-tone brown sort of skin and handsome features. Combined with his status and cultivation talent, John was certain many people would be jealous. Anwar seemed to be a straightforward sort, immediately getting to the point. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach! I challenge you to a duel for the hand of Matayal Brandle!¡± John allowed his surprise at just how quickly things progressed to that point show on his face, though half of it was fake. He¡¯d already planned his reaction as well as possible. Some factors could have been different, but John went with what he thought was the best version. He looked around at everyone standing nearby, as if searching for someone. He was already well aware Matayal wasn¡¯t nearby, though he kind of hoped she would be. Strangely, he could no longer find Kusuma but she had to be watching. He doubted that old lady would choose to not personally witness what was happening. His eyes eventually returned to Anwar. He kept himself as neutral as possible. Annoyingly so, he hoped. ¡°Does Matayal wish to marry you?¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Anwar sliced an arm in front of him to emphasize his words. ¡°What matters is if you will fight or be a coward.¡± Apparently it was possible to be too straightforward. While it technically didn¡¯t matter what Matayal wanted, hearing it said left John feeling sick. John wasn¡¯t ready for that to be said, so it took an extra moment for him to prepare a response. ¡°It matters more than your opinion. You¡¯re entirely unrelated to the situation.¡± Water cultivators were often said to be calm like water¡­ but of course those in the Shimmering Islands knew that water wasn¡¯t always calm. Sometimes, it was a violent storm. That seemed to be Anwar¡¯s temperament. ¡°I am the young master of the Wibawa clan, a much more worthy match than a foreigner like yourself.¡± John was pretty sure than Netanel wasn¡¯t a native to the Shimmering Islands, but he didn¡¯t choose to bring it up. ¡°Now, will you fight or not?¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°You want a duel?¡± John asked, drawing out the words. ¡°Very well. We shall have a duel for honor.¡± ¡®Honor¡¯ and ¡®face¡¯ might not be worth as much to John as natives of this world, but he still cared about them somewhat. It wasn¡¯t all about arrogantly holding your head above people, but also about personal empowerment and self respect. Though that first factor was the biggest for many. Just as Anwar was clearly getting ready to draw his weapon, John finished what he was saying. ¡°In a week should be appropriate.¡± ¡°What?¡± Anwar said with his arm in an awkward position as he reached for his spear, ¡°Why should we not fight now? Are you afraid?¡± John shrugged, ¡°Why not challenge me a week ago, since you¡¯ve been here the whole time? Were you afraid?¡± ¡°I was shoring up my cultivation to match your level. I am not a coward.¡± Anwar had a grip on his spear and his knuckles were turning white. To John, that meant his tactics were working. ¡°Then I¡¯m sure another week to stabilize your cultivation would be appropriate. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have other things to attend to.¡± To be in control of the situation, you had to act like you were in control of the situation. Staying calm was important, even with shouty customers demanding stupid things. Sometimes it was best to get them to agree to something you would prefer to provide to calm them down- but not necessarily what they wanted. ¡°A duel for honor, in one week. At dawn.¡± John had already turned around and was walking away. He felt Anwar¡¯s spiritual energy fluctuating wildly and Setiawan¡¯s more restrained energy smouldering in his direction. At least the patriarch understood that this was a dispute between juniors and he would do his best to stay out. As John walked away, he saw Kusuma around a corner- just as he expected. What he did not expect was that Matayal was with her, being concealed by Kusuma. Matayal was looking at him with a look he couldn¡¯t interpret. John looked to Kusuma and inclined his head. ¡°Matriarch Mulyani, could you provide us privacy from,¡± he gestured over his shoulder, ¡°Back there?¡± Her spiritual energy swiftly wrapped around him as well, and John turned to Matayal. He knew what he said wouldn¡¯t be actually secret, but he¡¯d prefer at least the illusion of it- and to not have either of the Wibawas able to snoop. ¡°I looked for you, but you weren¡¯t around. Did you overhear everything?¡± Matayal nodded, her face still difficult for him to parse. ¡°I did.¡± ¡°What is your opinion on marrying Anwar?¡± Matayal looked like she¡¯d just seen maggots in her food. ¡°I¡¯d rather die,¡± she said flatly. Somehow, that reaction made John feel better. ¡°Well, please don¡¯t. Either of those, I mean. Though the first one is extremely unlikely anyway. Since grandfather and Ne- Patriarch Netanel don¡¯t seem to be open to the idea, your vehement rejection should also suffice.¡± John shrugged, ¡°Besides, I bet you could kick his ass in a duel, if you need to.¡± Anwar might be a genius, but Matayal had at least fourth or fifth tier totems as well, and was a couple ranks ahead in cultivation to boot. ¡°I¡¯d probably talk to your grandfather about it first, though. See what he thinks. I¡¯m sure they have other plans anyway.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if the last words went through- her face was deep in thought. He waved his hand in front of her face and she didn¡¯t react at all. ¡°Are you there?¡± No response. ¡°Alright¡­ well I should probably do some training or something. You know where to find me.¡± John inclined his head to Kusuma again. ¡°Thank you for the assistance. When she finishes thinking, do remind her that I wish her well.¡± Kusuma was shorter than him by a handful of centimeters, but he felt like he was being inspected by someone leaning over him. ¡°You¡¯re an odd one. I heard about you, you know. But you don¡¯t sound like any of that.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± John said. ¡°I really would prefer not to talk about the past me. I¡¯m done with that time.¡± Kusuma nodded. ¡°Good. Serious is good¡­ but you can also chat with Netanel when he¡¯s in the mood. At least you¡¯re probably not broken.¡± ¡°I certainly hope not,¡± John said. He wasn¡¯t sure how often cultivators broke themselves, but like everything else about cultivators that was exaggerated, their ability to undergo physical or mental trauma was also much higher. Forktran had basically ended up broken, and if not for some very generous circumstances it wouldn¡¯t have mattered if John took over his body. Transmigrators were known in this world. He wondered how often the cases were similar. Then again, if a transmigrator just died afterwards nobody would know about it. There had to be some mechanism that made it work. He¡¯d have to think about that¡­ much later. Because he really did want to be in top form for the duel, even if the immediate consequences were mostly damaged pride. Chapter 62 At just the right moment, John finished his meditations and stood up. There was no actual cultivating involved at that moment, since he knew he only had a short time. Instead, he was just clearing his mind so he could be at the top of his form. The pleasant scenery along the way helped him to maintain his peace as he walked to a little private beach controlled by the Brandle clan, just for this purpose. It was a properly set up sparring arena with formations to keep the participants from seriously injuring each other. Nobody was fond of having juniors spar against each other if one of them wasn¡¯t going to walk away. Even if there was no intention for serious harm, in the heat of battle accidents could happen, even more so if the participants were closely matched. There were many observers present. Setiawan Wibawa, Luctus, Netanel, Matayal, Kusuma, and various members of each clan. Then there was Anwar. ¡°You¡¯re late! I was wondering if you would ever show up.¡± ¡°I am exactly on time,¡± John said calmly. ¡°Now, shall we begin?¡± He looked towards Netanel. He would be officiating the duel, because he was the closest to a neutral party among the group. Netanel nodded. ¡°Today, Fortkran Tenebach and Anwar Wibawa have arranged to duel for honor! Traditional rules will be enforced.¡± Netanel took the situation seriously enough to speak formally- though that might also have been the presence of non-allied parties. ¡°No attacks meant to kill or maim. The battle will continue until one side admits defeat or I judge they can no longer continue fighting. The duel will begin on the count of three. One! Two! Three!¡± As expected, a spear immediately thrust towards John¡¯s chest. If he had been taken off guard by the attack he would have deserved to lose, but his training was better than that. As Anwar attacked water rose up behind him, and likewise John seeded the area around him with darkness. There was no clashing of their spiritual energy, but instead the water was allowed to do as it pleased while the darkness infiltrated the area. Subsequent attacks by Anwar were all coupled with waves crashing over John. It was a significant expenditure of energy, but Anwar had the power to do so. It was nearly impossible to avoid the waves, and with each attack a wave would stagger John, keeping him from optimal footing. In turn the darkness more subtly restricted Anwar. John was unable to get within range to attack with his sword, but in between waves he was able to attack with throwing daggers. Clinging Affliction and Spiritual Energy Absorption combined to be a constant drain on Anwar until he was able to remove the offending energy. The terrain made it extremely simple to use half of Sinking in the Mire. Wet sand with water all around was just perfect to liquidate, but solidifying it afterwards was conversely more difficult. Thus, John could only use the technique to throw off his opponent slightly rather than create large openings. He carefully observed the attacks, thrusting stabs with a spear accompanied by waves meant to destabilize him for the next attack. Spears were easy to redirect, so if he dodged too early he wouldn¡¯t completely avoid an attack. There were no particular weaknesses to the attack except that the waves were consistent in height. Just about as tall as a man- which for a cultivator meant they were easy to leap over. When the timing was just right, John vaulted- striking down with his sword to batter away the incoming spear as well as giving him greater height. He came down behind Anwar who managed to dodge his downward slash- until it rebounded off the sand. If he were to say it himself, it was an excellently executed technique. Unfortunately, Anwar wouldn¡¯t be defeated so easily. He had a constant barrier of water surrounding him in addition to his normal spiritual energy defenses and his armor, so John only managed a shallow yet long cut. He had to quickly pull away to avoid waves crashing down on him, but at least he got first blood. That wasn¡¯t even close to the end of things, though. Though Anwar¡¯s waves used large amounts of spiritual energy, as long as John had to dodge them instead of dispersing them he was able to maintain them with minimal fatigue. With two fifth tier totems of the water element, he was able to maintain the ability with ease. Meanwhile, John was relying being more efficient and conserving his spiritual energy. At least some of his tactics had worked- Anwar was impatient. Or maybe he would have been anyway. When the next opening arose, John once more flipped over Anwar¡¯s head. He knew that he would be expecting it and was prepared for a counterattack. He was instead surprised when the waves rose up to meet him. It wasn¡¯t just improvised control over the water, but instead John felt one of Anwar¡¯s totems powering the action. The waves slowed him as he moved through the air, and a spear thrust up to meet him from below. He had to activate the energy he¡¯s left in the ground to sink Anwar¡¯s feet while he parried the spear with both hands. Even then, he got a slash along his shin. It wasn¡¯t much, but he couldn¡¯t afford to take damage. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He already was feeling how hard it was for a little sapling and some dirt to fight against the waves and tide. He could only hope that his skills would eat away at Anwar¡¯s energy quickly enough. He began to whittle away at Anwar¡¯s energy by using Spiritual Energy Absorption while slashing his sword directly through the waves. Any energy he wrested control of was directly used to disperse the waves, at least as much as he could. His skill against water was still not as good as he would like it to be, but with neither an elemental advantage nor disadvantage he found himself holding his own well enough. But holding his own wouldn¡¯t let him win, and while he didn¡¯t care about winning in general, he also didn¡¯t want Anwar to win. He considered using Bite of the Gorgon¡­ but in the current context it wasn¡¯t appropriate. He¡¯d also have to guarantee a solid injury for it to take effect and not just be wasted. He didn¡¯t mind being a little bit rough with Spiritual Energy Absorption though. Despite all of his efforts, he continuously found himself on the back foot. His spiritual energy poured through him, constantly flowing into the sapling. He had as much of each element as he could control supporting the sapling¡¯s growth, and he found himself pushing closer to the next rank. Not nearly quickly enough to succeed during the current battle, but at least he had that to look forward to. Spear and sword clashed repeatedly, water and sand flowing around each other as the two combatants moved. The constant layer of darkness was nearly forgotten by Anwar, but it distorted his vision just enough that his accuracy was diminished and his thoughts slowed. John¡¯s efforts were going well, but it was clear Anwar wanted things to be over. With a sweep of his spear he forced John to step back, and the waves surrounding him rose to at least five meters high. They roiled and swirled, even larger volumes of water being drawn from the nearby ocean. Then the waves came crashing down at surprising speed. John was just able to fortify his defenses with earth and darkness twisted together and use Rolling Down the Hill to protect himself, but he was still blown backwards with great velocity. Even crashing into the relatively soft sand was little comfort, because once it compacted to its full amount it was just as hard as everything else. He hit the ground and half slid half rolled. He didn¡¯t know how far he went, but he found himself staring up at the sky. His sword lay by his feet. Had he lost? He felt his own defenses had fallen apart, but Anwar was still full of vigor and approaching rapidly. With little time to think, he wrapped himself in a cocoon of sand and pulled himself below the surface. He wasn¡¯t ready to give up just yet. He concealed the actions of his earth energy as much as he could with his remaining darkness. Anwar approached and stabbed his spear down into the sand at an angle, right where John had been laying. But that was a moment before. He hadn¡¯t been able to shift himself far, but he was a body width to the side. The spear found nothing but sand that wrapped around it in an iron grip. At the same time, John¡¯s sword swung upward from its position, controlled by John¡¯s energy and the sand. It sliced into Anwar¡¯s inner thigh as he pulled away. There was an instant of struggle as he decided between his spear and his lower body, and the latter won out. John rose up out of the sand, taking Anwar¡¯s spear in hand and stabbing towards the other young man. Of course, just because he had been disarmed didn¡¯t mean he was defenseless. Even with much of Anwar¡¯s spiritual energy spent, he was able to form a spear purely from water. The two young men faced off against each other, the finely crafted weapon in John¡¯s hands making up for the difference in spear training between them. There were a few quick exchanges- thrusts, sweeps, parries, and footwork. Both had little energy left to defend, and several wounds appeared along their arms where their armor was weakest. At the critical moment, John used his last vestiges of his earth energy to spin the hopefully forgotten sword to slice at Anwar¡¯s knee from behind. His attack was marginally successful, but the little energy he had to augment the spear in his hand wasn¡¯t sufficient to resist one final swipe of Anwar¡¯s spear, a crashing wave that swept away the last of his ability to fight. There was a quick thrust into his abdomen, piercing over a centimeter into him. John was satisfied that the attack was merely able to injure him- not through Anwar¡¯s mercy, but his fatigue. It wasn¡¯t enough for the defensive formations to trigger and save him. He at least had that. ¡°I surrender,¡± he called out as he stepped back. ¡°You win.¡± Another step back, then he drew himself to his full height. ¡°This time.¡± He didn¡¯t turn his back until he was certain Anwar understood the match was over and had settled down slightly. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Anwar said. ¡°I¡¯ve won!¡± At that point John stopped listening. He wanted to walk somewhere he could collapse with dignity. He popped a medicinal pill in his mouth and swallowed it, slowly gathering energy and circulating it to promote the effects of the pill. He managed a grin as Matayal came to walk with him¡­ and helped support him once they were past the nearby layer of buildings. Even though the duel wasn¡¯t an agreement for anything he knew his loss would end up causing her some trouble, but she stuck with him anyway. Even if she did it to show Anwar that she didn¡¯t care about him in the slightest, John didn¡¯t care. He¡¯d intended to make it back to the Brandle clan and his room, but darkness overtook him and he passed out shortly after he felt Matayal¡¯s arm slip under his shoulder. Chapter 63 With each movement, the skin and muscles of John¡¯s body cried out in agony. With the adrenaline during the battle he hadn¡¯t realized how much the battering of waves could bruise him or how hard he¡¯d strained his body. But he¡¯d wanted to win. If it had been a real battle, his performance couldn¡¯t have been much better- and he would have ended up dead. That was the problem, because while he understood he wasn¡¯t strong enough to survive all on his own, he at least thought he could hold his own against his peers better. He made the attempt to push thoughts of Anwar out of his head, but his brain kept coming back to them even as he began cultivating. Spiritual energy flowed into his meridians and soothed his sore muscles while also filling his nearly empty dantian. It was not entirely empty as it had been after the battle, his body naturally having absorbed some of the surrounding spiritual energy, but it was insignificant. His body converted the primarily water energy into darkness and earth, refining them each time they completed a circulation. As he filled up on energy he grasped the feelings during the battle where he had pushed himself to his limits. Darkness and earth dominated, but he kept small amounts of the three other central elements to support the rest. His control over those elements was extremely limited without matching totems, but he was building up familiarity with them. So far he hadn¡¯t encountered any light element cultivators except rare individuals he passed in large cities, and neither the Stone Conglomerate nor the Shimmering Islands were going to produce light element naturally. Even if he had access to some, he knew it would be foolish to try to incorporate the opposite element of darkness without even having an allied element for it to meld with. He would probably explode himself. Fire was already pushing it, and air only worked better because it supported earth. Still, the two major and three minor quantities of energy worked together to build to a crescendo where his dantian filled more than it could handle. Yet he knew just how far to push it and how quickly with experience from previous ranks and intuition. Soon enough the pressure on his energy lessened as his dantian expanded, signalling his breakthrough to the fourteenth rank. It should have been happy, but instead it was depressing. Even if he were to fight Anwar one rank ahead, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could win. He sat up, even though it hurt. Currently, he was alone in his room, his wounds bound and already recovering. He wondered if other people were as disappointed in himself as he was. He should have won. His brain refused to accept the logic that second tier totems would obviously be suppressed by fifth tier totems, and his ability to put up a real fight regardless showed his ability. Those thoughts wouldn¡¯t pass through his head in his current state, just the depressing ones. Nobody was even around to see him wake up. Not that he should have expected that, but expectations and desires didn¡¯t always align. Sitting up didn¡¯t make him feel any better, so he collapsed onto his back and wallowed in his thoughts. Maybe he hadn¡¯t taken the battle seriously enough. The idea that he didn¡¯t have to win kept him from feeling the pressure before the battle, but afterwards it didn¡¯t help with the feeling he should have. His declaration that Anwar had only won ¡®this time¡¯ wouldn¡¯t mean anything if he couldn¡¯t surpass him somehow. Perhaps he should have just stuck to traditional cultivation and reached for the highest tier totems he could manage, sticking to just the element of his clan. Or done different training. Or moved slightly differently during the opening move, or the final attack, or predicted his opponent better. Or anything. Matayal entering his room broke him out of his thought spiral. He vaguely made out the knock, but when she opened the door and stepped inside, her comforting water energy stirred his thoughts towards her. She walked over to his bed and took his hand. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Terrible,¡± John said honestly. Maybe a little bit too honestly. ¡°Are your injuries worse than we thought?¡± Matayal¡¯s water energy gently trickled across him from head to toe, reminding him how nice water could be when it wasn¡¯t bludgeoning him. ¡°You actually feel better to me. You broke through.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± John said. ¡°I did. But I still lost to that jerk. Just imagining his face makes me angry.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Fortunately we won¡¯t be seeing it for quite some time. I took your advice and I have just returned from knocking some sense into him. He seemed to think that he couldn¡¯t lose to ¡®a girl¡¯ even though I¡¯m clearly stronger than him with similarly powerful totems and two ranks of cultivation more.¡± ¡°... I missed that? Maybe I would have liked to see his face, just for that.¡± ¡°Too late. He¡¯s gone now. The Wibawa clan seemed to think my father would approve of their actions once Anwar showed his strength, but alliances aren¡¯t made for just strength. It has to be something both sides actually want for it to last.¡± ¡°That makes me feel better,¡± John said. Just slightly, because someone else had to solve trouble he couldn¡¯t handle. ¡°I still want to beat him.¡± With that the door was flung open violently, nearly bouncing back to its closed position. ¡°Good news then!¡± Kusuma strode into the room. ¡°I¡¯ve been talking with your grandfather. You¡¯re coming to train with me.¡± ¡°What ever happened to privacy?¡± John shook his head. ¡°This is a lesson that you can¡¯t have privacy if you¡¯re not strong enough.¡± Kusuma stood with her back straight, ¡°Also the door was left ajar.¡± ¡°Right.¡± John had to accept that some of the older generation were just like this. It was sort of nice they were comfortable enough around him to be casual, but he felt it was maybe too casual. ¡°You said training¡­ with you?¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Of course. Your grandfather explained your whole plan for a cycle of elements.¡± Kusuma snorted, a gust of wind blowing from her nostrils and creating a small whirlwind in the bedroom, blowing about loose items. ¡°An audacious plan, but if you¡¯re going to do it then it has to be done right. You grew up in an earth kingdom so you¡¯re as familiar as you need to be with that. You just need time to grow your cultivation. But Luctus told me you did some lightning training. Let me tell you, where I¡¯m from we have real lightning training.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a good thing,¡± John quipped. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what training I do if I don¡¯t survive.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. We have ways to make certain of that. Your survival, at least.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I can refuse?¡± John asked. ¡°Sure you can,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°No point in training someone unwilling.¡± She turned around. ¡°You¡¯d just be useless.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say I was going to refuse,¡± John quickly called after her. ¡°I just wanted to know if I had the option.¡± He knew he was going to regret some of the results of his current actions, but if everything went well¡­ he knew how beneficial it could be. He did need proper training with air, and more importantly at the moment¡­ air overcame water. If he was able to achieve sufficient mastery with it, he would get a huge leg up on Anwar. ¡°Good,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to train hard, I¡¯m leaving in two days. I just came for a quick visit.¡± More like she had some idea what was going to happen. From what John had gathered, she also resided in the Shimmering Islands but was certainly not from Pualani. If she traveled for even a few days in each direction, she would have spent as much time traveling as visiting. ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± John said. No point in being indecisive now. ----- His body barely hurt at all after those two days passed. The bruises were healing nicely, but the stabs and slashes would take longer. If he stretched his body wrong he would still hurt, but that was only for specific movements instead of any part of his muscle or skin. John barely had time to talk to anyone after he could walk around on his own before he was on another ship. It was a small boat and almost felt cramped with just Kusuma, John, and Aydan. While he doubtless wouldn¡¯t need his uncle¡¯s protection at the Mulyani clan, when he eventually made the return trip it would be good for him to have another person with him. Interestingly enough, Aydan¡¯s status as a guardian was becoming less necessary and less useful. He was still significantly stronger than John for the moment, but he was only rank sixteen. Even if his totems were a bit better, the gap between them was narrowing. Even with his uncle getting proper resources, his cultivation was slow to advance. John resolved to ask about that when the time was right. It wasn¡¯t that he just lacked talent, but something more. For the moment, John couldn¡¯t think about that. He had to consider the small boat they were in. It had a single decently sized sail, but he doubted it would be fast. It also seemed like it would have trouble with large waves. John was slightly relieved when he realized that meant they had to go go around the storms, even if it meant it would take longer to reach their destination. The boat slowly sailed away from Pualani¡¯s flower shape and John wistfully hoped wherever he was going to train would be as pleasant of a locale. Then they suddenly started moving much quicker. The normal winds in the area were enough for the boat to move at a reasonable pace, but Kusuma using her own Soul Expansion Phase air element to create tightly directed winds suddenly increased their pace, to the point they were practically skipping across the water. John had been on a motorboat on a lake with many waves, but while the front of the motorboat had sort of repeatedly slapped the water, their current situation was almost like flying. Half the time, anyway. Even a small wave sent them into the air for a dozen meters, then they slapped down onto the water again only to take off moments later. John had been wrong. If Kusuma could keep up her current pace, no matter where she lived in the Shimmering Islands it wouldn¡¯t take too many days to get there. John wondered what would happen when she had to sleep, but was afraid to ask. Within the first hour they were already heading towards a storm, and John had already given up hope that they would go around it. ¡°It¡¯s coming up, kid. This time you should avoid messing with anything, but watch what I do very carefully.¡± John thought it was understandable that watching anything was basically impossible when a constant wall of water was hitting you in the face and winds that threatened to tear him out of the boat constantly pushed on him, but he did his best anyway. He felt the way she manipulated her energy, how the wind in front of them split around the boat and even twisted to hit the sail from the rear. Kusuma was a tornado of energy, constantly moving in and out and around her. When the lightning started he realized they didn¡¯t even have anything to protect the boat, but of course he should have expected that just like everything else, Kusuma took that role. Lightning struck and was attracted to her upraised arms and the tendrils of guiding energy she raised above. It flowed through her in an instant, alternatively being absorbed and redirected away from the boat. Though each individual bolt was so brief that John barely got a glimpse of what was happening, he could see a repeated pattern forming in his mind with each bolt. When the lightning was directed inside of her, it traveled through her meridians in a path that wouldn¡¯t normally be used for cultivation, a long and circuitous route through most of the body. He¡¯d trained a little bit with stray bits of electricity from lightning on his own, but what he was seeing in front of him was on a completely different level. Soon enough they were out of the storm, but not before giant waves that were surely sufficient to topple them were pierced directly through by the bolt of lightning that was their little boat. John also got his answer for what happened when Kusuma slept. She didn¡¯t. For at least forty straight hours she maintained her position, sometimes slowing but never stopping completely and always manipulating the winds around them. John thought they would still be going for some time, but then they stopped at a rock. Not an island, but a rock. It stuck up out of the water for a dozen meters and was basically a three meter radius cylinder, though not nearly so smooth as that. Kusuma tossed John and Aydan to on top of the rock before opening some sort of secret chamber in the center of the rock where she stashed the boat. Then she stepped out onto the water briefly and hopped to the top of the rock with the two others. ¡°Here we are. Welcome to Cyclone Island. You¡¯ll be living here until I decide you¡¯re ready to go.¡± John took a deep breath and reminded himself he needed to do this. ¡°Alright.¡± It wasn¡¯t like he had anywhere he could run, anyway. Chapter 64 Just because a task could be laid out in simple terms did not mean it would be easy. For example ¡®climb to the top of an erupting volcano¡¯ was easy to state but hard in practice. Likewise, ¡®stand on this rock¡¯ was quite simple in theory, but hard in practice. Especially when that rock was ¡®Cyclone Island¡¯. Within the first hours of arrival winds picked up to a point sufficient to buffett the three ¡®residents¡¯ of the island. Of course, Kusuma showed no signs of the high winds affecting her in the slightest. Her hair and clothes didn¡¯t even flutter in the breeze except, it seemed, when she wanted them to. It clearly didn¡¯t just happen on its own, though. John was able to feel her making use of air elemental spiritual energy to create the effect, though figuring out how was more difficult. It was even more difficult when powerful winds were threatening to push him off of the slick rock. John had to brace himself, latching himself to the rock with earth elemental spiritual energy. He knew that wasn¡¯t ultimately going to be the proper solution, but he had to be able to observe to learn anything from Kusuma. It was unfortunate for his uncle Aydan that he was not an earth element cultivator. He had ways to stabilize himself still, but they would not be as effective as the conquering element for air. There wasn¡¯t even an intent to train him on this journey, but he didn¡¯t really have a choice. Not that a sensible cultivator would refuse a training opportunity, but it wasn¡¯t targeted to be optimal for his training in particular. If John simply had to stand on a windy rock for a few days or a month, it would have been fairly simple training. However, it had only been a few hours- and there had been no storm yet. This was just a preview of what he would be experiencing. Kusuma took a deep breath of the salty sea air. ¡°Time for a short break. We need to grab some food before the storm comes in.¡± John saw no signs of a storm on the horizon- but he trusted her judgment better than his own eyes. ¡°Of course.¡± He knew they had some provisions with them in the boat, but before he could make a move towards it Kusuma pointed. ¡°That one should be good. I haven¡¯t had shark in a while.¡± Kusuma stepped forward, ¡°Watch carefully. I don¡¯t expect you to be able to replicate this immediately, but you should learn it.¡± She stretched out her hand, grabbing the winds and twisting them. Though the effects were invisible to his eyes, he could sense how the energy moved. Then visible effects came as it touched down on the water, creating a vortex that sunk into the waves and pulled water up as well. A moment later the target shark was flung into the air, landing on the rock next to them. Kusuma waved her hand and cut off a chunk, biting into it. ¡°Hmm. A bit too old of a specimen. Oh well, it¡¯s still fine.¡± ¡°... We¡¯re not going to cook it?¡± John asked. ¡°Go ahead and try. I won¡¯t stop you.¡± Of course. Well, he would try anyway. He pulled some of the small fire inside of him between his fingers¡­ and it immediately blew out. His second attempt he did his best to shield from the wind, but it only lasted a second at most. It was clear he at least needed better control over air before making the attempt- and perhaps stronger fire as well. He ate a slice of shark and found it¡­ kind of gross. But it shouldn¡¯t have any unhealthy bacterial or parasites, so he could eat it. He wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d try to eat raw shark on Earth, but as a cultivator he could sense problematic things in his food. Aydan ate without complaint. Then the storm came. Almost all at once the skies darkened and waves which had already been crashing over the rock called ¡®Cyclone Island¡¯ upon which they stood grew even higher. There was scarcely a moment when water wasn¡¯t splashing in John¡¯s face. The windspeed increased gradually, with occasionally stronger gusts. Lightning started falling in the distance, and John could see waterspouts on the horizon. It seemed up to the current moment they¡¯d just been relaxedly standing about. Each gust of wind was like being struck by a massive hammer. If John lost his control for a second he was certain he would be catapulted off of the islands. Presumably Aydan or Kusuma would help him in that case, but he wouldn¡¯t want to bet on it. John lowered his stance to reduce his profile against the wind. As the storm continued to grow in power, John became gradually more aware of Kusuma¡¯s effects on the wind around her. She split the wind around her, actually reducing the effects on John and Aydan. The stronger the wind the more obvious it became as she somewhat limited their exposure to the storm. When the first bolt of lightning struck the island, Kusuma split it into three. The largest portion channeled into the stone beneath her, while the other two were directed towards John and Aydan. The portion that came to John was something he could handle quite well, but it still required him to split his attention on how his earth energy operated. Some directed the lightning around himself and the rest held his grip on the island. Even a momentary split was too much and he found himself sliding. He found himself one meter from the edge before he managed to stop himself, and he had to carefully lift one foot at a time, solidifying his steps before he made the next one. Several strides later, and he was back in the middle¡­ a slightly more comfortable three meters from any edge. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. John found himself gradually getting used to the storm, but of course it had more to it. Wind didn¡¯t come from just one direction, and whenever he found himself leaning in one direction to press against the winds it inevitably shifted and threw off his balance. He had to focus more on how he was attached and keeping his body steady. Eventually this ended with him sitting cross-legged on the center of the ¡®island¡¯, keeping himself as low as possible. He occasionally tried a little bit of fancy work to make the wind blow around him, but he just didn¡¯t have the control or adequate reserves of air elemental spiritual energy to make much difference. He gradually grew used to the lightning, wind, water whipping into his face, and occasional waves that threatened to shove him off of the rock. His uncle Aydan, while higher in cultivation, seemed to be only just barely holding on. When he thought he might successfully weather the storm, a waterspout covered the island. It was an entire wall of water, and surprisingly most of it pushed down from above, crushing him to the ground then dragging him off the island into the sea. Underneath the water wasn¡¯t any calmer, but John did his best to avoid panicking. He could hold his breath for several minutes at least, and he could navigate with the use of spiritual energy. John was even able to sense when he was about to be dashed against the island and softened the blow with his energy. He tried to latch onto the island, but his efforts were futile. The power of the water was just too strong. He felt himself being pulled away once more¡­ then a sudden twist of water and wind pulled him up and slammed him into the center of the island, next to Aydan who had similarly been retrieved from the sea. It wasn¡¯t possible to communicate verbally with the storm, but John still shouted ¡°Thank you¡± regardless. As the storm raged on John felt himself tiring. Not that he hadn¡¯t been exerting himself before, but when he was overwhelmed by the waterspout it had only torn him off the rock and severed most of that energy from his control. He only lost the amount he could use in an instant instead of the continual drain of more sustained use. He didn¡¯t fail to notice how Kusuma¡¯s sheltering of him increased as he grew weaker. Then the storm finally ended. The skies remained dark- but stars came out from behind them, indicating that the remainder of the day had passed. John didn¡¯t find the rock particularly comfortable, nor was he a fan of sleeping in wet clothes- but his eyes closed for a moment and he woke up in the morning, itchy from crystallized salt all over him. Plus, slightly warm from the morning sun. It wasn¡¯t so unpleasant on its own though following it up with a meal of riceless sushi- just raw fish if he was honest- didn¡¯t particularly raise his spirits. Kusuma stood over him, smiling brightly. ¡°Not too bad. Though I suppose I should expect some success since you train a conquering element. I¡¯ve observed how you use that to resist the wind, and I have some pointers for you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find it more difficult to properly use air elemental spiritual energy for the same purposes before you have a totem, but I can help.¡± John had almost thought his only training was going to be fighting storms. Kusuma seemed like the type, but she was actually good at properly teaching as well. Aydan also followed along, though the portions that related to earth energy weren¡¯t much use for him. ----- Cold water surrounded John, but he calmly swam closer to his target. Certain kinds of fish were better than others. Though he honestly didn¡¯t know what a proper tuna looked like, at least based on personal taste he thought it was of a high quality. Then again, he only got to eat fish and occasional seaweed, and everything he ate was soaking wet. More than the standard amount of air filled his lungs, allowing John to sustain himself underwater for longer periods of time. Compressing air was a fairly standard use of air elemental spiritual energy, though doing so in a way that wasn¡¯t harmful to the lungs took more practice. Kusuma made certain he had the proper control before telling him to try it. It wouldn¡¯t do to pop a lung during training. John sidled up close to his target. His darkness element was well suited for diving, cloaking him from sight and other senses while at the same time the family guardian¡¯s blessing and his training in darkness allowed him to see without light. John wasn¡¯t sure of the physics of that, but he wasn¡¯t going to question exactly how it worked. Perhaps it was just spiritual energy interpreted as sight, or maybe there were other particles in this world he was interacting with. His arms reached out, nearly wrapping around his target as he gathered some of his limited reserves of air energy. His arms closed around the body of the fish while the energy pushed into its gills, puffing the creature with air. This would not only serve to weaken it but also make it more buoyant, and while the fish thrashed against his grip he held on as he kicked towards the surface of the water. Once he reached it, he was able to briefly stand atop the water before jumping up onto Cyclone Island. Cyclone Island had now been his home for several months, though he hardly felt of it as a home. More like a prison, though one he had chosen to be taken to. He wasn¡¯t able to go anywhere else, and labored hard day and night. The benefits were real, though. Both himself and Adyan had advanced to the next rank- fifteenth and seventeenth respectively. Honestly, John was sorry for his uncle. The man worked hard, but the gap between them was shrinking. It wasn¡¯t that John was smarter, but it seemed whatever the intangible ¡®talent¡¯ for cultivation was might have favored John. He didn¡¯t like that thought at all. It not only trivialized Aydan¡¯s efforts, but also shone negative light on his own. Aydan didn¡¯t complain, though. Not about that, at least. Both John and Aydan took the time to properly complain about crazy training. As John landed on the island, he took some food to eat while sharing with the others. After everyone had their fill, he began his experiments. All forms of using energy were potentially beneficial to training, and since that was the case he wanted to get something out of the experience. The electricity he formed was far short of lightning, but that was both due to inability and intentional restraint. He didn¡¯t want to create a lightning strike. Instead, he injected it into the fish. Fire was hopeless, but if he could cook the fish from the inside he would be quite pleased with the variety. The results were better than usual- the fish didn¡¯t explode, at least. Parts of the inside were still very burnt, but other bits were edible. They were kind of dry, but dry was a nice change. He could live with that. He needed some change, because he didn¡¯t see Kusuma letting him off the island anytime soon, despite his current progress. Chapter 65 Though there were many periods of frantic danger on Cyclone Island, for stretches of days or even weeks there was little for John to do but resist a stiff wind and train to the best of his ability. He couldn¡¯t focus just on his yet-unestablished connection to an air element totem, but instead needed to grow his earth and darkness energy as he drew on the power of the storms and powerful spiritual energy that lingered in the area. Once he reached the sixteenth rank, however, John began seriously looking for what his totem might be. Transitioning to the third layer of the sea of spiritual totems was trivial- he had been able to reach it easily at the beginning of his cultivation and had experiences from Fortkran¡¯s life, and now his personal power was much greater. To stretch his limits he pushed himself to the fourth and fifth layers for extended periods of time, though when searching for his next totem he always returned to the third layer. Something about his current path told him he needed a growing totem from the third layer instead of trying to reach further. If nothing else, he didn¡¯t want to imbalance his cultivation by having an unequal totem. His first two were well on their way to advancing to the third layer, and John supposed he would reach that point before he even touched upon the eighteenth rank, the limits of Foundation Phase. For the moment, he floated comfortably on the third layer, surrounded by seemingly endless space and uncountable totems. There had to be some sort of actual limit, but it mostly came down to knowledge and memory. He sought out air element totems, quickly ignoring those that didn¡¯t suit his needs. A small tempest might be useful, but it wasn¡¯t particularly associated with what he already had. More importantly, he wanted totems that could grow. While it might be satisfying to blast something with a bolt of lightning, he¡¯d prefer something that matched his abilities. Though with any proper air totem he could make use of electricity- it simply affected the most efficient areas. Logically if he were to continue with his current setup- a tree and composted soil, he would want something more on the side of air that revolved around gases rather than electricity. Real plants needed carbon dioxide, but spiritual totems weren¡¯t necessarily following the laws of nature. He more specifically needed ¡®air that the seed of darkness can use to grow¡¯. He drifted towards totems that mixed air and darkness, black winds that drained the life from others and simply noxious smoke. A looming stormcloud, blotting out the sun. Stale air buried deep underground in the darkness. The latter was also associated with earth, but his intuition told him it didn¡¯t quite suit the sapling. Then the smell of salty sea air overwhelmed him and he returned his senses to his body, where he would be dealing with yet another storm. To the best of his ability he would channel wind and lightning around him without the use of an air totem. Every time he had to rely on his earth energy to absorb the lightning, to stabilize his body- but that also increased his proficiency in earth. His darkness was always there to absorb the elements and feed them to the sapling as much as he could. Sometimes, he would dive into the sea below where no light reached to dredge up some darkness mixed with water. As ever, the instruction from Kusuma continued- both in demonstration and verbal guidance. His did his best, but could not break free from the need to have a spiritual totem to progress beyond basic levels of control. Days, weeks, and months continued to pass. ----- ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Kusuma suddenly announced. ¡°We¡¯ll have to wrap up the training for now. The stormy season is coming, and you¡¯re just not ready for it without a totem. The announcement was abrupt and baffling, similar to some of the storms he had experienced. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen the stormy season?¡± he asked. ¡°What was all that, then?¡± ¡°Warmups,¡± Kusuma smiled. She opened up the forgotten hollow in the rock that was Cyclone Island, revealing the boat in the same condition it had always been. ¡°Come on, then. You can come back next year for some real training. If all goes well, perhaps even Aydan will be able to participate.¡± John found that comment strange. His uncle Aydan had certainly been growing, but since he was purely using the darkness attribute he wasn¡¯t well suited for protecting against air. He wasn¡¯t particularly weak, but the storms were extremely powerful already and Kusuma had been devoting more protection to him. For him to resist something more he would have to advance to the Soul Expansion Phase. While John didn¡¯t want to disparate his uncle¡¯s talent¡­ even with significant resources he wasn¡¯t sure Aydan would reach that point in a year. He might reach the eighteenth rank if he did well, but stepping over a boundary could take several times as long as advancing a rank, if the situation wasn¡¯t in the favor of the cultivator. Yet Aydan didn¡¯t object, either. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something,¡± John admitted. ¡°What do you know that I don¡¯t?¡± Kusuma nodded to herself. ¡°That¡¯s right. You weren¡¯t the same person a couple years ago. It could very well have been left unsaid.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Aydan confirmed. ¡°We had not yet told him. Actually-¡± his words were cut off by the sudden winds- both the ones Kusuma was using to push the boat and the countering ¡®winds¡¯ of the still air they pushed through. Kusuma laughed as they started heading back towards what was hopefully civilization. Eventually, though, Aydan¡¯s explanation was pieced together by John. There were deeper reasons besides stability behind why the main line of the Tenebach clan was the way it was. It also tied into why he had no siblings- even when Fortkran¡¯s unhealthy proclivities became apparent, his replacement wasn¡¯t immediately sought out. His parents could have had another child several years before. But it wasn¡¯t so easy. It all came back to the family¡¯s guardian beast. It wasn¡¯t just a source of endless blessings, but a conduit for power. Such power didn¡¯t come from nowhere. Every generation or two the guardian beast¡¯s power would wane. At that point, the older generations would give up some of their cultivation to empower it once more, and through it the upcoming young generation. However, it wasn¡¯t meant to be a permanent forfeiture of power. Through a chosen vessel, the older generation could be fortified once more- without weakening the guardian beast. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. That person was, of course, the heir of the clan. From birth, they were tied to the guardian beast in a way that developed throughout their life. It was only possible for one person at a time to be bound to the guardian beast, and the main line of the Tenebach clan was specially suited to foster that link without it affecting their cultivation. John was left with many questions that he struggled to convey through the rushing winds. ¡°How come I haven¡¯t felt such a connection? What if it broke when I¡­ died?¡± Kusuma was apparently aware of everything related to him, so being secretive was pointless. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that second part,¡± Aydan said. ¡°The guardian beast confirmed the connection during your blessing. As for the connection, I am not sure. I haven¡¯t had it myself. You would have to ask your grandfather about it- but it is not supposed to affect your cultivation.¡± John found that he was able to wrap them both in a bubble of his own controlled air to make the conversation more feasible, and they hardly had to repeat anything or yell over the wind. ¡°So what do I have to do?¡± John asked. ¡°Cultivate! However you find best for you, though I¡¯m sure your grandfather¡¯s guidance was also intended to prepare you. Once you reach the Soul Expansion Phase you should be ready. I don¡¯t know all of the details, but I imagine it should be quite different from what I went through.¡± John thought for a while. ¡°So your¡­ difficulties¡­ with cultivation- are because of this empowerment ceremony for the younger generation?¡± Aydan laughed, ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t mind you saying I¡¯m low in talent. It¡¯s true, now. Though it¡¯s not quite right. What do you remember of me before your transmigration?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± John scratched his head. ¡°That is¡­ I don¡¯t really¡­ not much. Just that you were an uncle of mine.¡± ¡°That was the whole point,¡± Aydan acknowledged. ¡°Actually, I was in the early Soul Expansion Phase, the nineteenth rank- even after my contributions. I gave up more so that the guardian beast could give you a proper blessing.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m sorry,¡± John said. ¡°Don¡¯t be. You had no part in the matters leading up to that point. Once it was you, I¡¯ve had no complaints with your dedication. I hope the reverse empowerment ceremony is a great success, of course, but it was a sacrifice I made willingly.¡± There wasn¡¯t much John could say. He didn¡¯t know if he could do what his new family needed, but he intended to perform his best. But now he had more things to be nervous about rather than just his own cultivation. ----- Calling a woman many times his age by her first name seemed a bit impolite, but Kusuma wouldn¡¯t respond if John called her anything else. Matriarch Mulyani just made her snort. ¡°Kusuma. The trip feels longer in this direction for some reason.¡± John had been counting the days, and they should have arrived at Pualani already. The previous time it had been less than two full days, but it had been at least two and a half. Yet he was certain they¡¯d been heading in the correct direction. From the way she¡¯d directly navigated to a single rock in the middle of the ocean, John knew Kusuma wasn¡¯t the type to get lost, so he had to ask. ¡°When will we arrive at Pualani?¡± Perhaps there were strong currents he was unaware of making their progress inconsistent with what he felt. ¡°Never,¡± came the answer. ¡°At least, I¡¯m not taking you there. We¡¯re going straight back to Dolomite Harbor.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± John asked. ¡°Too bad, I wanted to show Matayal my improvements.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Kusuma laughed, ¡°Want to impress your fiancee, do you? Save it for later. It will be much more impactful if you come back with a Soul Expansion cultivation.¡± ¡°I suppose so. I expect her to reach that level before me, though. She has the talent and the resources.¡± ¡°True, but you¡¯ll be able to shock her with your air element powers!¡± John wasn¡¯t even sure if that was a pun. But he understood something. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I should wait.¡± While he might like to meet with Matayal again, his presence would be noted. The word would also travel to Anwar, and it was quite possible he hadn¡¯t given up on things yet. John knew he was more ready to face him now, but with an air element totem- and all of his totems being at the third level- he would be much more effective. John could assume that with Anwar¡¯s talents he would reach Soul Expansion Phase close to the same time and obtain another fifth or sixth tier totem, but John would be nearly a third stronger on the basis of his totems improving alone. Combined with being able to use an advantageous element against him, even if it was merely one totem out of three, his overall relative power should be a stunning change. John didn¡¯t want to just eke out a victory- he wanted it to be decisive. Kusuma probably understood that as well. ----- While Kusuma might indeed travel faster than the Wavecutter, John understood why people sought out their services. Being on a proper ship was much more comfortable. Though ships were often said to be cramped, it was nowhere near the amount that three people on a simple boat were stuck together. They didn¡¯t even have beds and any bundle of stuff to lay their head on was soaked with water. John could remove it, but the spray from the ocean would simply soak it again in moments. He couldn¡¯t control the winds while taking a nap or properly sleeping, so his training did him little good. At least he learned that Kusuma¡¯s stamina had a limit. She didn¡¯t sleep a wink for four days and some, but when they pulled into Dolomite Harbor she tied up her boat and waved him off before just falling asleep and snoring right across the hard slats. He looked at Aydan who shrugged- and the two of them set off towards home. They¡¯d been away for nearly a year- weeks of travel to Pualani and time spent there, then approximately nine months of time on Cyclone Island enduring harsh training. If John had purely focused on his cultivation level he might have reached another rank, but the skills with controlling air would be invaluable. He could simply improve his cultivation at home, where the resources and spiritual energy were optimal for that sort of growth. Chapter 66 If there was one thing many months of training on a random rock in the middle of the ocean had done for John, it was to make his nice clothes look like garbage. If there were two things, then it made his clothes smell like dead fish and look worse. If there were three things¡­ well, he could at least waft the scent away from himself with his control of air. Aydan didn¡¯t look any better than him. Yet they had the important things- enough money to buy travel supplies, and also to stop at a restaurant that served something besides fish. Dolomite harbor didn¡¯t have a wide variety of choices, and it seemed like everyone else had the same thoughts- the place was packed. Then again, it was about the right time for dinner so perhaps it was natural that everywhere was full. As they stepped inside, they were met by a man in work attire. Before he could speak John asked, ¡°Do you serve anything that isn¡¯t fish?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± the man responded hesitantly. ¡°Great. We¡¯ll take a table.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± He looked for a moment like he might refuse, but John felt him appraising the two of them. ¡°We¡¯re quite busy. You¡¯d have to share a table.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± John nodded. ¡°Then, follow me,¡± the man reluctantly showed them through the room to a back corner with a small table that really should have only fit one instead of three. The young man at the table was scarfing down food and ignored the two new arrivals. ¡°What will you have?¡± John pulled out a few coins to help the man relax. ¡°As I said, anything without fish for the two of us. And something decent to drink.¡± His mouth tasted like saltwater, though of course he¡¯d done his best to purify things into actual water. The salt just built up forever. The server left towards the kitchen and John studied the young man sitting at the table with them. Something about him felt familiar, but he didn¡¯t know what. Except maybe his resemblance to them. Dirty hair and beard, and a coating of grime on his skin as if he¡¯d had a bag of soot dumped on him. Only the area around his mouth was clean as he scooped soup into his mouth. Soon enough the server came back with two more bowls of the soup. It seemed to mostly be chicken and rice, but the fact that it wasn¡¯t fish made it heavenly. John tossed the server his coins and started chowing down. He could see why people would come here- the portions were generous, if nothing else. He could have eaten the whole bowl in a single minute, but he took his time. As much as his body would let him. He slowed himself down with big sips of some sort of strong alcohol that burned on the way down and didn¡¯t in any way go with the soup. But at least it wasn¡¯t salty water, so it passed. Of course, such a ¡®wonderful¡¯ meal couldn¡¯t go without interruptions. The loud raucous of patrons around them was broken by a louder proclamation from some fool standing at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor. ¡°Everyone is too loud! Leave!¡± While people scrambled for the door, John continued to spoon soup into his mouth. It was just a mid foundation phase fancy pants sort of guy. Nothing to concern himself with. The young man at the table in front of him also continued without concern. As expected, a few moments later the fellow stomped over to their table. ¡°I said everyone out! You¡¯re disrupting the young master¡¯s meal!¡± Aydan was about to act when the third member of their table stood up. ¡°You¡¯re disrupting my meal now. You¡¯re the one who should leave.¡± ¡°Why you-¡± a straightforward punch towards the young man carried with it the weight of earth- however it was caught in a single hand. Then the fancy pants¡¯ long sleeved shirt caught on fire, and a moment later he ran screaming out of the building. John nodded seriously to himself. Being aware of elemental matchups was important. If they were otherwise evenly matched that would be the biggest factor. Then again, the fancy pants wasn¡¯t a match. That totem had to be at least fifth tier. Familiar, but not. John squinted. Nope, still didn¡¯t remember. The dirt and perhaps soot didn¡¯t help one bit. He managed to get three more spoonfuls consumed before people came stomping down from the second floor. Half a bowl was a good start, but he¡¯d have preferred to have time to finish. Then he would have just left. A full seven people stomped down the stairs, all in fine clothing. Young master, bodyguard, bodyguard, some girl, lackey, friend, clan member. Something like that, anyway. One of the bodyguards stepped forward. ¡°Who dares disturb the young master of the Quartz clan?¡± The young man in front of them continue to spoon soup into his mouth. That part wasn¡¯t familiar at all. Fire energy. He went to an entire country full of fire cultivators, so that didn¡¯t tell him anything. Didn¡¯t seem like a Milanovic. The bodyguard stomped over, but once again before John or Aydan had to react, the young man stood up. ¡°Got a complaint? Because your man attacked me and you¡¯re disrupting this place¡¯s business.¡± ¡°Hmph. The young master will pay for any inconvenience they suffer.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Blue flames grew around the young man¡¯s body, and he leaped into a flying kick. The bodyguard blocked with his two arms, sliding back along the floor and tearing up boards. He didn¡¯t directly suffer any damage¡­ but the blue flames spread to him. Blue flames. Blue hair. John knew people with green hair. Blue hair wasn¡¯t unique, but he couldn¡¯t quite place it. The second guard had gotten himself ignited and then extinguished by flailing on the ground by the time John gave up. He was about to go back to his soup when the table was shattered by a flying blue haired young man. John had grabbed his bowl, but the huge splash that followed sloshed half the remaining soup on the floor- and pretty well ruined all of it. John turned to Aydan. ¡°You get that one,¡± John pointed to the ¡®friend¡¯. Another earth cultivator with a different aura. His target was the lackey with water element cultivation. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He threw his bowl like a frisbee, just the right amount of his darkness energy on it to make it seem like a threat. In fact, it intentionally seemed like much more of a threat than it was. Thus, the young man who was obviously too poorly dressed to be a friend of this young master vigorously dodged to the side, letting John close in. John slashed forward with his sword, darkness and earth combining together to try to crush his opponent. A bubble of water was maneuvered to stop his attack. He could still beat his way through it if he wanted to¡­ but with another slash that had lightning hidden underneath, he shocked the lackey and disrupted his control over the water barrier. Not thinking this needed to be escalated, John turned his blade to swipe him with the flat, knocking him prone. Aydan finished his lower cultivation opponent in a few moments as well. The blue haired guy was fighting both the remaining earth cultivator who was better dressed and the young master of the Quartz clan. Honestly, John had no idea how many Quartz clans there were in the Stone Conglomerate, but it was more than a handful. This likely wasn¡¯t one of the relevant ones. The elemental advantage and technical skill of the fire cultivator quickly overcame the two-to-one situation, and the young master was rolling on the ground to put out the fire. Seemingly deciding things had gone far enough, the young man waved his hand and quashed the fires. The young woman with the Quartz fop flipped her hair and walked out of the establishment. ¡°He¡¯ll pay for the damages,¡± the blue haired fire cultivator pointed to the young master on the floor. Then he turned to John and gave him a thumbs up. John responded accordingly. ¡°Thanks for the assist! Water sucks, man.¡± ¡°Yeah you gotta watch for those conquering elements.¡± Gears turned, turned, and finally clicked. Blue hair. Fire element. Thumbs up. ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t I see you at the volcano last year?¡± It was easier to recognize him with some of the grime burned off. ¡°Hmm, darkness, earth¡­ oh yeah!¡± He smiled, ¡°Thanks for that. I kinda overestimated my abilities. Then I almost gave up. Kinda stupid. Clearly I could do better.¡± John nodded, looking down at the prone figures. They were slowly recovering. ¡°Should we get going?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, totally. Kinda forgot, stuff happens like this all the time.¡± ¡°All the time?¡± John raised an eyebrow. He understood that sometimes people were idiots. That was why the establishment stayed out of it- as long as things didn¡¯t go too far, there would simply be reprimands and of course someone would have to pay for the damage. ¡°I used to be a troublemaking asshole and I only started like, a single fight in a restaurant.¡± ¡°I completely understand. One day I woke up in a ditch and just thought ¡®what the hell was this guy doing¡¯?¡± John nodded as they stepped out of the restaurant together, ¡°I never got your name.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ste- Lucanus. My name is Lucanus.¡± John¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What does this gesture mean to you, Steven?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Steve- I mean Lucanus. It¡¯s just¡­ a thumb¡¯s up? It means everything¡¯s all good, and whatever.¡± ¡°Uncle Aydan,¡± John gave him a thumbs¡¯ up. Aydan awkwardly reproduced the gesture, looking at his hand to see if he got it right. John turned to ¡®Lucanus¡¯. He tried English. ¡°So, Steve. What killed you? Car crash?¡± ¡°Nah it was a piano.¡± Steve blinked, ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°How good are you at keeping secrets?¡± ¡°Normally better than this,¡± Steve said sheepishly. ¡°Good. I¡¯m John,¡± he held out his hand. ¡°Welcome to the Transmigrator¡¯s Club. I¡¯m the founding member, just now.¡± Steve shook his hand. ¡°Cool? I don¡¯t really know what to say. It¡¯s weird we both speak English, right?¡± John shrugged, ¡°How many worlds are connected together, really? Could be just a few.¡± Aydan was watching curiously as they spoke. ¡°Tons of people speak English. Bet we could find more people with some other languages, though. They know about transmigrators here. Though it¡¯s hard to say what the extent of that knowledge is.¡± ¡°This is crazy info,¡± Steve said, frowning. ¡°Crazier than being attacked ¡®all the time¡¯?¡± He shrugged, ¡°I guess not. So what should we do?¡± ¡°Nothing?¡± John shrugged. ¡°We live here now. Unless you want to test the only possible way to go back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Steve held up his hands. ¡°Things are going alright for me here. Oh, I never caught your name.¡± ¡°John. Though if you want to see me later,¡± John gestured a zipping motion across his lips. ¡°Got it. Secret.¡± He looked at Aydan, ¡°And him?¡± ¡°He knows about me. Probably you too now, but it¡¯s fine. Anyway, I¡¯m Fortkran Tenebach.¡± ¡°Oh man, I heard about you. It was a whole thing when you came to the Green Sands. Should have figured it out, seeing you up on Zolvolj.¡± Steve looked over his shoulder. ¡°Look, I have a tournament I should be getting to. Can we talk later? When we¡¯re both¡­ cleaned up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading back home,¡± John said. ¡°But it¡¯s not hard to find the Tenebach clan. I¡¯ll let them know you¡¯re coming¡­ Lucanus?¡± ¡°Great. It might be¡­ a while. I keep pretty busy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cultivation,¡± John agreed. ¡°Hey, if I hear anything about all this that matters, I¡¯ll let you know. I¡¯m not sure if there will be much to say, though. Just that transmigrators tend to be special. Try not to let it go to your head.¡± ¡°Same with you, young master Tenebach.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, I get it. I think I¡¯m doing fine, though.¡± The two of them finally split off, and John turned to Aydan, finding it strange to switch languages back to one his body was familiar with but not his self. ¡°Well. I have some interesting news for you! Though you might have already guessed.¡± Aydan nodded. ¡°An interesting young man as well. We should keep our eye on him. We can confirm¡­ details¡­ later.¡± Chapter 67 After the conversation John had with Lucanus a.k.a. Steve, Aydan had some questions. ¡°So, this person¡­ he is also a Transmigrator? Can you trust him?¡± John thought about that, ¡°I don¡¯t have any reason not to trust him, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking. The probability that he would want to kill me or something is lower than any random person from this world. At least, we have something in common. To confirm he was a transmigrator, I had to expose myself as well. Though I¡¯m not sure if it matters if anyone knows, at this point.¡± ¡°Perhaps not,¡± Aydan agreed. ¡°Your position is secure enough, at least. You could simply end up with more eyes watching you than you find comfortable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to be happening soon anyway, right? When I get my next totem, people will notice.¡± John smiled to himself, ¡°Especially since I plan to immediately make use of it. Well, perhaps not immediately. But I don¡¯t plan to wait that long before returning to the Shimmering Islands.¡± ¡°As a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator, that should not be an issue even without a larger escort.¡± Though the two of them had the capabilities to hire a carriage, they walked. John was observing how people looked at him when he looked like a vagabond. He wasn¡¯t completely concealing his cultivation, but unless people looked closely they might only feel he was in the Foundation Phase and assume it was early Foundation Phase instead of late. That was a significant difference, and generally resulted in people passing over him. In a way, it was a lesson in stealth, but instead of going unnoticed he tricked people into ignoring him. That was likely even better, since it took less effort and was less problematic if he was discovered. Not that he usually needed to be unnoticed. As they moved, John absorbed the surrounding earth elemental spiritual energy, circulating it through his meridians into his dantian where it was purified. Though he¡¯d been able to push his cultivation forward in the Shimmering Islands, being with an element that matched one of his totems was best for actually advancing in rank. Not that the improvement was enough to matter in just the time it took to return to the Tenebach clan. Once there, he cleaned himself up properly and set about cultivating with the benefit of energy gathering formations. ----- The first time John had seen a dead leaf on the sapling of darkness, he had been concerned. This was a totem, the core of his cultivation. He¡¯d been concerned that any part of it dying meant he¡¯d made a severe mistake in cultivation, possibly causing permanent harm. However, when that single leaf fell down and alighted upon his second totem, he saw what was actually happening. The leaf touched the ground and soon enough it was decaying into the soil. His sapling had matured to the point it was acting more like a real tree, and shedding leaves was quite normal for those. Even if there was nothing normal about this tree, leaves dying and feeding the ground was perfectly reasonable. After those same leaves decayed, their nutrients returned to the sapling as the roots absorbed them from the surrounding soil, his other totem ¡®Compost¡¯. It still wasn¡¯t a glorious or elegant totem to go talking about, but it was functional. The other minor elements he kept inside his dantian also fed into the two totems, slowly growing them. It was hard for John to say exactly when they broke the barrier between second and third tier totems. There had been an intermediate time when he was unsure which they would technically qualify as, but eventually he was certain they had managed the proper growth. That was an important step, because finally his growing totems could directly match at least some of those who should be his proper peers. It was quite embarrassing to be the young master of a clan with only second tier totems, and it was exhausting making up for that weakness through other methods. His devotion to training and improving his techniques would now be even more valuable than before, but he wouldn¡¯t need to rely as much on clever tricks to win. Though he knew he shouldn¡¯t get complacent with just a small level of power. Being more efficient than his opponents would still be important. Along with the growth of his totems, his cultivation grew to the seventeenth rank. He simply had one more to go before being at the peak of Foundation Phase, though he would still have to rise to the top of that rank and make the difficult step into Soul Expansion Phase. While his cultivation still continued smoothly, he knew he should be thinking about that step and making more preparations than just ¡®keep cultivating¡¯. Especially now that he knew others were relying on him. ----- The sight of the Southeastern Stone Forest was quite refreshing. John felt he¡¯d spent far too much of his time cooped up inside cultivating, though it wasn¡¯t that long compared to months outside on a rock in the middle of a stormy ocean. Still, he needed to be active¡­ for more reasons than one. John wanted to gather some wealth for himself, and while he could certainly ask for funds from the clan, the less he relied on that the more he could feel that his accomplishments were his own. Sure, the guardian¡¯s blessing gave him a big advantage normal people didn¡¯t have¡­ but Fortkran¡¯s memories showed that just having that wasn¡¯t sufficient to be a good cultivator. John wasn¡¯t going to ignore the advantages he had, but he wanted to at least make sure some of it came from himself. Though he was absolutely still going to bring his guardian with him out into a dangerous training ground. He didn¡¯t relish the thought of getting into a situation where he was beset on all sides, fleeing wounded into a cave where he spent months recovering from his wounds. Usually, that would result in death. All of the stories about great cultivators who went through those struggles were just survivorship bias. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Combat experience was important though¡­ which was why John was happily throwing himself at the various creatures of the stone forest. Instead of specific techniques, he focused on his sword forms and simple use of energy to attack their weak points with the most cutting power possible. The snakes that were nearly of segmented rocks were cut in two by him, gorgon cobras barely got off a single spit of their petrifying poison before having their heads lopped off, and even the few birds who swooped down at him with their claws were cut asunder. When he found a specimen that was somewhat more valuable, he would harvest their best parts to sell later. He had thoughts of cultivating Diamond Defense, and for that he would need to buy valuable resources. It was unfortunate that none of the creatures in the area met the qualifications for that particular technique, but that was just the way things were. If valuable gemstones were common, they wouldn¡¯t be valuable. John¡¯s primary purpose was to look for spirit beasts, those who had some manner of cultivation. That meant delving into deeper areas of the stone forest than he had previously been, and for that he was happy to have Aydan¡¯s assistance. He now matched his uncle in cultivation, but having twice the fighting power was more than twice as safe. Aydan still outclassed him with his experience, so it was probably a bit more. A gorgon cobra that had cultivation and one that didn¡¯t weren¡¯t all that different. John was already familiar with how to protect against their spitting venom, so doing so when it was propelled faster and better able to break through his defenses wasn¡¯t too problematic. He did find that it tried to petrify his energy occasionally, but the effect was extremely minor. It did give him ideas, though. Since approximately half of his energy was already earth element, it being petrified merely made it a stronger defense until he softened it up. It was a bit harder to loosen up his darkness element, but he was able to deal with that after the creatures were dead. Then he tossed the bones into his natural treasure. The urn he¡¯s obtained in the Crystal Caverns was made to absorb spiritual energy from dead bones, and while there was a significant difference to be found between a pile of dead cultivating humans with bones bathed in dense earth energy for decades and a single snake, the freshness did something for it. It pushed his cultivation a bit forward with every beast, and he wasn¡¯t just passively cultivating. John was certain he could reach Soul Expansion Phase just sitting back at the clan, but he knew simply absorbing spiritual energy would only advance his rank, and not have as much impact on his other abilities. Practically using his techniques in a fight and defending himself were important. ----- John sat back to back with Aydan atop a spiky stone peak, barely enough room for either of them to place themselves. It was actually a safer place to rest for the night than down below, because the only things that could reach them were the few flying beasts- which were not terribly common in earthen regions- and a few determined climbers. But sealing themselves in a cave would have been the safest. John picked the location because it had the most wind so he could work on his air element¡­ and because it was nice. Sometimes, he just wanted to look out over beautiful scenery and pretend it didn¡¯t have dozens of things that would try to kill him hidden all around. ¡°When I am able to perform the reverse empowerment ceremony, what will happen?¡± John asked. ¡°Will you be boosted back to Soul Expansion Phase?¡± ¡°Unlikely. As for the full effects, that will depend on your skill. You talked to your grandfather about it?¡± John nodded, ¡°He emphasized control over spiritual energy. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised he let me take this path with my cultivation. It seems like a risk to the clan to let me cultivate anything but pure darkness.¡± ¡°It could be,¡± Aydan admitted, ¡°But perhaps not. At the very least, earth is allied with darkness. Your experience with diverse elements doubtless provides certain insights back to controlling darkness as well. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d say you¡¯re in any way deficient in controlling darkness, either. The only thing you lack is the full quantity of energy. From the other side, I can say that¡¯s not wholly important. When I provided my energy for your blessing, the guardian still provided much of the energy.¡± ¡°...¡± John sighed, ¡°I¡¯m just worried I¡¯ll mess it up.¡± ¡°I can say you¡¯re a thousand times better than where ¡®you¡¯ were a couple years ago. You¡¯ll do fine. It¡¯s not like you¡¯d have to do it immediately upon reaching Soul Expansion Phase, if you are unprepared. Though I¡¯d trust your grandfather¡¯s judgment on that. He performed that ceremony as well, you know.¡± John could sense Aydan¡¯s smile, though of course they couldn¡¯t see each other back to back. ¡°He seemed confident you would be ready, did he not?¡± ¡°Maybe he just didn¡¯t want to worry me.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Aydan said. ¡°Or maybe you can just take it at face value. Here¡¯s the thing. Even if you utterly mess it up somehow, the current young generation of the Tenebach clan will be sufficient to hold us together for several more generations. And having spent the most time with you, I believe you have the ability.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m probably just overthinking it.¡± He stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to killing stuff.¡± There were no concerns that somehow the Southeastern Stone Forest would suddenly run out of creatures due to some sort of overhunting. Everything propagated so rapidly already, and more importantly if human cultivators didn¡¯t kill the beasts they killed each other at a similar rate. The abundant spiritual energy in the area allowed them to grow up from birth to a large size in record time. Instead of taking decades like a reptile on Earth, it might simply be a year or two, or for some particular specimens just months. Such was the power of spiritual energy. Chapter 68 While it might seem like the Southeastern Stone Forest was home to only predators, that wasn¡¯t possible even with large amounts of spiritual energy to support the inhabitants. On the smallest level there were bugs eaten by many things and herbivores that feasted on the various plants in the area. John simply had no reason to fight creatures that weren¡¯t particularly strong or valuable and weren¡¯t trying to eat him. Thus, they were ignored for the most part. However, there were certain circumstances that just couldn¡¯t be left alone. The tall spires of stone that made up the bulk of the stone forest were advantageous to anything with the ability to climb. There were some lemurs in the area that leapt from peak to peak, cute little fuzzy fellows with long tails. John was taking a break and watching one of the little guys scramble around and pick bugs out of the rocks. It was a delightful experience, one that was interrupted by a large snake coiling up the pillar beneath the lemur. It seemed quite unaware of the snake, and even if it noticed its camouflaged form against the rock below, there weren¡¯t an abundance of places for it to flee. John was sitting on a lower level than the lemur, but he quickly sprang into action. There was no time to do any proper climbing, instead he leapt forward towards the nearest pillar of rock. He kicked off of it, rebounding from it at an upward angle using his earth elemental spiritual energy. One hand threw a dagger towards the snake, but it simply rebounded off of the creature¡¯s scales and defensive energy. Instead of distracting the snake, it did nothing but startle the lemur. He continued to climb upward by jumping between spires of stone, taking only a few moments to reach the snake. It was poised to strike the lemur, but as he leapt towards it the creature finally turned to face him. It sprang towards him as he was flying through the air, and his sword collided with its fangs. Instead of cutting through it, they both rebounded. It was like trying to cut through rock¡­ but if he was a normal human and not a cultivator. At his current level just normal rock hardly mattered, especially with his control of earth energy. Both John and the snake fell down close to where they collided. John considered various methods but finally settled for allowing himself to fall directly instead of trying to latch onto the side. In fact, he even slightly accelerated himself. He gathered his energy at his feet, and when he impacted the ground he transformed it into something akin to a cushion. Dropping thirty meters was still not an easy feat, but it allowed his legs and energy to share the impact with more of the ground around him. Chunks of dirt flew off in all directions and he slashed upward with his sword towards the snake that hadn¡¯t quite struck the ground. The impact nearly knocked his blade out of his hand. The snake was larger than most of the others he had fought, perhaps a dozen meters long and a good half meter thick, powerfully built. Its fangs were long enough to pierce deep into him, but that wasn¡¯t even necessarily how the creature would try to kill him. If it could wrap around him, it could crush him. He wouldn¡¯t let it, of course. Unlike the other varieties in this area, the earth energy was evenly distributed through the creature. It didn¡¯t have any clear and obvious weaknesses and had scales hard like diamond. But John could work with that. The creature had rudimentary control over spiritual energy, enough for offense and defense, but it likely couldn¡¯t handle anything complex. The creature coiled for another attack which John avoided by a narrow margin, for the purpose of still being able to attack. His sword was wrapped in mixed earth and darkness energy, a mixture of Clinging Affliction and Bite of the Gorgon. He barely managed to cut through the creature¡¯s energy, but was stopped by its scales. Even so, lingering traces of his attack remained. At every opportunity he continued to perform the same technique while making sure he defended himself properly. Normally the techniques needed to have an actual wound to work from, but for what he wanted just cutting through the energy was enough. Soon he landed a half dozen hits and tried to target the same areas again. When the constrictor once more tried to coil, it found a problem. Sections of its scales were locked together straight, fused into a single piece of stone rather than individual scales. That didn¡¯t make it unable to attack, but it was much slower. That allowed John to gather his energy to focus on attack instead of worrying about defending himself as much, which allowed him to begin causing actual wounds. He focused on one area as much as possible, though his didn¡¯t give up any opportunity to cause a wound. The fight lasted at least half an hour, quite long as one-on-one battles of any sort went. John was beginning to become exhausted, running low on all of his spiritual energy. However, the snake was barely able to move. That probably had something to do with how its blood was being turned to stone. He didn¡¯t have to drain a creature dry if he could block some major areas of flow. He thought the technique might work even better on larger creatures, if he could cause the damage to begin with. The lemur was long gone by the end of the battle, but John wished it well in his heart. Then he began to dismantle the snake. Normally he would have only taken its fangs- the scales were far too heavy to be worthwhile. However, he was planning to be done with the Southeastern Stone Forest anyway. He could afford to carry some extra weight as long as he wasn¡¯t bringing it with him for days or weeks. Despite how the scales were ¡®hard like diamonds¡¯ he wasn¡¯t sure if they would work with Diamond Defense. He¡¯d have to check the technique manual back at the clan. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time to head back,¡± he said to Aydan. ¡°Now I¡¯m ready for the final push.¡± He wasn¡¯t quite eighteenth rank yet, but that would just take time and spiritual energy. He might have been able to increase in rank in the Southeastern Stone Forest, but it seemed an unnecessary risk. If he was disrupted during the process he could harm himself, and though he trusted Aydan to protect him it wasn¡¯t always possible to know what might show up. Some things were best for them to avoid. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ----- Previously, John had attended clan functions whenever he was available. After all, he needed to be responsible. However, he currently had an excuse. Not just one to get out of doing things, but the best sort. Pushing his way towards Soul Expansion Phase was a big undertaking that he could reasonably be excused from anything for a few months. Achieving the eighteenth rank wasn¡¯t terribly difficult, since it was inside the same Phase. Cultivating himself towards the peak of Foundation Phase where he was close to the nineteenth rank was harder. All of the experience in cultivation he¡¯d gained was necessary for him to get to that point, and though he had the guidance of his grandfather ultimately that last step was up to his own comprehension. Unlike the breakthrough to Foundation Phase, he didn¡¯t have any prior experience from Fortkran at making the attempt. Everything at Foundation Phase had been his own ability¡­ enhanced by the blessing of the guardian beast. But there were all sorts of advantages in the world, and he would take what he could get. Since he was planning to choose an air element totem, he focused on the aspects of his training with Matriarch Kusuma. He focused on the way gasses and electricity flowed. That was the main thing about them, the flow. Earth, meanwhile, had no flow. At least, not a perceptible one. His abilities were much smaller scale than continental drift. Earth conquered air. That was easy to see from that angle, as he could control how electricity flowed or resist being pushed around by winds. How air supported earth was slightly more abstract, and focused on areas of earth he wasn¡¯t as focused in. Plants could be considered to be part of the earth element, and those grew from air. But there were more connections that could be made. John thought of how wind could shift soil around, one layer at a time. That wasn¡¯t necessarily something that built it up to be stronger, but connections were connections. The one that was most useful to focus on was how air aided the decomposition of things into soil. His second totem was one he at least internally called Compost. Though nothing matched entirely in the case of cultivation and spiritual totems, it was the idea that mattered. Organic matter broke down through the efforts of bacteria, either aerobic or anaerobic methods- with or without air. Though if he remembered correctly anaerobic bacteria just functioned without oxygen. There was much more to air than that. John had searched through the third layer of the sea of spiritual totems for something that suited him. If he wanted to throw lightning or create great storms, he had many options. The important thing to remember was that any air element totem would aid with the various things he could do, it just mattered what he wanted to focus on. That focus¡­ was still growth. Synergy between his totems. He finally found something. A totem aligned with air but with elements of darkness to latch onto. When he thought of dark air, he thought of pollution first. John had no desire to have something like that be one of his totems. Even the most common smoke from wood burning would actually be more aligned with fire in some senses. It was quite clear to him that few totems were completely pure to one element. How could they be? They represented the world, and nothing in the world was just one thing. Not on any scale that functioned. The totem he found was related to darkness for its obscuring abilities, the unknown factors that darkness hid. But really, it was just¡­ mixed gasses with nothing completely dominant. Impure. But impurities weren¡¯t necessarily bad. If one considered gemstones, many were interesting solely because of their impurities. They were what gave things color and life. In the case of air, humans did quite well without breathing pure oxygen even if that was basically all they actually absorbed. Plants, on the other hand, absolutely didn¡¯t want pure anything. Unless carbon dioxide could be considered pure, but the very name was against it there. It was formed from carbon and oxygen, and plants used both. Probably more than that, but John didn¡¯t have a biology degree. As he studied the totem more, John found it rather funny. In a way, the totem was impure precisely because it was a standard sort of mixture of gasses. Being completely sure of its effects on cultivation before attuning to it would be difficult, since none of the records mentioned it as anything of note. However, he could gain information from his studies. First, it focused on gasses. That would still enhance his control over winds. He wouldn¡¯t get as big of a boost in the area of electricity, but simply having an air element totem would increase his control over anything matching the air element. This mixture itself was nonspecific. A better word, perhaps, was adaptable. More importantly, it was able to grow. It might not focus on anything in particular, but on the other hand that also meant it could provide multiple things which he needed for his growth, and that of the Sapling of Darkness. Ironically, John found himself thinking more about the name than whether or not it would suit his purposes. He couldn¡¯t just call it ¡®air¡¯. Finally, he determined what he thought was the best word. Atmosphere. That¡¯s what he really wanted, anyway. He had a plant he was growing, soil for it to grow in¡­ and it needed an atmosphere to provide air. Simple. Almost boring¡­ but he could already think of things he would do. Ultimately, totem elemental affinity and tier mattered the most. It was only third tier, but that made it match his others to grow alongside them. He might not turn into a windstorm or be all about calling bolts of lightning from the sky, but if he grew strong enough and trained the right techniques¡­ he could still do those. Atmosphere. It fit his cycle of elements, and though he wouldn¡¯t be bragging about it to anyone¡­ he was satisfied. Now all he had to do was build up his cultivation and actually attune to it. As if it was that easy. Chapter 69 Forming a connection with a spiritual totem could be a battle. When pushing oneself to the limits, moving to the deepest layer of the sea of spiritual totems, a cultivator could quickly exhaust themself. Yet for the third time, John simply reached out to the totem he wanted¡­ and connected to it. He wasn¡¯t fighting against the pressure of a layer he could barely reach. He could easily spend time in the fourth or fifth layer- the third was trivial by comparison. For a brief moment he wondered if it would have been better to push himself. Then he felt Atmosphere fill his dantian. While he had previously gathered air elemental spiritual energy into himself, the difference between having a totem and not was monumental. Having a third tier totem made him more than four times as efficient, and the way his earth totem was empowered silenced his doubts. His earth and darkness totems were allied and didn¡¯t interfere with each other, but finally having a directly supporting element filled him with confidence. The growing Sapling of Darkness was starting to become something akin to an actual tree, and it happily absorbed the earth and air spiritual energy. In turn, it transformed the air and built up the dirt. As he cultivated, John watched several cycles of leaves growing and falling. When things finally settled down, he stepped out of his training room. Unsurprisingly, he found a servant waiting for him. ¡°How long was I in there?¡± John asked. ¡°Three weeks and two days, young master.¡± John nodded. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be short. Some of that time was building up his energy to be close to the nineteenth rank, and the rest was a mix between attuning to the totem and stabilizing the results. While it had been a simple and straightforward process, deep cultivation messed with the normal sense of time. ¡°If you could inform my parents and grandfather that I have entered the Soul Expansion Phase.¡± ¡°Of course, young master,¡± the servant bowed his head, ¡°Congratulations.¡± John took the opportunity to walk around the grounds a little bit. He had somewhere over twenty years of memories of the place that weren¡¯t really his, but the last couple of years absolutely were his. It really felt like home. He hoped his family back on Earth was doing well without him. Things had been shaky for a while, but things had been settling down. He just hoped his death hadn¡¯t resulted in problematic expenses. Hopefully at least the car insurance would have given them something. But there was nothing he could do about it either way. He turned to happier thoughts. Perhaps it was unfair to have the advantages he did, so that reaching Soul Expansion Phase was almost easy, except for all those times he nearly died and all the work he put in. Having a personal training area was quite something. He wondered if he could get air element added on. That seemed likely to be difficult, as the Stone Conglomerate was generally low on air elemental spiritual energy. He had a quick ¡®breakfast¡¯, though it was nearly noon. The cooks would of course prepare him whatever he wanted at any time, though he did his best not to be overly demanding or picky. If he really wanted something in particular, he would at least wait patiently. Currently, he felt like loading up on eggs, sausage, and toast with butter and jam. All part of a balanced breakfast, if you ignored that many of them weren¡¯t necessary at all for that balance. After breakfast, he found his way to meet with his grandfather. Unless he was currently in the middle of an important meeting, John could walk right in. He could anyway, but he probably wouldn¡¯t. Even as he approached, the doors were opened for him. He saw his grandfather smiling inside. The doors were closed behind him, the servants exiting to give them privacy. ¡°Good to see you, Fortkran¡­ John.¡± ¡°Good to see you, Grandfather.¡± ¡°Soul Expansion Phase¡­ you¡¯ll soon surpass me, I think.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be so easy,¡± John inclined his head, ¡°Especially not with the benefits of the reverse empowerment ceremony returning talent to you.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Luctus admitted, ¡°Though I still took somewhat longer to initially reach Soul Expansion. It seems the cycle of elements is doing well for you?¡± His energy swept over John. He was actually at the point where he could prevent the inspection, but he didn¡¯t bother to hide anything. ¡°All third tier totems, now. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised at your speed considering the difficult early path you had.¡± ¡°Thank you. About the ceremony¡­ I hope having mixed elements won¡¯t be a problem?¡± ¡°If it is, it was a mistake in my own judgment,¡± Luctus said. ¡°You informed me of your plan and I agreed. But it should mainly require the ability to handle large amounts of darkness energy. You are capable of that, I believe?¡± John nodded. Though he only had a single totem primarily associated with darkness, the other two were at least partially aligned. With how the other totems supported the Sapling his control wasn¡¯t a problem, but he could only store so much darkness energy at once. Though even then, he could convert other elements into darkness if it was necessary. ¡°Excellent. I have some training for you to go through before we make the attempt. You can only make one attempt, it would be a shame to waste it for being unfamiliar with the process.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ----- The previous time he had been in the guardian beast¡¯s cave, John didn¡¯t remember there being so many candles. Then again, perhaps he couldn¡¯t have seen them. Though the candles were lit, the flames from them were black, drawing light from the area. He could only see because of his connection to the darkness element and the power of the blessing enhancing his vision without light. The guardian beast once again came to meet with him. ¡°You¡¯re back. So soon, even.¡± Its voice was barely substantial, though he supposed that fit with the rest of it. He could barely even make out a shape for it, vaguely animalistic reminiscent of a canine or feline of some sort. Even its outline didn¡¯t remain in sharp definition but constantly shifted. It was strange, to see something dark and still unknown. ¡°Indeed I am. It may not seem like long for you, but for me¡­ it is a significant portion of my life.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ you are still young, even if we count your extra time.¡± The guardian beast circled around him. He could feel its eyes digging into him, almost literally. ¡°Such interesting choices you have made.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound as if you approve,¡± John noted. ¡°It is not my place to judge before we test you,¡± the guardian beast noted. ¡°Now then, shall we begin.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± John said. ¡°What is your name?¡± He simply felt a smile on the creature¡¯s face, despite being unable to distinguish any features on its head. Then it stepped into him. Cold darkness flowed into him, but he knew it wasn¡¯t his job to resist but to channel it. The darkness mixed with him, pouring into him as he poured into it. However, he found the balance moved towards it and his internal energy began draining. All around him he felt a somewhat warmer darkness from the candles. The energy they produced easily filled him up as he was drained¡­ but that wasn¡¯t enough. John knew he had to take active steps in the process, not just sitting passively. He had the talent to control darkness directly, but he found it was more effective when filtered through the sapling. More than that, however, he knew he should make use of his other totems. Otherwise, why even bother with Soul Expansion Phase? The air energy helped it to flow, but sometimes that flow became too fast. A dark river channeled through him, nearly flooding. Earthen barriers directed it, while the air actively encouraged that flow to clear the pathways for ever more energy. Darkness flowed through his meridians into his dantian where all of his totems and the guardian beast resided alongside the natural treasure he¡¯d obtained. It seemed there was no limit to the flow. Even as he drew upon it the darkness tried to sap energy away from him. He felt it numbing his senses, even internally. But he refused to let it win. He was in control. As much as anyone was in control during a flood, but he was putting up the fight. As the flood continued he thought he might break down. His meridians might explode, or he might overfill his dantian and it would burst. The guiding earthen dams could shatter, letting it go where it pleased, the air currents pushing it around might sputter out. But he kept going, because he wasn¡¯t willing to give up. Then, after it reached a crescendo¡­ the flow began to slow. He wasn¡¯t able to calm down immediately, but the frantic pace of things was slightly restrained. He was barely aware of anything as he felt drained of all energy, except as the guardian beast slipped out of him it whispered one final word, vague sounds which his ears could just barely form into something like a name yet also simply a description of itself, a creature of darkness. ¡°Ciaritzal.¡± ----- When he came to full consciousness, he was in his bed. Strangely enough, he¡¯d hardly used it. Cultivation didn¡¯t entirely replace sleeping, but he spent more than a few nights in his training room absorbing spiritual energy or even passing out on the floor- even though he could have gone only a short distance to his room. Fatigue came over him all at once even as he opened his eyes, but it was the good sort. Muscle aches after a hard workout and of course the slight stinging of expanding meridians and dantian. He could feel the lingering traces of medicine, both for healing slight damage to his internals and to supplement his low energy. Yet he still felt empty. That empty feeling wasn¡¯t just because of the exhaustion, but also because his total potential stores had significantly increased. It wasn¡¯t just another totem¡¯s worth, but another totem that worked in concert with the others. A sort of multiplicative effect, though most of it would be similar in scope to others who reached Soul Expansion Phase. He just hadn¡¯t realized the full scope of the differences until he really used his power. Now he wanted to test it out in a fight. He might be able to spar with some of his cousins, but that wouldn¡¯t be a real fight. There was a simple target in his mind. Anwar. John felt the stirring of air around him and the tingle of static electricity as he thought about the fight. Anwar would certainly be at or close to Soul Expansion Phase too, but John was completely confident things would not be the same as the previous time. He might even be able to obtain a straightforward win¡­ though he had no intention to fight foolishly. Among other things she had taught him, Kusuma had gone into detail about how to fight water element cultivators. That was the domain of air, after all, as a dominating element in that trade. She¡¯d also gone over fighting against spears¡­ again, not uncommon among water element cultivators. But she¡¯d been able to very faithfully replicate Anwar¡¯s fighting style as she sparred against John. He recognized that one the most of all she did. The message was pretty clear¡­ and he had promised another fight. Though whether Anwar was aware of that was another thing. It seemed like it was time for another trip. Hopefully, this one would result in him getting struck by less lightning. Then again, he did have an air element totem now. Perhaps that wouldn¡¯t be so bad. Kusuma had also gone into excruciating detail on how to absorb lightning to further one¡¯s own cultivation. He¡¯d only done it several layers removed, but that was several ranks prior and without a proper totem. With that said, he would hope for a moderate amount of lightning on the way. It would be a shame to get too cocky. Chapter 70 The force of a small mountain narrowly reached over John¡¯s head as he ducked beneath a stone club. His sword flicked out in a quick counterattack, scraping against hardened spiritual energy and causing sparks. He dove behind a nearby pillar, but the stone edifice barely slowed down the following attack. The horizontal swipe was followed up by a vertical, smashing into the ground while at the same time catapulting John into the air. The eyes of the two combatants locked as John dangled in the air. It seemed Renato had learned some new tricks- though John had expected as much. Renato pushed off the ground, leaping towards John to bat him back into the ground. However, John twisted in the air, a swift gust from his air energy moving him out of the way of the attack. In return, he turned to throw several daggers at Renato, whose trajectory was more solidified. They could barely scratch the armor of hardened stone elemental spiritual energy he had, but John used all his techniques to slowly corrode it. If he could get in a good hit, he might gain the advantage. The spar continued for a number of exchanges, but it was clear that John would be on the losing side. He was able to overcome the disadvantage of his air element spiritual totem being suppressed by earth by using other elements for direct defense, but the total level of his totems was still lower than Renato. His lowest was the fourth tier, and he had a fifth and a sixth as well. Renato didn¡¯t neglect synergy between his totems, either. All of them catered to a straightforward and powerful fighting style. After he gave up, John threw Renato a thumbs up. ¡°Good fight! I¡¯ll match you yet.¡± Renato nodded, ¡°Yes, it was an excellent fight. I¡¯ll have much to meditate on.¡± He responded to John¡¯s gesture with a raised fist, a symbol of solidarity. But not another thumbs up. Well, not everyone could be a transmigrator from Earth¡­ or the parts of Earth that recognized that gesture. ----- John stayed at the Order of the Amber heart for a full week, sparring with the disciples¡­ and some of the elders. It was strange to think how quickly personal power could grow in this world. There wasn¡¯t much John had to compare it to from Earth. Comparing it to vaguely familiar things on Earth, he was in a senior management position in just a few years. If ¡®management¡¯ was replaced with ¡®combat¡¯. Of course, just because he was in the same phase as many elders didn¡¯t necessarily mean he matched them. The gap between the nineteenth and twenty-eighth rank was large, but even close to his own rank decades of experience with techniques could provide an advantage. Talent could overcome time in training to a certain extent, but it wasn¡¯t as if ¡®talent¡¯ was one universal thing. Being able to increase in rank quickly had as much to do with the body¡¯s aptitude and what resources were available to a cultivator as their comprehension abilities. In short, John knew not to look down on old folk just because he¡¯d caught up to them in rank. He might beat some of them, but just like those his age there would always be some stronger than him in some facet. Due to being the young master of a powerful clan in the Stone Conglomerate and a friend of a favored disciple, John was given the honor to speak with Johannes Dalen, head of the Amber Heart. It was more than just a casual conversation in passing, but instead he received some instruction in relation to earth. Though he was ¡®only¡¯ twenty-ninth rank, Johannes was still in the Consolidated Soul Phase, a full half phase ahead of John¡¯s grandfather. Of course, there was a chance for Luctus to match him, now that John had performed the reverse empowerment ceremony, but the fact that the Tenebach clan would just match the Order if that happened was quite relevant. Having strong allies was important, and early Consolidated Soul Phase was about the limit of cultivators in the Stone Conglomerate. The Stone Conglomerate wasn¡¯t low ranking, but there were areas with more abundant spiritual energy and even areas hyper focused to specific elements. Greater resources were available in other locations, and even higher phases were reached by those at the top. John doubted that ¡®demigod¡¯ and ¡®god¡¯ phase were quite appropriate as names for those phases, but from the perspective of the Stone Conglomerate, perhaps it was true. ----- Though he had surpassed Aydan in power, John didn¡¯t ask for someone else as a guardian. The relationship they had built up was solid, and it would be an insult to ask for someone stronger. The Tenebach clan didn¡¯t have many who could serve as a guard for John regardless. More importantly¡­ though he was currently still at the late Foundation Phase, Aydan wasn¡¯t far from Soul Expansion. He¡¯d been one of the first to receive the benefits of the reverse empowerment ceremony, returning his cultivation ability to where it should have been, if not better. He¡¯d given up some cultivation and that wouldn¡¯t immediately come back, but he could continue to cultivate to raise his level. Perhaps if he were going into hostile territory John would have brought along additional protection, but he wouldn¡¯t just toss Aydan aside. He wasn¡¯t such a terrible person. Maybe Forktran would have been, but even if Aydan had no talent at all- instead of just having given up some of it for John¡¯s sake- he wouldn¡¯t want to be separated. There was something important about being able to work with someone for the long term. Hiring a good employee was hard. If you got a good one, you never wanted to let them go. It was a bit different with family, but it wasn¡¯t as if he was having to debate against family or someone competent. Since Aydan was both, asking him to part ways would just be foolish. On the other hand, John didn¡¯t want to restrict him. ¡°Is there anything you would like to accomplish? Any ambitions?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Aydan took the question seriously, thinking for several moments before replying. ¡°Most of my goals are already complete. I wanted the Tenebach clan to be stable, to grow in power. Being here is accomplishing that.¡± He smiled, ¡°And I¡¯m quite happy with my bet on you. I hope for you to usher in a new age for the Tenebach clan.¡± John sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I know how to do that, but I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°I can tell you a secret,¡± Aydan leaned in conspiratorially, ¡°Nobody knows how to do it all. At least you can provide a solid foundation¡­ and if you let those who are competent with management actually do that, the clan should prosper.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be quite happy to do that,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I can¡¯t help but wonder if I¡¯m capable of much beyond swinging a sword and killing people.¡± Aydan laughed, ¡°At worst, you will match the majority of clan heads like that.¡± John nodded, ¡°Are you sure there isn¡¯t anything you want for yourself?¡± ¡°... nothing that bears talking about at this moment,¡± Aydan said. ¡°So there is something. Well, tell me about it when something can be done. I can¡¯t promise the world, but I can promise a swift sword,¡± John held two fingers apart and created a short arc between them, ¡°And some lightning, if that helps.¡± Aydan laughed, ¡°It might. Who knows.¡± ----- Along the way to Dolomite Harbor, John didn¡¯t encounter anything else of note. No wild beasts along the road or bandits, no people causing trouble in the establishments he was staying in, and no disasters. A few small earthquakes, but if a building in the Stone Conglomerate could be toppled by such a thing, it would have happened long before. Some could barely be felt, and only a few were at the level that felt like a train passing. Not that there were trains in this world, but there were plates to clatter. Upon arriving at Dolomite Harbor, John found it just as impressive as before. The nearly sheer cliffs and wide stairs overlooking the harbor below weren¡¯t suddenly smaller just because he was stronger. If anything, he still appreciated how far he had to go. As an individual he was still quite insignificant compared to a proper city, regardless of being at Soul Expansion Phase. Since it wasn¡¯t known ahead of time when he would be coming here, they hadn¡¯t arranged for transport. Upon talking to the harbormaster about ships heading to Pualani, John learned that the Wavecutter would be porting in a few days. That wasn¡¯t the only option, but given his previous experiences he thought it best to travel with them again. ----- One reason John chose to ride with the Wavecutter again was because of their speed. Though the ship itself was not particularly faster than any other, the design allowed it to go directly to a destination. As for what was stopping other ships from doing the same¡­ it was the very thing he was looking for. The Shimmering islands were beautiful and pleasant on good days¡­ but with the water and air energies mixing throughout the area storms were extremely common. Quick to form, and quick to end. On the previous trip John had rarely gone up on deck even during the more minor storms. Now, the boat was rocking back and forth from waves nearly its height with lightning striking near constantly- and John stood next to Captain Sohan on the deck. It was only through John¡¯s careful manipulation of the air around them that they were able to converse, with the high winds and near constant thunder. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you back, young master Tenebach!¡± Sohan grinned at him. ¡°I see your cultivation has taken a huge step forward. Your path¡­ well, it¡¯s not one I would have tried, but I¡¯m just a sailor trying to not fall off his ship!¡± Sohan laughed. The man was a cultivator in the Soul Expansion Phase as well. His two earth totems and single water totem matched his desire to stand against the storms of the Shimmering Islands. John looked him over, ¡°You¡¯ve made some advancements yourself, in this past year.¡± ¡°Ha, it was but a single rank,¡± though he brushed it off, Sohan seemed content that his increase was noticed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you did to rise from mid Foundation Phase so quickly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s simple,¡± John said. ¡°I trained with Matriarch Kusuma Mulyani.¡± Sohan grimaced, ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ heard of her. She and her clan are not ones to be trifled with. I¡¯ve heard that their training can be¡­ intense.¡± John nodded. ¡°Oh, absolutely. I have no intentions to undergo it again. Though I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be given the option.¡± Lightning struck the ship- but the lightning rods encased in the masts channeled the power through the ship. John was still impressed that the ship managed to hold together under all the stress, but he also knew it took a captain crazy enough to try it. But Sohan and the Wavecutter had earned a reputation for a reason. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I have some training to attempt.¡± John made his way to the crow¡¯s nest. Though the ship tilted alarmingly at some points, he found it quite reasonable as a starting point. While he could tie himself to the mast with some of the variously available ropes, he instead planned to rely on his own abilities to keep himself steady. As the next bolt of lightning struck the central mast, he reached up, channeling some of it into him. Pure air elemental spiritual energy flooded his meridians and his dantian, the energy crackling through him. As it moved it almost bordered on fire, heating him from the inside. He guided it through his meridians and once it calmed down slightly, into his dantian. There, it joined the sky, flowing through the air. If only he had proper clouds to contain it, he felt it could step up another level. But of course, it would always be best to have a supporting element. That was the whole point of completing a full cycle. He had no certainty that he would be able to accomplish the feat, but he knew he hadn¡¯t reached his limits just yet. And with the current synergy between his totems, he was proud of where he was, and not just where he might one day be. He reached out for the next bolt, peeling a slightly larger portion. He would likely have to expel excess energy he couldn¡¯t store, but the process of capturing it and guiding it would be beneficial to him regardless. Besides, he had the feeling that if he couldn¡¯t capture lightning his future would be difficult¡­ and not from any enemies he knew of. Chapter 71 The Wavecutter once again lived up to its reputation, bringing John and Aydan to Pualani in record time. Well, technically John had made the journey more swiftly once in the other direction, but Kusuma was an anomaly in that regard. This was the quickest he could expect to reasonably travel. Without others in the clan there wasn¡¯t much fanfare- not that it had lasted long even when his grandfather was around. Soon after arrival he was meeting privately with Netanel and Matayal. Two sources of energy flowed over him, inspecting him. He might have considered it rude, but he was also intentionally hiding his cultivation, despite trusting the two of them. In short, it was a test for them and for himself. ¡°Hmm, I see,¡± Netanel smiled. ¡°Very good.¡± Matayal had a harder time piercing the veil of darkness John had around his cultivation. She was no longer ahead of him in rank, though he felt she was somewhat more advanced in the nineteenth rank than he was. Finally, she nodded. ¡°It seems you continue to execute your plan successfully.¡± ¡°That¡¯s praise, by the way,¡± Netanel commented. ¡°...Yes,¡± Mayatal confirmed. ¡°Completing the latter half of Foundation Phase in this past year is a proper feat.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John put on a warm smile, ¡°It seems your cultivation has also been going well. I hope there haven¡¯t been too many¡­ distractions.¡± ¡°I was able to handle them,¡± Matayal flatly stated. ¡°That punk kid¡¯s been coming by every couple of months to challenge her to a duel,¡± Netanel rolled his eyes. ¡°Of course, she whupped him every time. I have to say, the persistence of the Wibawa clan is a point in their favor. The arrogance¡­ not so much. But I¡¯m happy to let the younger generation settle this. On that note, what are your chances of beating Anwar now?¡± ¡°One hundred percent,¡± John stated confidently. Netanel grinned widely, ¡°Is that so? He¡¯s made his own improvements.¡± ¡°Did he suddenly become a pure fire cultivator?¡± John asked. ¡°Because if not, I¡¯ll destroy him.¡± He flexed his totems, channeling energy through them. ¡°My totems are stronger and I nearly matched him without an elemental advantage. Besides, I¡¯d never hear the end of it from Matriarch Kusuma if I lost.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Netanel said. ¡°She dragged you off for a couple months of training.¡± ¡°Nine months,¡± John declared. ¡°Nine months on that stupid rock.¡± Netanel whistled, ¡°Wow, really? I heard she was occupied for that long, I hadn¡¯t thought she stuck to training you for all of that.¡± John sighed, ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Netanel looked to Aydan, ¡°You were there as well, I believe?¡± ¡°... Kusuma went easy on me,¡± Aydan commented. ¡°Though I did learn quite a bit about defending against storms still.¡± Netanel nodded seriously. ¡°Well then, the two of you are of course welcome to stay here as long as you like. Though our training facilities won¡¯t be the most useful to you.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± John said, ¡°I should benefit from them more now than before. Water supports air and is aligned with earth and darkness.¡± It would likely not be as good as home, though. For one thing, his personal training room was being modified to support his changing needs for different types of energy. Gathering air energy was hard in an earth kingdom, but a decent amount had been managed with the inclusion of some treasures. In terms of air energy, he should be better where he was. Currently, he was focusing on that aspect¡­ both because it was new, and because it would be most effective against Anwar. ¡°Glad to hear it,¡± Netanel said. ¡°Just let us know if there¡¯s anything you need.¡± ----- Most of the Brandle clan was open space with pleasant gardens and wide courtyards. It was very nice¡­ but not particularly private. Accomplishing a truly private spar took quite a bit of work. With Netanel and Aydan working together, they were able to prevent anyone from sensing anything on accident- and the clan members shouldn¡¯t be close enough for anything but an accident. Keeping what was happening a secret was possible, but of course letting people know there was a secret was mandatory. While there might be a few curious folk, they knew better than to ignore their Patriarch¡¯s orders for their own curiosity, especially when it was said that it would be revealed soon enough. Matayal and John faced each other, their swords drawn. John¡¯s was a standard sort of arming sword, one handed and designed for either cutting or thrusting. Matayal¡¯s was lighter and thinner, more focused on thrusting- and less restrained by water. While she was able to control the flow of water to some extent, it was better not to fight against it in the first place. Elements swirled around the two cultivators. Pure water flowed around Matayal in a bubble that stretched to arm¡¯s length around her. The quantity of individual elements around John were less, but together they matched the scale. Darkness was diffuse throughout the area around him- technically a larger area than the water, but much less dense. Earth was less prominently displayed, hugging close to his body and especially around his feet and the ground below. A gentle breeze expanded through the area, with small sparks of electricity mixed throughout the area and obscured by the darkness. John was confident in defeating Anwar, but that didn¡¯t mean he was going to accept things as they were. According to Kusuma he didn¡¯t appear to have any significant training in resisting air, which should make the battle easy. But assuming he couldn¡¯t resist was foolish. Kusuma had worked with Matayal in the past, and thus she was at least properly trained to counteract her weaknesses. In turn, that meant sparring against her would familiarize John with how someone would resist. It was an endless cycle, training struggling to keep up with elemental advantage. Stolen novel; please report. The spar began with little fanfare. Both combatants moved forward, crossing swords. Though he knew it wouldn¡¯t work, John injected a portion of electricity into his sword as they clashed. Matayal routed it around her through her water energy, though John could tell she was at least slightly affected still. As they continued to clash the shape of the water around Matayal thinned. It had first appeared like flowing waves, but soon it became individual droplets and then a diffuse mist. At first John thought he was weakening it, but he still felt the power throughout. He tried to blow it away with gusts of wind, to some success- but Matayal twisted the energy around, transitioning into something like a vortex. When he continued to attack with lightning, it was diverted into the mist¡­ no, that wasn¡¯t quite right. It was more of a stormcloud. As he continued to attack, the lightning was entrapped. Control wasn¡¯t entirely wrested from him, but neither could he focus it to attack Matayal. Of course, he wasn¡¯t only on the attack. He had to defend against waves washing over him, knocking him about and grabbing him. Her sword skills weren¡¯t any worse than his own, and he had to keep up by using Spiritual Energy Absorption. She had higher tier totems, after all. Something like two fifth¡­ and a sixth tier, now. As he thought he was about to lose, Matayal backed off. ¡°We should call it here. Before someone gets hurt.¡± He nodded. That was fine with him. He felt her trying to push his lightning out of the cloud around her, and he found that when he tried to help with that it flowed easily into the ground beneath her- once she wasn¡¯t restricting his control. ¡°A powerful new totem. Is that¡­ a stormcloud?¡± John nodded approvingly. He wondered if she was that concerned about resisting air. It was a conquering element, after all, so it made sense. Of course, a cultivator couldn¡¯t focus solely on not having weaknesses or they wouldn¡¯t be able to make use of their strengths. One totem that was suited, however, was quite reasonable. ¡°Yes,¡± Matayal replied. ¡°It is able to store up air energy within it¡­ to a certain point. Beyond that, it is dangerous.¡± John nodded, ¡°Just like fire and earth. I can use earth as a heat sink to absorb fire until a certain point, but it¡¯s more harm than good eventually.¡± ¡°I hope it will be useful,¡± Matayal said. ¡°It already looks like it is,¡± John commented. ¡°Along with your training, I could barely get any advantage with a conquering element.¡± ----- John would have liked to train against others, but for the moment it was best to keep his new abilities known by only a few. Was it underhanded to hope to get a repeat duel with Anwar and then kick his ass by using his new air totem? Maybe a little bit. But he was from a darkness clan, wasn¡¯t he supposed to do things like that? More importantly, he felt it was worse to try to steal someone¡¯s fiancee and break off a marriage alliance. He did understand that the cultivation world ultimately respected strength, but that didn¡¯t make the Wibawa clan¡¯s efforts any less terrible. Any alliance from that would probably be unstable and ultimately of little use, but he supposed that was the norm as well. Perhaps it would just be a chance for Anwar to gain another conquest of some sort. And if that conquest was going to be Matayal¡­ he wouldn¡¯t allow it. Though he wasn¡¯t sure if that was quite how things should be. ¡°Is this what you want?¡± he asked Matayal. They often spent time together after spars¡­ mostly just sitting without talking much. ¡°Is what?¡± she asked. ¡°Any of this. I guess we¡¯ll start with¡­ are you fine with me being the one to fight for you even though your own strength is sufficient?¡± ¡°He is not going to give up from my own efforts. Clearly.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± John said, ¡°But it feels weird to come in to save you when you don¡¯t really¡­ need it?¡± ¡°He will only understand when you do it,¡± Matayal replied. ¡°He thinks women only want the strongest man.¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± ¡°I do believe I said it before. If I was unhappy with the arrangement, I would have said.¡± Matayal smiled slightly, ¡°I am quite happy that you ask what I want.¡± She tilted her head, ¡°Are you still unsure?¡± John sighed, ¡°I¡¯m just from a culture where arranged marriages don¡¯t happen. I know it¡¯s common elsewhere, but I¡¯m not used to the idea. And I don¡¯t want to make mistakes. I don¡¯t know how to be a proper husband.¡± Sure, he knew some things. But even living arrangements were strange with the geographic separation between their clans. With him roaming about all over¡­ things just seemed difficult. ¡°... I don¡¯t think anyone knows how, until they try. From what I have heard, those marriages that fail are in many cases because people do not try to make things work. I think you are already doing all you can.¡± Matayal looked directly into his eyes, then turned away. ¡°I am more worried about my own suitability.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then,¡± John said. ¡°We¡¯ll both be equally useless at the start. We¡¯ll just have to figure it out.¡± He didn¡¯t get a verbal response from that, but she reached out and squeezed his hand. That was something, at least. Her hand was cool, but still comforting. ----- When Anwar arrived, there was a whole big procession. It was more than just Anwar, Setiawan, and a couple others. There were other prominent members of the clan as well. It was almost as if they expected a wedding. Perhaps they did. John would be quite happy to send them home with their tails between their legs. He could just imagine the amount of face they would lose. It wasn¡¯t his choice for them to be so excessive about things. He kept his energy tightly wrapped around him, concealing his new abilities to his fullest extent. Then he stepped out in front of Anwar. The young man started for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. ¡°You again. Are you looking for another beating?¡± John wouldn¡¯t have called the duel Anwar barely won a beating. He¡¯d even walked away¡­ partly. ¡°You wish to fight? Pick a day. Don¡¯t make me wait a month again.¡± He felt Anwar¡¯s energy probing him. He didn¡¯t mind, though. He might give away that he was in Soul Expansion Phase, but Anwar was the same. Setiawan Wibawa restrained herself, so he wasn¡¯t worried about her finding out. Even if Anwar knew, it wouldn¡¯t negate his advantage. It would just make his victory less impressive, if he was ready. ¡°Fine then. But¡­ this time it should be for more than honor.¡± It seemed Anwar had learned something- or more likely been coached on this possibility. ¡°If I win, you shall give up your claim to Matayal¡¯s hand.¡± John¡¯s energy seeped into Anwar, probing him. Though he needn¡¯t have bothered- Anwar was fully displaying his rank. As expected, he was also just at the beginning of Soul Expansion Phase. Nothing about his energy changed significantly- it was pure water that still strongly resembled crashing waves. No real changes, except for of course having another totem and more spiritual energy. ¡°Agreed, but in that case you must agree to give up your suit as well, when you lose. Same rules as before.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lose,¡± Anwar said, ¡°I¡¯ve already beaten you once. I agree to your terms.¡± He looked at the sky, ¡°Two days from now.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± John wondered if he had trained to fight against earth and darkness. He might have, or he might have thought he didn¡¯t need to. Either way, his own air element should be a surprise. As for two days¡­ John also looked to the sky. A coming storm, was it? That should prove interesting. Chapter 72 Captain Sohan had previously declared to John that only ¡®moderate winds and a bit of lightning¡¯ ever made it to the actual islands of Pualani. Before spending nearly a year in the Shimmering Islands and nine months on Cyclone Island itself, John wouldn¡¯t have called the storm raging above his head moderate by any stretch of the imagination. Wind whipped walls of water into his face while lightly struck regularly and powerfully. But he had to admit that by the standards of the Shimmering Islands, things were fairly minor. He imagined were it not for the formal nature of overseeing a duel, Netanel would have been going around in short sleeves. The only thing missing would be a flower-print shirt. As rain poured down on them, John wielded his sword across from Anwar¡¯s spear. The reason Anwar had wanted the duel in two days was painfully obvious- the quantity of water in the area was extremely beneficial to him. But John knew that when he agreed. The duel began with a sweeping wave of water from Anwar, much the same as he¡¯d used the previous time. John focused on avoiding attacks while he studied Anwar¡¯s technique. It was the same as last time. In theory, there was nothing wrong with it. It was a powerful style meant to overwhelm an opponent. The width of the attack was much more than before both because of the increase in cultivation and the storm, but John was likewise more mobile. The only problem was that it was the same attacks. Predictable. Whatever Anwar had chosen for his new totem was more of the same. It added on top of the others, but didn¡¯t really provide anything more than its own presence. Perhaps his analysis was wrong and Anwar was hiding something, but John wasn¡¯t going to attack recklessly anyway. He¡¯d had enough dodging and parrying for the moment and it was time to go on the offensive, but he would remain aware of tricks. Anwar¡¯s spear brought a jet of water with it as it thrust towards him, but it was little different than any other way to extend spiritual energy beyond a weapon. John moved in, swinging his sword low and upward to parry the spear away. It was then he first made use of the air elemental spiritual energy he¡¯d been gathering. Wind cut apart the waves like a blade, and as sword met spear, lightning coursed through it. In that exchange, Anwar was the one who had to pull back, flicking his spear to the sky to redirect the electricity flowing into him. John began to sweep his sword in an irregular and intentionally confusing pattern as he pressed forward towards Anwar. Anwar focused his defenses on a wide area, but it did little good when John cut straight through the center of it. But when Anwar tightened his defenses John avoided conflicting directly and took the chance to swing around to his side, slicing with his sword. When the situation called for it, John was able to directly resist attacks with his earth element techniques. The storm also helped with Sinking in the Mire, as he shifted the ground beneath Anwar¡¯s feet to slow him down. Anwar still had the advantage of higher tier totems and thus more total spiritual energy, but John had actually narrowed that gap since the previous battle. He still made sure to make Anwar waste as much energy as he could by creating false openings, provoking him at every opportunity. Whenever he got his own opportunity, John would use his air element energy on the offensive. It was nearly impossible for Anwar to block it, and he could only continue to redirect it frantically. He attempted to make use of the rain all around them to slow John¡¯s movements, but that was easily counteracted with a blanket of wind. After a few more exchanges, John felt that he¡¯d done enough. He charged his sword with electricity and a coat of swirling winds. He briefly solidified the ground under his feet to help him push forward with the best speed he could muster, sweeping his sword in a wide arc in front of him. In response, Anwar retreated away from his attack, leaving a bare arc of lightning in front of John. That motion immediately turned into a counter on Anwar¡¯s part, making use of the reach of his spear to thrust forward even as he retreated. John stepped back, appearing to concede the ground he¡¯d just gained, and Anwar stepped forward. His spear swiped up to wipe away the remnant air energy. Then lightning struck. It was no coincidence, of course. The chance of lightning striking the sparring field was miniscule, with the various protections the Brandle clan had in place. But when intentionally directed, how could it do otherwise? Each bit of John¡¯s energy Anwar had directed into the clouds had latched onto the naturally brewing lightning there, biding their time until the power was sufficient. Of course, Anwar would have been able to sense the difference between the energy of the storm and John¡¯s energy, but what was darkness for if not obscuring things? The bolt descended, half the storm and half John¡¯s own energy. Anwar had no defense to offer but to try to redirect the force into the ground, but for some reason the sandy soil refused to conduct anything through it, instead squeezing the water out and rebounding the lightning. A completely unnatural phenomenon, but quite feasible within a duel between cultivators. John was hoping to see Anwar¡¯s skeleton as the lightning flowed through him, but apparently it didn¡¯t work like that in reality. He had to settle for seeing the smoke coming out of his mouth, nose, and ears. With a step forward, John grabbed the spear below the head and pointed his sword at Anwar. ¡°Surrender.¡± Anwar¡¯s face hardened. ¡°No chance.¡± John wasn¡¯t sure if it was admirable to persist, or stupid. He thrust his sword forward, but that wasn¡¯t the real attack. He just charged the spear with electricity all down its length as Anwar shifted his defenses and dodged. Anwar attempted to make the sensible decision to let go of the spear, but his body wouldn¡¯t let him. He was too slow to do it before the electricity reached into his muscles and caused them to tense up. He couldn¡¯t push the spear out of his hand with his energy, either. Water element conducted lightning extremely well, and Anwar had a hard enough time keeping the lightning out of his meridians. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. John kicked him away when he felt Anwar¡¯s energy faltering. Even at an elemental disadvantage it was at least able to slightly protect him, and John didn¡¯t want to actually fry him. It wasn¡¯t a fight to the death, after all. He let him stagger backwards and fall flat on his own. Deciding that the muscle spasms weren¡¯t a trick, he relaxes slightly. ¡°Do you surrender now?¡± he waited. ¡°Can you respond?¡± Deciding that was a ¡®no¡¯, John turned around to face the ¡®judges¡¯. ¡°I do believe this is my victory.¡± Anwar didn¡¯t do anything stupid like try to attack him from behind. Not that he probably could. ¡°Agreed,¡± Netanel was the first to declare, ¡°Fortkran Tenebach is the winner!¡± There were several elders from local clans interested in the results who also confirmed the victory. Then, finally, Setiawan Wibawas herself reluctantly spoke. ¡°Agreed. As per the rules of the agreement, Anwar Wibawa shall give up his suit of Matayal Brandle.¡± John thought he saw some potential complaints swirl through her head, but it was already too late for that. He had chosen the time, and there had been no complaints about the battlefield before the match began. She might still complain to others about underhanded tactics- but that was just properly making use of the darkness element. It wasn¡¯t like John had pulled external help into the battle. A duel between cultivators always depended on the environment around them. John noticed that she hadn¡¯t said the entire Wibawa clan would be giving up, but no doubt Anwar was their best candidate. They would likely have to look elsewhere for a clan with a female heir they thought they could somehow gain something from. ----- ¡°So,¡± Netanel boomed, ¡°Now that that¡¯s out of the way, when should we have the wedding?¡± John sighed. At least he¡¯d waited until they were in private. John looked to Matayal and Ayden who were also present. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the readiness of the Tenebach clan as a whole. As for myself, I don¡¯t have any specific restrictions.¡± Aydan was prepared, at least. John had perhaps let himself be a little irresponsible because of his uncle¡¯s preparations, but then again he had other things to deal with. Aydan explained the Tenebach clan¡¯s plans. ¡°As you discussed with Luctus, we plan for two ceremonies. The intent is to have an alliance, after all, and not a merging of the clans. Finishing preparations could take several months, but the Tenebach clan has no reason to delay.¡± Matayal nodded with determination, ¡°My current stage in cultivation is well suited to marry. As for personal affairs, I am certain you are aware of any conflicts.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Netanel clapped his hands together, ¡°Then I say we should have it as soon as possible. Any objections?¡± John¡¯s only objection would be that he wasn¡¯t mentally prepared- but he didn¡¯t know if he would ever be. Or if anyone was. Though neither of them got to choose, he was fond of Matayal and she of him. That was at least a place to begin. Everything beyond that they would have to work out over time. ¡°Then we¡¯ll get started as soon as possible,¡± Netanel¡¯s grin spread across his whole face. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to this!¡± John and Matayal exchanged glances. They were able to convey to each other their amusement that neither of them were the ones most excited for the event. But the couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly regardless. ----- It was decided that John would stay with the Brandle clan until the first ceremony. There was no point in sending him off for a few weeks only to bring him back later. That would also give him more time with his soon-to-be before the actual ceremony. It also gave chances for Netanel to drag him and Matayal into a private room for possibly the most awkward discussion possible. ¡°What do the two of you know about dual cultivation?¡± Netanel said seriously. John hadn¡¯t been expecting to get something like ¡®the talk¡¯ from his fiancee¡¯s grandfather, and even less so with her present. He wasn¡¯t able to provide a response, but Matayal somehow provided a clinical definition. Though it seemed a bit difficult for her to say it as well. ¡°Dual cultivation is where two people mingle their spiritual energy during sexual intercourse to mutually improve cultivation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Netanel nodded, ¡°But also, it¡¯s wrong. Anyone who says it like that is failing at both sex and dual cultivation!¡± His passion practically glowed as he began to lecture. ¡°While the two might certainly overlap, each can be accomplished independently. And they should be, at least occasionally. Sex can be for pleasure, but it can also be for bonding with each other- or making grandchildren,¡± he emphasized the last part. ¡°Dual cultivation will require close physical contact, but it requires a high amount of concentration to do properly. Thus, it¡¯s not always beneficial when distracted, and can even be dangerous. So make sure to take that into account.¡± Both John and Matayal squirmed in their seats as Netanel went into what was perhaps too much detail on both topics. That didn¡¯t stop John from taking the proper mental notes, and Matayal even took actual written notes. Her later explanation was that she didn¡¯t want to have to hear about it ever again. John strongly agreed with that. Still, the information would be useful, and it was understandable why Netanel took the topic so seriously. John remembers his own cultivation mishap, or rather Fortkran¡¯s. Something like that could also happen to two people commingling spiritual energy if either of them lost control. In short, death. A more likely scenario was that one or both would be injured and have to recover, but things like that were likely to lower the bond of trust between two people, and could drive them apart. And as with everything in cultivation¡­ the more efficient something was, the stronger the cultivators could eventually become. ----- Author¡¯s note: I¡¯m not one to include much about sex in my writing, because I don¡¯t feel like it would add much of anything. It can be a particularly sensitive topic and everyone has their own levels of comfort- and since the small details don¡¯t really drive the story, it doesn¡¯t matter. But in cases like this, it becomes relevant, and those familiar with the genre would wonder. So you get this, as detailed as possible without having any actual details. Also don¡¯t forget that this isn¡¯t a romance story, so if it¡¯s weak in that area¡­ *shrugs*. Honestly, I think I at least have something more sensible going than a good portion of the genre where as far as things go it¡¯s just ¡®oh dang that guy/girl is hot + strong¡¯ and then the next conquest comes along and previous ¡®loves¡¯ are forgotten. Chapter 73 Gathering guests for a formal marriage alliance could take several months, and that was already quite quick. In that time frame, relevant parties could at least send a representative, though they might be busy with other affairs. Though certain individuals could travel at remarkable speeds, nothing was as quick as an airplane, travelling around the world in a day. As far as John was aware, not even the highest tier cultivators were that quick- though he had to admit that information about anyone at or above Consolidated Soul was quite rare in the regions he¡¯d been to. The Brandle clan sent invites to various allies and generally important groups throughout the Shimmering Islands and elsewhere, while the Tenebach clan was of course more focused on the Stone Conglomerate. Since there would be two ceremonies, few people would attend both outside of the two families- going to one or the other would be sufficient. John wouldn¡¯t blame them, either. He¡¯d been to a few weddings in his time. He had nothing against them in particular, but taking time to travel to them disrupted the flow of life. In his current world, they were another formal event that he had to be involved with. Of course, this was his own wedding. He couldn¡¯t help but be nervous as it approached. It was a big event, after all. It was a good sort of nervousness though, a nervous excitement. A wedding should be a positive thing, and he was actually looking forward to it. Just because it had been arranged for him before he was actually here didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t like it. There were many circumstances in a person¡¯s life that they had little control over, and it was up to them to make the best of everything. John found that he had grown quite fond of Matayal, though she wasn¡¯t particularly expressive. But he enjoyed her smiles, rare as they were. He wanted good things for her, for her to be happy- and he would try to make that happen. In a way, they had a better starting point for their marriage than just a temporary infatuation or fleeting lust. Though as cultivators, they didn¡¯t have to worry about some of the issues that might arise- they would age more slowly, and remain youthful for quite some time. Looks or physical fitness shouldn¡¯t be the most important factor in a long term relationship, but it was hard to admit that it wouldn¡¯t be some sort of factor. Of course, being cultivators came with drawbacks as well. They had to consider their cultivations, whether they matched in level and talent and other ways. Problems in that area could not only harm relationships but also cause actual physical damage. But there were no problems between himself and Matayal there. They had been testing their energy compatibility- it wasn¡¯t just some sort of vague thing, but a practical test to see if there would be problems for dual cultivation. More than that, it wasn¡¯t just something they would pass or fail. If they weren¡¯t compatible, they could change to be more so. It was important to be prepared before they actually began intermingling spiritual energy. Once again, there was too much guidance from Netanel¡­ and when Kusuma arrived she added her own unsolicited advice on both dual cultivation and sex. John was just glad that his own grandfather and parents were more moderate in that regard. ----- Once again John found himself face-to-face with Cyclone Island, the rock in the middle of the ocean that somehow hadn¡¯t worn away.. He¡¯d been ¡®kidnapped¡¯ by Kusuma once again, though this time Matayal was taken as well. Aydan¡¯s feeling mirrored his own as they returned, a sort of dread washing over them even if they knew it was ultimately good for them. Aydan had managed to reach the eighteenth rank- or rather, return to it. While that meant he would better be able to resist the whims of the storms, it also meant that Kusuma would be protecting him less. Kusuma smiled as she looked at the horizon where dark storm clouds gathered. ¡°I¡¯m quite looking forward to seeing how you do now that you have a proper air element totem,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°And this is a good chance for the two of you to practice external spiritual energy mingling.¡± Combining spiritual energy externally followed the same principles as combat formations where one person directed the energy of a group. The one difference was it was generally limited to fewer people, and nobody was solely in control. Every participant had to work along with the others without either necessarily taking control. One participant could be a leader, but the others still guided their own energy. It was more difficult to pull off than a formation, because multiple people had to have a specific technique in mind and perform it together, instead of simply donating their spiritual energy- but it could result in powerful combinations that a single person couldn¡¯t pull off at a certain cultivation level. John found that defensive techniques were rather difficult. While he could anchor himself to the ground and guide wind and lightning around himself, if he attempted to do the same with Matayal he ended up disrupting her movements. He also risked accidentally overpowering her own defenses with his air energy. Conversely, Matyatal found it somewhat easier to support him with a bubble of water energy. Perhaps that was due to the elemental cycles, or perhaps she was just naturally better at it. But John didn¡¯t let initial failures dissuade him. ----- Wind and rain beat against John and Matayal, standing side by side, their hands nearly touching. Actually holding hands limited their individual mobility. Lightning crashed down on the sea in the distance, but soon it would reach them as well. The first storm had fortunately been rather mild, but now they were in for serious weather, even by the standards of the Shimmering Islands. Energies of different elements mixed together. Matayal¡¯s water formed a protective bubble around John, helping to divert the rain from striking him and also clearing the slipperiness of the rock beneath his feet. In return his earth energy provided solidity and weight to Matayal where she needed it. Just standing there together was easy enough, but the real test was the approaching lightning. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The two of them had no cover from Kusuma as the bolts began to strike around them. Before a bolt struck, the air changed. There was a moment of buildup with a rapid shift in the balance of elements, and then the bolt struck. Feelers came down from above, and as the first found a path to the ground, the return stroke followed the same path with great power. There was very little time to react to the former- dealing with the latter required having proper defenses set up already. That could include creating a path for the lightning to follow. John¡¯s air and Matayal¡¯s water spiritual energies combined to create an easy path for the lightning to follow, with a small portion being absorbed by John. His air energy also coaxed the lightning to avoid Matayal- it was often prone to spreading throughout water in all directions, which was quite dangerous for a water element cultivator. Matayal¡¯s third totem was a stormcloud- primarily water but able to mingle with air to some extent- so it allowed her some confidence in keeping herself safe. But working together the pair were becoming more effective. There was a large difference between statically defending against an unintelligent storm and actually participating in combat, but their experience would help them later. ----- One month later, they returned from Cyclone Island. That was the good thing about the wedding being up-and-coming. Kusuma couldn¡¯t keep them forever. One month was much better than nine, though without any sort of shelter John still found it quite difficult. It was even harder on Matayal, but together they were able to withstand the pressure. Fortunately there was plentiful spiritual energy of the water element in the area for Matayal to replenish herself, and John was able to draw upon the wind and lightning even in the storms, but they began to get worn down. Kusuma might have kept them longer if they didn¡¯t have to recover from small wounds that would have been noticed during the wedding. Lightning damage could be difficult to recover from, but they¡¯d minimzed the damage- and Kusuma had access to medicine for just that purpose. The Brandle clan as well, but hers was better. Aydan had to face more of the storms himself, but was still somewhat protected by Kusuma. The circumstances still pushed him to the limit, but he was close to being able to step into the nineteenth rank and Soul Expansion Phase. John thought he would likely be able to break through once back in the Tenebach clan with proper access to large amounts of darkness element. It was possible for him to do it elsewhere, but that would bring the smoothest results. The Brandle clan¡¯s energy gathering formations did their best, but they weren¡¯t specifically set up for gathering darkness. ----- Given the number of guests arriving, it seemed like even the spacious grounds of the Brandle clan would be insufficient to hold everyone. As the guest rooms began to fill and less important visitors found accommodations elsewhere, mostly on the outer islands, it became even more obvious. That didn¡¯t include all of those from Pualani that would be attending as well. Most of Pualani was privately owned land with few large open areas, and while all of the guests could physically fit on the premises they wouldn¡¯t all be able to see the ceremony. But those involved with organizing everything knew what they were doing. When John heard about how things would be done, he realized that it was a very sensible option- and something that extended well to cultivators. He had memories of the traditions in the Stone Conglomerate, but of course Fortkran was fuzzy on those from neighboring areas. The Shimmering Islands and Pualani in particular loved water, so of course the wedding would be there. Not on the beach, but actually in the water. Pualani was especially suited for that particular setup, with the outer petals and whatever formations protected from storms providing something akin to a harbor in between the central island and the outside ones. Guests would be seated on boats surrounding the ceremony, allowing people to watch from all sides. Cultivators could also stand on the shore- they had the capacity to still observe from large distances, if they preferred being on the beach. And some might have to, since ultimately there were a limited number of boats available. Even if each could hold a dozen people, there were hundreds attending. John had never been the type to want a large wedding. If his wife wanted one, he would have gladly done so if they could afford it, but it wasn¡¯t something he dreamed of. In this case, money wasn¡¯t an issue, but neither was it something Matayal wanted. It was just the way things were done with large clans. Many of the guests from the adjoining Stone Conglomerate preferred to have their feet on land, including members of the Tenebach clan. But of course, important family members had little choice but to be close to where things were happening. All of the grandparents and parents, including Kusuma who was technically not involved, were given prominent positions. Others went to various allies or important locals. The rings of boats continued outward, becoming less tied to status as things went. The ceremony would be relatively close to shore to accommodate the crowds there and avoid having them feel like outsiders. The clothing for the ceremony was quite unlike the suit-and-tie affairs on Earth, and there was no white wedding dress. It was still formal, of course, but simply had different types of expensive clothing. Flowing robes were quite common, and most focused more on floral patterns or the colors of the sea and sky. John himself was primarily dressed in black, in the style of the Tenebach clan. But his sleeves and leggings transitioned into a blue pattern indicative of waves at the edge. He didn¡¯t want to think about how much it cost for something that would only be worn once or twice. Probably too much. But it was appropriate to go all out. Then the ceremony began. Both bride and groom were kept around the island away from the gathering of people, opposite of each other in their boats, before they were rowed in toward each other. John didn¡¯t put much credence into being stunned by someone¡¯s beauty until the moment he caught sight of Matayal around the bend of the island. It wasn¡¯t just her physical look- though the styling of her hair with flowers in it as well as her dress were indeed particularly attractive- but also the confidence of spiritual energy she projected. John hoped he looked somewhat close to that in her eyes, and while he doubted that could be possible he at least caught a sparkle in her eye as they approached each other in the middle. Chapter 74 Confidence. That was what John projected along with Matayal, though he had to work hard for his own part. She was doing well enough he didn¡¯t know if hers was real or projected. They faced each other in the middle of the half ring of boats, out on the waters. John tried to pay attention to the ceremony, but his head was swirling with thoughts and emotions. This wasn¡¯t an event he¡¯d been anticipating for years, unlike some. Back on Earth he¡¯d spent little time thinking about marriage, with his busy schedule. Even upon his transmigration and realizing he was engaged he always considered it something that would happen later. But the last few months were focused on this. Not just the ceremony, but what would come after. It wasn¡¯t just about physical intimacy- though John would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t looking forward to that aspect. It was a connection between two people and the clans behind them, a promise to support each other. It was a big event, and while he didn¡¯t have the exact swirl of emotions he might have thought he¡¯d have for a wedding, he was happy. At various points he¡¯d felt like an impostor in his new life, but now he truly felt like part of the world he now resided in. Not everyone knew who he really was, but all of those that mattered were quite aware. The ceremony concluded with Matayal and John being presented to each other, then stepping together into a single boat. Then there was the kiss. It was more than just a meeting of the lips, but their energies embracing each other. Then the ceremony was over. The boat whisked them away- guided by their energy- along the shore until they came to their landing point out of sights of everyone else. The pair held hands as they climbed out of the boat and headed back towards the Brandle clan¡¯s holdings. The rest of the wedding guests would be coming along for a celebration feast, but it was mainly for the guests. The bride and groom were intended to be occupied with something else for the majority of the celebrations. ----- Love was a popular topic in all sorts of stories, fictional and real. But determining what it actually was¡­ that was harder. For one thing, it wasn¡¯t just a single thing. Different sorts of love were felt for different people or things. Love for a sibling or child was not quite like love for a pet, and love for a spouse could be the former but with the addition of the warm fuzzy feelings that could also be called lust. But beyond feelings, it was about what people did for each other, how they supported each other and how they wanted good things for others. In that way, John became aware of Matayal¡¯s expression of love. It wasn¡¯t flowery words or presents or anything like that. It was in how she chose to support him. As they began a true mixing of their energies for the first time, more than just on the surface level, his energy found its way deep inside her, slowly and gently making its way into her dantian. It was there that he truly felt her totems. The sense of them from the outside was quite a different thing, a surface level knowledge. His energy reached out gently, seeing how they reacted- with the guidance of Matayal. She did the same in return. The action was even more intimate than what they had been involved with not long before, revealing vulnerable parts of themselves to each other. Darkness, earth, and water were allied, and Matayal¡¯s first two totems were thus well suited to work with John¡¯s first totems. Matayal¡¯s third totem, however, was a stormcloud. It was still primarily water but with some connection to air. Not only was water a supporting element for air, the element of John¡¯s third totem, but the secondary connection to air made it even more capable of providing that support. When sparring with another person one might come to learn about them through their energy, but when interacting on a much deeper level like they were, more details became apparent. For example, John had surmised that Matayal obtained her third totem to help her resist air, her primary weakness. That wasn¡¯t incorrect¡­ but the other reason was to help promote him. Matayal didn¡¯t say it aloud, but he felt it. John felt a bit selfish for only thinking of how his totems would apply to himself, but he took solace in the fact that he could still provide mutual support with two of his totems. In the case that he actually obtained his fifth totem, it would be fire- and able to finally more directly support her. Even though they were being very careful, the process of sharing energy was uncomfortable. The energy they shared was still not quite part of the other person. Yet that same discomfort was what allowed it to help build them up. Cultivators didn¡¯t grow by going along the most comfortable path. Sometimes they had to push themselves to their limits. With that said, John kept his air energy well away from Matayal. Even if she could resist it, there would be no benefits to her so early in their attempts at dual cultivation. The downsides could be severe, however. John was all too aware of how easy it would be to cause her serious injury with any of his energy, let alone one she was weak to moving directly into the most vulnerable part of her soul. They kept their first session relatively brief. Despite their external practice, they were both new to the practice of dual cultivation. But even that short amount made it obvious why it was an extremely limited method of cultivation. Opening up oneself to another person so deeply was already quite intimidating- doing that for two or more people, and indirectly for others they might dual cultivate with, was likely both dangerous and chaotic. Even preventing himself from driving Matayal¡¯s energy out of him took a good portion of John¡¯s efforts. Her water energy remained inside of him, and though he was quite pleased at its comforting effects, it didn¡¯t quite belong. But with time, it should reach that point. ¡°It¡¯s strange,¡± John said. ¡°Usually when comparing cultivation experiences with others, we don¡¯t have the exact same experience. Maybe that¡¯s still the case here, but it seems about as close as anyone can get.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Matayal nodded, ¡°It¡¯s interesting, to see the way your cultivation works internally. Only choosing growing totems, it makes me wonder what I might have accomplished.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that your totems can¡¯t increase their levels, though. It¡¯s just not their fundamental feature. It will be a bit more difficult, but I think the influence from my totems might help.¡± The amount they could say with a single cultivation session was limited, but they did what they could. Each of them had a few flaws the other was able to find, and they pointed them out as gently as possible. After all, their intention was to build each other up in every way- not just cultivation or confidence or mental health, but everything. Though neither of them had been part of arranging the marriage, they had some opportunities to get out. Difficult ones, to be sure, but in the end they had made the decision to have a marriage that worked. Neither of them thought it would be easy, but they liked each other¡­ and while some people might hope for a love to blossom, they were committed to making it happen, as much as they had a choice in the matters of the heart. ----- The married couple eventually spent some time with the others feasting and celebrating, doing their duty of meeting with everyone who had come. It was an exhausting process, but ultimately important. More than just making those who visited feel important, it let them keep track of who bothered to show up. Some absences were accompanied with apology letters, but some simply didn¡¯t bother to show up. While invitations had gone out to a wide number of people, those who didn¡¯t attend said something. If people couldn¡¯t be counted on to show up to celebrations, they likewise could hardly be counted on to help in times of need. In a world where cultivators were constantly in struggle with each other, knowing who was reliable help was important. While there were some exceptions in the form of cultivators who did nothing outside of cultivation but would still honor defensive agreements, knowing who was reliable and not was important. The marriage was partly for that purpose. While Luctus and Netanel would always be willing to help each other out, without a formal contract it was hard to say how willing the rest of the clan members would be. While they had to follow the clan head¡¯s orders, an alliance based strictly on the lives of one or two people could easily fall apart. But of course, celebrations were also for just that. The pleasure of eating good food and spending time with people was one of the joys of life, and that was still the case. The festivities continued for several days before officially coming to an end. ----- While being married didn¡¯t mean that John and Matayal literally had to spend all of their time together, seeing each other only when strictly necessary was grounds for disaster. And while they didn¡¯t get to go on a honeymoon, Pualani was not inferior to the best vacation destinations. The only negative was that it was just home for Matayal. But she enjoyed seeing John¡¯s reactions to things. ¡°People would spend a lot of money to come to a place like this,¡± John declared. ¡°Crystal clear waters, beautiful scenery, and weather¡­ that¡¯s generally quite pleasant. Doesn¡¯t seem that people here do much in the way of vacations, though.¡± ¡°We still travel,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Is it different?¡± ¡°Not entirely,¡± John explained, ¡°But while successful cultivators are able to go almost wherever they please, on Earth nearly everyone in developed countries got to travel at least a little bit every year. Even when they had occupations that kept them busy most of the time.¡± Though John wasn¡¯t particularly concerned about being overheard- everyone important knew he was a transmigrator- he also understood that unscrupulous cultivators might like to study him if they found out. And since it was private business, both he and Matayal kept their senses active for anyone who might be trying to listen in. Both of them were at the nineteenth rank, the beginning of Soul Expansion Phase, which put them in the upper level of those among their clans. They were able to manage their own privacy concerns, though of course it didn¡¯t hurt to also be in parts of the clan¡¯s holdings with actual security if they wanted to be truly private. Though Fortkran was born in the same world as Matayal, he had ended up somewhat deficient in certain aspects of knowledge. While John had figured out many of them already and learned what he needed, some things didn¡¯t come up in structured education. Thus, he and Matayal exchanged thoughts about the worlds they were born in. Even if they knew the same information, their perspectives could differ greatly. It was something to do besides cultivating and seeking power. ¡°Too bad there aren¡¯t movies here. Live action plays are fine, and some are even great¡­ but having the optimal version of something available whenever you want is a great luxury,¡± John said. He explained what he knew about movies- though he was quite deficient in details such as how one made film or cameras. But the idea that an image flashed many times per second to create what looked like continuous movement was reasonable enough to explain. ¡°Were you rich on Earth?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°You said there were no cultivators, but having access to something like that seems difficult.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the opposite, really,¡± John answered. ¡°Not that I wasn¡¯t from a wealthy country, but my family had its own financial hardships. I think I mentioned being the manager of a burger place. We just made cheap food for people. Good enough, but nothing fancy. Movies were widely available too. They were available on large screens or personal home devices.¡± Matayal listened intently as he tried to describe storage disks and other technology. It wasn¡¯t as if the current world didn¡¯t have its own technologies, but they were centered more on defensive formations and other cultivation related advances. Nobody needed to do things without the use of spiritual energy- or at least nobody that mattered. Not to the world as a whole. Days passed, and soon enough it was time to leave for the Stone Conglomerate. There was another ceremony to attend after all, and a whole other group of people to interact with- with some overlap. While they didn¡¯t have to arrive terribly early, both of them were travelling back with the main group from the Tenebach clan. They could go on their own, but in addition to being less safe it was also more expensive. Plus, Matayal needed the chance to get to know some people. John had a few cousins that he was actually close enough with to consider himself friends, no longer as distant as before he took over Fortkran¡¯s life. It had been a few years but he was still getting used to it- but he knew eventually this would just be his world. Chapter 75 The return trip back to the Stone Conglomerate placed John on a sort of boat he¡¯d never been on before. Not that it was all that terribly different from the Wavecutter, though certainly it was a larger class of boat. The important difference to John was how they handled storms. While the more ¡®minor¡¯ storms were still ignored- it would be quite difficult to avoid every storm in the Shimmering Islands- they actually went around the larger storms instead of through them. That meant John didn¡¯t have much chance to train his air element by absorbing lightning, but he¡¯d had enough of that for a while anyway. The trip was certainly longer by avoiding the storms, but preferring safety was extremely reasonable. A few days lost to not go into huge storms was something most people would be happy trading. The Wavecutter also charged higher prices, since they were able to carry fewer passengers. Not that the difference in price was a factor for cultivators from powerful clans. Dolomite Harbor came into view once more, and John was given more of a chance to appreciate it as they approached. The Wavecutter was fast, but the second time he¡¯d returned with Kusuma¡­ and that had made the speed of the Wavecutter seem almost leisurely. In the latter case, the boat itself wasn¡¯t what allowed the speed, but instead it had been the person controlling it. Along the way John considered acting like a tour guide- but Matayal had already travelled through the area. He didn¡¯t know much that she didn¡¯t, at least until they started getting close to home. Though a good portion of his time was spent away, the Tenebach clan was always a safe place for him to come back to. While he hadn¡¯t been concerned about anyone attacking him in his previous life, he had still appreciated a place to rest. ----- While John¡¯s involvement in the planning of the ceremony at the Brandle clan had been minimal, he did get involved with the administrative side of what was happening for the Tenebach clan. He left the actual details up to others, but sending the young master of a clan out to negotiate prices could result in better deals- people liked feeling important. It wasn¡¯t strictly necessary, but just because the Tenebach clan had money didn¡¯t mean that saving when they could wasn¡¯t a good idea. Especially not on the scale of ceremony they were planning. ----- The ceremony itself was quite different, though like all weddings it would share certain themes. The coming together of the bride and groom was a key feature. In this case, instead of meeting out on the water they were to make their way to the highest peak in the region, approaching from different sides. For most people, they were content with the highest hill in town, or something just outside. But there was a particularly tall mountain not terribly far from the Tenebach clan. Holding the ceremony there was a sign of power- and also changed what sort of guests would attend. Not everyone would be willing to climb up a mountain, though there were proper paths for the guests, and escorts from the Tenebach clan. John was currently making his way up a nearly sheer cliff face, along with Aydan and several other guards. Fortunately it was appropriate to show up covered in dirt. If it hadn¡¯t been, a different route would have been chosen. John stuck his hand into the rock face, pulling out a chunk. He had no intent to make the climb harder for himself than it had to be, and his earth element spiritual energy was quite capable of carving apart the cliff face for him. That left easy handholds and footholds for him, and those after him. Not that it was easy to tear apart the stone. He might be able to crush a normal rock in his hands, but there were many particularly sturdy materials in the Stone Conglomerate, and Old Grumpy was one of them. It had long ago been an active volcano- but it had been dormant for centuries. Now it was just a particularly tough mountain. As the air thinned out, John used a small portion of his air energy to help fill his lungs, pulling in more air than he otherwise could. Having energy for every situation was quite helpful, though of course he really only had significant amounts of half of the elements. Still, most things he thought of he could do, if sometimes inefficiently. They reached a wide enough ledge to support all of them, and that gave them a moment to take a break and plan the last part of their climb. Of course, they had plans all the way up, but it was only when they got closer to certain points that they saw finer details. Like the nests of certain territorial birds. It was best to avoid them, even if the route ended up somewhat longer. Just because he had guards didn¡¯t mean John wanted to get into a fight. He wanted to at least look somewhat presentable for the ceremony. ----- When John reached the top he of course found the guests waiting. After all, they took the easy route up instead of a cliff face. But John was able to appreciate coming up the way he did. It made being at the top feel so much more real. He made his way towards the center of the peak where he would meet with Matayal. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before she arrived as well. Neither of them were quite as clean as they might like, but they wanted to do things as properly as possible. They were supposed to be sweating and dirty and flushed from exertion. Even though they hadn¡¯t been apart for long, John and Matayal smiled at each other happily. Everyone else might be here for different things, but they were present for each other. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The ceremony proceeded as expected, ending with the official declaration- though they were already quite officially married. There was a kiss and then they took each other¡¯s hands, where they were supposed to walk down the mountain together. However, as they approached the route back down there was something of an interruption. A panting figure with blue hair plastered to his forehead with sweat rushed around a bend below them. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late!¡± he came running closer. ¡°Looks like I missed it, huh? Unfortunately I ran into a lot of trouble on the way.¡± Lucanus- also known as Steve- waved to John. ¡°Listen, I would have just let you pass without interrupting like this, but there¡¯s a thing. It¡¯s why I ran all the way here, after I found out where you were.¡± He looked to Matayal. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± John said. ¡°She can hear anything. She is my wife after all.¡± ¡°Oh yeah. Right! Congratulations,¡± Lucanus inclined his head. ¡°I¡¯m Lucanus.¡± He swirled his fire energy around the three of them, forming a bubble to block out eavesdropping. ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t know who¡¯s listening. But I should get right to it. I was down south, near the Darklands. I overheard some stuff,¡± he pulled out a piece of paper, ¡°Then I intercepted some letters. You know how hard it is for me to capture letters?¡± John raised his eyebrows. ¡°Sorry, right. Some sort of group of darkness or something was talking about attacking the Tenebach clan during your wedding.¡± Lucanus tossed John the letters. ¡°The letters aren¡¯t quite so explicit¡­ probably for the sake of deniability. But you guys should probably get moving real quick.¡± Having met Lucanus all of twice- the second time determining he was likewise transmigrated and originally named Steve- John still had a reasonable amount of trust for him. He had no reason to disbelieve his words, and even if he was mistaken hurrying back to the clan would at most be embarrassing. As he said, the letters were more vague- talking about the ¡®plans¡¯ in the Marble County region- but if he said he overheard more with his own ears, John was inclined to trust him. He turned around- a good portion of the Tenebach clan¡¯s strongest members stood there, quite reasonably defensive of the strange Soul Expansion Phase cultivator that had run up. That group of course included his grandfather Luctus. He waved to them as the hearing restrictions were lifted. ¡°We need to hurry back. We can explain on the way.¡± Steve was huffing and puffing, and his eyes widened. ¡°I didn¡¯t even think about the run back. Gotta cool myself down.¡± He turned his head to the side, huffing out a gout of flame. ¡°Alright I¡¯m ready.¡± ----- Along the way Steve managed to give them a bit more information. The Darklands were south of the Stone Conglomerate, a largely darkness based region where the Tenebach clan had originated from many generations previous. He was actually able to come up with the name of the group, with Luctus¡¯ help. ¡°Twilight Team?¡± Steve postulated. ¡°The Twilight Threshold?¡± Luctus asked. ¡°No that¡¯s not quite right. Night Stabbers?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest, the number of sects with ¡®night¡¯ in their name originating from the Darklands¡­¡± Luctus shook his head. ¡°Yeah. I think it was a Society? Society of¡­ something.¡± ¡°Society of Midnight?¡± Luctus confirmed. ¡°That¡¯s it! Midnight. Though they seemed quite happy to be walking around in broad daylight discussing their plans.¡± ¡°That seems unlikely,¡± Luctus said as he ran alongside him. ¡°Perhaps it was some sort of trap.¡± ¡°Maybe. Though I think they probably passed over me because I was still inside a snake at the time. They were really surprised when it attacked them and then I popped out of its stomach!¡± Steve shook his head, ¡°Then I noticed other groups of them moving through the area. Got in a bit of a mess, had to light a whole canyon on fire to get away.¡± Luctus looked at John, who shrugged. From what Steve had said before he often got into trouble, and what he described wasn¡¯t entirely unreasonable for someone in the Soul Expansion Phase. He was still just at the nineteenth rank, but that matched John and most of the others of significant talent. Each rank was much slower after reaching the Soul Expansion Phase. Others ran ahead of the group, watching for ambushes. Even if all of Steve¡¯s information was legitimate, it was possible that the Society of Midnight had set up people watching for their return. They weren''t supposed to get back until late evening at the earliest, but they could have left early. Knowing they were approaching would be important. And on the chance that information had been intentionally fed to Steve- somewhat unlikely considering the number of people he seemed to have killed- they might only be looking for an ambush along the way and not doing anything at the Tenebach clan. Steve continued to explain what he knew. ¡°They said something about some sort of stolen beast? And a guardian?¡± John looked to Luctus, who nodded. ¡°Many of those from the Darklands might have considered our departure something along those lines. At least if I remember the records correctly. Of course, we deemed it more of a rescue. We¡¯re not holding the guardian beast captive.¡± John nodded. ¡°Ciaritzal seems quite content in his current position.¡± ¡°Oh, a guardian beast, yeah that¡¯s what they said,¡± Steve nodded. ¡°I hear those are a big deal. Really helps out a clan and all that. Anyway, I ran by your manor earlier, but I don¡¯t know if they listened to my warning.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Luctus asked. ¡°I just warned them there might be an attack. Everything seemed fine then,¡± he shook his head, ¡°But that was hours ago.¡± Steve puffed out another gout of flame while wiping his forehead. ¡°They should have at least taken a modicum of caution,¡± Luctus said. ¡°If not, I¡¯ll have to speak to security about it. But first¡­ we have to get back. It¡¯s not far now.¡± He squinted his eyes. ¡°No smoke on the horizon, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily say much. Especially not if they¡¯re after the guardian beast.¡± Chapter 76 As the Tenebach clan came into clearer view, it was possible to make out a larger than normal number of guards upon the walls. As Luctus approached at the front of the crowd, one of them called out to him. ¡°Patriarch! It¡¯s good that you returned so quickly!¡± ¡°I¡¯d like a report on the situation, captain.¡± ¡°Yes sir! A few hours ago we received a warning from a wandering cultivator- ah, that man there with you,¡± he indicated Steve. ¡°I took the opportunity to organize the defenses. We were told they might target the guardian beast, but upon seeing the enemy¡¯s superior forces I decided it best to assure the safety of the clan.¡± The guard captain inclined his head, ¡°I¡¯m willing to receive any reprimand for my insufficiencies.¡± ¡°No need. You did well to prioritize the clan holdings.¡± Luctus looked in the direction of the guardian beast¡¯s cave. ¡°What¡¯s the situation there?¡± ¡°According to our scouts, they are still engaged in the cave, Patriarch. Along with the darkness cultivators we were warned of, there are members of the Boyce and Roldan clans.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Luctus turned to face the group behind him, specifically the guests of the wedding. ¡°Netanel, I¡¯m sure we can count on the support of the Brandle clan members. I would hope that the rest of you who followed us here aren¡¯t just planning to spectate. Can we ask for your assistance?¡± He looked specifically at Johannes Dalen, head of the Order of the Amber Heart. ¡°Of course, the Amber Heart would be glad to support you. I do believe we already chastised those two clans¡­ and working with outsiders to cause strife here in Marble County is a step too far.¡± He smiled, ¡°Besides, my favorite disciple owes his life to your son.¡± Technically they¡¯d worked together to save each other, but John wasn¡¯t going to argue about that. The other guests acknowledged their willingness to help as well. Of course, they¡¯d just run for hours to keep up with the rest of them so it would have been quite inappropriate to refuse. If they didn¡¯t intend to fight, they likely wouldn¡¯t have come with the rest but stayed with the other guests. Both presences and absences would be noted. Some people were left behind at the Tenebach clan, to be replaced with fresh guards and clan members who had duties that kept them away from the ceremony. Then they were heading towards the cave where the guardian beast- who very few knew as Ciaritzal- resided. Along the way, John and Matayal found themselves gradually shifted towards the front. Luctus smiled as he maneuvered people around. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve been keeping up on your fighting formation training. Because now¡¯s the time to make use of it.¡± While John had to admit that wasn¡¯t where his focus had been for the last year, he had at least undertaken similar sorts of training- and in fact dual cultivation with energy was something like a deeper version of fighting formations. He stood next to Matayal and circulated his energy, something much like warming up. ¡°I will do my best. I think Matayal and I should be able to unify most of our forces. Unfortunately, fire is outside of our abilities, Milanovic clan, Lucanus.¡± It was probably better not to call him Steve in public. There were only a few members of the Milanovic clan present- Alina was among them. She still seemed interested in pursuing Tempkeit, and the relationship between the clans was good enough for them to send her and a few others for the wedding. ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± Steve said, ¡°I¡¯ve never fought as part of a formation. I¡¯d just get in the way.¡± If Steve hadn¡¯t made it to the Soul Expansion Phase, he might have been an easy target in the upcoming battle- but his individual strength was sufficient enough to hold his own, if he was cautious. Or barring that, if he was just exceptional at combat. John really thought the other transmigrator leaned more towards the latter than the former. John and Matayal weren¡¯t leading all of the Tenebach and Brandle clans, but they had the largest group. The Soul Expansion Phase elders from the various groups either struck off on their own or formed smaller group formations. By that point they could all sense the combat ahead, swirling darkness and solid earth clashing against a much greater darkness. As they approached the cave the power of those behind them flowed towards John and Matayal. Water and darkness mixed as they combined the energies into a cohesive whole. There seemed to be no obvious problems with the formation, at least- discovering they couldn¡¯t hold it together once actually in battle would have been a disaster. There was little need to announce themselves on their own territory, but declaring intentions could be useful. Of course, Luctus was not in a forgiving mood. ¡°Society of Midnight. Leave our territory or die.¡± There was no response- but it seemed they were quite busy with the battle they were already in. As they made their way into the cave, those who weren¡¯t from the Tenebach clan found their vision greatly hindered by the suffusing darkness. Though some of it was from the darkness cultivators, a majority of it was from Ciaritzal. But just because his power was great compared to theirs didn¡¯t mean the battle was in his favor. As they made their way into the largest cavern they saw more than a hundred cultivators besieging the shifting, ephemeral form of the guardian beast. Among them was an early Consolidated Soul Phase darkness cultivator, an elder of the Society of Midnight. The Tenebach clan and their allies charged forward wielding their swords, spears, and a large number of stone clubs and other heavy weapons. Half of the enemy turned to face them, stopping their advance. Even Luctus and Netanel were briefly held back by a few opponents, though they fought well next to each other and quickly broke through. Only Johannes Dalen broke through, and he had to slow himself so as to not become isolated. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. John and Matayal began to cut their way through enemies, driving a wedge into the enemy forces. The formation of the Amber Heart also drove people back on one side. John wasn¡¯t concerned with killing the opponents as long as they got out of his way- those further back in the formation could deal with them. Soon enough, however, they were met with another formation led by Kasimir Roldan. ¡°Is that your new wife? A shame, since she¡¯ll be a widow after today.¡± John briefly glanced at Matayal. He didn¡¯t even respond to Kasimir, instead saying something to her. ¡°Just send that group over to Renato to deal with. The last time they met he only got to break less than half of his bones.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Matayal spun her spear, then swept it along, creating wave with the power of those in their formation. Kasimir might have been able to withstand the pressure, but the formation itself might have come apart if he tried. They were quickly transferred around five meters to the left. That opened up a hole to the core of the combat, where several dozen members of the two earth clans and the Society of Midnight were fighting Ciaritzal. Though many of them had claw marks on their arms, legs, and chest the beast made of shadows was clearly running out of stamina. He could have been fighting for several hours by the time they arrived. As John and Matayal hurried forward, Ciaritzal turned its head towards them. Even with the ability to see in darkness from his cultivation and improved by that very beast himself, John could barely make a distinction between any part of the face- eyes and teeth were all black on black. But he was certain that the eyes focused straight on him and the teeth turned into a grin. Then only the grin remained, like a canine cheshire cat. Darkness suffused through the whole cavern, but a sudden surge of it sprang towards John. The surge was followed by attacks from behind it, the earth itself breaking apart and shooting towards him along with blades of swirling darkness. He was preparing himself for those attacks when a voice whispered next to his ear. ¡°Sorry, young master. This might be slightly unpleasant.¡± Darkness poured into him. At first it was a refreshing feeling, like the initial blessing he had received. However, as it filled his meridians and pushed its way into his dantian he quickly became overfull. Yet it wasn¡¯t finished. He felt like if he had any more he might explode. It was all he could do to begin expelling darkness as quickly as he could, forming the energy around himself and sending a flood back through the formation. He tried not to overwhelm any individual as he did so, cautious of breaking things apart. It was already strained as the balance was thrown off- Matayal was doing well to hold onto her part, as well as throwing up a barrier of water to resist the attacks. John staggered back several steps under the force of the attacks, barely maintaining control. Yet more attacks were on the way. But they weren¡¯t left to engage half of the enemy forces on their own. Johannes and the pair of Luctus and Netanel broke through at separate points- Johannes facing off with the other Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator and the other two helping to distract another handful of foes. The rest of the forces were still pushing through the enemy lines. While the ranged attacks had thrown him off balance, as the enemy surged forward he had to contest with them at a more practical range for earth cultivators. Their greatest might generally came from empowering their weapons and crushing their foes directly. John saw weapons of all sorts, but nothing lighter than a two-handed sword. Together, he and Matayal parried and countered the incoming attacks. Instead of being unable to resist, John found he wasn¡¯t able to use enough energy. He had to do more than just standard attacks. He began throwing together techniques, Gravity Blade powered up to stick to opponent¡¯s weapons and yank them away and Clinging Affliction to eat away at any point he struck. He only managed a small scratch on one burly earth cultivator from the Boyce clan, but along with that was a large mass of darkness energy eating away at him. The man had to withdraw to expunge the energy from himself or face grievous wounds. Fortunately not every cultivator could attack together, though they quickly gathered into proper formations. The guardian beast had been larger and thus could be attacked by many individuals as well as formations, but its rapid leap into John had disrupted their arrangement. And his own, almost. With his right hand he used his sword mainly to parry attacks. Matayal¡¯s spear kept others at bay to his left side. Normally he only used his throwing daggers as distractions or surprise attacks, as he was not willing to expend a large amount of power on attacks that could fail completely. Now, however, he was dealing with too much at once. He felt the guardian beast trying to temper how much it was funneling into him at once, but it had its own injuries to deal with. But he could make use of that excess energy by using otherwise wasteful tactics. Each dagger he threw twisted with Clinging Affliction, flying through the darkness of the cave to strike at any target that was convenient. Those who didn¡¯t manage to avoid or properly block the attacks had to focus fully on removing the lingering energy or it would tear them apart. Inside his dantian, John was doing his best to transform excess darkness into other elements. Air element he used to enhance the speed of himself and Matayal- deflecting boulders with a little bit of wind was useless, and even lightning didn¡¯t affect earth cultivators as much as he would like. Darkness was more easily transformed into earth, however. John began to combine his techniques, Clinging Affliction and Bite of the Gorgon combined together quite well. He managed just a small cut on someone¡¯s wrist and their whole hand turned to stone, and it was spreading towards their elbow before they stopped it. And he couldn¡¯t do that just once. In fact, he had to keep doing it as quickly as he could. If it weren¡¯t for Matayal¡¯s soothing energy mingling with his own, he thought he might lose control entirely. The reverse empowerment ceremony was one thing- that was properly preparing to control a large amount of energy in a controlled environment. This was Ciaritzal deciding that it needed to take a ride inside him to protect itself. While it wasn¡¯t exactly unreasonable, even the leftover energy from a beast that could take on hundreds of opponents at once was concerning in amount. But he was handling it well enough¡­ and he had plenty of targets to expel excess energy on. Chapter 77 Flames the same blue color as Lucanus¡¯ hair wreathed around him in twisting tendrils. Some people made use of weapons to augment the effects of their energy, but it just didn¡¯t quite work with his style. Was he going to make flames sharp? Bludgeon people with them? How pointless. Flames were meant to do one thing. He fought next to the allied earth cultivators. He watched as both sides directly impacted each other, the stronger coming out on top. Skill was still a factor, as everyone had weak points to exploit even with layers of stone covering them from head to toe- but nothing finished in a single clash. Lucanus ducked under an axe with a blade as wide as his torso. It hardly mattered how sharp it was with all of the momentum behind it, if he let it hit him he would be in a terrible state. It didn¡¯t matter that fire overcame earth- it didn¡¯t protect him in that way. It did, however, make his movement lighter and more able to avoid the attacks. In response to nearly being chopped in half, he kicked the burly man in front of him directly in the sternum. He didn¡¯t actually have a problem with the straightforward sort of combat that earth users employed. He just thought it was inefficient. The man he kicked only staggered back a few steps despite the significant force he put behind the blow, but that wasn¡¯t the important component of the attack. The important part was the fire. Lucanus knew nothing about cultivation before he transmigrated from Earth, obviously. How would he? But he did know one thing. Rocks didn¡¯t burn. So it hardly made sense to him how fire could overcome earth in that form. He was partly right. Even at the Consolidated Soul Phase he couldn¡¯t actually set rocks on fire¡­ but there was more to what he did than that. After all, the man in front of him was clearly burning. Rocks didn¡¯t burn, but various gasses did and most importantly fire elemental spiritual energy burned. It didn¡¯t do much else, really. And thus, it was about how he used fire that mattered. A gout of flame lasting for a second or so, no matter how hot, would not significantly damage an earth cultivator whether they used solely their energy or more solidified rocky defenses. They were most capable of blocking attacks directly. But the manner that they blocked attacks was also their weakness. Most of the energy from his attack wasn¡¯t in the kick to the man¡¯s chest, but simply coming along for the ride. Then it latched onto the man and would continue to burn until it was spent. In short, it was easy to guarantee the entirety of his attack affected someone. And it turned out that even if they could resist immediate damage, people didn¡¯t fight well when on fire. People also had to breathe, and he certainly burned up all of the usable air around them. He still had to avoid the axe swinging at him, but he could back away and not just be wasting his time and energy. The opponent in front of him could eject his layers of defenses to try to push the fire away, but that would cost him more than Lucanus used. And he had a trick for that if he tried it. He dodged far to the side, avoiding the swing of the axe and using his elbow to strike another person who was also set on fire. He led both attackers towards the nearby formation. Another man of similar age, part of the up-and-coming generation, led the formation. He had something resembling a stalagmite- or perhaps a stalactite? It wasn¡¯t attached to anything, but it was a big spike of rock. It wasn¡¯t being used as a spike though, but simply being held from that end and wielded like a club. The simplest form of weapon- but Lucanus had to admit it was quite effective. With a loud crack the club swung into the ribcage of one opponent and sent him flying into the man with the axe Lucanus had drawn over. The impact between the two of them also had a resounding noise, and the two of them crumpled in an on-fire heap. Lucanus supposed that just striking with enough force to break through straightforward defenses also worked. He continued to add fire wherever he thought would be most useful, washing away darkness from some of those members of the Society of Midnight. Lucanus couldn¡¯t see in the dark himself, but setting them or someone else on fire provided enough light even if the darkness energy tried to suppress it. In another part of the battlefield he sensed even greater concentrations of darkness- with the Society of Midnight fighting the Tenebach clan, both sides were content to have darkness reign supreme. They were just wrestling for control over certain portions of it. One of those things had to be the guardian beast he¡¯d seen briefly. While he was distracted with battle he¡¯d thought it died or escaped, but he realized its presence was diminished for another reason- being located inside a person. Specifically, Fortkran. Or John, if he were to use his original name. Steve could be jealous of the other transmigrator for being born into a wealthy clan, but it seemed that came with troubles of its own. That also seemed to include weird dangers like having some sort of spirit animal decided that jumping inside of you was fine. On the other hand, he seemed to be putting up with the overflow of energy quite handily. Steve knew what that felt like with fire- even though he hadn¡¯t reached the peak of Zolvolj walking over some lava flows had shown him how he could have too much of his matching energy. Darkness likely wouldn¡¯t result in external and internal burns, but it would have its own side effects. But the tides of battle appeared to be shifting. Or rather, when they had first arrived it seemed that the interlopers might defeat the guardian beast and obtain their goal- now that the beast was unavailable and fresh enemies arrived, they were hard pressed to fight back. At the current point they were trying to maneuver towards the mouth of the cavern, evidently wanting to retreat. ----- There were warnings about fighting cornered animals on Earth and probably in every world. Desperation bred power, and that was equally true for cultivators. Thus, when the Society of Midnight started pushing towards the exit, John was happy to let them go. Not for free, of course. If the group wanted to move past him he wouldn¡¯t stand in their way, but he was certainly going to take swings at them as they went. He did his best to guide them along the outer edge of the formation he was heading, meaning they had to deal with at least several hits as they went. But they were going to prefer that than just standing their ground to die. Ultimately, nobody wanted to die. Nobody sane, anyway. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. John did the same with one of the highest ranking members of the Society of Midnight. When the man built up a mass of energy to carve through him, he gladly got out of the way. It seemed that Ciaritzal had different ideas, however. John went from struggling to contain the excess amounts of energy inside of him to suddenly having it all withdrawn, leaving him momentarily weakened as a vaguely formed figure leapt out of him at the man passing by. ¡°You come for me and think you just get to leave?!¡± the figure of Ciaritzal turned into just the mouth of a wolf- a mouth large enough to swallow a man whole, and teeth to match. The jaws snapped down on a trailing arm, severing it. The arm and the energy inside it were devoured by Ciaritzal in an instant, and he continued to hound the man. ¡°You want to feed on my power once more? No chance!¡± The devouring maw lessened in size to become just a ¡®normal¡¯ oversized vaguely canine creature, slashing at the man¡¯s back with his claws and leaving behind criss-crossing slashes that covered most of the man¡¯s back. Then Ciaritzal tackled the man to the ground and chomped into his shoulder. The mouth once again grew larger as he tore the man apart, swallowing huge chunks. ¡°I¡¯ll devour all of you instead!¡± Though fleeing cultivators slashed out with powerful attacks, they had previously been fighting Ciaritzal many-on-one. He shrugged off individual attacks as he opened his maw to devour the very darkness energy trying to kill him- and the originators of the attacks a moment later. John knew he couldn¡¯t do the same, but he had sparks of inspiration with regards to how he might better use Spiritual Energy Absorption. He doubted he would be able to use it with the same amount of efficiency as the guardian beast, whose power grew with each attack he made as he devoured darkness cultivators one by one, but he could certainly do better. He barely remembered to continue to fight instead of just watching the beast, but the battle concluded shortly regardless. The majority of the enemy had managed to retreat, but in addition to those that Ciaritzal had slain before they arrived and what the Tenebach clan and their allies managed after, it was only barely a majority. Perhaps two thirds escaped- with the other third dead. That ultimately made it a devastating loss for the attacks, because while they¡¯d managed to kill some as well, they had ultimately failed at their goal. ¡°What did they want?¡± John asked. ¡°Just to kill you?¡± Ciariztal shook his head, visible mostly by the way the shape of his indistinct profile changed. ¡°Generations ago, the Society of Midnight bound me and used my power- much the same way as your clan makes use of him.¡± Ciaritzal pranced in a little circle around John, ¡°Though here, my participation is entirely voluntary. I am not forced into anything, but instead we mutually empower each other.¡± Darkness elemental spiritual energy swirled around John and Matayal next to him, preventing others from hearing the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m glad my little gamble worked, young master. Most would fall apart under the strain, and I have grown quite fond of you. You should thank your mate for keeping you¡­ stable.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John acknowledged. He smiled at Matayal. ¡°Thank you. And I¡¯ll say it again later¡­ when I can.¡± Matayal reached out to put an arm around him before he even began to slump. ¡°It is what I am here for. And when I need it, I know you will support me in turn.¡± ¡°Not the best way to end a wedding ceremony,¡± John muttered. ¡°I much preferred what we did last time.¡± Matayal grinned, ¡°Of course you would. But though I¡¯m taking you to bed, that part will have to wait just a bit.¡± ----- On Earth, John had dealt with muscle aches, bruises, a very few broken bones, and various illness related pains such as stomach cramps and fevers. Even having experienced many injuries from battles now, he found that the most painful thing was cultivation itself- and cultivation related damage to the meridians and dantian. It wasn¡¯t quite so bad as when he¡¯d first arrived. He wasn¡¯t completely destroyed and having to start anew, though in fact his current state wasn¡¯t as bad as he had been. He could sense Matayal¡¯s peaceful presence at his side, carefully circulating her own energy along with his through his meridians. At some points her water energy turned as cold as ice, but the numbing it brought along was quite pleasant after a moment of discomfort. Taking a look inside his dantian, John found that his little ecosystem was wrecked. Though it thrived on darkness, the tree growing inside of him was missing leaves and had snapped branches. The earth had been stripped away from its roots, leaving them to the open¡­ nothingness. Most of the air had been squeezed out, along with the water. The fiery ¡®sun¡¯ was entirely gone. But as things went, it wasn¡¯t all bad. The tree inside his dantian still stood, slowly absorbing the minimal elements around it and repairing itself. He could rebuild, though he would need donations of water and fire energy. He had no intention to touch light at the moment, not that he¡¯d met a single cultivator with that affinity. ¡°Good morning,¡± Matayal said as he finished his internal inspection. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve definitely felt better. But I¡¯ve also felt worse. I think I should recover fully.¡± Matayal nodded, ¡°I agree. It doesn¡¯t look like it did before, but it seems like your dantian has expanded somewhat.¡± ¡°Disaster breeds growth. Or something like that,¡± he shook his head. ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°Just a day. There is currently a counterattack being planned- on the clans from here in Marble County- but it was presumed that we would remain behind.¡± ¡°Quite reasonable.¡± John looked over his wife. She¡¯d been his fiancee for quite some time in memories both his own and before that point, but she was his wife only recently. ¡°How are you?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. He reached out to take her hand, gently sending a small tendril of his own energy into her. If she wanted to she could easily stop him, but she let him in. What he was was little better than his own dantian. What had once been a large sea with clouds above was simply a little pond with a few wisps of fog. It didn¡¯t seem as if there was any damage, but she was completely drained. ¡°We¡¯ll both need some time to rest before we can return to cultivating,¡± he nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find something else interesting to do,¡± she grinned at him. ¡°Though maybe not right now.¡± The way his body ached internally when he sat up, he had to agree. But he was looking forward to feeling better for multiple reasons. Chapter 78 When completely exhausted of spiritual energy and waiting to recover, there was little that could be done to speed the process. Taking in a large amount of spiritual energy at once would cause more damage instead. There were a few medicines that could allow for short term recovery with later side effects, but that was completely unnecessary. Taking the slower path was just fine. Since he couldn¡¯t use spiritual energy and even moving around too much hurt, John spent much of his time in the Tenebach clan library. Mayatal was in a similar state, though less injured than simply drained to the point of overtaxation. Regardless, she came along with him as he browsed the various techniques available. She had all the water element techniques she would need back at home with the Brandle clan, but there might be something of interest to her regardless. John kept searching through the shelves. They mostly had darkness techniques, of course, but he only browsed them briefly. Earth was available as well, and he took another look at Diamond Defense. Still expensive, but if it got anywhere close to the defense it promised it might be worth it. Though he wasn¡¯t sure about trying any permanent transformative effects on his body. ¡°Not finding what you¡¯re looking for?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°It¡¯s not quite that,¡± John said. ¡°I just wonder why I should learn any of these when I could just make something better myself.¡± ¡°Creating a technique is quite an undertaking,¡± Matayal acknowledged. ¡°Tell me about it,¡± John nodded, ¡°All of mine feel like they could be so much better. And I doubt I could properly teach them to anyone else.¡± ¡°All your what?¡± ¡°The techniques I¡¯ve made.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve created new techniques?¡± John shrugged, ¡°Is throwing a name on a way of manipulating spiritual energy creating a technique? Then yes. They work well enough, mostly. Though Ciaritzal seems to naturally have a much better version of one of them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not abnormal,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Many techniques were created through studying spiritual beasts. They have certain advantageous natural instincts for how to use spiritual energy.¡± She looked up from a scroll she was idly browsing, ¡°I¡¯ve never tried to make my own technique.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± John asked. ¡°It takes talent and a high cultivation rank to do it properly,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Whether or not that¡¯s fully true,¡± John rebutted, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you try it now? Soul Expansion Phase isn¡¯t nothing.¡± ¡°I suppose not,¡± she admitted, ¡°But most of the techniques I practice were made by Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. My grandfather managed to secure a few core abilities for the Brandle Clan to study.¡± ¡°You think they started creating those techniques in Consolidated Soul Phase?¡± John asked. ¡°Because they might have, but staring them earlier and working on them as they advanced is more likely. Unless they just swapped techniques one day.¡± ¡°An interesting consideration. Sometimes that is the case, but usually people prefer to stick to a core set.¡± ¡°I suppose we¡¯ve had different experiences as well,¡± John admitted, ¡°Not everyone gets to browse a library whenever they want. They have to create whatever works for their totems. Which is why I could encourage it. Nothing¡¯s going to be specialized for just you unless you make it.¡± ¡°Yes, perhaps I shall,¡± she nodded. ¡°It is worth the attempt, at least.¡± ¡°I should probably make some air element techniques,¡± John said. ¡°Did Kusuma not teach you any?¡± ¡°She avoided specific techniques. Frankly, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d be suited anyway. Pure air techniques would be a bit¡­ unfitting. I should probably start working on multi-element techniques anyway.¡± ¡°... Has anyone told you that you lack common sense?¡± Matayal said. ¡°Not really,¡± John said. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°Casually mentioning creating multi element techniques is just as bold as declaring you will complete a full cycle of elements.¡± ¡°I never said I would succeed. Just that I was going to try it. I¡¯m halfway there!¡± John shrugged, ¡°Well, as elements go. I know each phase gets more difficult. Anyway, combining a couple elements isn¡¯t too hard as long as you have the totems for it. I¡¯d bet we could create a dual element technique we could use together.¡± Matayal just looked at him sidelong for a few seconds. ¡°I¡¯d like to try that, once we recover a bit further.¡± ----- With the support of the Order of the Amber Heart, the Gastone and Boyce clans were ousted from Marble County. It was tempting to try to wipe them out, but neither the Amber Heart nor the Tenebach clan was willing to put forth the expense in lives and other cost. Using the evidence of their assistance to outsiders attacking the Tenebach clan and the addition of the Amber Heart¡¯s influence in the county, they were convinced that leaving would be their best option. In addition to that, the deaths of some prominent members weakened their overall position and they had more enemies to concern themselves with. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. John wasn¡¯t sure what he thought about those results. He was concerned about future retaliation- but he understood that it would cost the Tenebach clan lives to completely remove the possibility. In addition to that, wiping out an entire group of people was still beyond the level of what he was used to. Just the fact that it had been seriously considered reminded him what his new life was like. But he didn¡¯t hate it. He always daydreamed about violent retaliation against people on Earth- like many. Sometimes the thoughts were excessive, but having to just accept injustices was difficult. Being able to do something about it with force was enticing, though the world also came with more problems. Or perhaps just more visible problems. There were countless things wrong with any world, and it was just whether or not they were noticed. ----- Inside of his Dantian, John had once more reconstructed his little ecosystem. He even had the tiny sun once more. He¡¯d considered asking Steven for the donation of the fire energy, but decided against it for one simple reason. He didn¡¯t want to explode. The man¡¯s energy was far too rambunctious for his needs. Gathering the admittedly very small amount he planned to keep only took a few days of sitting up on a roof. He felt light energy mixed in as well, but once again steered away from incorporating it. He would need to advance his cultivation further before he was willing to make the attempt. As for external training, John and Matayal started with the simplest combination technique they could. Both had quicksand style techniques already, sinking people into the ground. Matayal¡¯s involved liquifying the ground, while John used an earth element version to shift the ground and modify its properties. Combining their efforts together with allied elements was a reasonable place to start. During their first few attempts, they wouldn¡¯t have caught anyone able to move about on their own. It took too long for them to combine their energy to achieve the effect they wanted. It was different from the formation where they were using others¡¯ energy for their own effect- for a combined technique they had to each perform part of the work simultaneously. But that was what practice was for- everything was terrible at first. They began to get faster as they were repeatedly buried in mud. They had to test that their technique worked, after all, and John might have pushed Matayal into the mud first. Or maybe she pushed him in first. He honestly couldn¡¯t remember. He just knew that both of them were getting repeatedly dunked in mud. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a proper technique they used to clean up from that, but pulling the water and dirt off of themselves together was a nice and practical use of spiritual energy. Having direct control over both allowed them to get clean in record time. In addition to pondering new techniques together, they generally trained in dual cultivation. They also spent some time inundating each other with hostile environments- specifically for combat in darkness and underwater. Though Matayal had been able to fight in the guardian beast¡¯s cave, she hadn¡¯t been able to do so optimally. Ciariztal wasn¡¯t able to safely perform a blessing on her- having water totems attuned her too much towards that element- but he was able to provide guidance on the task. While it seemed that other members of the clan generally left him to himself, John found that the guardian beast was quite willing to help him out. Of course, he was the young master of the clan, so it wasn¡¯t strange that he got preferential treatment. As for Ciaritzal himself, he was recovering well from the battle. Apparently devouring a number of darkness cultivators had been good for him, and being formed more of spirit than body his wounds healed nicely with sufficient spiritual energy to draw upon. Though John thought of the guardian beast as merely dwelling in the cave, he wasn¡¯t just lying around all day and night. He had the important job of purifying his own energy to provide blessings to family members, and while such activities were also beneficial to his own cultivation it was important to the clan- and hard work. The reverse empowerment ceremony had been something he couldn¡¯t have accomplished alone- nor would it have been fair to ask it of him. John spent some time learning about the past the clan had with him. It wasn¡¯t all that much more complicated than freeing him from the control of the Society of Midnight, but simple actions didn¡¯t mean the connection was so simple either. After all, he wouldn¡¯t have stayed with the Tenebach clan for generations otherwise, as even though they provided him useful resources he could have gone out to search for his own. While a roaming spirit beast was in great danger, they could also greatly advance their own cultivation. On the topic of the reverse empowerment ceremony, even after half a year it was possible to see how the older members of the clan had their cultivation ability bolstered, mostly returning them back to their former ability and allowing them to regain lost cultivation. Aydan was able to surpass the barrier into the Soul Expansion Phase once more, and others grew stronger as well. That included John¡¯s grandfather Luctus, who was well on his way towards the late Soul Expansion Phase. Perhaps it might take several more years as his age was still a factor slowing him down, but he had the potential to reach the peak of Soul Expansion Phase and perhaps even step into Consolidated Soul Phase. There were others with that potential as well, and that was just among the older generation. A few of John¡¯s cousins- including Magtel and Crystin- might reach that level as well. Everyone just presumed that John would reach that point, and while he didn¡¯t necessarily disagree with their assessment, it wouldn¡¯t be easy. With another half of a year to advance just a single rank, he could feel how long it might take. A decade, perhaps, if he really could make it. Matayal was advancing as well, their cultivations nearly matched. John was glad he¡¯d been able to pass through the Spiritual Collection Phase so quickly to return to where Fortkran had been before his death, or that wouldn¡¯t have been possible. At times John felt like he was dragging Matayal down- even outside of dual cultivation- but she assured him that was not the case. ¡°Sometimes,¡± she said, ¡°My cultivation is at a point where I seem to be pulling ahead. When we are connected, I pull you towards that point. You do the same, but without really thinking of it. Come, let me show you.¡± The two of them dove inside her, to her innermost core. The dantian wasn¡¯t a fully real place, but the experiences there were certainly quite real. The sea inside of her was once more full, large crashing waves glinting. John looked around, but didn¡¯t spot any differences. ¡°It appears the same.¡± ¡°Only because you are not familiar. Come, let me show you.¡± She grabbed his ¡®hand¡¯ and pulled him under the surface. They dove down until they came to the sea floor. ¡°See this? Before, it was merely water in an empty void. Now there is a seafloor, and seaweed as well. The winds up above are also greater.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to disrupt your cultivation like that,¡± John said. ¡°I know you only have water element totems and don¡¯t plan to have any other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± she said, ¡°But this small balance of other elements is actually good. You didn¡¯t force this upon me, I chose it. It will always resemble an ocean, but now it¡¯s a little more complete.¡± After they extricated themselves from the depth of her dantian, John thought about the changes to her. It wasn¡¯t anything sudden or even significant- a small amount of other elements was just that. More importantly, it resembled her attitude towards how she should cultivate changing. He hoped he was leading her down the right path- but it wasn¡¯t as if he controlled everything. They were walking together. It was a somewhat frightening prospect to be inextricably tied to someone, but also comforting. Chapter 79 In the southwestern section of the Shimmering Islands, rampant volcanic activity had long before shot spires of stone out of the sea, creating a massive field of unpredictably sized and shaped pillars. Over time a particular kind of kelp had taken to the spires, growing up along them and even out of them into the open air, curling around the spires of stone and draping between them. Life flourished in the area, with great fisher birds living atop the spires as limitless schools of fish lived among the kelp below. Like all places there were times when it flourished more strongly, and a season of great bounty had come. The area was rife with spiritual beasts whose bodies were valuable treasures. During such times the local kelps contained copious quantities of spirit air and spirit water. But of course with all of the possible benefits came danger- both in the form of natural dangers and that of other humans looking to collect the same things. John himself had little reason to risk himself in the area, despite the alluring desire of spirit air. After all, many of those who were gathering intended to sell what they had, and with a flood entering the market he could buy all that was necessary for a single person for a reasonable price. Reasonable with the resources of a large clan, anyway. But not everything John did had to be most directly beneficial to himself. The Brandle clan needed more than just what they could buy, and that also extended to spirit water for Matayal¡¯s use. Beyond that, there were possibilities of fortuitous encounters that might provide great benefits for the right people. Going along wasn¡¯t exactly selfless since it was for the benefit of allies, and Matayal¡¯s strength almost directly affected John¡¯s own strength, but he could have chosen not to go. Justifying not going with his new wife into a danger zone when he had nothing more important was difficult, of course. Would she likely survive and do well without him? Absolutely. But if there was any significant risk to her he knew he should be there to provide backup when she needed it. Including another Soul Expansion Phase cultivator was also not an insignificant addition to the Brandle Clan¡¯s forces. The path to the Kelp Spire Forest first took them to a nearby island, and from there boats carried them somewhat close to the area. The boats weren¡¯t willing to move into the area with the violent currents and dangerous beasts, but John wouldn¡¯t be much of a cultivator if he was afraid of a little water. Proper caution about the things in the water was appropriate, but the real dangers were deeper. He and Matayal hopped off of the boat onto the water along with two Brandle clan bodyguards who had been waiting for them. They also had Aydan and Crystin from the Tenebach clan. The stronger they became, the more they also could become targets for others- and the harder it was to travel incognito regardless of the number of guards with them. Livna and Yonit were at the twentieth and nineteenth rank respectively, resulting in their group of six all being in early Soul Expansion Phase. Enough protection to keep them safe, but also not so much as to hinder their growth. If things really took a sour turn, there were other Brandle clan members in the area, as well as members of the Mulyani clan. Kusuma was at least informal allies with the Brandle clan at the moment, and had entered into serious talks about something more. When John had heard about kelp- even giant kelp- his thoughts went to Earth. ¡°I had expected something rather¡­ smaller.¡± He stood next to Matayal who was keeping them afloat on the surface of the water. It was actually a rather similar technique to what he had first tried in Dolomite harbor, but directly using the water to support them instead of a bubble of energy. There was little difference for a water element cultivator, of course. In front of them were spires of stone up to a dozen meters across and sticking hundreds of meters out of the water- though some were much smaller in either dimension. ¡°Reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk.¡± The body of the kelp was rarely smaller than a meter across, with some being larger. The dripping leaves were large enough to support a person and the bulbs that were used to keep the kelp afloat ranged between the size of his head and torso, instead of being about the size of a thumb. Right now most of what he could see obviously didn¡¯t need the bulbs to float since it was above water, but they should serve some purpose regardless. John¡¯s eyes scanned left and right, trying to see the full extent of the area, but it seemed to continue forever. Considering how much space it took up on a map, he knew that wasn¡¯t quite true- but it was a significant region. ¡°Where should we go?¡± John asked. ¡°You¡¯re the one who knows what you¡¯re looking for best.¡± ¡°First we will be going¡­ down.¡± With that, Matayal dropped them into the sea. There was a sudden sensation of falling, though it only lasted a moment. Like an elevator, actually. The ¡®solid¡¯ water they were standing on had just lowered itself, and Matayal brought a bubble of air down with them. Even water cultivators had to breathe, after all. Though maybe less. John could feel the air in the bubble around them straining to reach the surface and extended a small portion of his own air energy to ease the strain on Matayal. Behind them Livna took Crystin down with her, and Yonit provided a bubble for Aydan. ¡°You will need to get used to attacking through the water.¡± The area extended even further underwater- John was able to see some rock spires below them that hadn¡¯t reached the surface, and kelp stretched vertically all around them. There were endless swarms of fish, from the smallest ones the size of his finger to what he thought was an entire group of sharks approximating a school of fish. Deep below them he could see some massive figures, but the distance and distortion from the water made them hard to make out in specific detail. It was dark as well, but he could see a very significant distance through darkness of all sorts. In this situation, he wasn¡¯t sure he liked the ability. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Matayal and John moved forward, nearly gliding through the water in their bubble. John knew that at some point he would be fully immersed in the water around them but for the moment he would enjoy the freedom they had that was almost like flying. They approached one of the giant kelp fronds, seeing where leaves had been nibbled by various fish. ¡°The blades here are valuable nutrients for the sea life. Though many of them eat it only indirectly through consuming others.¡± Matayal gestured with her spear towards a section of the plant, ¡°Someone cut off an air bladder here, perhaps hoping it contained spirit air. Perhaps it did, though it is unlikely we will find much of anything near the outer ring.¡± She looked around before bringing them to an adjacent area, ¡°This one is older, and more likely to contain things of interest. The medicinal properties of the leafy blades aren¡¯t much, but we will gather a few.¡± She stabbed her spear towards one, piercing the water as if it provided no resistance at all. Then she rolled it up and placed it into her magic bag. ¡°You try.¡± John slashed out at one. He felt how his sword slowed in the water, quite similar to striking the defensive energy of a water element cultivator but more pervasive. However, he still had the power to cut the area where he aimed, slicing through the thick plant. His cut wasn¡¯t quite as neat, but he felt it was good enough. ¡°Now do it again without my assistance.¡± As she said that, Matayal released her control over the water around them. Though John was asserting some control over the air around them, it all escaped his grasp as the water came crashing down on him from all sides. John recalled diving to the bottom of pools and even slightly deeper into the ocean before, and the pressure was actually strongest on his ears. It was much the same now, but he was over a dozen meters deep and it was merely uncomfortable without even requiring him to expend spiritual energy to resist the pressure. The body of a cultivator grew stronger along with their mastery of spiritual energy, though the amount varied by particular cultivation style. John surrounded himself with a typical layer of defensive spiritual energy, in this case a thin bubble of air. He slashed out once more, feeling how his attack slowed. The kelp did nothing to avoid its attack- as expected of a plant- and he once more sliced through it. However, as he saw fish darting about he doubted he could strike most of them with the same movement. He had some amount of training fighting in the water at the Brandle clan, but standing in a pool of water was quite different from being deep in the sea. On that note, the air element energy hadn¡¯t quite freed up his attacks the way he wanted it to. He was still pushing water out of the way too much. Just because air overcame water in the cycle of elements didn¡¯t mean he could completely ignore it- and in the case of air it was most effective at causing damage to creatures it hit. He took another swing, making sure to focus on letting the water slip past him more than directly fighting against it. John didn¡¯t concern himself with chopping up the plant for little reason. Even if he didn¡¯t collect the blades, there were already fish nibbling on the kelp. It was so abundant that a little damage didn¡¯t matter. He wasn¡¯t going to cause ecological devastation with a few swings of his sword. Considering that other cultivators regularly came to this place over the years, he doubted he could. Though it was still best to not cause too much pointless destruction. ¡°Down here,¡± Matayal said, her voice easily carrying through the water. Though she¡¯d crashed the water down on him, she kept a small amount of air for herself. The smaller amount was easier on her, and John could provide his own air. John responded in a way he thought was unintelligible, but she answered him regardless. ¡°We¡¯re going to be hunting the silverscale fish,¡± she gestured towards a school of fish that had to contain hundreds of them. ¡°We just need a few for meals, and as bait. Try to target an individual one. It will get you used to the peculiarities of underwater combat.¡± The other two water cultivators were directing Aydan and Crystin in much the same way, though the two darkness cultivators were forced to return to the surface regularly and refresh a small bubble of air they held around their head. A cultivator could hold their breath for some time, but activities such as fighting lowered that time significantly. It was better to be safe. John didn¡¯t have to head to the surface. While his third totem wasn¡¯t as good at creating lightning or wind as specialized totems, creating breathable air was actually well within its wheelhouse. Though instead of ¡®creating¡¯ it was more like ¡®recycling¡¯, as he purified the air in his lungs. Never had John felt less like a normal human than breathing underwater without any sort of mechanical aid. Silverscale fish were indeed a good target. They weren¡¯t aggressive, instead using the schooling tactic to seem as if they were a threat when really they weren¡¯t. Human eyes were able to quickly discern that they weren¡¯t one massive creature, but picking out individuals was still difficult with them constantly moving about. John began to try some attacks, slashing and stabbing with his sword. His movements through the water were quickly improving, but keeping track of the fish was the biggest problem. It took five swings before he even hit one, and ten before he hit the one he was aiming for. He bisected that one in an unpleasant fashion before skewering another that was in a much more usable form when he was finished. He continued his practice until Aydan and Crystin were somewhat low on energy and needed a rest on the surface. Everyone moved over to one of the spires of rock, stepping onto a slippery kelp that was acting more like a vine as it held onto the rock. Matayal held up one of the fish. ¡°This is how they¡¯re used as bait.¡± She tossed it in between the pillars, and a moment later a fisher bird was diving down from above. The bird had a meter long neck and a wingspan almost as wide as a human, and as it dove into the water Matayal threw her spear, stabbing into it. With a wave of her hand the water pushed both spear and bird towards her, and she plucked them out of the water. ¡°Now we have the second part of our lunch.¡± Chapter 80 Lunch was good. John helped start a fire atop one of the kelp that twisted around the spires of stone out of the water. Though it was a plant, there was no chance of setting it on fire. He¡¯d have just as good of a chance at setting water itself on fire, and that was impossible. He wasn¡¯t much better than a lighter at the moment. Though he didn¡¯t really spend much time practicing with fire, and he was still quite far from having a fire totem- if he ever would. He had great confidence in himself, but it wasn¡¯t often referred to as the demigod stage for nothing. Nobody in the Stone Conglomerate or any of the surrounding countries was at that level, as far as he was aware. Matayal had obtained the fish and the giant bird they roasted over the fire. If they waved the food around between the pillars they might get something hungry trying to steal it, but the one fisher bird close to them was being eaten. Even beasts that couldn¡¯t judge the cultivation of a person had some sense of self-preservation, and they would only cause trouble when something new entered their territory. ¡°This is good,¡± John realized he should say what he was thinking. ¡°I haven¡¯t really had meals like this before. I suppose camping almost counts, but opening a package of meat isn¡¯t quite the same.¡± He was glad he hadn¡¯t needed to clean the animals, though. ¡°Thank you,¡± Matayal said. ¡°These packages, I assume there is more to them than just holding food?¡± ¡°They¡¯re made to help preserve things and keep them sterile as they¡¯re shipped around,¡± John nodded. ¡°Some of it sucks though because it¡¯s not really reusable and generally ends up in a garbage dump.¡± John didn¡¯t worry about Livna and Yonit overhearing him talk about Earth- nothing about it was really secret, and even if they knew he was a transmigrator what would they do? People respected strength. As long as he avoided being too public about it and attracting the attention of psychopaths who wanted to dissect transmigrators, it would be fine. He was certain there had to be some of them in this world. Soon enough lunch was over, and then it was back into the water they went. Instead of target practice they were just heading more towards the center of the area, since the most valuable things would have been cleared out near the outer edge of the area. If they were to get spirit water and spirit air, they¡¯d have to look deeper. Storing either required special vessels- though the bladders on the kelp would also do, since that was where they were likely to find the resources stored. As they moved further in they also dove deeper. John, Aydan, and Crystin helped provide vision in the dark waters for the three water cultivators, and in return their movements through the water and their storage of air was made easier. The water cultivators had techniques to hold their breath for a long time, but they couldn¡¯t actually stay underwater forever. John could only really help Matayal with that- injecting his spiritual energy inside anyone else¡¯s body to refresh the air in their lungs would be quite dangerous, especially without proper training with each individual. Since he and Matayal dual cultivated regularly they were able to act more like a single person in two bodies. It wasn¡¯t quite that smooth- there would always be some difficulties affecting other people- but John would say he could directly assist Matayal as if he were one phase lower. Freshening up a bit of air in the lungs was quite reasonable for a Foundation Phase air cultivator. The pressure on them increased as they descended, swimming around the giant kelp sensing for concentrations of spiritual energy. Some of those came from built up spirit air and spirit water, while others were from the spirit beasts in the sea. One particular shark-like creature was swimming around one area in a continuous pattern, eating any smaller fish that were foolish enough to get closer. And most creatures were smaller than it. Its rows of teeth chomped onto a ray of some sort, a couple meters wide. The shark¡¯s mouth wasn¡¯t quite as wide as the creature, but it gobbled down the thin ray like a leaf of lettuce. ¡°It¡¯s quick,¡± Matayal said clearly through the water. ¡°But I do sense it¡¯s guarding something special. But is it what we¡¯re after? Could be a clutch of eggs.¡± She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Though those should be valuable in their own way.¡± John nodded. Anything produced by spirit beasts was valuable in some way. He supposed the eggs could be used for food, but people might also try to raise them as pets. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was sensible to raise sharks, but that wouldn¡¯t stop some people thinking they could. And maybe they would be right. Spiritual energy allowed all sorts of connections to form. ¡°Should we try to sneak past?¡± he asked. He wasn¡¯t sure how well he was heard, but Matayal responded. ¡°While you likely could, we should fight it for practice. And to stop it from hunting us down later.¡± A fair enough point, considering that whatever they took would be quite familiar to the creature. A storage bag might not fully conceal its smell or energy signature from the beast. And they had to fight something real as their first combat. This shark didn¡¯t seem too powerful, though judging just by its energy was a mistake. A large body was harder to judge, and something suited to its habitat would be much stronger. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°We¡¯ll take it on together,¡± Matayal decreed. ¡°The rest of you stay where you can assist if we need you.¡± John swished his sword through the water. Though it wouldn¡¯t be as swift as on land, he was able to move much more freely now with a bit of practice and Matayal¡¯s water energy helping. Though they intended to fight the shark, John reached out around the two of them and muted their presence. If they could surprise it and pick up an advantage it would be quite helpful. He and Matayal swam towards it, almost flying through the water. As they got within spear range, Matayal stabbed out towards it- but to John¡¯s surprise it flicked its tail and steered its body out of the direct line of the attack. Matayal¡¯s spear dragged through its energy and scraped along its slick scales as it moved out of the way. It must have sensed something as they approached. John couldn¡¯t claim his stealth skills were perfect, but he thought he covered the senses fairly well, and their energy shouldn¡¯t have stood out among the background level of the sea. He held his sword towards the shark as it swam past out of reach, but it quickly circled around back towards them. Matayal pushed off of the water almost like there was ground beneath her feet, lunging forward. John copied the action, using his energy to act something like large flippers. The shark charged at them, clamping down on Matayal¡¯s spear as she thrust into its mouth. Its momentum and John¡¯s brought them together, and he slashed at the teeth. He broke through the energy defending them and chopped deep into the creature¡¯s gums, freeing up the spear for Matayal to yank out. The shark managed to flip around, swatting at them with its tail- Matayal redirected her spear to deflect it away as it was suddenly out of reach again. As it turned back towards them, it was no longer leaking a cloud of blood. Its mouth hung open, and John could see that the teeth he had chopped out were already growing back- not in the exact same spot, but little white tips were poking out of the gums. He knew sharks continuously grew teeth, but he hadn¡¯t expected a spirit shark to do so at such rapid speed. He knew there had to be some limit to that ability, but he didn¡¯t intend to get into a battle of endurance. ¡°You take that side,¡± John said. Matayal swam a bit to the left, where they were placed slightly further apart than the shark¡¯s body. John felt the water swirl around her as she prepared an attack, and he gathered wind energy around his sword. As the shark charged forwards once more- with even greater speed than they had seen- Matayal and John struck at the same time. Her spear stabbed through the water like it wasn¡¯t even there, and his sword followed a trail of air to slice through with little resistance. Matayal¡¯s spear stabbed towards the creature¡¯s jaw as it aimed towards her, forcing it to turn its head. John¡¯s sword came from the side, striking at its gills. He had thought they might be easy to cut, but he barely got more than a thin line of blood dripping from the creature. But he¡¯d thought of something he had heard and wasn¡¯t quite sure of, and his air energy latched on beneath the shark¡¯s defensive energy, pushing its way into the gills. The shark reacted wildly, and while it flailed swiftly it was without any particular aim so John and Matayal were able to defend themselves against the swinging tail and biting teeth. Then the shark began to slow down slightly, and Matayal thrust her spear through an eye deep into its skull. John sliced into it from behind its jawline as well, but his attack was an unnecessary addition. He couldn¡¯t say that his plan with injecting air into the gills had worked quite how he wanted, but it certainly disrupted the creature. Unfortunately it made it wild, and unpredictable, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to try it again. As they swam towards the giant kelp, they found nestled into it¡­ both things they had suspected. One of the bulbs was full of spirit water, clearly radiating a powerful energy around it where there was also a clutch of weird spiral shaped eggs. Matayal sliced the bladder off of the plant and scooped them all into one storage bag, which was absolutely full of saltwater at the moment. ¡°A good haul. Let¡¯s continue.¡± John knew that the dense spirit water would help with her training. If he ever made it to Consolidated Soul Phase and gained a water totem he would also like to make use of spirit water, but it would be inefficient to use it before then. It wasn¡¯t so easy to find a basketball sized gathering of spirit water, as most of the kelp around them didn¡¯t build up and store the energy in any significant amounts. Only the most robust and fortunately positioned plants had a chance to develop in that way. They continued to move around the area for the rest of the day, occasionally getting into fights but not stumbling on to much of significant value. They gathered what materials they could from the sea creatures that were valuable and efficient in space, but they were beginning to get tired. They swam to the surface and climbed up a very slippery kelp for a while- and then continued even more. ¡°We don¡¯t want to get washed out with the tide,¡± Matayal noted. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that,¡± John admitted. ¡°How much do the tides change?¡± ¡°Quite a bit. Sometimes up to ten meters.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ quite a bit.¡± John knew that on Earth there were only a few exceptional places that changed more- usually involving bays and the like. He didn¡¯t think that the spikes of rock would cause quite the same effect, but he could chalk it up to differing concentrations of water elemental spiritual energy. Having a little lunch on a kelp that acted like a giant vine was one thing, sleeping there was something else. Fortunately, they were far from the first ones to come to the area in recent decades. Previous cultivators had carved out small caves into the spires of stone, and though it was a bit cramped it was better than trying to carve something out himself. He did make it a bit smoother though. That had either not been important to the first resident, or worn down over the various cycles. The cultivators were able to dry off as much as anything could be dry in such a moist environment, and then they went to sleep- John would have to wake up in the morning for a shift of watch, but the others with them acting as guards would be responsible for the annoying middle shifts. Chapter 81 In and out of the water, out and in. John liked spending time swimming on vacation, but not quite as much as he currently was. And when he¡¯d been on vacation he¡¯d not gotten attacked by any sort of sea creatures, unless you counted that time a fish brushed up against him. As they¡¯d passed through several days, he¡¯d gotten used to moving and fighting underwater. He doubted he would ever be as smooth as Matayal, though once he had his own water elemental spiritual energy to control- which required surpassing the Soul Expansion Phase- he would be a bit more efficient. Currently Matayal helped ease his movements, but even if they were currently in sync it would be easier for him to free up his own restrictions in the water. Unless they could achieve a perfect level of synchronization, always knowing exactly what the other would do- but it would be easier to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase. He felt he could achieve the latter in a decade or less, while the former might never be possible. People had different thoughts and brains, and that was still true even if they regularly mingled their spiritual energy together. Though John wouldn¡¯t discount it as something impossible, because in a world with cultivation he couldn¡¯t just assume anything. The very same kelp that reached the surface and climbed the stone spikes reached all the way to the sea floor, no matter where it was. In some places, that was extremely deep. At least, when John considered he was diving without any sort of equipment. John knew humans could dive ten, twenty, thirty meters deep or more- he wasn¡¯t an expert on the topic, so they might have been able to go beyond that. But beyond a certain point people needed gear if they wanted to not damage themselves. Of course, people loved to push themselves beyond their limits- and to find those limits they ended up hurting themselves. But John was quite certain they never got several hundred meters down to where the sun couldn¡¯t be seen without any gear at all. He didn¡¯t even have flippers. Since this world didn¡¯t have any rubber he knew of, he supposed that made sense. Though there were probably things that could be used as substitutes- some kind of material from a beast, usually. John remembered seeing videos of deep sea creatures, and how weird and bizarre they could be. Even though he wasn¡¯t at the craziest depths of thousands of meters, he was beginning to see some strange things. There were obvious creatures similar to anglerfish, with glowing lights to draw prey in. Since he didn¡¯t need light to see- and was aware of the tricks- avoiding them and their excessive amount of teeth was simple. The creatures had bulbous eyes or no eyes, but one thing in common on all of them were large numbers of teeth. That came in the form of fish with weird extended jaws as well as on some starfish. John never thought starfish would be scary, but when their legs extended a dozen meters out into the water in long tendrils, ready to catch creatures and pull them into their embrace on one of the giant kelp it was quite different. The circular mouths were quite terrifying, though the starfish themselves didn¡¯t move quickly unless they got a hold on something. Thus, one more thing to avoid. As they moved deeper, fewer creatures navigated by sight and more navigated by energy senses. But there were also darkness element creatures that used both, even concealing themselves with their energy. John also using darkness was a double-edged sword there- he could pick them out as they concealed themselves, but they could also find him and the others. None of the three darkness cultivators- Aydan, Crystin, and himself- were specialists in stealth, since their skills were usually good enough. Among them Aydan was the best, but since they all had to help conceal another person the effect was limited. John and Matayal mixed their energy together to strengthen the effect- darkness and water intertwining to make them feel like as much a part of the sea as possible. In front of them was a large jelly- tentacles extending dozens of meters around it into the dark sea. They had some experience dealing with the different types, but it was important to discern what they were up against before they started swinging. This one was¡­ air. The creature kept its spiritual energy well concealed, enough that anything moving about blindly would just stumble into it. Then the tendrils would wrap around it and shock it to death before it got pulled into the body to be digested whole. Earth elemental spiritual energy was summoned and extended around himself and Matayal. It was meant to insulate themselves from being shocked as they fought the creature- they could just bypass it, but creatures like that made moving around the area searching for spirit air and water quite difficult. Backing into one of its tendrils would be extremely unpleasant. John swept out with his sword- the layer of earth energy would insulate it from the electricity of the creature, and he would rather deal with being shocked than the poison on the creature¡¯s tentacles. Because of course it would have poison as well. As his sword touched the tendril he felt the air energy heighten as it tried to conduct electricity through his weapon. However, it simply dispersed into the water around them- and the current rapidly fell off with distance. The tendril still stuck to the sword, because obviously the jelly couldn¡¯t do just one or two things. It had to have everything annoying. Properly angling his sword, however, he was able to slice through the tendril as it tried to pull away. Conversely, Matayal let her weapon get pulled, multiple tendrils wrapping around it as it got closer. But when the tip of her spear was a meter away from the jelly she suddenly thrust her spear forward. Since the tendrils were trying to bring the thing they had entrapped closer to the body and ¡®mouth¡¯, they didn¡¯t restrict her motion at all. She pierced right through the body of the creature, stabbing through the central nervous system and some of the important organs. If the creature had a brain, she would have targeted that. But they didn¡¯t. Despite all of their annoying features, the jellies weren¡¯t too bad since they didn¡¯t think at all. It was the creatures that laid clever traps that were the problem. As John and Matayal approached the kelp in front of them that was radiating an enticing amount of water elemental spiritual energy, the plant suddenly moved. The blade suddenly split into an octet of limbs reaching for the two of them. Crystin and Livna reacted before either of the two being attacked, their spears stabbing forward to impale two of the limbs. Matayal slipped away from the arms reaching for her, but John was a bit slower. He avoided one, but a second wrapped around his leg and started pulling him towards the mouth of a now-visible octopus. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He quickly summoned a burst of air energy, creating electricity around his leg. He had to expend more energy to protect himself from his own electricity flowing through the water, but the creature let go and he was able to swim away. The green-brown octopus pulled away as well, shooting a cloud of ink into the water as it retreated. As cultivators they could protect their eyes, limiting the longer term effects of ink but they were still unable to see through it. It somewhat inhibited energy sensing as well. Either way, the creatures swam away faster than anyone was willing to replicate. It was likely Matayal could chase it down, but the most interesting properties of that kind of octopus didn¡¯t show themselves in the body. When the creature died, the ability of the body to change pigments at will greatly diminished. It would be more effective to study them while they lived to try to create a technique that replicated what they did. So far, John had only managed to create ugly splotches on his skin- and even if he could recolor his whole skin, he wouldn¡¯t blend into whatever background he wanted. His clothing- along with the flexible armor he wore- wouldn¡¯t change. Even it was made out of the right kind of octopus. Though maybe with an extension to a technique¡­ John shook his head. He could just focus on concealing himself with darkness. Practice there would be more efficient. Unfortunately, the water element that had seemed like a bulb full of spirit water was actually the main body of the octopus simply holding onto the kelp to replicate one of the fronds. It seemed it had replaced one of the actual ones- otherwise the disruption in the regular pattern of the plant would have been obvious. Though they didn¡¯t have any real injuries to deal with- except a bruised leg and pride for John- they returned to the surface. Once there, John was able to apply one of the few things he learned from Earth that was actually applicable. He first started with his air energy, diving into his veins. Not his meridians, but his actual flow of blood and his organs. The problem of dissolved gasses wasn¡¯t as high for cultivators, but one way they sustained air was to force more into their lungs before they dove. John didn¡¯t have to do that, but the pressure still caused some gasses to dissolve into his body where it didn¡¯t belong. Carefully clearing out the bubbles that resulted from rapidly climbing meant diving in and out of the water several times per day wouldn¡¯t screw them up. Doing the same for Matayal, who ended up with slightly more dissolved air, was fairly simple as well. As for the others, he could only help them with the outer portion of the problem, and they had to deal with the rest with other sorts of energy. Air was the most efficient for the task, but a cultivator could affect their own body with any of their energy. ¡°You must have studied hard in your world, to know these things,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Water cultivators dive often, and sometimes they run into bodily troubles caused by it. But without knowing the origin of the problem it¡¯s difficult for them to resolve. Usually, they just wait or deal with the unpleasantness.¡± ¡°It was easy to learn small details about a wide variety of topics,¡± John replied. ¡°Information from all around the world could be shared instantly if people wanted it to be¡­ and sometimes when they didn¡¯t want it to be. So I picked up a lot of rarely-useful information.¡± John shrugged, ¡°We didn¡¯t even have a solution on Earth besides climbing back to the surface slowly. Being able to actually fix it is purely something from cultivation.¡± Since cultivators had tougher bodies- and didn¡¯t get air the same way for dives- the aftereffects of decompression sickness were usually not that severe. Having a solution for it was more of a convenience than a world-changing insight. It wasn¡¯t like John was some sort of genius messiah that could solve all of a world¡¯s problems just by showing up. Cultivators already had ways to solve the biggest problems they had, or the problems were simply less relevant to them. When the group rested for the evening, the spirit water and occasional spirit air they found was distributed. Unfortunately that left little for Aydan and Crystin who were pure darkness cultivators, but in theory far enough into the depths spirit darkness could form. John didn¡¯t take all of the spirit air, since he could only use so much at once regardless. The ways to absorb spirit elements varied, but they all involved placing it close to the cultivator and using their own energy to break it down and integrate it into a person. For spirit air, John had been told that the easiest way was to breathe it in before properly absorbing it. He carefully contained the air as he opened the bulb and guided it into his lungs. Each time it was like the freshest breath of air he had ever taken, as if everything had been tainted with air pollution up until that point. He knew that wasn¡¯t true- but it wasn¡¯t entirely untrue either. There were very small impurities in air, and even the spirit air he had wouldn¡¯t be quite the perfect mix for a human to breathe. But those impurities also ironically made it suited for him. His lungs dissolved the air as normal while his own energy broke down the parts of it that were purely ephemeral, drawing them into his meridians and towards his dantian. Spirit elements could take different forms, including specialized forms like lightning and wind for air. Those were more rare, but the kind found in the Kelp Spire Forest was the most basic sort. Yet it was also most suited for his totem- Atmosphere. That included the impurities that just touched on the darkness element inside it. That totem happily breathed the air, which in turn fed the sapling that was on its way to becoming a fine tree. The sapling¡¯s leaves likewise improved the ground around it as they fell and decayed, becoming air and earth. John almost didn¡¯t have to cultivate for his totems to improve- but of course without his active control any improvements would take ten or a hundred times as long. And if he didn¡¯t pull in outside energy, his rank wouldn¡¯t grow. With the use of spirit air he was quickly pushing towards the twenty-first rank and the upper portion of early Soul Expansion Phase. There was something so pleasant about improving cultivation rank, being able to see a real step in the process. Even if it didn¡¯t come with the benefits of strength, John could see why people would be interested. He wondered how far he could go, and if there was an actual limit beyond his own talent. It was certainly implied by what he had read, but it was entirely possible that nobody had figured out how to go beyond the limits of the highest listed cultivation level. Chapter 82 The tides in the Kelp Spire Forest rose and fell in a regular pattern, with the high tides generally leaving a hundred meters of stone above the water and the low tides revealing at least twice that much with kelp wrapped tightly around the spires. During the high tides resting on the surface grew more difficult as the various fisher birds were more likely to harass anyone that came too close to them. During that time, unless they specifically wanted to hunt any of the seabirds, time was generally spent underwater or holed up in one of the constructed ¡®caves¡¯. During a high tide creatures from deeper often rose closer to the surface, even rising to higher relative depths than they normally stayed at. This also changed the ecosystem around certain parts of the kelp and grasses that grew along the stone spires. Some of the creatures were purely defensive with no desire to attack humans- but that didn¡¯t mean they wouldn¡¯t defend whatever they thought of as their territory. In some cases that included the spikefish with pike length spikes that it was difficult to reach past even with a spear, and the best option was to just retreat as quickly as possible to avoid becoming a pincushion. The most important creatures were the ones that sought out spirit water to devour. They were competitors with cultivators but were also useful. They could find hidden stores of spirit water that it was hard for a cultivator to detect, and they didn¡¯t necessarily absorb the spirit water in the same way. Some stored it inside of them for various reasons, while those that did absorb it generally used it to enhance their flesh- making it beneficial to consume them. Their current target was the toothtongued sparkleback. Its name made its features quite clear- it had luminescent scales on its back, creating small motes of light to attract creatures towards it without revealing its full size. As for how it looked, like many deep sea creatures it was just a lumpy, ugly fish- but that didn¡¯t stop it from being dangerous. It had fewer and smaller spines than the spikefish, but it had enough to make it difficult to approach from most angles. Its tongue was long and flexible, with spikes coming out of it meant to impale a creature and drag it into its mouth. Even with his ability to see in the dark John found it difficult to parse the creatures, as the motes of light could briefly disrupt his darkvision unless he was ready for it. He wouldn¡¯t suddenly lose track of the creature but being even a little bit off on the location of a spine was quite an issue. Currently Matayal was fending off one from the front, using her spear to catch the darting tongue and keeping it at bay. John was swimming up from below where its defenses were the weakest. With a quick thrust of his sword he stabbed into its belly, slicing it along to cause the most damage possible. At the same moment, the tonguetoothed sparkleback had wrapped its tongue around Mayatal¡¯s hands and spear, unable to stab into her flesh through her defensive energy but locking its tongue around her just the same. There was a constant motion of the tides, so when the water pushed up slightly on the two cultivators they thought little of it. The sparkleback was barely alive but kept a solid grip on Matayal, so John was moving to help her with its tongue which was almost like a knot. He couldn¡¯t just take a big swing with his sword since the slippery tongue might deflect it to her more vulnerable fingers. When the water began to pull downward it also seemed like normal motion for the first moment, until it accelerated. Even as John sliced through the tongue from the inside, cutting away from Matayal¡¯s hands and freeing her spear, the water around them accelerated downward. Without having experienced anything like it before, the two of them grabbed onto each other and started swimming as they could, pushing the water out of the way with air and sliding through it with the help of water energy. They had, for a brief moment, tried to swim up and away from the pull of water- but they soon realized that was futile as they accelerated downward ever more quickly and began to be pulled into a vortex. Both of them heightened their efforts as they swam to the side to leave the area of the whirlpool around them. But of course, they were not the only ones affected. Their guards had been more than a dozen meters away but the other sea creatures around them were pulled towards the center of an underwater vortex with them. Even as they tried to move away they had to push their way past swimming creatures who weren¡¯t necessarily happy to have humans close in on them. Even as they shoved creatures out of the way with their weapons the press of bodies and various sharp teeth, fins, and extraneous spikes tore through their defensive energy as they were pulled ever deeper into the darkness below. Eventually John and Matayal were battered back into the center of the area and had to accept that they wouldn¡¯t be able to pull away, holding onto each other and combining their defensive energy in layers around the two of them, water and air cushioning them from the outside with harder earth in the middle. When the downward pull stopped, a frenzied battle began. None of the various sea creatures were happy about being suddenly pulled into each other, and they just wanted to attack everything around them. That included John and Matayal, who fought back as one entity. When possible they directed gnashing teeth and spines at the surrounding sea creatures. Blood and various unpleasant substances filled the water, obscuring their vision and energy senses. They didn¡¯t even have time to think about the great pressure bearing down on them, doing their best to minimize the wounds they took. After a few minutes, a handful of victors emerged from the battle. A ten meter long shark swam off with a dozen other monstrous sea creatures in its maw, slowly swallowing them two or three at a time. Another portion of the creatures were carried away by something that seemed to be only a mass of tentacles or perhaps a large group of squirming eels with no central body visible. John and Matayal came out with only a selection of relatively smaller gashes and holes in them, at least compared to the dead creatures. The wounds stung, and at least a few spines were stuck in them. Either those or some of the fluids or both were poisoned, and they had to circulate what remained of their energy to try to cleanse themselves while also resisting the pressure bearing down on them. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. John almost began to swim upward, intending to angle away from where they ended up- but he caught sight of a myriad of creatures circling above, waiting for bodies to float to them. He knew he wasn¡¯t in a state to get in more combat, and Matayal wasn¡¯t any better than him. ¡°This way,¡± Matayal intoned through the water. John held onto her hand as they overlapped energy, helping each other expunge the various toxins inside them as best they could. They should bind their wounds, but they couldn¡¯t really afford to sit still for that, and they needed their hands on their weapons. It soon became clear that there was a layer of creatures that they had been dragged past- along with several other vortexes around them- a layer that didn¡¯t seem likely to disperse any time soon. Without knowing if they could find their way around them, they had to instead look for somewhere to shelter. John could continuously cleanse their air, but while they were active they recovered energy more slowly. A few minutes later John noticed a bigger problem than the constant pressure around them that would surely kill a normal human. It was cold. A cultivator could stand about in freezing cold weather or even a storm without too much issue, but the amount of heat that was sapped by the chilling water was much greater than a bit of cold wind or even rain. The tiny bit of fire inside him did little good to fend of the freezing water. ¡°It¡¯s too cold¡­¡± John looked down. He was sensitive to different types of energy, and he felt just a little bit of fire. ¡°There. We¡¯ll have to go deeper.¡± Matayal looked at him like he was crazy, but went along with him without complaint. Soon enough she was able to pick out the same thing he had- wavering black clouds filled the water surrounded by strange growths and a number of small creatures. John just hoped that nothing around the hydrothermal vent was aggressive¡­ or at least not too many things. More likely something would approach to try to eat the various goodies there. But as they approached, nothing happened- except they soon began to feel overly warm. But a little bit too warm was better than the feeling of their fingers and toes beginning to freeze from the outside in. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect there to be fire element deep in the sea,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Someone has to have seen these before,¡± John said, ¡°Though I suppose any water cultivators might hesitate upon seeing the large number of creatures along the way.¡± He didn¡¯t have a good control over water energy, so he imagined some of his words were lost as they talked, but Matayal seemed to get the gist of things. ¡°But hydrothermal vents are warmed by the heat towards the planet¡¯s core. Well, probably just the mantle.¡± ¡°There is fire element under the ground? I thought that was just near volcanoes.¡± John shrugged slightly, wincing as the bandages he was wrapping pulled on a wound that was barely stitched up. At least he¡¯d been able to mostly keep the saltwater out of it with his energy, but it wasn¡¯t fully possible when wrapping a soaked bandage around it. ¡°Unless things are fundamentally different than on Earth- which they might be- the core heats up for a variety of reasons I admit to not having studied carefully. But volcanoes and the like merely form where the crust is broken through. Even around here, the spires-¡± he gestured towards the nearest one they could see, which had no kelp wrapping it at the same depth as them. ¡°They had to have been caused by volcanic activity of some sort. Maybe they even formed from the vents?¡± John shook his head. ¡°Though there would have to be a bit more to it than that.¡± He looked around, ¡°Do you know what could have pulled us down?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a phenomenon that was described for this area. So it must be quite irregular.¡± She looked at the ground below them, ¡°Are those strange wriggling things eating the black gas clouds?¡± ¡°Probably the microorganisms in it. Though there should also be minerals¡­¡± ¡°Interesting. As for what actually pulled us down¡­¡± she looked vaguely in the direction they came from- John was fairly certain he couldn¡¯t place it precisely. ¡°Perhaps it was the breath of a sea god. That is one of the explanations for vortexes.¡± If they were on Earth, John would have directly rejected that explanation. But here, there could certainly be something fitting the description. ¡°A sea god being¡­?¡± ¡°Some sort of ocean dwelling spirit beast of gargantuan size. A leviathan, they are sometimes called. Nobody knows how many varieties there are, since they are generally avoided like any extremely powerful beast. Nobody would dare to hunt a beast with a cultivation at the peak of the world.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel a powerful cultivation like that,¡± John said. ¡°Just the smaller beasts and the less concentrated elements. Water, earth, fire, darkness, a little bit of air, and the tiniest bit of light.¡± ¡°Perhaps it is not a sea god. It could have been caused by some strange tidal fluctuation we do not understand,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Or perhaps the spirit beast is so vast we cannot comprehend it with our senses.¡± John really didn¡¯t like how plausible the latter option was. He knew the density of energy he would expect for a human at the peak, somewhere at an order of magnitude or two greater than Johannes Dalen of the Amber Heart. But if it were a spirit beast of vast size, who could say that it wouldn¡¯t feel like the ocean itself? The stronger water energy in the area could be the cause of it living nearby, or the byproduct of its presence. If there really was such a beast, being dragged down below was merely a result of something else it was doing. He would hate to draw its ire. He sighed as much as he allowed himself to do underwater, then looked upwards. ¡°We¡¯ll have to find a way back to the surface. Preferably with minimal new bite marks. What should we do first?¡± Chapter 83 People revealed their true selves in desperate circumstances. John wracked his brains for a way to safely make it back to the surface through the masses of undersea monsters with the limited resources they had. He picked out a few routes that looked the least populated. If they could avoid too much battle their wavering energy could get them to the surface. While he was doing that, Matayal got them lunch. It was a five meter long eel, and she cooked it by shoving it up against one of the thermal vents. If John had to rate the meal, he would have given it a three out of ten at most. It was rubbery and wet and not evenly cooked as they tore chunks off of it. But if he had to rate how useful the meal was, he couldn¡¯t give it anything less than a full ten out of ten. Digesting a little bit of food helped them to begin replenishing some of their depleted stamina, letting them slightly restore their spiritual energy even as they resisted the pressure of the deep ocean. As long as they avoided battle, they could even recover fully. With a few caveats. First, they still had injuries from the whirlpool pulling them into the depths, creatures crashing into them and biting or slicing at them as they went. Those injuries would take longer to recover- or a significant expenditure of spiritual energy they couldn¡¯t afford to aid their recovery. Second, they would eventually have to sleep. John could maintain their air supply without too much effort, but it wasn¡¯t something he could do in his sleep. Whether or not that was something cultivators could eventually accomplish, he wasn¡¯t there yet. And deep meditation like for cultivation wasn¡¯t as restful as they would need. So they were stuck in an awkward position where they needed to spend time to recover their body and energy, and where they also couldn¡¯t afford to waste any time. ¡°Now that I look again,¡± John said, ¡°We¡¯re further down than I thought. I can¡¯t even see the surface through the murk. Too far for a sprint to the surface unless we completely avoid attacks.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But that makes things rather difficult. It doesn¡¯t seem that we can afford to sit here and think.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We need to either start heading for the surface right away or¡­¡± ¡°Or what?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°Head deeper. Try to look for caves where we could rest. I could possibly create a pocket of air for us to breathe, but then we¡¯d be in the cold. And if I expend that energy and it ends up being useless¡­¡± John shrugged. ¡°So we flee to the surface, hoping to survive¡­ or push ourselves deeper into adversity and hope we come out the other side. It seems like a simple choice.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± John asked. He was somewhat encouraged that her face was neutral, not despairing¡­ but it seemed pretty hopeless. If they were in the same position unscathed he¡¯d judge their chances of reaching the surface to be high, but with unknown numbers of creatures above waiting to take advantage of anything that showed weakness, he was less certain. ¡°What¡¯s the choice, then?¡± ¡°As cultivators, we must take advantage of the opportunities presented to us. The water element energy is so dense here as to be oppressive, yet it is but one of many possible benefits to our current situation.¡± ¡°Pff.¡± John couldn¡¯t help but laugh and grin slightly, ¡°So being trapped in the depths of the ocean is a good thing?¡± Matayal smiled back, ¡°If we make it that way.¡± ¡°Aydan and the others are going to hate us,¡± John commented. ¡°Unless you have something else, the first order of business should be a cave! Either finding one¡­ or creating one. Not sure I have the energy for the second.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s begin searching.¡± She brushed against him as she swam past, spontaneously picking a direction. In John¡¯s view it was just as good as any other, with the ground sloping away from the thermal vent. Wary of the creatures above, they kept themselves as concealed as possible as they swam along close to the ocean floor. Darkness and water and just a little bit of earth to make them feel like the sandy floor. Most of the sea floor was pretty barren, even of plantlife. Without even a single ray of the sun reaching the depths, it was hard for even the enormous kelp that filled the sea above to begin growing. There were still a few that anchored themselves beneath the sands nearby, but most of them seemed to attach to the stone spires higher up, with some different kinds of sea grass growing around thermal vents along with tube worms and other odd creatures. Since the two of them hadn¡¯t approached any food sources for creatures and were keeping themselves concealed, they moved along without trouble¡­ until the ocean floor itself rose up to attack them. At least it seemed like it. It was only Matayal¡¯s quick reaction and ability to propel them through the water in any direction that pulled them out of the snapping jaws of the creature below. As its mouth snapped closed and sand no longer covered the creature, John could make out a giant fish, three meters thick. More of a whale in size, but he knew those were a different classification of animal. There was a deep depression in the sand, where the jaws had lain outstretched another four meters on either side like a venus fly trap. Except it was a fish, of course. Though the creature¡¯s teeth didn¡¯t snap closed around John¡¯s waist or his feet, one ankle did get slashed by a jagged tooth as he was yanked upwards. Fortunately, unlike on land where the damage would significantly hinder his mobility a damaged ankle was something that could be dealt with later. It still hurt as he moved his leg, but he was able to maneuver. The first thing he did, of course, was turn to face the toothy maw in front of him with his sword, his face towards the ground. He attacked one side of the jaw while Matayal stabbed the ¡®top¡¯ as it tried to open. Their attacks slid off of the slick-yet-solid skin. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. As the jaw opened once more the creature pushed higher out of the sand, lunging towards them. The two split apart to either side of it, Matayal aiming for the ¡®top¡¯ where it had some eyes to target. John attacked the bottom of its jaw with his sword, pouring lightning into his attack- but when he saw the results he realized how foolish he was. The lightning dispersed through the water and the creature¡¯s scales, but didn¡¯t penetrate it. It was his fault for not expecting any earth element spirit beasts in the ocean. Not everything would be aligned with water, even if it was the norm. And this one was solid like rock. As Matayal stabbed at its eyes, the creature began to retreat back into the sand, wiggling its tail. That stirred up sand around them, limiting their visibility- but the way it reacted also told them something. It wasn¡¯t really capable of fighting. It was durable and quite deadly in an ambush situation, but beyond that it didn¡¯t have the maneuverability required to fight. It was basically just a big mouth. John and Matayal stabbed at it several more times as it retreated, but to cause any real damage to it they would have to commit more energy than they were willing to. There would be no certain benefit for defeating it, and there would be significant risk if they weakened themselves to kill it. They both backed away from it as it lowered itself into the sand, opening its jaw wide- nearly ten meters across as it flattened out and a good third of its total length. The two of them swam away together, slightly changing their concealment tactic. ¡°I suppose earth swimming overhead is suspicious,¡± John commented. ¡°We need better camouflage. From above we¡¯ll appear like the earth, from below like the water.¡± Now that they realized there could be more predators waiting in ambush in the sand, they were more cautious with how they moved- but they still found it reasonable to stay low. John kept his senses more tuned for changes in the fluctuation of earth energy, and was glad most spirit beasts weren¡¯t as discerning with their energy senses as human cultivators. He was able to make out some things hiding in the sand before they got close, allowing them to avoid them. Keeping his senses tuned on the ground was useful for another reason. He began to sense some underwater caves, though only by the emptiness they created. So far they hadn¡¯t found the entrance to any of them- and while they might break through the top of them, it was really best to keep those intact if John planned to create a pocket of air. Soon enough they came to a cliff, dropping sharply to down below. The vast openness was intimidating. ¡°Best we keep close to the edge,¡± Matayal said. ¡°If there is a sea god¡­ it is most likely down below.¡± Neither of them could see anything of the sort in the depths, but even John¡¯s enhanced vision in the dark could only pierce so far into the murky sea. It was a bit discomforting to not see the bottom, but what else he saw was comforting. Caves in the side of the cliff, with obvious sea life. He wasn¡¯t sure what made it so that corals, anemones and the like could live away from a thermal vent so deep, but he could clearly sense them. Matayal and John carefully approached the first cave, seeing it was wide open with a slope that was no good for trying to trap air. The second was too small to fit in, and the third had a large number of teeth dangling around it. Eventually, a bit deeper than they were comfortable with but still within sight of the top of the dropoff, they found a suitable cave. Large enough to fit them, and though it was filled with creatures most of them were small and not dangerous. Most of them. ¡°We can¡¯t go on forever,¡± John said. ¡°Is this the one?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll have to do,¡± Matayal confirmed. The two of them approached, making an intimidating pressure with their energy. Among the strange, lumpy fish in the area- and the small darting fish that weren¡¯t of any threat- there were larger ones full of teeth. Something like barracuda, though John couldn¡¯t guarantee any sort of relation even if they weren¡¯t in a different world. Still, they had weird faces, long bodies, and lots of teeth. Instead of backing away, the dozen or so barracudas clumped together into a sort of toothy, fishy bundle. John and Matayal swam into the cave, which was large enough for them to move to either side of the bundle. The fish didn¡¯t seem willing to be chased away, so Matayal began with the first attack, her spear thrusting through one of them. A bundle of fish darted out towards the two cultivators, darting quickly as they wriggled their bodies, teeth gnashing. John focused on defense, layering his earth energy beneath a layer of shocking electricity. As their teeth bit into the hard and unpleasant energy defenses he had, the fish recoiled, allowing him to sweep his sword into one. Matayal was taking a more elegant approach, slipping through the water with ease and impaling one barracuda at a time. A sudden presence made itself known as a source of energy flared. However, it attacked neither John nor Matayal, but one of the barracuda. The claw of a large crab sliced one directly in half, and it was skittering towards another of them. Or perhaps instead of being large¡­ it was more of a normal sized crab by the current world¡¯s sensibilities. The largest end of what could appear on Earth, but the claw itself wasn¡¯t any bigger than John¡¯s forearm and hand. John and Matayal continued to fight the barracuda while being wary of the crab displaying its abilities as a spirit beast. However, soon enough the barracuda were taken care of- the lumpy fish in the area having dragged away bits of them back into little pockets in the cave. The crab seemed entirely uninterested in John and Matayal, instead tearing into the floating fish near it and bringing pieces to its mouth. John and Matayal explored the cave a bit, though it didn¡¯t go terribly deep. There was a nice dome at the top where they could potentially make a pocket of air, though it wouldn¡¯t be comfortable. And the water was¡­ warm. At least, it wasn¡¯t freezing like everything else. The back wall specifically was almost hot, perhaps close to a thermal vent moving through the ground. Not a good place to build a permanent home, but they just wanted something temporary. The two of them began to cultivate, John filtering as much air out of the water as he could. It was rather depressing to see tiny bubbles filling the area, but he reminded himself how much pressure the air was under. It would be much smaller than he expected. Still, making each lungful of air was exhausting. Cultivators might breathe more efficiently, but it still wasn¡¯t much. He pulled out the only remaining bulb filled with spirit air, breaking it and adding it to the rest. That would have to suffice for the moment. ¡°You need to rest,¡± Matayal said. She pulled herself up against him, ¡°I¡¯ll keep us steady while you sleep for a bit. We have enough air for an hour or two, I think.¡± That would have to do. John could recover some stamina and energy while asleep, and then hopefully he would have enough to sustain them for longer. He had to. If it didn¡¯t work¡­ well, it was already impressive enough that they weren¡¯t dead. He wasn¡¯t going to bet on getting a third life, though. Chapter 84 No light except that of bioluminescent creatures, generally doing so as a trap, reached the depths where John and Matayal found themselves. Everything they did, from simply trying to perceive the world around them to moving and of course fighting consumed precious energy reserves. With little ability to rest, they were only barely able to maintain their state of survival. The cave they stayed in had only a small pocket of air to make use of while asleep, but after having driven out the aggressive creatures it was safe enough for a couple hours at a time. Currently, they were trying to be as efficient with resources as possible. Food wasn¡¯t an issue- there were plenty of things to eat, even discounting poisonous creatures and things that had so little actual flesh that they weren¡¯t worth the effort. In fact, there was a limit on how much they could practically eat, so they tried to make sure it was the most nutritious sources possible. Sometimes that meant eating things with rather unpleasant taste, and the various forms of sea life couldn¡¯t always be taken to a thermal vent and cooked. Either way, there was no avoiding ingesting salt water. Some of their energy went to separating out the salt so they didn¡¯t, ironically, dehydrate in the ocean. They also had to refresh their air supplies and keep up some level of defenses so they weren¡¯t crushed by the pressure of the deep sea. There was no lack of spiritual energy in the depths, especially water elemental energy for Matayal, but there was a limit to how much a cultivator could absorb without resting, and preferably a period of proper sleep. The thing most scarce was air elemental spiritual energy for John to make use of. Inside his dantian he naturally produced some, and he could convert other types, but it wasn¡¯t as efficient as just absorbing some. It wasn¡¯t entirely lacking, but they had to seek it out, either in the form of spiritual air sometimes condensed in the air bladders of kelp or through other sources. One of those was spirit beasts who made use of the element, though obviously most sea creatures were most aligned with water. There was one type, however, that had quite powerful air energy. Electric eels. John vaguely recalled information that electric eels weren¡¯t eels, but there wasn¡¯t a better name for long tubular water dwelling creatures. The electric eels in a cultivator world were more dangerous than those on Earth, though taking into account the difference between cultivators and normal humans, the relative danger was not too far off. On Earth humans should just avoid the creatures entirely, since being shocked could stop their heart. With the benefits of air elemental spiritual energy, the electric eels around them could make much more powerful shocks- but both John and Matayal had some ability to resist them. Matayal still had the weaknesses of a water element cultivator, but she at least had a totem and some training to help protect her. John had air and earth element totems, so he was able to help her resist the shocks. Optimally, however, the eels wouldn¡¯t even notice them coming. Much like the eels on earth, when these felt threatened they almost indiscriminately made use of all of their stored up charge to shock everything around them. Though they wouldn¡¯t be completely drained dry, less than a tenth of their usefulness would be left. Darkness and water intertwined to mimic the depths themselves, hiding John and Matayal from the senses of the creatures. The pair approached a four meter long creature from above, slipping down on either side of it. Their weapons slowly pressed forward into the creature between them, sliding in suddenly as they made contact. In response, a current of electricity flowed over the two of them- but it was simply the small amount of chemical electricity it contained, and not the spiritual energy. With its brain destroyed, it was unable to release its spiritual energy. If John had to pick a least favorite thing to eat, it was the electric eels. Cooking them broke down the air energy they stored, wasting at least half of the effect. So he ate them uncooked when they were gross and slimy with an irony taste like blood. There was also a tingling sensation on his tongue as he ate them, like a constant electric buzz. It was somewhat unpleasant, but as he grew used to it it became simply normal. Eating so much raw or undercooked fish probably wasn¡¯t good for the two cultivators, but their immune systems were strong, and they could usually tell when there were harmful bacteria in whatever they were eating. So far it had been several days, and neither of them had gotten more than a stomach ache. That was good, because if either of them got truly sick they would likely both die. As they were swimming back to their cave to take a break, Matayal looked down into the trench below them. John noticed her gaze and asked, ¡°See anything?¡± She shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s not something I see. But the concentrations of water energy below are increasing. I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s a bad sign or not.¡± ¡°Something related to the sea god?¡± John asked. ¡°Or whatever is down there,¡± Matayal nodded in confirmation. Above them, something was approaching. It wasn¡¯t even trying to conceal itself. John and Matayal picked up their pace as they sensed the creature. It was simply massive, as if a building were approaching them. It was a whale, a hundred meters in length. They¡¯d seen similar creatures before- or perhaps it was the same one. Either way, they did their best to avoid it. Perhaps it might not intend to eat them, but if they ended up in front of its mouth perhaps it would do so anyway, either to test if they were edible or simply by not noticing them. The only thing they knew was that they weren¡¯t its direct target. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The massive whale preferred to feed on other equally massive sea creatures, especially some of the giant squid in the area. John and Matayal had only gotten close to the smaller ones, while the larger ones were comparable in size to the whale. Length wasn¡¯t a good measure there, but rather a body ten meters across and tentacles that stretched far beyond. They were capable of wrapping their arms around the giant whales to fight back- but they were the prey in all cases they had sensed from afar. Even this time, the massive beast quickly found a giant squid. Both creatures were easily sensed by their tremendous size and the energy they didn¡¯t try to conceal. Soon after they could sense the squid was injured and being pulled towards the surface. They made it back to their cave to have their meal, Matayal just eating some random creatures from nearby while John had the electric eel. ¡°We might try to ride one of those to the surface,¡± John suggested, ¡°If we can get a bit stronger. Even if the whale itself ignores us, we might have to contend with other things on the way up.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Matayal said. ¡°It might be our best bet. And I really don¡¯t want to be here with the building energy in the lower trench.¡± They hadn¡¯t explored much of the trench below them. Their cave was less than a dozen meters below the top of the ledge where the ocean floor suddenly dropped to an even deeper level than where they already were. Just to be safe they¡¯d explored all of the adjacent ones, concerned about possible predators that might seek them out. They had to clear out a few, but their own cave was the best and safest they had found. Part of that was because of the crab in their cave. They had seen the way it snapped one of the barracuda in half with its claw. But it seemed content to share the cave with them, especially when scraps of their meals floated down to it, or were tossed aside after they finished. The crab always got the biggest chunks, but the other small fish nibbled on the floating remains as well. Along with some anemones and corals, they had a nice little ecosystem in their cave, though it required outside sustenance to feed it. After he finished eating, with his stomach digesting the electric eel, John circulated his energy to absorb some of the energy in the meat, both inside him and in the parts he hadn¡¯t consumed. The air energy was quite tingly, already being attuned to electricity, and he had to absorb it slowly. If he tried to do it quickly, he might cause a miniature lightning strike inside himself, and while he could absorb actual lightning, when doing so in a storm he diluted the power before allowing it inside himself. He was still in the early parts of the Soul Expansion Phase, after all, and his air totem was thus only beginning its growth. It was also not the most directly suited for dealing with electricity even as an air totem. When he had absorbed what he could safely, he continued to channel the energy but transformed it into another aspect of air, specifically breathable gasses. Some of that involved pulling those very gasses out of the water around him. All of them floated up, slightly increasing the size of their little pocket of air. He also had to filter the air already in there, because the oxygen wasn¡¯t replenishing itself. Once he was finished, he felt the heaviness of his eyes. Matayal came up to him, and once more held him in place so he could rest. ----- After his nap, since it couldn¡¯t be called a proper sleep, John felt somewhat more invigorated. He spent his time slowly filtering the air around them, holding Matayal in his arms to keep her head in their air pocket. It was easiest to hold her there and allow her to breathe naturally instead of directly filtering the air in her lungs. It was her turn to sleep. One of them had to be awake at all times, since if they went to sleep and the air ran out¡­ they would simply not wake up. John watched Matayal¡¯s sleeping face. It looked so peaceful and content. Not at all concerned about whether they would live another day or not. Though at their current point, John would certainly bet on making it at least another day. They were well fed and had recovered a decent amount of energy. Their wounds were healing faster than they were accruing new ones. Their air pocket was increasing in size to the point John thought he might get something resembling a full night¡¯s rest soon. The biggest concern was the increasing swell of water energy in the depths. Even John could feel it now, as subtle as it was against the background of other water energy. The buildup wasn¡¯t in just one specific point, but having seen the whales John wasn¡¯t entirely beyond believing there wasn¡¯t some sort of sea god, a creature that stretched a kilometer or more in any direction. And if it wasn¡¯t that, then it was some sort of large non-creature phenomenon that he didn¡¯t want to be involved with. How long would it be before it built up to the point where it burst? It was only a question of when, not if. Nothing could gather energy forever. Or if it could¡­ then it was a priceless treasure. Though considering the scale involved, not one that could be taken away. But neither John nor Matayal were going to go look, on the assumption that it would have teeth. Matayal¡¯s eyes fluttered open. ¡°You can sleep longer, you know,¡± John said. ¡°It¡¯s only been an hour and a half, approximately.¡± Keeping track of time with little sensory input, and no sun or timekeeping device was more a matter of instinct- but cultivators tended to have pretty good internal clocks. She shook her head, still-wet hair hanging down her face. ¡°It is sufficient. We should go looking for more resources to make use of.¡± John wasn¡¯t sure if he entirely believed her about it being enough rest, but he could believe she was too distracted by worries to sleep more. He wasn¡¯t going to try to force his wife to sleep longer here, even if she looked like she needed it. He would just make sure she was fit to act. He initiated an exchange of energy, synchronizing them as they dual cultivated. They couldn¡¯t afford to have either of them with lesser energy reserves than the other, and if they could actually increase in cultivation rank, their prospects of survival would increase significantly. Other activities would have to wait for when they had stamina to spare. Chapter 85 Extreme pressure and abundant resources were useful tools for improving cultivation. John learned that in the danger zone in the Crystal Caverns, though cultivators knew it in general. The problem was that when the difficulty raised to the level of life-threatening even if there was a high chance of advancing rapidly, there was an equally high chance of perishing. You either grew stronger, or you died. John and Matayal had every intention to do the former, but so did everyone else who faced trouble. ¡°This would be a great time to stumble upon some natural treasures or break through to a new phase,¡± John commented. ¡°Think there¡¯s anything good down here?¡± ¡°If there is,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°I would expect it to be in the belly of a beast.¡± That was where most things were, it seemed. But at least they had a bit of extra energy to spend joking around. They were now comfortable roaming a bit further from their cave, checking out various nooks and crannies along the edge of the trench, above and below the lip. So far they hadn¡¯t encountered the other side of the trench, though they weren¡¯t willing to swim far through open water without anything to navigate by. Otherwise, they might not make it back to their shelter. As closely as they could reckon days without seeing the sky, it seemed like the buildup in the depths below them would reach its peak in a day or two. That didn¡¯t leave long for other activities, preparing themselves to escape or to protect themselves from the upcoming event. Diving deeper was more dangerous, but also the most potentially rewarding. They stuck to the edge of the cliff, poking their heads or weapons into caves along the way. Some of them went deep into the structure, small winding tunnels that were dangerous to navigate, even if nothing in there tried to eat them. Though their supply of air wasn¡¯t measured in a specific time frame, being stuck for a few hours would be sufficient to greatly weaken them. Inside the caves they found an abundance of spirit water, either contained within a creature or in little dense globes that looked like glass spheres, barely visible except for the different way they distorted vision. The effect was more obvious when there was actual light, but that was only the case when some sort of predatory creature was watching over the spirit water as a trap. ¡°I sense something,¡± Matayal said. ¡°More spirit water, maybe, but dense water energy. Not alive, though.¡± ¡°An important qualifier,¡± John admitted, ¡°Or it would be quite foolish of us to go towards it.¡± Even if the source itself wasn¡¯t a danger, they were cautious as they swam further down. The looming presence at the bottom of the trench hardly felt closer, but that provided them little comfort. Neither of them sensed any other creatures around, but they kept themselves hidden as they approached. Soon enough John could see the beginnings of a large shelf sticking out of the cliff, a layer of sand covering it. Any number of things could be hiding in sand, and as they got closer he sunk his earth elemental spiritual energy into the ground to search for anything sneaking about. But unlike most of the sea around them, there were no signs of life. As they approached the source of the water element energy, they saw a fist sized white rock. John picked it up on the tip of his sword, making sure there was no strange response when it was touched. Then he tossed it to Matayal. She encircled it with her energy, trying to draw out the water element, but John could tell there was no progress after a minute. ¡°It¡¯s tightly entangled,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s still much more, but it seems unusable.¡± She held the rock between her hands, attempting to break it. With the amount of energy she used John would have expected even an expensive set of armor to be torn in half, but the rock remained solid. At the same time, he was digging for more of the rocks. He could only handle so much water element at once, but having backups for Matayal or something to sell if they survived would be nice. Even if they couldn¡¯t make use of them, it had to be possible for someone. John found a few more oddly shaped white rocks as he was digging towards the larger sources of energy, but he began to get a feeling of form. When he found a couple oblong ones the size of his forearm and then some the size of his torso, it became clear they were bones. And based on what he sensed deeper, these were the small bones of something. A short time later he unearthed the beginning of a rib, fully as wide as he was along its whole length. Based on the shape he was sensing through the ground, it should have been a whale like the one they had seen eating giant squid, except perished and picked clean long before. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll need your help with this,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t have room for that in my storage bag, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re suggesting.¡± ¡°Not at the moment,¡± John shook his head. ¡°But I should be able to extract the spiritual energy from the smaller bones. But it will be much more water element than I can handle.¡± As far as John was able to discern, the ¡®smaller¡¯ bones that went from fist sized to torso sized were parts of the creature¡¯s flipper, quite similar in composition to bones in the hand. John started by placing one of the smaller ones into the urn. He wasn¡¯t sure he could fit the torso sized bones into the urn at all, given its size, and the ribs were far beyond its capacity even if they weren¡¯t still attached to the spine. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Unlike the bone dust from inside the danger zone in the Crystal Caverns, the bone didn¡¯t immediately dissolve into energy. It was a slower process- or rather, it produced energy just as quickly and the single bone simply contained much more. Water flowed into him, flooding his dantian. He could handle a reasonable amount of water element, but he had no water totem to properly control it. That was where Matayal¡¯s assistance was important. Together they guided the energy from him into her as quickly as they could. But John found the process wasn¡¯t rapid enough as energy flowed from the urn into him, out of his dantian through his meridians. He had to circulate it into Matayal¡¯s meridians and into her dantian as well, going twice the distance a normal cultivator would have to. He could slow the flow of energy, but some of it would disperse and be wasted. The two of them strengthened their connection as they continued to cultivate on the jutting shelf of rock, away from any swimming creatures. Water empowered air, air empowered earth. Earth and water together with darkness formed a small cycle of allied elements, growing as they could. Likewise, the stormy seas inside of Matayal continued to expand. John felt his cultivation reaching the limit of the twentieth rank, and it overflowed and pushed forward into the twenty-first. Matayal had already achieved that rank before him and was pushing towards the twenty-second. As their rank increased their capacity and control of energy expanded as well, but the single bone still produced more than they could handle. Quite naturally the two joined themselves closer together, minimizing the distance between them. The physical distance hardly changed, a few centimeters at most, but instead of the energy flowing through their meridians from one of them to another, their internal worlds began to overlap. It was hard to say how long the moment lasted, a lone island with a great tree of darkness in an ever expanding sea. It could have been an instant or several hours, but the deepened connection between them didn¡¯t last forever. As the last remnants of the bone faded, so did the way the two of them overlapped. Matayal¡¯s mouth hung open, and John doubted his face was any more put together. Then she smiled. ¡°We should try to do that again. Somewhere¡­ safer.¡± John nodded. His lungs were straining as he¡¯d somewhat neglected refreshing his own air supply during the process. It was easy for cultivators to forget their bodily needs when cultivating, even important ones. Absorbing the energy hadn¡¯t been so easy that he could dilute his control and achieve the same results. The two of them gathered the bones they could into their storage bags, those of the flippers and the tail bones, as well as a few from the spine that were disconnected. Then they were out of room, and even the individual pieces remaining wouldn¡¯t have fit in their bags on the best of days. John had never thought that he¡¯d need more storage space than a room, but he supposed he¡¯d underestimated how big the world could go. The two of them returned to their cave. First they took care of their bodily needs such as feeding themselves and filtering the cave to have as much breathable air as possible. Then John placed the next bone into the urn. He carefully felt the urn with his senses, concerned that it might be damaged by so much power flowing through it, but it seemed unperturbed and even invigorated as they began the process again. Then he was fully focused on the process of dual cultivation, energy flowing into him which also meant it was flowing into Matayal. It was impossible to make perfect use of the energy with no waste. The excess energy was bound to attract creatures around them, but even as they considered that the various creatures in their cave circled around them. Not aggressively, but defensively. The crab stood at the mouth of the cave, absorbing excess water element into itself as the two humans cultivated. One by one bones were absorbed with increasing rapidity. Being concerned about the waste seemed foolish now that they realized how much they had. The two human cultivators once more filled to the brim, breaking through to the twenty-second and twenty-third ranks. Yet the power of the condensed water element was almost limitless, and a greater portion of it was used up by Matayal. Her cultivation grew more rapidly, reaching the peak of the twenty-third rank and finally spilling over into the twenty-fourth. Despite the fact that improvements to cultivation were invigorating, so much improvement- and so rapidly- was also equally tiring. After quickly replenishing their air, the two of them set off to find something to eat. The various fishes and anemones and one large crab that dwelled in their cave watched them leave, all parties full of life. Soon enough some fish from outside the cave were roasted in the heat of a thermal vent nearby. John would have gladly fought a life or death battle for a real, dry fire- but there were none to be had. So it was wet, oddly cooked fish once again- and some chunks of a squid that had thought they seemed edible. The sense of foreboding from deep below was ever closer. It seemed as if it could erupt at any time. The two of them retreated to their cave, taking what moments they could to rest, alternating short naps¡­ until they knew there was no more time. ¡°This is it, then,¡± John commented. ¡°Do we try to weather it in here, or face it out there?¡± ¡°We have to hope that it will be a reverse of what happened before. If we can get pushed to the surface, while the trip will be a danger on the way it might be our best chance.¡± Matayal looked above them, ¡°With my increased cultivation, I can tell there are more dangers between us and the surface than we¡¯d previously judged. And the rest we get down here¡­ just isn¡¯t sufficient.¡± John nodded. Cultivators were more durable than normal humans, but despite all their efforts they hadn¡¯t had proper rest in nearly a week. Even increasing their cultivation didn¡¯t really help with that, since sleep was still a necessity at the moment. Perhaps they might eventually move beyond that, but not within the Soul Expansion Phase. ¡°There he is,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Our friend.¡± She gestured, pointing to the large whale. ¡°Just in time. You remember the plan.¡± ¡°We hadn¡¯t quite decided whether we would attempt to ride above him, or come up from below.¡± Matayal nodded seriously. ¡°Be crushed against him, or have him crushed against us? Risk being pulled further into the depths unprotected, or risk the creatures from above trying to eat us as we are propelled to the surface? Personally, I prefer standing atop the whale¡¯s back.¡± ¡°That seems best to me as well,¡± John said. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope he doesn¡¯t mind a couple tag-alongs.¡± Chapter 86 Approaching a creature fifty times their height, John and Matayal were reasonably cautious. With a single flap of its tail it could crush them, should it have cause to do so. While they could expect it to not have fine control over its energy, their ability to defend themselves against it would be limited at best. And that was if it didn¡¯t decide they were food. In this case, their small size was an advantage. So far they had only seen the hundred meter long whale eat giant squid rivalling itself in size, so two tiny humans were probably not targets for it. They had a difficult choice as they approached- to conceal themselves and potentially surprise it with their presence, with unknown consequences¡­ or try to approach it as they were and hope it was uninterested in them. They settled on the latter, since if things went as predicted they would find themselves pressed up against the creature sooner or later. Even if they were small, suddenly having something on its back might cause the creature to act unpredictably. They approached at an angle, closer to the back but not directly over the tail. The creature was casually swimming along, though given its size even a casual speed was rather quick. They had to streamline their way through the water as they approached to keep up. The whale¡¯s body undulated up and down in a slow pattern, but they knew it could speed up the process when it was intending to attack and move with surprising rapidity. When they were less than fifty meters away- nearly as close to the creature as its middle was to either end- it turned slightly to the side. An eye the size of a small house turned to regard them for a moment before the creature continued forward on its same path. The two cultivators continued to approach slowly, not making any sudden movements. Then they were suddenly sucked downward a dozen meters, as if the water fell away from them. The whale dropped the same distance, but they were still disoriented for a moment. Whatever was happening in the depths, whether the actions of a sea god or simply some sort of natural process of an ocean with condensed water energy, it was about to begin. The two of them picked up their pace, swimming forward to catch up to the whale and swimming over the center of its back. It had several large protrusions on its back to the rear of the middle where they placed themselves. John looked around below them, searching for something. As his energy extended forward he finally found it, quite far from where he thought it would be. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have to worry about the blowhole. It¡¯s almost on its nose. I always thought of them as closer to the middle of its back.¡± ¡°It is different by species, I believe,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°I have seen them along the spine behind the head, but this is a different type than around Pualani. The lower jaw is too flat.¡± Any further conversation was cut off as they dropped through the water again. Due to different rates of deceleration, they ended up impacting the back of the whale. Not quickly or with much force, but their feet were firmly planted on its back. They waited for a few tense moments, but not much happened. Then the water dropped once more. John and Matayal held onto each other¡¯s hands. If they were going to be dragged deeper into the depths, at least they would be together. There were several more stuttering drops through the water¡­ and then they felt great pressure from below, the whale pressing into them. With little reference around them but the relative position of other swimming creatures, it was difficult to tell how quickly they were moving as they suddenly rocketed upward, but the whale was pressing against them from below. Its back was slippery, but John and Matayal had both spent time on Cyclone Island, and Matayal had the experience of being a water cultivator all her life. They continued to hold on to each other as they pressed towards the surface. It appeared the water was moving unevenly. They were able to pick out ¡®jets¡¯ of water, if a jet could be ten to a hundred meters across. Perhaps pillars was more correct. Either way, the whale they were riding was directly above one. Its bulk limited how much of the flow passed it on either side, and thus it moved up more quickly than everything above it. In short, they soon began to pass through the most vicious layers of the depth with things crashing down on them. The back of the whale was a reasonably sized arena for them to dash around, avoiding impacts of the creatures. Every creature that struck the back of the whale was immediately provoked, and those who didn¡¯t get pushed off the sides by the sweep of water in both directions thrashed around wildly. There was some advantage to being humans with legs at the moment. The whale was moving upwards and creating something much like gravity pressing them to its back, so they could almost move normally except for the friction of the water. Most of the swimming creatures didn¡¯t do so well while pressed against the back of the whale or tumbled about by the impacts. But there were enough teeth and other weapons that even if they didn¡¯t intentionally target the two cultivators, they had to defend themselves. Teeth were one thing, but those didn¡¯t extend far or flail wildly. The handful of sharks around John and Matayal were one of the smaller concerns. More dangerous were the startled electric eels, indiscriminately shocking around them as they found themselves in danger. The energy was easily negated by the whale, but John had to repeatedly redirect flows of energy around himself and Matayal while the two of them dodged teeth and flailing tentacles. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The two of them dodged forward to avoid being under a school of jellies, not wanting to contend with toxic stingers. While their defensive energy could prevent them from being touched, that only worked until they exhausted their energy. Without proper rest they were still in a weakened state, and had to conserve their efforts. The whole time they were dodging and weaving their way through the creatures around them, the whale on whose back they were riding seemed wholly unconcerned. If it wanted to, it could get out of the upwards jet of water with a few flaps of its tail, but it basically didn¡¯t move a muscle the whole time. Until a squid appeared in front of it. The whole whale lurched forward as it lunged for a tasty mouthful of food, destabilizing everything on its back and sending John and Matayal flying into its hump. Matayal stabbed out with her spear, stabbing into the protrusion to stop them. She was aware that it risked angering the creature, but being flung into its flapping tail would be far worse anyway. John yanked on her grip as she suddenly stopped, but the two of them held firm, their energy intertwining to make them more connected than ever. Though her spear was driven into the whale the full length of its head, the whale didn¡¯t seem to notice. After all, what was a twenty or thirty centimeter hole to something of that size? Or perhaps its hump simply didn¡¯t have any feeling to it. Regardless, its energy still wanted to cover the whole of its back, and it statically pressed inward around where Matayal¡¯s spear had pierced through a small section. John had experience with something similar in the stone forest, and sustaining a solid defense would work well enough, as long as the creature wasn¡¯t intentionally targeting a specific point. They could handle the small portion of its energy dedicated to the spot they were standing. With her spear being used to anchor them, it became John¡¯s job to twist around the two of them and fight off approaching creatures. Those that had no intention to attack them he simply deflected when he could. He avoided piercing his sword deep into anything, afraid he wouldn¡¯t be able to withdraw it. Instead, he settled for a thrust along a creature¡¯s side. The next thing that struck was a whole school of fish- neither side wished to meet each other at the speeds they were going, but they had little choice. John wrapped himself around Matayal and made use of the Unbreakable Boulder technique to protect the two of them with earth energy as they endured the impacts. Light began to be visible around them once more. Then a tangle of giant kelp wrapped over the top of the whale, starting at the head and sweeping towards the tail where John and Matayal stood. Even with only a moment to react, they coordinated their efforts to meet the incoming danger. Being dragged off or entangled themselves would leave them in an unknown state, but the mess of plants was too big for them to swim over- and they would have to leave behind Matayal¡¯s spear if they tried. John took a two-handed stance with his sword, Matayal supporting him with her free hand from behind. The water in front of him parted through the power of Matayal¡¯s water energy while he slashed forward with his reserves of air energy, making his blade as sharp as he could possibly manage. For a moment he caught on the mess of leaves and the thick core of the plant, but he managed to slash through it, though he staggered backwards. He realized that he needed to refresh their air. He had only just begun to make the attempt when suddenly they were hit with a rushing wind. Not the press of water, but of air. John squinted as he saw the sunny sky, and coughed up a mouthful of water as he subconsciously took a breath. He turned to Matayal with a grin, but before he could say anything his face fell. The water below them was rapidly falling away, except for the jet underneath them. For some reason, he¡¯d thought they would stop when they reached the surface of the water. ¡°Should we jump¡­?¡± John¡¯s words were dragged away by the wind, and speaking in a way meant to be heard in air instead of water was suddenly odd, but Matayal seemed to understand regardless. ¡°After the waterspout ends. And I¡¯d really like to retrieve my spear¡­ this is my good one.¡± John nodded. He was already splitting the air above them, threatening to push them off the whale just as surely as the water before, but he redoubled his efforts as they took a low stance, then pulled together on the spear. It took two yanks before it pulled free, but the whale didn¡¯t seem to react in any way. Just when John was wondering if it had somehow died, a spray of water came out of the front end of the creature, the blowhole where he would expect a nose to be. The jet of water was suddenly no longer beneath them and they felt weightless, but they were still moving upwards. John was about to suggest they jump when his vision was suddenly obscured by the clouds. ¡°After we get below the cloud layer!¡± John was half-yelling to be heard clearly through the whipping wind. ¡°We¡¯ll look for a safe landing spot! Until then, the whale should slow down more due to drag!¡± It was a beautiful sight, seeing the clouds from up above. It would have been peaceful if they were flying in an airplane above it¡­ or flying at all, instead of simply having been launched into the sky. At least the sea creatures had all tumbled off the whale and nothing was attacking them at the moment. They hung in the air for a moment, then the whale tilted forward as if it were getting ready for a dive. John and Matayal gripped each other¡¯s hands as their feet disconnected from the top of the whale, and they were falling. Creating a parachute with the tools available in this world wouldn¡¯t be difficult. Strong, light cloth and string were absolutely something he could have obtained. But neither John nor Matayal would have thought they would find themselves falling out of the sky when they went on an expedition to the Kelp Spire Forest, at least not more than the hundred meters or so the spires stuck out of the water. Either a few moments or an eternity later and they were once more below the cloud line. As they looked down, they could see that in many places the water had withdrawn, leaving two or even three hundred meters of stone spire sticking up. It also left some patches where there was almost dry land¡­ which was certainly not where either of them wanted to land. John knew that hitting water at terminal velocity was similar to hitting concrete, but with water element energy that could be mitigated somewhat. And he hoped they could slow themselves down somewhat before the impact. John and Matayal looked at each other and nodded before picking a target and letting the wind carry themselves away from whatever small shelter the whale provided. Chapter 87 The wind ripped past as John and Matayal fell together. From the height they were at they might be able to angle their fall entirely outside of the Kelp Spire Forest, but then they would have to contend with hitting the water with no way to slow themselves down beforehand. That would put most of the pressure on Matayal, and didn¡¯t make full use of the resources available to them. Great towers of kelp climbed the irregularly located stone spires, but more than that they also in some locations were strung between two of them. One such area was their target, where several criss-crossing plants were located close together. The intention was to use some of them to break their fall, diminishing their momentum in several stages instead of all at once. To guide them to the right location, John made use of his air elemental spiritual energy to push them along, converting vertical speed to horizontal- though he didn¡¯t want to overshoot either. It almost felt like they weren¡¯t moving towards the ground at all, but the way the air was rushing by their heads it was obvious that was not the case. They were just so high it was a slow process. At least it gave them sufficient time to line up with their intended target. Both of them extended their energy to create as much drag as they could, but it wasn¡¯t the same as a good parachute. Somewhere around thirty seconds later they were a few dozen meters above the kelp they had targeted. Both had weapons in their hands, though they were quite aware that they would likely lose them. The choices were between weapons ripping out of their hands, breaking their arms, or cutting smoothly through the plants and barely slowing themselves down at all. They struck the first bundle of giant leaves and the stalk at the same time, spear and sword piercing into the plant. Their momentum carried them downward, and they barely managed to keep their grip on each other while their weapons were twisted out of their hands. They struck the next strand a moment later, rolling off and continuing towards the water where they impacted less than a second later. A huge crater of water formed around them as they hit, using most of their remaining energy to soften their impact and spread out the force over as much area as they could. They were momentarily in a bowl of water, then it crashed back over them, covering them. They found themselves a few dozen meters below the surface, beaten and battered but conscious. John was pretty sure he broke some fingers on the way down, though. It seemed their impact, and the general situation in the area, had driven away the beasts that would have been interested in taking advantage of them. But they might return soon. The two of them found their way out of the water onto one of the kelp, walking unsteadily. ¡°We should be able to retrieve our weapons, at least,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°They are well and truly impaled.¡± John nodded. ¡°Then we need to rest.¡± Somehow climbing what had only a week before seemed like a short distance seemed to take forever, as they moved up the slippery plant and out where it hung between two spires to grab their weapons. Then they made their way towards one of the caves cultivators or beasts had carved in the spires- not very deep, and only providing a small amount of security but the best they could get. They sat together, side by side facing the entrance, their weapons on either side of them. ¡°Didn¡¯t think we¡¯d need to slow our fall,¡± John commented idly. ¡°Could have come up with a better technique for it.¡± He leaned over. ¡°Terminal velocity isn¡¯t that fast¡­¡± his eyes closed, as he muttered to Matayal and himself about what he could have done. ----- The two of them jolted awake as they sensed incoming energy. Cultivators, not beasts, by the feeling of them. John and Matayal clutched their weapons, wary of the dangers¡­ but a moment later they relaxed. The two they sensed were familiar. It wasn¡¯t long before Aydan and Livna came into view. ¡°You found us,¡± John said awkwardly. ¡°Of course,¡± Aydan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s my job.¡± Then he shrugged, ¡°And we saw you falling out of the sky.¡± Matayal looked around, ¡°Where are Crystin and Yonit?¡± she asked. ¡°Heading to gather reinforcements,¡± Aydan said. ¡°You didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d leave two future clan heads'' fates unknown? We had to try to rescue you, or¡­¡± ¡°Retrieve our bodies?¡± John commented. ¡°...Yes,¡± Aydan nodded. ¡°But I am glad that that was not the case. We are aware we failed as bodyguards, so we will accept whatever punishment you deem necessary.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± John said, ¡°Your first punishment is to stand there while we pass out again, making sure nothing disturbs us.¡± As he and Matayal leaned against each other, she was unconscious mere moments before he was. The two of them had their first real rest in days, where neither of them had to worry about running out of air or beasts eating them while they tried to sleep. When they woke once more, it was mid afternoon, two days later. At least that was what Adyan said. ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± John nodded. ¡°I feel like I could have slept for a week.¡± He stood up, stretching. His right hand was definitely broken, but that wasn¡¯t too hard for a cultivator to recover from. And he felt greatly refreshed, though he would have to spend time cultivating to replenish his energy to its fullest capacity. Its new maximum capacity, since both he and Matayal had advanced more than a single rank. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°I am impressed,¡± Aydan said. ¡°Once again you fall into danger and come out stronger, young master.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really the only option we had,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I would recommend it as a training regime.¡± Her water energy was half replenished already, naturally refilling most quickly given the proper surroundings. ¡°It made Cyclone Island seem comfortable.¡± Aydan grimaced, having experienced just a part of that training himself. Yet he¡¯d been sheltered by Kusuma, while the two of them had been required to face the full force of the storms there. ¡°That bad, huh?¡± ¡°What happened to the two of you?¡± Livna asked. ¡°We tried to reach you as you were pulled down, but we hesitated for too long, and we were only pulled a short ways into the depths.¡± John and Matayal regaled the two of them with an expedited version of the tale, certain they would be telling it many times in the coming days. How they saw strange creatures, how they had to create pockets of air to do something vaguely like sleep, and the resources they found and consumed. John looked down below them, vaguely in the direction of where they had been. ¡°There are certainly more valuable resources to be found in the depths, but also great danger. I wouldn¡¯t be comfortable returning until Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± ¡°If it is the two of you,¡± Aydan commented, ¡°I believe you can reach that level. And this is not just flattery. Though the barrier between stages can be quite difficult to surmount, even if it takes you years¡­ I believe it extremely likely.¡± John nodded. Matayal had already progressed beyond the midpoint of the Soul Expansion Phase, while he was just short of it. With more relaxed cultivation he should be able to catch up to her, especially since her cultivation would support him, more than normal for dual cultivation of course. He didn¡¯t want to be a burden on her, but it wasn¡¯t as if they were so far removed in cultivation rank that she wouldn¡¯t be benefitting. It just so happened that resources suited for water element cultivation had been more plentiful in the ocean. Who could have guessed? ----- Though their cultivation had indeed progressed quite nicely, the very reason they had come to the Kelp Spire Forest, John and Matayal with their two guards made their way out of the area. Passing out in a cave had certainly reinvigorated the pair, but that wasn¡¯t enough. They also wanted to assuage the worries of their families as soon as possible. With the extreme changes to the local area the boats from the nearby islands wouldn¡¯t get close, but they were more of a convenience than a necessity. If four cultivators- two of which were purely water element- couldn¡¯t swim to a nearby island, they would be a sorry lot indeed. That was where they took their longer rest, not just catching up on sleep but stabilizing their cultivations. Advancing too rapidly could build up issues for future cultivation, especially with impurities building up. Though with John¡¯s cultivation path, impurities with unwanted elements mixed in were something easily managed. Between himself and Matayal they had four of the six elements, and the deep sea didn¡¯t have much fire or light element to pollute the energy they had been taking in. Not much fire, but there were certainly bits of fire element mixed in with the various creatures that lived around the thermal vents. John didn¡¯t mind having the small bits of fire, but he needed it properly balanced with everything else instead of just being mixed in like a sludge. He still had no fire totem, of course, so there was an amount of excess that the two cultivators simply expelled from them over the course of the next week. ----- It wasn¡¯t hard to find the rescue forces. A small fleet of ships- or perhaps middling in size, if one considered the level of cultivators on board- was easy to pick out. John and Matayal moved to intercept them, so they wouldn¡¯t simply pass by. When they got close, Netanel leapt off the leading ship towards them, spraying water behind him as he darted through the water and wrapped his arms around Matayal. ¡°I knew you would live!¡± he said as he raised her up in his arms. ¡°But we were ready to fight every beast in the area to make sure of it.¡± Matayal smiled at her grandfather. ¡°I¡¯m glad you were coming for us. But the forces here¡­ is anyone left defending the Brandle clan?¡± ¡°We left some people behind,¡± Netanel said. ¡°Though we hired some mercenaries to come with us, and to stay there.¡± John grimaced. ¡°What an expensive event. I¡¯m sorry you had to do that for us.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Netanel said. ¡°Ultimately, perhaps it was a waste of resources- but to ensure your safety it was worthwhile. And¡­ though it was unrelated to the expense, it seems we will come out ahead. The two of you have advanced wonderfully. You feel almost as strong as Luctus now. Well, where he was a while ago. I hear he¡¯s gotten a renewed vigor.¡± John nodded, ¡°Thanks to Ciaritzal¡¯s assistance.¡± ¡°And yours,¡± Netanel noted. ¡°Would that we had something like that. But I supposed giving up some of my own cultivation wouldn¡¯t be a thing to do so easily, even for the sake of the younger generation.¡± Soon enough they found themselves back on board the main ship, not a swift vessel like the Wavecutter but a sturdy war vessel. ¡°Behold!¡± Netanel called out to the entire fleet. ¡°My granddaughter and grandson-in-law yet live, having fought through great dangers and come out victorious!¡± He turned to address mercenaries they had brought along, ¡°Though I am sure you are saddened that there will be no combat pay available, you will still all be compensated for your time¡­ and you¡¯re invited to the celebration!¡± John didn¡¯t think there really needed to be a party just because they survived- though part of that was because he¡¯d already finished the wonderful high of being alive and safe. And he had to admit that it was a good way to redirect the fervor of the mercenaries and clan members who had been called out. Ultimately, though, he was still getting used to being important. A branch manager at a burger joint might have been necessary for one small store to run, but ultimately whether or not Brad¡¯s Burgers had been running didn¡¯t matter to more than the people a few blocks around them. As a high ranking cultivator, he could influence a lot more. He hoped in the end, his results on the world would be positive. Chapter 88 Being alive was nice and all, but ultimately at the end of one week of recovery John felt like he had to do something again. Just sitting around cultivating trying to recover didn¡¯t really accomplish anything. Since they were staying on Pualani, John had no responsibilities. Even Matayal¡¯s were limited, since most of the administrative efforts were still managed by others. Just because she would eventually lead the clan didn¡¯t mean there were many things she had to handle at the moment. Cultivation clans didn¡¯t change quickly, and thus rarely needed decisions on a day-to-day basis. While the general activity of a young cultivator was to go from place to place, looking for events where they could grow stronger and seeking out good fortune, as heirs of notable clans John and Matayal had to consider other things. At the moment neither clan was specifically looking to expand, instead focusing on stability. To that end, they had specific duties to fulfill. ¡°You know,¡± John said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think much about having children on Earth. I wasn¡¯t even dating anyone, so that was pretty far away. But I always thought my wife and I would be the ones to choose how many children we had, or didn¡¯t.¡± Matayal nodded, ¡°Many people think that, but we are not alone in this. Even those without clans are expected to have children to carry on their future. Was there not societal pressure on Earth to do the same?¡± ¡°Well,¡± he admitted, ¡°Very few people really chose not to have children. And there were usually expectations from family to do so. But the amount of children I thought I would have wasn¡¯t usually so¡­ specifically chosen by circumstances.¡± ¡°Our options aren¡¯t quite so limited as it might seem,¡± Matayal said. ¡°The Tenebach and Brandle clans need someone of the main line to continue the bloodlines. Eventually, we must have two children to fulfil those roles. But nothing says we cannot have more than two.¡± ¡°Do you want more than two children?¡± John asked. ¡°It will be harder for you than for me.¡± ¡°It is perhaps not quite the same for me as you are thinking,¡± Matayal said. ¡°For a cultivator, the physical process of bearing a child is not terribly difficult. And though undergoing any sort of breakthrough while pregnant is a risk to a child, a period of nine months without advancing cultivation is not as terrible as it sounds. It only seems so restrictive because we are early in our cultivation. If my grandfather could consistently advance a single rank every year or two, he would be ecstatic.¡± Matayal smiled, ¡°You must remember that we will live longer than others. We will still be young even a decade or two from now, still in our prime. If we were to advance a single rank every year over that time, we would reach the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase, higher than anyone in our regions.¡± John pondered for a few moments. ¡°You think we can¡¯t do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said. ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°... it kind of does. If I don¡¯t make it beyond that phase, then I won¡¯t have a fire totem. I¡¯ll hardly be able to return your support in cultivation proportionately before then.¡± Matayal was silent for a long while. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t have to,¡± she finally stated. ¡°Cultivation is important, but you making the choice to care about what I want is even more important. I¡¯d rather be valued as a person than valued for my strength.¡± She smiled, ¡°But having both would be nice. We¡¯ve already met every reasonable expectation placed on us, yet I have no doubt we can grow stronger.¡± Ultimately they made no decision about when to have their first child, except for that it would not be yet. There was some risk that they might die before having children, but if they only considered everything from the worst case scenario, they would simply remain huddled in their clans doing nothing. ----- Sometimes it was nice to have your next course of action decided for you. Though attending formal events could be a chore, John had to admit that it provided a nice opportunity to settle into a routine. First he had clothes tailored to fit him. He hadn¡¯t grown much taller or broader in the shoulders, but since he had been in his early twenties there was still some growth given enough time. Men weren''t expected to update their fashion as frequently, but some women were often loathe to attend multiple parties in the same dress- and cultivators were not different from anyone with wealth in that regard. Cultivators often made exceptions for practical garb, since the expense for anything that looked good and yet was functional in combat was much greater. Most of the expense was the latter part, but some equipment for cultivators was cut roughly out of furs of mighty beasts with little adornment. Choosing only the choicest parts for their form and functionality might increase expenses several times. This time, John found himself only vaguely related to events. It was another wedding, and while it would be smaller scale than his own, it was only proper to attend. The parties in question were Alina Milanovic and his cousin Tempkeit. Of the two, Alina was of more importance. Tempkeit had less cultivation talent and had only made it to the middle of Foundation Phase, while Alina was at the peak of Foundation Phase and would surely step into the Soul Expansion Phase soon. There were rumors that she held her own cultivation back, in fact, so that the wedding would be more palatable to the Milanovic Clan. They would of course want their talented juniors married off to equally talented and prestigious young men. Tempkeit¡¯s status within the Tenebach clan was not much, and his talent was nothing to speak of. But Alina was a hard woman to refuse, and her clan eventually gave in. On the other hand, the Tenebach clan had no objection to Tempkeit marrying Alina. Even if he fully integrated into the Milanovic clan, they would not lose much. The marriage wouldn¡¯t be solidifying a permanent alliance like John and Matayal. It would just slightly increase the favor between the two clans, making them more willing to continue working together when it benefited both. It wasn¡¯t political in nature, but instead an actual marriage of love. A rarity in the world, but strong cultivators often got their way- even if that was to do something suboptimal for their cultivation. ----- John was glad he wasn¡¯t wearing his new clothes on the journey to the Milanovic clan¡¯s location at the feet of Zolvolj. They would quickly find themselves looking much less new if he were to be sweating all over them like he was now. Technically, his cultivation was strong enough that he could completely block out the heat. The only issue was that it would be difficult to restore his energy at the same rate he expended it. The Green Sands weren¡¯t known for their abundance of any energy outside of fire. Though they did have enough earth energy for John to feel comfortable expending enough of that to make himself merely sweat, instead of melting into a puddle on the floor. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Matayal was both better and worse off than he was. Water was very resistant to fire, as fire¡¯s conquering element. It took her little effort to keep herself cool¡­ but the sparsity of water element energy was even greater than darkness or air. The Green Sands was a vast desert, after all. The only proper sources of water elemental spiritual energy were in oases or wells in large cities. So while she was able to keep herself comfortable, it would be difficult for her to recover expended energy consistently. ¡°I could help keep you cool as well,¡± Matayal offered once more. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be stubborn about it.¡± ¡°I appreciate the offer, really,¡± John said. ¡°But I really should get back in tune with my old techniques. And I have secret tricks now.¡± The secret trick was that he could create a breeze. It didn¡¯t have to be much to make him feel much cooler, but he limited himself in that area. He was more interested in reaching into the ground beneath him, seeing how deeply he could entrench his energy even as they moved along in a carriage. Being a cultivation phase higher and in his case having totems a tier higher as well, it wasn¡¯t actually that bad. But he was also being a bit stubborn and using only the bare minimum of energy to keep himself mostly comfortable. ----- Since he was on a journey with a half-dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators including himself- and others- John didn¡¯t expect to run into trouble on the way to their destination. After all, travelling through the Shimmering Islands and the Stone Conglomerate had been relatively easy, and they had no enemies with significant grudges in the Green Sands. There was just one factor that John had discounted. ¡°I sense someone¡­ familiar¡­¡± he said as they were approaching a particular oasis to rest and water their horses. He felt a bit of a commotion up ahead, spiritual energy being raised but no attacks having occurred as of yet. A proper understanding of cultivators was that, even though they were prideful, most conflicts were resolved peacefully. Otherwise, they would all be wiped out within a few years. Usually. Spiritual Energy could be used to enhance all sorts of senses, including hearing. Thus, John and Matayal- and the others with them- could make out what was being said up ahead. ¡°And when did your Shiny Sun Sect gain ownership of this oasis?¡± said one voice. ¡°The Gleaming Sun Sect staked its claim to this oasis more than a week prior. You cannot drink without paying the fee.¡± ¡°Yeah? Says who? The last time I came through here, it was free.¡± ¡°As I said-¡± ¡°It would be one thing if your Sunflower Sect had helped establish the safety of the roads in the area, but I¡¯m pretty sure all you did was put up a sign and kick out everyone else who was using the area.¡± By this point, John could make out blue hair and the familiar feeling of Lucanus. Steve, if he were to use the name he had on Earth. A fellow transmigrator, though one with a very different background than John in his new life. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the woman he was speaking to folded her arms in front of her. ¡°Pay the fee or get out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thirsty,¡± Lucanus said and started walking towards the oasis, pushing past her. ¡°You really want to start something with the Gleaming Sun Sect?¡± she glared at him. He looked back at her. ¡°It¡¯s more of a matter of whether or not you want to start something with me.¡± Lucanus¡¯ eyes flared, and he made it clear he was in the Soul Expansion Phase. There were many members of the Gleaming Sun Sect scattered about, perhaps twenty in total and half of those in the Foundation Phase. John really didn¡¯t want to yell, but he also didn¡¯t want to just let things happen. Before he could make any choice, however, the woman drew the sword at her side, a scimitar with an especially wide blade. ¡°We won¡¯t stand for any more disrespect towards the Gleaming Sun Sect and our territory.¡± John sighed. He didn¡¯t want to get involved, but the battle was happening right in front of them. Just pulling up the carriages would show weakness, and if he got close and didn¡¯t help his friend he¡¯d be an asshole. Though¡­ he wasn¡¯t sure if Steve actually needed help. Over a dozen people attacked him at once, drawing similar swords to the woman who was in command and suddenly engulfing them in flame. Though they were still charging to close the distance with him, they all swung their swords at him, shooting large blades of fire that concealed him from sight as flames swirled everywhere. For a few moments at least. Then the fire was pulled towards just one point, which seemed to be Lucanus¡¯ face as he slurped up all of the fire around him. Smoke billowed out of his ears as he did so and his eyebrows looked like they were on fire, but he didn¡¯t actually seem injured. Then he began to breathe out, aiming a large gout of fire at the most tightly clumped group of four enemy cultivators approaching him. They reacted with significantly less poise than he had, scattering in all directions and screaming as they tried to put themselves out. They were all fire cultivators as well, so they weren¡¯t burned to a crisp¡­ but nonetheless the group was taken out of the battle for the moment. As the first enemies began to reach him in melee range, Lucanus flickered back and forth like a flame in the wind, deftly avoiding the sweep of their blades while striking out with fists and feet, knees and elbows. Many of his opponents caught on fire, while he simply absorbed or redirected the flames coming from them. John thought everything might resolve itself without him, but as he leaned out the window to watch what was happening several of the enemy cultivators who had not approached Lucanus held their scimitars in front of them widthwise. John could tell there was going to be some sort of attack, but he couldn¡¯t tell what. Until it happened. Then a gleam of light shone into his eyes. Except it was a thousand times worse, since it was a light-element technique amplifying the effect. He cursed, and then felt a flurry of activity around him. The rest of the battle he had to pick out with just his energy senses, but the tides of battle swiftly fell into favor of one particular side. It turned out that the addition of a Soul Expansion Phase water element cultivator into the battle was extremely problematic for the Gleaming Sun Sect. And that didn¡¯t count the guards who darted off after Matayal. ¡°Fortkran?¡± Aydan asked. John waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Go support my wife!¡± If the Gleaming Sun Sect didn¡¯t know not to involve bystanders in their battles they deserved what was coming to them. Though Aydan never even got close to the battle, as the moment Matayal jumped out of the carriage with her intent to fight clear, several people began to run. It seemed that Lucanus had mostly avoided the blinding effect on his own, and his strikes sent people flying away from him- and as they caught on fire they ran through the oasis, with Lucanus chasing after them. Or at least, it looked like that- until they ran out the other side of the water and he belly flopped into it and dunked his head under. Surprisingly nobody had died. Lucanus had likely formed a grudge with them, but if the Gleaming Sun Sect ended up with ill intent towards the Tenebach or Brandle clans, they had nobody to blame but themselves when they ended up with actual losses. John rubbed his eyes as everything was settling down. He hadn¡¯t encountered a single light element technique before, and he¡¯d been wholly unprepared. It shot right through all his defenses, because despite what it did to his eyes the attack wasn¡¯t actually particularly energetic. If he had been trying to block all light coming to him, he couldn¡¯t exactly see, now could he? Though he now realized he had to restrict light more. At least he learned that outside of a large-scale battle. And his vision was already coming back, so he was pretty sure there wouldn¡¯t be permanent damage. Chapter 89 After the end of the short altercation with the Gleaming Sun Sect, Lucanus walked out of the oasis dripping wet. He had a wide smile on his face. ¡°How ya doin¡¯ guys? Married life been treating you well?¡± John and Matayal nodded together. ¡°We¡¯ve been doing quite well,¡± John replied. ¡°How about you? It¡¯s a shame we keep running into each other when there¡¯s trouble.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not really another time we could meet though,¡± Lucanus mentioned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re the young master of a clan. You¡¯ve got that look about you whether or not guards are following around. People notice that and respect it. But for me, I¡¯m just some guy. So what if I have a bit of cultivation?¡± Lucanus shrugged, ¡°People think they can do whatever they want. So it¡¯s pretty constant. Seems like there¡¯s an endless supply of people waiting to get their asses kicked.¡± ¡°Seems dangerous,¡± John commented. ¡°It can be, but you also have to recognize when to keep your head down.¡± Lucanus shrugged, ¡°So I¡¯ve heard. Mostly, I stay alert and don¡¯t go near unfamiliar cultivators stronger than myself by a significant margin. Nobody wants to get into a real fight with someone who can burn off half their face even if they win.¡± ¡°How many people has that happened with? The face burning thing.¡± ¡°Just twice. If you look like the young master of a clan, I look like someone who¡¯ll burn your face off.¡± John took a close look at him. He didn¡¯t see it, but he also knew it was only when provoked. Even if Lucanus was particularly easily provoked, those who made that mistake probably deserved what was coming to them. Sometimes that was just being chased off in embarrassment. ¡°I should help my wife,¡± John gestured to the oasis. The sand had been stirred up by the Gleaming Sun Sect cultivators running through- as well as Lucanus flinging himself into the waters. Matayal was currently settling it but that job was best accomplished by the two of them together. He lent his earth elemental spiritual energy to the job, and they settled one edge of the area quickly enough. That meant they could let their animals drink, and fill themselves as well. After that was done, John returned to his chat with Lucanus. ¡°So, what brings you out to the Green Sands?¡± It wasn¡¯t strange for him to be there, of course. Every cultivator could efficiently grow in power in an area that matched their element. ¡°That¡¯s easy. It¡¯s time for old Zolvolj to start up again. Haven¡¯t given it a go since we first saw each other. Bet I can make it to the top this time. What about you? What are you here for?¡± ¡°A wedding,¡± John explained. ¡°Another? Boy, you¡¯re sure going to be busy.¡± Lucanus grinned widely, ¡°Don¡¯t think anyone here will last long around your first wife though.¡± A large ball of water dropped on his head and he turned towards Matayal, ¡°See? You¡¯ll find the body out in the desert, lungs full of water.¡± Another ball of water hung menacingly over Lucanus¡¯ head, but he ignored it. ¡°The one getting married is Tempkeit, over there,¡± John gestured. Given the current circumstances, he also had his own set of guards specifically watching him, though the Tenebach clan would never intentionally let any of their members be harmed regardless of current status. ¡°I can introduce you.¡± ¡°Might as well,¡± Lucanus said. ¡°I barely got to meet anyone last time, since I showed up late to your wedding. Who¡¯s he coming all the way out here to marry?¡± ¡°Alina Milanovic,¡± John said. ¡°They¡¯re the clan with green hair? Live on Zolvolj?¡± Lucanus tilted his head and John nodded. ¡°A fine clan. Never had trouble with them. Not outside of normal friction, anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll appreciate hearing that.¡± ¡°When¡¯s the wedding anyway? If it¡¯s soon, Zolvolj might be erupting while it happens. Ah,¡± Lucanus smiled, ¡°I bet they¡¯d want that. It¡¯s said to be a good sign. Of course, since they can predict when Zolvolj will be erupting there¡¯s probably a handful of others getting married too, if they can secure a spot nearby.¡± Lucanus shrugged. ¡°So let¡¯s meet the guy.¡± ----- The journey continued with Lucanus accompanying them, since they were going to more or less the same destination. John wondered if the other transmigrator really did attract as much trouble as it seemed, because even the factors he mentioned couldn¡¯t result in being attacked everywhere he went. If that happened, the world would be a lawless madhouse. It was¡­ slightly less wild than that. Otherwise there would be few old cultivators, or maybe none at all with constant fighting and potentially killing each other. Along the way John was glad to find that he wasn¡¯t the only one who would overheat. He¡¯d seen it before while they were hurrying back from the location of the wedding to the Tenebach sect, but Lucanus occasionally shot out gouts of fire. That was even the case where he wasn¡¯t physically exerting himself but just being carried through the desert. He was courteous enough to stick his head out of the carriage and aim up into the sky. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± John said. ¡°Why do you do it like that?¡± ¡°Just in case I¡¯m ever about to get into a fight. Lots of fire cultivators in areas with high density of spiritual energy just constantly let off a stream of heat, something you wouldn¡¯t really notice. But if I let it build up pressure it helps me cultivate, and if I get into a battle when I¡¯m at my best I can start off the battle with an extra burst. It throws people off their game- or just makes them choose to retreat.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Interesting. I haven¡¯t heard of other spiritual energy building up like that.¡± ¡°It happens with ice,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°In freezing lands, water cultivators overfill with spiritual energy as well and they have to release it. Most of the other elements aren¡¯t as intrusive. Though air has lightning, which produces much the same effect. Earth is too stable for that.¡± ¡°I wonder if light turns into natural lasers,¡± John speculated. ¡°Good question man,¡± Lucanus said. ¡°Is a laser just high pressure light?¡± ¡°Not¡­ really?¡± John shook his head, ¡°Though I admit my studies didn¡¯t really cover that.¡± ¡°Alright. But can you make dark lasers?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± John pondered, ¡°Darkness isn¡¯t prone to high intensity bursts like light. It tends to suffuse through the area.¡± ¡°So does light though,¡± Lucanus said. Matayal interjected herself, ¡°What¡¯s a laser?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a high intensity light beam,¡± John replied. ¡°I don¡¯t think either of us can explain the details more than that. If focused enough, it can burn things.¡± ¡°Light and fire working as one,¡± she nodded, ¡°Like the sun.¡± ¡°I guess,¡± John said. ¡°But even if the source of light isn¡¯t fire, it decays into heat eventually.¡± There wasn¡¯t a lot of light that didn¡¯t come from fire though, in this world. The only examples he could think of were things like phosphorescent moss, a few forms of crystals, and things like the deep sea anglerfish and other life that emitted light. ¡°What an interesting conversation,¡± she commented. ¡°Laser. Such an interesting word.¡± ¡°Well it stands for something else,¡± Lucanus said. ¡°It just doesn¡¯t translate very well.¡± He looked to John, speaking in English. ¡°She knows about the club, right?¡± ¡°Of course. You think I wouldn¡¯t tell my wife?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°People hide all sorts of things from their wives,¡± Lucanus commented. ¡°Not always good things. So she knows about me too then?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± John shrugged, ¡°Our first real talk kind of threw that all into open air, so I¡¯m not the only one that knows.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Lucanus truly seemed unconcerned, but then again that seemed to be his style. He would handle whatever consequences popped up when they came, good or bad. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Lucanus returned to the local language, ¡°Just checking on something with him. Back to lasers. They¡¯re pretty awesome.¡± ----- Lucanus left their company before they arrived at the Milanovic clan, citing his desire to not intrude on ¡®clan business¡¯. John had thought he might benefit from the introduction to a powerful clan in an area he would be frequenting, but it was his choice. The arrival for the wedding was not as far ahead as for his own in the Shimmering Islands. It was a smaller affair, and it was easier to guarantee arriving within a certain time frame crossing the desert compared to navigating the ocean. Though this particular marriage wasn¡¯t anything significant, the Milanovic clan was still treating it seriously. Alina¡¯s status in the clan given her cultivation talent was still reasonably high, and even though Tempkeit was unimportant in the Tenebach clan they also wanted to give a proper amount of face to another clan. The biggest difference was that those outside of the two clans were invited in much smaller numbers. John had been a bit skeptical about a wedding in a desert. Even though the MIlanovic clan¡¯s grounds were tolerable, it had still been unpleasantly warm on his previous visit. But given that it was a formal occasion instead of just an unplanned visit, they had adjusted the amount of incoming heat to be at a minimum in the areas visitors would be staying in. It might still get hot, but it would be summer heat instead of oven heat. The Milanovic clan¡¯s courtyards always looked nice, but the addition of statues formed from fused sand was a nice touch. They were a beautiful green, though because of their nature they lacked the natural swirls and bands that made some forms of stone interesting. ----- For obvious reasons, John was a thousand times less invested in Tempkeit¡¯s wedding than his own. He was fond of his cousin, but beyond some happy feelings at his unity with Alina he wasn¡¯t struck with much emotion. For the most part it was just another social event, with the exception of the guest each taking time to speak with the bride and groom. Though they seemed like they would be more interested in having the event over with. But though the reactions of most were rather subdued, Zolvolj was more enthusiastic. At the height of the ceremony the ground rumbled and fire shot into the sky. Several large rocks rained down on the Milanovic clan, but they were deflected by a barrier. If they couldn¡¯t handle something like that, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to live at the base of an extremely active volcano for so long. The eruption more or less signalled the start of the next event. The happy couple left to be on their own, while most of the other cultivators were more eager to give climbing the volcano a try. That included John and Matayal, of course. Though Zolvolj was a bit more lively this time around, John was quite confident in his ability to go further than before given his considerable increase in cultivation rank. He also had a wider variety of elements to call upon- twice as many, if he counted Matayal. Which he did. The two of them whisked the heat away from themselves as they started walking up the mountain, terrain that formerly caused John pause being almost ignorable. Cultivators from all around were climbing up the mountain to improve their own strength. Fire cultivators wanted to grow from the immense power in the area, while others were there precisely because the conditions would be harsh and push them to their limits. As expected, John made it to the same height he had before without too much concern. A few handholds carved out of the rock here and there to make their path easier, a couple small hops over flows of lava, and they had quite a view down the mountain behind them. But the amount ahead of the pair was likewise quite lengthy. They still had much trouble to face, an increasing number of rolling boulders, more intense heat, and rough terrain. Last time John had pushed himself for the sake of growing stronger, but with Matayal present things were different. It wasn¡¯t easy, but he found that he was having fun as well as improving himself at the same time. Much more fun than being dragged down into the depths of the sea, and with a much easier path out. Down was easier than up, and the amount of damage they would suffer was mitigated by the maximum speed they would tumble. But it was much preferred if they didn¡¯t have to do that as they set their eyes on the peak. Chapter 90 The ground shook, rocks tumbling down the face of Zolvolj along with rivers of lava. The last time Steve had been on the mountain, he was quite a bit weaker. He¡¯d just recently transmigrated, and was relatively weak. He didn¡¯t know if he could handle cultivation, but climbing the volcano had been the most commonly known option for getting stronger. That knowledge wasn¡¯t incorrect, but for an independent cultivation who was already doubting himself, Steve found that watching others succeed easily where he struggled simply demoralized him. He was about ready to give up on his life as a cultivator, thinking he couldn¡¯t make it, but a small amount of encouragement from someone passing by had changed that. ¡®You don¡¯t have to win this time. Just get some experience for the next one.¡¯ Those words weren¡¯t anything profound, but they were enough. He had been adept enough with his fire energy to recover himself and continue going, one step at a time. Climbing had been difficult still, but small handholds and footholds left by those ahead of him allowed him to go further. He hadn¡¯t made it to the top, and certainly hadn¡¯t maintained a speed that would win in a race. He¡¯d gained familiarity with the terrain difficulties, hopping over lava flows and avoiding rolling boulders. The thing he learned most, however, was managing his own heat. To nobody¡¯s surprise, fire elemental spiritual energy was hot. Fire type cultivators had a great tolerance for heat, but it was still possible for them to overheat. Yet it was simple for them to cool down, once they learned how to do it. Last time he¡¯d not even been in early Foundation Phase. Now he was more than twice the rank and two phases ahead. That was a world of difference, with new totems and several times as much spiritual energy and ability to handle it. At the first trembles of the mountain, he started to run, along with many others. Running up hill was a bit difficult when just relying on muscle power, but energy could make up for the extra force required and help handle the strange angles involved. It required some expenditure of energy, but on the face of Zolvolj Steve would be hard pressed to run out of energy as long as he was making any attempt to absorb some from his surroundings. Even the ground beneath his feet was hot, along with the air and the sun beating down on him. Slight blue flames surrounded him as he ran, each breath causing a small flicker around his nostrils as he circulated energy into and out of his body. He would be running hot, but not too hot. Steve imagined his internal body temperature would kill normal humans, but there were barely any of those in this world. There were a number of others who kept pace with him, leaping up small cliffs and quickly scaling those too tall for that. Lava flows liked to block their path, but jumping a few meters past them wasn¡¯t a big deal. When they came to a flow that was practically a river, thirty or more meters wide, most people circled around to the side. There was nothing wrong with that, but they would have to climb up a steep cliff face. Steve decided it was easier to just continue up the gentle slope. Stepping onto lava was one of the things that everyone knew not to do, on Earth or in this world, cultivator or not. Steve felt pretty intense heat from it, but it wouldn¡¯t matter as long as he wasn¡¯t immersed in it. And while the lava was flowing like a river, it wasn¡¯t the sort of thing you easily sank into. He stepped onto it, keeping his running stride. As his feet hit the surface, he created a slight indentation in the viscous liquid. If he just stood still he might eventually sink further than that, but rock was extremely dense, liquid or not. As heat shot up his leg, he pulled it further, circulating the energy through his body and then breathing it out in a cone of flame. He was only on the lava flow for a couple seconds before he was off the other side, hardly enough time to truly overheat. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a waterskin. The water was still vaguely cool as it was kept away from the outside environment. Steve downed the whole thing before tossing it back into the bag. Humans needed water to function, and that included fire cultivators. Any time he began to sweat, it instantly evaporated off of his forehead. It was actually rather annoying, as it left behind itchy salt. For a while, Steve was alone. Yet there was more than one angle to climb Zolvolj from, and he soon began to encounter others. He was still near the head of the pack, though some people were beginning to slow down. They wouldn¡¯t sprint all the way to the top, after all. Even Steve wasn¡¯t planning to do that. Then he recognized some figures. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right. He recognized the cultivation styles of some of the people. He honestly couldn¡¯t say if he had interacted with those specific individuals or not before. But there they were, a pack of people from the Gleaming Sun Sect. And another from the Red Iron Sect. Oh, and the Cult of Green Flames. And the Kovalchuk clan! Steve wondered for a moment if they were all working together, but they were interspersed with many others he was quite sure he didn¡¯t know. Instead, it was simply the leaders of another pack who didn¡¯t have to cross over the lava flow. Their paths intersected, and Steve decided it would be good to continue at his quick pace. Without any provocation on his part, someone looked at him and pointed, yelling. That led more people to take notice of him, and soon enough there were groups quickly approaching. Steve wanted none of that. He had come for a nice, leisurely climb up an active volcano. Yet people were going to disrupt it over minor grudges. And he doubted any of them were going to improve after this was all over. Steve angled himself for the nearest boulder, cutting as close to it as he could as it tumbled down behind him. He stored up more heat than normal, and when he cut through a small gorge he released all of his flame at once, leaving the walls and floor in one section just a little bit melty. The same happened after he climbed up a few spots, and the top of the ledge just happened to sag a little bit and glow orange as he left it behind. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. For some reason, people started throwing fireballs at him. He hadn¡¯t done anything to deserve it, but that was just how people were. Rude. There were beams of light as well, but as they had already been established to not be lasers there wasn¡¯t much they could do to him. He certainly wasn¡¯t going to look behind him, and there wasn¡¯t a glut of reflective surfaces in front of him. Even volcanic glass wasn¡¯t naturally shiny. Speaking of which, his path happened to take him across a huge field of that. As he ran past chunks of it sprayed up as attacks impacted around him, leaving behind scattered bits and pieces- but that wasn¡¯t his concern. He was just picking the fastest way to the top of the mountain. His route next took him behind a lava fall. He spotted a really easy climbing path on the other side of it, and why bother running on top of lava when he could take a nice, open path underneath it as it flowed off the top of a cliff. That was the only time it moved quickly, since gravity quickly overcame all the sluggishness it had until it hit the ground below and stacks and folded in interesting ways. Steve had to admit he was getting annoyed at the few persistent followers he had. When he reached the end of the lava flow he turned around, pressing one hand against the cliff face and releasing excess energy. For a few moments nothing happened- except a fireball tossed vaguely towards him impacting the ground near his feet- but then the cliff face sagged. There was some cursing and screaming as one of the people chasing him had been behind the flow of lava which suddenly was going more directly straight down, but he hadn¡¯t been able to see them. They were flashing lights at him, so he had his eyes closed. ¡°Whoops, didn¡¯t see you there. I¡¯d probably go get those burns looked at, they look pretty bad!¡± If a Soul Expansion Phase fire cultivator died from getting a little bit of lava on them, they weren¡¯t really deserving of that cultivation level. But it certainly did wonders from discouraging them in their annoying pursuit. Even if they had died, though, they should have known that climbing a volcano was dangerous. The ironic thing was that people would probably be more eager to chase after him now, to regain their honor. But they wouldn¡¯t have lost any to begin with if they hadn¡¯t been the ones to screw with him first. The rest of Steve¡¯s climb up the mountain was more leisurely, and he didn¡¯t cut so close to rolling boulders, flying gouts of mixed rock and lava from the peak, or even the thin bubbles of rock that barely covered some of the vents. If anyone had been following him and had accidentally stepped on a thin layer of rock that fell out from under them and thus fallen into a bed of lava, it would probably have been bad for them. But for the moment he was alone. When he reached the peak, he was also alone- except for an old man at the Consolidated Soul Phase. ¡°Greetings, senior,¡± he inclined his head. ¡°It seems I wasn¡¯t the first to reach the top after all.¡± ¡°You certainly were,¡± the man replied. ¡°At least according to the structures of this little competition people have. I was already here at the start.¡± His eyes swept over Steve, ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected an independent cultivator to be first this year. Might I have your name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Lucanus.¡± Steve was still Steve, but he understood having a name that fit in was still good. And though the original Lucanus didn¡¯t have any say in anything anymore, it was only fair to keep some memory of him in the world as he made use of his body. ¡°Ah. You were the one everyone was yelling about,¡± the old man grinned. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°With who?¡± Steve asked. ¡°Everyone just sort of spontaneously developed a grudge with me. Like the Gleaming Sun Sect, when all I wanted to do was get water but they decided to start something.¡± ¡°I see. And what else?¡± ¡°Well, everyone has their own things.¡± Steve pulled out another skin of water and started sipping it, sitting on a nearby boulder that was only a little bit melted. ¡°I guess I have time to talk about it.¡± He looked down the mountain. ¡°Ooh, looks like the wedding is done. Maybe I¡¯ll see Fortkran up here soon.¡± ----- The top of Zolvolj was hot. That was John¡¯s pure and honest assessment of it. Way too hot. There was nowhere for him to transfer the heat to, and even creating a breeze to whisk away some of it barely did anything. If it wasn¡¯t for Matayal, he would have just given up. But her water energy absorbed the heat a little bit at a time. Unlike earth energy, the heat didn¡¯t just build up forever. Eventually, the water energy was negated¡­ kind of like it evaporated, and just like evaporation it took quite a bit of heat with it. That made the climb barely tolerable. When they reached the top, they found many others there already. That wasn¡¯t strange. John and Matayal were a bit late to start since they had been at the wedding, and they had a total of one experience making the trip between the two of them. But with their cultivations in the Soul Expansion Phase, they were quite able to make it to the top given some time and effort. More than a handful of others were waiting at the top. There were a few scattered groups, though some were simply random individuals just near each other. Many people were tired, and there was a sort of ring of cultivators around the caldera, looking into Zolvolj, including some members of the Milanovic clan. There was one particular group of disorganized looking fellows glaring towards someone else. That someone was Steve, sitting and chatting with a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. ¡°Oh, there he is!¡± Steve waved, ¡°Fortkran! I knew you¡¯d make it this time.¡± ¡°I appreciate the confidence,¡± John smiled and walked over towards him. ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°Not that bad. I pushed myself a bit getting up, maybe went a little faster than I needed to, but I got up here pretty fast. Actually I-¡± Steve¡¯s head snapped around, and John¡¯s eyes followed the movement. One of the cultivators from the Milanovic clan had been looking sort of woozy and tired as they stood at the edge of the caldera, but John hadn¡¯t thought much of it. Of course people were fatigued after climbing the volcano in a rush. But he hadn¡¯t expected them to fall unconscious and topple over the edge. Even with the reflexes of a cultivator, John couldn¡¯t do anything but watch. Steve wasn¡¯t any faster, despite his lack of hesitation. He was up on his feet and running to the edge by the time the woman fell out of sight. It was a valiant attempt, but that was all the speed he could muster. He couldn¡¯t catch her. That was what John thought, and he wasn¡¯t entirely wrong. But as he was running to the edge to try to see if he could do anything, Steve was already over it- diving headfirst into the caldera. Chapter 91 The world could be roughly divided into two sorts of people. Those who wouldn¡¯t dive into a volcano to save someone they had no connection to, and those who would. Steve was the sort firmly in the latter camp. If he were asked about his reasons, he would say he thought about it and determined he could survive. And if anybody managed to ask, then at least half of that would be true. For the moment, though, nobody was saying much of anything. Even the woman falling in front of him wasn¡¯t screaming or anything. Falling quickly wasn¡¯t something Steve had ever tried to do before, but he knew the basics. Tuck in the arms and create a small profile. Unfortunately the distance that he was dropping wasn¡¯t very far, so he had little time to catch up to the falling woman. She struck the surface of the lava before he did by a single instant. Having already established the fact that liquid rock wasn¡¯t as easy to sink into as it looked, it was still a problem to be partly submerged in extremely hot material. A cultivator could resist the heat with their energy, but if the woman had abundant energy she likely wouldn¡¯t have fallen into the caldera to begin with. She looked exhausted. Steve slammed into the ground next to her, intentionally striking the lava with enough momentum to push himself in. His energy pushed the liquid rock beneath his feet down while popping up what was under her, tossing her into his arms. Unfortunately a small gout of lava came up with her, some of it landing on his forehead. He shook his head to fling it off and began to run towards the edge of the caldera. He ignored the fact that both of them were basically on fire, since such a trivial detail could be dealt with later. It was one thing to run about on lava flowing down the mountain, but the lava in the caldera was much hotter as the heat was like an oven all around him. He wrapped the pair of them in his own energy. He put all of his effort into deflecting the heat around them as he ran towards the edge of the caldera, trying to carry someone who wasn¡¯t helping much. Steve managed to throw her over a shoulder and grab onto the wall with one hand, starting to climb even as the not-quite-melted rock he was holding scorched his hand. The one good thing about the caldera was that the walls were very uneven, making the climbing possible. There was just the slight problem that he was carrying someone with him. Beneath him, Zolvolj grumbled angrily. He really hoped the volcano wouldn¡¯t just spew more gouts of lava right now. If it would only wait for just a short while¡­ he might be able to get out of the danger zone. With each breath Steve turned to the side, releasing as much heat as possible in a gout of flames. It wasn¡¯t just his skin that was overheating but his internals as overabundant fire elemental spiritual energy flowed around and through him. If he only had to deal with the heat and muscle strain, he might be fine¡­ but it was difficult to breathe. Hot, acrid fumes were not the best thing to be breathing while performing high intensity exercise. Moving one foot at a time and then his arm placed more weight on the other two parts, and he was severely limited in how he could move without a second arm. All parts of him were tiring, and he wasn¡¯t moving so quickly. Steve didn¡¯t look down. He kept his eyes focused on the important things, what he could do. He thought he was maybe halfway up, with the heat slightly diminishing as he moved away from the belly of the caldera. And every time he took a swig of water from a new canteen it was ready to boil a few seconds later. If he didn¡¯t cool himself down with it, he would probably explode. He drank half of a skin and dumped the rest on the woman, hoping it would at least cool down her head. He was doing his best to protect her, but he could only do so much. The climb was getting harder¡­ or rather he was still getting more tired. He wondered if he¡¯d made one too many impulsive decisions. But after thinking about it, he would do it again. He couldn¡¯t just let someone die. He just wished he¡¯d been better prepared to handle the situation so he wouldn¡¯t go with them as well. Chances he would get a third life were unclear, but at least he could be happy with what he had. Then he felt a comforting coldness on his head. When he looked up he saw a length of ice hanging down. It took a moment to realize it was a rope coated in ice. Well, half coated. A quarter coated. He grabbed onto it quickly before it all melted. As it melted and almost began to boil away it created hot steam, but it was almost cooling compared to the rest of the area. As his grip tightened he was yanked upward. He barely kept his grip, but he wasn¡¯t going to let go. He was pulled up faster and faster before he flew over the lip of the caldera, where he was promptly yanked to the side and away from the edge, along with the woman over his shoulder. Then an entire swimming pool was dumped over him. He was coughing and sputtering in the best way possible as he suddenly felt cool. He looked up to see Matayal standing over him with a storage bag upended. ¡°Hey, thanks,¡± he said. He turned to John as well as a few green-haired members of the Milanovic clan, who had been holding the rope. ¡°Appreciate the help.¡± Finally he looked at the old man, who was currently coiling the very rope in question. ¡°Appreciate you pulling me up.¡± The old man snorted. ¡°I couldn¡¯t very well let this year¡¯s winner die in the caldera.¡± He felt something wriggling next to him. ¡°Umm¡­ excuse me¡­ could you let go?¡± ¡°Oh! Sorry.¡± He released his death grip on the woman who¡¯d fallen in and she rolled away. He felt her try to stand up, but she only got to a sitting position. ¡°For some reason¡­ I feel exceptionally weak.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Did you push yourself too hard?¡± John asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t hold back,¡± she said. ¡°I had to reach the top. But then I fell over.¡± ¡°...¡± Steve took a close look at her. ¡°When was the last time you drank water?¡± ¡°This morning?¡± the green haired woman tilted her head. ¡°I think.¡± He reached for another water skin, finding one last one in the bottom corner of his bag. He basically shoved it into the woman¡¯s mouth, and she drank without thinking about it. ¡°... Thank you,¡± she said. ¡°But I am a fire type cultivator. I can handle a little heat.¡± ¡°Can you?¡± he said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s great. Listen¡­ you.¡± Steve frowned. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± It took her a moment to respond. ¡°Yustina Milanovic,¡± she finally said. ¡°I¡¯m Lucanus. Listen Yustina,¡± Steve said. ¡°You¡¯re so dehydrated you can barely remember your name. You can¡¯t just¡­ not drink water.¡± ¡°It was only a couple of hours,¡± she protested. Yet she continued to drink out of the waterskin anyway. ----- ¡°How could a cultivator forget to drink water?¡± John shook his head. He and Matayal were far enough away that his complaint wouldn¡¯t be overheard by others, but he just had to say it. Matayal shrugged, ¡°Sometimes, you just aren¡¯t thirsty. Though it does seem a bit odd.¡± Her ears perked up as she listened to the other members of the clan looking after her. ¡°It seems it was her first trip up Zolvolj. Normally members of the Milanovic clan are resistant enough to the heat that it¡¯s not a serious problem even when exerting themselves but¡­¡± ¡°But even they brought water,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s hope she learns her lesson from this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she will. She seems sufficiently embarrassed. Especially now that she¡¯s beginning to recover. The others will be helping her down, though.¡± ¡°We ought to help Steve as well. He¡¯s looking pretty bad.¡± Matayal nodded, ¡°He does look bad. I¡¯m not entirely sure if he¡¯s noticed, though.¡± ----- At some point, Steve had lost consciousness. In normal circumstances, doing so halfway down a mountain with spraying lava and potential boulders rolling around, plus the natural heat, would be a death sentence. But he hadn¡¯t been alone, unlike most of his life. He¡¯d been supported by many people. His friend John¡­ Fortkran, if he were to speak of him to others. John¡¯s wife. Even members of the Milanovic clan. That would explain his surroundings. Having only seen the outside of their compound, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that the room he woke up in was part of the Milanovic clan, but it certainly fit their style. Though his doubts were erased when someone with green hair walked into the room. ¡°Lucanus,¡± the man inclined his head. ¡°Good to see you conscious.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t that bad,¡± he said as he looked down at himself. ¡°Thanks for bringing me here though.¡± He sat up and began to step up out of the bed when the doctor held up a hand to stop him. ¡°You should rest. You have quite a few burns. We tended them, of course, but it will take time to recover.¡± ¡°What, these?¡± Steve shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ve had worse. Or at least, similar calibur burns less well treated.¡± He didn¡¯t mention that he¡¯d been the cause of some of those. Sometimes when you were learning, accidents happened. The doctor held up his hands and shrugged, ¡°As you wish. Yustina indicated her desire to speak to you again, though she is currently indisposed.¡± Even with his barely recovering stores of energy- the Milanovic clan had abundant but gentle fire energy everywhere- he could sense the room next to him, and a woman snoring inside. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to bother her. I should probably get going.¡± The man stepped half in front of him as he headed towards the door. Not enough to physically stop him, but making his point clear. ¡°The Milanovic clan would like to thank you for saving one of our members from what could have been a fatal accident had you not acted immediately. Please take advantage of our hospitality until you are fully recovered.¡± Usually Steve found himself chased away from fancy clans. The Tenebachs hadn¡¯t chased him away, but he¡¯d had no reason to hang around after the wedding either. Other than that, he often ended up in squabbles with various young masters and thus tended to stay away from them. But this time he¡¯d be offending them if he left¡­ so it wouldn¡¯t hurt to hang around for a bit. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do that.¡± Probably better to recover from the injuries anyway. Some of his enemies would know where he was, and might be hoping for him to leave. He returned to his bed and began circulating his energy slowly. On Earth, if someone said that burn scars happened from too much fire energy in the wounds he would look at them like they were crazy. Here, it was more or less true. It still required some special ointments to completely negate the formation of burn scars but he could do quite a bit of the work with careful control of energy as well. He carefully cleansed the area of built up remnants of energy and began to breathe deeply, filling himself up. Though the entire Milanovic clan was full of fire energy, he actually found that heat flowed very well and he was able to cool himself down without burning anything around him. Thus, he was able to load up on a bit more energy without concerns about causing trouble. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he spent cultivating, but he was eventually stirred from his concentration when Yustina woke up and almost directly fell out of bed. Yet despite being clumsy, the way she caught herself on one arm was almost graceful. But he would probably keep that detail to himself. She was already walking over towards him after flicking a bit of her weak energy in his direction and sensing him. Steve wasn¡¯t sure what he should say, but as she walked into the room he revised his opinion of her. Before she had been dehydrated and loopy, and while there was still something about her he couldn¡¯t quite place she was much more composed now. She knocked before entering and gracefully bowed. ¡°I would like to properly express my thanks for saving my life. I made a foolish mistake that almost led to my demise.¡± Steve tried not to frown. She was way too formal. He kind of liked her better when she was confused, not that there was anything wrong with her now. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± he said. ¡°I was glad to help someone in need.¡± He really didn¡¯t know what else to say. ¡°If you are free, I could guide you around the clan,¡± Yustina said. ¡°You could,¡± Steve said, ¡°But if I have to rest, you need to do so as well.¡± He¡¯d been protecting her with his energy as well as he could, but he didn¡¯t have the same feedback as he had for himself and some injury had been unavoidable. ¡°I suppose that makes sense,¡± she inclined her head. ¡°I will return later, when we are both in somewhat better shape.¡± Chapter 92 When he wasn¡¯t extremely fatigued, Lucanus actually preferred the parts of the Milanovic clan that were full of more concentrated fire energy. At the current moment, however, he was meeting with Fortkran once more, and non-fire cultivators were rather uncomfortable in those areas. Even if the man was strong enough to shrug off the effects of the heat, it was more polite for Lucanus to meet him and his wife somewhere more pleasant. ¡°So what do you plan to do after this?¡± Fortkran asked. Lucanus shrugged, ¡°Nothing much. Once I finish healing I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Matayal said. ¡°This is a good opportunity to create ties with the Milanovic clan.¡± Lucanus shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t want to create trouble for them. I have too many enemies.¡± ¡°That would be the whole point,¡± Matayal explained. ¡°To protect yourself. And from our understanding, none of your enemies run deep enough that they would want to cause trouble for the Milanovic clan.¡± ¡°Even so,¡± Lucanus shrugged, ¡°I can take care of myself.¡± ¡°Just like that, huh?¡± Fortkran said. ¡°We figured you wouldn¡¯t look into things. Interestingly enough, information about Yustina is rather sparse. She has a reputation of being somewhat of a genius in the clan, though.¡± ¡°Do geniuses usually get dehydrated and fall into volcanoes?¡± Lucanus asked. ¡°No,¡± Matayal admitted, ¡°But this is her first attempt climbing Zolvolj, and she¡¯s only in Foundation Phase.¡± Lucanus shifted, his legs stretching into the nearby sun. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t make sense. Cultivators know they need to drink if they¡¯re going to exert themselves in the heat.¡± ¡°Maybe she hadn¡¯t,¡± Fortkran said. ¡°Hadn¡¯t what?¡± Lucanus raised an eyebrow. ¡°Exerted herself,¡± Fortkran explained. ¡°Her cultivation was progressing without issue even to the peak of Foundation Phase.¡± ¡°Still seems like something she should have known about,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Probably,¡± Matayal admitted. ¡°But similar things happen sometimes.¡± ¡°So what does this have to do with me?¡± Lucanus asked. ¡°I saved her, the clan has goodwill towards me. I can just move on.¡± ¡°Where?¡± John asked. ¡°Don¡¯t know yet. I¡¯ll be back in the Green Sands eventually though. It¡¯s the best place to grow my cultivation.¡± ¡°You could grow more quickly with the clan. Yustina likes you,¡± Matayal said bluntly. ¡°Are you not interested at all?¡± ¡°She¡¯s so formal and stiff,¡± Lucanus said. ¡°No offense, but I¡¯m not a fan of that.¡± ¡°You could still be friendly with the clan,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to be tied down,¡± Lucanus said. Fortkran shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re strong enough to have quite a bit of freedom in this world. Working with others doesn¡¯t restrict that as much as you seem to think.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll consider it later,¡± Lucanus shrugged. ¡°The opportunity will likely be gone later,¡± Fortkran replied. ¡°Or at least different.¡± Since Lucanus clearly wasn¡¯t going to be convinced to take care of himself they moved to other topics. They¡¯d had little chance to actually get to know each other, since he was prone to leaving once there were no immediate problems. ----- Stepping back onto the road made Steve more comfortable. He knew John had good intentions, but Steve really didn¡¯t do well remaining in one place. It wasn¡¯t a curse or anything. At least, he firmly believed there were no curses on Earth, and he¡¯d had plenty of experience there. Dealing with people was hard, and he had long resigned himself to not being good at it. Even getting into fights wherever he went wasn¡¯t anything new, though there was a hell of a lot more fire now. He began to hum to himself as he walked. The repeated patterns of the Green Sands got old after a while, but different regions developed differently, some with higher dunes in some places and roads maintained to be wider in others. Even so, that was one reason he went to other countries when he could just stay around absorbing the most fire elemental spiritual energy possible and increasing his rank. Plus, he wanted to be ready to deal with all sorts of opponents. A voice came from behind him. ¡°Hey Lucanus, you really just leaving without saying anything?¡± He hadn¡¯t noticed anyone approaching because they just felt like everything else. Wavy, fiery heat. He turned to see Yustina walking along behind him. ¡°I was, actually,¡± Steve shrugged. ¡°The clan knew I would be leaving soon.¡± ¡°Screw the clan. What about me? It wouldn¡¯t have been that hard to just say goodbye.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Steve asked. ¡°Whatcha¡¯ mean?¡± the green-haired woman raised an eyebrow. ¡°I mean that you aren¡¯t Yustina.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± She asked. ¡°Is my face different? My body? Something about my energy? Because I didn¡¯t really change anything.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound at all the same,¡± Steve said. He doubted someone in disguise would so easily be far off, and she really appeared the same, except her manner of speech. ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Yustina shrugged. ¡°No reason to use fancy language when nobody¡¯s watching.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Also, were you eavesdropping?¡± ¡°On you? Nah. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Just wondering,¡± he said, picking up his pace along the road. She sped up with him. ¡°Are you following me?¡± ¡°Obviously. Not done talking yet.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°So you¡¯ll stop when we¡¯re done talking?¡± ¡°Probably,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Seems you¡¯re not really interested, huh? Would you have just leapt into ol¡¯ Zolvolj for anybody?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Steve admitted. He hadn¡¯t even registered that she was an attractive woman before he jumped in. Just that someone fell in accidentally. ¡°Harsh,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to admit that, you know?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Steve said. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± ¡°I guess,¡± she admitted. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not a bad thing to be a hero.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a hero.¡± ¡°Tell that to the next person you save,¡± Yustina commented. ¡°See if they believe you.¡± Steve could tell she wasn¡¯t going to give up easily, so he just moved onto the next thing on his mind. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re a member of the Milanovic clan?¡± ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s see,¡± Yustina pulled her hair in front of her face. ¡°Yep, still green! Been that way all twenty years of my life.¡± ¡°Your accent changed,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Not just your style of speech. Nobody from the Green Sands talks the way you do.¡± She was quiet for a good few moments. Finally, she replied. ¡°Wow. Observant too.¡± She frowned, ¡°You still think I¡¯m going to try to assassinate you or something? You¡¯re gonna overheat if you keep that up.¡± Steve snorted a small spurt of blue flames in front of him. ¡°Yeah? You¡¯re one to talk about overheating. I can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t bring any water up Zolvolj.¡± She turned her head away and folded her arms defensively. ¡°That¡¯s not my fault. I¡¯m just used to having lots of water.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t exactly have fountains everywhere in your clan,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Yeah,¡± Yustina said in a melancholy manner. ¡°They don¡¯t.¡± Steve decided to take a stab. ¡°So when did you die?¡± he asked. Yustina looked at him in shock. Not confusion, which was an important distinction. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked shakily, slipping back to slightly more formal speaking. ¡°I just mean that you speak as if you¡¯re from an entirely different area and are used to lots of water fountains. So I¡¯m betting you died on Earth and then found yourself here.¡± That was where Yustina showed confusion. ¡°Why wouldja think that I was from an earth-dominant area? Wouldn¡¯t water make more sense?¡± Steve stopped and turned towards her. ¡°So, you wouldn¡¯t happen to recognize if I was speaking English then?¡± She looked at him and frowned. Then she spoke in another language he didn¡¯t recognize at all, before switching back. ¡°You don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re from Aglor or even Hegresh. But everything around here has the same language now. Were you a fire-type cultivator before too?¡± Steve knew he should probably be more protective of his identity. ¡°Nah. I wasn¡¯t a cultivator.¡± ¡°... I¡¯ve never heard of non-cultivators reincarnating with their memories,¡± Yustina frowned. ¡°You know a lot of reincarnation?¡± Steve asked. ¡°No. Not myself. But I read up on it, obviously.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Steve admitted. Though he did learn some from John about the subject. ¡°Just so we¡¯re clear,¡± Yustina said. ¡°I was a water type cultivator from Aglor.¡± ¡°Never heard of it,¡± Steve said. ¡°It¡¯s a hugely powerful water dominant country!¡± Yustina said, somewhat offended. ¡°Yeah?¡± Steve said. ¡°I haven¡¯t been much further than the Stone Conglomerate.¡± ¡°But you speak a different language,¡± Yustina probed, ¡°Are you from ancient times?¡± ¡°Nah. I¡¯m from Earth.¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t understand,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Which Earth country?¡± ¡°Earth is a planet,¡± Steve said. ¡°... You¡¯re a transmigrator?¡± she asked. ¡°From a world of entirely earth-type cultivators?¡± ¡°I told you,¡± Steve said, ¡°I wasn''t a cultivator. Nobody was. At least, nobody demonstrated any sort of actual supernatural abilities.¡± ¡°I see,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of cultivation being called ¡®super¡¯ natural before, but I suppose it could be considered more natural than nature itself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ it means not natural.¡± Supernatural wasn¡¯t actually a single word in the language he was speaking, and he hadn¡¯t considered that. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± she said. Steve shrugged. ¡°Meanings change and translation is never perfect. Anyway, you should be more careful with your secret probably. Someone might care.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Yustina said. ¡°You revealed your own fairly easily.¡± ¡°True,¡± Steve said. ¡°But I could just kill you to shut you up.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t though,¡± Yustina said. When Steve didn¡¯t respond, she frowned. ¡°Right?¡± ----- ¡°I thought you said you would stop following me when we were done talking,¡± Steve said. ¡°I said probably,¡± Yustina pointed out. ¡°And we¡¯re not done yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been three days,¡± Steve mentioned. ¡°You should head back. I don¡¯t want the Milanovic clan thinking I kidnapped you or something.¡± ¡°They¡¯d just think I eloped,¡± she said. ¡°But don¡¯t worry about that. I told them I was heading out for a while.¡± ¡°And they just let you go?¡± ¡°Sure. There are tons of clan members going out to do stuff all the time. I¡¯m just another one, even if I¡¯m not bad at cultivation. My parents aren¡¯t anyone important so I don¡¯t have nagging people following me around. It¡¯s great.¡± ¡°You could get killed going around alone,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Oh really?¡± she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Could I? I¡¯d never thought someone might kill me. I bet you hadn¡¯t either, before this moment. Despite how many enemies you have.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t get killed,¡± Steve said defensively. ¡°Same,¡± Yustina nodded. ¡°Now, you never told me your name.¡± ¡°Lucanus,¡± Steve said. ¡°That¡¯s not your name, right?¡± Yustina said. ¡°That¡¯s a local name.¡± ¡°Ladies first,¡± Steve said. ¡°Yolonda,¡± Yustina quickly responded. ¡°Now yours.¡± ¡°Steven,¡± he said reluctantly. ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you want here, following me.¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d get to know a hero. But I¡¯m way more interested now. You barely said anything these last few days!¡± ¡°Talking makes me thirsty,¡± Steve said. That was true, but he also had ample supplies of water. And he¡¯d noticed that Yustina had actually thought to bring her own. ¡°So do you actually want to be called Yolonda?¡± ¡°No way!¡± she said. ¡°I haven¡¯t been called that in twenty years.¡± ¡°...Right,¡± Steve nodded his head. ¡°You grew up again.¡± ¡°It was so hard not cultivating right away!¡± Yustina said. ¡°Well, except for the tiny detail that I only knew water element cultivation. Which is¡­ difficult here.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just leave?¡± Steve asked, continuing to steer the conversation away from himself. ¡°How?¡± she asked. ¡°Nobody was going to be super happy about giving a random little girl enough money to leave the clan and travel two countries over. And learning another style seemed interesting.¡± She breathed out slowly, ¡°It¡¯s hard though! At least in Aglor I could get out of the water, but here the heat is everywhere.¡± ¡°That is how deserts work, yes,¡± Steve said. ¡°Tell me about Aglor. Is it like the Shimmering Islands?¡± ¡°Not at all! It¡¯s not on the ocean at all, but in the mountains. Lakes and rivers everywhere, green grass and trees. It¡¯s a beautiful sight. At least it was.¡± ¡°... Did something happen to it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Yustina said. ¡°But it¡¯s been twenty years. Or maybe a couple more? The calendar here¡¯s a bit different so I could be a few years off.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Steve said. He actually meant it, too. Though he was still hoping she¡¯d leave soon. Chapter 93 After the wedding ceremony and everything following it, John and Matayal were glad to leave the Green Sands and be back somewhere with reasonable temperatures. Just because they were capable of resisting the heat didn¡¯t mean it was pleasant. As for training, they got all the practical experience they needed for some time from their efforts climbing Zolvolj. ¡°I appreciate the opportunities provided by visiting extreme environments,¡± John commented to Matayal, ¡°But I¡¯ve come to appreciate being able to leave whenever we want.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± she nodded her head seriously. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to avoid repeating incidents similar to what happened in the Kelp Spire Forest.¡± Every cultivator was aware that great trials brought great growth¡­ or death. Though so far John had survived such situations, he wasn¡¯t willing to bet that would happen every time. After all, every single person who perished had survived every trial before the last. Just being a transmigrator wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean John survived. In fact, having already experienced death, he realized how easily it could come. The two of them were currently taking advantage of some extra time to cultivate more gradually, unconcerned about pushing their cultivation forward at the utmost speed. The Tenebach clan had training areas that could support them both, and though Matayal wouldn¡¯t grow quite as optimally as at home in the Shimmering Islands, she was already ahead of John. Closing the gaps between their cultivation would be advantageous for their efforts at dual cultivation. They also spent quite a large amount of time involved in other activities that were often called dual cultivation. After their experiences they both agreed with the thought that it was better to fully concentrate on one of the activities fully. But they weren¡¯t just having sex for fun. As heirs to clans, they were both aware that at some point they would need to have children. They had decided together that the current lull in activity would be a good time to try for their first. Eventually they would need to have at least two- unless they wished to leave one of their clans without a proper heir. That wouldn¡¯t be such a significant issue for the Brandle clan, as long as someone was properly appointed as a successor, but the Tenebach clan really needed someone continuing their main bloodline. At the current time, their guardian beast Ciaritzal was strongly attuned to the specific traits in the main line. It might be possible to adapt if something went wrong, but if nothing else the Tenebach clan would be weaker for a generation. That was not something they could afford, especially with the reminder that old enemies still existed. While the Gastone and Boyce clans were currently removed from Marble County, they would certainly like revenge given the chance. And the instigators of the latest incident with them, the Society of Midnight, had also recently remembered the Tenebach clan. It was likely they had stronger members available, though if they gathered too many forces Marble County or perhaps all of the Stone Conglomerate would see it as signs of aggression. It was likely the Tenebach clan was safe from anything extreme for the moment. In terms of strength, however, the Tenebach clan was growing in power. After the reverse empowerment ceremony, talent and fortitude had been revived in upper generations who had previously given it up. Many people were making up for lost years, though it wasn¡¯t easy. Luctus was steadily advancing, but he had been surpassed by Matayal who had reached the twenty-fifth rank. John was still somewhat behind at the twenty-third. It was unlikely that John¡¯s grandfather would reach the Consolidated Soul Phase before either of the younger heirs, but the fact that he might was a good sign. Every single higher phase cultivator the clan had was a significant increase in their strength. Most of John¡¯s peers were now in the Soul Expansion Phase, nearly rivaling what had for a time been the top ranks of the clan. In a decade or two John might find himself empowering the younger generation, but depending on how far his cultivation advanced in that time he might lessen any negative effects on himself. ----- Having surpassed the midpoint of Soul Expansion Phase, John was surveying for his next totem. Though he would not reach the next Phase and be able to attune another totem for some time, probably a matter of years still, John had to continue to get used to the pressure at the higher layers of the Sea of Spiritual Totems. He was of course planning to continue in the full cycle of elements he had set himself upon. In that regard, he was looking for a fourth layer water elemental totem that would fit with the rest, and of course had sufficient growing properties. He had no reason to give up on his firm belief that his totems matching each other in power was the proper method, especially not since it had taken him so far already. Though there had been some struggles early, at the current time all of his totems were sufficiently advanced to not hold him back. Fourth layer water totems were not insignificant. There were great lakes and icebergs and vast clouds of fog. Though Matayal mainly trained in the liquid version of water, it was capable of taking the other forms as well. That was how fire element was a support for it- melting ice into liquid water or boiling it into steam. Steam and fog weren¡¯t quite the same thing, but were water in the air nonetheless. In the same vein, sufficient quantities of air element could just absorb water up to a certain point. John continued to browse through totems, moving towards anything that felt right. WIth his core element still being darkness, there were totems that mimicked the depths of the sea. That included the darkness, pressure, and cold. Though he certainly recognized the power of that, it wasn¡¯t quite what he wanted. Though John couldn¡¯t have said what he was looking for, exactly. Just that nothing so far had been right. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Eventually his self returned to the awareness of his body, not because he was unable to resist the pressure but simply because he felt he had spent sufficient time. It wasn¡¯t long before Matayal returned as well, but she looked somewhat more fatigued. She already had totems of higher levels, so it seemed best to her to push herself even more, and take advantage of the most powerful totem she could acquire. ¡°How did it go?¡± John asked. ¡°Nothing quite fits,¡± Matayal responded. John moved over to flop on the bed which was almost as big as his room growing up as a child. ¡°Same with me. There was one which seemed like the depths of the ocean. A now-familiar power, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted it.¡± ¡°It should fit well enough,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°It seems compatible enough with your own traits, and matched with mine we would have a broader scope.¡± She say next to him on the bed, head turned towards him, ¡°Of course, we have plenty of time before we have to make any decisions.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± John nodded. ¡°There¡¯s honestly nothing really wrong with it.¡± He just had a dumb idea tingling the back of his mind. He didn¡¯t even want to speak of it to Matayal, a woman he was so intimately linked with. ¡°Want to try again?¡± Matayal said. ¡°You can if you want,¡± John shrugged. ¡°My spirit is exhausted.¡± Matayal looked down at him and grinned. ¡°I meant something else.¡± She rolled onto the bed to bring her face close to his, ¡°Something more concerned with physical stamina.¡± ¡°Ah. In that case, absolutely. My body isn¡¯t nearly so exhausted as my spirit yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we can fix that,¡± Matayal¡¯s lips touched John¡¯s as her arm wrapped around his shoulder. ----- Despite the casual way in which Steve performed many social interactions, he was not unaware of various things about the way people behaved. It was just useful when they thought he was. He couldn¡¯t declare himself a master of intrigue, but he at least was able to read people. Usually that was because he provoked rage from them, which was the easiest thing to understand, but he had more than a couple decades of experience in each of two different lives. He was still having trouble determining if Yustina liked him or wanted to kill him, though. Nothing she said or did, directly, indicated the latter. She was friendly and open with him. But given how duplicitous Steve knew cultivators could be, and the fact that he¡¯d discovered her secret, she might just want him gone. Even if she hadn¡¯t been reincarnated, he would be a constant memory of her shame, climbing up a volcano and then failing at the very end because of a simple mistake. It wouldn¡¯t matter that many other people were around to see it. At least, many cultivators just took things personally. She might not like that he spotted her so easily, even if it was because he was in a similar boat. That of a person who had died but still lived. ¡°Whatcha thinking about?¡± she asked. Steve¡¯s eyes turned towards her. He could be at least a little honest. ¡°Just wondering why you were still following me around.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re interesting. And because I wasn¡¯t going to learn much more at the Milanovic clan without seeing more of the world. Despite my life before, I¡¯m now looking at things from a different perspective.¡± ¡°I understand wanting to get experience, but you¡¯re still in Foundation Phase. Not necessarily a good time to go wandering into the Darklands with a stranger.¡± She shrugged, ¡°I should break through before long. I could say the same of you. It¡¯s not a friendly place for fire type cultivators, even if they¡¯re in the Soul Expansion Phase.¡± She turned towards him directly, ¡°It seems more like the place you¡¯d go to ditch someone following you.¡± While Steve wasn¡¯t always honest about everything, he had been quite clear that he preferred to be alone. And it was true. ¡°I wonder what gave you that impression. Maybe it was constantly asking you if it wouldn¡¯t be better for you to go back?¡± ¡°And just leave you alone? I¡¯ve barely even learned anything about you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think knowing my biggest secret counts?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Yustina commented. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to actually care about it. I feel like you aren¡¯t here just to try to ditch me.¡± Steve squinted his eyes as he looked forward along the path they were traveling. The Darklands certainly fit their name, though it wasn¡¯t as if it was always nighttime. It was just a constant mist of darkness everywhere that limited vision to a shorter range. ¡°I have a grudge with some people here and I thought it was time to get revenge.¡± ¡°Risky,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Whether you go alone or not, as an outsider you¡¯ll be easy to blame.¡± ¡°See, why would you risk yourself for that? I know you wanted to thank me for saving you, but you already did. You didn¡¯t even know where I was going.¡± ¡°You were just interesting. So I was curious.¡± ¡°You ever hear the phrase ¡®curiosity killed the cat¡¯?¡± ¡°Noped,¡± Yustina admitted. ¡°But even if it had, it didn¡¯t stop me the first time. Why should I let it now?¡± The most concerning part of that to Steve was that she really didn¡¯t seem to care about the possibility of death. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a detachment from her new reality, a belief she¡¯d just be reincarnated again, or some sort of suicidal nature. He just found it hard to believe that anybody would risk their life just out of curiosity. He didn¡¯t even have much interesting to say about himself, despite being a transmigrator. Maybe his silence on some topics made him seem like one big mystery, but Steve was just Steve. Or Lucanus, when it was appropriate. He should have just ditched her back in the Green Sands. He knew he could have outrun her if he wanted to. He had the training to not overheat, and greater cultivation. But he¡¯d thought she¡¯d eventually give up and turn back. Now, it was a bit too late to just abandon her. She might actually be in danger on her own. Chapter 94 To the north of the Stone Conglomerate was a country John generally didn¡¯t pay attention to. Nobody did, because it had very little in the way of anything. There were people, of course. People would live everywhere, and it wasn¡¯t exactly uninhabitable. It simply didn¡¯t have much spiritual energy of any type, with none of them dominant enough to even list a type. In short, it was a neutral element country, but only if one were being generous with the descriptors. That same negative made it a positive for one particular thing. It was neutral territory for a number of surrounding countries since none wished to fight there, and the land was not highly coveted by cultivators. Thus, it was easy enough to purchase sufficient space for a proper tournament. Expenses had to be incurred to allow for some safety measures for the participants, but the surrounding countries gladly contributed for the limited time they actually planned to use the tournament grounds. The current tournament took place every decade. John could end up participating twice before he was forty years old, since he was now in his mid twenties. Again. Anyone younger than forty was still considered¡®young¡¯, since cultivators had extended lifespans, and a majority of cultivators tended to be in that age range. It also meant there was some possibility of Consolidated Soul Phase participants. Just because Johannes Dalen was the only clearly known cultivator at that Phase in Marble County didn¡¯t mean that over the whole of several countries there wouldn¡¯t be any who were significantly younger. In fact, given the current cultivations of many members of the Tenebach clan, it seemed likely that many of them would reach Consolidated Soul Phase by the time of the next tournament. John knew it was unlikely that this particular crop of talents was limited to just his own clan or others he knew closely. It was a generally known phenomenon that there were rising and falling tides of cultivation governed by unknown forces. Possibly just random chance, but it could also be that having a few with sufficient talent allowed others to test themselves and grow stronger than they would have with more mundane opponents. Either way, John wasn¡¯t just going to assume that he and Matayal would top the tournament just because they were in the Soul Expansion Phase already. Another decade would greatly change their own cultivation, and there should be at least a few people at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase if nothing else. Stepping over the divide between phases could be the most difficult part, and there was no guarantee of accomplishing it in a specific timeframe. The Shimmering Islands and Green Sands both bordered on Astrein as well, but further north were places John and Matayal had little interaction with thus far. Those immediately bordering Astrein were the Blustering Peaks, an air-dominant country, as well as a light-dominant country called the Sunfields. There were other countries beyond, of course, but John¡¯s focus was on the light element cultivators. He might currently be unused to light element attacks, but light and darkness were both offensively effective against each other. If he learned to deal with their attacks, he could counter with some of his own. Though he still had his other elements, and air would be perfectly neutral against light element techniques. As allied elements they could support each other, but didn¡¯t particularly resist each other. John had tried to find out more about light element cultivators after the incident in the Green Sands, but cultivators held their weaknesses tight to their chest. All he had to go over were old clan documents which were unfortunately vague and incomplete. Researching libraries in nearby cities hadn¡¯t turned up much more, leaving him to fend for himself. If nothing else, he could be prepared for a flash of light. Eyes were probably the most effective sensory organs when they worked, but making use of his other senses would be a priority. Though he wondered if light might be used to overwhelm his energy senses as well. ----- There wasn¡¯t much John and Matayal could do to prepare for the tournament besides their regular training. Not knowing what opponents they might face, the only thing they could do was shore up their weaknesses and improve their cultivation base. There had actually been some possibility that they would skip this particular tournament, but the timing worked out such that nothing more important was going on. Things were stable in both of their clans for the moment, so they set out for Lunson, the city in central Astrein where the tournament grounds were. The city wasn¡¯t much before the arena had been set up, and the surrounding area was still just standard farming fields. But that was most of Astrein. As they traveled north and reached the border of the Stone Conglomerate, it was quite easy to feel the decrease in earth elemental spiritual energy. It was quite similar to any other border between elemental regions in that regard. From the way everyone described it, John expected the amount of spiritual energy to fade into near nothingness¡­ but it didn¡¯t really get that much worse. Of course, no single type of spiritual energy was available in sufficient quantities to fill up a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. But the area wasn¡¯t completely devoid of energy. Just not overflowing in it, nor was it dominated by any one thing. With three elements John was cultivating, he still found the overall quantities a bit lacking. He had no need to absorb any more fire or water than he already had. But he did find something interesting. Though the Green Sands certainly had some amount of light elemental spiritual energy present, the fire overwhelmed it and made it impossible for him to distinguish in any useful fashion. With a nearly equal mixture of every element, however, John was able to separate out small quantities of light element. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Just touching it was uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t know what he would do with it. The thought of adding it to the ecosystem in his dantian was unpleasant. He knew that eventually that was what he would have to do, but at the current moment he had a totem completely opposed to it and only one aligned with it. The completion of a great cycle of elements was the hardest part, and trying to skip ahead was likely dangerous. But just like when he was first experimenting with fire element energy, he could still control a small portion of it without refining it inside himself. He would just be terrible at it. Inside the carriage he managed to make a small light source like a candle, but it faded after only a few moments. Certainly nothing comparable to a blinding flash, and he wouldn¡¯t really be able to guess what other sorts of techniques could be done with light. Not from the energy itself, anyway. It seemed that any last minute preparations wouldn¡¯t be easy, but John at least would have more ability to recover after battles. Without making use of expensive stored elements, of course. He might still need to tap into his small supplies, but that would depend on the specific prizes on offer and the level of his competition. Too weak or too strong, and there would be little point in speeding his recovery between matches. ----- Steve was vaguely aware of the tournament happening in Astrein, but he found no point in going to attend. He likely wouldn¡¯t win, since all the resources he obtained went directly into training and wouldn¡¯t help him recover between rounds. He had no clan or country he wanted to fight for, so his presence wouldn¡¯t matter much. And he had other things to do. He could still use it to try to convince Yustina to go, though. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the Milanovic clan like to have you at the tournament?¡± he mentioned to Yustina. ¡°You know I¡¯m still in the Foundation Phase. That¡¯s hardly enough to get a good place. Why, do you want to go?¡± she smiled. ¡°No. I was just hoping it might catch your interest.¡± ¡°It almost sounds like you¡¯re trying to get me to leave without you,¡± Yustina laughed. ¡°Have I been too subtle about that?¡± Steve said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I said it before we even entered the Darklands.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she replied, ¡°I did hear you. I¡¯m glad you want to protect me, but I¡¯d rather not miss whatever you¡¯re up to.¡± ¡°It would be easier without you,¡± Steve shook his head. ¡°It might,¡± she shrugged, ¡°But I have my own skills to contribute.¡± ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll see about that.¡± So far, their travel through the darklands had been relatively uneventful. The sort of beasts that lived in the area quickly ran away when exposed to fire, so the infrequent attacks hadn¡¯t been too dangerous. Most things preferred to run from fire, so that wasn¡¯t really different from Steve¡¯s normal travels. Since they were keeping a low profile, they hadn¡¯t run into any trouble with cultivators so far. Though the Darklands were a somewhat hostile place, it wasn¡¯t so lawless that random travelers would be attacked inside of cities. Especially not when a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator was one of them. People would generally prefer easier targets if they had ill intent. That didn¡¯t mean Steve¡¯s mission was going well. It was a difficult goal he had set for himself, gathering information without being too obvious about it. He had no doubt that many people would be quite upset knowing he was spying on them, and unlike many places he had been he was wary of what could be done to him. But he had a good reason to try anyway. ----- As they left another inn, Steve looked at it over his shoulder with a frown. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Yustina asked quietly. ¡°Are we being followed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Steve said. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ that¡¯s the fifth place we¡¯ve stopped and not once did anyone show up after us and try to buy up every room. Nobody was there at the same time as me when I bought those gauntlets, demanding they be sold to them.¡± He took a sudden step to the side, dodging around someone striding down the road carelessly. ¡°Usually something would have happened by now.¡± ¡°That seems extremely unlikely. It hasn¡¯t been that long. Things like that don¡¯t happen all the time.¡± ¡°They do, though,¡± Steve emphasized. ¡°At least to me.¡± He felt eyes on the back of his head, but he didn¡¯t turn around to look. Better to not give an excuse. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yustina shrugged, ¡°You almost sound like you want it to happen. You could have just let him run into you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m not the instigator for the majority of the incidents I get involved in. People are just looking for trouble.¡± ¡°Hey! You!¡± Steve continued walking as the man behind him shouted, keeping his voice even as the conversation continued. ¡°Responding here is just as likely to make him start a fight as not. What am I supposed to do about that, huh?¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯ve just got a punchable face,¡± Yustina suggested. ¡°Nobody even looks at me before starting trouble,¡± Steve said. The man behind them began running after them, but plowed into someone else on the way. Steve happily left that situation behind as they continued out of town. ¡°I still find your story difficult to believe,¡± Yustina said. ¡°I¡¯ve only heard your side.¡± ¡°I thought you would support the hero,¡± Steve rolled his eyes. ¡°But I guess not.¡± ¡°Heroes can still make mistakes,¡± she said. ¡°And you could just be reckless.¡± They managed to avoid trouble all the way out of town. Things were going quite peacefully, and Steve managed a new record by the time they came upon strange fluctuations of energy in the wilderness. He wondered what the chances were that it was some sort of spirit beast or natural treasure that wasn¡¯t already being pursued by other people. He thought to leave it, but Yustina was already moving off of the trail towards it by the time he finished appraising the situation. Chapter 95 Since the spiritual energy could be felt all the way from the road, Steve had assumed that it would be close by. Just a short jaunt in the woods chasing after Yustina and they would be there, dealing with whatever dangers were involved. When it took longer than expected, Steve grew concerned. The fact that they could feel the fluctuations of energy from so far away meant it was quite powerful, which also meant that others would have noticed it. That included a higher grade of others seeking out the source of power. ¡°We could just leave,¡± Steve suggested. ¡°No need to get ourselves embroiled in trouble.¡± Yustina looked back at him, her momentarily short green hair swishing as she did so. ¡°Why? Do you usually grow stronger by just sitting around doing nothing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous,¡± he said. ¡°For who?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°For you? Because I know you¡¯ve survived all this before. For me¡­¡± she shrugged. ¡°I know your first impression of me was someone stupid and maybe weak, but I do have combat experience. More than you, I¡¯d bet.¡± Steve might have had little peaceable social interaction lately, but he still knew some things. Even cultivators could be prickly about their age, especially women. So he asked in a more useful manner. ¡°What phase were you before?¡± Yustina smiled, ¡°Great Lake Phase.¡± Steve shook his head. That was the problem with cultivators. Too many stupid names for the same thing. What the heck even was a Great Lake? With all the time spent in the Green Sands, he understood their nomenclature better. Soul Expansion Phase was also called Furnace for fire element cultivators. He hadn¡¯t actually gone to the Shimmering Islands, but his first encounter with John had been close. Around there he¡¯d at least heard some of it. Great Lake was¡­ ¡°Consolidated Soul Phase?¡± Steve asked. ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°Sure, you could call it that,¡± Yustina nodded. ¡°Great, but that doesn¡¯t change your current strength.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll need to work together, won¡¯t we?¡± Yustina grinned mischievously. Steve was well aware of what a pair of well coordinated combatants could do. John and Matayal were a powerful pair even at their wedding ceremony, when they¡¯d only started training together for a few months at most. While their individual strengths were a large part of that, their combined efforts were a great enhancer. ¡°We¡¯ve never even fought together.¡± ¡°I felt your energy when you saved me from Zolvolj,¡± Yustina countered, ¡°You can avoid burning me, and I can do the same with you¡­ and everyone else here will be quite flammable.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think people like being called flammable,¡± Steve pointedly looked into the woods where he sensed several figures waiting. ¡°Then they should stop being flammable, or get out of our way.¡± Yustina held out her hand, green flames forming into a fire that danced back and forth. ¡°Maybe they could find someone else to ambush or stop being cowards and pick their way to the source instead of lingering around the edge.¡± Steve expected the attacks to begin as soon as she said that, but the group of hidden figures actually left. ¡°Usually that doesn¡¯t work,¡± Steve commented. ¡°In the Green Sands?¡± Yustina raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nobody will admit to being afraid of a little fire.¡± ¡°Even earth element fools stuck around when I told them to get lost,¡± Steve commented. ¡°That¡¯s because you saw their faces. They had honor or whatever to deal with. Darkness cultivators could care less¡­ as long as you don¡¯t actually know who they are.¡± ¡°I doubt it¡¯s that simple,¡± Steve said. ¡°Everybody¡¯s born into a place, and a whole country doesn¡¯t share one personality type.¡± ¡°The culture makes people care about similar things. And cultivation influences emotions.¡± As she spoke, they came to a section of cliff looking down into a valley. In just a few short steps their overall ability to sense the forces at play greatly increased. Despite the dark fog permeating the valley, figures could be made out moving about. There were two prominent forces fighting each other as well as the source of the energy fluctuations in question. All along the walls of the valley grew a vine radiating the dark fog that filled the valley. ¡°Too bad,¡± Steve said with actual disappointment, ¡°Neither of us can use this. Though I¡¯m sure we could sell it to the Tenebach clan for a good price.¡± ¡°Know anything about the two groups.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± Steve looked carefully down below, trying to see any discernible features. ¡°Black Scarf¡­ Clan. And umm¡­ the other guys would be the Dark Shadow Cult.¡± Yustina looked at him in surprise. ¡°Wow, you actually know who they both are?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Steve tilted his head. ¡°Well, we have to call them something right? I think those names work perfectly well.¡± Yustina snorted. ¡°Of course. Just something you made up. Though I¡¯d bet they¡¯re not too far off from reality.¡± She bent down, looking at the closest vine. ¡°What do you think this is good for?¡± she asked. ¡°I can hardly make it out.¡± Green flames grew from her hand to light the plant producing the dark fog, which immediately caught on fire, the flames spreading down the wall of the valley in no time at all. At least a dozen heads turned towards where they stood, while many others continued their battles. ¡°... whoops.¡± ----- You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. As a city, Lunson stood out from everything around it in many ways. It was a city smack dab in the middle of fertile farming land, and while it would make sense for such a city to exist in some circumstances, they didn¡¯t line up. From pretty much any point nearby it was easier to reach a major trade route that didn¡¯t go through Lunson. The roads leading into it were little more than wide dirt tracks, and even inside the city it only turned into proper cobblestone directly around the arena. That was the most substantial change from the surroundings. Most of Astrein was relatively weak in spiritual energy, or at least mediocre with no element dominating. The arena was charged with spiritual energy radiated by special materials and powered by spirit elements. They powered great formations solidifying the structure as well as for making a nonlethal tournament more or less possible. As John and Matayal traveled through the rest of Astrein, the only cultivators they had encountered were passing through just like them, and mostly going to the tournament. The majority were from the Stone Conglomerate, since there were other routes, but a few were from further south. That included the Darklands and people brave enough to travel through or around them. John had asked his grandfather Luctus about the Darklands, but even he was too young to remember when the Tenebach clan moved to the Stone Conglomerate. Luctus had been in the area during his life, but never on a long-term basis. With the energy gathering formations in the clan enough darkness elemental spiritual energy was available for training. While it did minimize the amount of things that were of particular use to the Tenebach clan, it also minimized their competition for the right kind of resources. Since earth was allied with darkness, the Tenebach clan was by no means the only group that used darkness energy in the area¡­ but what resources did come into the area were divvied up relatively easily based on each group¡¯s wealth. It might still have been better to live in the darklands except for Ciaritzal, the family¡¯s guardian beast. The conflicts that arose from the Tenebach clan removing Ciaritzal from the Society of Midnight would likely have made the area inhospitable had they remained. ----- Besides the arena, an unsustainably large number of inns made up most of the rest of Lunson. It was John¡¯s understanding that during non-tournament times, most of them lay empty. Ignored. But of course it was time for a tournament, and that meant they were filling up rapidly. Finding appropriate accommodations for everyone was difficult. The Tenebach clan had made a number of reservations, but more people wanted to participate in the tournament than had been expected. Instead of refusing the participation of some, the Tenebach clan was willing to bring everyone along. John was glad for that, because otherwise his participation would likely have kicked someone out. When John heard that the clan was having trouble finding the extra accommodations, he was surprised. There were so many inns that they couldn¡¯t all be full¡­ and truly, they were not. But the Tenebach clan had a certain reputation to uphold, and some of the places were so awful that John wouldn¡¯t have stayed in them even in his previous life. The places were falling apart and full of foul smells of indeterminate origin. John could have left finding proper accommodations to others. The responsibilities of the young master of the clan were for other things. However, in this case he participated because his position should contribute to their success. A random member looking for rooms for a few juniors was one thing, but the young master of the clan wanting to acquire more rooms was something else. The exact results were difficult to determine, but at least his presence was more likely to result in getting what they wanted. The biggest problem with finding rooms was the sheer number of establishments and lack of clear communication. John never thought he¡¯d actually miss the neon (no) vacancy signs from Earth. Some places had signs they hung, but whether or not they could be believed was another question. For the right people at the right price, free rooms might suddenly appear¡­ or they might not. John was feeling particularly motivated at the moment because all they needed were a few rooms for himself, Matayal, and their guards. Every inn promised security, but the actual quality varied wildly. And waiting for their guards to come to them or walking through town without were not good options either. Lunson didn¡¯t have much in the way of city guards- for the most part they were normal people or low ranking cultivators who were paid to patrol the streets to prevent anyone breaking into places when it wasn¡¯t tournament season. While the Tenebach clan could certainly handle any problems that arose, it was better to not accidentally provoke an incident by appearing weak. With so many cultivators from all over and the stress from the tournament even before it started, trouble could happen at any moment. The Golden Sky Rest had clearly seen better days, but while in places the paint was fading and chipped the walls were structurally sound and the staff appeared attentive. Unfortunately, that also meant that John was quickly turned down. ¡°We are sorry, young master Tenebach, but we have no accommodations suitable for you.¡± A young woman bowed her head in apology. ¡°We wish you luck elsewhere.¡± ¡°The signs outside indicated that you still had several vacancies,¡± John pointed out. ¡°That is true,¡± the young woman kept her head respectfully bowed, or perhaps fearfully. ¡°However, you would not find them to your liking. The Golden Sky Rest prides ourselves on our energy separating formations, but they are not versatile. The only remaining rooms are aligned with the light element.¡± The woman was a cultivator, though not a strong one. Still, it would be quite easy for her to sense a mix of darkness and water element cultivators. ¡°Light element specifically?¡± John asked. ¡°Or do you have fire and air?¡± ¡°One of each, I am afraid,¡± she tried to keep her voice as light as possible, ¡°Nothing you would find comfortable.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take them,¡± John said. ¡°...¡± the young woman was in a tough place. She couldn¡¯t refuse to provide accommodations for guests, but it was clear they would be uncomfortable. She tried to stealthily look over her shoulder towards an old man she thought would be in the corner, but he was already on his way over to save her. The old man radiated the light element, though not in an uncomfortable way. However, it provided a strange lighting John was only used to seeing in films and not in person. ¡°You¡¯ll be pairing off, I presume?¡± the old man casually swept his energy over them. At that level it was no more than a glance, not to the point he would be considered to be prying. ¡°Those two water cultivators might benefit from the fire room. The other two will find light extremely uncomfortable.¡± ¡°It should be viable for training,¡± Aydan responded for himself and Crystin. ¡°And we need not spend much time in it.¡± The old man nodded. ¡°Then you two¡­ should do fine in the air element room.¡± He smiled, showing missing teeth- likely lost to battles rather than decay, given the pearly white nature of his remaining examples. ¡°An interesting setup you have going.¡± John openly displayed his darkness element, but that didn¡¯t mean keen senses couldn¡¯t pick out his actual cultivation. In fact, he felt a bit of similarity between himself and the old man despite their clearly incongruous choices. ¡°We would gladly take the rooms,¡± Matayal said. ¡°We¡¯re not here with the intention to cause trouble.¡± ¡°No. I should hope not,¡± the old man smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t imagine my establishment could handle the damage!¡± The jovial context made that last sentence less ominous than it might have been, but John could read the other meaning behind it. ¡°You shall have no trouble from us,¡± John confirmed. ¡°Then you shall have them,¡± the old man nodded, waddling over to behind a counter and pulling down several hanging keys. ¡°I hope you make good use of them.¡± Chapter 96 If asked about the Black Scarf Clan and Dark Shadow Cult, the people in the valley would have been completely stumped. Steve of course could have made something more up from looking at them, but names or speculation weren¡¯t important at the moment. The important part was how someone had accidentally set the object of their conflict a little bit on fire. The good news? The fire stopped about halfway down the slope. The bad news was that it lit up the figures of Steve and Yustina and revealed them to anyone who could take a moment away from the battle down below. The news once again became good, because the very fact that the darkness-emitting vine creeping throughout the area was on fire, and thus prevented their opponents from reaching them directly. Almost as if they¡¯d planned ahead, a half dozen each of the Black Scarf Clan and Dark Shadow Cult split apart, circling around either side so as not to show openings to each other. Steve and Yustina only had a short time to make a decision. ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest, I didn¡¯t think this vine would be so¡­ flammable.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± Yustina agreed. ¡°Or I wouldn¡¯t have¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be like this.¡± ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Try to put it out, maybe?¡± Yustina shook her head. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be useful for us if it all burned up.¡± She stretched out her hand, instinctively calling upon an element she hadn¡¯t practiced since her death and rebirth. Yustina was quite certain she did little more than form a few droplets of water, but a sudden cloud of steam burst up from in front of her, covering her and Steve. Fortunately neither of them would be much hurt by a sudden burst of heat, but it was kind of embarrassing. The cloud of steam provided a perfect time to run. If they left, it was unlikely anyone would chase after them. Yustina felt Steve grab her hand and pull her along, and they dropped off the steep slope. ¡°Whatever this is,¡± Steve said, ¡°We can¡¯t just leave it.¡± Yustina agreed. Running would, at best, leave them in the same state they¡¯d come in. How would they ever advance that way? After the first handful of meters the slope curved outward, so there was an initial fall followed by stumbling down loose soil and rock. They were heading directly towards part of the vine that was still on fire, but neither of them were concerned about that. Fighting in a field of flames was an advantage for them. They needed one of those, given the numbers against them. A dozen people in Foundation Phase was a real threat to Yustina who was around that cultivation rank herself. Steve had a higher cultivation, but at some point numbers would overwhelm him. Steve knew that when fighting multiple opponents, splitting them up and distracting them was important. He usually didn¡¯t get to see such immediate results, but when the opposing parties were already in conflict it worked out quite easily. Half of the group who had just climbed the slope began to face off against each other again, while the rest pushed their way through the thick cloud of steam towards Steve and Yustina down below. If the group in the bottom of the valley was so inclined, they could enter into a pincer maneuver with the others, but they were quite occupied at the moment. Three darkness cultivators each from the two groups summoned up their spiritual energy as they moved towards Steve and Yustina. As they did so, the fire emanating from the vines around them blackened and began to produce an excess of smoke. As some of them coughed, Steve grinned. That wasn¡¯t his plan at all, but he began to determine that he was right. The vines weren¡¯t on fire. They were just happily reacting with it. The figures of the Black Scarf Clan cultivators blurred and faded as the shroud of darkness covered them. That included the one who was still coughing, though his location was quite apparent. The Dark Shadow Cult members flitted unnaturally fast towards the two cultivators waiting for them, some of their steps seeming to skip over areas. Steve knew it was highly unlikely they were actually engaging in some version of teleportation, but it would be difficult to follow their movements regardless. As they approached, Steve and Yustina called upon the power of flame from inside them. Green and blue flames entwined to form cyan, and the vine responded in kind, eager to go along. Steve breathed deeply, his lungs filling full of air and heat before he spit it all back out in a wide cone of flame. The fire rolled up the slope, catching most of the attackers unprepared for such an aggressive move. There was a sudden clash just next to Steve, as a Dark Shadow Cult member thrust forward with a wicked dagger towards Steve¡¯s unprotected side. Most of his energy was focused on the fire breath, so he wasn¡¯t quite prepared to defend. But Yustina was, catching the man¡¯s arm and tugging. He flew behind Steve, green flames crawling all over him. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. That left Steve free to twist to his right, kicking into the side of a figure appearing from seemingly nowhere. Steve hadn¡¯t spent an abundance of time training to sense darkness cultivators, but he knew the speed they had been moving and had been able to make up for his inability to perceive them with good battle sense. And it didn¡¯t hurt that his cultivation was higher, allowing him to respond with more speed and power. Around them the crawling vine flickered with strange multicolored fire, black and green and blue all at once. The substance it produced wasn¡¯t quite smoke, but as Steve got a whiff of it he was quite certain he didn¡¯t want to breathe it in regardless. He turned downhill and scooped up Yustina. ¡°Hey!¡± Despite her complaints, he moved faster and wouldn¡¯t have to explain what he wanted. He circled around the valley, moving slightly downward but mostly horizontally to a new section. As he did so, the vines permeating the area flickered with fire behind him. He set Yustina down and turned once more. ¡°I need you to run a circle around the area,¡± he said. ¡°What, don¡¯t believe I can fight alongside you?¡± ¡°I believe you can make a full lap on your own despite anyone who might get past me or those down below who might chase after you,¡± Steve said. ¡°But directly fighting a handful of people for that time might be difficult.¡± Yustina looked at him and nodded. ¡°Fine. But if you¡¯re trying to get rid of me, know it¡¯s too late.¡± With that, she took off running, the ever-present vine delighting in the energy she radiated and responding in kind with more fire. However, instead of harming her it coiled around her happily. Any user of the fire element would know that wasn¡¯t a natural reaction, but something that had to be trained. Of all the elements, fire users were the most at danger from their own abilities if they were unskilled. Despite the prevalence of flames, it was still hard for Steve to make out two of the members of the ¡®Black Scarf Clan¡¯. The one who was coughing had gotten over it, but the one he¡¯d personally set on fire was extremely visible at the moment as he rolled about on the ground. The old adage was still somewhat correct even when dealing with spiritual energy, though ¡®stop, drop, and roll¡¯ only worked so much. A cultivator had to also use their own energy to drive Steve¡¯s away if they wanted to not be on fire. The cultivator Yustina had tossed had just managed to put out the fire on himself, which put him behind the other two with him. The last two sets of three were still at the top of the valley, duking it out with each other instead of focusing on two random cultivators. Steve kept half an eye out for the ones at the bottom of the valley, in case they got any ideas besides fighting each other. Steve had fully expected the ¡®Dark Shadow Cult¡¯ members to arrive behind him, and while he was right, he didn¡¯t suddenly have eyes on the back of his head or joints that bent that way. What he did have was an advantage in cultivation, and an abundance of fire. One of the two managed to actually stab him in the shoulder¡­ and the other wasn¡¯t set on fire. Blue flames twisted all around Steve, and along with the other fire in the area made everything extremely unpleasant. Of course, he¡¯d still put it all ten steps down from the caldera of a volcano. He wasn¡¯t eager to try that one again anytime soon regardless of whether or not he had fancy medicine to regrow his skin again. Yustina jogged quickly throughout the area. Since they were in the darklands the natural state of the creeping vine seemed to be amplifying darkness, but when the condensed spiritual energy of a cultivator came into play it seemed to happily take on those properties in preference. And where two dense energies overlapped applied both. Thus, Yustina didn¡¯t have to deal with the dark smoke-fire, but the person chasing after her had to deal with that and the simple heat produced. She wasn¡¯t sure of their exact location, but she didn¡¯t need to know. All she needed was to be sure they weren¡¯t about to stab her or something. Her experience from her previous life was sufficient to make up for her current lack of cultivation in that regard. Though she would normally have felt for the water inside them, in this case she was feeling for anywhere that wasn¡¯t hot. If they got in front of her she might have a problem, but even then they¡¯d still be significantly different from the ambient temperature. Like that guy. Yustina pretended not to notice him until the last moment, when she dodged to the side. She was actually impressed at the way a dark wall appeared in front of her, a moment later resolving into a wide strip of cloth. The attack itself wasn¡¯t that impressive, despite catching her off guard and wrapping around her, pinning her arms to her side. She was more impressed that Steve had actually pinpointed a relevant feature instead of merely something cosmetic. She¡¯d have to ask if that was an accident or not. Yustina struggled against her bonds as a dagger stabbed towards her. The traditional weapon of a darkness cultivator, daggers were good for finding gaps in people defenses. Held tight, it seemed like she couldn¡¯t move out of the attack. But of course, when she suddenly stopped pulling and jumped closer she regained her mobility. She still got stabbed in the gut, but the timing wasn¡¯t quite right for the peak of the spiritual energy, so it wasn¡¯t that deep. Before her opponent could change the way he held the billowing scarf- if he even could- she was jumping towards him. He twisted his body so neither of her legs connected¡­ moving exactly how she wanted. One leg went on either side, wrapping her legs around his torso. And of course, the whole time she continued amping up the flame. Yustina was impressed by whatever cloth the scarf was made out of. It only ignited slightly before the rest of the cultivator she was mutually entangled with. It was durable, stretch, and fire resistant. But not nearly so fire resistant as Yustina herself. Yustina twisted her upper body, sending the man spinning. That turned him into the path of the dagger thrust by one of the members of the Dark Shadow Cult. Or whatever they actually went by. Either way, their movements seemed unpredictable at first¡­ but Yustina picked out the contours of shadow that accelerated them. With that, some of the fluid motion she¡¯d learned as a water element cultivator allowed her to take control of the situation, and then she was off running. For some reason, the Black Scarf Clan member didn¡¯t want to keep holding onto her. She glanced around, finding herself more than halfway around the valley. Though some of those chasing after her had bungled up the effect, a good portion was now on fire¡­ making the general tone of the area hotter. Sure, it had been filled with darkness before- but excessive darkness element made it hard to see or perhaps make use of other senses. Fire technically revealed people, but more than that it caused direct damage that had to be resisted. Just the kind of thing a pair of cultivators trying to go against many more needed to take advantage of. Chapter 97 The training setup that had been arranged was a little bit awkward, with mostly incongruous elements for those inhabiting them. Livna and Yonit, the two water element bodyguards, were placed in a fire element room. While it wasn¡¯t comfortable, it was good for their training. Water dominated fire, and fire augmented water. What that meant in practical terms was that fire element helped propel transitions between states, ice to water to steam. And while that part was obvious, as long as the fire wasn¡¯t directly used to heat up the area it worked for the reverse as well. It was like an extra boost to allow for state changes. In general, it made the water element flow faster and stronger- though it could be hard on the cultivators in question. But neither Livna nor Yonit had to deal with it constantly. They were only intended to be in the room for a short time each day, besides sleeping, and they could turn off the fire element gathering formation. That was the only thing that made the light element room tolerable for Aydan and Crystin. It was quite good training to fight against a directly opposing element, but it also wore them out rather quickly. Turning it off was important for them to get any sort of rest. The only room that actually matched appropriately was John¡¯s, and it was technically problematic for Matayal. That said, she¡¯d long ago learned how to properly resist the air element, and when dual cultivating with John her water element enhanced the air, which enhanced his earth¡­ and both water and earth were allied elements with his darkness. Thus, it was actually a decent training area- though a bit unbalanced. John actually wanted to spend some time in the other rooms when the chance arose, but though they were capable of gathering elements for training, the main reason for their existence was to provide a place to stay while waiting for the tournament, and that started rather quickly- just a few days after their arrival. Though very few people made the long journey to the middle of Astrein just to watch the tournament, the streets were crowded with a press of people that was more than just those participating in the first rounds of the tournament. After all, while they might not go a country over to watch, anyone participating in the tournament would generally watch as much as they could- to check out their opponents, if nothing else. The chances of actually learning anything about an early opponent was slim, as the matches were kept secret until both participants had fought in their previous match. So the first few rounds would simply be watching as many battles as could feasibly be done- or just picking an interesting one to focus on and not worry about knowing specific weaknesses. John was definitely in the latter camp, and with good reason. He was strong enough to not be concerned about the first matches, even if he would be facing Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. The first few rounds of the tournament matched people against those at least in the same Phase, and generally closer in rank if they could. That was as fair as they could get. After three rounds, those remaining could theoretically face anyone. There were prizes for best rankings in each phase, but the overall prizes of the tournament would of course simply go to the strongest. While everyone liked the idea of being the young upstart cultivator that could defeat people an entire Phase ahead and won the tournament in Foundation Phase or Soul Expansion Phase, the reality of the situation was different. While some participants just might be able to fight some opponents an entire Phase ahead of them, everyone participating in the tournament had some confidence in their own skills. When facing other talented individuals, surmounting a cultivation gap became more difficult. ----- John¡¯s first opponent was an old man who cultivated the air element. That meant that instead of considering how he would win, John considered how he would win without revealing too much of his abilities. John could feel the man had a third tier totem, and the other two he would place between second and third. Since he had previously fought against opponents who surpassed him in terms of totem tier, John was used to making up for that- being slightly ahead was a huge advantage. Though his most recent totem more or less matched the man- ignoring the fact that his was had been growing steadily and was now closer to the fourth tier- they were both air element, and neither particularly dominated. John¡¯s darkness element wasn¡¯t at much of an advantage or disadvantage in the battle either. But his second totem had been earth, and that was a conquering element with respect to air. John would certainly be making heavy use of that, the only question was whether or not he would reveal his own skills with air. He walked around with darkness openly displayed, and being from the Tenebach clan anyone who did any amount of research into him would rightfully assume he had darkness element. It was just that he was currently in the most awkward step of a cycle of elements. He was very glad for Matayal, as she was making his training much, much easier. They still had some decisions to make before they reached the Consolidated Soul Phase, but even that was several years off by optimal projections. Ultimately he decided he would just have to do whatever he needed. He likely wouldn¡¯t be using air element for offense, so anything he did there would likely blend into the scenery. John might have wanted to use something as a surprise, but it was easier to keep a technique or two hidden than a whole third of his cultivation. When the match began, John expected his opponent to go on the offensive. That was generally a trait of air element cultivators, though it depended somewhat on whether they cultivated lightning or wind. But John didn¡¯t mind being the first to attack either. He strode forward at a measured pace with his sword drawn¡­ and flicked a few throwing daggers as he flourished with his sword to distract his opponent. Of course, no Spirit Building cultivator would be defeated so easily. With a sweep of his hand the old man brushed aside the throwing daggers, the energy augmenting the attacks being insufficient to keep their trajectory. The old man began to back off, and John followed after him. ----- In another section of the arena, beyond walls that provided at least some form of separation between individual matches, Matayal faced off against a light element cultivator of similar age. The man was dressed in flowing white robes that sparkled in the sun, which was an annoyance even before the match began. Once they started to fight, it went from being an annoyance to a real problem. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Instead of going for a single blinding flash like some light element cultivators, Matayal¡¯s opponent seemed more interested in the repeated glints of light that would reflect into her eyes. She thought she might avoid it by changing their positions relative to the sun, but the glints of light weren¡¯t just caused by that. Matayal could see the man himself softly glowing, amplified through the flowing robes he wore as he adjusted his stance. Matayal thrust out with her spear, which the man parried with his bracers. His eyes kept careful track of her movements, allowing him to dodge or parry as necessary. His movements were sharp and refined, as they would have to be when fighting opponents with longer reach. Yet though the man¡¯s only weapons being a pair of gauntlets was a disadvantage if Matayal could keep him at bay, he was very adept at making openings. So far she¡¯d still managed to defend herself with a bubble of water around her slowing his attacks, and she quickly forced him to back off after each attack. Matayal circled about, flicking her spear downwards and with it forming a small pool of water she immediately froze. Her opponent dodged out of it before she could complete the action, but Matayal didn¡¯t intend to let him just rest. She kept him on his toes, even as she was constantly disturbed by the flashes of light. Matayal shook her head. They shouldn¡¯t have been such a bother, but she wasn¡¯t quite feeling in top form. Closing her eyes would do nothing good for her, as she had no way to limit her opponent¡¯s senses as well. But she continued circling around, seemingly intent on freezing the man¡¯s feet to the floor. The pair danced around, neither landing any blow of significance on the other. Matayal stabbed, swiped, and twisted her spear trying to catch the man but he expertly avoided her attacks. Then the moment came. Matayal overextended on a thrust, and as she pulled back he charged forward. A small part of Matayal¡¯s defenses solidified as the man rushed forward. Light glinted, flashing into the eyes of the man. Matayal¡¯s spear was held to catch him on his forward trajectory, but as soon as the sheet of ice reflected light into his eyes he retreated. Matayal clicked her tongue. She wasn¡¯t going to get such a good angle again, she could bet on that. Around her opponent the light began to dim. The man himself brightened, but beyond himself the sunny day turned to cloudy. If it had been an attempt to blind Matayal it would have been quite pathetic, but instead it empowered the man. And in a way, it was hard to see him. Instead of seeing his full figure, she only could make out the outlines of his body, with everything else indistinguishable. The man charged forward, but Matayal was already reaching deep into her dantian and drawing on her power. She frowned as she felt an anomaly, but raised her spear in defense and surrounded herself in a sphere of water. She couldn¡¯t clearly make out the charging form of her enemy, but she anticipated how he would move. He actually managed to slip past her thrust, a punch she couldn¡¯t even see coming directly for her torso. Yet she was also prepared for that, her spear sweeping to the side and catching the man as they struck each other simultaneously. The man was sent flying with cracked ribs, while Matayal directly absorbed the impact of his blow with the sphere of water around her, though her ribs ached even under her flexible armor. Matayal turned towards the man who was just gaining his feet, flicked her spear, and spoke. ¡°I surrender.¡± Her opponent was gathering power, dancing back and forth on his feet. ¡°I won¡¯t give up so ea- what?¡± ¡°I surrender,¡± Matayal repeated as she turned around. ¡°This match is your victory.¡± The man clutched his side, staring at his unharmed opponent in confusion. Though he¡¯d done well early in the match, he¡¯d bet too much on a single blow that hadn¡¯t been perfectly executed. Now he was on the back foot, but his opponent surrendered. He wasn¡¯t going to complain about it though. And stopping early meant he¡¯d not be so exhausted for the next match. ----- John¡¯s opponent held a rapier in his hand, but he seemed disinclined to use it. Instead, the old man seemed to want John to chase him around forever. If John was expending more energy than he was that way, John might have thought it a viable strategy, but the old man was clearly pushing himself to maintain a certain speed and safety. Chasing after him was actually easier, since the man had to watch his back or move backwards, both of which took more effort than moving straight forward. At first John thought the man would be ready with a counter, maybe some lightning, but he simply maintained his distance, expending significant quantities of air element spiritual energy to move. Too much, in fact. John only recognized what he was doing because he was sensitive to the air around him. Or lack of it, as had been the case for a while. Slowly, very slowly, he was running out of air. His lungs were in good shape, and he should have been able to run around for hours, but his head was beginning to fog. That would explain the excess air energy swirling around the man as well. He was rendering the air unbreathable. John wasn¡¯t quite sure what he was changing about it, but it didn¡¯t really matter. All he had to do was provide his own air. He had plenty of practice with that in the depths of the ocean, and doing so where there wasn¡¯t immense pressure trying to squeeze the air from his lungs was trivial. Even so, John pretended to slow down. He started breathing heavily on purpose, taking deep breaths even though the same air that went out of his lungs was pulled back in. What was actually happening inside him was concealed with a bit of help from the darkness element, which was also just generally present around John. To amplify the effect, John allowed the old man to get a few glancing blows on him as he chased him, the rapier scraping along his forearm once and his cheek and shoulder in quick succession. Then he staggered a bit, showing a clear opening. The old man was waiting for it, and thrust forward rapidly. He clearly hadn¡¯t expected his rapier would slide along John¡¯s ribs, fortified with earth element energy- and the gaps in between as well. His confident thrust brought him close, far too close. John¡¯s free left hand caught his right, and his sword slashed towards the man. The old man managed to rally enough defenses that he only received a trail of blood across his chest, but he couldn¡¯t escape John¡¯s grip. ¡°I surrender,¡± the old man inclined his head. John smiled and bowed his head back, no longer pretending to breathe particularly hard, though he didn¡¯t cover up that he had at least some fatigue. The old man shook his head as he saw John breathe out a swirl of air that had John¡¯s own air element mixed in. ¡°Hah. And I thought I had you there. Should have known I wouldn¡¯t be the only one with tricks up my sleeve. And a darkness cultivator too.¡± The old man nodded, ¡°An odd path, but if you could, win at least a couple matches to make me look good.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± John said. ¡°I intend to make a good showing.¡± Chapter 98 If the two groups of darkness cultivators had been willing to work together, driving off a pair of fire element cultivators would have been easy. Yet neither group was willing to give up taking the prize all to themselves, so whenever the other showed an opening, they would take it. With their forces already weakened from fighting each other, the addition of fire element over a large area caused by the very thing they were fighting over brought them down another peg. At the moment, the entire valley was on fire. Some of it happened to be a black, smoky fire that mixed darkness and fire elements- but that didn¡¯t prevent it from burning the darkness cultivators. It just meant that it was also problematic for Steve and Yustina. However, the directly damaging effects of the heat were winning out over everything else as Yustina intentionally spread the fire around the valley, heating up the whole battle significantly. The darkness cultivators didn¡¯t have a lifetime of constantly dealing with heat, so the effects compounded quickly along with their injuries and fatigue from the battle up to that point. Steve knocked away a few attackers, setting them all on fire as he did so. Between the Black Scarf Clan and the Dark Shadow Cult, they only had a dozen members left standing, and none who could personally match Steve in the Soul Expansion phase, and while their numbers might have made up for that difference if they were all fresh and working together, he was still in a better state than the rest of them. ¡°You¡¯ll regret this, interlopers!¡± one of the members of the group Steve had dubbed the Dark Shadow Cult yelled down from the edge of the cliff up above. Then he ducked and ran as Steve lobbed a fireball at him. Steve didn¡¯t happen to be particularly effective at range, but nobody was interested in getting caught on fire to test it out. A similar threat was made from the other side as both groups began to retreat, taking those who could still move or had already disengaged along with them. That left Steve and Yustina alone in a burning valley. ¡°Well,¡± Steve said, looking around at the fiery vines crawling everywhere, ¡°How are we going to carry this?¡± ----- With an entire month reserved for the tournament, participants didn¡¯t have to fight every day. In fact, even if there had been fifty thousand participants every match could have had a day of rest in between. Since it was a single elimination tournament, however, the tournament itself wasn¡¯t having any days off in the early parts. The arena in Lunson could accommodate many simultaneous matches, but they still had to keep things moving to get through the initial tens of thousands in a reasonable time frame. John wasn¡¯t particularly tired after his first match, but he would still have to spend some time replenishing the spiritual energy he used. When he returned back to the inn where they were staying, he found Matayal was already there, slowly drawing in water element from where she could get it. As he entered the room, Matayal came out of her meditation. ¡°Welcome back.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John said. ¡°How did your first match go?¡± ¡°I lost,¡± Matayal said without any hint of concern in her voice. ¡°Really?¡± John was quite surprised. He¡¯d thought it a mere formality that she would win at least a few matches. ¡°Did you get matched up with one of the top contenders?¡± His senses drifted over her, checking for wounds but finding none. ¡°No. I withdrew,¡± Matayal said simply. ¡°Why? I thought the prizes seemed different. Was it a weird mismatch?¡± John couldn¡¯t think of someone who could force her out so easily. She was even trained to resist the primary weakness of water element cultivators- so it shouldn¡¯t have been an elemental disadvantage either. And she could have fought for the sake of learning regardless. Something was strange, but she didn¡¯t seem concerned. Even if she didn¡¯t easily display her emotions, John was close enough to her that he could read her fairly well. She even seemed almost¡­ happy? ¡°What is it?¡± She turned to him with a slight smile, ¡°Our efforts paid off.¡± He went over her once again with his senses. Her cultivation felt practically the same. Her totems were basically unchanged, her rank hadn¡¯t gone up¡­ and she¡¯d chosen to surrender a fight. But as his energy gently probed for what she was mentioning, he finally found it. ¡°Ah.¡± He didn¡¯t know what to say. He had thought about what people often said in the same situation, but none of them sounded right. In the end, he managed a somewhat pathetic, ¡°How long?¡± ¡°A couple weeks, maybe,¡± Matayal shrugged, ¡°They¡¯re very small.¡± That made sense. Without the option to look things up on the internet, John¡¯s knowledge of how much a child developed was kind of limited. He knew the whole thing took nine months, approximately, and of course starting from a single cell meant any child would be quite small for a long time. This might even be earlier than most machines could detect a pregnancy, but for something inside a cultivator it made sense for the woman to pick it up quickly. And it would be too early to tell if it was a boy or girl. Right? ¡°How safe is it to check?¡± John asked. ¡°Here,¡± Matayal pat the floor next to her cushion, ¡°I¡¯ll guide you.¡± Somehow, despite the fact that when they dual cultivated and his energy went into her dantian, the core of her power and her most vulnerable location, something about what they were doing made John feel nervous. But as Matayal pulled him along with her into her womb, he knew they wouldn¡¯t cause any harm. They both had better control than that. John found him brought to just the tiniest thing he had ever seen or felt. Well, perhaps that wasn¡¯t quite true. But it was certainly the tiniest human, to the point he couldn¡¯t even really make out any features. If he didn¡¯t know better, he might have thought it was some sort of imperfection in Matayal¡¯s body, a little thing plastered up against the wall. It was smaller than an ant, and didn¡¯t even have the beginning of form yet. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Even so, John felt a connection and wanted to look at it- so he was surprised when Matayal pulled him away. He was even more surprised when he encountered another very similar form. Yet he was only able to linger there for a handful of moments as well. When he came into contact with the third, he was just flabbergasted. He slowly withdrew and looked at Matayal questioningly. His question was quite obvious, and Matayal answered it easily. ¡°Yes, there are three. Though according to what I learned, at this very early stage it is quite possible for something to go wrong. We shouldn¡¯t count on anything yet¡­ but I didn¡¯t think it was a good idea to risk combat, either.¡± John didn¡¯t have much sensible to say after that. Not even the following day. ----- There was something very different to be said about attempting to be a father and knowing he would be a father. John¡¯s mind was full of stupid thoughts that he couldn¡¯t act on in any way for a long time, up to who would take over which clan and whether they would do a good job running things. But of course, neither he nor Matayal had yet taken over, so being replaced was a long time off. His head was so distracted that he didn¡¯t look into his next opponent, and he didn¡¯t even really comprehend them until he was already in the battle. Some time after it started, actually. Fortunately, his body reacted even if his brain didn¡¯t do so consciously. Growing up, he¡¯d battled with darkness cultivators countless times- and though his own personal style had changed drastically since then, he reacted to some things on instinct. He didn¡¯t even have to truly be aware of the incoming attacks to dodge them or deflect them with his sword¡­ for the most part. However, he was shocked back into his own head when a trickle of blood began flowing down his arm. ¡°I must confess, I thought you would be stronger,¡± a voice came from the darkness surrounding him, blending into the black mist that was everywhere. ¡°But perhaps I should expect no less from a band of losers who couldn¡¯t even accomplish a simple retrieval task.¡± As he came to his senses, John recognized the particular flavor of darkness he was dealing with. He didn¡¯t recognize the voice, though. Then again, most of those from the Society of Midnight he¡¯d interacted with had died, and the rest he only knew through how they sounded a retreat. This particular voice implied he hadn¡¯t been present, and John was inclined to believe that. He leaned to the side to avoid another slash by a short blade. He was almost impressed that the darkness around his was so hard to penetrate with his sight, but he hadn¡¯t exactly been putting any effort into seeing through it either. ¡°Too bad that pretty wife of yours dropped out in the first round. I would have liked to take you both out, to show that we shouldn¡¯t be underestimated.¡± John slashed his sword towards the voice, but he knew he would miss. He just didn¡¯t want his opponent to know he knew. At first he¡¯d thought that the talking was a foolish mistake, but the direction of the sound was concealed. A clever ploy, but one that didn¡¯t quite work as expected against John. He could feel the way the air moved around him, and even if those senses hadn¡¯t worked he could pick out the focal point of the darkness. Still, since his opponent was in a talkative mood, John decided to see if he could get him to continue. ¡°Sorry, who are you again?¡± That threw his opponent off a step. ¡°Really now, I can¡¯t believe the Tenebach clan is so lacking in information gathering skills to not know the name of Audo, first disciple of the society of midnight.¡± ¡°Right, right. Owie. We know all about you.¡± In fact, John didn¡¯t know anything about him- but he hadn¡¯t been looking into the reports on that topic lately. Wind lightened his steps as he half dodged, half parried the blade reaching out of the darkness. A quick application of Gravity Blade forced his opponent to linger for a moment longer than they might have wanted to, but he intentionally didn¡¯t capitalize on that opening. He was focusing on something else. Users of the same element would of course have similarities, but the feel of the Society of Midnight was only a couple steps removed from the Tenebach clan. Of course, that made perfect sense- especially if he were to place Ciaritzal as the step in between them. Both had training methods that made use of the guardian beast, though the Society of Midnight had obviously had to deal without that for at least a generation or two. John swept his sword to the side, striking nothing. ¡°Pathetic. I can¡¯t believe how easy it will be to defeat you,¡± the voice of Audo continued to come from a different location than he actually was. John swept out with his sword, seemingly randomly- and once again striking nothing. John stepped back, gathering some earth elemental spiritual energy to his blade and mixing it with the darkness. If he couldn¡¯t detect his opponent it would be better to focus on defense, but he made that choice regardless. Then he wildly spun around with his sword out, drawing a curse from the darkness. ¡°Bah! A lucky hit.¡± ¡°It seems like your vision isn¡¯t fully clear in this darkness either,¡± John commented. Distracting one¡¯s opponent was a common tactic for darkness cultivators. That was its strong point, after all. So he was doing so, and even if Audo noticed one of the thing he was doing, he might not get the other. Though he should feel his shoulder stiffening up soon. Two quick strikes from the darkness raked into John¡¯s energy, slicing apart the coating of darkness energy but not reaching his body. ¡°I can see just fine. Unlike some, I didn¡¯t split my cultivation three ways, hoping to find an element I was talented with.¡± ¡°True,¡± John replied. ¡°You chose to stick with the first one you had access to.¡± While John didn¡¯t know if Audo had been raised in the Society of Midnight, he had to at least be from the Darklands. The vast majority of people would choose the dominant element of wherever they were born to cultivate, unless they were in a clan like the Tenebach clan that practiced an element of a differing type. Two more attacks tried to stab into him from behind, but John was keeping his defenses strong. It was costly to resist so directly, however. If a cultivator just took attacks continuously, they would run out of energy before their opponent in most circumstances. For John, who had approximately a third of his total as darkness, that was even more true. But that was only if he wasn¡¯t doing something else. Something like slowly absorbing his opponent¡¯s spiritual energy as it suffused throughout the area. It wasn¡¯t all that difficult, either, considering the similar origins. The wild slashes not only served to make Audo think John was unaware of his position, but also distracted him from what was happening with his blanket of darkness. After all, John¡¯s attacks contained plenty of spiritual energy, so when there was a ripple of strangeness through the area he could attribute it to that. ¡°You should probably surrender now,¡± John said. ¡°While you can still fix it.¡± John gathered all three types of spiritual energy he had totems for. The wind wasn¡¯t part of the attack, but simply an augmentation for speed. To his credit, Audo didn¡¯t ask what he was talking about. Maybe because that would give away that he hadn¡¯t noticed his shoulder petrifying, but it was still something. When Audo attacked once more, John gave up the pretense of not knowing where he was and spun around, slashing his sword across Audo¡¯s chest. His attack only managed to cut through the other man¡¯s defensive energy and was stopped by the armor beneath it, except for one small wound. But that wound, along with the one on Audo¡¯s shoulder, would both continue to grow and also spread petrification from it. Against another opponent, John wouldn¡¯t have done irreversible or at least hard to reverse damage like large scale petrification, but given the Society of Midnight¡¯s issues with the Tenebach clan, if he didn¡¯t at least do something like that he would feel ashamed. Chapter 99 If the Society of Midnight hadn¡¯t insisted on dredging up old grudges, John wouldn¡¯t have even known about the conflict between them and the Tenebach clan. But perhaps they felt the grudge wasn¡¯t that old, since there was some potential that some people still remembered the events in question. Either way, they had decided to mount an attack that the Tenebach clan had to respond to, and that reignited the hostility from both sides. Just because the Tenebach clan had successfully driven them off didn¡¯t mean they felt the matter was resolved. John was unsure if his response in the tournament had so far been excessive. Unlike some more local tournaments that were watched over by a local leader of some sort, the tournament taking place in central Astrein had less strictly defined rules. Once an opponent surrendered it was required that combat cease, but rules against killing or crippling an opponent were more vague. But the only thing that would happen if someone was able to prove a complaint would be expulsion from the tournament, so John didn¡¯t particularly worry. He had technically warned Audo about the potential permanence of his attacks- the first Bite of the Gorgon had been working its way into his shoulder since early in the match, but now the second was working its way in through his ribs. If Audo simply stopped the battle and took the time to force John¡¯s energy out, it shouldn¡¯t be too late to make a full recovery. Yet he didn¡¯t seem interested in the slightest¡­ or perhaps he still didn¡¯t really understand what was happening. Either way, he kept stabbing out from the darkness with his blade. Though a majority of the darkness in the area was no longer his. The diffuse darkness element spiritual energy was easy for John to absorb and reuse for his own purposes. The battle was leaning strongly in John¡¯s favor. His thoughts almost transitioned back to where they were from before the battle, but John kept his focus. John gathered darkness and earth around his sword in preparation for the next incoming attack. Audo hadn¡¯t quite gotten the message that John was fully aware of his position, and John struck out with the intention of knocking his blade out of his hand with Gravity Blade. Whatever his weapon impacted would find itself pulled along, so when Audo went to parry his slash the short blade would be pulled away. At least that was the theory behind the attack. John hadn¡¯t thought Audo would be so unprepared that he wouldn¡¯t even respond at all. Maybe his stiffening shoulder and chest were partly at fault, but John had attacked deep taking advantage of his sword¡¯s slightly longer reach. He wasn¡¯t actually aiming at his opponent¡¯s weapon, but instead his arms behind them. In the end, John did actually succeed at removing the weapon from Audo¡¯s grasp. At least, one of his hands lost hold of it. The other one kept its grip even as it was sliced at the wrist, and Gravity Blade pulled both hand and weapon away. John¡¯s follow through tossed both over his shoulder. ¡°Surrender,¡± John said, gathering more energy for a follow up attack if his opponent was planning to do something stupid. He could have immediately killed him with the opening he created, but while the Society of Midnight would already want to kill him, he preferred to show the others present he had proper amounts of restraint. For a moment, John thought Audo would choose to die. However, he grasped his stump with his remaining hand and begrudgingly spoke. ¡°I¡­ surrender.¡± Once his victory was properly accounted for, John turned to leave. He stayed alert in case Audo did something stupid like attack him again, because no matter what consequences would follow, John didn¡¯t want to die. For many reasons, and three more quite recently. Audo was at least smart enough to run over to his fallen hand and pick it up. It was a clean cut, so if he hurried to find a good doctor to stitch it back on it should eventually function again. However, with his attention split between keeping his blood in and trying to expel John¡¯s earth element energy, he was going to find parts of his body quite inflexible for the foreseeable future. ----- John couldn¡¯t help but remain distracted, knowing Matayal was pregnant with triplets. What were the chances of that? He was unsure, but it should be quite rare. ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± John asked for perhaps the tenth time since he¡¯d gotten back from the last match. ¡°I am quite able to do everything myself right now. We can only just barely sense their existence. If I wasn¡¯t worried about something unfortunate happening, I could even fight as normal.¡± Matayal did her best to assuage John¡¯s worries, but her own head was filled with thoughts of the future as well. One concern they didn¡¯t have was how they would possibly raise three children. With the resources of two clans, if they couldn¡¯t raise a few kids then they couldn¡¯t manage anything. Money wasn¡¯t a problem, though cultivators could still run into the same difficulties as other parents. It would theoretically be possible to foist all the care of their children upon others, but while that might be good for their own growth as cultivators it wouldn¡¯t be good for their children and their clans. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ----- In the third round of the tournament, Aydan was matched with a member of the Boyce clan, against whom he pulled out a close victory. Crystin was not so fortunate with her opponent, fighting a match with a fire type cultivator that was several ranks higher in cultivation. She put up a decent showing, but ultimately she had little chance of victory. John¡¯s opponent was a light element cultivator from the Sunfields. It was an old woman by the name of Monika Zeman. John quickly assessed her. She was at the twenty-fifth rank, more than himself but not an insurmountable gap. She held a short staff in her hand- so short he would have thought it a club if not for her grip. Her hands stopped short of either end of the one meter long stick, but it left very little room for extra striking surface. That meant it would either be an awful weapon, or there was some trick to it. The woman was from a group known as the Golden Tomb Guardians. Nobody outside of their sect was certain if the area they occupied was an actual tomb of some great cultivator of the past or some sort of training grounds they had chosen to occupy, but their serious demeanor made clear they took the tasks they thought were their duty quite seriously. Either way, they were light element cultivators¡­ which meant this would be a useful battle for John whether he won or lost. John wished he had seen her fight, but there were too many participants still to keep track of them all. Either way, he had thought about how he would fight a light element cultivator. If he were to use logic from Earth, darkness would be pointless- but this wasn¡¯t Earth. Darkness wasn¡¯t merely the absence of light, but a thing unto itself. That said, he decided to forgo creating a screen of darkness- it would be quite easy for a light cultivator to wipe out the energy with a bit of their own. Instead John started with a bit of air element energy. He formed something akin to a barrier around himself, but of course wind could never make anything solid. Perhaps if a projectile was thrown at him he could blow it off course with a strong enough wind, but he had different intentions. He just didn¡¯t know whether it would work, for a variety of reasons. John decided to forgo his token ranged attack at the start of the battle. Monika was clearly in a stance ready to take an attack, and he would just waste energy. Instead, the two of them cautiously approached each other. A few quick probing attacks showed John that his opponent was adept at blocking and parrying incoming attacks. He might be able to overpower her, but there was no way to know for sure until they clashed seriously. He wouldn¡¯t want to bet on it, as the old woman was likely holding back as much as he was. He still was wary of how short the stick in her hand was, since he couldn¡¯t even justify calling it a staff. Even if she purely used it for defense with the intent to tire out her opponents, it should be longer. John continued to press the attack, using Hidden Steps to make his way around behind her. When she spun around with her energy flaring he dodged backwards¡­ but immediately felt silly. There was no way an attack would have reached him. And yet¡­ he¡¯d instinctively backed off. John continued to wrap a barrier of air around himself. Just because she hadn¡¯t yet tried to blind him with a flash of light didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t. He doubted that a bit of distortion in the air would stop an actual light element attack, but playing around with the movement of the air might weaken something like a flash. There were a few more brief exchanges before Monika finally made an attack. She pressed in close to John, driving his sword to the side with her hands on either side of the blade. Her short staff moved forward as if she intended to bludgeon him with it, but John still felt a sense of danger. Darkness and light were offensively good against each other, so he focused on that layer of air and the solid power of earth around himself. John shifted his stance to push back against her staff to deflect it to the side, and was quite glad he made the effort when a blade of light extended from the end of the staff. For about half of its length it was round like an extension of the staff, but then it turned into a wide blade. So instead of a staff, it was closer to a glaive. While he¡¯d certainly expected something he was not fully prepared for that attack, and the blade scraped through his defensive energy and cut a trail along his ribs as he deflected it. Now that he knew he was facing off against a glaive, John recalculated his opponent¡¯s reach. Without the structural support of a proper weapon the blade of energy would be slightly weaker, but clearly Monika had great experience with her technique. His own decade of combat experience- or half that if he counted the part he was serious in his learning- would certainly be a paltry comparison to her. Coupled with the advantage in cultivation, and John knew the battle would be difficult. Difficult, but not impossible. He wasn¡¯t going to try something stupid like Spiritual Energy Absorption to win a battle of endurance, but he did have one advantage often discounted by cultivators. He had a stronger body. If Monika hadn¡¯t been old and wrinkled he wouldn¡¯t have counted on that, but the bodies of even the most powerful cultivators eventually weakened. Monika wasn¡¯t a frail old woman, but she¡¯d be a bit weaker in that department. If he could land injuries on her, they would take a greater toll. John had always thought his first real battle against light element cultivators would go quite differently. Neither side had yet made any attempt to hinder the opponent¡¯s senses with a veil of darkness or a blinding flash of light. Instead they were crossing blades and testing their martial skills. When Monika took a strong vertical swing, John prepared to block it. Unbreakable Boulder would stop the attack in its tracks, and after the impact he would have an opening to counter. But there was no impact. As the blade swung down, it disappeared before impacting his sword. Then immediately formed again, slicing a trail along his belly. It was not a terribly deep wound, but any damage would build up over the course of the battle. He couldn¡¯t very well bleed out his opponent if only his own blood was flowing. Chapter 100 John felt foolish after the blade reformed and sliced into him, avoiding his own attempt to block it. At least he¡¯d kept his defenses firm, not focusing everything on the failed attempt. Otherwise he would have been seriously injured. But upon seeing the attack, it was obvious that was how things would go. Instantly forming and unforming the blade as it suited her would make it almost impossible to block or parry. More than that, he couldn¡¯t be certain that the blade would always keep the same length. There was a good chance she could extend it further, though he expected it would be weaker. That was why people didn¡¯t just sweep twenty meter long blades made from spiritual energy across the battlefield. But a weakened attack could still cause some damage. John took stock of his options as he fought. Continuing the fight as they were would certainly result in his loss. His attacks mostly revolved around striking a small blow and allowing it to grow, but he doubted this old woman would so easily fall for a tactic like that. She took every attack seriously and had the skill to block anything he could throw at her. The only thing keeping John in the fight were her totems. They weren¡¯t terrible, but he felt she had a second tier totem along with two third tier totems. Her cultivation talent, given her age, was actually rather poor. But she¡¯d clearly taken the time to hone her technique to the limit. Since John wasn¡¯t going to suddenly increase in rank in the middle of the match, his ¡®talent¡¯ wasn¡¯t much good. He had to make good use of the amount and types of energy he had available. John began to refocus his air elemental spiritual energy, infusing it into his earth energy. It wasn¡¯t quite as efficient as he might like, as the optimal reinforcing pattern between air and earth was probably something like oxygen and a plant based totem, but he could use it as a propellant force to speed him up. If he were just one Phase further, he felt he could make great use of a minor cycle of allied elements and even incorporate air, but as it was he had to make use of what he had. Earth and darkness combined, not for his usual techniques of Clinging Affliction or Bite of the Gorgon, but in a more straightforward manner. Of course, more straightforward didn¡¯t indicate there were no tricks to be had. He had to find the right opening as he dodged the attacks and potential attacks of the old woman Monika Zeman. Each sweep of her short staff could turn into a glaive, and John was certain that applied to the lower end as well, despite her not having done it as of yet. But the way her grip was balanced, he would bet she planned to make use of it in a critical moment. He just had to make sure to avoid it or get his attack in first. He swung his sword, aiming for her center of mass. She easily blocked his attack with the center of her staff, the energy of the attack negated. A sweep of the end forced John back, though a blade didn¡¯t even briefly flicker into being. Being forced to dodge every attack as if it were serious while she didn¡¯t have to expend any significant amount of energy would wear John down before her, much the same tactics as he often used. They exchanged a few more blows back and forth, neither managing a solid hit, before John maneuvered to just the right position. He slipped a throwing knife into his left hand, shrouding it in darkness energy. His blade was still coated in each type of energy he possessed, augmenting each other to the best of his abilities. With one hand he thrust his sword, then as Monika moved to parry he flicked the dagger forward, aiming towards her head and neck. With a tilt of her staff she extended the blade to block the dagger while still continuing through with the parry, but it threw her off slightly. That was enough, given John¡¯s real intent. As her weapon clashed into his sword, intending to push it off track, he continued to thrust forward. Darkness and light clashed, tearing each other apart in a single moment. The force of Monika¡¯s movements came from spiritual energy more than muscle, as was true of nearly every cultivator. Even if John only disrupted one section of her energy, it weakened her parry enough for his attack to continue forward- and it still had his air and earth energy that had been purposefully understated. She was not so careless as to leave her chest without energy defenses, but his successful head-on strike pierced through it and her armor. His sword slipped between two ribs¡­ and stopped. The two cultivators locked eyes, then Monika grinned. ¡°I surrender.¡± John nodded and withdrew his blade. They had no previous quarrel, so seriously injuring her would have been unsportsmanlike. Not when he had the capability to avoid it, anyway. The muscles on her ribs would certainly require some healing, but there was a large difference between recovering that damage and the heart or lungs. If she hadn¡¯t surrendered, she would have had to bet that she could retreat safely or defeat him before he pushed forward- but fortunately she didn¡¯t do anything drastic. Though he knew that not every light element cultivator would use the exact same techniques, he had kind of hoped she would make use of some sort of flash, just so he could determine if his particular defensive efforts would have helped. Asking her to help him test his defenses after he defeated her might be considered rude, but he thought about it. Perhaps if she stayed around for a few days, instead of immediately after the match. ----- John and Matayal sat together, hands and energy overlapping. While there were limits to what she could do with cultivation at the moment, training her control and stabilizing her foundation would always be useful. Pushing through to the next rank would be risky, but her cultivation didn¡¯t need to completely stagnate. In addition, she was still able to help John with his cultivation. Between the two of them they had the minor cycle allied with darkness, and could complete a circuit looping from water to air and then earth and back. It wasn¡¯t as efficient as it would be if they had fire element involved, but trying to control any sufficient amount without a proper totem wasn¡¯t something John wanted to try. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°About that thing we were talking about earlier,¡± John said, ¡°I can¡¯t stop thinking about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work, you might ruin your cultivation.¡± John nodded seriously. He didn¡¯t want to be flippant about the topic, but he also had a ready response. ¡°The same could be said for attempting to form a cycle of elements in the first place. It was more likely to result in my ruin than success.¡± ¡®That is true,¡± she conceded, ¡°But that might be exactly the reason you should continue it properly.¡± ¡°I just feel¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°I have no idea if I could ever surpass the Consolidated Soul Phase. If I try it, it could mean a significant increase in effectiveness. For the both of us. But it also places undue pressure on you.¡± ¡°That part does not concern me,¡± Matayal stated clearly. ¡°I appreciate your trust in my abilities, but¡­ skipping a step in the cycle seems like it could lead to dangerous imbalances if we were apart.¡± John leaned close, his head down. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. But that¡¯s the problem, isn¡¯t it? Uncertainty.¡± He closed his eyes for a few moments, breathing deeply. ¡°If I forgo attuning to a water element totem and instead seek out one of fire, I still have the air-earth-fire cycle on my own. The problem would be the darkness pulling that towards an imbalance. Potentially.¡± ¡°I would think that potential would be enough,¡± Matayal shifted slightly. ¡°While I would be quite happy to remain with you at all times, I don¡¯t believe that will be possible given the distance separating our clans. At some point we will be called upon to deal with clan matters during the same period of time, and that will only become more likely with time. Even if this move allows you to train with great rapidity, we should expect for you to remain in the Consolidated Soul Phase for decades, as the number of ranks within it increases.¡± John nodded slowly, ¡°Five years to reach twenty-three stars, maybe another to reach twenty-seven. I should expect the subsequent eighteen to take several times that.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re lucky,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°But that very time is why it might be necessary to take that chance,¡± John continued. ¡°Yo- our cultivation would be best supported by the addition of another element in the cycle, instead of treading well covered territory.¡± Matayal grabbed John¡¯s chin and pulled it up, looking into his eyes. ¡°Is that what this is about? Me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not fair that you are the only one to support me. Dual cultivating is still of some benefit to you, but it would be better if I had an element that directly supported you instead of more of the same.¡± Matayal leaned back as she seriously considered John¡¯s words. ¡°It almost makes me wish I had started down a different path from the beginning.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± John said. ¡°There¡¯s no bet you could reset your cultivation properly anyway. I died and even then I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s why I was able to choose a new totem.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to think about it,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to try it though. It¡¯s far too crazy. Much more than your current plan, which I will give the consideration that it is due. Just promise me.you won¡¯t make the decision without me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you about it now, isn¡¯t it?¡± John smiled. ¡°I promise. This directly involves you now, so I won¡¯t make that choice alone.¡± That wouldn¡¯t stop him from browsing through fire element totems, however. Besides, he¡¯d already spend so much time on the water element ones feeling unsatisfied that he was sick of them. It had just taken him some time to realize why. ----- John¡¯s next opponent in the tournament didn¡¯t require any research. At least, he already knew everything he was going to find out. That was because his opponent was someone familiar. Renato Arriola, from the Order of the Amber Heart. They were friends, though the awkward sort that only saw each other every once in a while. After surviving the death zone in the Crystal Caverns together, they had met up several times- sometimes by coincidence and other times by plan. Renato had been at John and Matayal¡¯s wedding as well as the battle afterwards, coming to his aid when trouble came knocking. So far John hadn¡¯t encountered Renato in need beyond their initial encounter, but he would gladly stick his neck out for a steadfast friend. But now they were fighting in an arena match. John grinned as he faced his opponent, sword held at the ready. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, huh?¡± ¡°I do believe we have not had a serious match since the peak of Spiritual Collection Phase,¡± Renato responded. His own weapon, a stone club resembling a stalagmite in shape, was clenched tightly in his hand with the wide head to the ground. ¡°Tell me, what do you think led us together for this match today?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to say fate,¡± John quipped, ¡°But just this time I¡¯m going to call you out on it. This is nothing more than coincidence.¡± ¡°I will concede that it was likely we would both arrive to participate in this tournament,¡± Renato nodded seriously. ¡°However, there were many chances for either of us to have been defeated, and likewise many other opponents we could now be facing. But fate or not,¡± he hefted the club onto his shoulder, and John didn¡¯t fail to miss the heavy momentum behind the movement, ¡°We must both do our best. I do believe this battle should be much more satisfying than the first.¡± ¡°I agree to that,¡± John adjusted his stance. Though the referee had given them a few extra moments because they were talking, they still had a tournament to keep on schedule. ¡°Match, start!¡± John smiled as he once more heard Renato¡¯s rumbling steps heading towards him. He imagined the man was incomparable to how he had once been, but that was the same for John as well. And whichever one of them lost¡­ that meant the other would be advancing. Not a bad result overall. Chapter 101 The battlefield laid out between and around John and Renato wasn¡¯t just a slab of stone or field of dirt. In the later rounds the field itself was one of the challenges, and the particular one they were facing seemed to be equally disadvantageous for both. The ground was dark stone, cracked and twisted from nearby pools of lava. There was some sort of constant power source, maintaining the level of heat and containing it to their portion of the arena. Though John would have liked to have a straightforward battle with Renato where he didn¡¯t use any tricks, that was an easy way to guarantee that he would lose. Technically John was closer to Renato in terms of actual power this time, with his own totems having increased in rank. Third tier spiritual totems were a much better match for fourth and fifth tier totems compared to a totem hovering at the border of the second tier. John and Renato had sparred many times since then, but nothing had been quite as serious as their first battle. Yet John barely felt like he had won, with Renato forfeiting not because he didn¡¯t think he could achieve victory but instead because John would leave him too weakened. He was ultimately right about that choice, but that didn¡¯t make it feel more like a proper win. Now there was once again something at stake. More than the pride of victory, but also the chance of advancing further in the tournament and the rewards from it. It would make the fight a little bit more real, which gave John the proper motivation to win. Renato¡¯s first attack was simple and straightforward, yet if John had failed to dodge it the downwards swing could have completely ended the battle in a single blow. He didn¡¯t forget to move further than seemed necessary, because Renato¡¯s attacks could rebound off of the ground with the same force as the initial attack. And that was just what he could do before- he would certainly have more techniques to make use of now. The battlefield would have to come into play. The first battle, John had the advantage of navigation in the darkness of the Crystal Caverns, but also the disadvantage of the area being saturated with earth that supported Renato. He still thought it had been somewhat in his favor, but what was important was not how things had been, but how they were now. Renato was still purely earth, but John had one earth totem as well. He wouldn¡¯t be as weak to the heat as Renato, but John also didn¡¯t have any particular resistance to it. The best he could do was make use of his air energy to cool himself down. Using the ground as a heat sink only worked in the Green Sands because the air was hotter than the ground- it wasn¡¯t the same on Zolvolj or anything else resembling a volcano like their current battlefield. The field only went a few meters deep, but that still strained John¡¯s ability to dissipate any heat through the ground. He continued to think about strategy as he fought and dodged, countering with his sword where convenient even if he only struck the coating of solid stone around Renato. He was trying to get Renato to display new techniques, but he hadn¡¯t pushed him far enough yet. Both of their basic maneuvers were much more refined with experience, but basic skills only won the match where one side was far superior. It went without saying that John was making use of Spiritual Energy Absorption. Any amount of earth elemental spiritual energy he could take away from Renato was an advantage, though he quickly used any excess for parrying or boosting his movements. That was just the undertone of the battle, and would only matter if he could snag an advantage with his use of other elements. Air was weak to earth. That didn¡¯t mean it was hopeless to use it to combat Renato, but it simply meant it would lose any sort of direct clash. A whirlwind of air would not do much to deflect a heavy stone club, and it couldn¡¯t break through earthen defenses either. It could still enhance John¡¯s own speed, and he had other ideas of how to make it useful. John¡¯s darkness was suffusing throughout the battlefield, limiting his opponent¡¯s senses. It would never be enough to fully blind Renato, but it would make John¡¯s dodges and subtle attacks more effective. Bite of the Gorgon was completely taken off the table. Even if John was willing to risk some sort of permanent damage to his friend, the technique would likely be wasted regardless. He had to first injure Renato through a layer of defensive stone and then hope that a pure earth element cultivator couldn¡¯t counter his own earth element ability efficiently. It would just be a waste of energy, probably not even viable as a distraction. John did make use of another earth element technique, one that was quite basic but widely used because it was just good. It was much more difficult to use Quicksand without loose soil, but that was where the heat actually provided an advantage. Even if the stone away from the lava pools was still quite solid, it was also easier to manipulate. John was able to sink Renato somewhat, throwing off his footing as he attacked. A broken stance allowed John to counter with an attack of his own, which he used to test for weaknesses in Renato¡¯s stone armor. There was no way to guarantee that it would be the same as a normal suit of armor, as he might have denser yet flexible stone in some places. After all, it was simply a construct of spiritual energy and not a physical object he wore- though he did have some real armor underneath. If all the bulk slowed Renato down, John couldn¡¯t feel it. Renato was well muscled, clearly having trained his body more than just the minimum for a cultivator. With the right earth element totems, he likely barely felt the extra weight. That also included his weapon, which he swung as if it were made out of styrofoam instead of rock- though the impact on the ground made it clear there was real mass behind it. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Renato wouldn¡¯t be easy to manipulate next to one of the pools of lava, and even if John got him there he doubted he could knock him in. Even manipulating the ground beneath his feet would be too slow to do anything. Yet John had to make use of it somehow. He began with something simple. The entire area was hot, but John had the air around him carry it away. He didn¡¯t just intend to disperse it, but instead concentrated it around Renato. His opponent was constantly on the move so he wouldn¡¯t get an advantage with just one simple technique, but each bit would lean the battle in John¡¯s favor. Another powerful swing crashed into the ground, sending splashes of liquid rock into the air from a nearby pool of lava. They were completely undirected and mostly fell directly back into the pool, but John felt he could do better than Renato¡¯s unintentional move. Any time John wanted to attack Renato he had to first dodge the swinging club. If he didn¡¯t he would find himself in a world of pain- because Renato would certainly win if they traded blows. Even so, Renato wouldn¡¯t just stand there and take a hit when John forced an opening. At least, not every time. If John¡¯s attack was powerful enough, he stepped aside with expertly trained movements in an attempt to have John waste his energy. John¡¯s sword instructor was an earth element cultivator, and he¡¯d taught John a similar rebounding attack to what Renato used. Renato knew that, and John knew that he knew that- so it was no surprise when Renato sidestepped his two-handed vertical strike with more vigor than seemed immediately necessary. John¡¯s blade struck the ground and instead of reversing the energy sent it deeper. A shockwave moved into a nearby pool of lava which spurted molten rock into the air. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t particularly well directed- it seemed John would have to take a more direct approach. He wasn¡¯t going to try to just manipulate the lava directly. Even thinking about it hurt, as his spiritual energy wasn¡¯t the right type for that. He technically had a small amount of fire elemental spiritual energy, but that was simply part of the ecosystem he was creating inside himself. It wasn¡¯t enough to control a significant portion of lava, especially without the guiding factor of a totem. As the battle stood, even with John pushing heat onto Renato and doing his best to steal spiritual energy, he would likely lose due to his overall capacity being somewhat lower. So he felt he had to make something work, but couldn¡¯t quite figure it out. Air was no good. He could blow a soothing breeze across the surface of the lava, but even catching a small bead of floating lava was a difficult task. Even a fist sized chunk would likely do little to faze Renato. He would need something more, especially since Renato had to be guessing what he was doing by now. He had one more good idea, but if it failed he could either hurt himself or possibly lead to his defeat more directly. John maneuvered himself until there was a pool of lava at his right. It limited his dodging options but it was what he needed at the moment. When Renato stepped forward with a wide swing, John was already sweeping down his sword towards the lava. Darkness and earth combined. Gravity Blade was a technique that was primarily ¡®sticky¡¯ darkness element, but combined with earth it exerted a strong pull as he swept his sword through the viscous lava. His energy and muscles strained to keep his movement as the first twenty centimeters of his sword flicked into the pool next to him, pulling as large of a lump as he could manage along with it. His arm swung towards Renato as his upper body leaned backwards, making use of every bit of his flexibility and a bit of air to stabilize himself, propping up his upper body. As he ducked under the swinging club a large globule of lava was flung towards Renato as he released the darkness portion of his technique and used his earth to propel the attack forward. John turned his backward lean into a roll that brought him further from Renato and back to his feet. The lava struck Renato directly in the chest. It was only a single moment before it was dislodged, but to do so Renato broke chunks out of his earthen armor which fell to the ground with the rapidly cooling lava. He reformed his armor a moment later, but the maneuver cost him a significant amount of spiritual energy. Following up with another attack would have been optimal, but John simply couldn¡¯t. He could feel the heat traveling up his sword, a heat he was doing his best to dissipate. Another maneuver like that and he might permanently damage his weapon. It would be one thing if it would lead to his victory, but the follow up attack would have been slightly too slow regardless. And he needed his weapon intact for the next round if he won. John trailed the tip of his sword along the ground as he retreated, forcing heat out of it into the ground. Just a few moments of contact had been enough. John felt he had a pretty good control of fire element for someone without a totem, but that was hardly inspiring since it still put him below a proper Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator in that regard. Consecutive attacks might not work, but he could potentially do one larger attack. There would still be some risk to his sword, but as long as he kept the contact with the lava as brief as possible his weapon should sustain minimal damage. There was only the question of whether or not he could actually follow through on that, since Renato had yet to display any fancy new techniques. Then again, perhaps he didn¡¯t need them since his standard set of moves were sufficiently well put together. What more did anyone need than offense, defense, and movement that all worked together in a coordinated manner? Still, John would have bet there was something he wasn¡¯t expecting, something easy to overlook but obvious once it occurred. He was just planning to make it past that point without sustaining serious injuries. Chapter 102 Though John had the plan to fling a larger quantity of lava from one of the nearby pools, Renato wasn¡¯t going to make that easy for him. He was sticking close to John, to the point John would have to be willing to take a hit to make an attempt at his own attack. He could bet everything on somehow dodging Renato¡¯s blow, but if he was actually struck that would pretty much put him down. Even his best defenses were earth element which Renato could certainly break through- and he only had a portion of his energy for that. If anyone said earth element cultivators were slow, John would point them to exhibit R. It made perfect sense, of course. Nobody expected a water cultivator to move slowly in the water, why would an earth cultivator move slowly with their feet firmly planted on the ground? John saw the way the ground was almost springy beneath Renato¡¯s feet, pushing him where he wanted to go without compromising his stability at any point. He considered changing tactics. Having his next move be obvious was an issue for John, since straightforward combat wasn¡¯t his specialty. On the other hand, being predictable himself would also allow him to try to counter any moves used against him. And since he couldn¡¯t think of a better way to overcome Renato¡¯s defense, he didn¡¯t have many options. He went over several options and picked out the best one. In a real battle he might have made different decisions, because some options could end with him injured- but the surety that Renato wouldn¡¯t follow up on that to kill him was a safety net. As long as he didn¡¯t do anything stupid he could try something and see how it worked. If he lost, all it meant was a friend going further in the tournament while he stopped. Once more he gathered earth and darkness together, the core of his strength and durability intertwining for a powerful purpose. Making use of different elements for different purposes all at the same time was rather difficult, but the more he did it the better he got. He was going to use every element he had all at once. Into his left hand slipped a throwing dagger, which he charged with another element as he flicked his wrist. Instead of the power of air propelling the dagger forward with great speed, every bit of fire elemental spiritual energy John had was empowering that dagger. It was just enough for one completely normal attack, but it provided the needed effect. Renato hesitated for just a second. During that moment John leapt to the side, air element propelling him through the air and guiding him to land exactly where he intended on the far side of one of the small pools of lava, just a couple meters across. His dagger impacted Renato¡¯s side, bouncing off his stone defenses with no effect except perhaps to make him slightly hotter- fire might be a conquering element for earth, but only when the magnitudes were vaguely similar. The bit of heat wasn¡¯t necessarily irrelevant, but it didn¡¯t immediately show results either. Renato spun to face John, swinging his hammer forward and down as John swept his sword upwards, both striking for the lava between them. As John had been in the air for a moment, Renato¡¯s attack landed first, creating a much more effective version of something John had tried to do before. The force of his blow pressed down on the lava in a wide area, pushing it down- which meant it had to rise somewhere. That somewhere wasn¡¯t random, but rather Renato created a shockwave that directed a wave of lava over John. That was where the final element came into play, as John defended himself with his water element. He had significantly more of that stored up compared to fire, both because it was allied with two of his totems and because of Matayal¡¯s influence on his cultivation. Enough to resist a ¡®normal¡¯ hit, though of course a wave of lava was certainly not in that category. His sword sliced forward into the wave of lava, splitting it apart- but also pulling along with it the core of the wave, sending it back towards Renato. A globule the size of John¡¯s torso arced towards the man, striking him in the chest. Instantly Renato was pushing it away with his energy, shedding his defensive layer while still trying to keep himself insulated from the great heat. Renato managed it, but then he felt a sword press into his sternum before he could return his defenses to full capacity. ¡°Ah¡­ you got me,¡± Renato said. ¡°I surrender.¡± If a picture could be taken of the two combatants- not that John knew of any way to do so in this world- it might have looked like Renato was in a better state than John. After all, one had scorched sides and was drenched, while the other mostly had frazzled hair. But on the battlefield they had been fighting on, the fact that Renato wasn¡¯t sweating was not a good sign. Because he had been sweating the whole fight. John made sure Renato had some water available to chug down so he wouldn¡¯t pass out in their little arena or on the way out. He would have suggested a sports drink, but that wasn¡¯t an option. ----- John was quite happy with his tournament results so far. He¡¯d defeated some tough enemies and learned quite a bit. He was even highly enough ranked to receive some rewards for his position, though it would mostly just make up for the cost of entry unless he won another round or two. He could just go home, content in what he¡¯d done. He didn¡¯t want to quit the tournament, but he had to seriously consider it. Currently, he was talking it over with Matayal. ¡°Logically, given my next opponent, it is safer to withdraw.¡± ¡°Then why not do it?¡± Matayal asked. It was an honest question, meant to probe out what John really wanted. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure,¡± John said. ¡°But this guy. Leutwin Odalricsen of the Society of Midnight. As one of their elders, he¡¯s not going to be merciful. And I can¡¯t possibly beat him, with him having stepped into the Consolidated Soul Phase. Those five ranks and the difference in Phase, plus years of experience aren¡¯t something I can overcome even if he doesn¡¯t take me seriously. And it¡¯s far too late to put up a facade of incompetence.¡± Matayal just let him talk, as he tried to explain what he wanted. ¡°As the young master of the Tenebach clan, it¡¯s irresponsible to go into such a fight. Withdrawing now loses us just the tiniest bit of prestige. If it was another of their disciples it would be one thing, but an elder?¡± John shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s also irresponsible as a husband and¡­ father¡­ to risk my life for something that doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He was just waiting for Matayal to tell him not to go. She just had to suggest it, and he would agree. Instead, she just looked at him with a curious smile. ¡°But¡­?¡± ¡°But I feel like I need to fight him, for the sake of my cultivation. Which is insane, because I just got plenty of combat experience. There¡¯s no logical reason to even show up at this match.¡± John held his head in his hands. ¡°Do you want to do it?¡± Matayal asked. John sighed. ¡°I suppose I do?¡± he shook his head. ¡°But maybe I just uncovered some extra prideful arrogance that I had buried and it¡¯s messing with my head. I could just die there. It¡¯s like I have to choose between family responsibility and my own selfish and twisted desire to show off or something.¡± ¡°It seems the answer is pretty simple then,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°Yeah, I should¡­¡± ¡°You just have to fight and get out safely, while taking away whatever cultivation insights you can snag along with you.¡± ¡°I-¡± John didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°If you want to apply logic to it, I could point out that if you have some success in that endeavor you stand to gain greatly in cultivation. The Tenebach and Brandle clans have many Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, but if you do this successfully you would certainly reach Consolidated Soul Phase, and I imagine you would have great momentum to carry you beyond.¡± John nodded. He could have ended things there, but that wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°And even if I died, the alliance between the clans would remain. With triplets along the way, the next generation is secure enough. But you haven¡¯t yet said how you feel about this.¡± ¡°Even with the resources of a clan, I don¡¯t want our children growing up without a father. It would be bad for their development, and mine. If you die or get crippled, I¡­¡± Matayal¡¯s voice choked up. ¡°... I would suffer as well, unrelated to our cultivation bonds. But-¡± Matayal¡¯s speech regained strength, ¡°I also don¡¯t want to see my husband hit a roadblock and miss a bright future. To see you stagnate. I¡­ have confidence that you would overcome it. But what is most important is whether you are confident that you would.¡± ¡°In the end, it comes down to my decision then.¡± ¡°It is your decision¡­ and your actions that will decide which becomes the right choice in the future.¡± ----- Fighting for pride was stupid. Fighting for a nebulous increase in power when he already had enough to comfortably take his father¡¯s place was simply unnecessary. Yet John felt himself walking towards the arena anyway. It was strange, but it didn¡¯t feel wrong. There was something he¡¯d seen in his own family life back on Earth that made the choice for him. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was actually comparable, but it felt like it which was the most important thing. It was the thought of family not living up to their full potential. It was what he had thought of Kyle, before John learned his cousin was actually properly trying to find work instead of just slacking off. Kyle¡¯s mother, John¡¯s aunt, had been on track to a good career when she just¡­ quit. She wasn¡¯t the only one in the family who ended up with problems of drinking and depression- and John didn¡¯t know which order those came in related to her quitting- but she went from a symbol of pride to someone who needed to be looked after. John knew that leaving a stressful corporate job was the best thing some people ever did, but he felt like this was a challenge he had to rise to. Maybe it was stupid, but he wanted to be the best he could be for himself and for others. Something in his gut was telling him to do this. Guts could be truly, extremely wrong sometimes- but he wanted to do this. He wasn¡¯t going to be crazy and stubbornly continue fighting or try to win. Even if he saw the perfect opening, John would bet that it would be bait to entrap him. But if he could come out ahead in a single exchange, or show up to the fight and not lose horribly, he thought that would satisfy the urge inside himself. And maybe it knew something he didn¡¯t. Despite all of the effort put into cultivation, some parts of it were still mysterious. Sometimes cultivators got hunches about things, feelings that couldn¡¯t be explained by any logic or consciously registered experiences. Yet they often proved to be correct, or at least useful in some way. More often than not, though it wasn¡¯t as if there was a hard study on that. Even if people did proper scientific studies in this world, that was probably not one that would be possible. John gripped his sword tightly as he approached the arena. He wasn¡¯t going into things completely blind. He had some information on his opponent. Aydan specifically had been assigned to watch his match- even if John didn¡¯t know he was going to fight the man, learning about an enemy of the Tenebach clan was useful research. John certainly wouldn¡¯t know the limits of his opponent, but he had some knowledge about his fighting style and the abilities he had displayed so far. Nothing blatantly stood out, just normal darkness cultivator things like darting around swiftly in a cloud of darkness, but there were a few insights Aydan had that might help. And the arena was to John¡¯s advantage, he thought. Leutwin was like the vast majority of the Society of Midnight a pure darkness cultivator. There was nothing wrong with specialization, but John could take advantage of a variety of circumstances. With some sort of formation creating dark storm clouds over the arena, the water and air elements flooding the area were something he could use to his advantage. He just had to do it quickly, and withdraw at the proper time. He just hoped he would really learn something, and wasn¡¯t just risking his life for the sake of chemicals flooding his brain telling him he needed to. But then again, that was pretty much consciousness in a nutshell- processes nobody fully understood making people be people. Chapter 103 John stepped into the arena, storm brewing above him. In the last five or so years, his life had changed dramatically from being a manager of a burger place who had never been in anything close to a real fight. Now he was going into a fight he didn¡¯t literally have to, against someone who would try to kill or cripple him given the chance. He¡¯d expressed his reasons for wanting to fight to his wife, but he still wasn¡¯t sure if he was being stupid. Maybe this was the day his overconfidence would kill him. But he hoped that whatever crazy part of the cultivation world influenced him into his current decisions would support his actions. He wasn¡¯t going to try to win. Just to do something. As the beginning of the match was called, John realized what it was his cultivation was unconsciously seeking. A wave of darkness spread out over the field, a blanket of shadow that hid everything but the malice of his opponent. Despite his current path, the core of his cultivation had been darkness. Even now, the Seed of Darkness had grown into a fine sapling, maybe even close to being a proper tree. Everything else revolved around that. He subconsciously began to pull in the spiritual energy around him. Unlike the spiritual energy throughout the world, this resisted his efforts. It was controlled by Leutwin, after all. An elder of the Society of Midnight, and in the Consolidated Soul Phase to boot. Yet since the beginning of his time as a cultivator, John had been absorbing others¡¯ spiritual energy. It should still have taken him a great deal of effort, where he would have expected to expend twice as much energy as he brought in. But instead¡­ he found it rather simple. As if the energy was offering itself up. It was good that he was not forced to concentrate on that aspect of the battle, because even if Leutwin didn¡¯t yet realize what was happening he still wasn¡¯t going to stand around and let John do whatever he pleased. His darkness had enough strength that it actually dimmed John¡¯s vision, but he still managed to spot the flying dagger as it came towards him. He dodged the flying blade, leaving a wide margin in case it turned to meet him. Large dodges took more energy, but it was better to be a bit wasteful than to get himself injured. The blade doubtless had poison, and even the amount of spiritual energy on it was enough to break his defenses and pierce into a vital organ. There was no more time to think about why he was in this battle, he had to fight. He countered with one of his own throwing daggers, unfortunately lacking any sort of poison. It was little more than a distraction to force Leutwin to move, and even then he batted it away with a single hand. Several more throwing daggers were lobbed at him, each having enough energy he couldn¡¯t block it at full power. Two he dodged, and the last he deflected with his sword. The impact made his arms tremble as his spiritual energy was disrupted. Leutwin began to dash forward, and John knew that he wouldn¡¯t last long in a melee. The next thing he did was reach out towards the elements in the arena. The darkness was all Leutwin¡¯s, though John still found that a significant amount of that was becoming his. The storm clouds, however, were what he was after. It took just a slight encouragement for them to begin pouring rain, an easy task even without a water element totem. At the same time, he reached out with his air element totem, to the lightning he knew was contained up above. It would likely activate on its own soon enough, but he wanted to be in control of it. Or at least aware of it. Inside of him, deep in his dantian, the tree of darkness greedily absorbed all of the spiritual energy flowing into it. It processed and refined the energy coming into it, making it his. There were some losses, but overall John found that he was only managing to balance out what it took to pull the energy in. If it took great effort he would have had to abandon what he was doing, but it flowed into him easily. As if it were familiar. Then he got it. It felt just like Ciaritzal. In fact, Leutwin was old enough that he might have been around when the Society of Midnight was still in control of him. During the attack on Ciaritzal, the guardian beast had entered into John. That flood of darkness energy had been overwhelming, something he could only handle thanks to Matayal¡¯s presence and Ciaritzal¡¯s intention to cooperate. The energy flooding into him now was less cooperative¡­ but it also didn¡¯t have the same strength to it. Time was running short. John almost felt the urge to try to remain and win this fight. However, both his logical mind and emotions immediately rejected that. He¡¯d lasted a few seconds, why would he think he could win? On the other hand, winning didn¡¯t always have to mean the same thing. He just had to adjust his parameters. Causing a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator any amount of actual trouble could be counted as a win. A sword flashed at him from the darkness. Ironically the very concealment that made it difficult to observe him also gave away Leutwin¡¯s position, as he had to concentrate more darkness element to hide from John¡¯s gaze. Instincts took over and he parried, the blade approaching uncomfortably close to his neck. It was a good thing it was a sword. That was what he was best against at the moment. Even with nearly twenty ranks of cultivation between them, John would have bet Brage was a better swordsman than Leutwin. The blade swept back, unblockable power forcing him to duck into a disadvantageous position. Good sense told John to run. If he surrendered now he might get out alive. The slight advantage he had from the water making the ground slick had been the only thing that saved him there. But the part inside him told him there was something he still needed to do. Exchanging one or two blows wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°You¡¯re a slippery little rat, like the rest of your clan,¡± Leutwin spoke, a rasping voice that grated on John¡¯s ears. ¡°But that won¡¯t save you for long.¡± John would have liked to respond with a snappy comeback of some sort, but he was busy fighting for his life. He honestly should have tuned out the words, but he was busy keeping his extremities from being sliced through. Even if he knew where Leutwin was, the exact position of his sword was hard to keep track of as it came from what seemed like every angle all at once. A little bit of training, instinct, and luck kept him with only a cut on his brow and one on the back of his left wrist. Both were shallow, though the one on his forehead bled profusely. Leutwin¡¯s next movement took John completely by surprise. It was a tactically unsound attack that nobody in their right mind would have done- if their opponent could punish them for it. But as Leutwin darted close to him and John stabbed his sword into the man¡¯s ribcage, he realized he couldn¡¯t even pierce through his defensive energy, let alone the armor underneath. Then a hand grabbed his left arm, just below the shoulder. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. That was it. He was dead. John felt strong darkness energy wrapping around his arm, trying to snap it even as a sword came around to pierce through his side. Even with the awkward angle, all it would take was a strong push and it would go right through him. Then he felt something. He¡¯d never stopped pulling, absorbing the darkness elemental spiritual energy around him. It hadn¡¯t been long, but it took so little effort he¡¯d put it out of his mind. But as the grip on his arm tightened, he remembered the early days of using that technique. It was more effective up close. Everything was, really. But Spiritual Energy Absorption was especially potent with physical touch. And he remembered there was one aspect of it he hadn¡¯t delved into, not because it wouldn¡¯t be useful but because it would be awful. He reached into Leutwin, rushing towards his dantian through his meridians. There was no way he should have been able to intrude so easily, but the man¡¯s defenses broke down. John had no idea what he was trying to do. He had no time to think. He just followed the call of something. His reach into the man¡¯s dantian felt akin to the Sea of Spiritual Totems. A large place, filled with power. He could spend ages wandering it¡­ but something called to him. Instantly, he found himself in front of it. In the eternal darkness around him, he felt something- even as the tip of a sword pressed against his ribs. Then he saw a pair of eyes, somehow darker than the blackness around him. Then something rushed into him. He pulled himself out of the depths as the sword punctured his lung. His left hand had unconsciously caught onto it, stretching across his body to do so, but it would still inevitably pierce through his heart and other lung as well. But as he pulled out of Leutwin and back into his body, the man stopped. His face had previously been covered by unpierceable blackness, but John could suddenly see it, and a wince on his face. There was a slight grunt of pain as well. John shoved the sword out of his lung, finding the only resistance was Leutwin¡¯s muscle power. He tried not to think about the hole in him, and instead leapt backwards. ¡°I surrender,¡± John said as loudly as he could with only one working lung. Without stopping, he continued to pull away. He knew his goal, subconscious as it was, had been well achieved now. He just had to get out of the battle alive. The official call of surrender was an important part of leaving the arena, but unfortunately his voice seemed to focus Leutwin. The only good thing that John could say was that the man had blood dripping from his eyes. It would have been more comforting if he hadn¡¯t suddenly started gathering energy that felt like it was meant to cut John in half. Turning around to run would have been a mistake- he could have gone faster, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to react to an attack. As Leutwin charged forward, John followed through with his only remaining idea. If Leutwin committed to a berserk attack, he would die. So John tossed his sword forward, swirling with a mass of darkness. There was no way it could pierce through Leutwin¡¯s defenses, even if he¡¯d been up close. But the darkness was there to hide something else. He hadn¡¯t had much time to make use of the battlefield¡¯s features, but then again the battle had been going for less than a minute. All of the air element John could cram into and around his sword called out to the seed he¡¯d planted earlier in the clouds. As Leutwin charged directly towards John, a bolt of lightning arced between him and John¡¯s sword. It was perhaps something to be proud of that the attack slowed the man, but it was hard to think like that when John was still frantically retreating. Leutwin¡¯s attack as he charged was extremely inelegant. It was just a wide sweep with his sword, meant to bisect John at the waist. It would have, too, if he didn¡¯t both duck and shove the ground beneath his feet away so he had more room. Even then, it cut off the tip of his ear. The backswing would have taken off his head, if two spears hadn¡¯t intersected the attack to block for him. John felt himself being pulled backwards by strong hands attached to a comforting energy. Then Aydan stepped forward. All four guards were present, which made John feel quite a bit safer. ¡°If you want to continue fighting,¡± Aydan said, ¡°We don¡¯t mind killing you. But we¡¯ll give you a chance to walk away.¡± John was quite certain that Aydan and the others could kill Leutwin. Unfortunately, that was only because they would be risking their lives. If none of them died in that battle, John would be surprised. ¡°He stole something from me,¡± Leutwin pointed with his sword. Instead of rebutting with words, Aydan and the others stepped forward, forming something like a half circle. They were clearly ready to attack at any moment. A pleasant voice interrupted before anything more could happen. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach has surrendered. The match goes to Leutwin Odalricsen.¡± Though the words were rote, the power of the man who spoke them was an important nonverbal component of what was actually being said. While the enforcement of the rules was a bit more lax in this tournament compared to when they were controlled by a specific sect, there were certain limits. Leutwin turned on his heel, almost daring anyone to attack him from behind. If John were in good condition, he might have actually done it. Though he¡¯d already won, by his standards. He exchanged a few good blows with someone much stronger than him. Serious ones meant to kill him. He survived that¡­ and managed to retrieve something. Now that it was inside him, he recognized it as a small piece of Ciaritzal. Was this how the Society of Midnight had done their empowerment? He wasn¡¯t sure, but he was sure that none of those he¡¯d seen before had such a thing. He must have unconsciously picked up on its presence when he saw the man when investigating if he should even go to the match. John didn¡¯t have time to think about that. He had a hole in his lung to patch up. It was pretty awful, but one good thing about being in a cultivation world was that, even though medical technique was somewhat weaker, they could do many things that were impossible on Earth. For example, he could easily direct the blood pooling in his lung out of himself, and someone could stitch him up from the inside without cutting him apart. But he really needed to get that done as soon as possible. He let himself be slightly more than half carried by Aydan as they left the arena floor. At least he hadn¡¯t gotten himself killed¡­ and now he knew that some of that feeling hadn¡¯t just been an overstuffed ego. Though having survived this battle, he would have to watch out for that. He felt invincible, discounting the part where he was actively dying just a little. Chapter 104 It was unclear to John if he was in more danger of running out of air now or when he was in the deep sea. In the latter case, there wasn¡¯t any air he could directly breathe, and he had to stay conscious to maintain his supply of air. In the current case, one of his lungs worked just fine. The problem was the other one was constantly being filled with blood, which was screwing up the whole process. Of course, he was actually much better at the moment because of one important factor- he wasn¡¯t alone. Not only did he have several guards, Matayal was also present. John would likely allow Aydan to reach inside his body with his energy for the sake of helping him, but he regularly went further than that with Matayal. His trust for Aydan was that he wouldn¡¯t try to hurt him, while Matayal he knew wouldn¡¯t. The difference was the experience with navigating another¡¯s body where it might be unfamiliar or subconsciously fight back. John avoided speaking as Matayal reached into him, controlling the movements of a needle and thread. It would be better to have a proper doctor, but they didn¡¯t have one they could trust present. It was unlikely that the doctor would be compromised by the Society of Midnight or someone else who wanted John dead, but even if it was a ten percent chance it as risky as the minute of combat with a Consolidated Soul Phase expert. John¡¯s attention focused on the blood that wanted to ooze out of the wide gash piercing through one side of his lung. A whole sword blade plus some energy expanding from the sides had pushed through him, to the point the wound went almost halfway around the perimeter of his lung from the right side. Stitching the flesh together would only be the start of the process to heal it, but a handy thing about cultivation was that he could guide the healing. He might have to invest in some regenerative medicines to minimize lasting damage, but that was exactly the sort of thing that was a responsible use of finances. Assuming he couldn¡¯t avoid getting injured in the first place. As Matayal continued to stitch him up a little bit at a time, needle flitting back and forth, John focused on staying conscious to make things easy for her. The pain was hard to push through, but the needle itself was basically unnoticable compared to the large gash in his side. His right arm was held up at an uncomfortable angle by Aydan and Yonit, to keep it out of Matayal¡¯s way. If he tried to move anything on that side the severed muscles below his armpit screamed, and that just made everything worse. Taking painkillers of any sort would just make him woozy, and could result in him passing out. He¡¯d had injuries before, but this was the one he was most aware of on a continuing basis. After his lung was stitched up it still hurt to breathe, but John could relax slightly as there was no more blood oozing into his lung to clean out. However, his own work wasn¡¯t done. He downed a few pills- little round pellets of powdery medicine that quickly dissolved in his stomach. There was medicinal energy inside of them, some normal sorts of chemical medicine as well as more supernatural. He didn¡¯t fully understand how it worked, but with spiritual energy in the world he didn¡¯t find it particularly strange. He guided the strands of medicinal energy to the wounds in his side, focusing that and his own natural healing where it needed to be. The pain dulled slightly, and some of the angry swelling subsided as Matayal continued to work on the other layers of flesh and the various muscles that had been damaged, knitting them together as much as she could. Energy provided a huge advantage to her task, as she could compare how things connected on John¡¯s left side which was in excellent condition. Her own body was similar, of course, but the exact size and shape of muscles and how they attached to a differently sized ribcage wasn¡¯t as close. When things were getting close to finished and all of the medicinal energy from the pills had been absorbed, John allowed himself to pass out, his arm still being held high. ----- When he awoke he was in a carriage, the sound of rolling wheels crunching on the road below. ¡°Where are we?¡± John asked groggily. He winced as he accidentally moved his right side, though the pain was currently dulled. ¡°Leaving,¡± Matayal said simply. ¡°No point in staying.¡± ¡°We agreed it was safer to move you than to remain in a location the Society of Midnight might find you,¡± Aydan explained. ¡°We headed south out of Lunson, and when we determined we weren¡¯t being followed cut to the southwest. Even if the Society of Midnight happened to have people returning to the Darklands, they wouldn¡¯t travel this path. We¡¯re heading to the Shimmering Islands.¡± ¡°Smart,¡± John nodded. He spoke weakly, so his lungs didn¡¯t move much. Fortunately moving his diaphragm didn¡¯t hurt too bad, as most of the damage was restrained to his upper lung. ¡°I got¡­ a piece of Ciaritzal,¡± John declared. ¡°What?¡± Aydan asked. ¡°I¡­ what do you mean?¡± ¡°Just like it sounds,¡± John said. ¡°They took pieces of him to empower themselves.¡± ¡°The guardian never said anything about that,¡± Aydan commented. ¡°But perhaps¡­ he simply did not wish for us to get into further conflict. Or he presumed they were gone forever.¡± ¡°Could be,¡± John said. ¡°Could have regrown, too. But it felt like I needed to get it.¡± John closed his eyes and took a slow but not terribly deep breath. ¡°I just didn¡¯t know that until the battle started. The desire to not run away, to fight¡­ that was serious too. Aside from the pain, I¡¯m feeling pretty good about things.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°I am glad you achieved your goal,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Sorry I almost got myself killed,¡± John muttered. ¡°You explained your reasoning,¡± she said. ¡°I understand. But I¡¯m glad you quickly pulled out of the fight, once you¡¯d achieved your goals.¡± ¡°Almost screwed that one up,¡± John shook his head. ¡°I was just lucky that taking this bit made him pull back.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but it wouldn¡¯t have happened if you didn¡¯t make the right move. And luck is important for any cultivator. An Elder of the Society of Midnight who has achieved the Consolidated Soul Phase must have experienced some of his own.¡± Matayal smiled and placed a hand on John¡¯s shoulder. ¡°But, as successful as this endeavor was, I¡¯m going to have to ask you to refrain from unnecessary risk-taking for quite some time.¡± John smiled back, ¡°Absolutely.¡± Though he¡¯d felt himself pushed towards that battle, the thought of people depending on him normally made him more cautious. The alliance between the Brandle Clan and Tenebach Clan was fairly secure, but he was expected to take over a leadership position at some point. While his father could continue to manage the clan until one of his children grew old enough, John also didn¡¯t want to abandon his wife and the triplets. While cultivators were crazy, John vowed to resist any pulls of the same sort that had gotten him into that battle, at least until things were stable. After that, cultivators were somewhat expected to take risks if they needed them to advance. ----- Before they left Lunson, Matayal had collected John¡¯s prizes for placing as he did in the tournament. For two established clans, the amount of wealth wasn¡¯t much- but it was still useful to have it immediately available. Cultivation resources were easy to trade and sell, and the extra cash was used to change carriages several times. That included sending empty carriages to multiple destinations vaguely in the same direction they were heading. John wasn¡¯t going to speculate if it was paranoia. They didn¡¯t ever catch sight of anyone following them, but if they had it might have been too late. Letuwin wasn¡¯t the only powerful cultivator the Society of Midnight had at the tournament, and if they were chasing after them they would likely bring everyone they could. Along the way a message was sent at maximum speed to the Tenebach clan. There was no guarantee of any sort of retaliation, but they needed to be ready if it was going to happen. A Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator would stand out in the Stone Conglomerate- and probably be seen as an invasion- but they needed allies and neutral entities concerned about intruders from the Darklands to be ready if they were going to assist. They hadn¡¯t seen enough cultivators from the Society of Midnight at the tournament to be actually concerning, but it was better to warn them regardless. John¡¯s lung and side were healing slowly as they traveled. Since he didn¡¯t have anything better to do, he spent all day cultivating, including as much encouragement as possible of that healing process. There was a limit on how much medicine he could reasonably take, because everything had side effects. Even, or perhaps especially, supernatural sorts of medicine. If nothing else, bits of impurities built up, random bits of useless junk energy that clogged the meridians. The neutral mix of energy in Astrein was actually quite pleasant as John built up his small store of fire once more. He kept a significant amount of every element except for light, though the three he had totems for were over ten times the amount of fire he kept. Water was about three times the fire, since it worked well with his totems and he was quite familiar. Attuning a fire-type totem was still tempting, but he was going to wait for Matayal¡¯s response on the matter, and not press her right now. Instead, he spent some time looking at both water and fire totems to find the right one. He was still just shy of the twenty-fourth rank, which meant he had three more to go before he really needed to think about it. ----- Smelling the salt of the sea was pleasant for John. He could tell that Matayal found it even more so, since it was her home. The harbor was much less impressive than Dolomite Harbor with its high cliffs, though it was still a bustling trade port. They wasted no time chartering a ship. John had sort of been hoping that the Wavecutter would randomly be present, but of course it wasn¡¯t. The swift ship run by Captain Sohan was reliable and useful for their purposes, but they went many places. The chance they would be at this specific harbor was basically nothing. They were expected to arrive in about a week, according to the dockmaster, but waiting for that would completely destroy the purpose of haste. And they might find something else to send them to a different port from wherever they were. So instead they went with a ship mostly intended for cargo, one on the smaller side. While it wasn¡¯t comfortable to squeeze six more people into it, the captain was willing to give up on the trading run she was planning for the price they were willing to pay. It might have been unnecessary, but either outrunning pursuers or getting to somewhere secure where they could properly rest were worth the expense. Captain Terri was an older woman, and significantly more cautious than Sohan. Of course, the Rattler was less specifically equipped for massive storms than the Wavecutter. They had methods to redirect any lightning as much as they could, but they weren¡¯t intended to be used unless necessary. They couldn¡¯t completely avoid storms, not in the Shimmering Islands, but they avoided the most violent ones as much as they could. Like most sensible captains. One of the storms was still pretty bad- the scale of which things were worth avoiding being somewhat skewed when there were always storms- to the point that John found his recovering injuries quite unhappy with the way the boat swayed and sometimes suddenly jerked. Overall, however, he thought he was better off than Matayal, who spent that day with a bucket by her side. As a water cultivator raised in the Shimmering Islands she wouldn¡¯t get seasick even in the biggest storms, but her current circumstances were an exception. It still seemed a bit early, but John had to admit he wasn¡¯t fully cognizant of the exact details of pregnancy. And triplets had to throw things off quite a bit. They were still pretty tiny, but that didn¡¯t always matter. Chapter 105 The constant rocking of the boat had been suspected as the source of Matayal¡¯s consternation at the beginning of the journey, but her pregnancy was a more accurate explanation. After puking over the side of the ship for a few days, she managed to narrow down some specific details. One would expect that triplets could easily cause more sickness earlier, but further investigation proved enlightening. A pregnant woman on Earth could only get a picture inside of her when she went to visit the doctor for an ultrasound or similar procedures. A cultivator, however, could have a proper view inside her body. After a few days of being very cautious, Matayal took a closer look. Inside of her were three tiny figures. Even with all of them, they were comfortably sharing the space in her womb without pressing on anything nearby. With no physical mechanism it would have seemed that they could not be the cause of her sickness, but that was only partially right- for one of them was quite overexcited and greedily drawing upon all of the water element within reach. At least, as much as a growing child that hardly even had human shape could. Even so, the energy inside of Matayal was disrupted significantly since she only focused on resisting outside changes. She spoke with John, partly as a way to think things through and partly for actual advice. ¡°What do you think I should do? It seems unsafe to let spiritual energy inundate them.¡± John frowned as the explanation was given to him. He didn¡¯t have much experience with normal pregnancies, and couldn¡¯t do much more than speculate here. ¡°You can stop it?¡± ¡°Now that I know what is happening, it isn¡¯t difficult to cut off the flow. But I don¡¯t know if I should. What if they need it somehow?¡± ¡°There are reasons most people only start cultivating at the verge of adulthood. It¡¯s quite easy to cause harm to yourself when you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing.¡± John pursed his lips, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine there are any conscious thoughts guiding this. It seems very unsafe.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But I also can¡¯t entirely stop it. While I am awake I can handle it, but once I¡¯m asleep there¡¯s little I can do. I should normally be able to seal off such a weak presence but¡­ I¡¯m afraid if I do too much I¡¯ll hurt them.¡± They sat together in the swaying cabin in silence for a while. ¡°Children are at least supposed to wait a little longer before causing trouble for their parents, right?¡± At Matayal¡¯s stage of pregnancy, most people wouldn¡¯t even know they were pregnant, if they weren¡¯t cultivators. John sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll have to ask someone who knows more about this stuff. Until then¡­ we just have to watch over them?¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°What about the other two? Are they not causing any trouble?¡± ¡°Not currently,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I¡¯ve allowed some free water energy to go near them, but there is no reaction. I think we should ask the captain to detour to Kaimana.¡± ¡°Where the Mulyani clan is?¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°Neither my mother nor grandmother still live. She would be the best option for pregnancy related questions.¡± ¡°But she¡¯d also be the first to know.¡± ¡°She can keep silent when it suits her. And it shouldn¡¯t be a problem if people know if everything goes well.¡± Since the entire point was to try to assure that, John supposed it made sense. He just hoped everything worked out. ----- Matayal was sleeping peacefully with her head on John¡¯s lap. It was not actually required, but it was the best way for John to remain awake while still close to her in a way that wouldn¡¯t wake her. As she slept, he watched over her¡­ and their children. His energy very carefully found its way inside her, to her womb. It was metaphysically very close to the dantian, the core of her cultivation, which allowed for energy to flow into it rather easily. John carefully guided the streams of water energy pulling from everywhere they could. He didn¡¯t have a water element totem, but he had years of cultivation experience. He absolutely had to be better at controlling energy than an unborn and hardly developed child. He didn¡¯t really have to do much. They had decided that completely cutting off the child from energy might hinder their development, so they were instead watching over them at all hours. Most of the work ended up falling to Matayal, but John was at least able to cover for her while she slept. He just had to make sure it was a gentle flow instead of a crashing tide or raging river that might harm the child. The actual quantity of spiritual energy was as tiny as the little being drawing it in, but that didn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t be harmful. As for what happened to the energy when it was absorbed, they were both unsure. The child didn¡¯t seem to have fully developed meridians or a dantian, and the energy just sunk into their body and disappeared. Or rather, it was used up- the difference being that it was certainly doing something. By every measure they could think of the child was perfectly healthy, perhaps even more so than the two others, but they constantly stayed on alert, never allowing too much energy in at once. ----- Captain Terri was perfectly happy to re-route to Kaimana. It happened to be closer, and since the pay would be the same and there were no other passengers to worry about, listening to the demands of her temporary employers suited her just fine. They were much less problematic than some young masters and mistresses, though few of them made their way onto such an unremarkable ship. Either way, they didn¡¯t complain about the food or the storms or anything. Except for the wife¡¯s sickness, but those complaints weren¡¯t directed at her or the crew when they very well could have been. As they approached Kaimana, she was beginning to think everything would go without incident. Then she felt the tension of an approaching storm. However, this one wasn¡¯t natural but a caused by something. It also wasn¡¯t the sort of thing that could be avoided. The Rattler wasn¡¯t a ship made for speed, but even if it was Captain Terri honestly didn¡¯t know if it would matter. Could anything outrun whatever it was that caused the oceans to froth so wildly? The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°All hands, battle stations!¡± she called out. She wasn¡¯t sure if it would matter, but it was better that they prepare as much as possible. That way, someone might survive. That was what she was thinking, but she¡¯d made a mistake. Being ready wouldn¡¯t matter at all. A bolt of lightning shot out of the water, traversing the distance in an instant. The figure appeared behind her, and she couldn¡¯t even turn around to face it. And then¡­ nothing. Not for a few moments, at least. ¡°Hey,¡± a strong voice called out. Completely unnecessary if it were talking to her. ¡°Are you two coming out?¡± Captain Terri turned her head. She saw the figure of an old woman, wind swirling around her and lightning crackling between her fingers. So. A person. And a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator at that. Perhaps her guests would stand a chance, but her crew wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Yeah yeah,¡± came the reply. ¡°We¡¯re coming.¡± The man popped his head out from down below. Fortkran, his name was. ¡°It takes a second, you know.¡± The pair climbed out from below decks, looking completely unafraid. Captain Terri managed to relax slightly. ¡°You two should have told me you were coming to visit,¡± the old woman said. Terri¡¯s expression managed to relax as she realized she probably wasn¡¯t going to die. ¡°And how could we get that information here ahead of ourselves?¡± ¡°Good point,¡± the woman said. ¡°Have you been paid?¡± Her eyes locked on Captain Terri. Before she could respond, the wife responded, ¡°Half. We have-¡± A large sack was dropped onto the deck. ¡°That should cover it. Come on you two, let¡¯s go!¡± The whirlwind of a woman swept up the two, half carrying them off the boat before stopping. ¡°Oh, almost forgot your guards.¡± At that point they had made their way out from below decks¡­ and then they were gone. Captain Terri looked into the sack. She couldn¡¯t tell if she had been over or under paid. Sure, it was more than she¡¯d asked for, but she also hadn¡¯t bargained for a heart attack. ----- Matayal grimaced as everyone was tossed into the little boat Kusuma had half brought to them. ¡°Could you be more careful?¡± ¡°I¡¯m always careful,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be anything worse than a few hairs out of place.¡± Matayal glared at her. Despite the fact that she suddenly pulled them away, there really had been no harm done. But the look in Matayal¡¯s eyes softened Kusuma¡¯s cavalier attitude. ¡°I was just excited,¡± she commented. ¡°Nobody ever comes to see old Kusuma, you know.¡± Nobody commented on the small fleet of ships moored in the harbor that might have all been intending to see her, or at least the Mulyani clan. For one thing, they knew the difference between seeing a person and meeting with a clan. They could be completely different. Kaimana was not terribly exciting to look at. It didn¡¯t have the same wonder as Pualani with its flower shaped arrangement of connected islands, but instead it was just one big mountain. It still had a beautiful beach and a tropical flare to everything growing on the slopes, but it managed to look almost normal. Except for the dark storm cloud menacing the very peak. ¡°So what brings you here?¡± Kusuma asked as they began the long trek up the mountain. The Mulyani clan doubtless had carriages that could bring them, but it was also extremely likely that Kusuma had just run down to meet them without thinking about one. ¡°I had some questions for you,¡± Matayal replied. ¡°Some of which would better be asked behind closed doors.¡± ¡°You want my secrets to cultivation?¡± Kusuma said flippantly, ¡°I suppose I could share those.¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± Matayal said. She wasn¡¯t exactly hiding her constant but small use of energy, but she wasn¡¯t drawing attention to it either. When they reached the peak of the mountain, large gates were opened for them. The Mulyani clan did not actually have many members, but they had a large number of hired guards. A few people John and Matayal recognized from various events inclined their heads as they passed, but nobody interrupted the matriarch¡¯s march to a private sitting room. It was likely that their four bodyguards already had some suspicions about what had been happening with Matayal, but they were still left outside for the discussion. They could be trusted with secret information, but some things simply didn¡¯t need to be shared. Once they were alone, Matayal cut straight to the point. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant,¡± she said. ¡°And one of them is absorbing water elemental spiritual energy with great vigor.¡± ¡°Well congratulations!¡± Kusuma grinned widely. ¡°It took you two a while.¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Matayal said. ¡°We barely started trying. Anyway¡­ we were hoping you could tell us more. Is this sort of thing¡­ normal?¡± ¡°Absorbing water element you say?¡± Kusuma furrowed her brow. ¡°Can I see?¡± Matayal nodded slowly. Kusuma and the Mulyani clan were steadfast allies of the Brandle clan, and this was the exact reason she had come. It was difficult to trust someone with something so personal to her, but if Kusuma intended to cause harm she could just do it. Especially now that she was in Consolidated Soul Phase. Kusuma very carefully reached her air elemental spiritual energy inside Matayal. Nobody said anything for a few minutes, just waiting and observing. Then she slowly withdrew. ¡°Well,¡± Kusuma finally said, ¡°It¡¯s probably a good thing. Though it¡¯s a bit complicated by the fact that there¡¯s three in there.¡± ¡°Do you know something?¡± John asked nervously. ¡°It¡¯s nothing crazy,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°Just a strong affinity for an element. It should be a good thing.¡± ¡°Except¡­?¡± Matayal wrung her hands nervously. ¡°Except for the others in there. That kid could really screw up their elemental balance,¡± Kusuma scratched her chin. ¡°It¡¯s a bit odd though. Usually such a thing comes about when two cultivators share an element.¡± John shared a look with Matayal, then returned to Kusuma. ¡°Could it be something caused by my cultivation?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t believe attempting a cycle of elements is common.¡± ¡°Wish I could tell you,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°But you¡¯re right. It¡¯s quite rare. And even then, I¡¯d imagine a case like yours to be even more rare.¡± ¡°About the elemental imbalance,¡± Matayal asked. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Well, my memory isn¡¯t quite perfect,¡± Kusuma said honestly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to worry you. But I do recall that more often than not, when cultivators have twins often one gets all the cultivation talent. Especially with a strong affinity like that. Unfortunately there aren¡¯t that many records on such things. It¡¯s not only rare, but as woman¡¯s business it¡¯s often deemed unimportant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s stupid,¡± John said. ¡°Literally everyone has to be born. Knowing what can go wrong with pregnancies is the most important thing.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°But the world is stupid sometimes. That said, I think I have a few records salvaged from somewhere or other. We might be able to dig them out and shed some more light on your situation.¡± Chapter 106 Records about strange details of pregnancy were indeed sparse, and the only thing Kusuma could do was reassure Matayal and John that everything would be alright. The absorption of water element was not harmful, and might even be beneficial- though she encouraged them to continue monitoring it and keeping things stable. Since the other two embryos seemed unharmed, there was no point in worrying about them. Being told not to worry obviously didn¡¯t stop either prospective parent¡¯s concerns, but it still helped. The same could be said about her various advice regarding pregnancies. It was possible for a cultivator to have a much easier time bearing a child than a normal human. With the ability to control their own body to some extent, they were able to reposition things and regulate their body in such a way as to avoid most of the troubles they might otherwise experience. It was unfortunately clear that Matayal¡¯s pregnancy wouldn¡¯t be one of the easy ones, but if the worst they had to deal with was one of the children drawing in a stable stream of energy things wouldn¡¯t be so bad. John avoided saying that so as to not call upon future trouble, though he expected that there would be complications anyway. After all, they were having triplets. Every once in a while, from once a minute to once every few days, that thought hit him. They¡¯d been trying to have a child, but three children was something quite different. It wasn¡¯t impossible to deal with, but it was filling them with several times as much worry. ¡°That¡¯s something that all of the sensible parents go through,¡± Kusuma explained. ¡°While, yes, they are fragile little things that should be protected¡­ normal activities won¡¯t cause them any trouble. That includes gentle cultivation, and it might even be beneficial. Moving around is fine, if potentially uncomfortable, though I imagine you can handle that part. You were correct to withdraw from battle as quickly as possible, however. A stray blow or an intentional attack could certainly harm them. But I¡¯m sure you can avoid battle for nine months. I¡¯d suggest remaining with your clans as much as possible.¡± Both of them nodded. They pretty much knew all of that, but as Kusuma explained all the things Matayal could do, their tension eased slightly. A moderate amount of exercise was still good, something John technically knew but didn¡¯t know how to quantify. Kusuma had actual examples though, and he felt her definition of ¡®moderate¡¯ was more than a normal person¡¯s. But it was clear Matayal wouldn¡¯t be participating in Kusuma¡¯s training anytime soon. ----- John had never expected to visit Kusuma and get out unscathed. He knew what sort of person she was, and given the circumstances subjecting himself to intense training to be the best he could be made sense. With a hole in his lung still healing his actual activities were limited¡­ but Kusuma found things that could be done. Though traditionally they had trained on Cyclone Island, which could have just been a random rock in the middle of a particularly stormy part of the ocean. With Matayal¡¯s state, Kusuma wasn¡¯t going to separate her from John. Though Matayal didn¡¯t need John, Kusuma didn¡¯t want to cause ¡®pointless worrying¡¯. ¡°Since we can¡¯t do any special training,¡± Kusuma said, ¡°I¡¯ll have you go through the standard course here, and contribute a bit of excitement when it¡¯s necessary.¡± Excitement sounded bad, but while Kusuma¡¯s training was designed to push people¡­ so far she hadn¡¯t actually pushed John past what he could actually do. The training was intimidating, but also something he would cite for some of his current successes. Actually, if he¡¯d done anything less he might have gotten himself killed in the fight with the Society of Midnight elder. Standard training, for the Mulyani clan, apparently consisted of standing up on various spiky stone peaks at the top of the mountain during storms. It was like Cyclone Island, but with less standing room and generally weaker storms. Not that they were weak, but in mid Soul Expansion Phase John found himself easily able to deal with the weather. Cold rains were irrelevant. Wind buffeted him but could not move him, and lightning was made to flow around him, except for whatever portions he chose to absorb. The sudden gusts of wind were a bigger problem. Not the natural ones, but the ones Kusuma was fond of conjuring. She was able to break his connection to the earth below him and send him up into the air, where he tumbled around until he could orient himself. He knew she wouldn¡¯t actually let him crash headfirst into the rocks as he landed, but it certainly felt like it was about to happen several times. He thought he could probably treat the ground like jelly to draw out his impact, but he really didn¡¯t want to test that with his spine on the line. John considered how he was supposed to react to air that just wanted to toss him up into the sky. The response that used the least energy was to allow it to lift him and reorient himself later. That would work unless someone targeted him with another attack while he was tumbling through the air. Fortunately his own air element allowed him to maneuver in the air somewhat, so he was never just a sitting duck. John found that if he did it right, he could use Kusuma¡¯s own air flows to move how he wished, conserving his own energy. Even so, he considered that he might like to keep his options open. He could handle himself in the air, but he might wish to stay on the ground. He could increase his bond with the earth or force aside the gusts of wind. He could make use of the ¡®sticky¡¯ nature of Gravity Blade to bond his feet to the ground, though anything that too firmly attached him to the ground could also make it hard for him to move. There were definitely times he wanted to move, especially when the extra large lightning bolts finished building up and came for him. John was so glad he could feel the paths building up before the lightning struck. Dodging lightning was impossible, even as a cultivator. John didn¡¯t have knowledge of exactly how fast lightning moved, but even with enhanced cultivator reflexes he could make a reasonable approximation- instantly. There was no discernible difference, even at the Soul Expansion Phase. He could vaguely sense that the leaders that sought out the ground took a different fraction of time, but that could have just been the memory of old high speed videos tricking him. What were those at, a million times slower? It might not have been quite like that, but the point was that he couldn¡¯t react. But he could feel where lightning was likely to strike naturally, and if a cultivator were intentionally causing the strike they had to gather air elemental spiritual energy for the attack, a process that took time and made obvious their intentions. Though ¡®obvious¡¯ could still require some amount of focus to see through. John had the feeling that if Kusuma had been serious then he would have found himself flipping through the air disoriented with bolts of lightning going through him, regardless of whether or not he recovered from his injuries. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Yet he could resist her to some extent. She was in the Consolidated Soul Phase. John realized he wasn¡¯t quite sure if she had always been there or only recently achieved it. It could be either, if he were to compare to contemporary cultivators like his grandfather and Netanel Brandle. If not for the empowerment ceremony his grandfather Luctus would probably currently be a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, but then again his early growth would have been slower since it still empowered his generation. Netanel was just at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase, but the responsibilities of running a clan could have slowed him slightly. Likewise, Kusuma could have simply grown a little bit faster than the others. But either way, she had definitely crossed into the next Phase and was quite solid in her position. That meant John couldn¡¯t beat her¡­ but he wasn¡¯t so far away as he might have thought. Having an earth totem helped, and the overall level of his three totems were approaching the fourth tier. It was enough for John to have a small chance, which was part of the reason he was still alive now. John felt the tip of his ear. It was ultimately unimportant, except as a reminder that he had nearly died. That part would remain with him as his lung healed. The blade that cut him could have chopped through his skull if he were a little slower. Instead of taking that as a reason to give up, however, John was filled with determination. He was going to keep growing stronger, and while he would not fight someone above his Phase if he could help it¡­ he was going to improve himself to be the best he could just in case it was necessary. Though John was going to wait for his lung to finish healing before he tried anything like an actual spar with Kusuma. The wound was really slowing him down, and he¡¯d need every bit of his ability if he wanted to actually learn something from the experience. Which was why he was glad Kusuma was keeping things to the level they currently were. ----- Two weeks passed. The tiny bodies inside Matayal grew slightly, though they were still barely taking up any space. The emotional turmoil had calmed down somewhat as Matayal and John remained somewhere safe. And with focused application of energy and a steady stream of medicine, the hole in John¡¯s lung was healed. At least, as much as it was going to be for the time being. There was some scar tissue that would take some months to deal with, but now was the time. He stood across from Kusuma. Even for the young master of a friendly clan, Kusuma had already spent a significant amount of time training John. He couldn¡¯t ask her to keep that up forever, but it was time for the final request. A serious spar. Of course John was going to lose. He didn¡¯t doubt that for a second. But if he could last a few minutes instead of just one, if he could learn anything, if he could cause any damage¡­ he would consider it a success. There was one detail John considered about their spar. It gave him a small bit of hope, if he had to fight in the future. If this were a real fight, he wouldn¡¯t start it facing off with his opponent. Optimally, his opponent would never know he was there at all. The chances of a darkness cultivator actually assassinating someone of similar rank to themselves was low, and the chance of doing so to someone in the next phase was even lower¡­ but if he were able to make a significant wound it could alter the flow of battle. That might not help against the Society of Midnight, as he would also have to be concerned about their ambushes, but he also knew he¡¯d be using more extreme methods. If he were a real enemy the same could be said of Kusuma, but John thought Spiritual Energy Absorption was an exceptionally useful ability. He also couldn¡¯t help but wonder if other members of the Society of Midnight had more shards of Ciaritzal, but he¡¯d have to think about that later. The spar opened with a strong gust of wind straight at John. It was quite reasonable. If he couldn¡¯t even get close to Kusuma, what could he do? He was ready for something like that, however, and let the wind flow around him while he pushed forward low to the ground, attaching to the ground in a way that didn¡¯t prevent him from actually moving. The looser connections did allow him to be moved slightly, but he was capable of redirecting sustained force and the looser connection was ultimately better. Though John walked directly towards Kusuma, he obviously wasn¡¯t planning to fight head on. He had some thoughts in play already. Lightning was no good, except as a distraction. Kusuma was a pure air element cultivator, so no matter how well he concealed it she would be able to avoid anything he could gather or coerce from the surrounding storm. There was one part of the storm that John was planning to make use of though. The water element was in neither of their domains, but it was impossible to say either was unfamiliar with it. Kusuma lived in the Shimmering Islands. At the very least she knew how to fight in and around water. John¡¯s actual control of it was a little bit better, though. Even before dual cultivating with Matayal, as an allied element of his first two totems he¡¯d garnered a reasonable deal of control over it. He didn¡¯t have the power to create a shield of significant power or to freeze Kusuma with the water¡­ but he could do something more insidious. A small amount of darkness energy to hide the extent of what he was doing and a little bit of water slipping along the ground¡­ and Kusuma¡¯s footing would become unsteady. Little things like that could matter in a real battle. Even if John failed to take advantage of it, he had to set it up if he was being serious. Against another opponent, he might have tried to whip some throwing daggers around to the sides or back, but as Kusuma was controlling the majority of the air flow in the area he couldn¡¯t really make use of such tactics. Any ranged attack would require a significant commitment of energy to break through the winds. John continued to step forward, watching Kusuma¡¯s moves. She still had plenty of space to maneuver, but he was trying to direct her closer to somewhere she¡¯d have to engage in melee. He imagined she would still defeat him there, but by relying on his earth energy he could at least manage something. Lightning bolts came for him, but he was already redirecting them before they existed. He even siphoned off a little bit of them, taking the power for himself. It was just efficient enough to be worth his time, as long as he didn¡¯t need to concentrate on anything else at that instant. The amount of time he¡¯d lasted was reasonable but not exceptional so far. Kusuma wasn¡¯t quite serious yet, though she wasn¡¯t exactly holding back either. She was testing him to see what he would do. Soon enough he found himself within striking range- more than a few steps away, but some quick footwork would allow him to make an attack. His hand tensed on his sword, half in preparation¡­ and half in deception. The first part of the attack had nothing to do with the weapon at his side, but instead the earth beneath Kusuma¡¯s feet. When the stone rose up to try to grab her, she instantly leapt up into the air. John had really hoped he might capture her, holding her still for an instant¡­ but he was ready for this as well. The force of the wind pushing to keep John back was constant, and John added to it, reaching out for the air around Kusuma. She fluttered towards him slightly, though she quickly reasserted her control. John stepped forward, slashing with his sword. He managed to draw a bloody line along her forearm. Then her foot connected with his chin, and he was lying on his back. John just lay there and thought. Though he¡¯d planned to use his familiarity with Kusuma against her, and indeed it had worked to some extent¡­ that went both ways. His partial elemental advantage wasn¡¯t quite enough to overcome the power difference. If he were going to fight someone in the Consolidated Soul Phase, he¡¯d need to know more about them than they knew about him. But he still smiled as he stood up, wiping blood from his face. Because unless things had gone completely to hell, he would never be fighting someone a Phase above him alone. And the amount of time he¡¯d managed to last would at least allow backup to come. Winning¡­ well, he¡¯d consider that more deeply in a rank or two. Chapter 107 Water. That was the beginning of everything. It began with a vast ocean of potential. Water was capable of many things, but alone it shifted between peaceful and forlornly empty. Storms brought a new sense of vigor, and the separation of waters above and below with the sky and sea expanded upon what water meant. Wind whipped up waves and lightning struck the sea. Then came earth, adding yet more detail. A variety in landscapes could only exist with something stable. The wind carried water to the land, where it formed lakes and rivers, as well as prompting plants to grow. The more elements were introduced and mixed, the more complete the world became. Darkness was also present, beneath the ground and deep in the sea. It provided yet another layer, the skies, seas and land and the parts of each that could not be seen. As for its counterpart, there was in fact a source of light. Small as it was, a sphere of flames provided additional depth to the picture. It provided warmth. Heat. And even light- dim though it was, it contributed to the completeness. Personally, even though he knew Earth¡¯s surface was around seventy percent covered in water, John felt there was too much ocean. Then again, if they were looking at purely elemental balance¡­ that was correct. Matayal was more or less pure water, after all. As a cultivator, however, that simply meant she had larger reserves of that particular element, and with that specialization would come greater control. Though John didn¡¯t find it difficult to control any element he had a totem for, he understood that pure element cultivators were still at an advantage in that regard. On his end, the central focus was a tree, now much more than a seed or sapling but something properly a tree. It was not particularly large yet, but it happily took sustenance from the other elements around it, slowly growing as it refined some of what they produced into darkness energy. Yet it didn¡¯t produce only darkness, but also returned some of the other elements in an altered form. Trees grew in soil, but that same soil expanded every time leaves fell. Likewise, air was converted to different forms, though John doubted there were things such as carbon dioxide or oxygen in the semi-real space. Water was absorbed, and it could even be said a different form of it was produced. At this point it didn¡¯t replenish or grow the water element, but some of it was converted to sap. If it were physical, John would imagine the properties would be quite strange. The waters withdrew, leaving John with a much more modest quantity strictly from his own dantian. Even so, it was sufficient. For not having a matching totem, he thought it was even more than that. As for the fire and light¡­ John was quite proud that he didn¡¯t even feel pain at their presence. That was about all he could say for that though. He¡¯d had fire inside of him for a while, but he¡¯d intentionally made it produce light this time. It was uncomfortable, but after facing off against a light element cultivator he now felt slightly capable of managing the element. ------ It would have been nice if Kusuma had some sort of magical solution for the couple, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Even if cultivation was basically equivalent to magic, it didn¡¯t solve this particular problem. What was happening with Matayal¡¯s pregnancy was not normal. Yet on the other hand, strange things happening around cultivators was the norm. Kusuma was able to provide assurances that if things didn¡¯t seem to be harmful, they probably weren¡¯t. Along with some other advice about pregnancy in general, she didn¡¯t have much else to offer. While it likely would have benefitted John to remain and take advantage of her training for as long as possible, too much would be an imposition¡­ and they had family to reassure. Letters telling people there was danger but things were mostly fine were hardly sufficient. So they got ready to move on, giving thanks to Kusuma and the Mulyani clan for their hospitality. Their next stop was Pualani. ----- Every time John saw Pualani, he couldn¡¯t help but think it wasn¡¯t natural. Whether that meant the flower-shaped pattern of land was artificial or supernatural he wasn¡¯t sure, and nobody seemed to have any records about a time before things were as they were now. He knew that the island- and it was one island, despite the reasonable stretches of water between each piece- had been enhanced with formations to augment its natural ability to shelter people from the storms of the Shimmering Islands. Heavy rains and lightning still hit the island, but the ships in the harbor were not at risk. When John stepped into the Brandle grounds, he was immediately met with a rib-crushing hug. The good news was the damage to his lung was mostly healed, so it was simply uncomfortable instead of actually damaging. When his grandfather-in-law put him down and reached for Matayal, she actually dodged away. ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea right now,¡± she said seriously. Netanel still held his arms out in front of him and waved them around floppily. Then he sighed dramatically. ¡°My own granddaughter won¡¯t even greet me at the door. Oh, how far we have fallen.¡± Then he shrugged, not asking for an immediate explanation. ¡°Good to see you both again. Tell me everything.¡± So they did, though not out in the open. While members of the Brandle clan could be trusted, prying ears from neighbors absolutely existed- and some information was not going to be widely advertised. Specifically, Matayal¡¯s pregnancy. After that aspect was explained, Netanel didn¡¯t even feign complaining about their stop on Kaimana. ¡°That¡­ is a matter I am entirely unspecialized in.¡± Netanel looked down towards Matayal¡¯s belly, though there was nothing to be seen with the eyes just yet. He didn¡¯t probe with his senses, though he was clearly feeling for anything that radiated out from her. John wasn¡¯t sure if he sensed the small figure with a slightly different feel to the water element energy like he did. He was familiar with that one on a much closer level, and Matayal¡¯s energy as well. ¡°So¡­ I have three grandchildren in there. That¡­ actually leads to a bit of complication.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. John understood that very well. It wasn¡¯t just that they were all coming at once, but the exact number was tricky. The Brandle clan didn¡¯t so specifically care about having a main line like the Tenebach clan, but it was still more convenient. Meanwhile, the Tenebachs specifically worked to have a single child to take over. There was a reason he hadn¡¯t had any siblings. Matayal placed a hand on her belly subconsciously. ¡°I imagine this one should be a fine heir for the Brandle clan. I can¡¯t imagine they will not be skilled in the water element.¡± ¡°That leaves two more,¡± Netanel said. ¡°One could be raised here, but that would mean choosing one from birth to be part of the Tenebach clan, without knowing anything more between them.¡± John nodded, ¡°It¡¯s not that different from normal, though. A child is born and raised for the position, with the hopes that they will do well. It¡­ doesn¡¯t always work out.¡± Like with the original Fortkran before him. No matter how parents raised a child, there was always a chance for them to turn out differently from what they wanted. In Forkran¡¯s case, John could simply say poorly. He respected the desire for people to be individuals and make their own life choices, but Fortkran¡¯s merely harmed himself and others. The fact that his death led to John¡¯s presence in the world couldn¡¯t be counted in his favor. ¡°We¡¯ll manage.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it, then,¡± Netanel shrugged. ¡°Nothing else to say. We know this won¡¯t be easy, but perhaps we can make the struggles worth it.¡± He grinned, ¡°Though I don¡¯t have to deal with most of the hard parts.¡± ----- The Mulyani clan trained in air techniques, and while John had certainly benefited from the weeks with them, he was glad to be back at the Brandle clan. HIs elements were still balanced towards a different side, and more than that the Brandle clan had a training room set up for him. Well, technically for members of the Tenebach clan or the like, but the room condensed either earth, darkness, or both. John was glad to tip the balance back in that direction, though he knew he¡¯d later wish he had more opportunities to train air element. Such was life though. He¡¯d chosen this, though he hadn¡¯t realized how much it would make moving around important to his training. Then again, when he was on the edge of Foundation Phase choosing his path he didn¡¯t fully believe he would even get to Soul Expansion Phase and the next step of his cycle of elements plan. But here he was, almost certainly on track to reach Consolidated Soul Phase at some point. And beyond that¡­ he honestly didn¡¯t know. If he continued on with a water totem he would at least have an allied cycle of elements completed. But he was still considering fire, to benefit Matayal and push himself further along the path. Even in the wider world few people made it to the next stage beyond that. It wasn¡¯t as if people with the moniker ¡®demigod¡¯ were running around all over the place. Personally John found the elemental specific names more appropriate, things like Brilliant Radiance and Ocean, but none of those names fit him. The closest would be Umbra, the moniker for darkness at that phase, but even that would be stretching things. He would be something like half darkness at best. He didn¡¯t know what he would pick, though. His cultivation also affected Matayal, and he was still waiting for her to make a decision. And he wasn¡¯t fully certain which was right himself, so it made sense for her to take time. Besides, they weren¡¯t exactly focused on that at the moment. Before he could reach that point, he expected to be a father of three. Various chemicals flooded his brain. His head swirled in confusion, but along with worry he felt a lot of hope and love and happiness. He might logically know that things were difficult, but that didn¡¯t mean they had to be bad. ----- As the grandson-in-law of Netanel, John could go see him any time. That was the case even before the marriage had been finalized. From the moment they first met- really met, not just John¡¯s memories from before that- John had been accepted as family. Though with a clan, even being family wasn¡¯t necessarily enough to meet with the clan head at will. John knew it was exceptional, though. It would certainly be strange if Netanel wouldn¡¯t meet with him at his request, but he really meant any time. John avoided going when there were other guests Netanel was dealing with, visitors from various factions, but he could just walk in and the man would have made time for him. Since things weren¡¯t a rush, John took some time to prepare what he wanted to talk about the man with and came to meet him at a time convenient to them both. If it had been someone else, he might have hesitated to broach the topic¡­ but he figured it was better to be straightforward. ¡°You¡¯re stuck at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase,¡± he said. ¡°Ouch. Brutal,¡± Netanel said. ¡°But not untrue. It¡¯s a bottleneck that many have trouble surpassing. With all of the affairs of the clan, I just haven¡¯t been able to make the last step.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± John asked. ¡°Clan affairs certainly will make you busy, but you have resources that can help with the process. Is there something specific? Something I can help with?¡± John obviously couldn¡¯t offer the man cultivation advice, as he was still lower in rank and not a water element cultivator. But he knew there could be other issues at play. ¡°To be honest,¡± Netanel sighed, ¡°It is the clan. We¡¯re doing well. Big alliances with the Tenebachs and the Mulyanis. But that means a lot of people currying favor and many things to keep track of. I can¡¯t help but worry about things, even if I know they¡¯ll be alright in the end.¡± As John wasn¡¯t a therapist or trained in psychology of any kind, there wasn¡¯t really much he could do about that. Not directly, anyway. ¡°I was hoping you might need a rare herb to make a pill or something.¡± ¡°Bah,¡± Netanel grinned. ¡°If that was the case, I¡¯d just buy it. Whatever the cost, being Consolidated Soul Phase would quickly make up for it. But it¡¯s just that.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do for the moment, then,¡± John said. ¡°But soon enough¡­ Matayal and I will be taking over managing affairs.¡± They didn¡¯t have to both take over for their respective clans at the same time, but it would certainly be on similar timeframes. That would be¡­ sometime after the end of the pregnancy. Maybe years, maybe shortly afterwards. Either way, John knew his current roaming lifestyle would be put on hold. It wasn¡¯t as if he wouldn¡¯t be able to do things, but he would have to spend more time considering which move was the right one. It might end up detrimental to his own cultivation, but John knew that not everything was about him. Frankly, the freedom and resources he¡¯d had so far were much more than almost anyone could have wished for. Few people got the benefits of being a young master of a clan. If that meant he had to give up some of his own time, he was quite happy for it. Of course, there was also the matter of being a parent. That was the same sort of thing. On Earth, John had eventually shown his appreciation for his family, but he never fully understood what his parents gave up for him to be alive. Not that he thought it would be strictly negative to have children. Like everything in life, there were trade offs. Some of them were just unexpected¡­ like two extra children coming at the same time. Chapter 108 Loud feet pounded on stone as two figures ran in the dawning light. Sweat dripped off of their faces, and one of them spurted blue flames out of his nostrils as he ran. The other¡¯s sweat was carried away in little bursts of flame, evaporating away. ¡°Do you think¡­ we lost them?¡± Yustina panted as she ran. ¡°I think so,¡± Steve took deep breaths, ¡°Maybe hours ago. But they were¡­ pretty¡­ angry. Chasing us¡­ all the way¡­ across the border.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ you set their grove¡­ on fire!¡± Yustina exclaimed. Steve looked over his shoulder to where he might or might not see darkness cultivators following after them. This time he didn¡¯t see any, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that was correct or not. As for which group pursuers might be from, it was most likely the Society of Midnight this time. The other groups had lost track of them a while before. ¡°I may have¡­ lit the flames¡­ but you spread it.¡± Yustina laughed, and then started coughing until she got her breath back under control. ¡°Yeah. They deserved that.¡± Steve kept on his guard. The Society of Midnight had secretly crossed the border into the Stone Conglomerate before, and they might do it again. The two of them weren¡¯t exactly citizens of the country either, so they might not be protected if it came down to it. Yustina could yell about the Milanovic clan, but it probably wouldn¡¯t help them if people were determined to take them out. It might make it worse, actually, because they¡¯d want to remove the evidence. Because he wasn¡¯t actually associated with the Tenebach clan, and he didn¡¯t want to cause them trouble, Steve would also forgo any mention of them. Though he did have some juicy information for them. He couldn¡¯t wait to get it to John. After he collapsed into a nice, soft bed. Or one that passed for such in this place. He didn¡¯t really feel that sand-stuffed mattresses were for him, even if they did hold a shape nicely once you settled into them. Not that the Stone Conglomerate only had such things. Eventually they stopped running, dropping to a quick walk. They¡¯d been going for a long time. At various points they¡¯d slowed after they thought their pursuers had gotten behind, but they¡¯d been spotted as recently as the day before. Fortunately the people chasing them were as tired as they were, with several days of moving quickly without sleep. Steve thought they might swing by the Order of the Amber Heart first. The Crystal Caverns were supposed to be open again, though maybe they¡¯d missed the date. He thought he¡¯d like to see inside them at least once, though. Yustina stretched her back, smiling. ¡°It¡¯s good to do things like that from time to time. A little splash in the face really gets people to think about what they¡¯re doing with their life.¡± ¡°You set people on fire, though,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Eh, what¡¯s the difference between fire and water anyway? Hardly matters. It¡¯s a good thing I broke through to Soul Expansion Phase though Clinging Fire is pretty great. And I really needed that extra energy.¡± ¡°You could have stayed in the Green Sands and done the same thing,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Pfeh. Sitting around in the clan, playing with the heat? It¡¯s never going to be the same as getting up to some real stuff.¡± For all his complaints, Steve was actually glad she¡¯d been around to watch his back. He might not have made it out this time otherwise. Or maybe things would have gone smoothly. For all that Steve found himself in trouble quite often, Yustina seemed to heighten it. Perhaps that was the freedom of having reincarnated and not fearing death, but Steve was fairly certain she¡¯d been that way in her previous life. Once he¡¯d gotten used to it, someone fanning the flames of danger but also helping him get out of it wasn¡¯t so bad. It was basically just the same life he¡¯d gotten used to but less lonely and maybe a little bit more exciting. ----- Since neither of them wanted to be away from each other, and John¡¯s family would be worried about him, he and Matayal were heading back for a time. Now that she¡¯d gotten used to the particular oddities of her pregnancy, Matayal was handling things much more smoothly. The two of them still kept constant watch on the stream of water elemental spiritual energy one of the children was absorbing, but it was just sort of part of life now. Though as they were stepping onto the docks of Dolomite Harbor at that very moment, it wouldn¡¯t be for long. After all, it was difficult to absorb what wasn¡¯t there. There might indeed still be some water element in the Stone Conglomerate, but it was a magnitude weaker than that of the earth element. With the smaller amount, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the amount absorbed being at a dangerous level. After the harbor came the great stairs, at the top of which they would hire a carriage to bring them back to the Tenebach Clan. As they had nearly reached the top, Matayal doubled over, clutching her gut- as if she had been struck. ¡°Are you okay?¡± John ducked down next to her defensively, but he quickly sensed what was actually happening. ¡°Is¡­ that okay?¡± Matayal straightened up slowly, ¡°Maybe. A little help?¡± John nodded, carefully reaching inside of her to help steady the flow of earth element energy. It seemed that the first child wasn¡¯t the only one that was special. Parents always wanted special children, but at the moment John was wishing his could be a little bit more normal. ¡°This is a little awkward,¡± he said. ¡°You should have some experience with this though, working with me. Will you be able to manage it?¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°I was just surprised when things suddenly shifted. I¡¯m used to my insides staying still, and a month or two isn¡¯t going to change that.¡± She sighed. ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to worry about her being unhealthy.¡± ¡°Her?¡± John asked. ¡°Can you tell?¡± ¡°... I think so,¡± she said. ¡°But I could be wrong.¡± ¡°What are the odds that the third one is normal?¡± John asked. ¡°Pretty small,¡± Matayal admitted. ----- By the time they made it back to the Tenebach Clan, they¡¯d determined that there were two girls and a boy. The boy was the one who had been so eager to absorb water element. That meant one girl was the one currently feeding on the earth element, and the final one was unknown. Possibly a normal child, but more likely just attuned to something else. Not air, unless there had been something about the Mulyani clan she didn¡¯t like. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. But they would likely find out soon enough. Now that they knew it was worth the effort, they could seek out areas with high concentrations of elements, even if just temporarily. And the most likely candidate was quite easy to obtain. Before that happened they stopped by the main house, only to find more than they bargained for. Steve was there, looking quite pleased with himself, along with Yustina. From the story about Yustina following him around, John and Matayal could make some assumptions- but they didn¡¯t know if Steve had realized yet. John thought he¡¯d maybe take pity on him, but that would be later. First was settling in, then dealing with important business. Assuring John¡¯s parents and grandfather that they were alright was the first order of business. ¡°I¡¯m alright now,¡± he said, ¡°Though I¡¯m not quite back to full strength.¡± Aside from the tip of his ear, his lung was still not quite perfect. It was just being very stubborn, though he was coaxing it a little bit at a time to heal better. It was difficult to explain how that worked in medical terms, but with some spiritual energy and medicinal herbs it was better than it had any right to be. ¡°I¡¯m going to tear that man apart,¡± Luctus declared. ¡°Thanks,¡± John said. ¡°But it¡¯ll have to be a bit later, I imagine. You¡¯re not that much stronger than me now, and Leutwin was firmly in Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± Luctus sighed, ¡°I might not be at all stronger than you. But the Tenebach clan can¡¯t just take that lying down.¡± ¡°Honestly, I think we came out ahead there,¡± John said. ¡°I was the first one to push things.¡± ¡°They would have been looking for trouble regardless,¡± Steve interrupted. ¡°Hi, by the way. Just got back from the Darklands.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that in your summary,¡± John retorted. Mostly he¡¯d mentioned how Yustina just followed him around. ¡°I was getting there,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I already shared this information, but I felt like doing a bit of snooping on the Society of Midnight. I found some actual documents about plans to disrupt the Tenebach clan, eventually leading up to another attack. It didn¡¯t say when, but it seemed relatively long-term. Still useful, though.¡± ¡°That time frame might be pushed forward now,¡± John said. ¡°Because of what happened in that arena battle.¡± ¡°Do you think so?¡± Luctus asked. ¡°While they might have tried to kill you there, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯d risk Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators coming here. That would provoke a response from more than just the Amber Heart. And we significantly damaged their other forces.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± John said, ¡°But I ripped a little something out of Leutwin. A piece of Ciaritzal.¡± Luctus whistled. ¡°You can do that?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly know it, but I sort of sensed that I could subconsciously and it led me to that point.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty big deal,¡± John¡¯s grandfather commented. ¡°If I understand that, it¡¯s like you undid one of the empowerment ceremonies. But with less finesse.¡± ¡°I thought it was actually quite smoothly done,¡± John said. ¡°Maybe that wasn¡¯t the right word,¡± Luctus agreed. ¡°Less¡­ kindness?¡± ¡°Oh, absolutely.¡± ¡°He basically ripped out some of the man¡¯s core of his cultivation, and his potential,¡± Matayal commented dryly. ¡°They might believe that it was a coincidence,¡± Luctus supposed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have suspected anyone could do that. But they¡¯d be quite happy to target you regardless of the reason.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t quite expect things to go that way,¡± John shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s bad timing.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Luctus said. ¡°You survived, and while we might indeed wish for some more time for you two to cultivate, possibly reaching Consolidated Soul Phase yourselves, we also just came into useful information we can leverage.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m pregnant,¡± Matayal spat out. ¡°With triplets.¡± ¡°Oh. That¡­ does make things a bit more awkward, now doesn¡¯t it?¡± ----- Rather than continue a discussion about what they might do about the Society of Midnight, John and Matayal set about doing something they knew they could deal with. They made their way to Ciaritzal¡¯s cave. Even as they were stepping inside, Matayal felt the clenching in her gut as the third child reached out for the abundant darkness element. At least they didn¡¯t have to be concerned that she was fire or light aligned. John clutched her hand and helped her control the sudden surge of darkness. She¡¯d gotten some experience controlling each of John¡¯s elements, but the initial surge was hardest to deal with. After he helped her smooth things over, they walked deeper into the cave. John continued to hold Matayal¡¯s steps, guiding her as they went into the encroaching darkness. Despite the gloomy atmosphere, John was actually quite comfortable in Ciaritzal¡¯s cave. The empowerment made it so he could see clearly in most darkness, and Ciaritzal¡¯s own product was like being in a well-lit room. The creature himself was a bit hard to make out, but John saw the shifting shadows and the blacker blacks that made up the creature. ¡°What reason do you have to come here today, young master of the Tenebach clan?¡± Ciaritzal¡¯s face approached closely, then he sniffed like a dog. ¡°Does it have something to do with your child?¡± ¡°I¡­ think she should be fine without you. Though we might discuss that.¡± John reached deep inside of himself and pulled out the small piece dwelling in his dantian. As it rose to the surface, John almost saw the black orbs that were Ciaritzal¡¯s eyes shimmer. ¡°What is this? A portion of me I thought forever lost. Retrieved intact, even.¡± The mote of blackness found its way into the guardian beast¡¯s mouth, to be swallowed a moment later. John felt a slight bolstering of the darkness energy in the area. ¡°Did you somehow slay one of the elders of the Society of Midnight?¡± ¡°No,¡± John said. ¡°I sensed it¡­ subconsciously. I was able to draw it out by reaching into him.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Ciaritzal leaned close to John¡¯s face, and something that felt like a lick of darkness brushed up against him. ¡°Our compatibility is the highest of any of your line. Perhaps that is a task you could replicate, though I sense you were injured in the attempt.¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± John said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t refuse to enter the battle. Your shard seemed to have been one of those reasons. Does it help?¡± ¡°Help?¡± Ciaritzal grinned widely. ¡°Oh yes. If you manage to retrieve more of these, then it will be of great benefit to us. Myself, and your clan. For my strength is yours, as yours is mine.¡± Ciaritzal thought for a few moments. ¡°If you get a few more of those, I could empower the next generation without requiring your generation to give of yourselves. Though it would still require your help to channel the power.¡± ¡°That would be quite beneficial to the clan indeed,¡± John said. ¡°Though I can¡¯t promise anything. Every target would be¡­ quite strong. And they¡¯ll probably be on guard.¡± Though he wasn¡¯t sure if that would matter, except that they might kill him while he was making the attempt to pull something out of them. Then again, he didn¡¯t intend to try that alone ever again. ¡°You said something about our child. Do you know anything about them or¡­?¡± ¡°Human children are not my specialty,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°But I do know that a child absorbing energy in the womb is quite special. Take great care with them.¡± ¡°As if we would do any different with our own children,¡± John smiled. ¡°On that note,¡± Matayal asked hesitantly, ¡°Would it be possible for me to return here occasionally? This is the highest concentration of darkness energy around the clan.¡± ¡°Of course you may,¡± Ciaritzal grinned. ¡°The wife of the future head of the clan is allowed here anytime you please. In fact, I would quite enjoy the company. Some find my presence unsettling.¡± John understood why they might. Even his grandfather was reluctant to approach too often. But to John, Ciaritzal was like a friendly pet. An enormous pet made out of shadows, but the bigger they were the more friendliness they could hold within them. Or something like that. Either way, he would be accompanying Matayal inside, since it was also an excellent place for his own cultivation. The walk was a bit inconvenient, but it should actually be more effective than training in his quarters. Chapter 109 When there were problems in the world, talking about them was the only way to ensure vaguely clear communication about a topic. It was important for when people wanted to be on the same page about what they planned to do, and more so the more tied together people were. It was also difficult, since people didn¡¯t always know what to say, or even remember that different people thought different things than themself. It was often easier to avoid thinking about problems or potential problems until they got closer. Such it was that a week passed without much conversation on certain topics, before Matayal finally pulled John aside to speak. ¡°We need to talk about our children,¡± she said. In this case, John was aware of anything that could be done regarding them. There weren¡¯t even really problems, just oddities. He was worried for a moment something had happened, but Matayal seemed unconcerned and unrushed. ¡°What about them, specifically?¡± ¡°Normally this could wait until after they were born, or perhaps even later once we began to see their aptitudes. However, we have more information than most about them. And we have certain obligations to fulfill.¡± Matayal paused briefly. ¡°I think we should discuss who is going to lead our clans.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really sure that can be chosen this early,¡± John commented, ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t have brought it up if you didn¡¯t have a reason for it. Go on.¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite simple,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Because ignoring whatever other traits they might possess, they have one factor that significantly determines their status in this world. An elemental affinity. And unless it becomes significantly less prominent after their birth, it would be extremely problematic for them to follow anything but one path.¡± ¡°Right,¡± John nodded. He knew all of that information, but he¡¯d been more concerned with the Society of Midnight and the mere fact that he was going to have children that the practical angle there had slipped his mind. In all fairness, it would be decades before any of them would need to take over running the clan. Even he wasn¡¯t in charge of the Tenebach clan¡­ just yet. Though it would likely be soon. ¡°So the boy takes over the Brandle clan, one of the girls takes over the Tenebach clan¡­ and the other girl¡­¡± That was where they ran into a bit of a problem. While not everyone would want the responsibilities of running a clan, the benefits were real. Having guards follow them around was an ancillary benefit. There were other things like getting custom built training areas that were quite helpful. ¡°If we keep her here, where the earth element is prominent, she will always know that her older sister is somehow more important by random chance of her birth,¡± Matayal said basically what John was thinking himself. ¡°But being in the Shimmering Islands would simply be worse.¡± ¡°We could send her off to train with the Order of the Amber Heart or something,¡± John commented. ¡°But being away from any and all family likely won¡¯t make for a well-adjusted adult. And I have the feeling they all might be cultivating early.¡± ¡°Considering that they are basically cultivating right now?¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°I would imagine they won¡¯t wait until their teenage years to begin cultivating in earnest. If they even could.¡± ¡°Even though I can¡¯t think of anything better,¡± John commented, ¡°It also feels weird to decide the position of the other two based purely on elemental affinity. But I doubt there would really be any competition in that regard.¡± ¡°They are all darkness aligned,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°So it is likely they would each be capable of using any of darkness, earth, and water if they wanted to. Unless something about this affinity precludes that.¡± Unfortunately they had very little information, except that it could probably be considered a good thing. Being a natural cultivator in a world where that same factor greatly affected your status might be a threat to some, but as a member of their clans with no direct competition it should only benefit them. Except for the odd one out, of course. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t they have been normal,¡± John sighed wistfully. ¡°Did you really think there was any chance that our children would end up normal?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°They could have at least ended up like us. Talented but a bit odd.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a transmigrator, though. That makes you more than a bit odd.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t want to think about that,¡± John grimaced. ¡°I know that, logically, being a transmigrator doesn¡¯t make it more likely that my children will be transmigrators or something themselves, but it kind of feels like it.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°Though as the pregnancy seems to be going normally, I would expect it to be more likely that they could be products of more traditional reincarnation.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± John made a face. ¡°I really hope that our children are normal freaks of nature that simply get into trouble because of their high talent or something. I don¡¯t want to raise children older than myself.¡± ¡°Would you count your time as Fortkran?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°That would bring you close to fifty years.¡± ¡°... now I feel strangely old. Do I act old? How did we even get married anyway¡­¡± John shook his head. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°It was arranged for us,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°And you replaced an insufferable ponce with a nice, intelligent, and quite talented individual.¡± ¡°I got really lucky that it was you,¡± John said. ¡°I feel like most people wouldn¡¯t have handled it as well.¡± ¡°I feel lucky as well,¡± Matayal said. ¡°To have a man willing to express his emotions. Many people see it as a sign of weakness.¡± ¡°Your father certainly doesn¡¯t hide anything.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s a wonderful man,¡± Matayal smiled. ¡°But enough with how lucky we are. Let us go back to this supposedly extremely rare circumstance we find ourselves in. Whether or not this is good luck, we are to be the parents of three children in half a year¡¯s time. And it¡¯s far too late for them to end up normal.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s really much else to say. Unless circumstances change drastically, one goes to the Brandle clan, another here, and the third¡­ somewhere that will most benefit her. On that topic, are the water element gathering formations sufficient here?¡± ¡°More than sufficient,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Though in interest of maintaining balance, I have been attempting to focus on the other two. They have had somewhat less time to gather spiritual energy.¡± ¡°Right,¡± John nodded. ¡°Should you travel more? Is that good for them? Would staying in one place be better?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we can know any of that for sure,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But I¡¯m positive we¡¯ll figure out something good enough.¡± ----- Unlike his usual tactics of showing up and leaving unannounced, Steve was still present at the Tenebach clan after more than a week had passed. Seeing him brought to mind that John should probably talk with him about some things. ¡°So,¡± John said. ¡°Why did you do it?¡± ¡°What, specifically?¡± Steve asked. ¡°I¡¯ve done lots of things that probably raise questions.¡± ¡°Go traipsing off into the Darklands almost getting yourself killed. The thing is, we¡¯re not like¡­ good friends.¡± John frowned as he said that. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, we are friends. And in this world, that means I¡¯d be glad to fight on your side and assume it was the right one if a conflict came up. But, aside from our similar methods of arriving we¡¯re not that close. We¡¯ve seen each other a handful of times total. So why did you do it?¡± Steve shrugged, ¡°Just because our bond isn¡¯t that deep doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t real. You are my only friend in this world.¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± John raised an eyebrow. Yustina might be disappointed to hear that, but maybe it meant he was subconsciously thinking of her as something else. ¡°I appreciate that, but it doesn¡¯t seem like enough. And I wouldn¡¯t be mad if you had other motivations. In fact, I might prefer it. I don¡¯t want you to just get yourself killed doing something that might help me and the clan. If you were seeking out some sort of reward, that would be fine. You brought valuable information, it deserves that.¡± ¡°It really wasn¡¯t much more than that, though,¡± Steve said. ¡°The friendship thing. If I had to say it¡­ I was going to be going somewhere, doing something stupid and nearly dying. That was inevitable. It still is, by the way. I just thought I would do something useful. Also those guys made me mad the last time we met, so I wanted a bit of revenge.¡± ¡°See, now that¡¯s all reasonable. By this world¡¯s standards at least.¡± John thought for a few moments. ¡°So you¡¯re just going to get back into it soon, huh? What about Yustina?¡± ¡°What about her?¡± Steve asked. ¡°You¡¯re just going to drag her into danger behind you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one dragging her around. She¡¯s doing that all on her own. Besides, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s in any big danger. She¡¯s a cultivator, and if something really happened she¡¯d probably just come back again anyway.¡± Steve reflected on what he had just said and made a face. ¡°Aw crap, can we pretend I didn¡¯t say that part?¡± ¡°... Now I¡¯m really curious. But since it seems like a secret that isn¡¯t yours to share, I won¡¯t press the matter.¡± If John wanted to, he knew he could get something out of Steve. Maybe not directly, but ask the right question and he¡¯d instinctively answer. He really wanted to, but he also didn¡¯t want to mess up his relationship with his only friend who had seen Earth and also a powerful fire element cultivator. He also couldn¡¯t just ask Yustina, since the only place he would have gotten a hint was from Steve. His initial approach to the man had been an exception, since he wasn¡¯t friends and was probing at Steve¡¯s status in a way that would either do basically nothing or reveal them both to each other. John wondered if he could tell Matayal. She was good at keeping secrets, and could help him puzzle out what Steve meant. And they shared everything they knew, unless they thought it didn¡¯t matter. But also, he probably shouldn¡¯t. Steve brought John out of those thoughts by advancing the conversation. ¡°So, on more pleasant topics. Your wife is pregnant. Excited?¡± The pregnancy wasn¡¯t public yet, but Steve had been around when Matayal made the announcement to Luctus, so it made sense that he knew. ¡°That¡¯s right. Keep it secret for a few weeks, will you?¡± Beyond that, it would be obvious to anyone who had eyes unless they kept Matayal completely hidden from anyone. That would probably create much worse rumors, and if they were worried about her safety making it seem like something mysterious was wrong was a bad way to go about it. ¡°With triplets, in fact.¡± ¡°Oh wow,¡± Steve said. ¡°I hear that sort of stuff runs in families. Is it common in her clan?¡± ¡°Nope. Not here either. This is just a one of a kind, random occurrence.¡± ¡°Cool. So. A father¡­ it¡¯s actually kind of hard to believe.¡± ¡°Which part of it?¡± John asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Back on Earth I heard about everyone having kids and I kind of had it in my mind that it was for people way older than me. Even though they were sometimes younger and only occasionally more than a few years older. Here people have extended lifespans, so I wasn¡¯t thinking about that kind of thing at all.¡± ¡°Well, we were going to have children eventually. It seemed reasonable to do it sooner. Though we sort of planned for one at a time.¡± ¡°Yeah, well,¡± Steve shrugged. ¡°I planned to retire on a tropical island. And now I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°You could still retire on a tropical island,¡± John pointed out. ¡°It¡¯ll just have crazy cultivation crap happening there.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± Steve said. ¡°But right now I¡¯ve got this crazy cultivation itch. It¡¯s hard to ignore. I get why some old fogies are so obsessed with advancing. Speaking of which, I should probably go see if there are any more active volcanoes around or something.¡± Chapter 110 After Steve and Yustina left, there was nothing urgent on John¡¯s plate. He wished that meant he had nothing to do for eight months, and he could just stay put with Matayal and wait for their children to be born, but instead it just meant he was occupied with longer term business. There was some chance that things would become an immediate problem, but trouble could come from anywhere for a cultivator. When dealing with the Society of Midnight who hadn¡¯t really interacted with the Tenebach clan for decades, they likely had some time. Even if they had been stirred into actions, it might still be months or years before they acted again. To that end, it was better to disrupt their connections in the Stone Conglomerate in a subtle manner. If they didn¡¯t know what had been discovered, it would be difficult for them to act to repair any problems the Tenebach clan caused. Of course, Steve¡¯s actions hadn¡¯t been subtle. They knew information was stolen, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean they could pin down by who. Even if some of their members remembered ¡®Lucanus¡¯ from the attack before, the bit of uncertainty as to whether certain information went to the Tenebach clan should help. Hopefully. At the moment John was banging his head against his task, trying to figure out what could be done. Unfortunately it wasn¡¯t so simple as storming into a place and killing everyone. For one thing, the target in question wasn¡¯t so simple. The Diamond Trading Company was large, with many powerful cultivators working for them. They operated mostly in the Stone Conglomerate, but had branches throughout surrounding countries. Starting a war with them would be suicide, and completely unnecessary. It wasn¡¯t as if the entire company had signed an agreement to work against the Tenebach clan, or to smuggle goods and people for the Society of Midnight. As they weren¡¯t a clan or a sect, the way the Diamond Trading Company functioned was different. First and foremost was profit, wealth that would allow them to gather cultivation resources and equipment to their own benefit. While they were not above certain shady business practices, it wouldn¡¯t benefit them to get into direct confrontations with people. That would make others more hesitant to deal with them. Well, it wasn¡¯t that they would avoid direct confrontations. They just wouldn¡¯t start them. Trading companies were zealous in protecting their own members, as long as those members stayed within certain limits. So the question before John was how to narrow down which people needed to be dealt with and how. If the question was before him alone, he would have no idea what to do. But that was what the advice of others was for. Matayal wasn¡¯t suddenly incapable of doing anything even if she was going to avoid combat. And there was little point in having a clan if you couldn¡¯t call upon those with expertise in different areas. In this case, the first person was Fortkran¡¯s father, Gerben. John hadn¡¯t spent as much time with him as his grandfather Luctus, which was mainly due to their difference in focus. Gerben had been handling the administrative functions of the clan since before John was born, and quite happily at that. He wasn¡¯t a fighter like Luctus, or like John had turned out to be. He had sufficient cultivation to perform his duties as clan head and not embarrass the Tenebach clan, but cultivation wasn¡¯t his strong suit. John had surpassed him, with Gerben just having reached the Soul Expansion Phase sometime after the reverse empowerment ceremony. John had spent more time lately learning from him, especially as his own time as clan head was coming up shortly. While his father wouldn¡¯t leave him to do everything on his own, it was better to be capable of everything without him and then still have his assistance. The two of them had a bundle of papers between them on a desk. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure these three are the main connecting points,¡± John pointed them out. ¡°The problem is dealing with them without drawing the ire of the Diamond Shipping Company. Some of them doubtless have rivals who would like to take their position, but getting people poised for that if there aren¡¯t any close in power could take too long.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see what we have here¡­¡± Gerben was doubtless somewhat familiar with his own copies of the information, but they may have taken notice of different things. ¡°Ayesha Saab, tied to equipment manufacturing. Bashkim Shehu dealing with trades of beast parts. Finally, Francescu Girard, tied to the ore trade. Two of them for certain, the third strongly hinted to be related. More time spent in the Darklands than absolutely necessary.¡± Girard nodded. ¡°This is a good basis, though we¡¯ll need to consider who they work with. Aides, partners, and other companies. Bashkim might hire certain hunters regularly, and Ayesha must have preferred smiths and the like.¡± ¡°Right,¡± John nodded. ¡°I just don¡¯t really know what to do with that information.¡± ¡°Well, there are a few things. First, while we don¡¯t have sufficient evidence to convince the Stone Conglomerate or just Marble Country to act as a whole, nor enough to convince the company to take our word over theirs, we do have some allies who would listen. The Order of the Amber Heart has some significant sway in certain areas. With the Crystal Caverns just having opened up, that affects the trade of Spirit Stones and their use in equipment manufacturing.¡± ¡°Too bad I missed it,¡± John shook his head. ¡°Would have liked to see it again. And it¡¯s a bit late to have them restrict trading on what came out of there.¡± ¡°True, but there¡¯s also the most goodwill for them just after such an event. We could come up with a plan and see if they are willing to go along. As for the second dealing in beast parts, disrupting that industry is difficult. We¡¯d have to watch for specific openings. Perhaps something like that great lizard. They¡¯d have to devote resources to something then fail to get it. Unfortunately, we¡¯d run the same sort of risks ourselves.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Hopefully they wouldn¡¯t be aware we were even intending to cause trouble,¡± John pointed out. ¡°And if we can get someone else from their company involved less of the financial risks will be on us. Getting something big to travel through a different partner could change relative favor in the company. There¡¯s always the option of taking out their most prominent hunters, but the individual cultivators involved might have problems with that, and if it significantly disrupts the whole company¡¯s business¡­¡± John shook his head. The Tenebach clan had many people it could trade with, but even they did business with the Diamond Trading Company. ¡°As for the last one,¡± Gerben commented. ¡°There¡¯s a somewhat risky proposition that comes to mind. The Darklands aren¡¯t known for being safe, so if a big shipment and someone with it disappears, it wouldn¡¯t be that odd. But that has difficulties whether we try to pull it off ourselves or deal with others in the area. The Society of Midnight doubtless has rivals in the area, but if they gain knowledge of our guardian beast there¡¯s no guarantee we wouldn¡¯t simply gain more potential threats.¡± ¡°Ciaritzal is something special,¡± John nodded. ¡°On that note, we could also more directly deal with some of the members of the Society of Midnight. If we can catch wind of any of the higher ranking members traveling relatively unprotected, we might be able to get more fragments of Ciaritzal from them. That would strengthen us while weakening them. But I wouldn¡¯t expect it to be easy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. After their defeat here and the events in Astrein, they might be more cautious. It could make them overly eager to cause trouble here, but even if they rush into something here dealing with an unknown number of Consolidated Soul Phase enemies is¡­ a bit of a problem.¡± The attack on the occasion of John¡¯s wedding had been coordinated and involved a significant amount of the Society¡¯s manpower, but the group had deep roots in the Darklands. If a group of their strongest members simply barged across the border into Marble County there would be an organized response, but the problem would be if they came across in smaller numbers and went unnoticed. Which was one of the main problems with their dealings with the Diamond Trading Company. They weren¡¯t the only group that the Society had ties to, but they were the priority to deal with¡­ somehow. ----- Whenever something of value surfaced, people tried to keep it secret. If the thing in question was on the established lands of someone who could deal with it, they might even succeed. It was when groups of people moved into areas that were without ownership or additional people were hired that word started to get out. The Chalk Hills weren¡¯t an especially prosperous region of the Stone Conglomerate. Given that the current world wasn¡¯t in the habit of using the soft rock as a writing implement, the namesake of the area was practically without value. Likewise, the level of spiritual energy that could be found was lower than the average, meaning that on the whole their cultivators were weaker than other regions. Thus, when exceptional circumstances arose, they were unable to deal with the problem themselves. If someone was smart then they had sold the information to others, but John couldn¡¯t confirm anything except the information that had eventually reached them. Some sort of darkness element beast had crept out of the darklands through less populated areas until it eventually came to settle in the region. Something of significant strength, such that it would need at least a dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators to take it down. The Tenebach clan sent eight, but they weren¡¯t planning to fight it alone. John stood outside the door of an office in the adjacent Feldspar Fields, a somewhat wealthier region due to its placement along a practical trade route. That was where John had a meeting with Artsiom Esser, another member of the Diamond Trading Company, and a man who would greatly like Bashkim¡¯s position. John was announced a moment later, entering the small office with Luctus following after him. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach,¡± the surprisingly young man nodded his head. He was hardly over John¡¯s own age, though perhaps it shouldn¡¯t have been odd for him to be in a position of note as John himself would soon be the official clan head. ¡°And Luctus Tenebach, I¡¯m pleased to have you here. Come, sit.¡± For this meeting, John would be doing most of the talking. While his grandfather¡¯s status was still higher, and his presence necessary for this particular excursion, John needed to be in the public eye as someone who had actual authority. Perhaps when he reached Consolidated Soul Phase people would respect him for his power, but if they already had a powerful image of him in mind then when he made the advance he would only seem all the greater. ¡°Thank you,¡± John said. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he moved on to the main point. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know why we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re interested in that beast,¡± Artsiom answered plainly. ¡°Same as we are. What for?¡± ¡°Some of our members could make use of certain pieces to help advance their cultivation,¡± John said simply. He didn¡¯t have to point out that his grandfather behind him was approaching the peak of Soul Expansion Phase. With his talent returned to him and even slightly enhanced, he was racing with John to determine who would be first among them. Given his age, however, it would be difficult for him to make the final step without something to push him over. ¡°We could also sell those same things to others,¡± Artsiom pointed out. ¡°Why should the Diamond Trading Company work with you? We have people preparing for the task already.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy. Work with us and we practically make sure it gets into your hands. Yours, and not just the company in general. If you could swoop in and get something before Bashkim¡¯s men arrive, then all of the merits go to you.¡± This single job likely wouldn¡¯t be enough to secure Artsiom¡¯s advancement, but if the Tenebachs focused too much on weakening their enemies and forgot their own benefit, they¡¯d hardly be ready for whatever troubles next came their way. Artsiom was a businessman, so he was of course going to negotiate with John over the possibilities of how they might split their prize. Without knowing what sort of beast it was they couldn¡¯t go into exact details, but they could at least determine proportions based on how much each group was contributing in terms of manpower and information. John was willing to give a few concessions for the sake of being in the man¡¯s favor, which would be especially helpful if they managed to get him to replace Bashkim. But if that failed, the Tenebach clan should still benefit from the deal. Chapter 111 Along with John himself, the group from the Tenebach clan also consisted of his grandfather Luctus, his uncle Aydan, and cousin Crystin. There were four others he was vaguely related to, three men and another woman. Their presence represented a significant portion of the Tenebach clan¡¯s forces, though if they had been willing to bring along Foundation Phase cultivators they would have had many more cultivators who were not occupied with other duties. In this case, the minimal numbers were for the sake of keeping a low profile. While a group such as theirs likely wouldn¡¯t go completely unnoticed, bringing along a dozen additional people would enhance their visibility. It was also a matter of concealing themselves on and around the battlefield. Those who were paying careful attention might catch word of them being present nearby and could likely guess their purpose, but out in the field if they didn¡¯t sense them they might assume they weren¡¯t present. As for who else they expected to be present, it was simple. Bashkim of the Diamond Trading Company had hired one of his usual groups to go after the same creature. That was the main reason they were present, to disrupt the man¡¯s business and potentially bring him down, due to his connection with the Society of Midnight. They still planned to be profitable, of course. Thus the reason for contracting with Artsiom, a rival of Bashkim. Much of their plan hinged on the speed of information and their ability to get to the Chalk Hills in a timely manner. That was why they had chosen this particular hunt, even though the numbers they had with them weren¡¯t quite as high as they might have liked. Their chances of success were deemed high enough, and it seemed they might have arrived before the other hunting group. The group was quiet as they walked out into the hills, towards the last spotted location of the darkness element beast. Few specifics were known about it, except the general level of power sensed by those who passed by it- and survived. It was shrouded in darkness but not terribly large as far as the descriptions went. It could be less than half the size of the great lizard they had taken down in the Southeastern Stone Forest, though physical mass was not the best way to measure the power of a beast. John thought back to that battle. He had been in the early Foundation Phase for it, and had only been able to participate in the battle due to how insignificant the creature had deemed him- and the others. Crystin had been there for that battle, as well as Magtel- though he was not present on this particular excursion. As they reached the area, signs of what they were looking for became readily apparent. John was not a particularly skilled tracker, but when attempting to follow something large and with great stores of spiritual energy it wasn¡¯t terribly difficult. Even in the rocky terrain a wide path was visible, a trail at least three meters wide where it seemed as if something had been dragged across the surface. The remains of darkness element energy also stood out against the background of primarily earth element. Whatever the creature was, it obviously wasn¡¯t trying to hide its tracks. Even if darkness element could be used for concealing, it wasn¡¯t used in regards to its trail. That said, not as much could be determined from the trail as they might have hoped. The direction was fairly easy to discern from the way brush was crushed in a particular direction or certain things were uprooted and strewn about, but the makeup of the creature was vague. There were no signs of claws or feet of any kind, even in the softer sections of ground. It was as if someone had dragged large cloth over the area- or a bundle of leafy branches. Despite what media on Earth sometimes indicated, that wouldn¡¯t hide tracks. Though it obviously obscured details, the smooth lines made it plainly visible for anyone to follow. They were able to follow at full speed, but it was unclear how long it would take them to catch the creature. The information about the latest location spotted was a few days old when they arrived in the Chalk Hills, but it seemed to be staying in the general area since they¡¯d first received wind of it. The group followed the tracks for the remainder of the day but didn¡¯t catch sight of the creature itself. They were all capable of traveling at night, but even cultivators had to sleep eventually. They set up a small camp but did their best to minimize signs of their presence, in case others following along the same path might notice. After a proper rest- with people standing guard in pairs for the sake of caution- they began their journey once more. During the day they once again didn¡¯t see the creature or sense it, but the trail continued. Along the way they saw various creatures that lived in the hills, mostly darting for cover when they noticed humans. ¡°It¡¯s a bit odd that we haven¡¯t seen anything it ate,¡± Aydan pointed out. ¡°Everything has to eat, and that leaves something behind eventually.¡± ¡°Perhaps it might drag its prey into those caves it stops in,¡± Luctus suggested. ¡°We did not thoroughly investigate those given the continuing nature of the tracks.¡± ¡°It could just eat things whole,¡± John commented. ¡°Though it should eventually leave something behind. Everything has to expel waste. I think.¡± Truth be told, some creatures in this world were exceptionally weird, but the general rules still applied. Some beasts only functioned because they had spiritual energy to enhance some of their weaker functions, but life still followed the same sorts of rules. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Later that day, they finally found something. A few feathers. A scrap of bone. A splatter of red. It wasn¡¯t possible to tell if they came from the creature, but they were right on the trail it left behind. As it was getting dark, they came upon another cave, basically just a hole in the ground. The trail led right to it, but there was just one problem. ¡°It doesn¡¯t leave,¡± John pointed out the obvious. ¡°And it doesn¡¯t seem as if there¡¯s a way for it to get into it.¡± The mouth of the cave was a couple meters in diameter at most, much smaller than the creature. At least, as far as they could tell. The group stood in a circle around the hole, looking down into the darkness that didn¡¯t hinder their sight. There was enough space for a human to pass comfortably, but not a large beast. ¡°So,¡± John continued. ¡°Either it disappeared at the mouth of this cave, suddenly began to conceal its tracks right next to it, or it somehow fit inside. If it went in, it either found another way out¡­ or it¡¯s still in there.¡± ¡°I think¡­ the latter,¡± Crystin pointed out a group of birds nearby. They didn¡¯t look particularly interesting at first, until one of them extended their neck out from the feathers surrounding it, revealing a long, disturbingly bare patch of skin. ¡°Scavengers. They likely follow after the creature and feed on whatever it leaves behind. Perhaps that is where the pieces go.¡± That was a sufficient explanation for the rest of the group. However, it still posed another question. ¡°Why can¡¯t we feel it?¡± one of the guards with them asked. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be far.¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely more focused on concealing itself rather than signs of its passage,¡± Luctus explained. ¡°And we don¡¯t know how deep it might be in this cave. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m inclined to find out, either. We¡¯re not here to fight it. Not yet, anyway. With our numbers, we might be able to defeat it, but fighting in close quarters would not be to our advantage.¡± There were also plans in place to have both the beast and the other hunters they knew were coming wear themselves out before swooping in. While it might not be entirely honorable to ambush another group of cultivators just doing a job, darkness element cultivators weren¡¯t known for honor. Even if the Tenebach clan often worked more openly, they would be most effective with the element of surprise. They found a place nearby to camp, not too close but somewhere they should be able to keep track of the beast. Along the way they passed closer to the scavengers, somewhat reminiscent of turkey vultures from Earth. John had thought them to be about the same size, but he realized they had been further away. They were quite a bit bigger, and had a little bit of darkness element inside them. It made sense, given the creature they were following after. As the hunting group began to eat cold rations- lighting a fire would potentially alert people and creatures to their presence- something happened. John was staring over at the scavenger birds sitting in their sparse trees, nestled among nearly empty branches. Then one of them disappeared. He almost thought he was wrong, when it happened with another. The third managed to squawk out a cry of alarm as it was grabbed, and the remaining members of the group fluttered into the sky- though one was too slow and was yanked into a patch of darkness. It made sense, of course. A creature of darkness would blend in much better in the night, as during the day a ball absent of light stood out just as much as a torch in the night. Even if it concealed its features, it wouldn¡¯t be optimal. John quietly gestured to the others. Now that he knew where the thing was, he could make out its shape. Sort of. Even with the benefit of the enhanced darkvision from the family¡¯s guardian beast, he could barely see anything. It still just looked like a ball of darkness with undefined edges. He thought he could make out some shapes, but they were all vague. A large paw? Some sort of tail? A beak, maybe? However, his mind could make no sense of how the various things were placed, and he never got a good look at anything. The most disturbing part was looking directly at it and not sensing the darkness element. John always knew it was possible to conceal active use of darkness from others, but he¡¯d never experienced it himself, not to the same degree. It wasn¡¯t a small scale, either. The creature began to move, and everyone exchanged glances. It was easy enough to track during the day, but there were also advantages to moving at night- for both the creature and themselves. Wordlessly they decided to follow after it, though they would no doubt be fatigued in the morning. It wasn¡¯t terribly difficult to follow. Once it was beyond the radius of the creature¡¯s active control, the lingering elements of darkness shortly became able to be sensed. The smear it left along the ground was also still present, and everyone could see it in the dark. The size of the creature also let them track it by the very absence of being able to see past its ball of influence, though it seemed to stay low to the ground to minimize its area. As low to the ground as something as large as it could be, anyway. It was still as easy to follow as a group of humans all pressed together. It wasn¡¯t fast, either. But perhaps it simply didn¡¯t need to be. The meandering route it took went up and down slopes at the same speed, ignoring minor obstacles by pushing through and over them. The changes in direction seemed to simply be for the sake of catching prey, as it sought out food in the darkness. As for what it ate¡­ it seemed to be anything. The giant vultures, of course. Some deer, normally quite sensitive to predators but severely outmatched. Wolves. Various birds and their nests. Anything it got close to, it seemed. It even crossed a stream and swept up a handful of fish. When it came to burrowing creatures, it reached something into them and pulled out its prizes, where it disappeared into its form, presumably being consumed by a large mouth. When it was almost dawn, the creature began to move more quickly, though not so quickly that it couldn¡¯t be followed. It somehow found another cave, and after the ball of darkness concealing it lingered at the entrance to the cave for a moment, it faded away and there was nothing. Nothing, except a cave mouth no more than a meter in any direction, far too small for the beast to have gone into. While nobody expected the creature to come out during the day, watches were set up for their rest. Nobody wanted to be caught by surprise, especially by¡­ whatever it was they had found themselves hunting. Chapter 112 Now that they had found the creature and observed its behavior, the time for decisions came. Should they fight the dark mass, or continue to wait? ¡°We¡¯re a bit light on the estimated forces to defeat this creature. Based on what we¡¯ve seen, it has attributes sufficient to be a threat.¡± John knew that his grandfather Luctus could have taken the lead in the discussion but was intentionally leaving it to him. ¡°If we defeat it quickly, we could avoid a conflict with the hunters. They should be arriving soon, unless they run into trouble.¡± The other hunters were the point of the argument that could be most troublesome, in different ways. Human opponents ranged from simple to defeat to the most dangerous. The Tenebach clan didn¡¯t even have direct conflict with the group, but instead were tertiary to the actual enemies. Yet letting them get weakened by battling the creature and snatching victory from their hands would weaken the position of Bashkim, and thus the Society of Midnight¡¯s influence in the Stone Conglomerate through him. The thought of using innocent humans as bait was unpleasant, but then again nobody in this world was innocent. Not even John or anyone he knew. Oh, sure he thought he was better than a lot of other cultivators, but he¡¯d gotten a lot more used to killing than he ever would have imagined when he was on Earth. Knowing death might not be such a final end for everyone didn¡¯t exactly make him feel better about it. ¡°We should go with the plan,¡± Aydan commented, bringing John out of his thoughts. ¡°Our current forces should be able to defeat it, but to do so without casualties would require some luck. On the other hand, if luck was against us¡­¡± It didn¡¯t need to be said that sometimes people just didn¡¯t come back. Cultivators died every day, and while John had been fortunate not to be one of them yet, there had been some times where it had been more possible. Even just a couple months ago he¡¯d been wounded, and his lung was still scarred. It hadn¡¯t been all that far from killing him, if the blade had just gone a little deeper. Part of that was how he handled the situation, and a bit was luck. It just couldn¡¯t always be on his side. At least, he shouldn¡¯t assume it would be. ¡°We¡¯ll need to avoid the notice of the creature and of course the approaching hunters,¡± John reiterated. ¡°We can trail a bit further over the next day or two, but if we get too far we won¡¯t be able to join the battle. We¡¯ll have to do everything right.¡± Looking around, John realized people were waiting. For him, as he would make the actual decision. Something he learned was that you just had to make a choice, and couldn¡¯t undo it later. Granted, most of his executive decisions had involved new menu items and supplies, but mistakes with either could lose customers. ¡°So here¡¯s the plan¡­¡± ----- Every darkness cultivator had some amount of stealth skills, but it had been important that those joining this expedition were more than mere capable in every area. They hardly needed John¡¯s guidance, but the way they were going to make use of their skills had to mesh together. Instead of splitting everyone apart and leaving them to their own devices, John decided it would be better to work as a group. Stealth was normally an activity that didn¡¯t work better in groups, but the method was important in this case. Since much of cultivator¡¯s stealth abilities relied on spiritual energy, it was possible to work together to conceal a whole group better than any individual could hide on their own. John was in control of that, though he felt the subtle guidance of the more experienced Aydan and Luctus helping him. The way darkness wrapped around them had to be subtle. If it was too strong, it would be impossible to see them but also extremely easy to detect something was happening where they were. The important part was blending in, which was easy enough in the night. That was what the very creature they were hunting made use of, after all. The energy of everyone flowed together as they worked in formation. It was less about the physical arrangement of everyone and more about that transfer of spiritual energy. John guided it into one cohesive form, and also used his own talents to allow them to blend in more firmly, using earth elemental spiritual energy to make them feel like more of the rocky terrain. Anything looking directly at them might notice the absence of light in an area, but most things would not be able to make use of that information. The mass of darkness they were hunting with a strange and unknown configuration of limbs was the biggest concern, since it might be able to pierce through their darkness deception. Thus they maintained a reasonable distance in addition to trying to blend with the earth as much as possible. Another night of watching the creature snatch up anything on its path was just as disturbing as before. It seemed particularly fond of the giant vultures, making detours from its set path when it spotted them. Perhaps they were why it had come to the area, following them as it migrated. The most disturbing thing wasn¡¯t just a tendril wrapping around something and pulling it towards where there was presumably a mouth, but instead later seeing other sorts of limbs reach out to do the same. Some of the sturdier creatures were impaled by claws or gored by tusks or antlers sticking out of seemingly random places on the creature. John wasn¡¯t sure if the creature simply had no front or if the pieces of it moved about, because he had no idea what sort of things were adjacent to each other. It certainly wasn¡¯t a neat organization of limbs like most living beings. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The creature once again hid in a cave during the day. It seemed to have a good sense of how to find them, though to be fair the Stone Conglomerate was chock full of the things. The Tenebach clan group had to rely on more mundane stealth measures during the day. They would mostly be sleeping, after all, and darkness was just too obvious. That involved simply not being where people would look, which in this case was beyond where the creature with extremely obvious tracks had ventured. A reasonable distance away so it would be difficult to sense them, but not so far they weren¡¯t prepared to lock on to it when it came out. It wasn¡¯t the easiest thing to track by sight when it was on the move, and if they lost it they could fall half a day behind if they had to track it during the day. ----- Patience paid off, as John found himself gently woken up around noon. None of them needed to sleep through the whole day, but except those on each shift everyone took the chances where they could. It took a few moments to shake off the grogginess of being awoken, but he was fully functional within a couple of minutes. He could have been fighting sooner, but things weren¡¯t quite to that point. ¡°I took notice of them as they were approaching,¡± Luctus pointed out a group of a dozen earth element cultivators in early and mid Soul Expansion Phase standing around the mouth of a cave. This one was somewhat larger than the others, seeming to be a comfortable size for humans to walk through. ¡°They should be who we¡¯ve been waiting for.¡± John nodded. The only question was what decision that group would make. Would they wait around to study it, or attack it immediately? They should only know that it was a creature of the darkness element. It would be dangerous at night, but during the day it should be weaker. John didn¡¯t think it would be good to fight it in the close confines of a cave, though, and it was similarly dark inside of one. It wasn¡¯t quite the same effect as night, but still beneficial to a darkness cultivator. It seemed the group didn¡¯t care to wait, as they soon entered the cave- preparing glowing light orbs that they hung from their belts. Much more practical than torches, which took a hand and had other problems in enclosed spaces. ¡°We¡¯ll follow after them in a few moments,¡± John said to the other seven. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be quick to turn around, but we need to make sure they don¡¯t guard the entrance of the cave. Or deal with them, if they do.¡± After making sure that nobody was immediately watching for them, they made their way towards the cave. Once they were inside they could blend in with the darkness and earth around them. As John led the control of the concealment, he found it rather difficult to work with everyone¡¯s energy. Were they resisting? No, in fact it should have been the normal difficulty in controlling other¡¯s energy. He had simply spent so much time dual cultivating with Matayal that they were intimately comfortable with each other¡¯s energy. Working with anyone else just felt awkward and ineffective. Inside the cave, it soon split up into branching pathways. Tracking the creature was nearly impossible where the floor was solid stone, but where there was dirt it still left a wide, dragging trail. The other hunters were easier to follow, though. They were hardly taking any efforts to conceal themselves, and the lingering earth energy they left behind stood out from the natural energy of the area. Their group walked through the darkness, relying on their blessing to provide them vision, before they eventually spotted light. John stopped, and the others did the same behind him. There were no sounds of fighting yet, so they moved forward quietly, trying to keep pace with the group ahead of them. Part of their darkness energy went to dampening the sounds they produced, an effect made possible by its concealing nature and having little or nothing to do with acoustic properties of the darkness element. Perhaps they need not have bothered, as the thudding steps of the earth element cultivators and the clanking of their metal armor overpowered whatever noise they might have made- but it was best to never underestimate an enemy¡¯s perception. They performed at their best, maintaining a solid distance until combat began. The attack was a surprise to everyone, most of all the earth element cultivator up ahead. Nobody expects a large wing to sweep into them and knock them into someone else. They had their defenses prepared, of course, so the damage was minimal- but before they could even think of attacking the figure had disappeared. John and the others were around a bend, so they only heard the advent of combat secondhand. They maintained their position until the combat drifted further, where they felt comfortable moving to a different angle. The tunnel opened up into something akin to a larger cavern. An ancient one, perhaps, as the stalactites and stalagmites met, forming pillars throughout the area and dividing it into sections. For the most part they were simply barriers, but some of the areas they formed were too small to move through comfortably. Certainly nobody would have expected a monster that took up a three meter area to suddenly slip through a crack too narrow for a human to squeeze through sideways. But it did, slipping around the area with ease. Every time John got a peek through its veil of darkness, he wished he hadn¡¯t. It was a disturbing jumble of parts that didn¡¯t look like they had even belonged to the same creature. And maybe they didn¡¯t, as the wing it had struck out with first looked just like the giant vultures it had been consuming. A large wolf paw slashed at one of the group, who quickly turned to try to land a blow. His axe swung through the area with the creature, to great success. He even managed to chop off a hoof, which limply fell to the ground. Why it was halfway up the creature¡¯s side instead of walking on the ground was another question that there probably wasn¡¯t a good answer to. For the moment the group of hunters seemed to be holding their own, but injuries were building up on them faster than the creature, who was quite happy in the darkness. Their lights provided little help, at most piercing through the outermost layer of its concealment, and usually just casting confusing shadows as they spun about trying to predict where the creature would go. Soon¡­ soon would be the best time to join in the fight. They just had to wait. Chapter 113 The various bits and pieces of the strange darkness creature that were littering the ground, along with the blood, indicated it was actually being injured. Unfortunately for the earth cultivators fighting it, they weren¡¯t winning. It was just about time for the Tenebach clan members to step in to attack the creature, while it was weakened but still distracted by the group. As it was still the stronger combatant, they had to focus on damaging it first, though it would also be best to not let the other hunters flee. The scheming between Artsiom and Bashkim would be more effective if the latter didn¡¯t know what happened to his hunters. Moments before he gave the order, John noticed something. It might have been the fact that he practiced multiple elements and thus was used to changes in the balance around him¡­ or it might have been luck. Either way, he picked up a brief sensation that made him second guess what he was about to do. The instincts of a cultivator were important, and so far they hadn¡¯t led him astray. He didn¡¯t count getting nearly killed, when there was some hidden point behind them. He gestured silently for the others to follow him, leading them out of the tunnel where they waited. The only place to go was closer to the battle, but John picked somewhere with a wider gap they could slip through to stay concealed. He turned back to everyone following him and put a finger over his lips, pointing back towards the entrance. He didn¡¯t exactly need silence, though that was part of it. But everyone stealthily sensing back that way was able to pick out another group about to enter the chamber. They would have been perfectly poised to come up behind the darkness cultivators, and the Tenebach clan would have been easily noticed. They were hiding from people in the chamber, and even if they concealed themselves in darkness the lights from the room and the other cultivators suddenly not penetrating an area would have given them away. Deeper in the chamber there were many more places for light to be blocked or act unexpectedly, so it would be less noticeable. The group that came up behind them blended in fairly well with the stone around them, clearly used to concealing themselves. Exactly the sort of people Bashkim had working for him. They¡¯d made a mistake, assuming the group they saw was the right one instead of investigating more closely. Fortunately, the situation had been salvaged. The new group of cultivators stopped at the threshold of the chamber, watching the battle. Their numbers were similar to the other group, about ten or eleven, or at least what the first group had been. Several of their members were down, and others were injured. ¡°We need to withdraw!¡± a man who had to be the captain of the group called out. Instead of just stating that and leaving his men to fend for themselves, he rushed forward, taking a great swing at the writing mass that was the darkness element beast. His great hammer connected with something, sending it flying back into the wall with great force. Shards of rock fell from the more solid stones, along with clouds of dust from the softer chalk that made up part of the structure of the caves. That gave everyone a chance to flee for the entrance¡­ which unfortunately brought them right into an equally deadly foe. Perhaps more deadly, since the second group of hunters was fresh, uninjured, and unexpected. Several men were cut down immediately as the group stepped into the chamber, revealing themselves. John watched intently for a moment before realizing he¡¯s lost the position of the beast. If it was not actively engaged, there was a decent chance it might sense their group. If it snuck up on them and chose to attack, it would reveal them and might leave them in a poor tactical decision. Now that they were fighting, the second group of hunters were easy to track, so he focused on finding the darkness beast. And there it was, moving over the fallen bodies of the members of the first group. That was¡­ probably not good. John didn¡¯t have so much of a concern for the integrity of the corpses of people he didn¡¯t know, but if the thing could feed in a combat scenario- when given a few moments- it might be more dangerous than he thought. Or it was making a mistake. Normally, consuming a large amount of food would leave an animal slower, but it clearly wasn¡¯t a normal creature. The answer was obvious a few moments later when it finished its efforts, moving up behind the captain, who was the only remaining member of the first team. It lopped his head off with an axe, using human arms. Probably the same arms of the man who had chopped a hoof off of it before with that same axe. So that was how it worked. Maybe they didn¡¯t want any of this creature after all. The second group of hunters didn¡¯t seem to care- about the human limbs or the fact that its body might have little value, but they were probably getting paid regardless. And while the limbs certainly added some variety to its attacks, with the weapons it now had, its weakness was beginning to be apparent. The amount of spiritual energy the creature had was starting to diminish, even if it was slightly more stable feeling after feeding on the human corpses. The creature¡¯s tactics continued to be the same sort of hit-and-run it was making use of earlier, but now it had weapons that increased its reach. Along with the axe it seemed to have a couple spears, as John saw at least two stabbing at the same time. After attacking whoever was out in front, be that a single person or a handful, the creature pulled back into the chamber, squeezing through narrow openings between pillars of stone and the walls of the chamber. One of the hunters, a large man wielding a hammer not dissimilar from the first captain¡¯s, took a swing at one of the stone pillars. John winced. He was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t structural, but he didn¡¯t know if the man had even stopped to consider it. Then again, the man was an earth cultivator- perhaps he had a developed sense for such things. Either way, his swings began opening up the chamber, and the fresh hunters were able to counter with their own attacks against the creature every time it came to them. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The battle inevitably drew towards the hiding Tenebach clan members, but it was best they not stay hidden for much longer anyway. The beast¡¯s renewed vigor was fleeting, and soon enough the second group would be unoccupied, which would make the fight an eight against ten battle. John stepped forward, making his intentions clear to his allies. When he flicked his arm forward with a throwing dagger, the rest of his allies acted at the same time. Even when focused on an opponent in front of them, no sensible cultivator left their back entirely unprotected. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of being concerned about ambush, but simply the possibility of being knocked backwards into something made it the right choice. Thus, the target of John¡¯s dagger didn¡¯t get it particularly deeply embedded in his back. Not that it mattered. Some of the darkness energy sunk into the wound, the technique of Clinging Affliction. There were several more attacks that struck true from the Tenebach clan, taking advantage of their surprise to lessen their opponent¡¯s numbers significantly. Though it was not coordinating with them, the creature of darkness struck at the same time, slicing a gouge on the chest of one of those in the front of the group. From that point on the hunters knew that there were darkness cultivators in the shadows, but that didn¡¯t mean they could find them precisely. Unlike the creature which only formed darkness around itself, the human cultivators of the Tenebach clan spread their power over a larger area, working together to hide everywhere they might be. Even though the hunters had enchanted lights that somewhat pierced through the darkness, fighting figures they couldn¡¯t see clearly weakened the counterattacks and slowed the dodging of the earth cultivators. Even attacked from both sides, however, they weren¡¯t suddenly helpless. Several of them took defensive stances, sticking themselves to the ground. Stone crawled over their skin, much like how the Unbreakable Boulder technique worked. John wasn¡¯t sure if it was quite the same, but Earth cultivators were quite capable with their defenses. And even if they couldn¡¯t directly hit someone with a counterattack, their weapons struck the walls, scattering shards of rock that battered against everyone¡¯s defenses, as well as filling the air with chalky dust. Both sides would have to filter the dust out of their lungs, but the earth cultivators might be slightly better at it. John was fine as well, devoting just a small portion of his earth energy to the task. The hunters tried to move to a better position, breaking free from the flanking positions. Some of them managed to do so, but not without leaving themselves open to some attacks from the half-concealed figures in the darkness. One of them managed to pick out John, chopping a two-handed axe towards him. He dodged backwards, accelerating his movements with a burst of air energy. Then the man charged forwards, his weapon still swinging to the side as he tackled into John. Aydan was ready nearby, slicing into the man¡¯s shoulder but not penetrating terribly deep through his defenses. John had the thought that Matayal would have done better, but they always synchronized their efforts better than anyone else. John was flung backwards into the wall, softening the hit as much as possible with more earth energy, most suited for directly taking impacts. But if he kept getting hit, he¡¯d run out long before his opponents ran dry. That was one benefit of being focused on a single element. It showed, too. Not just in the earth cultivators, but also the Tenebach clan. For example, Luctus was barely even visible to John, walking along the edge of the enemy¡¯s ranks like he was on a casual stroll, taking swings at any openings they showed. When they tried to counterattack, he moved with speed seemingly inappropriate for his age, though John later determined it mostly just appeared fast. He really used slight movements that brought him just out of the line of an attack, while making his opponent feel he was too far for them to try to follow through by blurring their senses. As the battle continued, John was beginning to question the structural stability of the chamber. Perhaps it was fine, but if nothing else the quantities of chalk dust in the air were beginning to be a problem. He could see through darkness just fine, but he couldn¡¯t see through rock dust. Even the earth cultivators weren¡¯t particularly better in that regard. Getting fed up with it, John gathered wind around him and shoved it all towards them and the creature trying to sneakily pick up more bodies littered around the area. Then he had a brilliant idea. Or at least¡­ something like one. He moved his energy about the room, sweeping the dust away from where his allies were congregating and into the middle. It created something like a dense fog, one that neither side could see through. Then he called upon an element he very rarely used. He didn¡¯t have a totem for it, after all. A tiny spark, to light a bunch of rock dust on fire. John hadn¡¯t been sure it would work. He knew that flour did the same thing, but rock wasn¡¯t commonly known to be flammable or explosive. But it didn¡¯t hurt to try- at worst, he forced their enemies to keep themselves from choking on the dust. It turned out that in fact, it did work. An explosion rocked the area, eating up all of the oxygen in the middle of the room. And then there was a loud crashing sound that followed afterwards. That was the only thing that made the idea only mostly a good one. John didn¡¯t wait for the dust to settle, but forced it away as he created some breathable air for himself and the others. The Tenebach clan members had been fighting around the edge of the room for the most part, and of course he hadn¡¯t pushed the dust to where they were¡­ so the part of the ceiling that collapsed hadn¡¯t been above them. Mostly. One man had a leg stuck under a pile of rock, which two others helped him pull out. Meanwhile, Luctus moved around to find the hunters who had survived. Even a couple tons of rock might not kill some cultivators, so they carefully poked at the pile. The large man with the hammer came bursting out, only to find himself surrounded by several enemies and quickly taken down. As for the beast they were hunting, it was badly burned- and visible. It was exactly as bad as John imagined, a tangled mess of limbs from many different creatures. It was even worse that everything was blackened and bloodied as it wriggled uselessly. He stabbed out with his sword, aiming for a core that he felt held some sort of actual vital organs. Well, at least they were all alive. Retrieving some of the hunter¡¯s equipment might be a pain, and it was honestly hard to tell if the beast would have ever been worth anything, but they accomplished their goal. And at least they were certain they got the right group of hunters, when they began rifling through their pockets. That made the whole situation marginally better. Chapter 114 After finding their way through the excess limbs of the horrible beast, they did in fact find some usable portions of it. Most of the creatures it had assimilated were of little use, though some parts were of sturdier sorts of beasts that had some value. More importantly, the core body of the creature radiated darkness energy, though finding out exactly how to use each bit of it would take some work. That wasn¡¯t something John had to worry about though. Any powerful enough beast had value, and they had an agreement with Artsiom to deliver the beast. The important part of their mission had been accomplished, killing the hunters working with Bashkim and snagging the target for a rival. ¡°It¡¯s probably for the best that most of this stuff is useless,¡± John gestured to the pile of limbs, ¡°It¡¯s a lot of space.¡± Storage bags were enchanted to carry more than a bag their size actually could, but there were limits on how much that could hold. Among other things was that it had to somehow fit into the bag, so the carcasses of large creatures couldn¡¯t be stored in that way. Not without chopping them into smaller pieces, which only worked in certain cases. ¡°Quite right,¡± Luctus nodded. ¡°We should be getting out of here. This cavern doesn¡¯t seem particularly stable.¡± John felt it shouldn¡¯t collapse anytime soon, if at all, but there wasn¡¯t anything for them to gain from staying. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be careful on the way out, in case there are some people waiting outside.¡± The Tenebach clan wasn¡¯t an untouchable monolith, and they already had enough enemies. While Baskhim was working with their enemies and the hunters had been working for him, that didn¡¯t mean they had no friends of their own. There was a big difference between being suspected of causing their deaths and actually being known as their killers. As they found their way out of the caves, the sun was setting. That allowed them to make more subtle use of their darkness abilities to conceal themselves, though as far as any of them could tell nobody was around to hide from. They circled around the caves and found no signs of anyone but those who had already perished inside. Though their schedule had been distorted by tracking the creature, they prepared to set up camp for the night. Just because they were darkness cultivators didn¡¯t mean they wanted to travel at night. It was much too suspicious, and completely unnecessary. ----- Artsiom looked about as disappointed as John had been when he saw the somewhat usable parts of the creature. ¡°I was hoping for one of those big shadow cats,¡± he sighed, ¡°People like to make cloaks and stuff out of them. All we¡¯ve got is some lumpy organs and weird veiny things.¡± Then he shrugged, ¡°Well, a deal¡¯s a deal. And better I have this than Bashkim. He already had some buyers lined up. Though I wonder if they would have been happy with this¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s more useful than it looks,¡± John pointed out. ¡°This was a surprisingly strong monstrosity. Those ¡®weird veiny things¡¯ controlled a large number of various limbs pilfered from other creatures. They¡¯re strong and flexible. Maybe you could make rope from them.¡± John didn¡¯t want rope made from those, but if he were one step removed and didn¡¯t know where it came from, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t mind so much. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. If nothing else, I can sell it to someone who wants to spend the time.¡± Artsiom nodded happily. ¡°And it¡¯s a step in the right direction. I just need to take advantage of this.¡± ¡°The Tenebach clan might be willing to work towards more mutually beneficial goals,¡± John offered. If Artsiom really did end up in a better position in the Diamond Trading Company, being in his favor would be helpful. It was always good to have more allies, and sometimes those allies didn¡¯t even have to make use of swords. Primarily, anyway. Artsiom was a cultivator like most of the Diamond Trading Company, as personal power was still useful. And some of them built up wealth specifically so they could gather cultivation resources for themselves. ----- The fourth layer of the sea of spiritual totems was now quite familiar to John. The pressure that bore down on him was hardly noticeable, and he was able to spend a significant amount of time browsing for totems with good affinity for himself. Even if he had pretty much already made the choice, it was still good practice for the future. There were two options, depending on the path he ended up on. If he continued along his path to bond with a water totem, he would be bonding with the Deep Sea. Though the actual depths of the sea had nearly been the death of him, he still had some fond memories- though none quite so fond as when he and Matayal had eventually escaped from it. The Deep Sea was of course also related to darkness- but could still be considered a primarily water element totem. It would benefit John in terms of concealing himself within water or creating crushing pressure, though just as any other totem he would still be enhanced in every category that fell within the same element. Then there was the more radical option. Since Matayal was a water element cultivator, he could continue directly to fire with her taking place of that part of the cycle. That would benefit her more than him having a water element totem, as that would hardly benefit her in dual cultivation. Fire supported water, however, allowing transitions between states more easily. But the exact details weren¡¯t as important as the fact that her cultivation could grow more quickly. Of course, there were problems with skipping over a point on the path. John was fully confident that he and Matayal could cultivate just fine using her water totems, and indeed there would still be an excess of the water element, but the real issues would come if they weren¡¯t together. John wasn¡¯t going to worry about what would happen if she died. Anything that tried to kill her would have to go through him, so he didn¡¯t really plan to survive without her. But there were other things that might cause them to be separated for extended periods. Duties to their clans, and likely also things relating to their triplets. Perhaps they might be able to move back and forth together between the clans most of the time, but the triplets would likely benefit most from remaining in one place. Which might be two separate places. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Sure, their clans could raise their children no matter where they were, but having neither of their parents around for extended periods of time didn¡¯t seem like a good way to make well-adjusted members of society. Young masters and mistresses of various clans were already reviled enough when they were raised properly. Ultimately the choice lay in Matayal¡¯s hands. Perhaps it was unfair to burden her with such an important decision, but she was a key component of his cultivation in either case. And while John thought that a boost to both of their cultivations from the fire type totem was worthwhile, she was just as involved in that as he was. Even if it didn¡¯t directly affect her, he still would have sought her opinion on the matter. ----- John went to find Matayal for no reason in particular. Except perhaps that was the reason. The point was, he wasn¡¯t coming to her with a question or business or because he wanted to cultivate together. He just wanted to spend time with her- and the triplets, though he didn¡¯t know if they would comprehend his presence or remember it. They were still developing, after all. Normal unborn children certainly would not have any memories, but they were anything but normal. Though strong elemental affinities didn¡¯t necessarily indicate powerful cognitive abilities. The Tenebach clan had always, at least by John¡¯s memories, had a formation set up to condense water elemental spiritual energy. There were many visitors from the Brandle clan, and the Tenebach clan also hosted other water element cultivators. Earth, water, and darkness were allied, so they were the most common visitors. And those elements were all present together, with earth being the most plentiful in the Stone Conglomerate. Because of her pregnancy, one of them had been modified to suit all of the triplets. The formation actually did very little with the earth element- it didn¡¯t gather it, nor did it reject it like the ones for pure water element cultivation. It did gather darkness and water together in equal measure, which was enough to make all of the triplets happy. John had thought to find her there, since it was where she was most comfortable, but he learned she had gone to Ciaritzal¡¯s cave. Random members of their clans weren¡¯t allowed to visit the area on a whim, but that was mostly for their own safety. Ciaritzal could be dangerous, and preferred not to be disturbed. But John and through him Matayal had developed a friendly relationship with the guardian beast. He found her inside, slowly cultivating. Since the area was darkness dominant, she could not directly absorb much. However, one of their children was quite happily absorbing. ¡°How is she?¡± John asked. Matayal looked up at him. ¡°Quite happy. The energy here is much more¡­ pure? I feel they all do better with only a single element about, even if I can filter strands to each of them in the training formation.¡± ¡°That makes as much sense as anything else. Are they progressing evenly?¡± John was able to sense them for himself, but it was better to get answers through conversation than invasive probing. ¡°More or less. The boy got quite a bit ahead back in the Shimmering Islands. The girls like it here in the cave and out among the ambient earth energy here. They¡¯re much more active when exposed to a pure element, even if there¡¯s no reason they shouldn¡¯t filter one out just fine.¡± John shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty difficult for most. Astrein is thought to have low concentrations of spiritual energy, but it¡¯s actually so thoroughly mixed that it¡¯s simply insufficient for most people to make use of. Even those intending to go through a cycle of elements would find it difficult to get started there, I imagine.¡± Though it was a friendly visit, the topic inevitably became cultivation. It wasn¡¯t something they could get away from- Matayal even more than John at the current moment. Then again, the entire world was like that to various extents. The triplets cultivated, and it was pretty much impossible to avoid focusing on them. Even normal parents couldn¡¯t help but think about a pregnancy- parents with supernatural happenings were obviously more focused. ----- Several more months passed with most of the work being done in the background. The Society of Midnight was still a concern for the Tenebach clan, but they weren¡¯t going to be dealt with immediately. As they tried to strengthen their position in the area through their allies, the Tenebach clan pushed back against them more directly. Matayal¡¯s pregnancy became visible to casual observers, and despite efforts to keep it somewhat secret it would soon become impossible. She was constantly under watch, but that wasn¡¯t actually any different than John himself. As the soon-to-be head of the clan his safety was just as important as hers. While she might be an easier target at the moment, the clan¡¯s defenses were already adequate. And a majority of the time John and Matayal were together anyway. But the upcoming births were not the only highly anticipated event in the Tenebach clan. In fact, there was one that was perhaps more significant in some ways, at least from the perspective of random clan members. Luctus was edging closer to reaching Consolidated Soul Phase, the promised portion of the darkness element creature helping along with other resources the clan was gathering for that very purpose. Even if it was just a single cultivator, those groups with Consolidated Soul cultivators and those without were perceived differently. It would bring them to be more on par with the Order of the Amber Heart, which would place them at the top of Marble County. And it wasn¡¯t just public perception. A Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was several times as strong as a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. John had felt that difference himself, barely surviving a few blows. And once a group produced a cultivator of a certain caliber, the increase in power made it more likely that they would be able to raise more of them. But just because Luctus was teetering on the edge of that Phase didn¡¯t mean it would be easy to make that step. Sometimes the last millimeter was the hardest, and those who had ill intentions towards the Tenebach clan would likely do their best to prevent him from advancing. Times would get harder before they got easier. Chapter 115 Breaking through to the higher levels of cultivation required not only a certain amount of understanding and sufficient accumulation, but also an impetus to push a cultivator over the edge. One month prior, Luctus Tenebach had absorbed the spiritual energy from the body of the strange darkness creature that had roamed across the lands. Now it was known to the other local sects in the Stone Conglomerate that he was planning to break through at any time, needing just one final spark. The price of spirit darkness and darkness element treasures shot up in Marble County and the surrounding regions of the Stone Conglomerate, not that there were many to begin with. Most were bought up by enterprising merchants who wanted to offer them to the Tenebach clan at an inflated rate. Others were purchased by rivals, who planned to hold onto them until a later time and eventually recoup the cost. John found himself sitting in an auction, where he was planning to bid on any of a few items that would be available. The Tenebach clan had already snatched up what they could in Marble County, and he¡¯d had to travel about halfway across the country to Microcline City. The auction was being hosted by the Agate Trading House, a rival of the Diamond Trading Company. Of course, any big group of merchants was a rival for any of the others, but these had some particular history. That didn¡¯t matter to John, however. He was planning to bid on certain items, and their origins hardly mattered. Of course, he would not be without competition. The Tenebach clan was not the only group of darkness cultivators in the Stone Conglomerate, and there were in fact those with significant standing closer to Microcline City. John spotted the head of the Nurturing Shadow Sect as well as some others. He bore them no ill will, but sometimes things just had to be done. The first item of interest was a simple jar of condensed spirit darkness. It didn¡¯t necessarily need to be contained, but a proper vessel made it easier to contain and transport while preventing possible contamination. But despite the intangible nature of darkness, the spirit darkness wasn¡¯t a liquid or gas. Closer to a solid¡­ or perhaps something like cotton, porous but held together. Bids began quickly, with John throwing out a high bid early to try to drive off some of the others. But with the prices being affected to some degree even half a country away, people were willing to spend more than normal for darkness element items. John dropped out not long afterwards, with the Nurturing Shadow Sect claiming the prize. Next was a darkness element natural treasure. Such things varied in utility, but John found them particularly strange as they took the form of human-made objects. He even had one attuned to himself, the urn that absorbed bones. The creature they had hunted didn¡¯t have bones of its own so he wasn¡¯t able to make real use of it there, but he¡¯d found it useful throughout his cultivation career. The item on auction was a salve jar, which apparently enhanced healing ointments placed inside of it, though rendered them only suitable for use by those attuned to darkness. The auctioneer- surprisingly a middle aged man instead of the standard attractive woman- described its uses, and the fact that it could even help recover old wounds. ¡°For those of you who can use it¡­ it would be a mistake to let it by. Injuries can pile up as you cultivate, if you¡¯re not careful.¡± John bit his lip. This wouldn¡¯t be a direct aid to his grandfather¡¯s cultivation, but was still quite useful. He injected himself into the bidding at a more moderate price point. He wanted to save some funds for later, if possible. Enough to win another item at least. The Tenebach clan was willing to expend resources for this endeavor, but even for their old patriarch there was only so much they could afford. It wasn¡¯t long before John was outbid, and he raised the price once more. Yet it was a mere instant before someone called out a higher price. He looked to the new competitor, and quickly recognized him. It was Bashkim Shehu of the Diamond Trading Company. John wasn¡¯t sure if it was a coincidence or he¡¯d learned of their coming. Either way, John wasn¡¯t willing to place more bids for that particular item. It ended up going to a scarred old man who just barely radiated the aura of Consolidated Soul Phase. He seemed to be an independent who had saved up money specifically for that item, and John wasn¡¯t willing to compete at that level. There were a few other minor items that might have been of use to Luctus, but John only put in halfhearted bids. Some were won by the Nurturing Shadow Sect or others, and a couple Bashkim directly outbid John. The man could likely afford the losses, and the items could be resold anyway. John doubted they would go for more unless anyone became particularly impatient about current prices, but he also wasn¡¯t raised as a merchant- though his training in the clan made him at least reasonably aware of finances. It was just that generally weren¡¯t in the business of reselling things they could use themselves. Then the time came for the big item of interest, at least for those darkness cultivators attending the auction. The heart of a shadow drake, one that had achieved at least fifty years of age. A rare creature that grew to great size, as could be seen by the half meter wide box the heart was contained in. The box itself wouldn¡¯t be cheap, as it had special enchantments to prevent decay. As for the heart¡­ to the people who needed it, it was priceless. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. John did his best to not look too eager, but he couldn¡¯t hide some genuine desire on his face. If he had that, he could smoothly transition to the Consolidated Soul Phase once he¡¯d taken the time to reach the peak of the twenty-seventh rank. It was certainly quite a tempting thought. Bids went up by small increments at first as a dozen people basically just declared their interest with a bid. Nobody initially tried any large bids to intimidate people, and John only added just over the minimum increase. A short time later the price had increased to the point it was worth a month of the Tenebach clan¡¯s income. That was net income, as they had many ongoing expenses to pay for, but it was becoming a significant investment. John¡¯s eyes lit up with fire, though the actual amount of fire was minimal. More than basically everyone else present, though. Soon it became clear his real rivals were the Nurturing Shadow Sect and the merchant Bashkim. A few people timidly inserted bids between them, but John could see people dejectedly dropping out one at a time. The price had climbed to three months of the Tenebach Clan¡¯s income, by John¡¯s count. Expensive, but a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was worth more than money. John raised the price by ten percent, but Bashkim immediately jumped the price by by almost a third. John bit his lip, but before he could make another bid the Nurturing Shadow Sect increased the price by the same amount as Bashkim. They were clearly planning to make a strong investment in someone as well. John raised the price once more, to approximately half a year of the Tenebach Clan¡¯s wealth. He had no way to compare that to money he¡¯d had on Earth, but it was far beyond what he was managing at a burger store. The margins on food service could be quite slim, and even the building had only been worth so much. The rest of the bidding happened at an almost frantic pace, just like an actual battle. Except the only winner would be the auction house. Bashkim and the Sect traded back and forth several times, before John raised the price by a significant margin, jumping up to a full year of the Tenebach Clan¡¯s income. He glared at Bashkim, as if daring him to outbid the Tenebach clan. He might have made a verbal taunt, but chatter outside of bids was frowned upon. But sharp glares and raised spiritual energy were tacitly encouraged. John watched as Bashkim hesitated for a moment, then bid once more, raising the price by another ten percent. John sighed. The Tenebach clan really couldn¡¯t afford any more than that. What a shame. He¡¯d have to seek an opportunity elsewhere. Perhaps it was the money burning a hole in his pocket, or perhaps it was simply a whim. Either way, a few bids later a fire element headband was unveiled. The exact details were vague, but apparently it could help users channel the fire element. John briefly thought about using it for himself, but he was really considering it for Steve. Words were a great way to thank someone, but sometimes practical gifts were nice as well. There weren¡¯t exactly an abundance of fire element cultivators present. If it was something of great value, it probably would have been taken to the Green Sands for auction or sale there in some regard. Even Bashkim was uninterested in bidding, having already gotten the prize the Tenebach set their eyes on. Thus, John found himself the owner of a headband that was¡­ surprisingly not hot at all. For something imbued with fire element, he¡¯d expected it to be scorching, but it was in fact the opposite. Cool, if not a little bit chill. In the end, John walked away from the auction much the same way he had from the one several years prior. Money meant a lot, but ultimately it had to be used wisely. He tried not to grin as he walked away. ----- Luctus was still busy with his cultivation, and John was gradually taking over more parts of the management of the clan from his father. Official transfer of being the clan head would likely take place sometime after his children were born and everything related to that. Until then, he still had important decisions to make¡­ and some reasons to take personal action. A report sat on his desk, previously sealed with Artsiom¡¯s signet. A few months wasn¡¯t suddenly enough for the young man to shoot up in position in the Diamond Trading Company, but most aspiring merchants like to have some sort of symbol to represent them personally. That did mean the available options got a bit crowded sometimes, but any individual would only deal with so many people who had crowns or gems or trees at any specific time. And if there wasn¡¯t enough identifying about the mark, it wasn¡¯t as if people didn¡¯t still sign their names. The format of a letter wasn¡¯t quite the same as on Earth, but still recognizable. Artsiom¡¯s elegant handwriting sat on the desk in front of John as he prepared a letter for the man, thanking him for mentioning the opportunity. The letter stated that a new dig site had opened up some significant caverns almost teeming with spirit darkness, and there was only a short time to seize upon the opportunity. John agreed, though the group he was putting together would not be rushed. Times were a bit risky, so he wanted as many Soul Expansion Phase cultivators as they could get, plus many of the Foundation Phase cultivators as backup. The clan had been anticipating something like this for a while, so many of their members had been recalled from other areas- the clan would still be well defended even with a hundred or so of them away. John would be going himself. Negotiations might be in order- dig sites were made by people, after all. Someone had a claim on the region, and the Tenebach clan wasn¡¯t so brazen to just snatch the area from them. Though that would depend on their alliances and attitude towards the clan. If they styled themselves as enemies of the Tenebachs, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to take them out. But when an inevitable conflict happened, it would be good to have some external witnesses. The Tenebach clan wasn¡¯t without allies, and the Order of the Amber Heart was never all that far away. John would see if his ¡®old¡¯ friend Renato was up for a trip. Chapter 116 Instead of writing a letter to Renato, John found it might be better to go in person. It was only a couple days of travel, and most of that was along the same route he would be going to check out the dig site. Abundant spirit darkness was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Fortunately Renato was present at the Order, since John didn¡¯t want to delay too much. But he did want a little bit of extra backup. John was easily able to meet with Renato, even though he was a favored disciple- and one of the most likely candidates to reach Consolidated Soul Phase. In the near future, even. It seemed that talents were abnormally high in the latest generation. Renato¡¯s chambers were sparse, but filled with the basic necessities. The sitting room looked as if it was rarely used, and John could sense that the bedroom was nearly empty as well. But the personal training room had obviously seen frequent use, and Renato was occupied there when he arrived. It seemed he must have sensed John as he came out a short time later. ¡°Good to see you again,¡± John smiled. Breaking through to Foundation Phase together and escaping a danger zone in the Crystal Caverns had drawn them close, and they¡¯d fought together a number of times in the handful of years since. ¡°Likewise,¡± Renato nodded. He was dispassionate in general, though John knew he was not actually emotionless. Just well in control, and oddly formal many times. ¡°What¡¯s the trouble?¡± ¡°This could just be a friendly visit, you know,¡± John complained. ¡°Not with as many Soul Expansion Phase cultivators as you brought with you. Even if you don¡¯t intend to involve me in said trouble, there is some. So what is it?¡± ¡°I recently received a letter from a trusted colleague informing the Tenebach clan of a great opportunity. A new dig site found caverns quite filled with spirit darkness, at just the time we could make use of more. So I¡¯d thought to go check it out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a trap, right?¡± Renato said bluntly. ¡°What makes you think that?¡± ¡°The fact that you had to inform me the letter was from a trusted colleague. And you coming here.¡± Renato paused, ¡°I am not saying I will not go with you to support your efforts, but I am aware of the Tenebach clan¡¯s recent conflicts.¡± John sighed, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s probably a trap. Almost certainly. The letter didn¡¯t even have Artsiom¡¯s handwriting right, just his signet. That kind of narrows it down.¡± ¡°I will be glad to lend my assistance,¡± Renato confirmed. ¡°Continuing to foster this relationship between the Order of the Amber Heart and Tenebach clan should be beneficial to us both.¡± In a way that was a typical cultivator thing to say, though usually people just thought it and spoke of friendliness more directly. It was somewhat reassuring that Renato was how he was, though. If anything, John felt the friendliness was what remained concealed while the practical nature of their arrangements was simply out in the open. ----- As they approached the dig site, John took note of the various tools and structures set up. Either this place was actually being used for a purpose like they stated or they were doing a good job of putting on a pretense. Some of the structures seemed older, though. As John approached, trailed by a few dozen people, a bulky fellow styled as a foreman came to the edge of the camp to meet them. ¡°Halt! This mine is property of the Chist Mining Company. Who goes there?¡± ¡°Greetings,¡± John said amicably. ¡°I am Fortkran Tenebach, here representing the clan. We heard from Artsiom that you had stumbled upon a large quantity of spirit darkness. We were hoping we could negotiate for a good rate on some of the supply.¡± ¡°The young master of the Tenebach clan?¡± the man¡¯s attitude changed quickly, ¡°We¡¯re honored to have you visit. I¡¯m sure we could negotiate something appropriate for the quality of what we can provide. If you come take a look, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d find we can meet any standards you have.¡± Too eager. Clearly the man was hired more for his bulk than his subtlety skills. But John could play along well enough. ¡°Certainly. I¡¯d love to take a look at your operations, and perhaps get an eye on future yields.¡± ¡°Of course, that can be arranged. Follow me.¡± When the rest of the group came along with John, the man looked a bit nervous. ¡°My men will rest here in the camp while we take the tour, if that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°... of course,¡± the ¡®foreman¡¯ nodded. They made their way towards a tunnel that certainly wasn¡¯t recently dug out. When John and five others made their way to step in, John assuaged the man¡¯s worries before he could voice them. ¡°My guards need to be with me at all times, in case there¡¯s some unforeseen danger within. I¡¯m sure you understand. My friend here,¡± John gestured to Renato, ¡°Is quite an expert on mines, and he and his assistants were eager to come along.¡± ¡°Right. Sure,¡± the man nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± So. The ambush was big enough he thought they could take on six Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. The man himself was only in the early Soul Expansion Phase along with two others moving with him while John, Renato, and Crystin were in the late phase. Aydan and the two others were still mid Phase. It would be best to make sure they did not pass too many side passageways or end up where they could easily be surrounded. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As they went inside, John noted tracks for mine carts that might even have been in use lately. They followed one track deeper into the mines before coming to a large cavern. Then the man stopped. He didn¡¯t have a choice, because John had stabbed him in the back of the neck, through his spine. It wasn¡¯t a fatal wound, but it would be difficult to recover from. The important thing was that it didn¡¯t take an excessive amount of energy, and John shoved the man into the cavern ahead of them. His move seemed to give away their hand, but there was no way John was stepping into a room with so many people waiting for him. They were actually quite well concealed for the most part- and they¡¯d taken note that the Tenebach clan would be able to see in the darkness. They were hidden behind things, their cultivation muted. But there was one detail they didn¡¯t know about that lit a particular member up like a beacon. Another shard of Ciaritzal, which meant a powerful member of the Society of Midnight. A flurry of throwing daggers and needles were launched at the group as the battle began, but the two additional ¡®miners¡¯ weren¡¯t able to join in, still surprised they were attacked. They had of course been ready to fight a moment later, but being ambushed when they thought they were the ones doing the ambushing threw them off. Renato hadn¡¯t been apprised of the exact moment John would attack, but he smoothly struck out with his stone club as the fight began, sending one of the two men flying into the room- and a number of the incoming projectiles. John had been suspicious of another layer of deception, but either it didn¡¯t exist or was still extremely well concealed. Though there would certainly be something going on outside with the rest of their group. The two other members of the Order of the Amber Heart stomped on the ground, sending up a pillar of stone from the floor that provided cover as everyone continued to retreat down the hallway. It would simply be foolish to fight where the enemy was set up. It only took a few moments for them to encounter their first obstacle, a group of two Soul Expansion Phase and four Foundation Phase cultivators that John legitimately hadn¡¯t noticed down some of the other tunnels. It seemed they had kept a conservative distance, but once the battle started it would be easy for them to sense it happening and come join. ¡°You four deal with those guys!¡± John ordered, ¡°Renato and I will hold them back here!¡± The person in question was the fastest among their pursuers- and the most dangerous. John didn¡¯t recognize the man, but then again he¡¯d only met members of the Society of Midnight on a couple occasions. But he knew the power of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. They weren¡¯t something he could fight alone, but with Renato¡­ he could at least avoid serious injury for a moment. He had half a mind to try to rip the shard of Ciaritzal out of the man, but he thought it better to find a proper opening first. John parried a spear reaching out of the darkness powerful enough his eyes couldn¡¯t pierce it completely. The man seemed intent on following through with another attack, but Renato¡¯s stone club swung down on the weapon. He had to spin it away to avoid having it it crushed against the floor. But Renato¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t done yet- his club smashed into the ground and sprayed a shower of stone shards at the man. He deftly avoided them, but he had to take a step back which delayed him for a moment. On the other side, Aydan and Crystin were dealing with a mix of darkness and earth cultivators. They focused on the members of the Society of Midnight simply out of practicality, the two members of the Amber Heart being less well equipped to deal with people in pure darkness. On the other hand, they were dominant forces when set against other earth cultivators, knocking them back into the walls of the tunnel with force that John was concerned might bring the whole place down on accident. The group blocking their retreat wasn¡¯t defeated in the first exchange, but a path was opened up. John and Renato slipped by with the others, John slipping away in a veil of darkness. In the brief moment that Renato¡¯s back was turned, the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator stabbed him in the back. John winced as he felt it, though the point of the spear only made it just past his ribs. That was through Renato¡¯s defenses of spiritual energy forming stone armor layered atop a metal breastplate- but his defenses held just enough to prevent serious injury. As the group that had been blocking their way tried to get their balance back, John created a flash of lightning behind their retreating group. Even not looking at it, his dark-adapted eyes hurt. It should give them a few moments at least¡­ enough to run into another group. This one was generally of lower cultivation, a handful of Foundation Phase cultivators that had been the ¡®miners¡¯, though with proper weaponry at the ready. The tunnel was slightly wider, which unfortunately gave an advantage to the opponent with greater numbers. Crystin and the other two began the attack on the earth cultivators, while Aydan turned to assist John and Renato. John was quite surprised with the grace his uncle possessed as he faced off against the enemy¡¯s spear. Even he couldn¡¯t see the attacks coming so clearly. With that said, John needed to lend his assistance to give Aydan some breathing room. Renato took over the rest of the passageway, making wide swings to keep back the growing group of approaching enemies. Anyone who got close had to choose between crushing injuries or retreating- where they often were met with a spray of stones from the wall. The initial ambushers had caught up now, continuing a barrage of thrown projectiles, but Renato shrugged them off. John protected the rest of the group with sudden gusts of wind, redirecting all of the attacks by just enough to allow everyone to dodge the attacks without leaving large openings. Their opening to retreat once more came when another darkness cultivator managed to get close to Renato. He seemed to think he was inside the reach of his club, which was fair enough- but Renato simply kicked him backwards, the tunnel trembling as his foot pressed into the ground to provide leverage. That cultivator was sent flying towards the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator with enough speed to force him to dodge, regardless of his personal concern for his companion. Crystin had impaled several of the earth cutlivators with her spear, swirls of darkness keeping her angle of attack hidden from them until it was too late. Their solid defenses simply couldn¡¯t withstand her higher cultivation and ability to seek out areas of weakness, and the other members of the Amber Hearts had battered another handful into submission. That allowed the group to retreat once more, finally leaving the tunnels. John knew that the forces he had left outside would be sufficient to overcome the remaining ¡®miners¡¯. Indeed, when they stepped out into the sun he found them mostly incapacitated. There just happened to be another group of enemies pressing in from outside the camp, whose numbers included two more Consolidated Soul Phase members of the Society of Midnight. Neither of them had pieces of Ciaritzal, indicating they weren¡¯t from the oldest generation, but that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t still strong. The presence of the two of them was a bit more than John had counted on, but it was exactly the sort of thing the other half of his group that had stayed away from the camp was in reserve for¡­ and a secret or two that had been tightly kept. Chapter 117 Two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators outside the mines, one inside. If John only had the Soul Expansion and Foundation cultivators he¡¯d brought with him, things would be rather dire. He had to admit his personal position left something to be desired, but at least he had his handful of steadfast allies and the group that had been left in the mining camp outside. They were surrounded on both sides, but they should be able to hold on for a short time. Unless something had gone very wrong, that was all they would need. John turned to Renato and the two others from the Order of the Amber Heart, belting out a quick strategy. ¡°Let¡¯s collapse the tunnel!¡± They had intentionally avoided collapsing things while they were inside as the consequences ranged from extremely inconvenient to deadly, but now they didn¡¯t have to worry about that. The three earth element cultivators wound up their attacks while John used his own portion of earth element to weaken the structure of the entrance in what he hoped were the right areas. As their immediate pursuers were catching up, Renato¡¯s stone club smashed into the wooden supports on one side of the entrance, rebounding to strike one of the approaching enemies. The other two slammed the other side, and the entrance collapsed. A couple enemies were buried under the rubble, and those behind them had several meters of it to work their way through. As cultivators it might take them only a minute or two, but that was a long time in a battle. With only one front to worry about for the moment, John was more comfortable taking control of the Tenebach clan¡¯s forces and organizing a combat formation. It was good that he did, because a moment later there was a series of attacks directed specifically at John himself. The two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators were from the Society of Midnight, so of course he was a priority target. Using the flow of energy from himself and the others, he slashed a group of throwing daggers out of the air, loaded with enough darkness elemental spiritual energy to pierce deep into him and doubtless coated in poison. As they charged forward, one wielding a pair of curved daggers and the other a whip-sword, John knew that just because he might be able to match them with power for the moment didn¡¯t mean he could rest easy. Combat skill and experience would be more important in the incoming melee. It was fortunate that the enemy was a mix of members of the Society of Midnight and earth cultivators, since otherwise they might have been better positioned to set up a formation of their own. Though Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators might receive less useful augmentation from those significantly below them in power, any amount could lead to them overpowering John. Renato and the two with him were working their way through the side of the battlefield, sending people flying- when they were lucky enough to distribute the force of the blow throughout their body. John hoped they would provide enough of a distraction to stop the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators from joining the attack against him. John was glad his sword outranged the daggers, as it allowed him a bit more freedom to deal with the troublesome whip-sword. It was the sort of weapon that was absolutely awful and useless¡­ when not wielded by a cultivator. The weapon could go from more or less a normal sword to an extended version held together by thin segments making up the backbone of the weapon. These were extremely fragile, meaning any attack could slice through them unless they were fortified by spiritual energy. It was also impossible to control in a useful manner without energy, but with energy it was able to snake around however it pleased, extending to a few meters in length and threatening to slash John from all sides. Instead of risking injury, John made use of what was probably an excessive amount of energy to deflect the weapon, striking upwards to raise it over his head instead of risking a sideways parry coiling it around him. He was also hoping that his attacks might break through the spiritual energy coating the weapon and break it apart, but it appeared that its wielder wasn¡¯t going to make things so easy. Behind him John heard the sound of rocks being hurled and crushed, indicating that it wouldn¡¯t be long before the group in the tunnels broke out. John knew that one way or another, he didn¡¯t have to hold out for long¡­ but the sword-whip was coiling around the dagger user, allowing him to get close. Using the energy of the group formation John managed to prevent injury from the slashes, but he knew his side was being less efficient. Then a flying man forced the whip-sword wielder to reposition. He only took a single step back, but that was enough for Renato to follow up by charging in himself, having already worked through the flank of weaker opponents. He was working together with the other two from his sect, but John was surprised by his recklessness in attacking a cultivator so much higher in cultivation. Was he not afraid of death? Perhaps not. And even if he was, letting it affect his fighting would only make it more likely. The whip-sword withdrew and coiled around Renato, snaking along his limbs and trying to slice him apart, but he was coated all over in a stubborn layer of solidified rock, an up-front expenditure of earth elemental spiritual energy to protect Renato throughout the battle. The more powerful cultivator was certainly able to cause damage to that layer of stone, but Renato slammed his stone club downward, imparting great force in a single moment. Apparently enough that the whip-sword user was concerned about his weapon, withdrawing it instead of pressing the attack. As usual, Renato¡¯s attack didn¡¯t just end there- a great spike of earth came from where he impacted the ground, driving his opponent back. John found it difficult to extricate himself from the close quarters slashing of the dagger wielder, his defenses crumbling as he wasn¡¯t able to repair them as fast as they were damaged. He once more wished Matayal were present, as having her help smooth his control of a formation was extremely useful. But she wasn¡¯t, so he had to deal with things himself. He was barely able to deflect the two daggers with a single sword, but he had a free hand that he used to flick throwing daggers at close range. Anywhere he saw any signs of weakness, he made an attack. But even with the support of a formation, John knew he was no match for a real Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Moments before the tunnel behind him opened up, reinforcements finally arrived. John had been wondering how they were so far away, but when they appeared they were immediately behind the enemy. A combination of Tenebach clan cultivators and members of the Order of the Amber Heart. They weren¡¯t just going to leave one of their best disciples with a mere pair of bodyguards, after all. Shrouds of darkness were less effective in the daylight, but both John and his opponent had been making use of them to obscure their own attacks to a small degree. He found himself just a bit too far to do anything of great effect when he felt his own shroud join with another. A Consolidated Soul Phase cultivation, to be specific. Strong cultivators had to have very good instincts or end up dead sooner than most. John was disappointed that the man with two daggers had those instincts, but he still got a scrape along his shoulder blade as he threw himself to the side. It was certainly better than having his head taken off, but not from John¡¯s perspective. ¡°Well now,¡± Luctus said as he continued to press the attack on the man, ¡°Picking on my grandson, are we?¡± John smiled. Now that the secret was revealed- and present- he could relax. Even if there was still a battle going on, and there would be the danger of the third Consolidate Soul Phase enemy joining in a moment, he still took the moment he had. The Tenebach Clan absolutely wanted all the resources they could get, and if this mine actually produced spirit darkness they¡¯d be glad to take it over¡­ but Luctus had already broken through some time prior. They¡¯d avoided any sort of big declaration precisely because they knew that the Society of Midnight and others were out to get them. That likely included Bashkim, as he was the one most likely to have gotten Artsiom¡¯s seal. John had recognized the handwriting was wrong, and his return letter had been worded so that if it got intercepted Bashkim wouldn¡¯t know he was aware of what was happening¡­ but if it got to Artsiom he would get the message and perhaps find a chance to make a move. Though if the Tenebach clan could actually pin Bashkim to this attack, it wouldn¡¯t matter what the Diamond Trading Company said- Bashkim would die. Renato didn¡¯t seem particularly bothered by the fact that his arms were becoming bloodied from the sword-whip, but that was probably for the same reason as John. Or rather, the other person who had slipped in with the help of Luctus. Johannes Dalen, head of the Order of the Amber Heart and a cultivator much better established in the Consolidated Soul Phase, appeared wielding no weapons- but happily grabbing the sword-whip with his bare hands. Well, not quite bare, as they were coated in rock and spiritual energy. ¡°I thought I made it clear last time,¡± the man said as he yanked on the sword-whip, not caring whether he pulled the wielder or disarmed him. ¡°We don¡¯t take kindly to invaders.¡± As it turned out, the sword-whip wielder preferred to keep his hold on the weapon, which meant he was sent flying towards Johannes, who was swinging forward a fist to meet him. The man reacted quickly, kicking out with one leg to meet the fist and vault himself over. That kept him from having his chest crushed, but there was a snapping sound that indicated that either foot or ankle bones, possibly both, had broken in significant quantities. Though John would have liked to provide his own assistance to his grandfather, the latter half of his escort that had remained behind with them away from the camp should be sufficient backup to help deal with the other cultivators and possibly assist with the enemy elder. He was gathering his energy for something else, drawing from the pool of cultivators still assisting him as a formation. He was moving his position around behind, watching as the last pieces of rubble burst out of the tunnel. The spear-wielding member of the Society of Midnight wasn¡¯t surprised to see John, but he might have been surprised at the way John rushed at him. The tip of the spear was just a bit slow as he thrust at John, who deflected it with his sword. To keep the man from quickly withdrawing his weapon, John¡¯s arm extended to the side, preventing him from attacking with it. But that wasn¡¯t his goal anyway. He continued to move in, his left arm outstretched. A bare fist, even enhanced with all of John¡¯s energy and that of the formation, would hardly be able to damage the man by impacting his bare chest. As John¡¯s fist impacted the man, he lost all momentum immediately. Then he pushed his spiritual energy, trying to drive deep inside towards the thing calling him. With only one previous attempt pulling a shart of Ciaritzal out of these ancient members of the Society of Midnight, he couldn¡¯t call himself experienced¡­ but he had one success while his opponent had likely never defended against a similar situation before. John could tell this man was stronger than Leutwin, but he had the power of others backing him up to close the gap. He dove quickly and deep, unconcerned about causing damage or not. He reached into the darkness, his ¡®hand¡¯ grasping a paw. Then he yanked, pulling out the shard of Ciaritzal and being quite happy to rip anything along the way out. The mass of energy in the man¡¯s dantian was still in the process of rallying to defend against the unwanted intrusion, clawing at John and the shard on the way out but ultimately finding little purchase. Upon returning to his body, John immediately blasted all of the energy he could between himself and his livid opponent. The man likely would take time to fully comprehend what had happened, but being injured by a junior would not make him a pleasant person. Darkness energy simply served to augment the earth¡¯s shoving force, and the pressure of air served to push the two of them apart without dealing significant damage to either. But John had broken off the engagement and retrieved exactly what he wanted. Now they just had to finish taking advantage of months of keeping Luctus¡¯ cultivation secret, with the help of their allies of course. Chapter 118 The man from the Society of Midnight was justifiably upset at John tearing out a piece of his cultivation, but it wasn¡¯t really his to begin with. Personally John didn¡¯t feel he had a right to complain since the man had effectively done the same to Ciaritzal in the past. But whether or not he had a reasonable excuse, the man did have a spear and a significant advantage in cultivation. But John was ready for it, and he knew just how to fight it. Which was why he was currently running away. He stepped between two members of the Tenebach clan, and the pair closed together behind him. The man chasing him swept his spear, tossing the one on the right off to the side and pressing forward. At the same time, John redirected part of the flow of energy he was in control of through the other, augmenting their strike. It was only enough to force the Consolidated Soul Phase man to block, but that put him another step behind John. John moved among the various members of the Tenebach clan, creating distance when he needed it, and striking with his throwing daggers. If he could create even small wounds, Clinging Affliction and Bite of the Gorgon would both magnify them. His air energy was mostly dedicated to movement so the other two could focus more on offense. He couldn¡¯t completely let down his guard as there were still enemies around and he wasn¡¯t the only one with throwing daggers either- but keeping his distance allowed him to slowly gain small advantages against the man. The previous time he¡¯d retrieved a shard of Ciaritzal, John hadn¡¯t been able to stick around to see the long-term results. He¡¯d been busy trying to be alive while he had a large hole in his lung. His current only-slightly-injured state was leagues ahead, thanks to his allies and more prepared state. Thus it was that he was able to see the man¡¯s cultivation unraveling. It wasn¡¯t a complete breakdown of his cultivation, but John was fairly certain he had dropped down a rank. At the very least, he had moved from the end of the rank to the beginning. His cultivation had only been clear to John for a brief moment when he dove into the depths of the man¡¯s dantian, and that hadn¡¯t been John¡¯s focus. The rate of the unraveling seemed to be slowing down, so John imagined he would only drop one or two ranks further in total¡­ but that could be years of work in total. No wonder he was so focused on John, which was exactly why John was comfortable running through the ranks of the Tenebach clan with the man chasing him. He was never really focused on anything in his way enough to cut them down with force that would be guaranteed to kill them. Incapacitate them, certainly, and John imagined some people had died¡­ but in a battle with Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, it was expected that some merely at Soul Expansion would die. John didn¡¯t enjoy sacrificing others for himself, but they made the choice- and he did his best to augment the flow of the formation towards them when he could. He was working his way through the battlefield towards a specific spot, keeping the man focused on him and trying to blur the rest. His first thought had been Luctus or Johannes, but if the man made the right choice and joined the fight against them with one of the other Consolidated Souls, it would shift the balance against them. A few moments later, John found himself up against the wall of a shack where the miners had been living. It was wide enough that he had a long way to go around in either direction, and no time to do either. Even so, he broke to the right. As expected, a spear was thrusting towards him, cutting off his path. The attack wasn¡¯t so committed that it couldn¡¯t redirect with him, either. John gathered as much of the surrounding energy from Tenebach members that he could, his sword sweeping the spear to the side. The moment the man tried to pull it back, his free hand grasped onto it. Even if he¡¯d been augmented by a properly arranged formation instead of the current chaotically arranged one, John knew he couldn¡¯t win a contest of strength with the man. But he didn¡¯t have to win. He just had to delay him for a moment and make him focus on pulling his spear away. His plan half worked. Finding that John was gripping onto his spear tightly, he yanked to the right, pulling John along despite his resistance, before suddenly changing directions and slamming him into the wall. Through it, really. If it had been just the side, the structure would have been fairly weak- but he went straight through the corner. He was glad he had a constant amount of his earth energy devoted to defense, but he still had the wind knocked out of him. And despite the fact that he was lying on the floor barely able to move with a spear poised to stab into him, he still considered it a partial success. Because Renato was behind the man, swinging his heavy stone club towards the man¡¯s head. Even with so much of John¡¯s efforts focused on dulling the man¡¯s senses to only see him, someone of that cultivation wouldn¡¯t completely miss an incoming attack. He tilted his head and body so the blow only came down on his shoulder¡­ which meant that the cracking of the corner of the building, John¡¯s ribs, and his own shoulder happened nearly simultaneously. John was a bit disappointed in Renato¡¯s hit. Not because of any fault with his friend, but against a lesser opponent it might have taken the arm off instead of just breaking it, despite the blunt nature of the weapon. But the man¡¯s right arm still hung useless, which afforded John just enough time to roll out of the way when he stabbed with only his left hand towards him. A simultaneous kick towards Renato forced him to take a step back, but failed to cause any real damage. With his energy in disarray and a sudden injury, he wasn¡¯t nearly as effective as he could have been. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. It didn¡¯t hurt that the Tenebach clan members and the reinforcements from the Amber Heart were peppering him and the others with attacks, having defeated most of the enemy forces. He could dodge some of them and tough his way through others, but when Renato was joined by his two personal guards and Aydan stepped up from behind, he found himself in a sorry state. Enough that John focused on picking himself up and sorting out his ribs rather than pushing to rejoin the battle immediately. He was glad he did, because he got to watch Renato fight. John was aware that he himself had accomplished some pretty crazy things during his time in this world, but Renato¡¯s attacks still impressed him. There was a certain expertise behind them that had developed significantly from when they had first fought, and John wondered if he could currently match him. It looked like he had been holding back in recent spars. The first Consolidated Soul opponent to fall was the one the Head of the Order of the Amber Heart was fighting. Johannes wielded his bare fists like heavy maces, slamming them into the sword-whip user repeatedly. The weapon itself had been torn asunder some time before, and while the man had backup weapons he didn¡¯t have any backup bones, and he was quickly running out of non-broken varieties. After his fall, the others realized they would have to retreat. However, they were hemmed in by the reinforcements- and the realization came too late. They had miscalculated the forces that would be present, from the number of people John brought with him to Luctus¡¯ presence and status as a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. They might have dealt with either him or Johannes, but the combined forces of the Tenebach Clan and the Amber Heart were too much. The local earth cultivators that were posing as the miners weren¡¯t sufficient to make up the difference by a long shot. Johannes went from defeating his opponent to helping Renato crush his. With only Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, they were at more risk of death even if they outnumbered the man. But the addition of Johannes to the fight tipped it from a slowly gathering victory to a landslide, with the man¡¯s legs being swept out from under him- only to be broken a moment later by heavy stomps. His arm followed immediately, but the kick to his head was much more gentle. It left it relatively intact¡­ and much more capable of being interrogated later. As Johannes started charging towards the final Consolidated Soul Phase enemy, the man wielding daggers, his mere presence provided enough distraction for Luctus to land a decisive blow, half impaling the man. With the major players defeated, the rest either quickly surrendered or died, if they hadn¡¯t already. John smiled. It was good to see a plan come together. It wasn¡¯t all his plan, but he¡¯d been a key player in the setup. Bait that was strong enough to spring the trap and to survive the initial contact. But if there really was spirit darkness in this mine in any significant quantities, he could be more than that soon. He only needed to advance a couple more ranks before he could step into the Consolidated Soul Phase. Of course, stepping into the next Phase was bound to be anything but trivial. ----- With everyone dead or captured, the time came to bind wounds and search for information, in that order. John was quite glad that broken ribs were easier to fix in this world. All he had to do was use some spiritual energy and he could piece them back together, good as new. Well, still looking far too much like a thousand piece puzzle, but in a state where they could begin healing at least. Moving around was painful, but knowing that everything was in the right spot really made him feel better about the whole thing. All he had to do was coax it to heal, and he¡¯d be better in a week or two instead of months like the process would normally take. As for the information, obviously it was clear that the Society of Midnight was involved. The questions were if there really was any significant quantity of spirit darkness, who the local earth cultivators were, and if this could all be tied to Bashkim. A single forged letter wouldn¡¯t necessarily be enough, so searching through pockets and storage bags was high on the list. As expected, most people had nothing of interest- but the few storage bags were property of the Consolidated Soul Phase members of the Society of Midnight. Obviously they had not fully considered the possibility of losing, because they had a few letters that hadn¡¯t been destroyed. Whether or not they could be used to fully wipe out Bashkim was another question. Sadly they didn¡¯t openly discuss murder or anything of the sort, but secretly working with agents from another country was looked down upon. Funnily enough, the Diamond Trading Company might not have cared if he worked with them openly- but the rest of the Stone Conglomerate would have been less receptive to those from the Darklands. As all countries with old borders, conflicts had been regular throughout history. Even if most of the resources each side would covet were within their borders, neither side was exclusively earth or darkness element, nor were their cultivators. As for the mines, it appeared they had been emptied long before. Yet there was still a nugget of truth to the deceptive letter, because an enterprising soul had gone into the old abandoned mine and uncovered some deeper ¡®veins¡¯ of spirit darkness that had built up in the empty area. They weren¡¯t terribly rich, but it was worth the effort to retrieve them. As for the local earth cultivators, they couldn¡¯t protest the Tenebach clan taking over- as they had been part of the ambush against them. They weren¡¯t a large sect, so the offer of the job by the Society of Midnight and Bashkim had been too much to pass up. John was glad that some things were resolved, and perhaps they might even complete the take down of Bashkim- but the Society of Midnight had more irons in the fire. Even if they couldn¡¯t act freely in the Stone Conglomerate, they had considerable strength to make use of. The Tenebach clan would need more than just Luctus to hold them up, and John intended to be one of the next Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators to do so. Chapter 119 As they were returning home, John wondered how his friend Renato got so strong. From being on the same level- alright, with Renato outclassing him in Spiritual Collection Phase but ultimately accepting a draw- to Renato being able to stand against Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators on his own, even if just for a few moments. John fought against them in the same battle with the power of a formation on his side, but the two cultivators with Renato were simply serving as backup and not augmenting his own ability. Even if John had only managed to match Renato through grit and a bit of trickery at first, after obtaining more totems and growing their power he should have matched him more closely. And he did, until recently. John wasn¡¯t willing to accept that Renato just hadn¡¯t been taking him seriously, because the man had no reason to fake that. Others might do so for the young master of the Tenebach clan, but John thought he knew him well enough that he wouldn¡¯t care about that. Ultimately John couldn¡¯t find an answer, but if his friend was really who John thought he was¡­ getting the answer should be a matter of straightforwardly asking. John pulled Renato aside from the others with the excuse of discussing cultivation techniques, which might not even be incorrect. ¡°I noticed your strength has increased significantly lately,¡± John began. ¡°Yours as well,¡± Renato replied. ¡°The way your energy infiltrated that elder was masterful.¡± His words indicated he was doing more than just being polite, but John didn¡¯t particularly feel it at the moment. ¡°That is true, but I am not able to stand against a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator under my own power. Trust me, I tried it.¡± John tapped his chest where he still had a scar on the right side. All the actual damage to his muscles and lungs had been repaired and it was simply superficial, but he restrained himself from completely restoring the skin so he would have a reminder. ¡°Perhaps this is just a naive thought to justify my own talent, but I feel like there¡¯s some secret to your recent change. Of course, if it is actually a secret you aren¡¯t obligated to tell me anything about it.¡± ¡°It is indeed a secret, but nothing I can impart upon you,¡± Renato shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just that I recently got a few decades of cultivation experience.¡± From others, John might have assumed his words to be a joke- or something less than a straightforward explanation. ¡°I don¡¯t quite get it. Did you find some mystic tomb and inherit the memories of another cultivator?¡± Renato shook his head, ¡°No. I just started remembering my experiences from a previous life.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± John said flatly. ¡°Are you saying¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m reincarnated.¡± Renato shrugged, ¡°I suppose almost everyone is, but I am one of those who happens to remember it. I was just unable to access most of the memories before my cultivation reached late Soul Expansion Phase.¡± ¡°That seems like a big secret,¡± John noted. ¡°Your sect may wish to keep it under wraps.¡± ¡°Indeed they do,¡± Renato nodded. ¡°But it is my secret, and I believe you are probably not the type to chop me up to try to learn something from my corpse. And even if you were that type, I know for certain you wouldn¡¯t do it to a friend.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t chop up anyone looking for secrets of reincarnation,¡± John said. ¡°Sets a bad precedent. People might want to do the same to transmigrators like myself.¡± ¡°Ah, that explains it,¡± Renato nodded. John waited for him to say more, but it seemed he required some prompting. ¡°What does that explain, specifically?¡± ¡°Why your cultivation path is so odd. Very few would have considered it in any circumstances, let alone when they have a guaranteed measure of success in a simpler avenue of training, as the young master of a clan.¡± Renato nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think you wouldn¡¯t be stronger if you had trained purely in darkness.¡± ¡°Right now¡­ yeah,¡± John nodded. ¡°I¡¯d be stronger. But I don¡¯t think by much. If¡­ when I break through to Consolidated Soul Phase, I don¡¯t think that will be true.¡± ¡°And yet,¡± Renato pointed out, ¡°It was a pretty bold assumption that you would surpass where you clan head was when you began your journey of cultivation.¡± ¡°Probably, yeah,¡± John shrugged. ¡°But I couldn¡¯t help it¡­ this path called to me.¡± ¡°Maybe people miss that call,¡± Renato replied. ¡°Do they miss it, or just not get lucky enough to have it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m of the opinion that everyone has a chance to hear that call of fate, though perhaps not in every life. But I know now why we met as we did.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I still don¡¯t believe in fate,¡± John remarked. ¡°But you would say you believe that spiritual energy draws people of great power together, for good or ill. And something guides people.¡± John frowned, ¡°Then would you say it was the fate of those cultivators from the Society of Midnight to die at our hands?¡± ¡°It certainly seems to be the case, yes,¡± Renato shrugged, ¡°Though that¡¯s one of the more boring applications. But let me ask. You speak of transmigration. Perhaps we have different meanings, but that would be a soul entering a body that was not their own after death, correct? Were you not a cultivator of some renown?¡± ¡°I was the manager of a fast food place,¡± John answered. ¡°I¡­ can explain that later. But basically I was in another world until I died¡­ and then somehow took over the body of the dead Fortkran Tenebach.¡± ¡°May I ask¡­ when this happened?¡± Renato seemed a little bit nervous, which was quite odd for him. ¡°Some months before we met in the Crystal Caverns. Up until then¡­ well, I¡¯m sure you at least heard some of the rumors.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I discounted them as being slander.¡± ¡°They were mostly true, for my former self.¡± ¡°So¡­ what was your name? I understand it would be most convenient to continue to refer to you as Fortkran, but I am curious.¡± ¡°John,¡± he replied. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Renato replied. ¡°That was something I remembered from very early on. I was quite insistent that people call me Renato, and nobody does differently. Except my parents.¡± John nodded. ¡°Well, Renato it is then. And it would probably be best to keep calling me Fortkran. That¡¯s¡­ also my name now.¡± There wasn¡¯t much else to say in the conversation. Now they both knew a secret of each other, and nothing was different for it. It did explain why Renato was so awkwardly formal about everything though. Still, that was another one. Was everyone some sort of reincarnated or transmigrated person? Obviously not. In fact, John only knew a few including himself. And it wasn¡¯t terribly strange that such people would take notice of each other. Besides, such things were known factors in this world- if rare. ----- Matayal answered John¡¯s question straightforwardly. ¡°No, I¡¯m not reincarnated or transmigrated. That I remember.¡± ¡°That honestly makes me feel better. It just seemed like there were too many members of the club.¡± ¡°Do I get to know who else you found?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask about sharing it, so I¡¯m going to go with it being secret for now. If a relevant situation comes up I¡¯ll be glad to share the information of course. Keeping secrets for non-family can only go so far.¡± John was sitting on a wide couch next to Matayal. She had been visibly pregnant for some time, but the swelling of her belly was now undeniable and huge. ¡°I missed you. For multiple reasons.¡± ¡°Oh? I¡¯d like to hear all of them.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± John smiled. ¡°First, because I love you. I just like being with you. Then there are the more practical reasons. I¡¯m not nearly as good in a fight without you.¡± ¡°Same here,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°That may be true, but I felt especially unbalanced. I¡¯m looking forward to roaming the world with you again.¡± John sighed, ¡°Though we won¡¯t get to do all that much of that for a while, will we?¡± ¡°When we take over our clans, we will be entitled to some amount of travel for cultivation. But it will certainly have to be carefully constructed. Not that we were exactly free to do whatever we wanted before.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, we¡¯ve always had responsibilities¡­ but they were rather smaller in preparation for this.¡± Matayal smiled at John, ¡°If it helps, I think you¡¯ve already been fulfilling the necessary roles quite well. Leading people in battle, making decisions about political factors¡­ misleading people in auctions.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to assume those are all positives,¡± John grinned back. ¡°But I still don¡¯t feel qualified.¡± ¡°Why not? You¡¯re strong and competent at management. Many groups only end up with one of those in their leadership.¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± John shrugged, ¡°But having encountered people who are stronger, I feel like I¡¯m not enough.¡± ¡°And how old were those people?¡± Matayal asked pointedly. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know,¡± John frowned. ¡°Not young.¡± ¡°Exactly. Look, if you get defeated by someone your age, you¡¯re allowed a little bit of stress, but if you weave your way around those much older than yourself and come away with ¡®only¡¯ ripping out a shard empowering their cultivation you don¡¯t get to worry about such things.¡± John briefly wondered if he could count Renato, but decided it didn¡¯t matter. He just needed affirmation sometimes. On that note¡­ ¡°So, how are you doing?¡± He wanted to ask about the kids too, but Matayal wasn¡¯t just pregnant, but also a person separate from that. The answer for the kids was pretty apparent anyway. ¡°Bored,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°I¡¯m ready for all of this,¡± she gestured to her belly, ¡°To be done. Constant busywork keeping the flows of energy steady mixed with nothing occupying my time.¡± John mentally noted the books on cultivation around her, but knew those weren¡¯t much good for entertainment. And potentially just frustrating, if she couldn¡¯t practice anything they taught. ¡°We need to get some board games.¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite tired of chess, thank you. My mind is sufficiently clear.¡± The version of chess in this world wasn¡¯t quite the same, but it fit into the same category of the much older board games. Simplistic but significantly deep to expand the mind. ¡°I was thinking of something else. Unfortunately I don¡¯t know anything well enough to recreate it. Except perhaps some card games, but I don¡¯t think Go Fish counts as¡­ anything, really.¡± There were plenty of other forms of entertainment available, but most of them involved leaving the home¡­ and for Matayal, that was a risk at the moment. There was basically no worry of an accident happening, but given the ongoing conflicts¡­ accidents were pretty far from anyone¡¯s concerns. ¡°Tell me about these games,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear it.¡± ¡°Alright, time for my favorite pastime. Trying to explain things that you think are fun but don¡¯t remember that well.¡± But John was actually quite happy to do his best. Talking about Earth was like having his own huge well of imagination to pull from. A world not focused on cultivation was radically different, especially with what they considered entertainment. Some time later they did get to talking about the kids- who were extremely healthy and active. ¡°Sometimes I swear they¡¯re wrestling each other,¡± Matayal sighed. ¡°I have to form barriers between them to prevent any accidents from happening. They¡¯re weaker than first rank cultivators, but it¡¯s tiring watching them all the time. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back to help, since I¡¯m not so good with managing the girls.¡± Those two were earth and darkness, so it made since she found it more difficult. ¡°The boy is¡­ well, he got an early boost from our time in the Shimmering Islands. But I think he might be falling behind. The formations here are excellent, but it¡¯s not quite the same. I was thinking to travel back home to give birth, right near the end to hopefully stabilize things. I don¡¯t want any of them to have a disadvantage.¡± ¡°Even as they are, I imagine they¡¯ll be anything but normal compared to most people¡­ but I agree that our children should all have the best chance we can provide. And while it would be nice to be fair¡­¡± John frowned. ¡°The girl who is trending towards earth will find things quite different than the other two.¡± ¡°Absolutely. We talked about making sure everyone sees both clans regularly. She¡¯ll be fine here, since the Stone Conglomerate is an optimal cultivation environment¡­ but she¡¯ll need teachers.¡± John nodded, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be hard to get them, and the Order of the Amber Heart might be willing to teach her as well, but I¡¯d like if we were as active in that process as we can be. I can teach some earth techniques at least, but I¡¯m not much good for basing a cultivation style off of.¡± Both of them knew that any plans they made for their children¡¯s future would probably fall apart on contact with the real world, but it was still better to make the plans. They could only do their best, and deal with problems as they came up. Chapter 120 When John had first arrived in the world and begun cultivating from scratch, each rank had come quickly. Not only was he drawing upon memories of previous experience, but he had access to abundant spiritual energy. Each rank was also less impactful, but he rose quickly. It had only been a matter of months before he ¡®returned¡¯ to the boundary between Spiritual Collection Phase and Foundation Phase, a boundary he¡¯d broken through quickly out of necessity in the Crystal Caverns. During the duration of Matayal¡¯s pregnancy- nearly eight months now- he had so far only advanced two ranks. More like one and a half, and he was currently at rank twenty-six. That was still quite rapid in the grand scheme of things, but it indicated he couldn¡¯t expect to advance more than a couple ranks in the next year. That was ignoring the barrier between Soul Expansion Phase and Consolidated Soul Phase, and he absolutely had to consider that. Most cultivators in Marble County would never make it past that point, after all. That was why Johannes Dalen¡¯s breakthrough had been a big deal, and why his own grandfather¡¯s advancement was so important to the clan. The breakthrough was partly made possible by the first shard of Ciaritzal, the guardian beast, that John had happened to stumble across. Now that he¡¯d gotten a second, future generations were liable to be more secure in their strength. It would be a decade at least before there was another empowerment ceremony, but even just being able to train in the cave was of great benefit to those who had the privilege. John was one of them, of course. His personal affinity for the guardian beast made him quite comfortable, and his status in the clan allowed him access whenever he wished. Or at least, whenever he had free time- which was not the same. The Tenebach clan wasn¡¯t a monolithic entity that required constant work to keep running, but there were decisions that had to be made. John¡¯s father Gerben was taking care of much of the administrative side, but he still needed to know how it worked himself, and get some practical experience in the area. For the moment, though, he had some free time to cultivate. Rather than increasing his rank, he was focusing on his totems. To fully implement his cultivation plan, he needed them to increase to the fourth level before he reached Consolidated Soul Phase. Though he could potentially attune to a higher tier totem for his fourth, keeping them all balanced had worked well for him so far and he didn¡¯t want to break that cycle. The darkness around him fed into the Tree of Darkness. It was now well beyond being a seed or a mere sapling. Its power synchronized with the other totems which he humbly called ¡®Compost¡¯ and ¡®Atmosphere¡¯. While they didn¡¯t have the world-shattering impact of a mountain and a storm, as their power grew their meek origins didn¡¯t reflect their true power. They were the basis for all forms of control over earth and air, and their power was in the synergy with his other totems. With the addition of the water element from Matayal, he had a full cycle of allied elements- darkness, earth, and water. Air also fit into that cycle, but it became somewhat lopsided. Though it could augment water as it fed into darkness and earth, it wasn¡¯t the same as completing a full cycle of the core elements which also had to filter through fire. Inside of John¡¯s dantian there were no seasons, but there was a regular process of growth and decay, the trees leaves dropping to the ground to become soil, while its facsimile of photosynthesis in a world without a proper sun also augmented air. It functioned all on its own without John¡¯s input, but when he was manually affecting things he could tweak the balance to be most optimal, as well as speeding the process. He was doing that now, pushing all of his totems towards the next tier. They already had much of the power they would have upon reaching that tier, but John knew the growth would be significantly more than just the few percent difference in growth between third and fourth tier. Even if it only made him a handful of percent stronger all at once, every edge mattered in battle. The chances of John not needing to fight more in the near future were zero- the Society of Midnight wasn¡¯t just going to disappear, and while they were the Tenebach Clan¡¯s most open enemy, any clan would have rivals. If Matayal was around, John knew he could push his totems over the edge more quickly. But he was aware that relying on her water element would ultimately cause him trouble. Even if neither of them had any intention to be apart, and there was nothing wrong with relying on others¡­ circumstances could force their hand. So while the idea of attuning to a fire element totem still floated around in John¡¯s mind, he knew it wasn¡¯t quite practical. He was sort of hoping for a good excuse to do it still, but his logical mind knew that the shortcut could have disastrous results if it didn¡¯t work out. Being patient for nearly seven years had worked so far, and it was best to stick with it. ----- Healthy communication was important for relationships to last, and that went beyond just the personal level. Though ultimately, it was individuals who had to pass along the information, and more importantly request it. ¡°So just to be clear,¡± John asked. ¡°The Brandle clan doesn¡¯t have any sort of guardian beast or water element artifacts that are giving them a huge leg up in the Shimmering Islands, right?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Matayal nodded seriously. ¡°We¡¯re a newer clan, after all. Our influence mainly comes from my grandfather.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s stuck at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase¡­¡± John pondered. ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a problem. While the marriage alliance and our leadership should be strong enough to keep things together, I would rather we not end up with an imbalance of power that causes people to be resentful. Both of us have previously spoken with Netanel about it, but do you have any ideas that might help? Besides the freedom that would come from you taking over as clan head, of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had some ideas,¡± Matayal replied, ¡°But nothing concrete yet. It does concern me as well. There¡¯s potential for an alliance with the Mulyani clan, but with her having reached Consolidated Soul Phase as well that makes it all the more important for him to advance. That would do enough to solidify our position for a few generations, I think.¡± ¡°Given your grandfather¡¯s nature, I expect that once we relieve the pressure of politics and give him some time to relax, he will likely advance without issue. Your own advancement would also do just as well to solidify your clan¡¯s status.¡± ¡°But people would say it was because I married into the Tenebach clan for resources that I needed. And if we continue to travel back and forth, even irregularly, it would be better to have a beacon of strength at the clan at all times. But everything that involves my own action¡­ kind of has to wait.¡± Matayal gestured to her belly. ¡°It won¡¯t be long now. I would prefer not to go galavanting off and leave our children behind, but the two of us will be more effective together, and some of the potential plans might require us in particular.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. John nodded. ¡°Just keep me informed. Everyone will feel better when he¡¯s gotten the opportunity to break through. Everyone we care about, anyway. Our various opponents will be significantly less thrilled, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°How unfortunate to be our enemies in the coming days,¡± Matayal grinned. ----- ¡°You¡¯re a hard person to contact,¡± John commented to Steve. ¡°Frankly, I¡¯m surprised you got my message at all.¡± ¡°Yustina decided that she should show up back home at the Milanovics, and one of your messages reached me that way,¡± Steve nodded seriously. ¡°So what¡¯s this about a fancy headband?¡± John held it up, dangling it from one finger. ¡°Helps with overheating,¡± he commented. ¡°And this can all be yours for the low, low price of bodyguard duty.¡± ¡°You do know me, right?¡± Steve asked. ¡°That¡¯s basically asking for something to go wrong.¡± He did look at the headband with interest though. ¡°All I ask is that you don¡¯t burn down anything important,¡± John commented. ¡°Hey, I have better control than that¡­¡± Steve grimaced. ¡°Unless things escalate significantly. But around here? Things look pretty solid.¡± ¡°They are, but you still need to be cautious. I¡¯d be quite upset if you burned down a building on top of Matayal.¡± ¡°Ah, is she who I¡¯m guarding?¡± ¡°This is where she¡¯s staying,¡± John nodded. ¡°We need you to guard for a few more weeks. Until she''s given birth, you understand.¡± ¡°I usually don¡¯t stay anywhere that long these days,¡± Steve shrugged, ¡°But for you? I think I can. But what about you?¡± ¡°Unfortunately,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ll be out of town for a while. I might not be back soon.¡± John pulled out an envelope. ¡°If you need to contact me, you can open this.¡± ¡°Is this the kind of message that self-destructs after you read it?¡± Steve asked, ¡°Because it feels like a secret message.¡± ¡°It kind of is, yeah. But it won¡¯t destroy itself. Nobody else should be able to read it. For certain reasons I can¡¯t leave information about my travels with the clan as a whole. My grandfather will be aware, but also not present.¡± ¡°Oof. That¡¯s a lot of pressure on me,¡± Steve said. ¡°I believe you can do it,¡± John said. ¡°You have all the right qualities, and I can trust you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Steve nodded. John immediately tossed him the headband. ¡°Ooh. Cold. That¡¯s¡­ unexpected?¡± ¡°I had the same reaction,¡± John nodded. Steve tied it around his head. ¡°Ah, I get it. Heat dissipation. That¡¯s actually really useful.¡± He smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can count on me here. Even without the headband but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s best not to take advantage of friends,¡± John grinned back. ¡°I think I might still owe you after this, but that should at least bring us closer to balanced.¡± ----- Being a guard was boring. At least Steve didn¡¯t have to stand still in front of a door. He did that sometimes, but most of his time was patrolling the halls, or the outside of the living quarters. Only a few people were staying in the rooms other than Matayal, so it felt rather empty. Without John and his grandfather around, it was mostly John¡¯s parents and a few elders. But Steve wasn¡¯t responsible for any of them, but just the suite that John and Matayal shared. Clan affairs were difficult. Steve had been lucky to stay out of them, but leaving a pregnant woman alone in her room during the last days of her pregnancy seemed wrong. What sort of important business could John be up to? It didn¡¯t help that Matayal wanted to be left alone, all locked up in her room. But it was just kind of pitiful. Even her spiritual energy felt weaker, from the snippets Steve could sense. He¡¯d have to talk with John about this later. Sure, he wasn¡¯t the one who was married¡­ but he would have thought his transmigrated friend would have certain standards. Steve didn¡¯t know what he was watching for. Enemies of the clan, obviously, but who could get so far inside the clan? The answer to that came one night when Steve nearly ran into a woman sneaking through the corridors. She blended in with the shadows and carefully slipped out of his way, but Steve wasn¡¯t the sort to do his guard duties half-baked. He had a cloak of heat around him, and when it was disrupted he knew someone was there. He hesitated for a second, as a darkness element cultivator might belong, but decided there was an easy solution. The corridor was filled with flames and light, piercing through the veil of darkness and revealing a woman. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Steve asked, blue flames licking up the walls around him. The woman was in late Soul Expansion Phase, similar to himself- and the fact that he didn¡¯t recognize her made her position pretty clear. Perhaps realizing an explanation wouldn¡¯t help, the woman just sprinted past him, heading for the door to Matayal¡¯s chambers. Not that it would open so easily for someone not authorized to enter, but left unchecked someone of that power could break through. Blue flames followed her down the corridor in a calculated flow, rushing to cut her off at the door. A moment later, Steve had hemmed in the woman so that her easiest option was to face him directly. She cloaked herself in a swirl of darkness thicker but more obvious- he couldn¡¯t tell her exact position, but that hardly even mattered. He just filled the area with flame and charged forward. A dagger thrust at him from the darkness but extending her arm away from her side left it vulnerable to the hungry flames. Steve reveled in his new headband, as he might have already started overheating without it, with the surrounding walls reflecting the heat back to him. He and his opponent moved back and forth, testing each other. Steve knew he was stronger, and he also wasn¡¯t concerned about drawing attention. Backup would be here in a few moments. He could afford to take his time¡­ until another figure dashed towards the door. That caused Steve to do something a bit excessive. He¡¯d been holding back so that he didn¡¯t burn down the structure- even reinforced it wasn¡¯t made to withstand peak Soul Expansion Phase battles, and fire was catching all of the wooden parts of the structure, licking flames between the stones. For a moment he stopped considering not burning those things, and the force of his flames forced the woman back into her compatriot¡­ and both of them were flung- on fire- into the suite where Matayal was staying. But at least it was a step better than it collapsing on top of her while on fire. That could still happen, but Steve was more worried about the two flaming darkness cultivators sprinting towards the back room. He chased after them without regard for the surroundings growing ever more on fire around him. Chapter 121 Two flaming cultivators ran into the suite. Steve knew they were intent on killing Matayal inside, but everyone also instinctively wanted to live. Thus, they were devoting a good portion of their energy to try to stop themselves from being on fire- but if his blue flames were so easy to put out, he would have hardly bothered putting so much effort into them. At a certain point anything could catch on fire, even other forms of spiritual energy- though it was far from a self-sustaining reaction in the long run. Steve rushed after them, but something was wrong. They burst through the door ahead of him into a small private dining room, where a figure lay unconscious on the floor. He couldn¡¯t catch them before they were in range to attack, throwing darts that were undoubtedly laced with further poison. He kicked out, another wave of flame washing over the two- but their attacks had already landed. The situation continued to feel wrong when their attacks were blocked by a bubble of water forming around the prone form, and a figure Steve barely recognized stood up. To be fair, he¡¯d only met Matayal on a handful of occasions¡­ but he knew her face well enough. If that wasn¡¯t sufficient, the fact that the woman was very clearly not pregnant was also an important factor. No wonder her energy hadn¡¯t felt quite right. Steve¡¯s response to the deception was to continue to throw more fire at the two cultivators in front of him, the first of whose right sleeve was burnt off, revealing one of her arms. The arm itself was only minimally burnt for the moment, but Steve would fix that. As for the two darkness cultivators, they hesitated. It was only a moment, but it was enough for the second cultivator to be half a step short of dodging a spear thrust into his gut, stabbing through the right side of his abdomen as he moved. Dodging backwards would have just put him closer to Steve and still resulted in his impalement. In the interest of finishing things quickly, Steve focused his attention on the first cultivator he¡¯d seen. He charged forward towards her, reaching for her arm. She had failed to keep her focus on the concealing effects that made it hard for him to target precisely, and by the time she began to spin around it was too late. Even her dagger trying to drive into Steve¡¯s wrist only penetrated skin deep. She had the option to twist and try to push it deeper, but elected to withdraw to try to save one of her hands. That effort was momentarily effective, but even as Steve started to char the bones of her other arm he pulled her closer, slinging an arm around her neck from behind. Fire coated them both, but he was in control of it and it enveloped her entirely. With her defensive energy in disarray, she was unable to reform it in time to save herself. All that remained moments later was a charred corpse. Steve hoped the other one knew just as much as she did, because obviously there would be no interrogation there. The man happened to no longer be on fire, though Steve honestly couldn¡¯t say if that was a benefit to him. The woman he barely remembered- Livna- had spread her water energy to cover herself and her foe. It augmented her movements while restricting his, and the initial injury he¡¯d taken put him on the back foot. Even before Steve came up behind him, it was obvious he wasn¡¯t going to make it. Perhaps he was never meant to make it, because by the time he seemed to think to run, additional reinforcements had already shown up. They were superfluous though. Steve had already whacked the guy on the back of the head, simple enough to do with him focusing on another opponent and injured. Steve reached into his storage bag. It was specially made to resist the effects of flame like everything else he had- because even his own control of energy wasn¡¯t perfect. He looked at the letter John had given him, really just a piece of paper with a few sentences in English. He needed to know what was going on. ¡°Sorry, but your princess is in another castle.¡± Steve sighed. The rest of the letter explained a bit more, but he basically got the idea anyway. ----- ¡°How do you think things are going back at the clan?¡± John asked Matayal. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to rebuild our suite,¡± she replied coolly. ¡°Hopefully the fire will be contained to the less expensive parts,¡± John shrugged. ¡°But there¡¯s also some chance that nothing happens.¡± ¡°With Lucanus there?¡± Matayal raised an eyebrow. ¡°He seems like the type to attract trouble.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s more like revealing trouble that was already going to happen,¡± John frowned. ¡°People looking for conflict just do it more easily with him around. Doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s a conscious decision on their part or not.¡± ¡°Do you think Livna will be fine?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°I hope so,¡± John said. ¡°She should be able to defend herself from most threats, so it¡¯s mostly a matter of whether or not she properly checks everything for poison.¡± ¡°I thought you trusted the kitchen staff.¡± ¡°Oh, absolutely. The suppliers on the other hand¡­ my dad had some suspicions about one. They stepped up to provide some of the more exotic things you¡¯ve been requesting lately.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Matayal hung her head. ¡°Hey, pregnancy cravings are normal. It¡¯s just that you happened to have more knowledge of obscure things that you might want and ways to access them.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°So, how would suppliers be involved in this? I would think it would be pretty obvious if they just gave us poisoned ingredients. I hope this doesn¡¯t affect anyone else.¡± ¡°Just Livna,¡± John said. ¡°And it should just be having to eat weird stuff for a couple weeks. The art of poisons is quite developed in the Darklands, including methods to have concoctions that only become poison when combined. Preferably after being eaten and while being digested. They can be detected separately, but they won¡¯t have the same sort of feeling of danger. That¡¯s the idea, anyway. They might not even try it.¡± ¡°So if this suspicious supplier sets something up, you then go in and wipe out their local branch for ties to the Society of Midnight?¡± ¡°Oh no. You know us better than that. We¡¯ll do something much worse. We¡¯ll get them audited. We¡¯re keeping careful track of exactly what we get and when.¡± While there were somewhat relaxed laws with regards to shipping, given that each city or county was in the control of different sects or clans, working alone or as a group¡­ it also meant that when investigations happened a widespread shipping company could find themself running afoul of dozens of different local laws they hadn¡¯t been in complete compliance of. The Tenebach clan only operated in Marble County and any shipping of spirit stones was handled by the groups they sold to. ¡°That¡¯s pretty evil,¡± she admitted. ¡°And any of their supporters won¡¯t be able to say you overreacted to a simple attempted poisoning.¡± ¡°It¡¯s bound to cost them more than one local branch is worth just to fix or cover up every little thing they have wrong, even if there¡¯s no solid connection found to murderous foreign sects,¡± John grinned. Though they¡¯d left the Tenebach clan separately- Matayal sneaking out with only a few specific people being aware and John riding openly in a different direction- through a series of convoluted trades of carriages and the like they were now traveling in a ¡®new¡¯ carriage that the Tenebach clan had never used before. ¡°I wish we didn¡¯t have to do this,¡± Matayal sighed. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to hear me complain about trying to achieve elemental balance,¡± John said. ¡°Especially for the sake of our children. And if all goes well with the travel, it will be safer for them to be born in the Shimmering Islands.¡± That was the point at which something would have gone wrong, if the world were a little bit more cruel- or perhaps if they had been a little bit less well prepared. But they had all of the guards that had gone with John, as well as some that had been waiting for Matayal outside of the clan for the initial leg of her journey. The only people who knew the whole plan were extremely well trusted. All of that, just to go on a journey that had been done many times before. ----- If there was one ship that the Tenebach and Brandle clans would trust, it would be the Wavecutter. Years of history built up a solid working relationship, and they were good at what they did. Which was to be a ship that went from place to place in the Shimmering Islands swiftly. It didn¡¯t necessarily sound like something amazing, but it was worthy of praise. Even if John had seen the other ship tailing it out of the port, he wouldn¡¯t have been worried. And that wasn¡¯t just because he wasn¡¯t on the Wavecutter. It was also because Captain Sohan was heading straight for the nearest storm, and the Wavecutter was swift enough it was nearly impossible to catch them before then without being literally attached to them upon leaving the harbor. The ¡®ship¡¯ John was actually getting on was much less trusted, though the one controlling it he would bet his life on. Which was good, because that¡¯s basically what they were doing as they climbed down the cliffs a good distance away from Dolomite Harbor, finding their way to the small boat that waited below. ¡°I see you got an upgrade,¡± John commented on the boat as they got close enough to easily converse with Kusuma who was standing in it. ¡°Of course,¡± the old woman grinned widely. ¡°Did you think I¡¯d bring a pregnant woman with me on that little dinghy?¡± John refrained from comment. ¡°Besides, it can¡¯t really hold up to my maximum speed now.¡± The boat was still basically just a mast and sail, but it was at least a little bit wider and more spacious, which was good because John, Matayal, and Aydan all needed to fit in with Kusuma. It was far too late for John to wonder if they needed all these layers of deception. If one or two layers was good, three or four were better. And underestimating the Society of Midnight at this moment would have resulted in the disaster they sought to cause. Matayal settled into the boat nervously. ¡°Normally I don¡¯t have trouble with boats, but at the current moment¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Kusuma said gently. ¡°I promise it will be the smoothest ride of your life.¡± There was no way Kusuma could move them along speedily and perfectly fulfill her promise, but it was extremely close. Some rocking and bumps were inevitable on the sea, especially over long distances. Smaller boats felt it worse, and going so fast that John could have sworn he should have heard an outboard motor cranked up to its maximum didn¡¯t help. But somehow, Kusuma not only pulled in the wind to press against their sails but also created a small cushion of air under the boat to smooth out their journey. It wasn¡¯t perfect, and if John wasn¡¯t helping a bit by directly affecting the water ahead of them it could have been pretty uncomfortable¡­ but that was a thousand times better than the last time he¡¯d been in a boat with Kusuma. There was nothing technically wrong with how things had been before, but whether or not he¡¯d been safe before he felt safe on the current trip. Which was important, because his wife and their nearly-born triplets were present. The boy made himself known only a short way into their journey, greedily drinking up the water elemental spiritual energy of the Shimmering Islands. Though the formations had supplied him with what he needed, the natural density in the area seemed to suit him much better. And perhaps it was jealousy of his sisters, who had gotten ahead of him. Matayal meditated at the most stable section of the boat, her eyes closed as she helped direct the flow of energy. On a normal journey John would have needed to help her while she was asleep, and it might still be required for a brief period¡­ but at their current speed he didn¡¯t expect them to take much more than a day to arrive at the familiar islands of Pualani. Chapter 122 Though the Brandle clan didn¡¯t control most of Pualani, in general the island could be considered more secure than the Tenebach clan. At least with regards to the Society of Midnight, it was more difficult to arrive in secret as there was no unpopulated land to sneak through. While there were rival clans in the Shimmering Islands that might like to see harm come to the Brandles, they also had sufficient local alliances that it would be too risky to engage in an attack, even with the help of the Society of Midnight. And if they had sent more assassins, they would have had to do so before John and Matayal left the Tenebach clan- which as far as they knew had been kept secret. The last month of Matayal¡¯s pregnancy involved a tense period of waiting, not because they expected danger but simply because they had no idea if something might go wrong with the pregnancy. So far their children seemed vibrant and healthy, but it was hard to not worry. But ultimately, all they could do was wait. When the time came, Matayal¡¯s room was crowded with people. There was herself along with Kusuma and a trusted local midwife, Netanel, and John. Plus some assistants for the midwife who would run to fetch anything that was needed. ¡°More hot water!¡± she called out. Instead of anyone leaving to get it, Netanel easily condensed a bucket of water with his energy- and John was able to heat it. Using the fire element for an attack was quite difficult without a totem, but he had enough practice to at least warm a bucket of water- if not terribly efficiently. Instead of having to guess what was happening, spiritual energy allowed everyone to clearly sense how the three children were moving about. Somehow they seemed to know it was time, as the motions of Matayal¡¯s body only provided part of the movement required. One of the girls- the one attuned to the earth element- rapidly wiggled forward, seeming to push off of the others in her eagerness. She wormed out headfirst, exiting smoothly with only minor encouragement from Matayal¡¯s energy to ease the path. Her arms wiggled as if reaching for something before she was handed to Matayal. She was small, but not any smaller than expected for a triplet. The second girl was next, but she seemed quite a bit more contrary than the first. Though Matayal continuously coaxed her to go headfirst, she kept rotating to have her feet facing outwards. ¡°Stubborn¡­¡± Matayal complained. Her face focused on John, ¡°If you would¡­ just help push her out. Darkness energy should be best for the task, I think.¡± The second birth was nowhere as smooth as the first, but John carefully injected his energy into Matayal. He had enough power to kill strong warriors, so it wasn¡¯t a problem of not having sufficient power to force his daughter out- but avoiding hurting her was the issue. She was subconsciously absorbing a small amount of the energy he wrapped her with, but he kept a steady amount around her, slowly pushing her along. Terrible complications might have arisen if they had to rely on basic medical practices, but cultivation made it easy- if still somewhat exhausting. All that remained was the boy. He didn¡¯t eagerly rush out, nor did he stubbornly rotate himself in the wrong direction. However, he also was resistant to being moved. He seemed to find his position comfortable. But while it might have been comfortable for him, Matayal was quite ready to be done with her pregnancy. She cut off all traces of her water energy from his access, so that he would only find it outside. Muscular action finally pushed him out, in more or less the process of a normal birth with much clenching of muscles and gritted teeth. John was pretty sure Matayal broke one of the bones in hand with her tight grip on his own, but that was easily dealt with later. ¡°Their names?¡± Netanel and Kusuma both looked on eagerly. ¡°Ursel,¡± Matayal declared for the girl attuned to earth. They had discussed another name for her, but John thought it fit. ¡°The next is Melanthina. And the boy is Tirto.¡± The whole room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, as everything seemed to have gone well. The only issue was Tirto constantly absorbing a stream of water elemental spiritual energy, which was no longer so easy to control as he was now out on his own. Though in terms of births it was on the easier end- especially considering there were triplets- Matayal still needed some rest. John took the responsibility of making sure Tirto wasn¡¯t too greedy while she dozed off. ----- Though John and Matayal were reasonably certain that their children would not harm themselves by absorbing spiritual energy, it was still sensible to have them under constant watch as they were still newborns. That wasn¡¯t so difficult as they weren¡¯t restricted to just the two of them- any trusted member of the Brandle clan could watch after them, and Kusuma was interested as well despite her not being related. Neither John nor Matayal would object to having the powerful woman keep the children safe, of course. Adopted family was always a good thing to have. After a short period of recovery, Matayal was able to cultivate once more, including dual cultivation with John. Though she¡¯d had some small measure of improvement in her cultivation during pregnancy, she had avoided devoted cultivation in case it would negatively affect the children. The break in cultivation had allowed John to catch up, and now both of them were at the twenty-sixth rank. One more step to reach the peak of Soul Expansion Phase, and then they would be able to start breaking into the Consolidated Soul Phase. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Having experienced a long period of cultivation and several conflicts without Matayal being present, John continued to realize how much he had missed it. He hoped it was the same for her as well, as their energies mingled and supported each other. ----- Matayal was speaking with John about the future of their children. ¡°Things haven¡¯t gotten any simpler now that they¡¯re actually born,¡± she lamented. ¡°Now we have to actually do something instead of just thinking about it. And none of the options seem quite right.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s ever a perfect path for anyone. With the politics of clans involved¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°We just have to do the best we can. And that might involve some personal sacrifices.¡± ¡°Ursel¡¯s the biggest problem,¡± Matayal said. ¡°For the sake of their cultivation and future positions, Melanthina and Tirto will be spending the majority of time with your clan and mine, respectively. But we do want them to be familiar with their siblings and the other clan as well.¡± ¡°When they get older we might allow them to decide some of that, but we have the basic premise. Ursel would be better suited to staying in the Stone Conglomerate, but we don¡¯t want to distance the sisters from their brother.¡± ¡°Or either of us,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Since it seems likely we will be spending much of our time with our respective clans.¡± John sighed. That was the worst part. John had to take over management of the Tenebach clan at some point, and though his father and grandfather were managing the affairs just fine, for the sake of image he had to be involved, and thus present in Marble County most of the time. Even if there was some freedom, it affected potential travel. Meanwhile, Netanel needed to focus on his cultivation for the sake of the Brandle clan, and Matayal was the only one who could directly take over. They wouldn¡¯t be simply bound to their clans, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to roam freely. That also meant they would be spending more time with certain of their children than others. ¡°We should have had another,¡± John grinned. ¡°One aligned with air, maybe.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Matayal grimaced. ¡°That would have been awful. More than awful.¡± The triplets were all the elements aligned with darkness, and thus her own cultivation hadn¡¯t conflicted. But an air element child would have meant absorbing something she was weak to. She could likely have handled it, but it would have made the whole experience much worse. ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass. On any more children at all, really.¡± John nodded. ¡°It would have been nice to get just two¡­¡± That had been their plan- one to take over each clan and continue the lines, minimizing potential conflict. Now they had to hope not only that their children were suited for leadership roles, but also that Ursel was not upset at having no position for her. Or the opposite, the others jealous of her freedoms. ¡°Too bad the Order of the Amber Heart is a sect instead of a clan. We could marry her off there.¡± ¡°What about the Milanovic clan? It might be good to secure a formal alliance there,¡± John was half joking, but also half serious. To him it felt like far too early to be arranging marriages, but he had been engaged to Matayal from the time Forktran was born, more or less. ¡°It would be pretty hard on Ursel though.¡± ¡°Yes, a boundary crossing marriage like that would be difficult. She would be more comfortable at the Mulyani clan, but her husband would have to be content with empowering her cultivation, more or less.¡± ¡°The chances that any of the children will go down my path is¡­ pretty negligible I imagine,¡± John pondered. ¡°They seem pretty firmly tied to their single elements.¡± ¡°A straightforward path laid out before them, but lacking somewhat in choice. There are worse things,¡± Matayal shrugged. John thought it felt a bit problematic to try to plan their children¡¯s lives ahead of them, but it was also difficult to avoid it. Both of them wanted the best for their clans and their children¡¯s lives, and though John was born in a place where individual freedoms were paramount, he understood the responsibility people had towards a clan, especially with Fortkran¡¯s memories. Even if the previous inhabitant of his body had been rather bad at managing any responsibilities, he at least knew about them. ¡°Since there¡¯s not much we can do about them right now, except keep them safe¡­ what about us? Our cultivations, I mean,¡± John clarified. ¡°It would solidify our clan¡¯s positions if we managed to reach Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± ¡°We still have quite some time before we have to worry about that,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°I would prioritize the children and troubles with the Society of Midnight. But half a year or a year from now¡­ we should be ready.¡± ¡°I still want to attune to a fire totem to support your cultivation,¡± John explained, ¡°But I¡¯ve come to understand the practical issues there. It would depend on us being together at all times too significantly, and especially now it will be difficult. The thought of surpassing the Consolidated Soul Phase¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s very far off, even with the resources of our clans. Even reaching the latter half¡­ might not be something we can accomplish.¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°It¡¯s something we can only think about if our clans are strongly established, and our children take over¡­ our countries simply don¡¯t have the resources of density of energy required.¡± With the Consolidated Soul Phase being exceptional in the local regions- only the darklands being somewhat higher ranking but more hostile- surpassing it was unheard of. It required more than just resources and grit, but also talent. John certainly thought that he and Matayal had the talent, but he could have been overestimating them. He might ask Renato, if the man had reincarnated from another region. It seemed a sensible question to ask, but it was a bit risky to do so by letter. Even if most people wouldn¡¯t cause trouble for reincarnated people, it was better to not risk issues. And his own status was somewhat more difficult. John almost wished he were back running a burger place, but while that job hadn¡¯t been awful¡­ there was something attractive about the power he had now. The increased responsibilities and dangers were just something that came with it. Chapter 123 Everything back in Marble County should be going well. That was what John had to assume, and worrying about it would be pointless. His grandfather was there, and now in the Consolidated Soul Phase. The Tenebach clan was strong enough to defend against attacks from the Society of Midnight, unless they brought their full force to bear. But while they¡¯d managed various intrusions into the Stone Conglomerate, those could be considered relatively small in scale. Though even with their considerable power, the loss of three Consolidated Soul Phase members would be felt sorely. Four, if the long-term damage to Leutwin severely harmed his cultivation. In an open conflict they could squash the Tenebach clan, but a defensive stance provided some advantage to the Tenebachs- along with allies. Even those who weren¡¯t traditionally their allies in the region would not tolerate a full army from the Darklands making their way all the way to Marble County. With all that said, it didn¡¯t somehow make the Tenebach clan invincible. The Society of Midnight¡¯s reappearance in the affairs of the Tenebach clan indicated they were determined to cause trouble- and snatch back the family¡¯s guardian beast for their own uses. There were methods other than direct assault that the clan was still watching out for. But back in the Shimmering Islands all John had to deal with was bundles of hormones telling him to love his children. Awareness of such phenomena didn¡¯t make him reject his feelings, or he would have to push away every emotion and impulse to do anything¡­ or not do anything. That was how people worked. It just happened to be particularly useful in this case because while newborn babies were cute, they also had plenty of negative aspects to them. They cried loudly- and with triplets that was quite a bit more. Matayal had to be the one to deal with them when they were hungry. There was no formula to be had, and there were potential problems with hiring a wet nurse given the way the children were eager to absorb spiritual energy. It wasn¡¯t possible to stop Tirto from absorbing as much water elemental spiritual energy as he pleased without confining him. It didn¡¯t seem to be dangerous, and his actual absorption rate was not that high. He was still less than the first rank, after all. Not that it was expected for children to cultivate at all. The normal method was to wait until they were at least teenagers before giving them a proper cultivation technique to work from, even in cultivator clans. There were too many dangers for those who were younger, but for natural cultivators like the triplets, careful monitoring indicated that it was safe enough. Melanthina and Ursel were taken into the cultivation chambers for their particular elements for a portion of the day. Perhaps they might have been kept away from concentrated elements entirely if they did not grow restless without. Besides, John and Matayal didn¡¯t want to favor any of their children too much if they could help it, and an advantage of cultivation would be one possible factor. ¡°I wish there was more information about this situation,¡± Matayal complained. ¡°I think it is up to us to provide it, then,¡± John pointed out. ¡°If not for the use of the public, then at least for our clans.¡± ¡°You think this might happen again?¡± she asked. ¡°I really hope not,¡± John replied. ¡°Your family doesn¡¯t have a history of it, right? It could have been completely random chance, or something related to me. Or recessive genes or something.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Matayal frowned. John had explained the basic concept of genes to her- which was about as much as he understood anyway. ¡°What happens if we do it wrong?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll be no worse than any other new parents,¡± John assured her. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± The words were for himself too. While they had the luxury of servants to rock a crying baby to sleep if they woke up in the middle of the night, for the most part they were doing the work themselves. That included changing diapers, which is where having undying love for their children came in most handy. Fancy cultivation tricks didn¡¯t completely do away with unpleasantness. ----- ¡°So,¡± John said as he and Matayal looked at Ursel. ¡°I am aware that most parents think their child is the best. But I think ours might actually be the best.¡± ¡°That might depend on the metrics you use,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°Because I think we could count this as a negative.¡± They were currently shuffling after the two-month-old as she crawled along. She was very determined, and while not particularly fast it was quite early for much motion at all. Not that John had a detailed knowledge of what development made sense for babies before he came to this world. But the women generally kept track, and this was pretty early. ¡°At least Melanthina and Tirto are content to stay still,¡± John commented. ¡°Though it¡¯s not like we are lacking in people to follow them around. Netanel is practically begging to do it.¡± ¡°Yes, well, he had clan duties to attend to. We can¡¯t let him spend all his time with Tirto.¡± John nodded solemnly. ¡°That¡¯s another factor we didn¡¯t consider. Favoritism of grandparents. It¡¯s good that Netanel likes Tirto, of course, since he¡¯ll spend the majority of his time here. But we don¡¯t want them to get spoiled either. It¡¯s not always the fault of anyone in particular but¡­ well, we both know how people can turn out.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Ursel was currently trying to find her way through a door that led out into the gardens. Pressing her face against it didn¡¯t work, it pushed her back just like her arms did. But she clearly understood that the door was supposed to open. John was the one who caved first and opened the door, letting her out to plant her face in the dirt. Ursel seemed quite happy with the results, though the washers might be less so when it came time to clean her garments. Then again, they¡¯d already confined her to more durable materials that could withstand a lot of friction with the floor, and they were also easier to clean. Not ¡®refined¡¯ enough to show her at a social engagement, but the children of clans normally didn¡¯t attend those until they were a few years old- and even then they were only in attendance for the brief period they could be expected to behave. Ursel was kept away from any plants she might try to eat, as even otherwise trivial amounts of toxins were dangerous for a two month old child. John knew there were jokes about parents having eyes on the back of their heads, and he was quite glad that he had something one step better- his energy senses. He could have kept track of Ursel even without the clear feeling of earth elemental spiritual energy around her, but it helped her stand out from the environment. Matayal shook her head with a grin, ¡°I have the feeling she¡¯s going to get into a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no contest, since she already is. The other two¡­ seem more content to just hang out at least.¡± John wished that pleasant days of watching all three of his children could continue indefinitely, but before too long he would need to return to the Tenebach clan. Whether it was a few months away or a year, the time would be all too brief. At some point, he would no longer constantly be with Matayal, and the triplets would likewise not always be together. That was just the way things would be, since nothing so convenient as teleportation existed in the world. At least, not as far as anyone was willing to admit. If it did exist, it was beyond the tier of any of the surrounding countries. ----- For a cultivator, six months could be considered the blink of an eye. For new parents, it was almost an eternity. John and Matayal¡¯s cultivations were steadily advancing towards the twenty-seventh rank and the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase, but that was little change compared to their children. From crawling around with determination to walking and trying to reach door handles that were still too high for her, Ursel was still the most mobile and active of the triplets. Tirto was easily convinced to crawl towards his parents or grandpa for affection, but he was also content to just do nothing but watch what was happening around him. Melanthina was capable of crawling, but seemed to find little motivation for it, simply waiting patiently for her next feeding. At six months old they were all beginning to babble, but none of it was really talking yet. All of that was vaguely within the realm of normal development. But there were other aspects that were definitely more exceptional and kept the two parents on their toes. Ursel was the one to first use energy intentionally, forming little mounds of dirt without using her hands. Perhaps she had the intention to do something more, but those were the main results. But it wasn¡¯t just her that tried to use energy. Tirto would try to replicate anyone who used the water element for anything, which was all of the clan and most of the servants. Meanwhile, without many sources of inspiration Melanthina mostly focused on whenever her father used darkness energy. John sighed. It had become second nature for him to use energy in his daily life. It was like having extra limbs- he wouldn¡¯t think about whether or not to use them, and simply did it because it was easiest. It had been quite a fright when the children first copied active cultivation. Using energy outside of themselves could be dangerous, but internal uses had the most fragile parts. Internal organs were one thing, but the meridians and dantian were sensitive to misuse of energy. John and Matayal had to be careful about even casual circulation of energy in the presence of the triplets, and those who helped watch Tirto were strictly cautioned. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we should encourage them or not¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°If we do and everything goes well, they might turn into peak geniuses. On the other hand, if they just have the talent¡­ waiting until they¡¯re a bit older to cultivate safely is better.¡± ¡°This is another situation where we have little guidance,¡± Matayal reminded him. ¡°The records Kusuma dredged up just indicated that situations like this were overall a good thing, and more likely than not to produce geniuses. But we both know that dangers comes hand in hand with cultivation- whether from inside or outside.¡± ¡°I just want to have solutions,¡± John grumbled. ¡°I can¡¯t help but constantly think about that danger. It¡¯s like¡­ our children were born with knives for hands.¡± It was an absurd but not entirely inaccurate comparison. ¡°They do not seem inclined to avoid using them, either,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°I think it might be best if we properly teach them to use what they have. Though I do believe we agreed long ago to keep them far from the sparring areas.¡± John shuddered, thinking about the consequences of the triplets engaging in violence. It was bound to happen at some point if they were upset, but John wasn¡¯t worried about himself or Matayal. The real problem would be if they harmed each other, but the only way to avoid that completely would be to isolate the siblings from each other. That didn¡¯t seem like the right solution either. ¡°I¡¯ve had an idea,¡± John commented. ¡°For a while now. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s crazy or not. It might just make things worse, actually.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Matayal asked after realizing he wasn¡¯t going to say it without prompting. ¡°It might benefit them to cultivate together. They have the elements to form the minor cycle connected to darkness after all. But it¡¯s also¡­ kind of crazy,¡± John shook his head. ¡°Cultivation with multiple partners has very limited information, and it seems like it would just be asking for them to clash energies with each other, possibly internally. But if it worked, it might be quite good for them. I¡¯m not saying I think it¡¯s a good idea, though. Just that I had it.¡± ¡°I agree that it is best to avoid,¡± Matayal said. ¡°It would be best to avoid situations where they might even get the idea, at least until they can really make their own choices. That probably means not even dual-cultivating with them around, and in general training them in isolation.¡± John nodded. People normally didn¡¯t train together to begin with- perhaps with a master, and a group might practice attacks or fighting in cultivator formations, but internal energy growth was a solo task, with the exception of dual cultivation. Even just having other people around could be distracting enough to cause problems. John carefully reached out his senses to the triplets. That was a safe use of energy that they shouldn¡¯t cause harm with, and he enjoyed being familiar with them. Even if they made him feel crazy, as they were beginning real cultivation before some of them could even walk and before any of them could talk. An exceptional sign, but also something that they needed to be cautious of. More than just the normal parenting worries, of course. Chapter 124 In a perfect world, John could have stayed with his children all the time, watching them learn to walk and talk. That was the sort of world where there were no conflicts to worry about or clans to run, and unfortunately John was pretty sure it didn¡¯t exist. Even Earth had its interruptions to the flow of life. He found himself back at the Tenebach clan. There had been a recent lull in trouble from the Society of Midnight, but it likely wouldn¡¯t last forever. A small chance existed where they had calculated that continued conflicts would eventually cost them more than Ciaritzal was worth, but John had no hopes of that. For one thing, the guardian beast was extremely valuable. The ability to empower each generation was one of the backbones of the Tenebach clan¡¯s success. It came at a price, but that price had been paid back in full- with the older generation now at greater than their former glory. Luctus had even reached Consolidated Soul Phase, but that made it even more important to imbue younger generations with talent. A clan that hit a spike with only a single powerhouse would often fall precipitously after their death. Then there were the shards of Ciaritzal that John had retrieved. He knew they made the guardian beast stronger, but he didn¡¯t know what that actually meant. Except that it would be easier for him to defend himself. But he could ask. ¡°You said with more shards you could empower the next generation without requiring the previous to give of themselves, correct? How many more do you need?¡± ¡°A difficult question,¡± the creature of shadows said. ¡°The two pieces you have retrieved were different in scope. I find it difficult to recall exactly what was taken of me, but with those two I seem to have recovered perhaps a tenth of what was stolen. Some pieces are likely lost forever, but if I am able to recover about half, I can do it. But it would always be better to have more,¡± Ciaritzal grinned. John nodded. ¡°If they average about that much, I¡¯ll need to run into eight more elders of the Society of Midnight. That¡¯s a bit of a tall order as I am right now.¡± Ciaritzal very much liked circling around John as they talked, his form only barely visible against the natural darkness. ¡°It is not a rush. For generations I have done without. And the clan as well. Though I suppose you are concerned about what might happen with yourself.¡± ¡°... I think it¡¯s fair to be a little bit selfish,¡± John admitted. ¡°Especially when there are other options that don¡¯t involve weakening myself.¡± ¡°Your affinity with me is sufficient that it need not be a major concern¡­ but it would result in a weak point for the clan. That would include risk for the young Melanthina. Though I know her talent will be great even before the blessing. I would like to see her now that she is born.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John replied. Ciaritzal was dangerous, but in the same way a family dog was dangerous. Less so, really, since he had intelligence. ¡°She¡¯s still with her mother for the moment, but I expect to see the children within the year at least.¡± John grimaced as he thought about that. They¡¯d only been born for a year, and now he had to wait almost that long to see them again. If only airplanes existed. The clans could surely pay for flights back and forth if that were the case. It would only be a question of safety. Even if there were some technical machine that worked, there was a vulnerability to be in the air when something could bring the machine down. John thought about it though. What level of mastery over spiritual energy would be required to fly with something like a glider? If John were a pure user of air energy, he imagined he could do it now. Once he reached the Consolidated Soul Phase, the increase in power should be enough to make up the difference. There was just the problem of airspace. No clan or sect would want people flying overhead without permission. Even if there weren¡¯t specific laws about it, it would be a problem. But surely some people had to fly. ¡°I sense your head is filled with strange ideas,¡± Ciaritzal commented. ¡°I was simply thinking about airplanes,¡± John countered. ¡°And flying.¡± ¡°Something from your world? Tell me about it.¡± So John did- though he had to admit to being unfamiliar with the deeper mechanics. Perhaps he could entice some air cultivators to work on the idea though. Or perhaps they already existed in some form and it just wasn¡¯t heard about in the Stone Conglomerate, which wouldn¡¯t be strange at all. ----- John looked at the recently repaired quarters around him. He wasn¡¯t actually mad at Steve for causing a fire. That was the cost of doing business with him in any sort of defensive capacity. And he¡¯d done his job well, incapacitating one of the attackers instead of killing them. Not much information had been gained, but the Tenebach clan at least learned about some holes in their security- directly and indirectly. Now Steve was off wandering again, likely getting up to trouble. John wanted to introduce him to Renato. Having the members of the transmigration and reincarnation club know each other seemed like a good thing. They could look out for each other- and while both were already on John¡¯s side, it was a bit selfish if he didn¡¯t at least try to get them to know each other. Hopefully they¡¯d get along well, though there was bound to be some influence from their respective elements. They could get into a conflict as fire and earth but it wasn¡¯t any sort of guarantee. ----- Artsiom¡¯s takedown of Bashkim had been successful, and thus the Society of Midnight¡¯s influence on the Diamond Trading Company had been greatly diminished. Unfortunately there were always other groups for them to work with, and even before they specifically began targeting the Tenebach clan they had their hands in many things. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. That would include more than just merchants, but influence of sects and clans to differing degrees. It was simply a question of which ones and how much. If someone owed them a little favor John didn¡¯t particularly care, but if it was something that could get them to act against the Tenebach clan he absolutely did. So for the moment he was being a spy. Or as his grandfather called it, preparing for his position as clan head. The official transition was close, but he wasn¡¯t really looking forward to it. Especially not if it meant traveling to places like this more often. Biotite County was in the northeastern corner of the Stone Conglomerate, and shared all the worst parts of such with the bordering Green Sands. It was hilly, rocky, and hard to travel- but also hot. ¡°Why would anyone live here?¡± John complained to Aydan as they approached. ¡°It¡¯s miserable.¡± ¡°Some people like the hot,¡± Aydan shrugged. ¡°And some people like others to be uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Bleh,¡± John stuck out his tongue while they were still concealed by the carriage. I guess I¡¯ll just have to deal with it.¡± Truth be told, it wasn¡¯t that bad. It just required a constant conscious effort to absorb or redirect the heat. He just couldn¡¯t be too obvious about it or he¡¯d look like he couldn¡¯t withstand a little heat. Even though he knew others would be doing something similar, the idea that important cultivators didn¡¯t get sweaty when it was hot was a facade that had to be kept up. This particular ¡®party¡¯ was at the abode of the Quartz clan. One of the quartz clans, that is. There were quite a few of them throughout the Stone Conglomerate. Some of them shared a common origin and had split apart in the long past, but many of them simply arose independently. It was a common last name here, like Smith was on Earth. Or more relevantly Miller, since that was also named after a profession and John¡¯s original surname. But he wasn¡¯t part of that family anymore. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right. His family on Earth was still his family, but he couldn¡¯t do anything for them any longer. He hoped they were doing well, but the family he could interact with were here. Which was a shame, because his mom would have loved to see the triplets. Cultivator etiquette allowed armor at parties, as long as it was appropriately ornate. Given his position, John hadn¡¯t been allowed anything that wouldn¡¯t fit that bill. Even purchasing weapons in auction, he had to think about whether anyone in the clan should be seen with something. It was fine for other clan members to have purely functional equipment, but it couldn¡¯t be shoddy looking. Whether or not weapons were allowed came with different standards. Nobody wanted to feel insecure without their defenses, and entirely trusting in the host to keep them safe was a bit difficult, so the general idea was that weapons were not to be drawn except in emergencies. Even if a conflict came up between two guests and escalated to a fight, it should be resolved with fists. Preferably outside. John had no intentions of getting into a fight though. There usually weren¡¯t anything more than ¡®polite¡¯ conversations to try to one up others. John¡¯s eyes settled on the host, a man of similar age to himself. Raghu. They¡¯d had some interactions in the past, but not many. He was on his way to greet the host when he recognized another guest. The green hair gave them away immediately. John wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if other green haired individuals had been present as well, but Yustina Milanovic was the only one present. And just beyond her John saw Steve. Their eyes met. John stood confidently, and Steve¡¯s eyes begged for help. John smiled as he approached, noticing that Steve was wearing an elegant coat that hung down close to his ankles. That was one way to match, he supposed. The headband wasn¡¯t being worn, but John thought he felt its presence in one of the coat pockets. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected to see you here,¡± John admitted. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Awful. Yustina basically kidnapped me and forced me to be here,¡± Steve admitted. ¡°I feel like it would be hard to make you go somewhere you didn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°It was a perfectly normal roaming session until we got here and I found out I was part of a party,¡± Steve said. John looked over at Yustina. ¡°I¡¯m sure she must have her reasons. Maybe she has her eyes on a cute earth element guy who will support her cultivation growth.¡± ¡°What?¡± A momentary fire burned in Steve¡¯s glare. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around like that man.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m already very secured. But maybe you should think about it, if you care.¡± He knew that Yustina was the one who had initially followed him around, but if he actually didn¡¯t like her he would have successfully ditched her eventually. And what¡¯s more, she hadn¡¯t been with him at the Tenebach clan so he should have sought her out afterwards. John excused himself and found his way over towards Raghu. He should at least make his presence known before something happened. John didn¡¯t know what it would be, but with Steve around¡­ there was no way, right? Or maybe this was a test to see what could happen if he was on his best behavior. ¡°Fortkran,¡± Raghu smiled as John approached. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach, so good to see you made it. I hear you recently had a child, did you not?¡± ¡°Triplets, in fact,¡± John smiled politely. ¡°My wife is very busy with their care.¡± And probably equally important but less traditional tasks as well. ¡°I hope they are all doing well,¡± Raghu¡¯s smile was genuine enough, though John couldn¡¯t say they were anything more than acquaintances. He gestured to the other man standing with him. ¡°This is Bora Kartal, from the Blustering Peaks. Bora, this is Fortkran Tenebach.¡± ¡°So good to meet you.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± That was about the extent of their conversation. John did notice something interesting about Bora, however. He was from the Blustering Peaks which mainly practiced air element techniques, but he seemed to be more water dominant in his elemental balance. Two of his three totems, as far as John could tell. After an appropriate amount of time they both excused themselves from the presence of the host. That was when Bora made his way over towards Yustina, and John began to get a picture of how things might go down. At least the manor was mostly made out of stone, and thus was less likely to catch on fire. Chapter 125 The events John was anticipating didn¡¯t happen immediately. It was a fancy party, after all, and those were all about waylaying random people for any conceivable reason. Alright, well, mostly for the sake of scoping out enemies and looking for potential alliances, but a few people were interesting to talk to as well. Though those conversations would probably be related to the other two, even if they were somewhat enjoyable. John himself was pulled aside into several conversations, though most of them went nowhere. Biotite county was close enough to the border that John wasn¡¯t entirely surprised to see a few light element cultivators, but he hadn¡¯t expected to be approached. The prejudices of the world might make light and darkness cultivators not get along, but John didn¡¯t have anything against them¡­ except the time where he¡¯d briefly been blinded by one. Somehow that felt worse than getting stabbed in many ways, possibly because he hadn¡¯t been ready to defend against it. Even if John didn¡¯t mind light cultivators, that didn¡¯t mean they would be friendly with him. Despite his different elemental totems, considering his position in the Tenebach clan John straightforwardly displayed his darkness element and kept the others hidden. When he was approached by an amicable man who radiated the light element, John didn¡¯t know what to say. Fortunately, the man made things easy with a formal greeting. ¡°A good day to you. I believe you are Forktran Tenebach, yes? I saw you in the tournament in Astrein last year.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. ¡°And you would be¡­ part of the Golden Tomb Guardians?¡± The man smiled, ¡°That¡¯s right. You can call me Zacharie. You were matched against Monika. I was impressed by the manner in which you overcame her, not the usual straightforward bluster and inelegance of most men your age.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had my moments in the past,¡± John admitted- though most of them were in either version of his previous life. ¡°Given the path I am on, I¡¯ve had to learn to use what I have to the maximum.¡± Zacharies eyes roamed over John, his spiritual energy politely remaining passive. ¡°I can¡¯t even tell now,¡± he commented. ¡°But enough about that. You were defeated shortly after that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure quite a few people took note of that,¡± John nodded, ¡°But I am not ashamed of my performance.¡± ¡°Oh no, I would not mean to imply such,¡± Zacharie smiled widely. ¡°I would dare say that most people would have either not chosen to enter that fight¡­ or not survived. An elder of the Society of Midnight with a grudge isn¡¯t something to casually mess with. And yet you did something to make him even more angry, just before the battle was over.¡± That would be ripping out the piece of Ciaritzal, though John wasn¡¯t going to make that information public. ¡°I truly barely survived. It took some effort to recover.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m glad you did,¡± Zacharie nodded. ¡°The Society of Midnight¡­ we¡¯ve had a few clashes with them as well over the decades. We don¡¯t exactly encounter them often, obviously- the Sunfields and Darklands are quite a distance away from each other- but neither of us just remain in our sects continuously.¡± John wondered what the man wanted. Was it the offer of an alliance? Even if it was a loose promise to beat up any members of the Society of Midnight they saw that wouldn¡¯t be bad. But before the conversation had time to get there, they were interrupted. Specifically by the young master Bora running out of the building covered in green flames. ¡°Hmm,¡± John pursed his lips. ¡°Oh my,¡± Zacharie commented wryly. ¡°Someone seems to have ticked someone off.¡± ¡°I was just expecting blue flames,¡± John admitted. ¡°Ah yes,¡± Zacharie nodded. ¡°You are familiar with the young Lucanus.¡± Some of the other cultivators were bristling, wondering if there had been an attack of some kind- but others calmly made their way outside, after the screaming young master and the source of the green flames following not far behind. John glanced over at Steve, seeing that his eyes were flaring up. He was incensed, but it wasn¡¯t his fight to butt into. Though that wouldn¡¯t necessarily stop him. John approached Steve as they walked out together, their senses focusing on the event unfolding in front of them. ¡°One thing wouldn¡¯t have been a problem, you know,¡± Yustina stomped her foot. ¡°Me being clearly not interested, if you hadn¡¯t been a jackass I could have introduced you to any number of¡­ hotheads.¡± Bora¡¯s main response was trying to put out the fire on himself. Messing around with the air wasn¡¯t working well, but he also called upon a bubble of water. It didn¡¯t immediately put out the fire, but it was quenched shortly. The most damaged thing was his dignity- which included his clothes. ¡°The Kartal clan is-¡± ¡°Not relevant here,¡± Yustina interrupted. ¡°You think because you¡¯re from a decently big clan you can act however you want? The Milanovic clan might be a little bit smaller, but what matters is you. And you suck. I bet you haven¡¯t even jumped in a volcano!¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°The local topology isn¡¯t conducive to visiting volcanoes, and they¡¯re not relevant to my elements anyway. I have, however, explored the ocean depths and climbed to the top of the greatest of the Blustering Peaks.¡± ¡°So what? This guy spent days in one of the deep trenches!¡± Yustina waved towards John, who wondered how she learned that information. It wasn¡¯t secret, but it wasn¡¯t really public either. ¡°Pfeh. Doesn¡¯t matter. I won¡¯t stand for such insults to my person and my dignity. Guards!¡± ¡°That¡¯s our cue,¡± John moved to elbow Steve, but the other man was already on the move. As he stepped to intercept one of Bora¡¯s guards, John locked eyes with Aydan. His uncle would be watching if he needed to interfere, but otherwise planned to stay out of it. John also briefly sought out the host, Raghu of the local Quartz clan, who seemed interested in watching- and relieved that the fighting had moved out of his manor. The man who John blocked was not particularly physically impressive, but he did have a presence about him. And like Bora, he had a combination of air and water totems, a popular choice in the stormy Blustering Peaks which also bordered the Shimmering Islands. Though John was aware the majority of cultivators in the area were still strictly air dominant. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡± the guard asked. ¡°Stopping people from ganging up on my friend,¡± John replied. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡± The man¡¯s response was a grunt, and then an attack. It was skillfully performed, with a gust of wind circling around behind John to shove him forward into the wave of water energy the man created with a forward thrust of his palm. But the level of the wind was simply too insignificant to bother John. Training on Cyclone Island and with Kusuma in general had shown him what real wind was like. He locked himself in place with a bit of earth energy and countered the palm with his own punch holding lightning coated with a concealing layer of darkness energy. Just comparing the ranks of John and the guard they would be of similar power. However, when their attacks impacted each other, the guard was sent flying back and left twitching. His totems were decent for his position- all third tier. John¡¯s were fourth tier, which was already an advantage- but he also had an elemental advantage. His earth could overcome the man¡¯s air while he also had air element to overcome water. There was an extra portion of water element to worry about, but that gap was made up for by surprise and the darkness element that at least wasn¡¯t bad against it. Steve was having a bit of a harder time, which was to say his opponent hadn¡¯t been taken out instantly. But despite an elemental disadvantage with the water, he also wasn¡¯t losing. He certainly wasn¡¯t having an easy time of it, but the situation had gotten into a grapple where he was flaring his fire as much as he could while continuously kneeing the guard in the stomach. The water that was there to restrict his movements was bubbling and boiling from the heat, and neither of them looked particularly like they were actually winning. Then there was Yustina. Her cultivation was lower that Bora¡¯s, somewhere around the twenty-third rank compared to his twenty-sixth. She¡¯d begun the conflict with something akin to a surprise attack, both in its execution and her fire¡¯s unexpected ¡®stickiness¡¯. After Bora recovered from that, she would have lost her advantage¡­ is what John thought was going to happen. Bora¡¯s weapons were a pair of fans, an unorthodox weapon in most cases but actually surprisingly effective. John didn¡¯t know why the two guards didn¡¯t use similar weapons to augment their water and air abilities, perhaps it was a personal choice- or a technique exclusive to Bora or main members of his clan. Either way, the fans pushed waves of water, blew wind, the sides sliced, and they were even folded to be used as a club. It was all very skillful, but the way Yustina danced around it indicated she was not perturbed by the possibilities of the weapons. Even when she was deluged with a pile of water, she moved elegantly to avoid the attacks as if it didn¡¯t even slow her down. John thought he felt her exerting a small bit of control over the water formed by Bora¡¯s energy, but it didn¡¯t really fit with her selection of fire totems. She danced closer and closer to Bora, eventually grabbing his wrists and snapping the weapons out of his hands, picking them up at the same time and swinging them together. The whole mass of water surrounding the area was shoved back as he rolled across the garden. ¡°Not bad,¡± Yustina said- clearly commenting on the weapons and not the wielder. Then she spun around once, instantly drying out. A second spin and she produced a tornado of green flame that made its way towards Bora. Even defended by his water elemental spiritual energy, Bora looked hesitant to take the attack. Instead, he called out. ¡°Raghu! You are the host here! Deal with this!¡± ¡°And how should I do that?¡± Raghu raised an eyebrow. ¡°If you had not escalated the situation, it would have been quite easy. But you had to go and drag your guards into it, taking it away from being a personal scuffle.¡± Though Raghu said all that¡­ Bora wasn¡¯t able to hear most of it. The tornado of fire mixed with the bubble of water around Bora to create a cloud of steam, though both eventually petered out, leaving Bora dazed and half passed out on the ground. ¡°Whew,¡± Yustina casually fanned herself. ¡°That took a lot out of me.¡± Feeling her energy reserves, John knew it was technically true. She didn¡¯t have much left over¡­ but she was also the one who was standing upright after the battle. Bora looked a bit like a boiled crab and wasn¡¯t terribly injured, but if she¡¯d wanted to kill him it could have happened. John hadn¡¯t interacted with her much before, mostly hearing about her through Steve¡¯s recollections. She seemed¡­ more experienced in combat than he would have expected. Now he was curious. He could just ask, he supposed. ¡°Where did you learn to fight like that?¡± There weren¡¯t many people listening, and John felt she was the sort to straightforwardly brush him off if she really didn¡¯t want to answer. And she hung around Steve, so she had to like straightforward to some extent. She turned her head and looked him in the eyes. ¡°Aglor,¡± she said, as if that was a sufficient answer. Maybe it was, but John didn¡¯t know who or what an Aglor was. But if it wasn¡¯t just a bogus answer, it very much seemed worth looking into. Chapter 126 Though he knew it might be nothing more than a flippant remark or even an intentional distraction, John couldn¡¯t help but look for Aglor in the Tenebach Clan¡¯s records. Whether a person or a place he wasn¡¯t sure. Yustina was from the Milanovic clan so it should have been connected to them or the Green Sands, but that turned up nothing. He widened his search for well known fire cultivators and fire-dominant regions, but he wasn¡¯t having any luck after a few weeks of work. Not all of that time was spent researching, of course, but some time each day- and the clan¡¯s record keeper helped him find sources that could potentially be useful. It wasn¡¯t entirely clear, even to John himself, why he thought it was important. Yustina was an ally of Steve and he didn¡¯t sense any problems with that. Why should it matter if she was exceptionally talented? It was just that her clan didn¡¯t seem to know with some casual inquiries. Her talent could have been a secret, but if she were important she wouldn¡¯t be wandering around with a random guy like Steve. Though maybe they had the intent to pull him into the clan? But John remembered when Yustina and Steve first met. That wasn¡¯t a setup, since there was no way they could have predicted he would jump into Zolvolj to rescue someone he didn¡¯t know. There was something weird about her, like she didn¡¯t realize she could get heatstroke¡­ even though she¡¯d lived in the desert for her whole life. Or maybe not. Maybe she was from some weird branch of the Milanovic clan that lived outside the Green Sands. Was that what Aglor was? If so, it might be a secret so he didn¡¯t directly bring it up with the Milanovic clan. He just continued investigating things in an ever-widening circle, wondering if it was all a waste of time. At least he¡¯d know about more masters of fire element techniques, if they came up in conversation. Then he found it. Practically on the other side of the world was a fire-dominant country called Hegresh. It was an entire tier more powerful than the local countries, with Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators being more common- and more than a few confirmed reports of those from the fifth phase. As fire cultivators they would go by the term¡­ Conflagration, if John wasn¡¯t mistaken. Some called the fifth phase in general ¡®demigod¡¯, but John thought that was a bit grandiose. But since they didn¡¯t really show up in the area around the Stone Conglomerate, there wasn¡¯t a common name for them. The important part was that Hegresh¡­ had nothing relevant about it. Except that its entry listed nearby areas that included Aglor, a water-dominant country of lakes and rivers. Which meant¡­ what Yustina said made no sense. Unless she had reincarnated. It wasn¡¯t a direct admission, and may have just been a flippant remark instead. But¡­ he also wasn¡¯t willing to just toss out the idea. It would just be another reincarnated person he ended up tangentially connected through. That seemed a bit unlikely, but if transmigrated and reincarnated people were naturally drawn to each other it wouldn¡¯t be odd at all. It seemed to be unconscious for the most part, but it wasn¡¯t particularly weird that she would have latched onto Steve regardless, just for saving her life. Perhaps she also subconsciously sensed something more than just a reckless fire type cultivators. Or John had come to the wrong conclusion. But he certainly felt it compelling. That knowledge was set aside for later, when he could do something with it. Like ask Yustina in person more about Aglor, which could confirm it one way or another. If she was reincarnated, she could be part of the club. Then they¡¯d have a 50-50 mix of reincarnated and transmigrated people. ----- Along with his part of managing the clan, John had a more important piece of research he was working on. It might turn out to be unnecessary, but finding a good way to break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase was worth the effort. As for why it might not matter, Matayal was working on the same problem- and either of them might come across some reasonably priced treasures at auction which could help push them over the edge. Of course, there were many things that might happen, so it wasn¡¯t as if they could count on those. The idea, however, was that John and Matayal would break through together, since they would both be attuning to water element totems. If they could do that with a single shared treasure that would be great, but more likely it would be good to visit a special water-dominant location. The general level of spiritual energy in the Shimmering Islands was insufficient for those purposes, at least if they wanted to guarantee the breakthrough being quick or smooth. Something like the deep sea under the Kelp Spire Forest would be optimal, though preferably something with a bit less potential for death. John wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable going back to that place until after he was in the Consolidated Soul Phase, though the biggest issue was arriving there with his body intact. They couldn¡¯t just bet on a great whirlpool pulling them down again- nor could they bet that they wouldn¡¯t be crushed against some rocks instead of ending up somewhere vaguely safe. In the end he had a few ideas, but hoped that Matayal had better luck with the Brandle Clan¡¯s resources. ----- As was inevitable, time passed even for those who were unready. For some it went quickly, but for John it seemed to take forever for little more than half a year to pass. But eventually, the people he was waiting for arrived. ¡°Daddy!¡± John¡¯s heart skipped a beat as little Ursel charged towards him, the single word as clear as could be expected for a child not yet two years old. She struck him with enough force that he had to let himself be pushed back half a step for fear of hurting her. ¡°Ursel! Have you been good for your mother?¡± ¡°I¡¯m always good!¡± she proclaimed. Somehow, John doubted that. A bit further away, with his hand held by Matayal, Tirto nodded his head towards John. Matayal walked forward with him. ¡°You should greet your father, dear.¡± ¡°...Hello,¡± Tirto said. He wasn¡¯t quite timid, but more casual. John looked towards Matayal and raised an eyebrow, but she shrugged. It was clear he felt more attachment to his mother, and being apart for around a third of their lives probably didn¡¯t help. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. John smiled and waved at Tirto. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you again, my son.¡± ¡°Father,¡± a small hand reached up and tugged on his sleeve. ¡°I am here too.¡± John reached down and ruffled Melanthina¡¯s hair. ¡°I didn¡¯t forget you of course. But Melanthina, if you sneak about like that some people might not notice you.¡± She seemed unfazed by him rubbing her head, not particularly pleased or displeased. But as she¡¯d taken the initiative to come up to him, he thought she was happy to see him. Two out of three was good, he supposed¡­ but slightly disappointing. He would have preferred not to be away from them to begin with, but unfortunately clan duties called. That was the same for Matayal, which was why she was only just now able to come with them. Under heavy guard, of course. The young mistress of the Brandle clan and the next generation of heirs to both Brandle and Tenebach had to be well guarded. John made his way over to Matayal and kissed her. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again. I really don¡¯t enjoy the idea of being apart this long.¡± ¡°It is rather unpleasant,¡± Matayal agreed. ¡°But give it somewhere around two decades and we will be free to do as we please.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± John grinned. Though that was a very long time. And that implied their children taking over practically as soon as they reached adulthood. ¡°Somehow I feel we¡¯ll still be tied down after that.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Matayal raised an eyebrow. ¡°And who will be able to stop us, hmm?¡± ¡°... Good point,¡± John nodded. ¡°It seems a shame to miss out on some of our youth that way¡­¡± John almost wished he hadn¡¯t fallen in love with Matayal, so it wouldn¡¯t bother him to be away from her for so long. Almost. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting one thing. We¡¯ll still have quite a bit of youth left over.¡± ¡°A reasonable point,¡± John nodded. He had been thinking of their own grandparents who had not, until recently, been in the Consolidated Soul Phase. But cultivation extended lifespan to some degree, and the two of them were actually quite a bit older than John and Matayal when they began to have children. Due to the difficulties in gathering resources and other complications their cultivation hadn¡¯t reached that level, but John and Matayal were on the brink and still quite young. Even if their cultivation didn¡¯t advance much in the future, they would still expect to live past a hundred years. Normally they would have had longer before they had to take over official positions but various circumstances had brought them to this position. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make the best of it.¡± John looked down at their children. They weren¡¯t at fault for this, and in fact would face some of the same difficulties that John and Matayal would have. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be too bad for their development to not always be around both parents and their siblings. ¡°I found an opportunity for us,¡± Matayal shared. ¡°Just a few months from now, the Great Waterfall Reversal will be taking place in the Blustering Peaks.¡± ¡°Perfect,¡± John smiled. ¡°I just recently made enemies there.¡± He regularly sent letters to keep in contact, but the events at that particular party hadn¡¯t been mentioned yet. He explained them to her in brief. ¡°The Kartal clan, huh? If they do anything stupid, we can just publically remind everyone their young master got beaten up by a girl. And yes, I know you¡¯re smart enough to recognize it doesn¡¯t matter, but there are many who don¡¯t.¡± Matayal shrugged, ¡°And the incident was minor enough they¡¯d have to think very strongly whether or not they wanted to bother out clans.¡± ¡°I just thought it deserved mentioning,¡± John shrugged. There was a tug on John¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Father. Ursel broke something.¡± ¡°Melanthina!¡± Ursel whined. ¡°I said not to tell!¡± Despite the context, John was quite happy his children were very capable of communicating, especially considering their age. However, he also saw the potential pitfalls if the situation wasn¡¯t handled properly. ¡°Okay Ursel. What broke?¡± He kept his tone somewhat neutral. Not happy, not accusatory. She already knew she messed up, and acting like he knew how to handle such situations was important. ¡°Umm¡­ nothing¡­¡± Ursel tried to block the opening to the garden outside, but she couldn¡¯t even reach both sides of the door frame. He scooped her up as he walked outside. It was pretty easy for him to figure out what was broken. ¡°I see. The statue, huh.¡± It was a statue of his grandfather. Or perhaps his great-grandfather who he¡¯d never met. One of the patriarchs of the clan, anyway. It had been. Now it was just a pile of rocks. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Ursel refused to look at it. ¡°I need to know for real,¡± John explained. ¡°If it was an accident, it¡¯s easy to forgive you. But I need to know what you did.¡± ¡°I just¡­ it had a lot of stuff in it, more than anything else. So I took some of it.¡± ¡°What kind of stuff?¡± John asked. Ursel waved her arm, creating a little cloud of earth elemental spiritual energy. ¡°This stuff.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The statue had been made by a master sculptor and reinforced with earth element. She¡¯d removed it, and it crumbled apart. That was¡­ pretty impressive actually. But he couldn¡¯t say that or she might want to do it more. ¡°You need to not do that again, okay?¡± ¡°I tried to put it back!¡± Ursel proclaimed. ¡°But it just¡­¡± she gestured to the base of the statue which John sensed was hardened beyond what it had been before. ¡°It¡¯s still broken.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John said. ¡°When things break, it¡¯s hard to fix them. So you have to be careful. Are you sorry?¡± ¡°Yes daddy. I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°Good. Now then, this¡­¡± John summoned some earth elemental spiritual energy. ¡°This is called spiritual energy. Using it is dangerous. You shouldn¡¯t do anything with it without me or someone else who can watch you, or you might hurt yourself¡­ or your brother or sister. Okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s spirit¡­ spirit stuff? I thought it was just the stuff that Tirto used.¡± She tried to push away but John was still carrying her. ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I believe you,¡± John smiled. So Tirto had also gotten up to some trouble. Possibly something similar. As an adult it was easy to make the connection that all spiritual energy was the same thing and thus all the children were supposed to be careful with it, but since the water element was different from earth and darkness they might not have really understood. ¡°Melanthina, did you hear that?¡± John waved a few fingers. ¡°This is darkness spiritual energy. You also have to be careful, understand?¡± She nodded. But even as she began to slink off, she was making use of it to minimize her presence. This was going to take some work. Chapter 127 The triplets were in the uncomfortable state where communication with them was possible but very limited. To various extents they were willing to push the limits of what they were told not to do, depending on their individual personalities. Combined with their ability to get up to much worse trouble than normal children due to their instinctive control of different elements of spiritual energy, it was tough. Tirto was generally the most well behaved. When he learned a behavior was forbidden he would usually avoid repeating it- and any failures seemed to be due to a lack of understanding or general forgetfulness. He was the one least likely to cause repeated trouble. The only thing he was stubborn about was swimming around in the fish ponds. He was used to the plethora of aquatic options available for him back in the Shimmering Islands, and was generally unhappy whenever he was not in the water for an extended period of time. This wasn¡¯t so much a problem from John and Matayal¡¯s perspectives, but it did make the job of caretakers more difficult. Melanthina was the most intentional in what she did. She only very rarely did anything she¡¯d been warned against, but that was only in the narrowest of definitions. She was rarely destructive, but often mischievous. She liked to hide things and was good at it. The first was a hairbrush, which she didn¡¯t particularly like since her hair tangled easily. It was easy enough for Matayal to find it hidden behind and underneath things, but clearly intentionally placed. As it seemed the parents who shared elements with the children were better able to influence them, John was sought out for Melanthina¡¯s troubles most often. Though John and Matayal often took some time to dress their children in the morning, it was equally likely to be left to caretakers. They had duties to attend to and could quickly get tired of dealing with their own children. Of course, they still had to attend to them when there were issues. John was called in by the caretaker Eurwen because of an issue with Melanthina. He entered the room, where she was dressed except for her shoes. ¡°Melanthina,¡± he crouched down in front of her. ¡°Eurwen says she can¡¯t find you shoes. Do you know where they are?¡± ¡°No,¡± Melanthina liked poorly, her eyes flickering towards where they were hidden under the floorboards and shrouded in darkness element. Eurwen was a member of the Tenebach clan, but her actual cultivation talent was small. It was likely she was unable to pick them out. ¡°Is that so,¡± John nodded. He had a few decisions he could make. First was showing that he could always pick out the lie, but he had the feeling that something else might do better. There was no way to know for sure, but parents had to make some choice. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll just have to go without.¡± ¡°...What?¡± Melanthina looked surprised. ¡°If we can¡¯t find your shoes, you just have to not wear any.¡± Melanthina looked briefly confused, and then grinned in a very not subtle manner. She¡¯d gotten exactly what she wanted. Right until Ursel dragged her out to play in the garden and she found it was extremely uncomfortable running around outside without shoes. When her shoes mysteriously appeared where they were supposed to go the next morning, nothing more was said of it. John just hoped she¡¯d learned the right lesson. The last of the three was the biggest trouble in various ways. Saying it was better if Ursel didn¡¯t exist¡­ was impossible for John and Matayal. Not after having seen her smiling face. She was an awkward third child when they only needed two to take over the main line of the clans, but they were still glad she existed. It was just that some days they were hard pressed to remember that fact. Unlike Melanthina, Ursel didn¡¯t do anything intentionally. Unfortunately, she was extremely curious and exploratory. First there was the issue with the statue. John was glad she learned her lesson to not just take energy out of things without any harm to herself or others, but she was always finding new and exciting ways to get into trouble. One afternoon she decided she wanted to go for a walk outside, but instead of leaving through one of the gates where she would be stopped or at least given an escort, she burrowed under the wall. That revealed an unexpected flaw in the security of the area, though it was more difficult for others to replicate than she made it seem. Burrowing attacks were quite standard in the earth-dominant Stone Conglomerate, but the defensive enchantments hadn¡¯t been set up with the intent of restricting people who were on the inside. She didn¡¯t register as an intruder either, so no alarms were raised. The guards on the walls weren¡¯t concerned about what Ursel did inside the garden, but fortunately the ones assigned to the neighboring sections of wall noticed her as she was walking away and followed after her, swiftly returning her back. It wasn¡¯t clear how well she understood the following punishment where she was confined to the clan grounds for a few days, but she at least learned not to dig under the walls. From then on there were specific watchers for the children even within the clan walls. They were pretty constantly around other people regardless, and there were always guards within a reasonable distance- but it was better if they didn¡¯t have to watch those they knew were safe and instead could focus on actual potential threats. ----- After she had been safely tucked into bed, Melanthina lay awake, staring at the ceiling. If she closed her eyes she would fall asleep, and she didn¡¯t want that. Instead, she carefully counted the minutes. Then she stood up, creeping over to the window. It was a bit of a risk to move so early, but it was hard to stay awake much longer. For some reason there were guards outside her room now, which made things harder. Climbing through the window was difficult, since it didn¡¯t open all the way and was too high. But Melanthina was determined. Avoiding people was hard. While she was good at hiding herself, the actual guards were good at spotting her. She wasn¡¯t supposed to be out at night, so they would stop her. The first four or five times she had done her best to figure out where they were, and now she tried to avoid them. More than once she could have sworn she would be caught again. She would turn a corner to see someone looking toward her- and if she could see them, they could see her. Everyone could see better in the dark than her except Tirto and Ursel, who apparently couldn¡¯t see at all. All the gates were closed, but there was a grate across the stream that she was small enough to slip through at the edge, though it took a while to squeeze past. Then she was outside, but still not away from being spotted. More guards patrolled the area, and she knew there would probably be some guarding where she wanted to go. She was right. The cave had two guards standing outside. Strong ones, almost as strong as her parents. The fact that she hadn¡¯t been spotted yet was a miracle. She couldn¡¯t sneak directly past them, but the cave opening was a bit behind them. If she climbed up on the ridge behind it she could drop down behind them. It was pretty easy to go around and get up, but the top was a lot higher than she thought it would be. Ursel could climb down, but she used a different kind of spiritual energy to stick her to the wall. As much as Melanthina tried, she couldn¡¯t do that. In the end, she found the least steep part and slid down, sending a shower of rocks along with her. The guards¡­ didn¡¯t notice. Even so, she held her breath as she snuck into the cave. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. She had been here before, of course. With her father. It was the place with the most spiritual energy. Her kind. Darkness. It was full of it. She let herself absorb just a little to replenish what she was using to keep herself hidden. It was nice. But that wasn¡¯t good enough. There was more, deeper in, and she hadn¡¯t been allowed to go there. Her father said ¡®later¡¯, but later was a long time! The path she traversed was clean and smooth, but she had to be careful because it was dark further in. Actually dark, like when she closed her eyes. If she focused she could see a little tiny bit, but it was making her tired to use so much spiritual energy and she was already up late. But she needed to see. Then she saw it. A shape. That was all it was, because it couldn¡¯t be seen. Though she felt it, as if it were part of the cave itself. Its power¡­ was more than even her grandfather. She held her breath. Then it spoke. ¡°It is dangerous for you to be here, young one. Why have you come here?¡± ¡°I¡­ wanted to see.¡± Melanthina pressed herself back against the wall, as if it would somehow hide her from the creature in front of her. ¡°That will have to wait. Later.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°But why?¡± ¡°Because I am dangerous.¡± The creature stepped forward, growling. ¡°... you don¡¯t feel dangerous,¡± Melanthina answered. There was a long pause. Then a response came. ¡°That is because I am not hungry right now.¡± ¡°Should I bring food?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°No. Just go.¡± ¡°... I¡¯ll bring food next time,¡± Melanthina promised. ¡°So you won¡¯t be dangerous.¡± She made it almost to the entrance to the cave when she ran into her father. ¡°Are we going to have to tie you into bed?¡± he asked. ¡°...No?¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky Ciaritzal wasn¡¯t hungry.¡± ¡°... it wouldn¡¯t hurt me, right?¡± ¡°There are many things that would,¡± her father cautioned. ¡°But¡­ maybe Ciaritzal is an exception.¡± ¡°He gets hungry. Does he also get lonely?¡± ¡°... Maybe.¡± Melanthina gave her best look. ¡°Can I feed him?¡± ¡°... if you can be good for a whole week, we can go feed Ciaritzal together,¡± her father said. A week? But that was more than a day! This was going to be difficult. But she couldn¡¯t help but want to try. ----- In the end, Melanthina was unable to sustain a full week of not getting into trouble until her third try, which meant she took two weeks total. But John was glad they did, eventually. Like himself, her affinity for Ciaritzal was quite high. It was more than just whether or not they got along, but whether she could draw power from him easily. If her affinity hadn¡¯t been high enough, just being in his presence would potentially hurt her. John had followed her out of her room all the way to the cave to be certain of her objective, and if she had experienced any discomfort approaching he would have pulled her away. Melanthina didn¡¯t learn well without consequences. In this case there hadn¡¯t been any directly, so the promise of a reward was dangled in front of her. John knew he was likely walking a thin line with spoiling her, but there were only so many ways to punish her that would be effective. Teaching her to be able to restrain herself would be a victory, especially since he and Matayal would be heading away soon. It might only be a few weeks, but the children hadn¡¯t been without at least one of their parents for more than a day or two. The parents didn¡¯t have a problem with caretakers imposing discipline, but Eurwen and the others were still afraid of going too far given their own status. On the other hand, Luctus was busy and seemed liable to go easy on them. He¡¯d been much stricter with Fortkran for good reason, but something about great-grandchildren had softened him. Gerben and Caelia, meanwhile, were mostly wrapped up in clan business and while they would be the most reliable they simply didn¡¯t have the time. In addition, there was another side to the reward. Melanthina needed to realize that Ciaritzal was dangerous. As the family¡¯s guardian beast, and with her affinity, she was probably one of those least likely to be harmed¡­ but it was still possible. John carried with him a large pot, sealed at the top. Inside of it was condensed darkness elemental spiritual energy. It was something like artificial spirit darkness. It wouldn¡¯t last long and wasn¡¯t able to be absorbed by most cultivators, but it was suitable for Ciaritzal. Next to him, Melanthina carried a large bowl. Both arms were barely enough for her to lift it, and that was with her subconsciously using a bit of spiritual energy to prop it up. The two of them made their way into Ciaritzal¡¯s cave. ¡°Set it down carefully,¡± John reminded Melanthina. There wasn¡¯t anything in it that needed balance and it was quite sturdy, but she could hurt herself if she was careless. At least she seemed conscious of physical harm. ¡°This next part is going to be a bit scary, okay? Just remember I¡¯m here to protect you.¡± Melanthina nodded. She didn¡¯t seem nervous. While John would normally say that was proper with respect to the family¡¯s guardian beast, it showed a lack of caution. She was safe and sheltered, never having experienced danger. This would be just a taste of it, but it might be overwhelming. It wasn¡¯t something he wanted to subject a young child to, but Melanthina was mature for her age¡­ and it should just be a little fright. John unsealed the pot in his arms, which was bigger than his torso. He carefully poured some into the large bowl, liquid darkness settling into the vessel. Then Ciaritzal approached. Not being a physical beast, eating wasn¡¯t a strict requirement. However, there were periods of hunger, more frequent during the period of reintegrating with lost shards of himself. What he desired most to devour was darkness elemental spiritual energy, in a manner much more violent than John could achieve with something like his Spiritual Energy Absorption technique. That hunger could be felt, at least by cultivators. And those the triplets would only barely qualify as being in the first rank, they were excellent at sensing the particular elements they were naturally attuned to. John felt only a little bit of nervousness at the feeling, as he¡¯d faced off against beasts with greater hunger- and actually directed at himself. Things that wanted to tear him apart. But while Ciaritzal wanted neither of those, he was hungry- and powerful. Next to him Melanthina sat in her kneeling position, trembling. One hand unconsciously grabbed onto John¡¯s sleeve. Ciaritzal approached, lapping at the spiritual energy- though the presence of a tongue did little compared to his natural ability to absorb the energy. John refilled the large bowl several times, until their offering was empty. Only then did Ciaritzal¡¯s hunger fade. Melanthina was quiet the whole time, including after they walked out. She seemed to be deep in thought. When they were almost back at the gates of the main complex of the Tenebach clan, she finally spoke. ¡°... He was very hungry. We should feed him more often.¡± Her hand still trembled as he held it in his, but John smiled at the strange compassion for a naturally terrifying beast of darkness. And it was a good way to introduce her to important duties¡­ and pretend he was doing her a favor. ¡°If you stay good, we can.¡± He doubted that it would be a perfect solution, and she would doubtless search for things that didn¡¯t get her in enough trouble that she wasn¡¯t allowed to go, but that might actually be the best ultimate solution. There was no chance she wouldn¡¯t get into a lot of trouble in her life, both of her own choices and because of her position. It was important that she be able to handle it. Chapter 128 As the wheels of the carriage clacked along on the cobblestone road, John couldn¡¯t help but stick his head out the window one more time to look back towards the Tenebach clan, even though it was now beyond the horizon. He sighed. ¡°I wonder if my parents had to go through this feeling when I was off to visit grandparents¡­¡± ¡°Your parents?¡± Matayal questioned. ¡°Ah¡­ from before. I imagine they probably felt the same way.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have anyone trying to kill me though,¡± John shook his head. ¡°Or anyone protecting you,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°Now calm down or you¡¯ll get me worried.¡± ¡°I am calm,¡± John lied poorly. But he did sit down and begin to clear his head. A few years before, he couldn¡¯t have imagined what he would be feeling like right now. So many things in his head telling him his children were the most important thing in the world, and he didn¡¯t want to disagree. He just wished that his mind would let him choose what to worry about instead of it being everything he could imagine. ¡°It should only be a couple months at most,¡± Matayal reminded John. ¡°I¡¯d be more worried about the others trying to handle our children.¡± ¡°... Tirto is a good boy,¡± John finally commented. Matayal grinned, ¡°Don¡¯t let the kids hear you talk like that. They might take it as a challenge. But the girls have been pretty good lately as well.¡± ¡°I feel like it¡¯s because they haven¡¯t been exposed to any new sources of potential trouble,¡± John shrugged. ¡°But we can¡¯t do much about that.¡± The two of them weren¡¯t just leaving their children behind to go on a vacation. They were headed for the Great Waterfall Reversal in the Blustering Peaks. Their intent was to use the phenomenon to break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase. They had both reached the peak of the twenty-seventh rank, taking advantage of their clan¡¯s resources to optimize their cultivation as much as possible. As both intended to take on a water totem , the water elemental phenomenon was a good opportunity. Even if they failed to use it to break through, it would push them that much closer. If they succeeded, the natural environment would allow them to grow more all at once than any artificial training room they set up, saving potentially up to a year of cultivation and much expense. ----- The path to the Blustering Peaks led them through Astrein, the country north of the Stone Conglomerate where the elements were a neutral mix that was only marginally usable by cultivators. John and Matayal found it quite functional for their purposes, since together they had four out of the six elements. Even so, they had to filter out approximately one third of the natural energy in the area, the fire and light elements. Loose natural energy wasn¡¯t going to be enough for them to advance their cultivation, but it was something to do while they traveled. The other route to the Blustering Peaks would have taken them through the Shimmering Islands, and while the route was technically quicker it was more risky. The weather in the Shimmering Islands was quite troublesome but not ultimately a concern for them. However, as it drew closer to the northeast the storms grew even more extreme- such as those around Cyclone Island and Kaimana where the Mulyani clan made their home. The biggest difficulty was the actual border, where the seas met with the Blustering Peaks in unnavigable rocky shores leading to nearly vertical cliffs. There were in fact a few established routes up and down the cliffs, but it was easier to climb the Blustering Peaks from another direction, where the slope began more gradually- and there was no concern about smashing a ship into rocks. Even if John and Matayal would be fine, any captain wouldn¡¯t appreciate it- very few were crazy enough to go there, and it was only marginally faster from their starting location. Eventually they arrived at Iclinas, where the carriages and drivers would be staying, waiting for their return. It was the highest point that there were settlements not made entirely up of cultivators, and John could already feel the air getting thin. From there on, their group would have to hike and climb towards the Grandcliff River, where the Great Waterfall Reversal would be taking place. It flowed down from a high peak, spilling over the slopes around it in a strange display of fluid dynamics. But that was almost normal compared to what they were going to experience. Along with John and Matayal they had their guards, which included Ayden and Crystin from the Tenebach clan along with Livna and Yonit. But John and Matayal didn¡¯t have just two guards each, and there were another four that would rotate out instead of having a permanent position. While being a guard wasn¡¯t the most exciting position, it was a necessity. They didn¡¯t want anyone from their clans to come under attack, but they were high value targets so it simply made sense to take what security they could. Everyone was in late Soul Expansion Phase, so what would have been a very difficult mix between a climb and a hike was manageable. But the natural difficulties of thinning air and sheer cliffs were augments by supernatural winds, requiring caution from the group as a whole. John had an air totem so he was able to ease the burden on the entire group, and some of the others had undergone training to deal with high winds. Even so, it was a continual drain on their stamina. Like mountain climbers on Earth, they had to take breaks where they could. But much like in the Kelp Spire Forest, other cultivators had already carved out little caves in the area long before, providing places of shelter from the wind and growing cold. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. John and Matayal cuddled together to warm up, and the rest had to figure out the limits they were comfortable with. For the most part they sat back-to-back, though there wasn¡¯t much room for anything else in the small caves when a group of ten people was together. Especially since the further in they were, the less they had to deal with the outside winds. ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± John commented to the group. ¡°Once we recover our energy, we¡¯ll deal with the last stretch.¡± Aside from John, nobody else had abundant access to their primary element. Closer to the Grandcliff River water element was abundant, but where they were water and darkness elements were at ambient levels similar to Astrein. Enough for them to slowly recover, but not fast enough to not have to stop. Their total stores might have allowed them to complete the whole climb if they pushed themselves but there was no point in taking unnecessary risks. If the only goal had been to reach the Grandcliff River, then technically they could be beneath it already- but nobody wanted to try to climb the cliffs with a river falling on them. As they approached the peak, they still had the most impressive fall above them. Water began to spray around them, some parts of it freezing into tiny drops of ice. When the crested the last edge, they were met with the sight of a waterfall a kilometer high, raining a mist of liquid and icy mist down on the area below it. Flows of ice extended through the waterfall as frozen passageways, but there were also streams of water that never froze alongside the icicles. They were of course not the first cultivators to be present. Some of the locals trained underneath the falls year-round, and for a special event such as the Great Waterfall reversal hundreds of cultivators were in attendance, encompassing the entirety of the Soul Expansion Phase. Only a small number of brave or foolish Foundation Phase cultivators were present. ¡°Hmm.¡± John¡¯s eyes landed on someone present. ¡°Hmm what?¡± Matayal asked. Her eyes followed his to a group of others. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Having heard about his previous indecent with Bora Kartal, she could guess what he was thinking to see him present. But of course, it also wasn¡¯t unexpected. The Kartal clan was from the Blustering Peaks after all. If Bora was smart he wouldn¡¯t cause any trouble- but if that was the case, he probably wouldn¡¯t have caused any the first time. Even so, the clan had little excuse to act as John had caused no permanent harm, nor had he spread the word of what happened to cause Bora shame. ¡°He has a very punchable face,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°Sorry, I have dibs,¡± John replied. ¡°If he chooses to make it a problem.¡± For the sake of the others, John gave a quick overview of the situation. The Kartal clan should show some restraint to not end up in a war with another clan- or two- when it wouldn¡¯t really benefit them, but that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t make things more difficult for them. It was not terribly surprising that nobody from the Stone Conglomerate was present. While it also made little sense for fire element cultivators, John had almost expected Steve. But maybe him not being present was a good thing, as there was always trouble around him. There had been some talk about Mulyani clan cultivators coming, but it seemed that neither them nor Brandle Clan members beyond those with their group were present. Matayal did spot a friend, however. She waved her over, but a man came with her. ¡°Keahi, who¡¯s this?¡± The man smiled and introduced himself. ¡°I¡¯m Susila, Keahi¡¯s husband.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Matayal deflated. ¡°Am I a terrible friend? I hadn¡¯t heard about this at all¡­¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t even known each other that long, really,¡± Keahi admitted. ¡°Less than a year. And you¡¯ve been pretty busy lately.¡± ¡°The triplets occupy quite a bit of our time,¡± Matayal admitted. ¡°So how did you meet?¡± ¡°Her ship ran aground on my island,¡± Susila explained. ¡°Well, where I lived. It¡¯s not like I own an island,¡± he said a bit sheepishly. John found a moment to interject himself. ¡°It¡¯s not like even the Brandle clan controls a whole island. Not any of the major ones, anyway. I¡¯m Fortkran Tenebach, by the way,¡± John introduced himself. ¡°I hope my name has at least come up¡­¡± he looked at Keahi. ¡°Of course,¡± she nodded. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t forget my best friend¡¯s husband, even if she¡¯s been neglecting me lately.¡± Keahi said that in a light tone, so it was clear she wasn¡¯t that upset. ¡°I did hear about the shipwreck,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°But you didn¡¯t mention meeting a handsome young man¡­¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know if it would go anywhere at the time¡­¡± Keahi shrugged sheepishly. Susila was an independent cultivator of decent talent, much like Keahi. Both were currently in mid Soul Expansion Phase, which was more than respectable for their age. They weren¡¯t able to match up to John and Matayal, but they didn¡¯t have the backing to allow that. While Keahi had received some benefits to her cultivation from being Matayal¡¯s friend, it wasn¡¯t as if she was hanging on her coattails. Since the Great Waterfall Reversal involved powerful amounts of water element, it was a good advancement opportunity for the two of them. While they weren¡¯t even close to the Consolidated Soul Phase, they were hoping to break through to the next rank and solidify their cultivation there. A strong gust of wind blew across the plateau where the gathering was taking place. It wasn¡¯t much to worry about, but Keahi instinctively grabbed onto Susila¡¯s arm. So she was still afraid of storms. John smiled slightly at that thought. Not every fear was rational, but at least she had someone she could rely on. Though John couldn¡¯t fully judge the man¡¯s character after meeting him for a few minutes, he had a good feeling about the couple. Good feelings didn¡¯t necessarily mean anything in the long run, but they looked happy and comfortable with each other which was important. Chapter 129 The time of the Great Waterfall Reversal was not something precise. The predictions could be off by several days, though as the time grew closer those with a connection to water became increasingly aware of the incoming change. It was difficult to explain, especially for John whose connection was more secondhand. He had experience manipulating water elemental spiritual energy, but no totem to empower his ability. It was like the weight of the water was decreasing, though it hadn¡¯t actually affected its flow yet- and it still had the same impact as it splashed at the bottom. It was also still just as cold, as the myriad of cultivators positioned themselves beneath the waterfall. Even outside of the upcoming event, the Grandcliff River was an excellent place to train. This portion was simply difficult to get to, making it only worth the effort for a longer trip or special event. Water energy flowed between John and Matayal naturally as if they were part of the same stream. Surrounded by so many others, nobody was comfortable with diving deep into cultivation, but a gentle circulation of energy kept them in peak condition. John and Matayal were not far from breaking through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, and one good push could make the difference. However, if they ran low on energy during the attempt they could instead find themself facing a setback that delayed their cultivation for some time. Both were experienced enough that they wouldn¡¯t be reckless like Fortkran had once been, ruining his cultivation. In a way, the fact that John had that experience was a great boon- but not one that could be sought out by anyone. Though tensions existed between various sects and clans present for the event, nobody was willing to cause trouble beforehand and potentially get ousted from the area. Even if there was no particular overseer, the various groups would band together against those who started trouble. Of course, that was only during the period of waiting when they were unoccupied. Once the actual event happened¡­ people would be quite occupied with their own cultivation and wouldn¡¯t bother with things that didn¡¯t affect themself or their direct allies. It stood to reason troublemakers would also focus on cultivation, but John wasn¡¯t going to bet that held completely. Neither were their guards, of which several would be fully focused on watching for trouble. Aydan for example had little to gain from a water element phenomenon. The water from the fall was prone to freezing in thin layers as it splashed a fine mist on everyone. John was glad to have a portion of fire energy stored away so he could at least be warm inside while he guided the layers of ice off of him. Matayal was able to completely stop it from freezing or pulling away her body heat, but John wasn¡¯t going to compare himself to a pure water cultivator. A week later, everyone was growing impatient. Most had arrived earlier, just in case the predictions were late- but it turned out to be the other way. A week of time for cultivators was not particularly long¡­ but many of those present were talents on the younger end, and even older cultivators were still subject to human feelings. John and Matayal in particular couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the triplets were getting up to and were eager to return. Yet they were also grateful for the time together, even if it wasn¡¯t particularly exciting. It might be a sparse commodity in the coming years. ----- John was awoken by a sudden change in the atmosphere, both of the people and the area itself. He poked his head out of a rather comfortable tent and saw others reacting as well. It was finally time. It would only be a few minutes at most. The spray of icy water actually felt refreshing again for the first time in a week, and everyone felt their spirits rising. Then the water stopped. For a moment, it was as if the entire river had frozen- though it did not have the look of ice like that covering stripes along the falls. Everyone held their breath in anticipation. It could have been a minute, an hour, or just a second¡­ and then the water was flowing in reverse. The river flowing along the plateau pushed towards the tall cliffs, pushing those standing in it upwards. They were still weighed down by gravity, but with just the slightest control they could ¡®attach¡¯ themselves to the water to be carried along with it. It was a wonderful feeling, more akin to flying than swimming, though John had yet to actually fly outside of long prior trips in airplanes. The power of the water washed over everyone present, and John felt simply flooded with the water element. Matayal held his hand, and together they began to circulate their energy as they rose. However, it wasn¡¯t exactly as simple as it seemed at first. The great power was almost overwhelming, even with a pure water element cultivator involved. In addition, the waterfall didn¡¯t suddenly unfreeze. The sections that were frozen remained that way, forcing the cultivators to control their movement to avoid sudden impacts or even possibly impaling themselves on spikes of ice. A random icicle could not harm a cultivator, but the waterfall had great power and spiritual energy behind it. John and Matayal moved together, dodging to the sides, backwards, and forward. The waterfall had significant depth to it, with flows of water all around and through the obstacles of ice. Cultivating in such a situation might be impossible, if it weren¡¯t for the way the powerful water element energy almost circulated itself through them. However, it couldn¡¯t just be left uncontrolled. That was the sort of thing that got cultivators killed. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The further they rose up the waterfall, the more powerful the effect of the energy. Yet it wasn¡¯t simply about height. The process allowed them to get used to the increase. In the past, people had climbed up the waterfall to be at the top before the reversal began, but they found themselves overwhelmed by the power. The lucky ones were flung away, but there were tales of an unlucky soul who was pulled into the source where the river originated, never to be seen again. That part might have been a tall tale, but the rest was true. John and Matayal planned to settle at the highest point they were comfortable with, and perhaps once they stabilized there they would push higher. There was a wave of energy as Bora Kartal pushed his way past them with a trio of guards in obvious provocation. The momentum of his passing pushed them towards the front surface of the waterfall, though only slightly. At least he hadn¡¯t been so stupid as to draw a weapon. That sort of behavior could cause a war between clans, while this might be put down to a petty squabble. But John and Matayal looked at each other, and there was immediate agreement they weren¡¯t going to take things lying down. The pair shot upward, but instead of directly catching up Matayal hung behind until there was a large section of ice. As Bora picked a path, she led John towards the back of the waterfall. They skimmed dangerously close to the rocky face, but John played a supporting role and held them at a safe distance with a modicum of earth energy and some precise maneuvering. As they moved in front of the others, they pushed forward- specifically off of the water behind them. That had the added effect of pushing Bora and his trio of guards backwards without even touching them with spiritual energy. Matayal did most of the work, while John focused on keeping the flow of energy they were absorbing steady. He circulated the elements through him, the water empowering air and then earth, with the energy flowing through darkness and back to water through the cycle of allied elements. Though John was certain Matayal could have stayed ahead of the four others, even with them working together in a small formation, he felt her intentionally delay. Perhaps it was a bout of competitiveness, but she also might have disliked Bora from John¡¯s descriptions of their previous encounter. Either way, the group was allowed to swim up next to them. John had to admit the method they used next was interesting, but ultimately it was ineffective. The four worked together to create a bubble of air ahead of the couple, but their momentum carried them most of the way- while John split the void of air into many smaller bubbles when it was out of their control. They might have done more if they maintained their efforts, but directly imposing energy around others could be taken as an actual attack. So far, things hadn¡¯t escalated to that point. As they continued upward, John noticed their opponents slowing. They weren¡¯t actually taking the time to adapt to the increase in energy, instead focusing on causing trouble. Meanwhile, John had the attention to spare on maintaining those efforts while Matayal toyed with them. If Bora had been willing to accept a private loss, things might have ended there. However, if that was the case he wouldn¡¯t have caused trouble at the Quartz clan to begin with. John could feel his attitude shifting as Bora controlled the four person formation¡¯s spiritual energy. Losing all subtlety he shoved a mass of water towards the two of them, accelerating it with air. Matayal had the skill to maneuver around the group, but her personal power couldn¡¯t stand up to the might of four people. But of course she wasn¡¯t alone either. The pair were shoved through a hunk of ice, shattering it, but as they were driven towards the solid wall John repeated his earlier method of pushing against it. But more than that, he remembered the techniques of Brage, the swordsmanship instructor. His earth energy compressed and sprung back, pushing not himself and Matayal but the water energy shoving against them. Matayal sensed his intentions and followed along with her water element. The two of them were at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase, so together they nearly matched the four mid Soul Expansion Phase cultivators in direct power- and with some technique they were able to overcome them. The rebound pushed specifically against Bora, who was sent rocketing out of the waterfall. The waterfall flowed in a fairly straight line across the plateau, so he should be able to slow himself with his air energy and land in it. Water energy would allow him to reduce the impact with the river below instead of crumpling against it like concrete. Even if he failed, he should survive. And if not¡­ John didn¡¯t care. The three guards with Bora momentarily seemed as if they might attack¡­ but in addition to John and Matayal¡¯s looks they also took note of the various bodyguards following from below. The Brandle clan cultivators had helped pave the way for the others, but so far they had not felt the need to interfere. Several moments passed, and though the Kartal clan¡¯s guards knew they had more numbers elsewhere, they wisely decided this was not the time to push things. Beyond just their personal safety, they knew better than to elevate things further. ¡°If they get anywhere close again,¡± Matayal modified her voice to speak clearly through the water, ¡°Deal with them.¡± The mixed Tenebach and Brandle clan guards nodded. Her words were of course spoken loud enough the retreating guards pushing their way down the waterfall were able to hear them. With previous experience creating air in the depths of the sea, John and Matayal found it almost laughably easy to simply pull some from outside the waterfall to keep themselves topped off. The skirmish had slightly set back their adaptation to the force of the waterfall, but now they returned their full focus to the task. The extra stimulus had been beneficial to a small extent, but now they had to narrow in on their task. Advancing to the Consolidated Soul Phase was a serious task that could afford no distractions, and the eight guards maintained positions around them close enough to protect them but far enough to not disturb them. Chapter 130 The Grandcliff River was more than large enough to support the presence of every cultivator even at the point of its origin. While a large number of cultivators might disturb each other¡¯s cultivation in normal circumstances, the abundant and wild spiritual energy that was causing the waterfall to reverse its course far overpowered what any cultivator could do. Throughout its area, nobody would notice the influence of another as long as they maintained their distance. The duo of John and Matayal were at the center of their own vortex of power, greedily drawing in the water elemental spiritual energy around them. Though John did not yet possess a water element totem, their previous years of dual cultivation gave him the familiarity needed to handle a portion of that process. The spiritual energy poured into them, filling them to the brim. Both were on the verge between the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth ranks, at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase. Both had received advice on what to expect when attempting to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase, so they were as ready as they could ever be. The swelling wave of energy pushed on them, threatening to crush them, make them explode, or both. However, they used that pressure to catapult themselves into the sea of spiritual totems. The nature of the place did not allow them to truly be together, but the awareness of their bodily closeness still lingered with them. John had some idea of what totem Matayal might choose, but he knew that ultimately the choice could be swayed at the final moment by some sort of whim or inspiration. Only one could ultimately be chosen, and he knew that he would probably imagine different paths but never get to tread them. The thought of attuning to a fire totem was still there in the back of his mind, but ultimately he needed something more stable. Especially if he was going to be away from Matayal the majority of the year. His consciousness went to the fourth layer. He could go deeper towards more powerful totems, but that could easily lead to an imbalance. A proper cycle of elements was not dominated by just a single factor. The origin of his power was darkness which suffused everything, but even that was balanced with the rest. There was no reason to second guess his choice at this moment. He felt the totem he had already decided on ahead of him, and he stopped in front of the dark waters of the Deep Sea. His experiences there had influenced him greatly, and even if he had no other connection the totem fit nicely. Like the others he required the totem to have a growth factor. The Deep Sea had unfathomable edges that seemed to stretch forever, and he felt he could plumb the depths of the darkness indefinitely. As he reached out to ¡®touch¡¯ it, the connection formed with his will. The rush of water elemental spiritual energy pouring into him suddenly had a totem to channel it, and he immediately felt the benefits. Inside his dantian, the water surrounding his little island seemed to swell and grow, especially downward instead of towards the horizon. Distance wasn¡¯t fully real in such a space, but the growth also came with a change in quality and how it fed into the Tree of Darkness. As he circulated his energy, filling up his new capacity, he felt Matayal begin to do the same. Spiritual energy passed between them and he felt the presence of her new totem. She was still a cultivator based on water element as a core, and nothing was different with her fourth totem. Her latest totem came with a warmth to it- one that would remind her of home, and reminded John of a few rare vacations from his previous life. The Tropical Sea, beautiful calm and clear yet also a bringer of storms. When he had previously asked her why she was choosing that particular totem, she explained that it was because of the warmth, a small bit of fire that would help when they attained the next Phase. And she had gone through with it, her confidence in John and herself showing through even though neither of them knew a single cultivator of such power. But what was cultivation without confidence? Around the same time he found himself once more full on power, John felt his momentum cease. Then there was a pulling sensation. The pair of cultivators opened their eyes to see themselves at the top of the waterfall, and they focused their energies to stop their movement towards the basin where the waterfall normally flowed from. They had no desire to explore whatever might be inside there. Fighting against the waterfall wasn¡¯t difficult, and soon enough they were able to let gravity take hold and slowly begin to drag them down against the flow of the water. They had both achieved their goal in arriving, and further cultivation would only lead to minimal growth at the moment. They needed some time to adjust to their new rank, and the Consolidated Soul Phase. John smiled openly as he felt the spiritual energy flow through himself. He now had the three elements aligned with darkness and a partial cycle flowing from water to air to earth all without the aid of Matayal. They could still benefit from dual cultivation, but John finally felt the balance of elements nearing completion. If he somehow attained the next Phase he would have the four core elements in their own cycle complete. Considering adding light onto that was far beyond what he could comprehend, little more than an impossible dream. At the bottom of the waterfall, John and Matayal stepped onto land once more along with Aydan and Crystin. The Brandle clan guards were now taking advantage of the natural phenomenon for themselves, with the assistance of the remaining Tenebach guards. Having just achieved their breakthrough John and Matayal were more than a match for pretty much any group present, but their positions still merited guards¡­ and backup never hurt. John wasn¡¯t going to assume himself invincible. He¡¯d seen too many Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators die or otherwise suffer losses in the last few years to believe that. The two of them caught the eyes of the Kartal clan. Bora seemed to be injured. Unconscious, but not in a critical state. The guards clearly sensed the advancement of John and Matayal, who briefly looked at each other. Then they waved the group away. The Kartal clan guards looked quite relieved. Neither side wanted a war, but if there were to be one the side with two new Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators had a serious advantage. If nothing else they could have caused some sort of trouble, but John didn¡¯t think it was worth it. And if the clan was smart, they would discipline their young master and remind him not to cause any further trouble. If that didn¡¯t work¡­ perhaps they would replace him. Even John¡¯s parents considered that, with Fortkran- despite how much trouble it would have caused them. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Though John would have liked to just relax, people advancing to Consolidated Soul Phase wasn¡¯t something that was just glossed over. As various sects and clans finished their cultivation sessions, they came by to offer congratulations. That meant offering a polite response in turn- just because their position had grown stronger didn¡¯t mean that they should make enemies for no reason. At least John didn¡¯t have to fake the smile on his face. It just wasn¡¯t for any of the people coming to see them. It was already late in the day when John and Matayal had finished their breakthrough. Soon enough they had the excuse of going to sleep to get away from the others, though they were still met by a flood of others in the morning. As things settled down, Keahi and Susila found a chance. ¡°Congratulations,¡± they both offered. ¡°Thank you,¡± Matayal smiled. ¡°We¡¯ve heard that so many times now, but the only ones I¡¯m sure are genuine are the two of you.¡± ¡°I can say I knew the two of you since before you reached Consolidated Soul Phase,¡± Susila grinned. ¡°Even though we met just shortly beforehand. Keahi chose her friend well. If I remember what she said about your meeting, she did not know you were from an important clan when you first became acquainted.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard this story,¡± John admitted, which was also him asking for more. Matayal obliged him. ¡°We met when I was touring various places in the Shimmering Islands, visiting potential allies and the like. I was still young, so I took a moment to get away from it all. Down at the beach, I saw a lone girl playing in the waves. When I got close¡­ she splashed me. It almost became a real fight, since I wasn¡¯t used to anyone trying to play with me. Especially not random people I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You just looked like you needed some fun,¡± Keahi countered. ¡°I was trying to cheer you up. Though you still look like you could use some fun most of the time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Matayal hugged John from the side, her mouth grinning only slightly, ¡°We have plenty of fun.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s how you get triplets,¡± Keahi laughed. ¡°Maybe we should hold back a bit.¡± After a time of pleasant chatting, there were more people to meet, if only briefly. Then the duo were at a point they could make use of a bit more cultivation in the waterfall. After a full day of flowing in the wrong direction, the Great Waterfall Reversal ended and people began to trickle away from the plateau, back to wherever they came from. John and Matayal lingered as long as they felt comfortable, relishing the time together. Then they too began the descent, where they would eventually take the carriage back to the Tenebach clan. ----- ¡°Were the three of you good for grandpa and the others?¡± John asked the triplets as they returned. ¡°Yes,¡± Tirto nodded his head emphatically. ¡°Of course,¡± Ursel stood tall and proud. ¡°They made the fish pond mud,¡± Melanthina commented. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to tell!¡± John rolled his eyes at Matayal. If something like that happened, it would be pretty obvious who was responsible. It wouldn¡¯t be anyone but the triplets. There were other children among the clan, but they were not able to cause so much trouble since they didn¡¯t have control of spiritual energy. Tirto slowly walked over to John. ¡°... you feel different.¡± ¡°Well, we just got back from training,¡± John nodded. ¡°I¡¯m stronger now.¡± ¡°Mmm. You feel like mommy.¡± That would be the water element totem, John surmised. It was not surprising that his water attuned son would be sensitive to that change. With that brief exchange done, Tirto made his way over to his mother. She was still his favorite, it seemed. Not that John would complain- the girls certainly liked him more. There wasn¡¯t much to do about that, as children would always prefer someone. And adults too, but they were often less obvious about it. The two parents took what time they could with their children before they were inevitably swept up in clan business. The news of their advancement would doubtless be spreading already, and both clans were ready to react to that properly. Among other things, that meant that Matayal would be returning to the Shimmering Islands in the near future. They would be needed as their clans negotiated alliances and pursued avenues of growth. Their clans had supported them in reaching their current point, and so it was time to fulfill their duties and give back as they could. And unfortunately, the reality of the situation meant they would be apart much of the year on an ongoing basis. Yet there was nothing they could really complain about. They could have been born outside of their clans and perhaps not even introduced to cultivation. John would have been interested in pursuing it but his skills from Earth wouldn¡¯t exactly have done him much good in advancing himself to where he could purchase information about cultivation. In that sense, he was extremely lucky. He could have just been normal again. Normal wasn¡¯t bad, but in a world with cultivators¡­ it was certainly a lot more dangerous than it should have been. Chapter 131 Nobody could have everything they wanted. Not commoners, nor Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Neither children, nor parents. What people wanted only occasionally meshed with what was best for them or the rest of the world in general. John crouched down next to his children, giving them each hugs. ¡°Don¡¯t forget your father loves you all, and that I will miss you.¡± Melanthina grumbled a little bit but accepted the affection. Tirto didn¡¯t react much on the surface, but John felt he was happy. Ursel didn¡¯t want to let go. ¡°Why do we have to leave?¡± That wasn¡¯t something he could easily explain to his children that were little more than two years old. It had been decided to keep the triplets together at least for a few years. As for the rest¡­ ¡°Your mother has to return to her clan. You don¡¯t want her to be lonely, right?¡± ¡°Are you coming too?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be there later,¡± John assured them. Quite a bit later than he would like, and for not nearly long enough¡­ but the schedule they worked out would allow each of the parents to spend slightly more than half the year with their children, with two of those months having both of them together at one clan or the other along with the children. John stood up and looked at his wife, putting on his best smile. ¡°I love you. I¡¯ll be counting the days until we meet again.¡± ¡°I will be doing the same,¡± Matayal replied. Further words were unnecessary, but they touched hands for a few moments. Then, it was time for the four to leave. John watched as the carriage took them away, until it passed the horizon. The arrangements necessary for them to take over running the clans had been completed. If things had been different- either Matayal or John having siblings- the situation might not have been so awkward. Unfortunately, Mayatal¡¯s parents had died when she was young, and John¡¯s parents had very intentionally only had a single child. That was something that could no longer be changed. Strangely enough, having two months of contact with each other every year was actually more than some cultivators, or at least more frequent. Usually they were older, but as lifespans extended it was possible for cultivators'' senses of time to skew to the point that several years hardly felt like much of anything. Lovers might be apart for extended periods of time. Yet that wasn¡¯t always without issue. John didn¡¯t believe he would have to worry about Matayal having an affair, and his current self had no intentions to do the same, but there were other issues that could arise from such a long distance relationship. Their duties would doubtless keep them married regardless of feelings, but John didn¡¯t want the love that had developed between them to fade into just a sense of duty. He wasn¡¯t going to let it happen, though he wasn¡¯t fully certain what he could do. Heartfelt letters seemed like a good start. ----- Taking over the position of clan head at around thirty years of age made John fairly young for the position, but in some ways it was actually a benefit for him to be young. For example, his personal cultivation granted him status by itself. Taking over the position as clan head elevated himself and the clan, as it signaled that the Tenebach clan was only going to grow in power. Because of those factors, John now found himself at a formal banquet put on by the Order of the Amber Heart. Johannes Dalen was of course seated at the head of the table, but John and Renato were the two positions next to him. It was a clear declaration of the alliance between the Order of the Amber Heart and the Tenebach clan, and a sign of their dominance in Marble County. Only Dalen and John were in the Consolidated Soul Phase. Even Renato was merely at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase. The seating arrangements were generally set up by cultivation, though it was also related to position in the Order¡¯s eyes. Everyone picked out who was out of place, either ahead or behind of where their cultivation would have otherwise merited. Most of those present, besides John and Renato, were various degrees of old men- and women. They might be jealous of the two, but most concealed it well. In turn, both younger men maintained a respectful stance. It would have been easy for them to be arrogant and overbearing with their positions, but both knew it wouldn¡¯t benefit them. Polite discussion filled most of the banquet. Words weren¡¯t required for the message to reach everyone present. Even so, Johannes Dalen gave a short speech. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen of Marble County,¡± his voice boomed through the ornate stone hall, easily reaching the end of the extremely lengthy table. ¡°The Order of the Amber Heart is glad to welcome you all as guests. As many are already aware, by the machinations of fate the world is in a time of change, and of growth. As always, it is the intent of the Order of the Amber Heart that all of us have a strong bond and work together for the sake of everyone¡¯s prosperity.¡± John knew he meant those words more or less as he said them, though there were also some implications to be had. Neither the Order of the Amber Heart nor the Tenebach clan would be declaring themselves as overlords in the county, but everyone was expected to fall in line. Some would wish to plot and scheme for position, but the most direct determination of that was cultivation. That was something the allies had, and there was support from many of the lesser clans and sects as well. The chances that Marble County became a truly unified force were quite low, but with recent troubles from the Darklands they could at least cooperate on keeping out foreign influence. In addition to that, neighboring counties were beginning to take note, some of which had Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators of their own. Conflict wouldn¡¯t necessarily happen, but they were more likely to seek alliances or at least official non aggression pacts if Marble County as a whole backed the two strongest groups. ----- Socializing took far too long, but it was somewhat necessary. John had prepared himself by recalling the likenesses and names of everyone who was to be in attendance. It truthfully wasn¡¯t that difficult, though he would have liked proper pictures. Portraits tended to be intentionally inaccurate, making their subjects look better than they really were. Of course, pictures did that too- edited for magazines or public display. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As everyone came to exchange greetings, John acknowledged them with their names, and sometimes a bit more. Perhaps some bit of family business or other information that made him seem to know everything. John was surprised how much he could memorize with the aid of his cultivation, but in truth the Tenebach¡¯s information was not limitless. But it was enough, at least, to make everyone feel a bit special. Being acknowledged by people with power made them feel better about themselves. Even those who had previously interacted with John had done so when he was merely the young master of the Tenebach clan, and before he reached Consolidated Soul Phase. Once he was done with all of that, John waited for Renato to be finished as well. It was theorized that Renato would be taking over as head of the Order at some point in the future, and the Order was still greater in power than the Tenebach clan. This was also their home territory, so people had come specifically to be in the Amber Heart¡¯s good graces. After the formalities concluded, John and Renato moved to where they could talk privately. ¡°You look as if you have a question,¡± Renato said straightforwardly. ¡°That¡¯s right. Given your¡­ situation¡­ I¡¯m wondering why you are not yet in the Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± John knew the man was very talented, and resources shouldn¡¯t be a problem as the favored disciple of the head of the Order. ¡°You act as if it is so easy to make that step,¡± Renato said. Then he grinned slightly, ¡°But I will admit that I could have made the step already. Do not worry. I am merely waiting for the next opening of the Crystal Caverns. Until then, I have been solidifying my foundations.¡± Renato took a long look at John. ¡°It is almost difficult to recognize you as the same person you were when we first met. From a single first level darkness totem¡­ to four totems of different elements, all raised to the fourth level.¡± Renato shook his head. ¡°An impressive feat.¡± ¡°I will attribute some of that to luck and my own special circumstances. On that note, I am planning to put together a small gathering of similarly situated individuals. This is my formal invitation. Obviously your own status will be revealed should you choose to show up.¡± ¡°How many others are there?¡± Renato asked. ¡°Just two more, so far.¡± ¡°I think it would be a flagrant disregard of the fate that crossed our paths to begin with.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still uncertain if I believe in fate,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I will also agree it seems to not be merely coincidence that I have become acquainted with specific individuals.¡± Though it was luck that he figured out Steve. If he hadn¡¯t accidentally half introduced himself by that name¡­ John might have waved him off as an eccentric wandering cultivator. ----- Back at the Tenebach clan, John faced off against his grandfather Luctus. At the moment the two of them were the only appropriate opponents for each other. Either of them could face off against multiple opponents in the Soul Expansion Phase, but it wasn¡¯t good for them to only gain experience fighting those weaker than themselves. The fighting style of a darkness cultivator was always based around deception to some extent. Darkness energy could dull the senses of an opponent directly or indirectly. As a pure darkness cultivator, Luctus created shadows even John couldn¡¯t not pierce directly, allowing him to attack from unforeseen angles. Though only a single of John¡¯s totems was primarily tied to the darkness element, his style still relied on deception. Landing a swift blow to injure his opponents with Clinging Affliction or Bite of the Gorgon could start building his advantage. He also could rely on Spiritual Energy Absorption to outlast his opponents. Now that he had a complete cycle of elements- even just the minor one allied with darkness- he was able to do something more. John constantly channeled the four elements under his command, bringing different kinds of spiritual energy just below the surface. Then he would instantaneously make use of whatever element he needed. In terms of defense earth was used for withstanding blows, air for avoidance, water for absorbing and dispersing impacts. All of them had offensive uses as well, from the heavy blows of earth energy to the quick strikes air allowed to entangling an opponent¡¯s movements with water. At the moment, John was attempting to make use of all of them equally while hiding his true intentions. What seemed to be a stab with his sword suddenly shot a jolt of electricity forward. When Luctus attacked he moved to parry with a wave of water, only to freeze it around his weapon. He appeared ready to take a hit from Luctus head on, gathering earth element around himself- only to use a large portion of that energy to propel himself forward and inside the swipe of his grandfather¡¯s sword. Yet in the end he couldn¡¯t keep up with his grandfather¡¯s experience. Even so, he accomplished his goal. Eventually he intended to obfuscate his every move so that his opponents wouldn¡¯t know whether he intended to attack or defend, or even what elements he might use. The sparring was practice to work towards that end point. Even if he¡¯d stuck with familiar tactics, he knew he would have ended up with his grandfather¡¯s blade pointing at the back of his neck all the same. ¡°I surrender,¡± he admitted, holding up his hands. He hadn¡¯t even felt the man get behind him. He turned to face his grandfather, and they both bowed to each other. ¡°I must admit that I had trepidation when you first professed your desire to form a cycle of the elements. I couldn¡¯t even have dreamed that you would reach this point, given your cultivation mishap.¡± Luctus carefully danced around the fact that it was the previous Fortkran who had killed himself when attempting to break through to Foundation Phase. ¡°I thought perhaps you might have gone down a path that would ultimately lead to a weak cultivation. If that had happened¡­ the Tenebach clan might have fallen apart under the recent troubles. But as it is now, it is hard to imagine how you might have done better.¡± ¡°Thank you. I will admit it was somewhat due to fortune that I succeeded, but I once again thank you for supporting my wild plan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still looking forward to Melanthina taking over though,¡± Luctus grinned. ¡°Better to have a pure darkness cultivator.¡± John grinned in return. ¡°That rascal¡­ I hope she hasn¡¯t blinded her grandfather with her cuteness. But perhaps that temperament will make her suited as the next clan head, once she learns some responsibility.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad for a darkness cultivator to get into some trouble. Just not too much.¡± John agreed that it would probably work out. As long as it was not the kind of serious trouble Fortkran had been getting into. But he intended to learn from the mistakes made in raising him as much as possible. Both what had gone wrong with John and Fortkran- because John absolutely had to admit he had not been a perfect child or even young adult in his own world. Chapter 132 ¡°Welcome to the first official meeting of the club!¡± John spread out his hands to indicate everyone present. A whole three other people. ¡°Very exclusive and all that.¡± ¡°Club sounds weird,¡± Steve complained. ¡°I feel like we should be something like a society.¡± ¡°But if we call ourselves a society it would seem like we¡¯re meeting to try to secretly sway the future of the world,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Are we not?¡± Yustina asked. ¡°Because I feel like that¡¯s the whole point.¡± ¡°Well,¡± John frowned, ¡°I suppose that might be inevitable to some extent, gathering together cultivators with high potential. Which brings me to the first question. What makes us special?¡± Renato was the one to answer that. ¡°We¡¯ve all lived a previous life.¡± ¡°Right, but¡­ so what? Two of you have prior experience with cultivation, so I can understand that. But the two of us,¡± he gestured between Steve and himself, ¡°We came from a world that didn¡¯t have cultivation at all. The same world, even.¡± Everyone had agreed to reveal relevant details about where they came from for this meeting. John already knew it all, but the point was connecting Renato and the other two. ¡°Perhaps you were drawn here because you were suited to cultivation,¡± Renato postulated. ¡°But why me? I feel like if it was going to be anyone it should be a monk or martial artist or something. And it¡¯s strange that Lucanus and I came here close to the same time.¡± ¡°You can just call me Steve here if you want,¡± he commented. ¡°It¡¯s better to stay in habit, I think,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect it to be coincidence,¡± Renato said. ¡°It should be the power of fate.¡± ¡°What is fate? Yustina, you were from this world. Know anything about it?¡± ¡°I know what people believe,¡± she admitted. ¡°But I personally didn¡¯t put much stock in it.¡± ¡°I feel like the wording there comes with an ¡®until recently¡¯, doesn¡¯t it?¡± John asked. She directed her gaze directly at John. ¡°You think it is a coincidence that Lucanus showed up exactly at that time?¡± ¡°It certainly could be. I don¡¯t think you would have died if he wasn¡¯t there, either. Some elder would have jumped in to save you a moment later. And him being there for that¡­ he¡¯s a fire-type cultivator in the region and it¡¯s a big event. It¡¯s not that unlikely.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a skeptic,¡± Renato shook his head. ¡°Maybe. But I guess the point is accepting something as vague as fate seems like we¡¯re leaving out potential useful explanations.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Renato asked. ¡°I don¡¯t really know. But there are a few possibilities. First, maybe there are a lot more people like us and we simply haven¡¯t noticed each other. It could be half of the talented young prodigies are like us.¡± ¡°Why not all of them?¡± Yustina asked. ¡°Well, Matayal isn¡¯t,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Not in any meaningful way, at least. I¡¯ll accept that she could be reincarnated, but without memories that doesn¡¯t make her measurably different from others. Anybody could be reincarnated. And maybe they are,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I have believable proof of it with you two so I have no reason to doubt it could happen more.¡± Renato took the chance to speak. ¡°I must reiterate that even if there are significant further instances of reincarnated or transmigrated people that does not mean us specifically meeting was not fate. You and I, or the four of us. We could have easily run into less amicable fellows.¡± ¡°A fair point,¡± John admitted. ¡°But let¡¯s set that aside from now. There¡¯s another possibility that there are more people like us but without talent. We would also not notice them that way. I mean, when is the last time any of you talked in depth with someone who was not a cultivator, or a low level cultivator? It¡¯s not really intentional on my part, but the closest I get is some of the servants around here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Steve asked. ¡°I just want to know which thing it is. We¡¯re the few exceptions, there are more and everyone has talent, or there are more and it¡¯s vaguely random.¡± John shook his head. ¡°The historical documents aren¡¯t much help there. They imply that it¡¯s more likely to end up with talented reincarnators, but once again that could just be the others not being noticed.¡± ¡°I believe it would be difficult for anyone to prove reincarnation without talent,¡± Renato said. ¡°As information on this world could be compiled for such a ruse. The more interesting one is two transmigrators from your world. You share a language, so that cannot be faked unless you teach people, or they at least learn from another transmigrator. Though there would be no motivation for that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what makes me think there are either a ton of us, or something like,¡± John shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe Earth is ¡®nearby¡¯? Not necessarily physically, but through however souls work.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Or something drew them this way,¡± Renato pointed out. ¡°It could have taken a significant amount of time.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± Yustina said. ¡°What if this is ¡®Earth¡¯?¡± John looked at Steve then shook his head. ¡°Nah. That would be stupid. Also I know enough about geography to recognize that this is not it. Just this place here and the Shimmering Islands don¡¯t fit anywhere.¡± John shook his head. ¡°If I remembered how to measure the circumference of a planet, that would be useful. I feel like this place might be bigger.¡± ¡°There are scholars who have made that attempt,¡± Renato said. ¡°I don¡¯t recall what the results were, however.¡± John shrugged. Increased cultivation improved intelligence in a way, but it didn¡¯t change the basic thought patterns of a person. They wouldn¡¯t suddenly get better at math without some experience or something else changing him. People just thought more quickly, more or less. ¡°Well,¡± Yustina finally broke the silence after that. ¡°I don¡¯t think we know enough to have any of those answers. So what do we want out of this whole thing?¡± John shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Peace? An alliance? That seems like the correct course of action.¡± ¡°I think we already have that, don¡¯t we?¡± Steve asked. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not terribly familiar with Renato, but if you trust him I¡¯d be happy to fight alongside him.¡± ¡°It would be better to involve the Milanovic clan, though,¡± Yustina pointed out. ¡°You can marry me to secure the alliance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to marry you for politics,¡± Steve denied flatly. ¡°And anyway that wouldn¡¯t mean anything for an alliance because I¡¯m not associated with these other two in a deeper fashion.¡± ¡°Good point. They can just be separate then. When we both break through to Consolidated Soul Phase they¡¯ll pretty much have to agree with our opinions.¡± Yustina grinned, ¡°And you can just marry me unrelated to that.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ uh¡­¡± Steve looked around in a panic. There were technically several possible exits, but none of them would usefully bring him away from the situation. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Of course! The Milanovic clan¡¯s alliance with the Tenebachs is half-assed at best. We could do better to unite their influence eastern Stone Conglomerate and the Green Sands, along with the Order of the Amber Heart.¡± ¡°...About the other thing,¡± Steve said. ¡°Obviously,¡± Yustina nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t follow you around for years just because you were strong or interesting. ¡°Well¡­ okay.¡± ¡°Okay what? Be more clear about your answer!¡± Yustina pouted briefly. ¡°Yes, I will marry you.¡± Steve might have had more to say, but he found himself unable to talk due to Yustina¡¯s interference. At some point Yustina remembered there were others in the room and pulled away. ¡°Great. With that settled¡­ umm¡­ alliance! And if we want to find more people like us and learn about that, it will be easier with that greater influence.¡± ¡°I think that would be beneficial,¡± John admitted, ¡°But just so we¡¯re clear¡­ at the moment that means taking on the risk of the Society of Midnight. I doubt they¡¯ve given up on revenge on the Tenebach clan.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Already got in trouble with them. Screw the Darklands!¡± ¡°You do realize the Tenebach clan came from there, right?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nobody living, so they can¡¯t complain. But anyway¡­ the Milanovic clan has enemies of our own. Things are fine for the moment, but they¡¯ve been looking for stronger ties. Adding the Order of the Amber Heart into the mix would be good.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make decisions for the Order yet,¡± Renato admitted, ¡°But I do believe they would be interested as well.¡± ¡°Yet, huh,¡± Yustina grinned. ¡°But it won¡¯t be long either. So, what about the Brandle clan?¡± ¡°It¡¯s basically the case that alliances with the Tenebach clan involve them as well,¡± John said. ¡°It¡¯s sort of a question of mobility, however. An alliance across three countries is a bit unwieldy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because we don¡¯t have the support of all of the Stone Conglomerate,¡± Renato declared. ¡°Passage through the area would be easier and most troubles could be delayed long enough with additional support.¡± ¡°I guess the two of you will have to work on that,¡± Yustina shrugged. ¡°So, Fortkran, if we have a girl, how about marrying her to Tirto?¡± John sighed. ¡°While I¡¯m open to discussing marriage alliances of that sort at some point, I think it should be done at a later time. Things won¡¯t always work out so well as Matayal and myself. For example¡­ the previous me was technically the one engaged to her.¡± John shook his head. ¡°Any child of yours would likely be a fire cultivator anyway. That supporting element might be good for Tirto, but would leave the other side feeling lacking.¡± ¡°I could teach a kid to cultivate water elemental spiritual energy,¡± Yustina shrugged. ¡°But I see your point. We can hold off on that.¡± ----- Though an agreement had been made, it wasn¡¯t as if there could suddenly be an announcement of the alliance. It wasn¡¯t official in several ways, foremost of which involved Yustina¡¯s influence in her clan not being sufficient just yet. Yet when she and Steve broke through to the Consolidated Soul Phase- something they planned to do at the next stirring of Zolvolj- their opinions would be respected. It wasn¡¯t as if the Milanovic clan was opposed to the idea now, especially with Alina¡¯s influence. She was one of the highest potential in their younger generation. She married Tempkeit despite his low talent, but she was favorably inclined towards the Tenebach clan. With more than a handful of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators in this prospective alliance, it would be a force to be reckoned with. Yet not invincible. It wasn¡¯t just making too many enemies that would be a problem, but despite the general rarity of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators in the region, John and his friends weren¡¯t the only ones suddenly making that leap. There were several others of the younger generation who had succeeded, and others who were hopeful. John just hoped that the surge didn¡¯t extend to the Darklands. The Society of Midnight was already stronger than the Tenebach Clan, but they were currently prevented from acting by the general thought of the Stone Conglomerate standing against them. At the moment at least Marble Country was unified enough that it would resist any sort of intrusion from them. If they grew enough stronger, however, people might pull away out of fear of danger, even if one sect would not be able to match so many. Most of their influence had been cleared out of Marble County, but that just made John wonder if he was unable to find it. Alternatively, they could just be building up their power internally. That was information he didn¡¯t have, and would really like to have spies for. Preferably not Steve and Yustina. They had been fortunate to survive their previous encounters. Instead, John wanted something more traditional. People who lived and worked in the area¡­ and would be happy to earn a little bit extra passing along information. The Order of the Amber Heart had a few contacts, but more people might be more favorably inclined to deal with the Tenebachs. It was just important to find the right ones. Chapter 133 It would be easy for John to find a number of people willing to be spies if he went to the Darklands. It would also be easy for him to be killed. Since dying wasn¡¯t exactly on the top of his list, he was going with more indirect methods. That also meant not sending anyone directly connected to the Tenebach clan. It was a pain, but not really any worse than what the Society of Midnight had to do in the Stone Conglomerate. Though it might be obvious, it would ultimately come down to merchants or someone similar. The Tenebach clan didn¡¯t have enough influence to get more than information from the Darklands, but that would be sufficient since they weren¡¯t interested in going on the offensive. Fighting an unknown number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and possibly other sects in the Darklands? Absolutely not worth the possibility of resolving the issues. The conflict was something they would have to live with for the moment. Being clan head was uncomfortably restrictive. John was able to personally affect only problems in or near Marble County, sometimes throughout the greater portions of the Stone Conglomerate, but rarely elsewhere. That meant meeting with potential partners for alliances and intimidating those who would be enemies. In exchange, the Tenebach clan was able to leverage his grandfather Luctus¡¯ power more freely. Though he similarly spent most of his time near the clan, he was able to lead people further afield. He was still a valuable asset to the clan, but that was precisely why he would go himself. The personal power of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was several times greater than a late Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. The Tenebach clan also had other members growing in strength, even the older generation due to the success of the reverse empowerment ceremony returning the donated portions of their talent back to them. ----- Luctus surveyed the spirit darkness mine, formerly owned by the Chist Mining Company. It was a bit of good fortune that had fallen into the Tenebach clan¡¯s hands, despite being used as a point of ambush. The mining company had involved themselves deeply enough that they had no excuse for the attack when it was repelled- or actually overturned, with them and the Society of Midnight losing the battle. The Society of Midnight even lost Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Luctus smiled at the memory. His grandson was a significant part of that battle. He hadn¡¯t single handedly defeated a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, but that wasn¡¯t as important as that he orchestrated the event. A transmigrator in the clan had heralded big change in the clan¡¯s future, and fortunately it had so far been for the better. If not¡­ well, small differences could have led to the clan¡¯s disaster. They almost had to kill their own heir and wait for another to grow up. That was where the policy of having only a single child in the main line had failed them. However, not having siblings struggling for power was also key to their success so far. It wouldn¡¯t do much good for the clan to have a schism every three or four generations. External conflict was a powerful enough driving force. There had been a small hiccup with that regarding the triplets, but their clear affinities resolved it right away. It was unfortunate for Ursel, but she would not be inheriting leadership of either clan. Then again, perhaps she was the lucky one. After all, she would have the support of two clans without the direct responsibilities. But that was all far in the future. The foreman happened to be outside the mine when Luctus was looking for him, saving him the wait. Entering the mine while it was in operation would only get him in the way. ¡°Hello there,¡± Luctus greeted the foreman, Janfried. ¡°How go the operations?¡± ¡°Patriarch,¡± the man bowed his head in greeting. ¡°Unfortunately, output has been a bit lower than expected.¡± ¡°Any issues in particular?¡± ¡°Certain predictions were simply overeager,¡± the man admitted. ¡°The operations took some time to get going, certain areas weren¡¯t optimally productive¡­ but I can say that it is still quite profitable.¡± Luctus spent some time going over the records and talking with the foreman, as well as a few workers. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t trust them, but occasional inspections were worthwhile to let them know people were watching. And for those outsiders with their eyes on it, his presence was a useful deterrent. Even if he was only there occasionally, reminding people the consequences of crossing the Tenebach clan was worthwhile. ----- Over in the Brandle clan, Matayal found herself glad that her grandfather Netanel was good with the children. The easygoing version of him was her favorite, rather than the focused political version of him. He was also able to wrangle the kids when they got in trouble, or preferably before it. The advice of Kusuma was a great help to Matayal as well. Advice on the kids was one thing, but her experience leading the Mulyani clan was more valuable. Obviously Netanel could help her there, but his experience didn¡¯t quite cover what Matayal had to deal with. The Brandle clan did their best to maintain good relationships with those in the surrounding area, and especially those from Pualani. Not all of their neighbors were exactly friendly, but everyone still attended the same formal events. It was better to at least make a show of unity for the sake of outsiders. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Matayal found such events as dull as her husband John said they were, but she was better suited to put up with them. Maintaining polite formalities while keeping her face neutral was her default state. She¡¯d only opened up to express more of her emotions around her husband. Meanwhile, real emotions were unnecessary here. She still had her opinions, of course, but her face was as blank as a calm sea. She found herself mingling with some of the women, exchanging stories. Many were mothers, so they could at least relate to their children being rascals sometimes¡­ if not to their ability to utilize spiritual energy. The latter part was a secret anyway, though it was doubtful that it was completely unknown. People always talked. It wasn¡¯t just womanly chatter, either. There was talk of alliances and falling outs both on and off the island. That was especially interesting as not all of it was knowledge that could be found elsewhere. There was always interesting gossip to be found among women, and if that was what they enjoyed¡­ Matayal figured she would take advantage of it. But that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t listening to the men at the same time. They liked to think they were subtle with their whispers, but they were like fish splashing around on the surface. ¡°... seem to be having some trouble. Can¡¯t believe the Brandle clan is run by a woman.¡± Matayal¡¯s ears perked up at the mention of herself and the clan. She recognized most of those present, but the one of most interest was Nurul Purnomo. He was an older man and the head of one of the other clans. ¡°Indeed,¡± Nurul commented. ¡°It does seem suspicious that the patriarch is never seen in public. And this new clan head? She forced her way into the Consolidated Soul Phase and thinks she¡¯s one of the elite.¡± ¡°... had you heard about that one Matayal?¡± one of the woman was asking. Matayal held up a finger. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me for a moment. I have something to deal with.¡± She turned and began to walk towards the men. Nurul Purunomo had some reason to be confident in himself. He was one of the few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators in the area, after all. But that made things more convenient for Matayal. She walked directly towards him, through several other groups that hurried to step out of her way. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Matayal said politely. ¡°I heard you talking, and decided I would give you one opportunity to get on your knees and apologize.¡± ¡°What for?¡± the man raised an eyebrow. ¡°Everything I said was-¡± Her palm struck his chest, sending him rocketing into a nearby pond hard enough to strike the bottom. Despite his casual attitude he hadn¡¯t been careless enough to not raise his defenses when an angry woman walked towards him. He¡¯d just been too slow to do anything but absorb the impact. A moment later he came rushing out of the pond¡­ or perhaps it was more accurate to say with the pond. ¡°You dare to attack me?¡± The entire body of water rushed with him as he thrust a spear towards Matayal. Instead of drawing her own weapon she kept her hands free, spinning them around the length of the spear and entangling it by her side. The force of the crashing water was redirected to swirl around the two of them as they wrestled for control over it. Matayal grit her teeth as she channeled her spiritual energy through her totems. All of them were primarily water element, but each had at least minor traces of other elements. Her first totem, Mist, commingled with darkness quite happily. She knew she was going to marry the heir of the Tenebach clan, after all. Of most use at the current moment were her third totem. The third was a Stormcloud, incorporating elements of air. As air dominated water it was inherently difficult for her to control that portion of it, but dual cultivation had allowed her to experience John¡¯s air element and learn how to react to it. Electricity flowed through the spear and the water between the two cultivators. It was only a small amount, but it was enough to disrupt Nurul¡¯s control for a moment. She twisted the spear out of his grasp in the same way she took control of the waters surrounding them. Quick thrusts with the weapon stabbed into the man¡¯s hips and shoulders. None of the attacks were lethal, but she followed up with a stab to his gut just to show she could attack wherever she wanted. With a sweep she hooked his knee and sent him sprawling onto his rear as she sent the water back towards the pond, releasing her grip around the man. ¡°Tell me now. Who is the one that forced their way into the Consolidated Soul Phase? Is it you, old man?¡± He glared back at her. ¡°A single sneak attack doesn¡¯t mean you are stronger than me.¡± As he leapt to his feet to charge her, she spun the spear. It wasn¡¯t meant to be used as a bludgeoning instrument, but it came down over his head with the exact right amount of force to crack his skull and snap the spear in two at the same time. It wasn¡¯t her weapon after all. Nurul fell back to the ground, where Matayal stabbed the tip of the half spear between his legs, stopping just short of the permanent damage she was threatening. Then she spun around. ¡°I apologize for the interruption. Everyone can go back to their chatting now,¡± Matayal smiled. This was what Kusuma had told her. Despite the marginal differences between men and women who were cultivators- differences that practically disappeared by the Foundation Phase- some men had it stuck in their head that women were inferior. Even now Nurul was probably consoling himself that she cheated somehow. But a devastating defeat would let people know she wasn¡¯t to be trifled with. ¡°Oh right, before I go¡­¡± she turned back to Nurul. ¡°If the Purunomo clan¡¯s apology gifts are insufficient, I¡¯ll be cutting off your¡­ future generations.¡± She strode her way back towards the bundle of women she¡¯d been previously interacting with. There were a few moments of blank stares. Then Matayal leaned close. ¡°So who did you say was cheating on their wife? I¡¯d like to hear about it.¡± A pause. Then one of the women grinned. ¡°Well, this is just a rumor mind you but¡­¡± The host of this particular gathering was no doubt going to be upset at the battle, regardless of Nurul deserving it. But the Purunomo clan would be paying for it, one way or another. Could things escalate to a war? Theoretically, but it was unlikely many would stand on their side. The most they could do was wave their arms and threaten. And if it came down to it, either Matayal or Netanel could kill their patriarch and clear up a little room on the island. Chapter 134 The grittier sound of carriage wheels on packed dirt instead of cobblestone made a constant background noise as John found himself carried away. One good thing about being mostly bound to one location was that it made times of travel more exciting, even if it was for the purposes of work. Though ultimately all of John¡¯s travels in this world had been that way- his work had merely been to cultivate well for most of his life, instead of dealing with clan affairs. It was unsurprising that Astrein only had dirt roads instead of anything more solid. While travel through the area was relatively frequent, nobody was interested in paying for better roads. Specifically, not cultivators who had the money. They only intended to pass through, not remain in the area. While their trip might be more swift with good roads, nobody could agree who would pay for it. At various points the leadership of Astrein had proposed tolls along the roads, but with few cultivators they were leery of their ability to enforce them. And no cultivators wanted to live in the area, given the lack of spiritual energy. Except that was not completely the case. It was in fact just as abundant in spiritual energy as all of the surrounding lands. Perhaps it had even more than any of the others. The difficulty was that it was more or less evenly divided between the elements, which meant that most people found the amount of spiritual energy they could use to be one part in six. Perhaps higher than the amount of any non-dominant element from most regions, but so low as to make training extremely difficult and slow. Having only passed through briefly on his return trip from the Blustering Peaks, John hadn¡¯t really taken the time to get used to what it meant for him now. Any differences he felt could have been attributed to having just advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase. But now that he had gotten used to that level of power, he could confirm that his cultivation was actually considerably better in the region. With totems for four out of six elements he was able to draw upon the majority of the power in the area for cultivation, and as they came more or less balanced the elements flowed through him in a cycle quite easily. It wasn¡¯t complete, but it was the best natural environment John had been in as a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Of course he could spend time in special training rooms that gathered all of the elements together, but that had a cost to it. The elements in Astrein were just free for the taking. No sect was interested in staking a claim to say otherwise, since they would have to live somewhere suboptimal to stop¡­ one person. Maybe a few more, but John didn¡¯t know anyone else who had actually committed to a cycle of elements. Even if they had, he definitely didn¡¯t know any who had made it to the Consolidated Soul Phase. The ultimate destination John was headed for was not within Astrein. He wasn¡¯t interested in any tournaments, and it was the wrong time of year regardless. Instead he was passing through to the northeast, heading to the Sunfields. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the Sunfields,¡± John commented to Ayden and Crystin. His uncle and cousin had been his guards for most of the duration of his time in this world- though Crystin had come slightly later. At the current moment they were not yet in the Consolidated Soul Phase, but they were among those the Tenebach clan was pushing towards that point. If all went well, there might be a whole generation of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, catapulting the clan to a new level of power. But for the moment, their ability as guards was mostly to fend off those trying to take advantage of numbers, since John could probably fight them both at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m sure the area is¡­ bright and sparkling.¡± ¡°I visited once,¡± Ayden commented. ¡°Just once, for a very brief time.¡± ¡°... It sounds awful,¡± Crystin shook her head. ¡°Light is fine, but a place inundated with light element will be¡­¡± she shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate,¡± John admitted, ¡°But I¡¯m not going with people I don¡¯t trust. I doubt it will be any better for me.¡± ¡°It might,¡± Aydan pointed out. ¡°You do have an air element totem. That¡¯s at least allied with light.¡± ¡°I suppose so, but the core of everything I do is still darkness. I can¡¯t really get away from that.¡± The sounds of the road took over for the next few minutes as there was little more to be said. Then Aydan asked, ¡°What do you hope to gain from this meeting with the Golden Tomb Guardians?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly. Preferably their help against the Society of Midnight, in some fashion or other. Knowledge of their conflicts. Beyond that, their knowledge about the wider world. I¡¯ve had little reason to go beyond the Shimmering Islands or the Green Sands, but we might eventually find ourselves dealing with threats from more than our direct neighbors.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how much help a group two countries away will be,¡± Aydan said dejectedly. ¡°The enemy of my enemy is my friend,¡± John said sagely. ¡°That¡¯s the idea, at least. I have been able to talk to them in a civil manner, and they have agreed to my visit. If nothing else, we can judge the attitude of the wider Sunfields towards us.¡± ----- The Sunfields lived up to their name. Even from a distance the traveling cultivators could feel the light and heat emanating from the area. Not as much heat as the Green Sands, but definitely more than a comfortable amount. They were not yet at the border, but they were soon approaching- and would find themselves scrutinized carefully. Astrein had little control of people coming in and out of her borders, but those on all sides with greater populations of cultivators were interested in border security. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. As they approached the border keep, the cultivators that John could sense came into view. They stood upright in fine armor that sparkled in the sunlight. That was if he was being positive about it. If he were to be negative, he would say it glared harshly, reflecting light into his eyes. That might even be on purpose. The three cultivators began to make use of their energy to limit the visual overload as they approached. There were no Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators at the border, but the security was still sufficient for its purpose. They were there as deterrents¡­ and to keep track of those passing. John also knew they would send out patrols to catch or at least take note of those crossing through less approved methods. They wouldn¡¯t be able to catch everyone, but it was sufficient to know about any powerful cultivators or large groups. Surprisingly enough, John found himself in the former category. The last decade or so of his life had been in this world, yet cultivation still felt strange and new in some ways. But perhaps that was one draw of it, beyond the power it provided. There was always something new to uncover. Though John would be willing to bet the power was sufficient for most people. The travelers from the Tenebach clan weren¡¯t the only ones passing through. Even those leaving the Sunfields were stopped and inspected, and at the current moments there were a few groups going either direction. John¡¯s group was regarded with great suspicion as they were taken aside. It was clear the guards either didn¡¯t care to hide it, or they were inept at it. Given the general ideas about light he was inclined towards the latter, though he was aware that too much light could conceal just as well as darkness. Regardless of the attitudes of those watching, the actual officer assigned to their passage put on a professional visage. The woman went about the formalities in a practiced manner. ¡°Good day. Could I have your names and the purpose for your visit?¡± ¡°Fortkran Tenebach. I am here to have a meeting with the Golden Tomb Guardians. Beyond travel, we expect to stay no more than a week.¡± John handed over a letter of introduction he had brought with him. ¡°I see. I do believe you are expected,¡± the woman nodded. ¡°Before you proceed, I need to have your declarations that you are not carrying any contraband, as defined by these documents.¡± John had the feeling that he could get away with some amount of contraband. He was a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator from a sizable clan, after all. The fact that they were asking instead of demanding to search through their storage bags was enough. However, he was uninterested in most of the contraband. Various drugs that were on various levels of danger were the most prominent. Of those things he would be interested in, certain types of darkness attuned weapons and items were on the list. But he didn¡¯t have any, and wouldn¡¯t have brought them along regardless. The most interesting thing was spirit light being forbidden. Presumptively that was because it might be tainted, but in actuality John knew that several powerful sects were in control of the trade within the Sunfields. After the formalities were completed and the border crossing fees paid, John was taken to meet up with a disciple of the Golden Tomb Guardians. Not one of the few he knew, but a woman by the name of Deirdre. ¡°Good to meet you,¡± John said. ¡°Mn.¡± The woman nodded her head curtly. ¡°I have been sent to escort you.¡± He already knew there would be an escort, for two purposes. A Consolidated Soul Phase darkness cultivator wasn¡¯t exactly trusted in the area¡­ so she was present to protect both sides. She couldn¡¯t exactly stop John or the others if they decided to cause trouble, but her presence would be the only thing stopping everyone from viewing their presence with suspicion. Well, with quite as much suspicion at least. She was clearly uncomfortable upon climbing into the carriage. John didn¡¯t blame her, as it was designed to maximize the amount of darkness energy present inside it. But that discomfort was balanced out a short time later when they got to really see the sunfields. It was one thing for the sun to be blazing down from the sky, battering them with bright light¡­ but it was quite another for land below to amplify that effect. If asked whether or not he liked flowers, John would have been vaguely positive. He¡¯d even seen fields full of sunflowers before and found them quite nice. But¡­ these sunflowers seemed to amplify the light around them to the point that it was nearly impossible to see. Even when trying to sense things with his spiritual energy John found it wanting to tear apart. He could minimize the amount of darkness he used to get better feedback, but his default behavior was less effective. There was some small comfort to be taken in spotting workers in the fields with strange brimmed hats, some with veils. It was even too much for the non-cultivating locals. John felt sick. Even with the carriage minimizing the impact, being exposed to a constant bombardment of a repelling element was unpleasant. The other two seemed even worse, being both weaker and purely darkness based. All of the Tenebachs present were strong enough that they were still able to function, but if they found themselves in combat they could be ten or twenty percent weaker until they were able to get used to the effect, though being out of their element they would always be at least somewhat weakened. It was enough of an effect for John to feel that his odds of facing certain opponents would shift from a sure win to a probable loss. At least Deirdre seemed happier once they were a bit further into the Sunfields¡­ but she still seemed a bit annoyed. As if he had done something to specifically make her not like him, but he was certain they had never met. Being sent out to wait for him shouldn¡¯t have been that bad of an assignment either- whether or not she cared, he was important. Maybe it wasn¡¯t an honor to be chosen to guide him, but at least it shouldn¡¯t bring about ill feelings. But perhaps she had some kind of grudge against darkness cultivators in general. Though John couldn¡¯t help but feel she was mostly focused on him. Chapter 135 Before they got far into the Sunfields, Deirdre requested that the group briefly stop in a nearby village. The building they stopped next to was little more than a tall tower, and John could have easily mistaken it for a guard post. While it likely served that function as well, Deidre walked into the base and came out a short time later, after which one of the cultivators standing atop the tower proceeded to do something resulting in a series of flashes. Morse Code? Obviously not quite given that the alphabet was completely different, but it could be an equivalent. Whatever it was, it clearly was some sort of message. John looked in the direction they were facing and thought he could barely see another tower and some flashing in return, though it could have simply been the glare of the sun. He would have bet on one regardless. ¡°What was that?¡± John asked, mostly to see what Deirdre would say. ¡°I sent a message to the sect, informing them we were on our way,¡± Deirdre explained simply. ¡°I see. How long will it take the message to arrive?¡± She shrugged, ¡°It should be there within the day.¡± Very useful. The speed would be limited by how quickly information could be transferred, and how many jumps were in between. From horizon to horizon¡­ a day¡¯s travel could be covered in just a few jumps. That depended on the terrain, though, and if there were many messages it could certainly take a lot longer. But even if it took a minute for each message to go from point to point, it should be able to arrive pretty much anywhere within an hour. ¡°We should get something like that,¡± John commented. ¡°Though it would be a bit more difficult without light element cultivators¡­¡± Deirdre looked at him with a bit of curiosity, but didn¡¯t ask anything, and John didn¡¯t volunteer any more information. ----- The Sunfields wasn¡¯t entirely covered with the reflective sunflowers. People needed to eat, after all, and even if the special sunflowers had edible seeds it probably wouldn¡¯t be nutritionally dense enough to feed much of the country. They could import food, but no country wanted to be wholly dependent on others for vital resources. Thus they had various grains growing in fields, tall, strong, and mercifully unreflective. The terrain wasn¡¯t just flat ground, either. There were hills and forests all within the first day¡¯s travel. As for the roads, the main road they traveled on was quite good. The quality of the stone was less than that back home, but who could blame them? Even if they found good solid rock in abundant quantities, it would never have the natural levels of earth elemental spiritual energy that the Stone Conglomerate had. The free floating spiritual energy also reinforced them naturally even after they were placed, so it was unfair to compare. And the Stone Conglomerate¡¯s communication infrastructure was obviously lacking in turn. In the middle of the second day, while they were on a long stretch of nothing, there was an explosion off in the distance. ¡°What was that?¡± John asked. He couldn¡¯t quite sense what might have caused it. It was only light energy on top of light energy in all directions. Aggravating. ¡°Can we stop?¡± Deirdre asked. ¡°I need to check.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± John nodded. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going far,¡± she said. ¡°Just up a tree.¡± Even as she said that, she hopped out of the carriage and did exactly that. John had to admit that despite plantlife generally being associated with earth, the local flora were quite healthy and strong. Then again, associating anything with just a single element was probably a mistake, and even the ¡®pure¡¯ elements often had traces of other things mixed in. At least the elemental model was useful for thinking about their functionality for cultivation, and simplified ideas were the basis of any early learning in a subject. Deirdre was back a moment later. ¡°It¡¯s a flare. A signal of trouble. Disciples of the Golden Tomb Guardians. Please, can I go to them?¡± ¡°Could we stop you?¡± John asked. ¡°My mission is to guard you¡­ and currently that takes priority. But with your permission, I can leave.¡± ¡°I see. One moment.¡± John closed the door of the carriage so he could consult with Aydan and Crystin. The natural structure of the vehicle would help, but he also used his own darkness energy to obfuscate the inside, where he was quickly joined by the other two doing the same. ¡°So, what do you think? A trap?¡± ¡°It is clear that she does not particularly like you,¡± Aydan commented. Crystin interjected, ¡°Maybe, but I feel her concern for the disciples is genuine.¡± ¡°I agree with both of you,¡± John nodded. ¡°Which makes me think that if it is a trap, it¡¯s not for us. Or even for her, in particular. If the Golden Tomb Guardians wanted to kill us, they could do so when we arrived, or anywhere along the road. Obfuscating the evidence would be simple enough a country away, so I have cause to believe this is a real emergency. In that case, we should help for the sake of our future alliance. Any objections?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need to be cautious,¡± Aydan said. ¡°Let us approach first.¡± ¡°Fine. But I won¡¯t be far behind.¡± John threw open the door. ¡°How far to the nearest town?¡± ¡°An hour,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°Less if you hurry. You can wait for me there. If I don¡¯t come back by evening¡­ go on without me.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. John hopped out of the carriage with the other two. ¡°Marie. Wait for us in the next town.¡± He looked to Deidre. ¡°Well? Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I shouldn¡¯t be bringing you into danger.¡± John started moving in the direction she kept glancing. ¡°If we¡¯re to be allies, it might as well start now.¡± At least he felt slightly better about her leading them into a trap, with her reluctance. Either that or she was a good actor. Aydan and Crystin moved to the front, with Deirdre keeping pace. John settled into a position twenty meters or so behind them, making subtle uses of his darkness energy to hopefully make it harder to notice him. The light element everywhere was making it a pain though. Just moving around was uncomfortable, like the world itself was trying to resist him. It didn¡¯t take long before they could sense the battle happening, though nothing was clear about it. It was like a flickering flashlight in an already overly bright room. Soon enough the trees broke and they found themselves looking inward from the edge of a large clearing. One side was clearly losing the battle, with several fallen members. There were around a dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators and twice that many Foundation Phase. The aura of the Golden Tomb Guardians radiated from all of them, and the people seemed to range from younger disciples to some older members who were clearly in charge of organizing their defense. On the other side were approximately twice as many Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, and though they were merely matching in the Foundation Phase department, more of them were in the later parts of the phase. Deidre only hesitated part of a second before rushing forward to support her fellow disciples. Meanwhile, Aydan and Crystin hung back slightly, waiting for John¡¯s input. The numbers were perhaps something they might overcome, but it would be difficult. That was if the battlefield was fair, which it was not. Three darkness cultivators were at a disadvantage in the Sunfields. Thoughts ran through John¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t know who was the instigator in the conflict, but this current battle at least seemed weighed towards one side. Helping potential allies was good, but could they win? Running could be the right choice. If he died, the Tenebach clan would take a huge blow- and that was saying nothing of the effects to his wife and children. ¡°Whoever you are¡­ if you leave, we can let you go unharmed,¡± called an older man from the unknown side. That was immediately countered by the other side. ¡°We can offer you a reward for your assistance!¡± John really didn¡¯t care about a reward. It was impossible to collect if he was dead. He thought for a moment, then dropped a throwing dagger into his left hand. Aydan and Crystin got the message, and began to move forward to join the Golden Tomb Guardians. It was a huge risk to fight. The balance of power was against them. Losing the alliance would be a huge blow, but John could honestly say it wasn¡¯t worth his life. But not fighting felt like just as big of a risk. Just leave and they could go unharmed? Whoever this sect was might say that, but they wouldn¡¯t allow information about this battle to leak out. John and the others might manage to leave, but they would be hunted down later. At least with a high enough probability to make it more risky not to fight with what allies they had. And John didn¡¯t just want to abandon people that were supposed to become his allies. Calculating decisions based on benefits was important, but he still had to be human. The throwing dagger made its way towards one of the closer enemies¡­ and into the woman¡¯s neck. It was just a late Foundation Phase cultivator, but it was one more person John didn¡¯t have to worry about. While being a darkness cultivator was a disadvantage in this battlefield, it also gave them some unique opportunities to act against their opponents. Light and darkness shared special positions of being mutually destructive. That meant blocking or deflecting ended up being less effective, as the two energies mutually destroyed each other and caused damage around that point. An aggressive stance was going to be required. Unlike the Golden Tomb Guardians, the opposing sect used more traditional weapons wreathed in light elemental spiritual energy. They faced off against the strange short staffs of the Golden Tomb Guardians, where they made use of unsupported energy to create bladelike extensions beyond the ends. That made the weapons less effective in a direct clash, but they were also able to avoid them, shifting the energy around an opponent¡¯s block for example. John threw himself into the edge of the battle behind Aydan and Crystin. A formation of three people was barely better than functioning alone, but with John guiding their actions they could at least have a unified purpose. Each opponent they took down would be one more that wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them. Aydan¡¯s experience swiftly showed itself. While his cultivation wasn¡¯t much higher than his opponents, the first opponents were young. Truthfully, if it hadn¡¯t been for the Tenebach clan¡¯s empowerment ceremony Aydan could have already been a Consolidated Soul cultivator, and he had the combat experience to back it up. Careful dodging where he avoided any intersection of his and his opponent¡¯s energy allowed him to defend himself while he made a flurry of attacks intended to get anywhere close to a weak point, whereupon he could strike a lethal wound. He did well, but inevitably suffered a few wounds of his own. John channeled some of his non-darkness energies to help support the other two. Air provided them speed, while earth and water provided defense. Through those efforts they were able to slightly negate the detriments of direct clashes of light and darkness. As the lone Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator in the battle, John soon found himself a target. It was uncomfortable, but he made everything he could of it, slicing down the weakest opponents while dancing around the stronger ones. Drawing out the battle would not be good for them, since the light element cultivators would be able to recover their energy more easily, but he couldn¡¯t just face them all together either. Keeping up with the oppressive atmosphere of light was difficult, however. It made them worse and their enemies better. John was almost fighting with his eyes closed, barely able to see, and he knew that Aydan and Crystin were not any better off. The pressure was relieved from them when a group of the Golden Tomb Guardians spearheaded by Deirdre came to their aid. They had already been fighting alongside each other, but their actions shifted to specifically keeping the light element away from the three. That was much easier for them than John or the others, but a vital piece of support. The tip of a spear brushed against John¡¯s cheek, the light element from it clashing with his darkness element. Even if he tried to defend solely with earth energy, the traces were still there- and blood began to drip down his face. It could have resulted in a hole in his head so he was quite glad, but John felt a very real threat of death. Just because he was in the Consolidated Soul Phase didn¡¯t mean he was invincible, even against those lower in cultivation. When the battle ended and John found himself still alive, he was briefly astonished. But the whole alive thing wasn¡¯t necessarily going to last. He was covered in numerous wounds, blood dripping everywhere. As he blacked out, he fervently hoped to wake up again. Chapter 136 At first there was nothing to feel, then gradually a sense of pain started to set in. It was dull and distant, but slightly comforting. Knowing that he was alive was a relief, but John wasn¡¯t ready to fully accept comfort in the thought until his sense of spiritual energy returned to him and he was able to feel himself inside and out. Perhaps it was unreasonable to assume that he might transmigrate again, but he was quite attached to his current life and would rather not leave it behind. That was technically true of his first life, but he didn¡¯t really have much influence over that. As John hovered half into consciousness, he wondered if he could have avoided this situation. Or if he should have. Everything could be avoided if he just refused to interact with the world. In the end, he decided that the only real mistakes he made were in combat, taking too much of the burden on himself. The rest simply had to happen. When he finally returned fully to consciousness, his first instinct was to stretch. Bandages fortunately made moving uncomfortable and awkward, informing him of the foolish nature of that idea before he actually hurt himself. The room around him came into clarity, starting with Aydan. ¡°Good morning,¡± John said with as much joviality as he could. ¡°Where did we end up?¡± Aydan¡¯s eyes snapped into focus, and his senses roamed over John in concern. ¡°Brightspring. The next city up the road. How are you?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m alive and still me. So I¡¯d say pretty good.¡± He felt his various wounds with his spiritual energy, then slowly began to circulate what he had to help speed the recovery. ¡°Nothing seems that bad on its own. I guess I just overestimated myself.¡± He looked around the room. It was rather small, but it had the convenient feature of blocking out the light element that would otherwise be everywhere. ¡°Is this a jail cell?¡± ¡°It has been, at points,¡± Aydan admitted. ¡°It was better than the carriage.¡± ¡°I understand. I may have gotten used to fancy beds and stuff, but sometimes you just have to take what there is.¡± He tried to sit up, but Aydan held up a hand. ¡°You should stay in bed.¡± ¡°Should I?¡± John asked. ¡°I think it might be better to show I can¡¯t be kept down. A good feature in a potential ally, and I assume the Golden Tomb Guardians are still interested in that.¡± Aydan considered John¡¯s words. ¡°Let me get you something to eat. You should prepare yourself to get up after that.¡± John nodded. ¡°Reasonable enough.¡± As Aydan opened the door to the not-quite cell, a trickle of spiritual energy began to flow in. No light element, but instead a small background mixture of everything else. It probably wasn¡¯t something most people could even pick up, and as they were chiefly concerned about light element cultivators it would be deemed good enough. John began to circulate his energy. No damage to his meridians or dantian, so it was quite pleasant to guide the energy all throughout his exhausted body. Everywhere there was a wound he would draw small strands of energy to help speed up the healing. Too much would make things worse if someone didn¡¯t know what they were doing, but John had enough experience recovering from wounds to know a bit more. He¡¯d passed out not just from blood loss but also exhausted spiritual energy. The environment wasn¡¯t exactly friendly, though nobody was going to die from the amount of light element in the Sunfields. He was glad Aydan gave him the time to stabilize himself. Eating and drinking brought him more awareness, and even then he was still shaky when he first stood. But nothing was bad enough it actually stopped him from standing, so he began a leisurely stroll. ¡°How did the rest of the battle go? I know there were some losses¡­¡± ¡°Crystin might be worse off than yourself,¡± Aydan reported, ¡°But she¡¯ll survive. Some of the disciples didn¡¯t make it, but¡­ that¡¯s many times better than what would have happened without us.¡± ¡°What about the others? Whatever sect they were.¡± ¡°The Luminous Harmony Sect, apparently.¡± ¡°Agh. There are going to be a lot of those, aren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Everything is Quartz,¡± Aydan grinned. ¡°Anyway, all of them were killed, except a few ¡®lucky¡¯ ones who survived their wounds and were captured. We¡¯re currently waiting for a group from the main sect to come escort everyone. Until then, we¡¯re staying in Brightspring to take advantage of a city¡¯s protections. It is unknown if the Luminous Harmony Sect would have additional disciples in the area or not.¡± ¡°How long was I out?¡± John asked. ¡°Just overnight,¡± Aydan admitted. ¡°Though I imagine the poultices and salves helped significantly.¡± Ah yes. Expensive medicine, another advantage of being part of a clan. Or just a strong enough cultivators collecting the right things. As they continued further into the building, John was struck with how bright everything was. Outside of the corridors near the former jail cell, there were skylights and traditional windows everywhere. Good for local cultivators, annoying for darkness cultivators. Aydan was up and walking around, but John could sense he was not much better off than himself- and his uncle¡¯s spiritual energy was nearly empty and recovering slowly. At least John had other elements to hang onto. As they came out into some sort of main sitting room, Deirdre suddenly threw herself at John¡¯s feet. ¡°Forgive me for bringing you into danger. I-¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I forgive you,¡± John said quickly. ¡°You were simply concerned about your sectmates. I was the one who chose to come along.¡± Deirdre slowly stood, but kept her head bowed. ¡°Thank you. Without you, they would have all died.¡± John didn¡¯t have much to say to that. ¡°Of course. I would not just leave allies in need.¡± They weren¡¯t officially allies yet¡­ but the more he acted like it, the more people would believe it. He highly doubted that the Golden Tomb Guardians would refuse some sort of alliance at this point, but the more he could get them to support the Tenebach clan against the Society of Midnight, the better. She nodded slowly. ¡°I also¡­ have something else to apologize for. I was lacking in proper politeness towards an important guest of the sect due to my own personal prejudices.¡± ¡°Everyone is suspicious of darkness cultivators,¡± John assured her. ¡°It¡¯s wasn¡¯t just that. Do you remember Monika Zeman?¡± ¡°Oh yes,¡± John nodded. ¡°She was my first introduction to the Golden Tomb Guardians. She was quite strong.¡± Deirdre sighed, ¡°You¡¯re quite candid.¡± ¡°Should I not be? Especially if I have good things to say.¡± Deirdre shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just thought you would be more¡­¡± she waved her hands vaguely. ¡°Stuck up? Arrogant?¡± John nodded. ¡°Only if it¡¯s useful. Though I might have been a bit overconfident in my strength.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you were,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°After all, you survived¡­ while dealing a heavy blow to the Luminous Harmony Sect. Soul Expansion Phase cultivators don¡¯t just appear from nowhere.¡± John nodded. Even the Tenebach clan only had a few dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, and that was with the recent exceptional growth rates. ¡°It was fortunate they didn¡¯t have any more.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Deirdre admitted. ¡°But I have the feeling a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator like yourself might have managed to overcome that, even with the elemental disadvantage of the area.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°Forgive me if this is inappropriate, but I sense more than just darkness within you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not exactly hiding it,¡± John admitted. ¡°I¡¯m aiming for a great cycle of elements.¡± ¡°I¡­ see.¡± She looked surprised, though John didn¡¯t quite understand why. But his confident statement implied he would reach the peak of cultivation, and he subconsciously believed in it. ----- Wandering about Brightspring was actually good for John and the others. Though it would be hell to travel without their carriage blocking off the light element, being less exposed also minimized their practice resisting the bright light. They would likely never be comfortable- except possibly John if he truly completed the full cycle- but at least John, Aydan, and Crystin were growing more familiar with the constant bombardment of light. Truthfully, John was amazed that they had survived the battle. He had utmost confidence in the skill of his two guards and a reasonable understanding of his own power, but slight disadvantages often snowballed into a defeat. ¡°How are you two feeling?¡± John asked the other two as they sat next to the river which originated slightly outside of the city, despite the name. ¡°I feel like this is training I was missing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s training I hope I¡¯ll never need,¡± Crystin commented. ¡°And my wounds are¡­¡± she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely recover, but don¡¯t ask me to fight for a couple weeks.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t intend to,¡± John admitted. He couldn¡¯t help but think for a while. ¡°Should we have taken more guards?¡± Aydan shrugged. ¡°Perhaps, but that could simply have caused other conflicts here. People are already uncomfortable enough.¡± He gestured across the river to a mother pulling her child away. The kid had waved to John and he waved back, but even if the mother wasn¡¯t a cultivator the three of them clearly had a different aesthetic than the rest of the city. Darker clothing- though the Tenebachs weren¡¯t so dull as to wear only black- and a different style about it. The peaceful scenery by the river was undercut by the stares of passing cultivators and the Golden Tomb Guardians standing nearby. Most of the disciples who survived were able to walk about, and so they all remained with the three Tenebachs. John wasn¡¯t sure if it made people less wary of them, but at least it would minimize the chance of someone randomly attacking them in the city. There were cultivators of various other elements passing through at a lower rate, but darkness were nowhere to be seen. Then again, light and darkness cultivators were somewhat rarer than any of the individual ¡®core¡¯ elements. ----- The size of their group slightly increased over the next two days, as a general call for backup had been put out to the Golden Tomb Guardians in the area. Then a sizable contingent arrived, including the two members John had previously met. One was Monika Zeman, who John felt was now at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase. The other was Zacharie, the man who had brought the idea of an alliance into John¡¯s mind to begin with by mentioning their own conflicts with the Society of Midnight. His cultivation was not quite as high as Monika, but he was clearly in charge. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach,¡± he bowed slightly, exactly an appropriate amount. ¡°Good to see you once more. And especially pleased to have the opportunity to meet, after what happened.¡± His face turned sour, ¡°I can¡¯t believe the Luminous Harmony Society would go so far as to attack our disciples in the wilderness.¡± ¡°If not for a coincidence of timing, nobody would have been the wiser,¡± John admitted. ¡°That may be the case,¡± Zacharie admitted, ¡°But coincidences are¡­ not always so random as they seem. Not with cultivators involved.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Now then, I do believe we have some prisoners to see to as well, and official complaints to lodge with the governor.¡± ¡°You have a governor?¡± John asked, surprised. ¡°Indeed. If I remember correctly, your county has been without a ruling body for some time, but the Sunfields has organized to be more cohesive.¡± ¡°Or at least to look like it,¡± John said in reference to the prisoners. ¡°Quite right,¡± Zacharie admitted. ¡°I¡¯m hoping to take a shot at the position myself in a few years, if I can break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± ¡°Is that a requirement for being governor?¡± ¡°Only if you want to survive,¡± Zacharie shrugged, ¡°But a weaker cultivator likely wouldn¡¯t have enough support regardless.¡± John thought about the idea. At the moment Marble County was jointly run by the Tenebach clan and the Order of the Amber Heart, but if they wanted to expand their influence perhaps they would need to guide the Stone Conglomerate down a similar route. As long as the larger clans and sects felt fairly represented, it could work. Then John caught himself. Here he was, a former burger shop manager thinking of expanding a cultivation clan¡¯s influence to larger borders. He never would have thought it possible¡­ for a variety of reasons. But it was. Chapter 137 There were several more days of reasonably paced travel to reach the sect. Originally they would have been expected to arrive two days earlier, but obviously that had changed. Yet the messaging infrastructure of the Sunfields allowed the reinforcements to arrive with haste. That likely meant the Luminous Harmony Sect knew that their plan had not been successful, simply by lack of information. Thus while they didn¡¯t hurry they didn¡¯t linger anywhere. Just because they had reinforcements didn¡¯t mean they should risk further attacks, especially with some of the original group still injured. As they approached the main body of the Golden Tomb Guardians, the difference between a long-established sect and a clan that had been uprooted several generations prior became quite clear. The Order of the Amber Heart was the strongest sect in Marble County, and though they controlled the fantastical Crystal Caverns the ornamentation of their sect was fairly minimal. The Brandle clan had their own little bit of paradise, but was like an elegant and secretly secure vacation home. The Tenebach clan had practical areas and areas for receiving guests, both of which were adequate enough. The Golden Tomb Guardians had something more. John had become used to intricate stonework and columns, but the Stone Conglomerate preferred to let the stones speak for themselves. Here there were tall pillars and domed structures resembling palaces, many covered in gold, and all of it reflective. Lights danced from structure to structure in what John supposed must have been a staggeringly impressive display, if he could see it. As it was, he still felt the vast size of the area. And it was busy, too, with disciples running every which way. The only thing that was odd was the largest, most central building. It was a mystery, with his senses blocked from entering it for the most part, though what he could feel didn¡¯t involve any people moving about. Zacharie led them to guest rooms which were thankfully meant for outsiders, and much less overly bright. John had to admit, if the Golden Tomb Guardians were attacked by anyone not able to handle excessive amounts of light element they would be at a severe disadvantage. In a way, the ornamentation was practical, but it was also to show off their prestige. ¡°Dinner will be in two hours. Until then, anything you need can be provided by the servants here,¡± Zacharie gestured, ¡°Any messages you need to send can be relayed through them.¡± That was basically an invitation to take a bath. Days of travel on the road, even inside a carriage, began to build up. The relaxation would also help with the stiffness of John¡¯s wounds. More than half a week had let him make some steps in the healing process but he certainly wasn¡¯t in top form yet. At least his spiritual energy reserves were close to full, though only because he was able to slowly convert other elements into darkness. Aydan was still merely half recovered in that respect. The bath was nice, though perhaps hotter than John might have preferred. As a cultivator from a wealthy clan it was not difficult to get a heated bath, but it was likely easier in the Sunfields with fire being the secondary element to light. As John soaked in an overly large bath he was finally able to relax. Being away from home was nothing new, but he¡¯d rarely been in hostile territory. In this case it was the land itself that was hostile, though some of the people were as well. John knew he needed to spend more time familiarizing himself with the light element, especially if he was ever going to complete a great cycle. That was a far off bit of ambition, but even if he didn¡¯t advance his cultivation that far, mitigating his current weakness would still be beneficial. But that was for later. For now he needed to relax. He was escorted to the dinner by Zacharie, where he was seated in a position of honor by the head of the table. As a visiting clan head he would expect something similar, but the position told him they were taking this seriously. He could have reasonably been placed several seats down, still able to interact with the sect head but lower than some of the elders. That might even had been appropriate, as they were merely heading into talks of alliance. Others began to filter in, with several of those around John displaying a cultivation in the Consolidated Soul Phase. There were likely more not in attendance, and perhaps even some younger disciples around John¡¯s age. Or perhaps Zacharie was the best of the lot, in which case they would soon have some. It wasn¡¯t strange for a disciple of a sect, even one more powerful than the Tenebach clan, to be a bit more conservative with their resource expenditure on a single individual. They could afford to wait a few years, after all. Then the sect head entered. An older man with glistening silvery hair that John wondered if it were real. Then again, if it was fake he might as well have gone for gold. This man was Sect Head Lambert, and he was in the mid Soul Expansion Phase. Looking around the dining hall, John thought he should have brought a few more people along. Both Aydan and Crystin were suitable as guards and for formal family positions, but the three of them were surrounded by more than a dozen others. Just enough to make the table not feel empty, though. A nice consideration. ¡°Welcome, welcome,¡± the Sect Head bowed his head to John and swept his hand down the table towards the others. ¡°The Golden Tomb Guardians are pleased to receive the Tenebach clan as guests. What¡¯s more, I must thank you personally for standing up for our disciples even at the risk of your lives.¡± He looked to John, ¡°We have much business to discuss, but for now we should eat.¡± With those words, food was brought in and placed on the table. John was relieved that they weren¡¯t the sort to style their food after the area. Gold leaf didn¡¯t actually add any flavor to food. As for the meal itself, some of the food was familiar and some was less so, but the silverware was the strangest part. Or perhaps he should instead say goldware, as it was made of solid gold, along with the plates. It was heavy, but not uncomfortably so for a proper cultivator. As for its functionality, it seemed to be enchanted to be more properly durable and able to hold an edge. Otherwise bones or other common pieces of meals might deform the utensils. The food was all good, of course. Lambert began the conversation by returning to the topic of the battle. ¡°I must say, I was impressed to hear how effective you were in an environment antithesis to your element.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°I appreciate the words, but I must point out that I am not wholly reliant on the element of darkness.¡± ¡°Ah yes,¡± Lambert nodded. ¡°I had heard you had several totems of different elements.¡± Lambert had been quite polite in avoiding inspecting his guest, but John opened himself up for a glance. ¡°Four different elements? And with air appearing to be mismatched¡­¡± John took note of the man¡¯s emphasis, ¡°It appears you are attempting a complete cycle of elements. A bold choice. But one that was clearly not ill considered.¡± ¡°It remains to be seen if I can complete it,¡± John shrugged. The man smiled. ¡°That¡­ would be something to see. But even in the worst case scenario I should imagine you would match my own cultivation, and there would be no shame in it. But I am just an old man, doubtless destined to be surpassed by the younger generation.¡± The conversation never turned to the topic of alliance, but the genuinely friendly nature of the Sect Head indicated he was open to the idea. John could tell that some of the others at the table might be less favorably inclined to publicly ally with a darkness clan, but to combat a mutual enemy they would defer to their Sect Head. Official talks of alliance were planned for the following day, and John returned to his quarters where he was glad to have dim lights. The dining hall had been toned down for guests but still had many reflective surfaces along with light cultivators everywhere, who wore on him regardless of their intentions. ----- Darkness was comforting to John, but being darkness was a rare feeling. It wasn¡¯t the same as having it as part of himself like when cultivating, but instead his fundamental nature. That came to him naturally, as was always the case in a dream, and he would consider it when he awoke. As darkness, his form was not solid¡­ yet he knew he had limbs to interact with the world. Teeth and claws, in fact. A form meant for battle, much like the creature ahead of him. The form of the other beast was indistinct in its brightness, but he picked out wings, talons, and a beak. Some sort of bird, then. They fought. There was no reason to it, but it was impossible to avoid. It was their natures to clash, and clash they did. Darkness and light danced back and forth, their insubstantial forms tearing at each other. The entire process was pain, each contact burning like a deep wound. The final exchange ended with an ear held in the beak of the flying creature, and a claw broken off in its side. ----- John awoke with a fuzzy memory of a dream, and a vague sense of unease. Not danger, but a different sort of discomfort than the light element that filled the world outside. Like he was missing something. Zacharie once more guided John, a completely unnecessary waste of the honored disciples time but an appreciated gesture. ¡°Breakfast will be informal, as Sect Head Lambert is momentarily occupied. However, he and the elders will be free to meet with you afterwards.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John replied. ¡°And informal is¡­ appreciated sometimes as well.¡± Zacharie smiled, ¡°I do get tired of the constant scrutiny, but I am a familiar face here. You aren¡¯t so lucky, unfortunately.¡± After breakfast John was escorted to a large hall with many adjoining rooms, presumably one of which would be for formal discussions on alliance. However, as they entered the area an elder came to find them. ¡°Apologies, but the Sect Head requests your presence outside the Tomb.¡± John looked to Zacharie, who seemed to have not expected it any more than he did. But they made their way back out, and towards the center of the sect. Specifically the largest and most impressive of the structures, where they did indeed find Sect Head Lambert waiting. When John arrived, the man nodded. ¡°Good, you¡¯re here. If I recall correctly, the Tenebach clan has a guardian beast, correct? Snatched from the Society of Midnight, even.¡± That wasn¡¯t exactly public knowledge, but it couldn¡¯t entirely be kept a secret either. It wasn¡¯t strange for Lambert to know it. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. ¡°Several generations ago we liberated our guardian beast from their control.¡± If he took note of John¡¯s wording, Lambert didn¡¯t show it. ¡°Well then, I am sure you understand the importance of such a beast. They have great power and can possess ancient wisdom. This morning, I was consulting our own guardian beast¡­ and she requested your presence. Alone.¡± Lambert was rather stiff, his hands held behind his back. ¡°Unfortunately, it is impossible to go forward with the alliance without her consent.¡± ¡°Is there a problem with meeting her?¡± John asked. He could think of possibilities, but he would prefer Lambert¡¯s judgment. ¡°I won¡¯t lie. There are¡­ certain grudges she may hold against you, regardless of your actual involvement. It would be dangerous.¡± ¡°Will my injuries make any difference?¡± Lambert shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t imagine they will, one way or another. I was unable to get Cuah¡¯arn to speak her intentions. There is a more than moderate chance of harm coming to you. If you are unwilling to meet, the sect will gladly host you until you are fully recovered, and you can return with only good will between us.¡± ¡°Is this Cuah¡¯arn known for¡­ spontaneous decision making?¡± ¡°She is usually wise and considerate,¡± Lambert declared. ¡°But emotions might overrule any, in the right circumstances.¡± It would be reasonable enough for John to take Lambert¡¯s advice to heart and just leave. The man didn¡¯t explicitly say he should go, but there was that risk. ¡°Could you bring Aydan and Crystin here so I can consult with them?¡± They did so, of course, and John explained the situation to them. ¡°If I do go in, I would prefer the Tenebach clan not hold a pointless grudge, if something happens.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Aydan said. ¡°So you are going in?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that,¡± John said. ¡°But you didn¡¯t really bring us here to ask us, either,¡± Crystin pointed out. ¡°You came here to tell us not to hold a grudge.¡± ¡°And we won¡¯t, but others might not believe us,¡± Aydan concluded. ¡°So you just have to live.¡± ¡°I trust that a rational being will reside inside there. And that it would know that whatever grudge it has won¡¯t be resolved by killing me in particular.¡± That was what John said, and what he hoped and believed. There was some chance he might just die but¡­ he imagined the guardian beast would at least wish to exchange a few words, even if it had already decided to kill him. And something wouldn¡¯t let him leave, though he couldn¡¯t quite pin it even if he thought he should be able to. Chapter 138 ¡°Before you enter,¡± Sect Head Lambert warned John, ¡°Be aware that the inside is trapped to prevent people who do not belong. I can advise you on the safe path, but if you go off course¡­ there are too many paths to explain them all.¡± John nodded. Any creature a sect kept as a guardian beast would be extremely powerful, but not invincible. Ciaritzal hadn¡¯t possessed any exceptional defenses around his cave and that almost resulted in his defeat- though the Society of Midnight had to commit significant forces to the effort. It wasn¡¯t clear why the Cuah¡¯arn wanted to meet John alone, but such was the way of things. The combined efforts of several people were required to open the doors into the massive structure and he carefully stepped inside. Moments later he was sweating. The heat was not as bad as the sweltering oppression of the Green Sands, but the halls were full of more than just heat. Concentrated light elemental spiritual energy filled the large chambers, flooding John¡¯s eyes and energy senses. Managing the high ambient levels had been bad enough, but now John found himself blind and barely able to feel his way. At least he had instructions for where to turn. The entrance hall opened up into dozens of side rooms and hallways, and John slowly made his way over to the correct one. He counted the openings several times as he passed them, just to be certain. For all the difficulty it caused him, the light was not malicious. It was just the inevitable consequence of such power packed into one place. Directly resisting it was impossible, but John did his best to guide it away from himself. He had experience with every other form of spiritual energy, even fire, but he was relatively inexperienced with controlling light. All of his instincts were wrong, because though it was similar to darkness, it was also in a way the opposite. When he tried to cling to it it pulled away, and when he tried to shove it away it clung to him- rather painfully. As John¡¯s stores of darkness energy were worn down, it actually became somewhat easier¡­ though he also felt more vulnerable without his primary element. Despite having four totems attuned to different elements, darkness was more than a quarter of his reserves since everything was at least partially connected to it. Without the darkness, control of everything else was just a little bit different. At least the walls and floors were made of stone, allowing him to continue to navigate. He was able to sense some of the traps he was passing by as he followed Lambert¡¯s route. There were likely more he missed as he turned down twisting corridors. Even through closed eyelids John could see the brightness of the light, like looking into the sun. As he reached the final destination, he had to cover his face with his arm as eyelids weren¡¯t enough. As he felt the power of the beast suffusing the room, he recalled his dream. He couldn¡¯t see or even really pick out a distinct outline, but he knew it was the bird in question from the way its energy bore down on him. ¡°Bonded of Ciaritzal. Give me one good reason not to strike you down where you stand.¡± The voice echoed throughout the room, stinging his ears with the light element. So the fight was real then. John decided to answer quickly in case she got impatient. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t make you feel better, and it would be a waste of the effort to call me here,¡± John supplied. There was something else though. He could sense that, but the precise details were concealed by the overwhelming presence of light element. ¡°Maybe that is so,¡± the malice from the creature slightly faded in intensity, ¡°But I might be willing to take the risk for the taste of revenge.¡± ¡°I believe you have more wisdom than that,¡± John decided to begin with some buttering up. ¡°Perhaps you and Ciaritzal might have been enemies¡­ but I imagine that was before the time of the Tenebach clan. It should have been under the guidance of the Society of Midnight, our mutual enemy.¡± There was a loud clacking sound on the stone tiles of the hall as John felt something step closer. ¡°It is true that the Society of Midnight is friend of neither of us¡­ but they have remained distant for generations.¡± ¡°That was true,¡± John admitted, ¡°But they¡¯re no longer content to sit and wait. Their leadership¡­ are running into the pitfalls of losing a guardian beast. If the Society of Midnight once more gets their hand on Ciaritzal, it would inevitably come into greater conflict with the Golden Tomb Guardians once more.¡± John didn¡¯t stop his searching for the piece he was missing, but it was difficult. He might as well be straightforward with it. ¡°What did you bring me here for¡­ and why alone? You could easily have had the sect kill me, or you could. I don¡¯t imagine you were so bored that you needed to see me in person.¡± ¡°I do not languish with the passing of a few decades like you humans do,¡± Cuah¡¯arn stepped forward once more, talons clacking. ¡°I would never be bored to begin with.¡± ¡°Then¡­ what do you want?¡± The dream memories were becoming more clear. John could feel it now, and chose to pull his arm away. He could see nothing but brilliant light, of course. Nothing¡­ except a tiny point of darkness buried deep within the creature. ¡°Perhaps you wish for that claw to be removed?¡± ¡°Could you even do it?¡± The creature asked haughtily¡­ but with a hidden edge of hesitancy. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Of course I can. I was able to wrestle pieces of Ciaritzal out of those who didn¡¯t wish to give them up. This should be easy.¡± John spoke with confidence he didn¡¯t feel. Reaching into the elders of the Society of Midnight had just been sinking into darkness. Even if it wanted to fight him, it was all familiar. Light, on the other hand¡­ was naturally antagonistic to him. Talons continued to clack on the floor until he could feel a presence looming over him. ¡°A bold statement. But I will humbly admit that if I control my vast power, it may not crush you. And I will not lie and say that this claw does not bother me with its presence.¡± John could vaguely see the point of darkness he focused on moving closer, though he knew it was buried beneath the surface. ¡°You may begin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to touch you, alright?¡± John got no verbal response, but he also got no objection. His hand reached out to touch warm feathers, but they weren¡¯t quite what he expected either. They felt as if they slipped through him, and he moved through them while still retaining the tactile sensations of moving across his palm. Eventually his fingertips touched something more solid, and while he might be able to pass through further he wasn¡¯t willing to risk the attempt. John carefully considered how he would make the attempt, and decided that he needed to make use of everything he had. His darkness element was already dissolved away, so he intertwined water and earth, coating them in air. As air was aligned with light, it would be the most palatable to Cuah¡¯arn. Yet he couldn¡¯t use just that, as he needed all the power he had. Reaching into someone was tricky, even if they allowed it. John could tell that Cuah¡¯arn was trying not to resist, but it still happened unconsciously. Light energy squeezed against his power, trying to stop it and wearing away the protective layer. John continued to push forward, tracing his power through the belly of the creature towards the piece of Ciaritzal deep inside. Even as he touched it, the power readily leapt at him- but that strengthened the reaction of the light. John almost found his trail of power destroyed, but he held it together, the three elements supporting each other¡¯s strength. As Ciaritzal¡¯s darkness merged with his energy, he pulled it inside, defending it with all of the rest. As he began to extract the darkness, the intensity of the power surrounding him amplified to a greater height, trying to destroy the piece of darkness¡­ and though Cuah¡¯arn had been unable to do so up to that point, it might actually happen with this moment of vulnerability. That would be bad for all involved, however. The destruction of the piece of darkness would have violent fluctuations inside the great bird. As John sheltered the piece and pulled it towards him, his task became easier even as his fatigue grew. Then it was out, touching his palm and sinking into it- before the tiny shard of Ciaritzal rushed its way through his meridians into his dantian where it seemed to curl up to take shelter. Then a massive bird collapsed on top of John. She was¡­ unexpectedly light. Or maybe unexpectedly heavy? John hadn¡¯t really considered how much he thought she would weigh. If she was actually made of light he would expect nothing he could sense. Did light even have mass, or just momentum? Yet a twenty foot tall eagle should probably be heavier than what he felt. Ciaritzal definitely had weight and was made of darkness, so he provided an interesting piece of information as well. John slowly wiggled to extricate himself from the creature, which seemed much more¡­ balanced. Once he was free, John stood up and bowed. ¡°I do believe we are done here, Cuah¡¯arn. I hope your wounds heal well, and that we don¡¯t need to meet again.¡± Cuah¡¯arn didn¡¯t answer, seemingly unconscious¡­ and weak. Bit by bit he made his way back towards the entrance, his lowered stores of energy making navigation more difficult. But he took his time, eventually stepping outside. ¡°Haah,¡± John sighed. ¡°Too much light.¡± He slumped against the side of the building. Sect Head Lambert placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I am sorry it was so difficult. It is not made for you.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± John smiled. ¡°Might I ask what Cuah¡¯arn wanted?¡± If he hadn¡¯t been told, John certainly wasn¡¯t going to say it in front of so many others. The Sect Head should probably know about her lingering injuries, but the other members of the sect might be better not knowing. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say, exactly,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Some kind of test, maybe. Perhaps you could ask Cuah¡¯arn directly at a later time.¡± ¡°Perhaps I will¡­ tomorrow. As the Sect Head, even I can wear on her good graces.¡± John thought that meant he knew about the injury, and that the guardian beast tired quickly. Either way, there wasn¡¯t much more to be said at the moment. Despite it barely being noon, John found himself exhausted. He just wanted to stick his head into a hole, and since the morning negotiations had been canceled due to the Sect Head not learning Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s position on the potential alliance there was little he had to do but sleep. Sleep was good. ----- The same dream repeated that he had before, but seeing it again John was able to more objectively feel the fight. Cuah¡¯arn and Ciaritzal certainly fought, because of their instincts and because the circumstances forced it- but in the end John didn¡¯t feel a sense of lasting malice. He only had Ciaritzal¡¯s side to go on, but he thought it was the same in reverse. When John awoke, it was night. He didn¡¯t intend to go wandering around an unfamiliar sect, especially one he was pretty sure would be overly bright in some places. Instead, he thought about what he had done. It was probably the right thing to do, but there had been risks. Risks to himself, and to the clan. He could have died by treachery or accident, though he felt that the former was unlikely. Even though no promise of alliance had been made, John did not think the Golden Tomb Guardians would be enemies. The guardian beast seemed to have been puffing up herself to hide her ¡®weakness¡¯, but such a deception was expected. The Golden Tomb Guardians could turn around and go against the Tenebach clan now, but he didn¡¯t think they would. In the worst case, he expected to leave with one more piece of Ciaritzal having been retrieved, which was well worth the risk. Each of the shards made Ciaritzal stronger, and thus provided more stability for the clan. It would also make it more tempting for the Society of Midnight, but the more whole Ciaritzal was the harder it would be for them. John just hoped that even if the Golden Tomb Guardians didn¡¯t officially ally with the Tenebachs that they could be coaxed into causing the Society trouble. That, at least, should be something he could accomplish. Chapter 139 When the triplets exhausted all of the trouble they knew how to get into, Matayal breathed a sigh of relief. They would certainly find new trouble to get into eventually, but she hoped they¡¯d grow into some understanding of consequences before that point. They were able to move freely around the clan, though there was always someone watching them- and it was usually not Matayal. She had clan business to deal with, and when she didn¡¯t she was training. It would be a shame to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase and just stagnate. The triplets were trained as well, though more in the department of control rather than improving their rank. They¡¯d so far avoided serious accidents involving use of spiritual energy, and Matayal fully intended for it to stay that way. When she found the time, she took the children to the beach. On Pualani nothing was ever far from the beach, and the inner shores of the island were known for their calm waters. Matayal watched as her children interacted with the beach in different ways. Tirto was the only one who knew how to swim. He was no expert, but she wasn¡¯t constantly worried about him. When either of the other two were in the water she couldn¡¯t take her mind off of them, even though her grandfather was also present along with a handful of guards. It was still a mother¡¯s instincts to watch out for her children. Melanthina spent some time splashing about in the water, but she also enjoyed relaxing in the shade. Ursel occasionally recruited her to help build sand castles, but Melanthina¡¯s pieces were significantly less structurally sound. It couldn¡¯t be helped since Ursel was basically cheating by using spiritual energy. Still, Matayal was glad for any time her daughters were occupied together instead of getting off into separate forms of trouble, which was most common with the two of them. ¡°Look! I found a crab!¡± Ursel held up her hand, where a crab dangled from her finger by its pincers. ¡°Is that so? How¡­ wonderful,¡± Matayal smiled. She wasn¡¯t sure if she should tell her daughter to put it back or worry about how tightly it was clamping onto her. Ursel seemed to have unconsciously protected herself so she wasn¡¯t exactly in any pain, but Matayal still expected her to be a little scared. ¡°I think it wants to be my friend,¡± Ursel wiggled the crab hanging from her finger. ¡°It won¡¯t let go!¡± Matayal pondered how to tell her daughter the crab was attacking her without diminishing her curiosity about animals. ¡°Why don¡¯t you set the crab down, honey? It¡¯s probably getting tired.¡± When Ursel complied and the crab touched the sand, it let go and skittered off. ¡°Aww, where is it going?¡± ¡°Probably to find food. Animals don¡¯t have the same sorts of houses as people.¡± Matayal thought for a second and then began to explain about how some animals could be dangerous. It appeared it wouldn¡¯t be the same ones as for normal children, but there would certainly be some. Overall the day passed without any serious incidents, and Matayal was happy for a day of peace and time with them before they would be apart. It wasn¡¯t yet time for them to go back to the Tenebach clan, but she was going to be away for a bit. ----- Pillars of stone rose from the water, enrobed in kelp that could grow to as thick as a man was tall. It was a familiar place, one Matayal had visited several times for training, and nearly died once. Now most of the training was beneath her, barely able to provide any challenge. But she wasn¡¯t here for the surface challenges, but to visit the depths. After the previous incident the Brandle clan had kept watch for the rapid fluctuations in water that had formed a whirlpool pulling down John and Matayal, but though they¡¯d spotted a few incidents they didn¡¯t know how to predict them. Matayal might have preferred to descend more rapidly since much of the danger seemed to have been concentrated in the middle range of the area, but she was almost an entire phase ahead of where she had been when they ran into trouble in the Kelp Spire Forest. And now she was prepared. ¡°Livna, Yonit, are you ready?¡± she asked the two guards who were always with her. They nodded. Matayal turned towards several others that had come along. ¡°The rest of you are to wait here, as planned. We shouldn¡¯t need your assistance, but if we do¡­ having people waiting and fresh will be best.¡± With that, Matayal and the two others leapt into the water. Livna and Yonit followed Matayal¡¯s lead, and she wrapped a bubble of energy around them. Spending time with her husband dual cultivating had made her more used to handling more than just water energy, and incorporating just a little bit of darkness for its trickery aspects allowed her to feel just like the open sea. At least, a fair enough representation of it. Most creatures would not bother them during their descent. And if they did¡­ Matayal would be ready to fight. The light began to fade above them as they descended into the depths. Various creatures swam around them, from schools of fish to sharks to jellies. As they went deeper they were less able to use their eyes, but their spiritual energy senses were more than sufficient to make out the underwater world around them. Less familiar sorts of creatures were present, some strange even to Matayal who had spent many days in the deep sea. Some provided sources of light meant to bait the unwary, but those were of no danger to thinking humans. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Matayal circulated her energy through her body and especially her lungs. The air element was obviously the best for purifying one¡¯s breath, but she had worked to develop another system for it. She was able to use the minimal air element required for herself, but she wouldn¡¯t have been able to refresh Livna or Yonit. Instead, it was a pure water technique, where she exchanged fresh and spent air with the water around her. It wasn¡¯t a technique that was easily usable at a low cultivation, but the two guards were more than capable in the late Soul Expansion Phase. Despite her increased cultivation and confidence in the area, Matayal kept their movement slow and steady. She avoided any unknown creatures to the best of her ability, and when they reached the rift she stuck to the edge. Part of that was to check on their temporary home. Inside she thought she recognized some figures, but they could have been similar fish or crabs. They continued further down into the depths, where the pressure continued to grow in strength. It was a constant effort to resist the pressure, but their energy protected them. The vast abundance of water elemental spiritual energy also meant that as long as they didn¡¯t exhaust themselves, they would be able to maintain their reserves. When they reached the furthest depth Matayal remembered, she paused to take in what was below. This was the point at which a lack of caution could lead to greater danger. There was always danger in the life of a cultivator. Without danger, there was little growth to be found. But those who overestimated themselves and stepped into danger too great didn¡¯t grow, they died. Ever further beneath them in the depths of the ravine was something. A great presence, almost undetectable by its magnitude. The sea god, or at least that was what they had called it. A creature of great power could provide that to cultivators, either directly like the Tenebach clan¡¯s guardian beast or indirectly through study. Matayal doubted that such a vast creature would be interested in being a guardian beast even if it could speak, but there had to be something to learn from it. When she felt comfortable where she was, she began to move closer. This was a creature that should not be disturbed, but she felt no signs of it stirring. No whirlpools formed by great breaths in and out. Matayal was comforted when she felt various life forms around her. First there were microscopic organisms. They would feed on tiny particles in the water, likely scraps from up above- or anything else that died in the area. Then there were fish. Strange flare ones, bulbous misshapen ones, ones that were more teeth than anything else. Many of them seemed to possess their own amount of water elemental spiritual energy, though that wasn¡¯t strange in an area with such high concentrations. The three cultivators came to rest on a shelf where they were pleased to find not only deep sea corals of some sort but also barnacles. They moved with caution, taking note of everything around them. Trouble from the sea god was one thing, but there could easily be other beasts of great power in the depths. It would be stranger if there weren¡¯t, but so far they had avoided them without issues. As Matayal was inspecting one of the barnacles, strange wide lumps on the rocky shelf with little feelers reaching for particulates and the tiny creatures that lived in the waters, she sensed something odd. Reading the flow of energy in the area could be difficult with the sea god¡¯s presence suffusing everything, but she sensed great power in the ground itself. She was not an earth element cultivator, but her senses were able to reach deeper and find that it was not quite so rocky as she assumed. She wasn¡¯t quite certain of her find but as she moved laterally throughout the area she found more shelves of ¡®rock¡¯, covered in various forms of life and possessing little ecosystems of their own. Yet only the surface level of the area was stone, with something alive underneath. Her inspections continued as she sent her senses as deep as she could into the ground. Her senses couldn¡¯t not penetrate far through the creature, but she was able to confirm it was one creature of which many- but not all- of the shelves appeared to be parts of fins covered over by the ground itself. The bulk of the creature continued deeper into the cliff face. Yet she also felt the same source deeper, indicating just a portion was reaching up to where she was. She and John had assumed that the sea god was some creature that lived deep in the depths. They had even assumed it to be very large, but for it to reach from the furthest points she could sense it up to her current location, they had clearly underestimated it. The question that remained in her mind had answers with significant consequences. Was it an ancient beast that slumbered so long that the land grew up around it? With all the volcanic activity in the area that was possible over a long timespan. Or was it something else¡­ such as it being imprisoned? She didn¡¯t feel any current struggle, but why would there be, if it had been trapped for an unknown period of time? Obviously it would have to conserve its energy to survive, or it could have simply broken out immediately. It was an interesting theory, but Matayal was still leaning towards the former idea. It wasn¡¯t necessarily trapped, but perhaps hibernating or something of the sort. The timescales of cultivators were extended greatly, and ancient beasts with vast cultivations could live for unknown centuries, sometimes more in the right circumstances. An extended hibernation was a stretch, but less so than believing that somebody had the ability to trap such a creature. Livna and Yonit seemed to be reaching their limits of comfort concerning the pressure, so Matayal took a break to give them time to acclimate themselves. Her cultivation was in the beginning of the next Phase and she had prior experience, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise that they had more trouble. She could have pressed a bit deeper on her own, but Matayal quite liked being alive and didn¡¯t think saving half an hour was worth risking trouble that she couldn¡¯t fight on her own. Or something she could defeat that would injure or poison her, which would be just as bad. Chapter 140 Any sort of break within the deep sea was never as restful as it properly should be. The harsh environment didn¡¯t allow people to fully relax, and nobody could really sleep since they would run out of air as they did so. For cultivators at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase or early Consolidated Soul Phase it was still possible to go into a sort of trance while remaining active enough to circulate energy properly, but that wasn¡¯t viable in the long term. One day wasn¡¯t that bad, however. While there was some risk in traversing to and from the depths, since it was possible the plan was to return to the surface every day or two to avoid risking true exhaustion. It would ultimately make the exploration take longer but moving about when lower on spiritual energy and mentally fatigued greatly amplified other risks. For the moment they were planning for another half day of exploration in the depths, which included confirming that some of the various things they felt were all part of the sea god. As before they avoided lights that concealed more than they revealed. Yet they couldn¡¯t help but notice a stationary but inconsistent source deep below them. There were only momentary flashes of light but they illuminated the area around them with a lingering image. There seemed to be a large cave opening in the area. The deeper they went the less Matayal was interested in poking her head in unknown caves, but they moved to inspect this particular one from the outside. Along with the flashes of light momentary flashes of fire could be seen, flash-boiling water in front of the cave and resulting in a rising trail of scalding water, much like a thermal vent. Though water resisted fire, nobody was keen to attempt to enter the cave. Elemental strengths and weaknesses were determining factors among those with similar levels of spiritual energy, but the power coming from the cave was many times stronger. It was like a condensed volcanic eruption, though with only the heat and none of the rock. Just because they avoided any attempts to go inside didn¡¯t mean that Matayal, Livna, and Yonit couldn¡¯t gain something from their proximity to the cave. There was a great amount of fire elemental spiritual energy, but it also came along with powerful water elemental spiritual energy. The whole area was suffused with the latter, but the cave seemed to be linked to the source. Matayal pondered that as she circulated her energy. It had seemed that the sea god was the source of everything, but though the cave was more than sizable enough for a human to comfortably fit inside a creature with the magnitude they were looking at absolutely couldn¡¯t. For a time she thought perhaps it simply connected to a deeper cavern that contained the main body of the sea god¡­ until she felt closer. The cave was the sea god. Part of it, anyway- likely a nostril. Though fish had nostrils they were not used for breathing, which made this an oddity. It certainly seemed like the expulsions of energy were like a breath. Then again, at such a scale in both size and spiritual energy she couldn¡¯t apply any normal logic to it. Non-humans with powerful cultivations often developed in strange ways. The density of the spiritual energy was optimal for cultivating, though there was more to it than simply the power behind it. Cultivation was partly about gathering spiritual energy increasing the quantity that could be controlled, but it was also about learning to use it better. The strange flow of energy in the area made Matayal think hard about how she might apply some of that power to herself. Livna and Yonit, meanwhile, were basically at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase. Their power and control hadn¡¯t reached the same level as Matayal, and they were deep in meditation to absorb what they could. Matayal felt their cultivations surging forward, and though they might not break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, it seemed they would find themselves much closer. The uncontained power of their cultivation attracted a few predators that were keen to take a look. Perhaps determining the two were incapacitated, a large shark moved in for the attack. For its efforts it was pierced through vertically with a spear as Matayal moved to intercept. Her spear was a bit reluctant to pull out so she pushed a surge of water upwards, tearing free the large creature and allowing her to target the next opponent. Livna and Yonit clearly sensed something but remained in their meditation. Matayal preferred to think that was because they trusted her and not because they were locked in a struggle with the surging spiritual energy inside them, though the truth was probably a bit of both. Stranger creatures than sharks approached, somehow with even more teeth than the well known predators. An angler fish as tall as a man was one of those that approached, the teeth much longer than the head of Matayal¡¯s spear. There were too many others to deal with one by one, so Matayal began to form a swirling current, increasing in intensity to form a barrier around the two others. It would deflect or at least slow the approaching beasts and she used the power of the current to speed herself towards each subsequent target. If she was not in the Consolidated Soul Phase Matayal would not have been able to keep up with the attacks, but her spear flashed and her control of the water dominated over even those who would make use of their own spiritual energy. Slightly troublesome were a few strange fish that shot spears of water. As they struck the rock and sands they left deep holes, and she had no desire to face those attacks head on. The oddly shaped fish seemed unable to fire such attacks in rapid succession and soon found themselves impaled. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. After some time the assault slowed down, not because interest in the area was lost but because there were so many easier targets to eat. A school of jellies drifted through the area, scooping up any chum that got near their tendrils- and in some cases larger beasts that were feeding in the area. Yonit seemed to be only a tiny step away from reaching the Consolidated Soul Phase when he stopped, with Livna another one or two steps short. Matayal judged Yonit might advance within days or a couple weeks at most, while Livna might take months. But any known time frame for such a step was fantastic. Matayal knew that once a clan or sect had a single Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator their main goal was to secure more, and now they might have four shortly. She and her grandfather had certainly helped them along, but there was also something special about the latest generation. It seemed this was a time of growth throughout the world, and they had to keep ahead of their rivals. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the surface,¡± Matayal advised, though it could also have been conceived as an order. Speaking underwater was possible but unpleasant as it was easy to allow salt water into the mouth as one spoke. The three cultivators took one last glance towards the ¡®cave¡¯ as they left, sweeping their energy past. Another burst of fire and steam encouraged them to be on their way. It was impossible to know if their battle had disturbed the rest of the sea god, but if it had they didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near its head when it decided to do¡­ pretty much anything. The intermediate levels of the sea were still filled with numerous vicious creatures but the three kept themselves cloaked in spiritual energy and only ended up in a few scuffles. The bodies were left behind to draw attention away from them as they returned to the surface. When they reached the surface they did not immediately sense the other members of the Brandle clan. Livna and Yonit turned to Matayal, who shook her head. ¡°They¡¯re not within range of my senses either. They should be concealing themselves.¡± She had utmost trust in the other members of her clan. The fact that they weren¡¯t waiting as expected meant there was danger, whether they were dead or simply in hiding. Matayal¡¯s first instinct was to head east where they might find a boat to take them away from the area, but she knew that was also the first thing that would be expected of them. Though it would be much more trouble, as water element cultivators they could swim back to a known safe island or even all the way to the clan, but first they needed to determine the fate of the others. If they were dead it was one thing to leave them, but if they were in hiding- waiting for Matayal and the others to return as they were expected to- then it would be inappropriate to leave them behind. It was necessary to consider the relative importance of those involved, and Matayal¡¯s position as clan head did mean she needed to keep herself safe but it also provided a responsibility to take care of the safety of the clan. Not that Matayal would have left them behind anyway. Livna and Yonit swam ahead, following Matayal¡¯s direction. If there was someone waiting in ambush they would be the first targets, though they were trying to remain hidden. The Kelp Spire Forest was normally teeming with cultivators, and even in the off seasons they would have expected to run into someone but there was no one to be seen. Eventually they chanced a look towards the edges of the area where they spotted a fleet blockading the area. It appeared they were doing their best to conceal themselves but there was only so much dozens of ships could manage. They were spread out all along the eastern side of the area, curving around to the north and south. Matayal would have bet there were at least some ships blocking the west as well. Each ship only had one or two Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, but there were more Foundation Phase cultivators as well. The three of them might take down one ship, but not before adjacent ships moved in. As for who was manning the ships, Matayal could sense the Purunomo clan. They were not large enough to achieve this blockade alone, and there were others from the Shimmering Islands involved. Matayal took careful note of every energy signature she felt. She even sensed some members of the Kartal clan from the Blustering Peaks. Such an obvious display was a declaration of war, though clearly they intended to kill Matayal and the others so no word could spread. They doubtless intended to move on the Brandle clan afterwards. The allies of the Brandle clan should be able to match these forces, but if they weren¡¯t prepared it would be a different matter. Along with that, some might pull out of the alliance at news of her death, as that would be a significant blow to the clan¡¯s strength. ¡°Matayal,¡± Livna drew her attention. Her words were lacking the appropriate formalities, but Matayal wouldn¡¯t mind in their given situation- and with their history. ¡°Over there. A familiar ship, I do believe.¡± With her attention directed to it, Matayal was indeed able to recognize the Wavecutter among the other ships. That irked her. She wanted to immediately go and demand answers, but she continued to scour the area with the others. The blockade indeed went all the way around the Kelp Spire Forest. The ships were only on the surface, but they were able to detect something extending far beneath. Whether it was a barrier or sensory array, it would make their escape more difficult. They could hope it didn¡¯t go all the way into the depths, but if they exhausted themselves with that journey they would be much less capable of fighting. They also noticed patrols through the area, likely searching for them. Swimming away was only a viable option if they could do so undetected. Otherwise, they would need a ship¡­ and what better ship than one of the fastest in the entire Shimmering Islands. One that was too fast for many passengers. And while they were at it, they could get an explanation out of captain Sohan. Chapter 141 A pillar of water carried Matayal silently up the stern of the boat, settling her behind Sohan. With all of his attention focused inward, he wasn¡¯t prepared for her to come from a different angle- and with unexpected stealth. The tip of a spear pressed against his back in a short grip as her arm reached around his throat. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear your explanation for why you are here,¡± Matayal said calmly. Captain Sohan showed only mild discomfort, shifting awkwardly. ¡°I appreciate your restraint. It¡¯s quite easy to explain, really. For a fleet like this they needed as many ships as they could get their hands on. Something of this scale wouldn¡¯t slip past my ears, you know.¡± ¡°And what, the pay was good enough to sever your relationship with the Brandle clan?¡± ¡°Oh, certainly not. Even if they got you there would be far too many Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators after my head. I thought you could use a little backup, and time was short. I had to come directly here without a chance to contact your clan. I slipped in among the numbers.¡± Matayal kept watch for any movement among the crew that would indicate they had spotted her. So far, there was none- but they¡¯d have to take notice soon enough. ¡°You expect me to just believe that? That they would miss a well known captain such as yourself slipping in among them.¡± Captain Sohan shrugged, ¡°They did, so¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say on that. But if you require some persuasion I suggest you ask the guards we provided shelter to.¡± ¡°Why not open with that?¡± ¡°I thought you would want the full explanation. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find it difficult to sense them at the moment, but I assure you they are¡­ better off than when we found them.¡± Matayal could still sense Livna and Yonit, who were keeping an eye out for movements of other ships. ¡°I want to see them.¡± ¡°We can go down or have them brought up,¡± he suggested. ¡°Then I would suggest leaving rather quickly. They¡¯re scouring the area for you and these guards, and they might suspect something about the latter soon enough.¡± ¡°Have them brought up,¡± Matayal said. As she did so, she ducked down- the tip of her spear still pressed against Sohan¡¯s back. ¡°Mawar! Could you bring up the members of the Brandle clan?¡± ¡°Aye, captain!¡± The Wavecutter was not so large that it took long to retrieve anyone, and soon enough the remaining guards stepped out from below deck. ¡°Is there word on Clan Head Matayal, captain?¡± one of them asked. Matayal released some of the control of her energy as she stood, letting them feel her as they saw here at the same time. ¡°Clan Head!¡± They all bowed. ¡°You made it.¡± Seeing that they were quite unrestrained, and not on their guard, Matayal was convinced of Captain Sohan¡¯s words. His crew also didn¡¯t seem particularly worried to spot her with her spear pressed to his back. ¡°I might suggest we leave,¡± Captain Sohan smiled. ¡°Livna, Yonit! Hop aboard!¡± ¡°Time to sail,¡± Captain Sohan ordered to the crew. ¡°Let¡¯s turn this around.¡± To Matayal, he added, ¡°Expect them to begin chasing after us shortly. To that end, we could use your help. While the Wavecutter is fast, some of that is making good use of tactics. We don¡¯t have a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator of our own to accelerate us, so they will have a chance to catch up to us in this early phase. If you could slow them down¡­¡± Matayal nodded. There was still a slim chance this was all some elaborate setup, but if that was the case Captain Sohan was taking a big risk to his life specifically. No cultivate was above a bit of petty revenge if it came down to it, and even with the other guards injured Matayal, Livna, and Yonit were a serious danger to Sohan and his crew if they tried anything. The only thing she knew was no alliance was perfect, and even if Sohan had proven himself reliable there was always something that could influence people. The ship was not terribly fast to turn around, but it had almost completely turned away from the Kelp Spire Forest when Matayal felt a response from the other ships. The Wavecutter was on the north side of the Kelp Spire Forest, and Nurul Purunomo was on the east side. After about a minute it was clear that the rest of the ships wouldn¡¯t be able to catch the Wavecutter, but the Purunomo¡¯s flagship, the Zenobia, was gaining on them after it properly oriented itself. The closer ships didn¡¯t just let them leave, however. They had harpoon guns made for spearing fish and ships, and before they were out of range they took their shots. Matayal stood with Livna and Yonit, organizing their energies to call great vertical waves to slow the attacks, leaving them to droop into the sea instead of impacting the ship. ¡°I was told this was one of the fastest ships in the Shimmering Islands,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°But I don¡¯t feel it. Even if we hit the top speed, can we really outpace them?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± Captain Sohan said. ¡°But¡­ unfortunately, it seems like we might need close to an hour to really get away from the Zenobia.¡± Matayal sighed. There really wasn¡¯t a better option than the Wavecutter anyway. The crew was willing to work with them and the ship was fast. Unfortunately Nurul had more experience accelerating the Zenobia than Matayal had with the Wavecutter. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s better to slow them down?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°Absolutely,¡± Sohan nodded. ¡°The Wavecutter is already efficient enough, reducing the drag like they are would only help marginally. And directly pushing us along would just be a waste of effort.¡± That might be true, but Matayal thought of a good compromise. She anchored herself to the ship and pushed behind them, creating a large wave that pushed back against them. A cultivator could avoid such difficulties if they chose to, but this provided more force and accomplished two tasks at once. The wave struck the Zenobia behind them, briefly staggering it. The ships were still quite some distance apart, so the wave had lowered in intensity by the time it reached them. Matayal did some mental calculations on how close they could afford to let the approaching ship. She knew that a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator like Nurul could move more quickly than the ship on his own, but if he came to attack them¡­ she¡¯d just kill him. Even if he had a few peak Soul Expansion Phase cultivators who could keep up, they would be insufficient. Thus, the enemy had to try to catch them all together. Matayal tried several different things with the waves, focusing the energy of the other Brandle clan cultivators high waves did little but splash the crew on board, and water element cultivators weren¡¯t going to be bothered by a little bit of ocean spray. She attempted a wave below the surface, but it wasn¡¯t terribly effective. The keel depth of the Zenobia was not so great that she could create a large force underwater, and the enemy were all water cultivators as well. Nurul was already influencing the water at the prow of the ship, so it did very little. Even so, Matayal and the others were maintaining a difference of about a kilometer. The crew and captain Sohan were putting in their work as well. The winds weren¡¯t exactly what they needed, so they had to tack back and forth to ultimately head in the direction they wanted. Matayal looked ahead nervously, spotting dark clouds, full of great intensity. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can keep this up for the full hour. And even if I do¡­ aren¡¯t we going to run into that storm? Aren¡¯t we off course?¡± ¡°Did your husband not talk about his trips with us? We¡¯re the fastest on the sea not just because we move quickly¡­ but because we don¡¯t have to spend days going around large storms.¡± Captain Sohan grinned, ¡°You just help keep us ahead and don¡¯t worry about the rest.¡± The winds in the area had begun to pick up, and the sea was turning choppy. Matayal¡¯s manipulation of the waves began to be insignificant compared to the natural power of the area. She slowed down her actions, timing them with the natural flow of the sea. It was becoming more difficult to keep an eye on the Zenobia, and even energy senses became less clear as the water and air energy making up the storm disturbed the balance of the area. Then the lightning started. Matayal was barely able to hear Captain Sohan telling her to get inside, but she went down with the majority of the crew. She was still planning to keep an eye out behind them, but found that the insulating formations kept much energy from flowing either way. Then she had to strap herself in as the sea started to become exceptionally violent. And Captain Sohan went into it deliberately. Sometimes, the one with the highest cultivation wasn¡¯t as important as the one who was the craziest. Matayal fully believed that, as she was fairly certain that the ship fully rolled over- but kept moving forward. ----- The rule for when the triplets were to go to bed were quite strict¡­ when Matayal was the one in charge. As their grandfather, Netanel felt justified in being a tiny bit more lenient. The kids would just be restless in their rooms for a while if they didn¡¯t take the extra time to tire themselves out, and they wouldn¡¯t be up that late. The servants were going to be up for several hours more regardless of when they got in their baths. Ursel was particularly resistant to baths, not because she disliked water but because she felt that being in water all day automatically made her clean- regardless of whether it was salt water or the outside pools on the property. Melanthina liked being clean, and Tirto never resisted one more chance to deal with water. In fact, the latter mostly became trouble when it was time to dry off¡­ and Netanel had decided that if he wanted to sleep with soaked hair, he could do so. If his bed was ruined by a little moisture, it would never have lasted anyway. Netanel hoped that his granddaughter would be returning soon, because the triplets seemed to be having a growth spurt, not in terms of height but their spiritual energy. When he¡¯d first felt wild spiritual energy in the children¡¯s rooms in the middle of the night he thought there was an attack, but the actual truth was something more bizarre. It wasn¡¯t much but they were controlling spiritual energy while they slept, with various side effects for the rooms around them. Fortunately they were quite durable, and the children didn¡¯t seem to hurt themselves- though they had people watching for such dangers. Teaching them better conscious control had become a priority, since it was easier to handle something they did on purpose than by accident. And they didn¡¯t want them to be afraid of using spiritual energy either, though perhaps that would never have been a problem. Melanthina was quite casually making shapes with bits of darkness. They weren¡¯t artistic, and had the same form as the scribbling of any child. Just vague shapes running around after each other. ¡°Grandpa,¡± Melanthina commented. ¡°Who¡¯s that woman?¡± ¡°Where?¡± Netanel asked. All of the servants and guards nearby should have been familiar to the triplets. ¡°Over there,¡± she pointed off into the darkening courtyard. Netanel was tempted to just say she was seeing things, but he was more experienced than that. He carefully squinted as he looked out into the courtyard, and saw nothing but shadows. Nothing felt odd about the spiritual energy in the area. Not with his strictly passive senses, anyway. And if he hadn¡¯t been looking for something, he wouldn¡¯t have taken note of any of that. ¡°What do you think?¡± Netanel asked, ¡°Does she belong here?¡± He carefully projected his voice towards some of the nearby guards, hoping they would get the hint. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Melanthina commented. ¡°Everyone here is like you, mom, and Tirto. She¡¯s more like me, but not from the Tenebach clan.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about right,¡± Netanel nodded as he stood up, ¡°Let¡¯s get you off to bed, okay?¡± He nudged her towards one of the nearby servants. Then he stood and stretched. ¡°Ah, the joy of the summer tides.¡± The comment was rather strange, but was a signal for the guards to roundabout patrol to the far side of the courtyard. If he suddenly made a move the woman might flee, and though Netanel was in the Consolidated Soul Phase he really wasn¡¯t up for a prolonged chase. And he didn¡¯t have his spear with him, so he¡¯d have to use an inferior one. Best to be safe. And in the morning he¡¯d tell Melanthina she did a good job spotting the woman. If she¡¯d gotten closer or acted against anyone Netanel would have spotted her, but Melanthina had seen through her guise of darkness¡­ which wasn¡¯t really a surprise at all, except the fact that she hadn¡¯t even received the blessing of the Tenebach¡¯s guardian beast yet. Chapter 142 To a certain extent Matayal understood why Captain Sohan would sail into a storm. Even if they weren¡¯t desperately dashing for their lives, the Wavecutter was equipped for it. It was still crazy, of course, but slightly less than it could have been. When the Zenobia followed after them, she thought that Nurul had to be even crazier- or more likely desperate. It was one thing to kill her here, away from civilization. Denying involvement or more likely executing the next step of the plan afterwards would be much simpler if this segment of the plan went off without a hitch. Though she knew that the Zenobia could likely survive a storm such as this, especially with a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator on board, they wouldn¡¯t get out unscathed. It was only a question of whether they would be able to catch the Wavecutter or not. She would have preferred to be up on deck, even in the middle of a storm, but the Wavecutter wasn¡¯t built for¡­ stability during a storm. There were only a certain number of harnesses for those in important positions, plus those in the quarters belowdecks. Matayal was strapped in, tumbling every which way but ultimately fine. She just wished she could take an active part in the situation, or sense what was going on outside better. But she couldn¡¯t, so she waited. The instant she sensed any damage to the Wavecutter she planned to make her way out to help, but lighting bolts were somehow channeled through the ship without causing any damage and despite the swaying and occasionally flipping of the ship it seemed to be holding together well. Finally there was a knock on her door, followed immediately by a report from one of the crew. ¡°The Zenobia has taken sufficient damage to slow them. Captain Sohan says we are now pulling further away.¡± That was good news, but¡­ it wasn¡¯t satisfying. Beyond that, Matayal thought they could do better. ¡°Can you ask him to not pull too far ahead? Actually, perhaps I should do it myself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, ma¡¯am¡­¡± the crewmate said, but Matayal had already detached herself and stepped out the door. It shut behind her a bit more forcefully than intended, but she let the ship twist around her as she walked towards the stairs. ¡°I understand you¡¯ve spent more time on a ship, but storms aren¡¯t exactly new to me either.¡± She stopped at the top of the stairs, sensing for what she needed. ¡°The attachment points are to the right,¡± the crewmate commented. ¡°Since you seem determined to go.¡± Matayal slid out onto the deck and slung the harness around her, letting it pull away from its anchor point. She took note of how the few sailors maneuvered and copied them. She was missing some years or perhaps decades of experience, but she had the advantage of being in a higher cultivation Phase. Instead of sending her slipping off the sides of the ship, she controlled the water to support her. ¡°Captain!¡± Matayal called through the winds and waves, ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like to stay just ahead of the Zenobia instead of leaving it far behind!¡± There was a pause during which she was unsure if Captain Sohan had heard her, then his voice boomed out towards her. ¡°Have a plan, do you? Normally I¡¯d like to get out of this storm as fast as possible, but very well. We¡¯ll hobble ourselves a bit. Since you¡¯re up here¡­ why don¡¯t you help with some of those sails?¡± Matayal thought it was insane to have any amount of sail even slightly unfurled in such a storm, but it seemed the masts could handle it¡­ and the crew had some sort of method to actually control where the winds blew them. In normal windspeeds Matayal could handle such a simple sailing task, but in a wild storm where wind seemed to suddenly change directions it was a different story. And the waves were a problem too. Matayal lent her aid wherever it seemed people needed help. She could provide more power than most given her cultivation, or simply stabilize people as they went about their tasks. As she worked, she kept track of the Zenobia behind them, barely something that could be felt through the storm. They were certainly a bit further than before, but the distance remained relatively stable. When the storm eventually began to die down, Matayal more clearly discussed her plan with Captain Sohan. They would skirt near a number of occupied islands, making themselves visible. If the Zenobia stopped to perform repairs they would simply continue on to Pualani, otherwise they would make use of the ship chasing them at a later date. It would be difficult for the Purunomo clan to deny their actions if they were seen from multiple islands. It wouldn¡¯t ultimately affect the Brandle clan¡¯s response, but having justifications they could point out would smooth things over with everyone else. As they were out of the storm, the Wavecutter did its best impression that some of its sails were out as they kept ahead of the Zenobia. They wanted to seem as if they could be caught and were barely avoiding it. Of course, at all times they had at least one crew member and one of the Brandle clan guards watching the distance. There was one difficulty in the plan. The Zenobia was not only damaged, but Nurul himself was not helping with their speed quite as much. It wasn¡¯t that strange, as Matayal knew that even Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators couldn¡¯t last forever. It just made the process of keeping the enemy ship just on the horizons a tad more difficult. Rerouting their course towards various islands was a good excuse for them randomly slowing down, as the turns would hopefully be seen to gradually set them behind. That was important, because Nurul and the other cultivators did put in occasional efforts to speed up their ship. It was a delicate balance of looking like they never suddenly gained speed while still keeping some distance. Sohan¡¯s crew pulled it off excellently. So much so that Matayal wondered if there wasn¡¯t some other angle she was missing. She wouldn¡¯t have called Nurul a clever man, but at the very least the Purunomo clan was functional. They had also managed to secretly gather the fleet they surrounded her with, enough that they didn¡¯t have a clue about it beforehand. Assuming he was stupid was dangerous, but as they got closer to Pualani and were still being followed she had to assume the worst. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. When they were just approaching Pualani, her fears were realized. ¡°Captain Sohan!¡± called the lookout. ¡°There¡¯s a flotilla heading towards us from the island, and I don¡¯t recognize their signs!¡± Any battle would be extremely visible from Pualani, but the fact that everyone would know who killed her wouldn¡¯t bring Matayal or any of the others back to life. She looked to Sohan, who nodded calmly. ¡°Full sail then. Matayal, if you could stand at the front¡­ we¡¯ll need you to deflect as much as you can while we slip by. Don¡¯t worry about the hull for the moment, the sails just need to stay intact. If the ship goes down¡­ well, I know you can swim from here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to just abandon you all after you brought me this far.¡± If she was going to slip away, she would at least bring as many of Sohan¡¯s crew as she could with her. And of course the Brandle clan¡¯s guards. The incoming flotilla spread out, making it difficult for them to escape in any direction. Even the Wavecutter would have difficulty turning around completely to escape- though it was still an option on the table. But as they got closer to the flotilla, Matayal frowned. She looked at Sohan, who looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Sure feels like your clan, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Sohan questioned. ¡°It does¡­ but those aren¡¯t our ships. We should be cautious.¡± Was there some sort of rebellion within the clan? She pondered that for a few moments before she suddenly felt her grandfather. By the time the Zenobia behind them could feel the specific cultivations of the incoming flotilla, it was too late for them to turn around. The ship was bulkier than the Wavecutter, damaged from the storm, and full of exhausted sailors. ¡°Thanks for the trip! We¡¯ll get you paid later today,¡± Matayal said as she leapt into the ocean, making her way towards the ship that had her grandfather going in the other direction. ¡°How did you know we¡¯d be coming?¡± ¡°Melanthina spotted a sneaky spy,¡± Netanel grinned. ¡°That ultimately led to us taking over some of these Darklands ships, and then¡­ waiting. I was about ready to just send out our fleet, but I figured either you were already dead or not.¡± They didn¡¯t have long for conversation as they approached the Zenobia. Nurul was standing on the prow with his forces arrayed around him. ¡°You may have outmaneuvered us this time but-¡± He cut off because Matayal had already leveled her spear at him, drawing currents of water around it. With her grandfather next to her she didn¡¯t hesitate to put her everything into the attack. The spear sailed through the air, piercing directly through two people who threw themselves in front of the Purunomo clan head. Without that¡­ Nurul would have been dead. As it was, her spear pierced all the way through his hip and pinned him to the mast behind him. ¡°We¡¯re not at a fancy party this time,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But since you lucked out, I¡¯ll let you die in the town square.¡± Having some sort of public execution would be better anyway. ¡°The rest of you¡­ if you surrender, we can be lenient with your family.¡± Netanel just nodded next to her. Matayal was the clan head now, and possibly even stronger than himself. It was a good display of authority for her to take control of as much as she could. ----- Just because the Purunomo clan head was captured along with one of their ships didn¡¯t mean things were over. There was the rest of the fleet to worry about. Then there were matters of politics to deal with. That had to be taken care of swiftly. Matayal called together all of the clans on the island for an emergency congregation. Everyone would have been more comfortable in a public place, but she ultimately decided to call them to the Brandle clan. If some were afraid to show that was possibly better¡­ and if they did come and intended to cause trouble it would be much easier to handle them. Ultimately, Matayal found that every clan had a presence. Those who were long term allies of the Brandle clan had a larger number of participants, to the point they would have been stretching the boundaries of politeness had they not been suggested to bring sufficient backup. Even the Purunomo clan had some members in attendance, having made excuses for why their clan head was not around. It seemed they didn¡¯t know yet, which was exactly why Matayal was hurrying things along. ¡°Great clans of Pualani,¡± Matayal addressed the crowd as she stood in a prominent position in front of them, guards flanking her on either side as a rather conspicuous box and large cutting blade were next to her. ¡°There are some issues we must address. First¡­¡± she flipped open the box, large enough to fit a man- if uncomfortably. It was specially made to suppress spiritual energy, so the contents had been hidden from everyone. At the same time, she took the blade and chopped off Nurul¡¯s head. ¡°...the Purunomo clan has attempted to assassinate me.¡± Before the shock wore off, Matayal spoke rapidly, naming other clans she had seen involved with the fleet, starting with those present on Pualani. ¡°Finally, they were working with outsiders from the Kartal clan¡­ and the Society of Midnight from the Darklands.¡± As she said that bodies were dumped around the courtyard by waiting members of the Brandle clan. Just as the shock was wearing off and the Purunomo clan members and their allies were beginning to protest, the same guards waiting with bodies moved forward. ¡°Now then, it would be best for all of you if you settle down. Perhaps not your whole clans are involved. I¡¯m sure¡­ none of you would try to assassinate me, right?¡± The threat was implicitly tied to an offer. If they cooperated, they could be part of their clan that survived. The more quick witted understood that immediately, but some of the others shouted inevitable lines about lies and slander. They were quickly restrained not only by the Brandle clan guards but also the present allies of the Brandle clan. ¡°For those of you who are not sworn allies of the Brandle clan nor involved in this situation, I merely ask that you help us uphold the traditions of integrity and justice that the Shimmering Islands are known for.¡± Matayal smiled broadly. In truth, as cultivators went the Shimmering Island did lean towards some of those concepts, but strength was ultimately what decided the winner, and the truth. ¡°We have more evidence to present to you all, most notably the fleet that will likely arrive within the next few days.¡± If the neutral parties stayed out of the fighting, they actually stood to gain in relative terms. Both sides involved in conflict would weaken somewhat, and while the victor might come out with more resources and ultimately grow¡­ being a faction that stayed at the same strength left plenty of available opportunities. Slipping away with her life when she should have died greatly changed the dynamic of the situation. She¡¯d have to generously reward Captain Sohan and the crew of the Wavecutter for their assistance, as she couldn¡¯t guarantee her escape without them. Matayal looked around, spotting minimal unrest among the factions- except of course those who were pronounced as the villains. Things would take some time to settle, but the situation wasn¡¯t the disaster it could have been, even disregarding her personal circumstances. There was one problem she hadn¡¯t anticipated, however. She spotted Melanthina peeking into the courtyard. Children shouldn¡¯t be exposed to violence and death so early. As a cultivator it was inevitable¡­ but she didn¡¯t want the triplets to grow up bloodthirsty or numb to violence. She¡¯d have to deal with that situation somehow. Matayal wished John were around, but their circumstances meant it would still be a few months before that. Hopefully things were peaceful at the Tenebach clan at least. Chapter 143 First on the list was sending messages to the Mulyani clan- one copy of which was aboard the Wavecutter. Captain Sohan had proven to be a reliable ally, but while he and his crew had some combat prowess they wouldn¡¯t be a significant determining factor in a battle. It was better to have them assist with getting future actions moving. Sending copies of the same missive with other ships was for certainty- they didn¡¯t know if anyone was prepared to intercept ships leaving the area or not. Matayal didn¡¯t expect the Mulyani clan to be able to arrive in time to help, but as allies they needed to be informed of the situation. Specifically, it wasn¡¯t expected that the messages would reach them before the rest of the fleet arrived at Pualani. There was no way to judge how long it would take between Kusuma receiving the message and her arriving¡­ but it wouldn¡¯t be long if she felt urgency. But the Brandle clan wasn¡¯t relying on Kusuma or her clan for the moment. The intention was to work with them later, to deal with retribution against the clans not on Pualani. The biggest target was the Kartal clan, which was a shame since Matayal thought that some of them had their heads on straight. She¡¯d even been kind enough to spare the young master Bora¡¯s life once. Once was as much mercy as any cultivator could afford to show. If the situation had been slightly different, Matayal would have felt much more comfortable. Unfortunately it was impossible to fully commit to a single battle when the core of the clan had to be protected. Netanel was fairly certain that all of the members of the Society of Midnight on Pulanai had been removed, the ships they were using commandeered for the capture of Nurul Purunomo. Matayal trusted her grandfather¡¯s skill, but even he would admit that being fairly certain was not something worth risking the lives of the triplets on. There was also the matter of the other clans involved. With Nurul Purunomo¡¯s death there was certain to be an internal power struggle of some sort, prompted by Matayal¡¯s efforts. That would hopefully keep them occupied among themselves, and would save the losses caused by wiping out the group on the island, but there was still some chance they would opt for immediate retribution, attacking the clan grounds while they were occupied with the incoming fleet. So some had to stay behind, along with members of the allied clans. The central island of Pualani was densely packed, so the various clans would be able to support each other if there was trouble. The real trouble was how to head off the incoming fleet. Regardless of Nurul¡¯s death there would inevitably be some sort of violent conflict. After having attempted such a brazen act, the groups involved would have to make their move while they were somewhat unified, or face retribution individually- which obviously wouldn¡¯t work out for them. Unfortunately there was no opportunity to individually contact them. Matayal would have preferred to get them to work against each other, or offer them a chance to retreat with minor penalties of some sort. Not everyone, of course- just enough to swing things more in their favor. Not that she was worried about victory. Having survived the attack at the Kelp Spire Forest and escaped, the enemy¡¯s plans were pretty much bungled. Instead of being up one Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, they were down one. And with Yonit on the threshold of breaking through, perhaps their side might grow further behind. But they wouldn¡¯t know that right away, and thus some sort of conflict would be inevitable. So the plans for how to deal with the approaching fleet had to be developed. Pualani was considered to be one island, though by certain metrics it was multiple islands in the shape of a flower. Between the petals were wide swaths of water, as well as a large ring in the middle around the center island. There were far too many approach directions to defend, so some assumptions had to be made. Like that the incoming fleet wouldn¡¯t know they would be waiting. The petals were separated by a few kilometers, but that meant anyone in one of the channels could see all the way across. The defending forces were split between a southwest island that was the most direct approach and the two channels on either side of it. They had lookouts on the island¡¯s tall guard towards watching for approaching ships, ready to warn people of an incoming approach. Matayal also had Nurul¡¯s head on her spear. Well, a backup spear since her actual spear was too valuable to occupy with a purely decorative function. She hoped it would get the point across to the incoming fleet, sowing chaos or confusion. ----- When John arrived back at the Tenebach clan, things were fine. Just because he was not physically present didn¡¯t mean things were unmanaged. His grandfather still took an active role in the clan business- cultivators never really retired, even if they reached the end of their talent. Everything was managed by people John trusted, and nobody needed him for the clan to continue functioning. However, that didn¡¯t mean things were going well. Word hadn¡¯t yet come from the Brandle clan about the attacks, and it wouldn¡¯t arrive for some time, but there were still troubles to deal with. Various groups were maneuvering against the Tenebach clan¡¯s holdings, and dealing with that always took effort. It didn¡¯t appear to be anything coordinated, just daily business, but it slowed things down. More worrying was news of Darklands activity, people gathering near the border for what could only be assumed was some nefarious purpose. Even if they weren¡¯t directly south of Marble County or confirmed to be associated with the Society of Midnight, it was worrying. But before considering any of that, John had to help get the representatives of the Golden Tomb Guardians settled in, and to return the piece of Ciaritzal retrieved from Cuah¡¯arn. Deirdre had volunteered to come along as well as several others. While an alliance had been struck with the Golden Tomb Guardians, managing it over a large distance was difficult. It seemed the Tenebach clan might need to call on their aid in the near future, and organizing things was critical. Then there was the matter of making people in the Stone Conglomerate comfortable with the continuing presence of people from the Sunfields. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It wasn¡¯t as if light element cultivators weren¡¯t present in the Stone Conglomerate- either traveling through on business, trading, or occasionally settling down- but they still stood out. The Tenebach clan didn¡¯t want anyone to think they were colluding against anyone within the Stone Conglomerate¡¯s borders. They were, of course. Not with the Golden Tomb Guardians specifically, but there were many factions in the way of their plans. Of course while the Tenebach clan themselves were the most likely to object to light element cultivators, that made working with them all the more suspicious. Setting them up with rooms had already been anticipated, and while there weren¡¯t formations to gather light elemental spiritual energy for them, there was at least a small section that was intentionally kept free from the darkness element for their comfort. Before getting any further into other details, John set off to visit Ciaritzal. From the first time he interacted with Ciaritzal he had wondered about the cave and what made it special, but the truth was that it wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t special¡­ but it wasn¡¯t not special either. In short, because Ciaritzal dwelled there it was suffused with the element of darkness¡­ and because it was full of darkness element, it suited him. He could choose to dwell in another location, but it would take quite some time to develop into a suitable environment. Inside the cave, John called out. ¡°Hey Ciaritzal¡­ do you remember a large glowing bird named Cuah¡¯arn?¡± A few moments later, a deeper form of darkness appeared within the cave, revealing the lack of form that was Ciaritzal, vaguely in the shape of a canine. ¡°How could I forget? It was a fierce battle. And I found myself greatly weakened afterwards.¡± ¡°Well,¡± John shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to blame you or anything, but you might have mentioned that before I went to visit the Golden Tomb Guardians.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± Ciaritzal stepped closer, pressing his head against John¡¯s chest. The piece of him dwelling in John¡¯s dantian eagerly began to make its way back to the rest of itself. ¡°You found Cuah¡¯arn? But I don¡¯t recall her having an association with any sect. Hmm, but a tomb¡­ she perished? I am rather surprised.¡± ¡°Not quite,¡± John shook his head. ¡°She was definitely alive when we met, and better off when I left. I didn¡¯t have the chance to consult you, but¡­ you did not bear a grudge, right?¡± ¡°Well now, I won¡¯t lie and say I don¡¯t have a petty side. But I had little choice to be involved in the battle, and with this bit of me returned I am quite content. Except for the remaining fault belonging to the Society of Midnight.¡± ¡°They really messed you up. I understand the desire for power, but to be so focused on short-term benefits¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°It seems like a cultivator should know better.¡± ¡°Ah, but to the Society of Midnight, if they could gain Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators it didn¡¯t matter. Look how much the Tenebach clan has changed in the last handful of years after your first. And the Brandle clan too. You are able to secure more resources now to catapult yourselves ahead. I do believe it even worked out for the Society of Midnight.¡± John raised an eyebrow as he sat with Ciaritzal in complete darkness. ¡°Sounds tempting, actually. What makes you think I won¡¯t try it?¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Ciaritzal snorted. ¡°You? No chance. I¡¯ve been inside your heart, you know? We are already allies, so as long as I don¡¯t drag you down you wouldn¡¯t betray me. And we¡¯re already of great benefit to each other with our current arrangement.¡± The shadows shifted in a shrug, ¡°Even without these shards of myself being restored. I must say, this was one I thought lost forever. Tell me of Cuah¡¯arn. Alive, still?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I know much more than you,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I can speculate. The Golden Tomb Guardians seem to have a similar sort of relationship with her as we do to you. Though if she was injured this whole time she might be¡­¡± ¡°Stronger than me?¡± Ciaritzal asked snarkily. ¡°That was most definitely true. I was only intended to weaken her enough for the Society of Midnight to finish her off, but she managed to flee the battle. I thought she simply perished where they could not find her, but knowing she survived¡­ it¡¯s actually rather enjoyable. Tell me more about these Golden Tomb Guardians.¡± John explained what he knew about them, including the arrangement for an alliance. ¡°I hope it was the right move. Everything seemed genuine, and if they ultimately grow stronger it is better for us. What do you think?¡± ¡°At the very least, they should keep their promises in the short term. If there is no bitterness from Cuah¡¯arn, then even if they latter withdraw their support it will have been worthwhile. And in fact retrieving this portion of my power is advantageous to us even if they are otherwise entirely neutral.¡± ¡°How many more pieces are you missing?¡± John asked. ¡°I wish I could tell you, but I truly was unable to keep a count. It is also a matter of how much of my essence each piece took. Even so, I judge that I am more restored than not at this point, though of the pieces strictly in the hands of the Society of Midnight it might swing to the other side of half. If I could be fully restored then perhaps¡­¡± ¡°Perhaps what?¡± John asked. ¡°Perhaps I might be able to advance to a higher level of power. In human terms, I would be something akin to the very peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. As a creature mostly formed of spirit it is different¡­ but I was not terribly far from advancement. The entire reason I chose to work with the Society of Midnight was to attain what I needed to make that leap, but they managed to gain leverage on me that resulted in the effects you already know. But I am much more hopeful of the Tenebach clan, as they were willing to assist me even when I was weak¡­ nearly worthless. Certainly it was a power grab for their own sake, but we have cooperated as allies for generations now. I am quite pleased.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± John grinned. Just as Ciaritzal had felt his own thoughts, it worked in the other direction. Perhaps they were merely working together for the benefits they could gain, but mutual benefit was the basis of most of the best and most lasting relationships of any sort. And John knew that the fondness between himself and Ciaritzal would last even beyond the level of strict benefits. Chapter 144 It was simple enough to predict the speed a fleet could travel given certain parameters, at least within a certain period. Scouts confirmed the incoming enemy fleet some hours before their arrival. It was possible that the scouts would have been spotted by the incoming fleet as well, but it would likely be more unnatural for there to be no traffic around Pualani to begin with. Travel had shut down except that between the sub-islands- even if the neutral clans expected to be safe they weren¡¯t willing to risk unnecessary travel when they could wait a day or two, and merchants left early once they caught onto what was happening. Matayal stood at the head of the Zenobia. It was better than what the Brandle clan had as their flagship as they had not been so heavily investing in ships as of late as they¡¯d been more focused on the breakthroughs of Netanel and Matayal herself. The Purunomo clan must have stretched themselves thin to reach their current point, and now they were due for a disaster. There was little worse for morale than having your clan head¡¯s visage mounted on the front of your own flagship, and even those who weren¡¯t part of the Purunomo clan would be concerned about the death of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Matayal stood proudly next to Nurul¡¯s head, projecting her voice as the fleet approached. ¡°Surrender now and you may receive a measure of mercy!¡± Most wouldn¡¯t surrender, of course. Cultivators were proud, and in truth many wouldn¡¯t expect to be spared. Even so, they had to consider the consequences to their clans¡­ and whether or not they had a chance to win. While the Zenobia and Nurul were significant losses, the fleet had still expected some amount of resistance. The attitude might change once they fully grasped the alliance backing the Brandle clan, but a battle was inevitable. The first target Matayal set her sights on was one of the ships carrying members of the Kartal clan. Since they were from the Blustering Peaks they really shouldn¡¯t have gotten involved in this at all. Given how they had seen a display of her power before- and John and the Tenebach clan¡¯s- they should know better. Even if they had succeeded in this particular plot, they should have expected retaliation. Some of them had seemed to understand, but either those particular guardians had changed their minds or someone higher up ignored them. As for the young master of the clan, Bora, Matayal already considered his life forfeit regardless of direct involvement. But that was later, as he was at least smart enough to not be present in the fleet. Normally a ship battle would involve some amount of maneuvering where the ship mounted weapons and any ranged abilities the cultivators aboard were proficient with would be used. That would hopefully soften up the enemy forces for engagement. But standard tactics weren¡¯t always desirable for various reasons. And there were other ship-to-ship tactics that were quite appealing to Matayal at the moment. Doubly so because it appeared that the Zenobia was rather sturdy. She planned to test that, and if it fell apart then they could at least salvage what bits were valuable and make something better. The crew aboard the enemy ship was quite surprised when the Zenobia rammed into them, even those native to the Shimmering Islands. While ramming had indeed been a popular naval tactic at some level, it was less popular nowadays in the Shimmering Islands. The reasons were simple- ramming an enemy ship could lead to it sinking, damaging the ramming ship in the process. When a ship could instead be captured it was a huge loss in value for little tactical advantage. After all, many cultivators from the Shimmering Islands could fight just fine atop the water if their ship sank. Matayal expected members of the Kartal clan to be capable of at least the basics in that regard, but they weren¡¯t specialists in the water element. And she didn¡¯t care about either ship involved in the collision, so that made it easier. Wood cracked as the smaller ship nearly split in two. The forces aboard had a few moments to brace themselves for impact, but some were still sent flying. The rest leapt through the air towards the Zenobia, planning to board in retaliation. Walls of water were immediately raised around the prow of the Zenobia at Matayal¡¯s command, and only a small portion of the enemy crew landed on their ship- those who had been fast enough or lifted themselves high enough. The others were delayed for at least a few critical moments. The forces were in the favor of the Zenobia even if the other crew wasn¡¯t split apart, but fighting them a few at a time shifted the advantage even more. Matayal barely even had to make use of her spear, though she certainly didn¡¯t hold back. The first round of enemies was dead by the time the rest really understood what was going on, and they had the choice of leaping from the sinking ship to the Zenobia or trying to flee. No cultivator of any note was unable to swim, but finding oneself swimming in a battle against water element cultivators was not a good position to be in. Those who retreated at least had the rest of the crew between them and Matayal, so they survived a bit longer. On the other side of the battlefield things were going better for the attacking fleet, as that one consisted primarily of the other local clans who were best prepared for shipboard combat. Many of the Kartal clan ships understood their vulnerability on the water and had angled themselves for the island between the two parts of the fleet, but they weren¡¯t going to easily find positions there easier. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Matayal spotted one of the enemy Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators attempting to slip by along her channel, no doubt planning something nefarious upon reaching the inner islands. The Lavea clan was one of the up-and-coming clans in the Shimmering Islands, with the young Magua having just recently broken through to the Consolidated Soul Phase. He could be considered a great talent, but unfortunately he had chosen the wrong side of the battle. The Zenobia was limping somewhat upon turning to intercept Magua Lavea, having not been fully repaired from the damage in the storm and of course having just rammed another ship. It was probably a waste of perfectly good construction, but Matayal might have felt a bit of bitterness towards the ship itself. Even so it was swift enough to catch up with a little encouragement from herself. The battle was somewhat more traditional given that the Zenobia had to use all of her momentum to overtake the enemy, with attacks being traded and walls of water being raised to deflect as many as possible. Somewhere in that exchange harpoons attached to strong chains had pierced into both ships- ropes durable enough to withstand even Foundation Phase cultivators got prohibitively expensive. Both sides were interested in a melee, it was merely a matter of who tried to board who. The defending side would have an advantage, but Matayal was still confident enough to leap forward. She was not alone, of course. Livna and Yonit flanked her, and several other squads were immediately attached. A token wall of water was raised to stop her, but Matayal simply used it as a ramp to land herself on the deck. Then she was a whirling dance of spear and water. Fighting with Livna and Yonit by her side was familiar but ultimately somewhat disappointing. Neither could quite keep up, and there wasn¡¯t the same synergy as with her husband- not that it could be expected. Magua quickly repositioned himself to face off against her. He wielded a spear that was somewhat larger than her own. He had the advantage of reach, and his totems fit the theme of raging oceans and crashing tides. In short, the direct power of water. The overall tier of their four totems were similar as well, though Matayal¡¯s had been nurtured better by her dual cultivation with John. Heavy attacks rained down on Matayal, but she swept them all away, redirecting them around her. She found no direct advantage in their confrontations, but as the battle continued she couldn¡¯t help but compare the level of power he displayed. It was strong, but not without faults. Overpowering in some ways¡­ but if she were to compare it to the sea god it was nothing special. She hadn¡¯t fought the sea god of course, but it seemed that Magua¡¯s style partly relied on overwhelming his opponent with his oppressive aura. That simply wasn¡¯t going to happen to Matayal. And even if her cultivation hadn¡¯t directly improved a great deal¡­ she¡¯d gained some understanding of the power of water from her time of training. A deep breath mimicked the sea god, a drawing in of a vortex of water followed by a sudden expulsion of power. She directed Magua¡¯s spear where she wished it to go, stepping closer to pierce his side with her shorter spear. With one more Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator out of the picture, the attacking fleet was at an even larger disadvantage against the prepared defenders. ----- When the Milanovic clan sent a missive asking for aid from the Tenebach clan, John didn¡¯t hesitate to put together a group to head to the Green Sands. The Tenebach clan proper would still have sufficient defenders, and their alliance with the Order of the Amber Heart made Marble County more secure as time went on. There was some debate about whether John should go himself. His position meant he was too important to casually risk, but on the other hand the power of cultivators often hinged on their leaders. He was a significant portion of military force. In the end John chose to go because of one thing- the enemy would be fire cultivators, and he had an elemental advantage by being a water cultivator. It could also be said that he had an elemental disadvantage for being an earth cultivator, but it didn¡¯t quite work like that. When he only had two or three totems fire was at an advantage against him. He had in the past overcome that disadvantage, but with a water element totem those battles could have been easily won. With his fourth totem he had enough of a cycle of elements that his portion of water was augmented. His multiple totems augmented his strengths and minimized his weaknesses, and if he made clever use of his power then it was not an issue. Earth was offensively fine against fire, and in the Green Sands could be useful in shifting terrain to his advantage in a way that fire cultivators couldn¡¯t exploit his earth energy. Fire cultivators being on their home turf would be an issue still, but water cultivators weren¡¯t at such a big disadvantage in a desert as it might seem. There were still sources of water, and their spiritual energy was still just as effective. The one disadvantage they had was not being able to recover well, but that was true of any cultivator in an area dominated by other elements. With John¡¯s ability to convert his spiritual energy between elements it was less of a concern. John also brought along the few Brandle clan members staying with the Tenebach clan. Adding a little versatility into the mix was good for both, and they might have had permanent residents from the Milanovic or Mulyani clans if it didn¡¯t involve living in a country on the wrong side of the elemental divide. The members of the Golden Tomb Guardians¡­ would have to stay behind. Though they would be useful against cultivators who worked with darkness, they were needed for organizing efforts with the Tenebach clan. And they weren¡¯t really his to command regardless. Aydan managed to convince John to take some other precautions as well. It would ultimately result in less comfort for him, but John was willing to deal with discomfort for personal safety. In total they had more than a dozen additional Soul Expansion Phase cultivators and several squads of Foundation Phase cultivators, a sizable force. A handful of years prior that might have been close to the limits of the Tenebach clan¡¯s resources, but the reverse empowerment ceremony had allowed the older generation to make up for lost time. Meanwhile, the younger generation had significant talent of their own to make use of. Combined with recent successes, the power of the Tenebach clan had swelled significantly. Chapter 145 Strangely enough, John was nearly as hot as his first trip to the Green Sands. There had been some upgrades to his carriage that would help, but that was only if he was in that one. Instead he was in another carriage and to avoid ruining the whole reason he had to minimize his use of spiritual energy, ultimately resulting in him having to stick to pure darkness. That was actually fine for a certain type of training, but disappearing heat with darkness was ironically harder than funneling it elsewhere with earth. But part of that was the general heat lacking intention, and part was practice. This was one of those concessions for the sake of safety, and John hoped it would be worth it. He understood he was the strongest around, but he also was very much not unbeatable. If he¡¯d been a little less lucky or skilled in the past he might already be dead. That was how many cultivators reached their heights, but he¡¯d rather reduce the number of times he had to be lucky. After they were a good way into the Green Sands, John was encouraged that they¡¯d made the right choice. It seemed that the Society of Midnight didn¡¯t quite understand how he functioned, but also that they were extremely interested in seeing him killed. He could sense no fewer than three pieces of Ciaritzal up ahead, which almost certainly meant an equal number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. It was time to test something he was trying out. He made several small pulses of darkness, quite low in power and only something that could be felt by those nearby- or someone with a direct line of sight to him. They hadn¡¯t had time to set up a good code yet, but he was at least able to warn of danger. They were still far enough that he could have just jumped out of his carriage or yelled at someone, but testing in practical circumstances where people weren¡¯t just waiting for the signal was also useful. After a few moments, there was a response from the front¡­ but the limitations really didn¡¯t allow for John to do more than indicate the magnitude of danger was great and that they should stop. He had some nice fantasies about taking back three shards of Ciaritzal all at once, but if they had that many Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators he didn¡¯t want to think about what else they might have. They had to have known he was coming as well, but that could have been through any number of avenues. Anyone in any city along the way could have noticed them and passed along the information, since they weren¡¯t exactly subtle. It still meant the Society of Midnight had been ready, with people close enough to place along his most likely route, but it wasn¡¯t too surprising they might be involved in the whole situation with the Shadowflame Disciples somehow. Aydan stepped out of the carriage in front as they stopped and made his way towards John. ¡°What is it?¡± John explained the situation quickly. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t have noticed us yet though. Unless they have something special I don¡¯t know about. Either way, we should make our way around. Going off road isn¡¯t exactly comfortable here but¡­¡± John shrugged. ¡°Right. It¡¯s not worth trying to fight them here with just us. At some point they might realize we passed them up and come to cause trouble with the Milanovic clan though¡­¡± ¡°If they do, we¡¯ll be ready. Besides, if they openly cause trouble in the Green Sands¡­ we¡¯ll have even more leverage against the Darklands. That place isn¡¯t so tight-knit that they¡¯ll be willing to shelter them indefinitely. In fact, they¡¯d feel a lot more comfortable with a small army going on the offensive knowing there was a specific target.¡± John shrugged, ¡°Or they don¡¯t follow us and we have to deal with them later. I can¡¯t imagine they can afford to lose those three though so I expect them to be cautious. That should be close to half of their remaining cultivators with shards of Ciaritzal¡­ and they likely don¡¯t have many Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators beyond that.¡± ¡°... Perhaps the Tenebach clan should have fled further generations ago,¡± Aydan shook his head, ¡°Though there weren¡¯t necessarily better places to settle down.¡± In the end, Aydan returned to the front carriage with the Brandle clan cultivators, their presences concealed by the carriage. They weren¡¯t the secret so much as John not being there in case of an ambush, but it was still worth trying to have them as a surprise. A normal carriage could not go off road into the sand, but the Tenebach clan didn¡¯t have just average horses. The wheels weren¡¯t made for loose sand, but the dedicated efforts of several cultivators could effectively increase their surface area. It would be tiring, but they weren¡¯t intending to stay off road forever. Just long enough to go around the Society of Midnight group, though they were taking a very circuitous route to avoid notice. It should have worked, because they were far enough that the waiting group shouldn¡¯t have been able to sense them. But when they suddenly began moving John began to worry. They weren¡¯t moving terribly fast. Not yet, at least. Even so the pace had to be increased to maintain distance. How they were being tracked John didn¡¯t know. It likely wasn¡¯t precise with how the movements of those chasing them didn¡¯t quite match up. With enough time the desert winds would conceal their actual tracks, but if they got within a close enough distance and found them then it would be impossible to lose them. At least with a large group. Those questions were answered a short time later as a literal flare of power shot into the sky. A bundle of fire and darkness lifted into the air and lingered. At the same time, cultivators revealed themselves at the front of the line of carriages, some previously buried in the sand and some riding desert horses. Black flames washed over the front carriage, incinerating the horses and nearly killing the driver, his spiritual energy defenses weakening the attack. The leading carriage itself withstood the attack with minimal damage, but more cultivators were charging towards it- while the second carriage hadn¡¯t done nearly so well for itself. It was at that point that John had to make a choice. The reason he was in the trailing carriage was to have the option to turn and run if something like this happened. He was ultimately the most important factor of the future of the clan, not just for his strength but because of the way people perceived the losses of different factions. Even if the Tenebach clan could go on without him, the perception of their power would weaken significantly. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Fortunately, John only had to think for a short moment, and there was only one sensible option. That was to fight. If he turned to run, he would only be heading back into a stronger force behind them. Any other options were conveniently ignorable since he really didn¡¯t want to abandon his people. By the time John was leaping out of his carriage, Aydan and the water cultivators were out the front engaging what appeared to be the leader, a woman in the Consolidated Soul Phase. ¡°Keep the carriage safe!¡± John instructed the driver as he ran past with the others from their particular carriage. ¡°We¡¯ll need it later.¡± His first attack was a simple throwing dagger into the neck of the closest Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. A little bit of darkness hid it and water element helped slip it through the man¡¯s defenses- mainly fire oriented. Yet these cultivators had traces of darkness as well. A tricky balance to maintain, given their generally incompatible natures. But nothing was impossible. Once someone created a technique that would work for a given combination, those teachings could be passed on. Any deviations or new techniques using opposing elements were much more likely to result in wasted time and ineffectual techniques than something usable, but the Shadowflame Disciples really had something. John saw the way their flames clung to the leading carriage. It was quite similar to clinging affliction, and he wondered if any of those present had some technique manuals on them. Most sects and clans required their techniques to be kept somewhere safe, but there were always careless disciples or people important enough to be above the rules. Like that leader. The enemies were quite surprised to find that the leading carriage was now empty and John was in the rear, with the maximum number of people between himself and them. The Tenebach clan had been caught off guard, likely due to the unfamiliar way the Shadowflame disciples might conceal themselves among the natural fire energy of the Green Sands, but as the battle of deception went John thought the Tenebach clan was ahead. Aydan was no slouch in combat, and the Brandle clan cultivators had a nice elemental advantage against fire, which seemed to be the majority element for the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators who had an odd number of totems to work with. Inside of himself, John circulated the flow of elements as quickly as he could. Each element supported the other, and he wanted to draw on his spiritual energy as quickly as he could. To have any chance of survival they had to win quickly and get moving again. ¡°In formation!¡± John called to those immediately around him. They quickly took their places, channeling energy to him. They moved along with him as he began to cut down the weaker cultivators in his path. When several cultivators simultaneously shot cones of black flame from their hands, John combined the water element with a wave of sand controlled by the earth element, wrapping up and over their attacks and directing some of it back towards them. Air granted him speed and the ability to direct tiny particles of sand into people¡¯s faces. The latter was merely annoying, but remarkably effective when the sand didn¡¯t move with enough speed to be registered as an attack of some sort. The Tenebach cultivators were at an elemental disadvantage- not because fire was especially effective against darkness, but because of the natural fire element in the area. The disadvantage was slight but problematic. On the other hand, the portion of the attacks that made use of darkness elemental spiritual energy was more easily countered by those who focused solely on that element. Aydan had the talent to unravel the clinging attribute of the fire around him, and had turned his efforts to fighting off the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. He was at the very peak of the same Phase, and if all went well he would break through soon. His actions were backed up by other members of the Tenebach clan, while the biggest threat was being contained by several Brandle clan cultivators. The black flames were not entirely negated by their water elemental spiritual energy, but she found it difficult to cause any serious damage to them. John fought his way across the battlefield, slipping past Aydan¡¯s group without a second thought. They could certainly use his backup, but the most effective way to finish the fight was to take out the leader. The same was true in reverse, with people gunning for him¡­ but he had four totems at the fourth tier. Most of those present had one that matched him, and even the woman in the Consolidated Soul Phase had two of hers at the third tier. They were probably always that way, but John¡¯s were chosen for how well he was able to make them advance. It was technically possible with any totem, but it was much more difficult if they were the wrong type. It would be better for most to continue advancing in rank rather than spending the effort on their totems. John wasn¡¯t polite about how he inserted himself into the battle with the woman, attempting to chop off her head immediately. Of course she avoided him. He might have been making use of the darkness element to limit peoples perceptions of his actions, but in the middle of a battle in a fire dominant region, actually concealing his location was pretty much impossible. But as she dodged away, he reached into the earth. When she landed, she sunk up to her neck in the sand like it wasn¡¯t there at all. That was a combination of John¡¯s control of earth. He¡¯d even named the technique Quicksand¡­ and it had undergone a few refinements recently. Having the water element to help loosen it up helped, and John had some memories of something about injecting air into sand making it act more like a liquid. He wasn¡¯t sure he got that part right, but she was in deep. He clamped down on her with his control over the sand, and she fought back with fire. It would have worked, with fire overcoming his control over earth, except for the Brandle clan cultivators. They didn¡¯t know entirely what John wanted, but seeing an opening they splashed huge amounts of water over the woman, covering her head and seeping it down into the ground below. Real water, not just spiritual energy emulating the effects. The carriages had barrels of water for the purposes of using as travel supplies, and a few extra had been stocked for the purposes of battle. The woman wasn¡¯t going to suffocate quickly, but she found it rather difficult to avoid spears being stabbed at her without the ability to move anything below her neck. John added a kick of his own energy to make certain, chopping down on her skull from above. He wasn¡¯t sure what ultimately killed her, but her body was pretty well filled with holes. The realization dawned on the remaining members of the Shadowflame Disciples that perhaps they had been too hasty in springing their attack. Perhaps they should have waited for the Society of Midnight to be closer. They could still potentially delay long enough¡­ but it seemed most of them weren¡¯t so loyal to the cause that they were willing to stay and fight with how the battle was going. Those who did stay were quickly dispatched, and John sprang plans into motion. There were a few spare horses around to work with. ¡°Someone hitch a few of these to my carriage. It doesn¡¯t have to be well. Aydan, take the other carriages and head back northeast towards Vrona as quickly as you can. Half of us will be with you, and the others with me- heading deeper into the desert.¡± ¡°Are you sure that-¡± John cut off Aydan. ¡°Yes I am prioritizing my own life. You¡¯ll be a decoy. I can cover our tracks. As for my carriage¡­ we¡¯ll send the horses running in another direction. Now let¡¯s move!¡± Chapter 146 By the time they got moving once more, the group from the Society of Midnight was potentially only a handful of minutes behind. John still wasn¡¯t able to sense them by traditional means, but the pieces of Ciaritzal called out to him. He hoped that there was nothing that would help them find him in turn. Perhaps the reactions of the shards might inform them of his presence on accident, but he couldn¡¯t be certain. What he did know was that they had to get as far away from them as possible. Fortunately the two groups had to travel at similar speeds unless the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators wanted to break away to catch up to them alone. With more than a dozen mid to late Soul Expansion Phase cultivators on his own side he wasn¡¯t worried about that option unless there were significantly more he couldn¡¯t sense. The rest of John¡¯s group paved the way ahead of him, as he was the one erasing their tracks while his clan members funneled spiritual energy to him. The trick was making the sands feel natural, returning the depressed sand from their footprints to its previous state while also keeping the surroundings intact. It was easy enough to control the sands with earth elemental spiritual energy, but the power didn¡¯t guide him back to a natural state. There was no will or memory in the sands, and he simply had to do his best to make things look natural¡­ and quickly. The rest of the clan members did their best to minimize other aspects of their passage such as a trail of spiritual energy- even darkness which was suited to hiding itself was rather easily picked out among nearly pure fire energy. It could always fool people, but John wasn¡¯t going to bet on the Society of Midnight missing out on traces of darkness energy. The entire group marched forward in a single line at a quick pace, the water element cultivators out front in case some fire attuned predator appeared. They would also be able to better deal with other obstacles through their elemental advantage. It was unclear if any of the diversions had worked in the short term, with the general feel of the pursuers still approaching what John estimated was the ambush site. Would they recognize the empty carriage as a fake? Would they follow Aydan and the others back towards the road? If they had the opportunity they would doubtless follow him, as he was a higher priority target. He wasn¡¯t certain how many others there would be besides the three who had shards of Ciaritzal, but he expected to be outnumbered by cultivators of all levels. Thus, it was best if they could find some natural obstacles to slow down whoever pursued them. They just had to make sure they were hindered less than their pursuers. ----- Aydan wasn¡¯t particularly happy about leaving John, but he also understood that it made the most sense. Being bait was not something he objected to, but if he was going to be bait then he wanted to do it well. He considered slowing down slightly, but that might not just make things too obvious but also was unnecessary. Carriages weren¡¯t exactly made to go over the sand after all, though even with the difficulties involved it was better than running. Their horses would be taking the majority of the exhaustion involved, though keeping the wheels functioning required some input from everyone on the carriages. It was a shame they¡¯d sent the best carriage off into the desert on its own, but money hardly mattered compared to lives saved. There was some chance they would be able to retrieve it later, but if the Society of Midnight was willing to devote at least three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators to this ambush it was risky to go back out into the desert. It wasn¡¯t all that far to Vrona¡­ though if they had actually walked into the ambush it might as well have been a million kilometers. With both the Shadowflame Disciples and the Society of Midnight? There was no way they would be surviving that, or that anyone from the city would notice anything until it was far too late. The horses continued to pull the carriages with all of their might. Even horses bred for the desert would overheat when working their hardest, and anything could tire. Tame creatures with any amount of spiritual energy would be prohibitively expensive for multiple carriages, though if he survived Aydan would be suggesting something for the sect head¡¯s carriage at least. The problem was finding creatures comfortable in different environments, since earth dominant creatures would be highly uncomfortable visiting their allies in the Green Sands. When Aydan saw the road he was overjoyed, but unfortunately he had just begun to sense those following after them. The haze of darkness energy was almost sufficient to hide them, but there was a particular power source that stood out like a sore thumb. Was it a water element cultivator? No, not just that but air as well. He couldn¡¯t quite pick out the details through the concealment, but regardless it was one more Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Several groups were really going all out for this. As the horses made it back to the road, their hooves ringing on the solid surface and allowing him to relax his energy widening the effective shape of the wheels, the group following them grew ever closer. Yet they weren¡¯t running directly after them, but heading to cut them off. It would be a shame to run the horses to death, but even if Aydan was willing to accept being a sacrificial decoy, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t try to survive- for his own sake or the others. The horses were pushed to their limits, and Aydan was trying to judge whether it would be worth the marginal increase in speed to leave the carriages and run themselves. It might be just enough for them to get away, or it might mean they were half-exhausted when they got caught. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. If only he had been able to make the next step. He would soon advance from the Soul Expansion Phase to Consolidated Soul, but the availability of resources hadn¡¯t aligned quite right with his training and duties. A short few minutes later and it was too late to keep any significant ground by running, as the group was nearly upon them- barely concealed, as running full-tilt after someone was not the optimal situation to be stealthy. Aydan hoped that they had exhausted themselves, but the presence of further water element cultivators meant they would have at least been able to slightly mitigate the effects of the heat. It still took spiritual energy to catch them, but with superior numbers it hardly mattered. ----- When one of the Brandle clan cultivators indicated she sensed water up ahead, John really didn¡¯t see how that was advantageous to them. They would need to drink eventually, but they had sufficient water element cultivators to create enough to survive for quite some time. Surviving in the short term was more important. Still, water would allow them to refresh themselves even if it was brief. Refilling their water skins would at least give them a short boost of energy. But when they arrived at the source of water, it was nothing like the oasis that John had expected. How things had changed, that he could weather the desert heat well enough that he¡¯d forgotten something important. This wasn¡¯t just a desert like existed back on Earth. This was the Green Sands, an area dominated by the fire element¡­ and prone to volcanic activity. Zolvolj was merely the core of that power, but there was some amount elsewhere. Loose sand gave way into mineralized rocky pools, with a spout of water spraying into the air. Geysers. ¡°How are you with controlling hot water?¡± John asked the water cultivators. Just going near the pools let him know that despite the water ¡®cooling¡¯ after it came out of the geyser, it was not the pleasant cool he had somehow expected. Instead, it was nearly the same unearthly hot temperature of the rest of the Green Sands. That water would merely be extremely uncomfortable for cultivators, but the steam and water directly from the geysers would force anyone targeted by it to defend against an additional aspect they might not be expected. Even fire cultivators would likely find it a difficult combination to deal with. The Brandle clan cultivators exchanged glances. ¡°It should not be a problem, though using it for defense would be problematic.¡± John nodded. He really didn¡¯t want to surround himself with a bubble of water that was nearly scalding, and the water directly from the geysers would be worse than no defense at all if he got it too close. But having a physical component of the water element to control would greatly improve the effectiveness of water element techniques. ¡°We¡¯ll take a stand here,¡± John said. ¡°I still sense someone following us, though the others appear to have split off. I don¡¯t think we can keep ahead. If we successfully conceal ourselves and they pass by we can slip away, but if they get close we can attempt an ambush.¡± John began to carve out little pockets from the sand near the outer edge of the pools. Those areas would be the largest change to begin with, so modifications would be less noticed. If anyone from the Shadowflame Disciples was still with the group following them they might recognize their own ambush technique, but if done correctly their own ambush would be equally successful. Hopefully the battle following the ambush would be better for John though. One modification that might have revealed them was making the sandy pits they were burrowing into less hot. Unfortunately they weren¡¯t fire cultivators so it couldn¡¯t be avoided if they didn¡¯t want to cook themselves. The presence of the stone for the mineral pools would hopefully be enough to make the modifications with earth energy seem more natural. They dipped down into the holes and began to wait. It didn¡¯t take long before John was able to pinpoint the presence of the one with the shard of Ciaritzal. That would be his priority in the battle, since if he could wrestle that away it would weaken his enemy and strengthen himself at the same time. Once they were a bit closer John could sense the man traditionally, including his cultivation. Mid Consolidated Soul Phase, more than a couple ranks higher than John. Yet the gap wasn¡¯t so severe as the one in the tournament, since they were at least both in the same Phase. It did, however, tell John how deadly serious the Society of Midnight was. Even knowing they were an old sect with deep foundations, they couldn¡¯t have that many cultivators at that level. Along with another Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator from the Shadowflame Disciples and somewhere around two dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, they had committed a large number of forces to this endeavor. If he hadn¡¯t been able to sense them ahead on the road, he would have just been dead, and while that wouldn¡¯t have spelled the end for the Tenebach clan it would be a major setback for them. The approaching cultivators didn¡¯t even slow down as they followed the path John and the others had taken around the geysers. It wasn¡¯t fully clear how they were tracking them, but there must have been imperfections in his technique. As it became clear they were going to pass right next to them, John wasn¡¯t willing to risk not getting the first move. And the natural geysers were helpful enough to agree with him, building up for a release at just the right time. When the next geyser burst, sending hot water and steam into the air, John combined his efforts with the four water cultivators, controlling its path and directing it towards the bundle of enemies. The attack wasn¡¯t quite smooth enough to fully catch the incoming group off guard, but several of the weaker cultivators were still injured the attack regardless. The Tenebach cultivators all attacked simultaneously as well, using whatever ranged attacks they had available while they remained in a defensive position around John and the others. With that, the battle was joined¡­ and John was quite glad that he had brought along the four water element cultivators. The few Shadowflame Disciples countered with a burst of fire that was easily negated by a wall of water- and even though it was already hotter to begin with that just meant it helpfully turned into a concealing layer of steam. Now all John had to do was take that shard of Ciaritzal while the others held off superior numbers and one more powerful cultivator. Chapter 147 The group moving along next to the road was already problematic with a superior number of cultivators, but along with that they just had to have two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. It didn¡¯t make Aydan feel any better to determine that the Kartal clan was working with the Society of Midnight, because even if the former was ultimately not a threat to the Tenebach clan alone, as an additional force they were a threat. As the enemy forces cut them off on the road, Aydan recognized the patriarch of the Kartal clan- not by personal interaction, but keeping tabs on potential threats was important. It had seemed like the Kartal clan was smart enough to not hold a grudge for what happened with their young master Bora- which was entirely his fault- but apparently only the bodyguards with him at the moment had been reasonable. Though perhaps part of it was the Society of Midnight¡¯s coffers influencing them. They were a well established sect with a strong history, though if they continued taking losses against the Tenebach clan it would undermine their foundation. Clearly Ciaritzal, the Tenebach¡¯s guardian beast, was extremely valuable to them. And the fact that they¡¯d sent three of their own Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators for this ambush meant they were deadly serious this time. Especially with at least one more recruited for the effort. It was a shame Aydan wouldn¡¯t survive, and he really couldn¡¯t be sure that his distraction had saved John either. Or Fortkran, if he were to reference him aloud. He much preferred John to his original nephew though. He was driven, talented, intelligent enough¡­ and lucky enough that the risks he took had continued to pay off. Aydan wished he¡¯d been able to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase before this, so that he could have put up a better fight¡­ but it still would have been two against one. He absolutely put his faith in the rest of the clan members with him, but they weren¡¯t so elite that they could take on superior numbers of Soul Expansion Phase cultivators and two a Phase ahead of them. The best they could do now was delay long enough that their opponent¡¯s couldn¡¯t join back up with the group looking for their clan head. The carriages had stopped, the rest of the Tenebach clan members standing behind Aydan in solidarity. They weren¡¯t taking shelter, but instead prepared to lend their energy for the sake of a group formation, if he needed it. Aydan had to admit he was not quite effective as John in such a position, but he was well aware that his own talent exceeded John¡¯s father. They could at least put up a fight, though the Society of Midnight would no doubt be able to counter with their own fighting formations. ¡°Not with you, is he?¡± the Society of Midnight¡¯s leader looked over the group. ¡°A shame. We¡¯ll get him regardless, but I was looking forward to the personal rewards.¡± A moment later spiritual energy rose to a peak as attacks were exchanged. The Tenebach clan would have normally spread out to attack from all sides, but with their numbers being less than the enemy that was impossible. Instead they moved as one following Aydan¡¯s direction, avoiding a noxious cloud of darkness and a bolt of lightning. The latter was from Evren, who was going to be quite a pain. The leader of this particular group from the Society of Midnight surged forward, clashing blades with Aydan. Aydan staggered back even with the support of the clan strengthening him, but he felt something in the exchange. Something he could try. If they weren¡¯t going to win anyway, a few moments of delay wouldn¡¯t make as much difference as taking a risk. Aydan crossed blades with the man a few more times, parrying his attacks and making a few tentative stabs of his own. He continued to feel it. Well, it was John¡¯s plan anyway. It wasn¡¯t technically impossible for someone else to do it. He shifted his tactics, taking a more aggressive approach. He was losing the exchanges, receiving a number of small wounds that could easily become serious threats if he was a bit off. Even so, he kept pushing, taking risky swings towards the man so that it wouldn¡¯t seem quite so strange when he extended his power towards him. He was fortunate that his opponent was underestimating him, fighting with a bit of caution despite the gap in power. Aydan managed to thrust forward, receiving a long gash where shoulder and neck met while his own sword slipped past the man¡­ but he was in close. He reached out, focusing the energy he had gathered into the man. It wasn¡¯t quite a normal attack, but instead he was calling for something. He made use of the blessing of the guardian beast to the fullest potential he could, simply for the sake of indicating to something that he had been given the gift willingly. Two sources of darkness energy clashed, with Aydan¡¯s weaker energy unable to seriously breach the enemy¡¯s defenses. Only a small tendril, unable to cause damage. Yet it was met by something else, the sense of a hand reaching out. Aydan took it, pulling it outward and into himself. The slash across his ribs as he leapt backwards was nothing compared to the pain of imperfectly compatible energy flowing inside of him. Aydan grimaced. He was not far from the main line, but to think there would be so much difference¡­ and it was only a tiny shard. ----- Unaware of exactly what was happening with his uncle, John found himself in a slightly more advantageous position. He had gotten to choose the location of the fight, and the Brandle cultivators nicely countered at least some of the Shadowflame disciple¡¯s efforts. There were still nearly twice as many enemies, including two Consolidated Soul Phase enemies, but John felt they had a decent chance. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Four elements of spiritual energy swirled through him, the majority being water and darkness as he drew upon and augmented the energy of his companions. The initial wave of attacks had already been countered, but now the enemy was pressing in. Yet the fact that they chose to get close to John meant they didn¡¯t really understand what had happened to them in the past. Well, only one person had ultimately survived it. Now he had to face off against someone a few steps ahead of him, mid Consolidated Soul Phase compared to his early¡­ but compared to when he had first stolen a shard of Ciaritzal across the boundaries of Phases, it would be practically trivial. Not that John didn¡¯t take it seriously. Two quick slashes left a jumble of darkness energy criss-crossing his enemy¡¯s chest. No direct wounds¡­ but his energy didn¡¯t immediately dissipate. Instead, he pulled on the man¡¯s energy. Spiritual Energy Absorption was one of John¡¯s first techniques, and still one of his best. Especially with something so familiar as darkness. It didn¡¯t hurt that he was familiar with the energy flows of the Society of Midnight. John danced through the hot pools of water at the base of the geysers, the Brandle clan members mixed in among Tenebach to support them fighting. Even a shallow pool of water could throw off movements if one was not careful, slowing someone down at a critical moment. The geyser erupted again, spraying superheated water and steam into the air. This time John directed it towards the Society of Midnight more than the Shadowflame Disciples, because even if the latter were weaker to the attack, they would also be expecting it. John sent a trickle of electricity through the water-laden air, telegraphing an attack he didn¡¯t intend to connect. A small shock of lightning appeared behind his opponent, driving them closer. He kept his left hand free in battle for throwing daggers¡­ though he¡¯d come to use it in situations like this more often. His hand barely touched the man¡¯s abdomen, but a spike of energy pierced inward. The shard of Ciaritzal in the man¡¯s dantian eagerly leapt towards him, instantly destabilizing the man¡¯s energy while providing a slight boost to John himself. Then he pulled back, leading his enemies towards a deeper part of the pool, and near the center of the geyser. They weren¡¯t defeated just yet, and he had to continue to make use of the terrain to keep the advantages they had snagged. And even if John thought he could dominate them, he was well aware he was not invincible. He wanted to at least leave the fight without wounds that would slow him down, win or lose. Survival was more important than victory¡­ this time. ----- Aydan couldn¡¯t help but cry out in pain. Obviously the Society of Midnight had some sort of technique to keep the shards of Ciaritzal suppressed. He was quite sure the shard was trying to help him, so he could guess how bad it would be if they were working against each other. Obviously the suddenness of the connection was a problem as well. Darkness churned wildly inside Aydan, and since he couldn¡¯t control it as he would like he released it into his attacks. He was able to go a few exchanges even with his opponent, despite the difference in Phase. If Aydan got the chance he would go for a killing blow, even at risk to himself. He hoped that the shard of Ciaritzal could avoid recapture if he died, but at the very least it would be a great hindrance to his foes. If there had only been one Consolidated Soul Phase among them, that might have been enough. Instead he was battered by strong winds, tendrils of water energy attempting to wrap around his limbs and limit his movements. Evren was something he didn¡¯t have the ability to overcome, and with only a dozen others on his side they were flagging, their energy reaching its limits even as Aydan himself felt overcharged. The hot desert winds spurred on by the air energy threatened to make Aydan sweat to death despite the water swirling around him, though he knew he¡¯d be sliced into pieces well before it could get to that point. But the winds brought with them more than just heat and ambient fire energy. There was something familiar. It was still distant, but Aydan immediately engaged in darkness¡¯ most useful ability, deception. ¡°You¡¯ll have to do better than that,¡± he grinned. ¡°Two against one¡­ and I¡¯m not even in the same Phase. You have a dozen extra minions as well, but it seems you can barely managed them.¡± The grin on Aydan¡¯s face was wreathed in darkness enough that he hoped they wouldn¡¯t notice how it was also a strained face. The shard was not good for him, and neither trying to calm the energy nor forcing it outward were helping. But the latter was more immediately useful, so he launched several large scale attacks. Covering the battlefield in darkness was only half useful at best against other darkness cultivators, and in the desert sun it was even less useful¡­ but it fulfilled its purpose. Aydan managed to hold off for another handful of exchanges, avoiding weapons from all around him and keeping himself out of the grasp of Evren. At least, for a while. It was inevitable that he would be caught eventually, and the moment he slowed down a dozen attacks came for him¡­ along with a huge wall of blue-green fire. Evren immediately recognized the incoming attack, but as his water energy formed a bubble of protection behind him the green fire simply flowed around it. The blue fire, meanwhile, was mainly focused on the weaker members of the Society of Midnight, immediately incinerating a few of them and catching even the spiritual energy of some of them on fire. Aydan kept the same face he¡¯d been holding as a dagger stabbed into his gut. Instead of pulling away, he grabbed on with all his might as the flames washed around them. It was¡­ surprisingly nice. Hot, but in the comfortable way of the sun in the Shimmering islands when relaxing on the beach. Lucanus had quite excellent control. ¡°Good timing,¡± Aydan grunted. ¡°I¡¯m almost starting to think it¡¯s not a coincidence.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Lucanus raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah, I guess. But I notice you don¡¯t have J- Fortkran with you, so it doesn¡¯t really count.¡± With the dagger twisting in his gut, spiritual energy slicing in all directions as much as it could, Aydan could no longer hold on. The man from the Society of Midnight pulled away from Aydan to try to escape from Lucanus¡¯ fire. The other one, Yustina, was making it seem as if fire was the element that won out over water instead of the other way around. ¡°John is¡­ south¡­¡± Adyan said in his last moments of consciousness. The enemy already knew basically that much, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything with it anyway. Not with those two around. Chapter 148 Fire against water was a favorable matchup for the latter, which was half the reason that John had brought the cultivators from the Brandle clan to begin with. It was also simply better to have more allies for a battle, though their presence wasn¡¯t quite enough to make up for the numbers fielded by the Society of Midnight. They were going to be hurting after this battle¡­ though John had to turn it into a victory for that to matter. Picking up a shard of Ciaritzal helped. It was almost too easy against an opponent in the mid Consolidated Soul Phase, but it had also been two versus one. John¡¯s affinity with Ciaritzal had only grown with time, and the traces of the guardian beast¡¯s presence had left their mark inside him. The shards could sense something of that, and were happy to wrest themselves free with his assistance- leaving a hole behind in the cultivation of those they left. That meant the man facing off against John could only display the power of early Consolidated Soul Phase, and the more he used his power the more he weakened himself in the immediate future. It was still two against one, with the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators having similar ratios to deal with. The elemental advantage of water over fire against the Shadowflame Disciples, even if it was only a portion of their cultivation, pushed the edge in the favor of John and his allies. The geysers were important in that as well, providing a source of water for the Brandle cultivators to use instead of relying purely on spiritual energy. John also found himself pushing the limits of what his cycle of elements could do while he controlled the battle formations and synchronized the energies of his allies. The deciding point came not from him but from the water cultivators, striking together to take out the strongest of the Shadowflame Disciples with synchronized spear strikes. This was timed with another eruption of the geyser, allowing them to follow up with a blast of steam towards the weaker cultivators. With only one Consolidated Soul Phase opponent, John was able to focus his efforts more easily. The man didn¡¯t take much note of small cuts on his arms and legs until he found himself having trouble rotating his wrists, bending his knees¡­ or moving much at all. John did his best to make use of all of his elements, with some being decoys to confuse the enemy while he did something more effective. Flashy bits of lightning distracted from a little bit of earth element on the edge of a blade, and even if he couldn¡¯t achieve complete petrification with such little power any hindrance to one side in an otherwise similarly matched battle could spell the difference between victory and defeat. By the time the man chose to turn and run it was too late. John forced his way through the enemy lines after him, boosting his speed with wind at his back. Sharp steel slid past his neck as the man counterattacked him during his charge, but John couldn¡¯t afford to let him get away. In the short term he might rejoin with others and become a threat again, and in the long term weakening the Society of Midnight was important. And making sure they didn¡¯t have more examples of him stealing the shards of Ciaritzal directly from their members. So far, only the first time had any survivors and he planned to keep it that way. The blade passed his neck as he ducked down, his own sword stabbing into the man¡¯s thigh. Then John pulled back as the man slashed wildly towards him. His opponent was now hindered enough that he could wait for him to bleed out. Given the opportunity he knew the man could flee into the desert and patch himself up, but being unable to advance or retreat smoothly meant the battle was almost won. Not that there had been no costs. Many of those present with John had died, and the battle might claim a few more of them before the end. One last desperate blast of darkness energy came from the man. John wanted to avoid it, but if he simply stepped out of the way his allies behind him would be subject to it. It was an inefficient attack, but there was enough power in it that it hardly mattered. Yet John wasn¡¯t so willing to sacrifice himself either. The clan wouldn¡¯t like that, and he was selfish enough to not want to die. His combined energies cycled through him as he swept the attack to the side, half deflecting and half dodging. That was as far as he could afford to help. A few quick steps forward and he cut deep into the upper arm of the man¡¯s sword arm, causing him to drop his weapon and primary method of defense. A pure burst of energy from him would at most match John¡¯s defenses, and he was still recovering from his previous attack. A moment later, his head touched the sand. John returned to the battle with the rest of his clan in an instant, though there was very little left to do. Some of the enemies had fled at the death of the first Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, mostly the other Shadowflame Disciples. It was too late to catch them all. The attack that John had half deflected also hit some members of the Society of Midnight, and most of them were quickly finished off, or left where they were writhing on the ground. Darkness wasn¡¯t the most straightforward method of attack, and John recognized similarities to Clinging Affliction. The attack was still tearing away at his clan mates, and he gathered them together, fortifying their energy with his as he directed the efforts to dislodge the intrusive energy. With the progenitor of the energy dead, there was little finesse left to the power, and it was soon dislodged. He couldn¡¯t be sure all of those affected would survive, but he¡¯d done what he could. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He took stock of his own wounds. Not deadly, but the margin between life and death was closer than he would have liked. Still, he¡¯d been able to avoid that because he relied on his clan to support him. If he¡¯d brought a few less with him, been a bit more conservative¡­ things would not have gone so well. The pools around the geyser ran red, filled with blood and bodies. ¡°Toss them into the sands,¡± John ordered. There was little merit to it, but he¡¯d rather preserve what little natural beauty this particular area had. The sand itself was rather nice to look at when it wasn¡¯t glaring in his face, but it also wasn¡¯t particularly special compared to the geyser. As they were patching up wounds and looting the bodies, John kept his senses focused on the other shards of Ciaritzal. He felt a slightly stronger resonance with the one inside him. One was vaguely to the west, having chased after his carriage most likely. The other was towards the road, but something was odd about it. Maybe that was just the distance distorting his perception. ¡°Please¡­¡± a ragged voice broke the general silence, one of those John had taken for a body reaching out towards him. One of the members of the Society of Midnight, caught on the cloud of consuming darkness. John prepared to finish the man off- he could at least grant the man a quick death. ¡°Please¡­ save me¡­¡± An audacious request from someone who moments before had been trying to kill him. John nearly continued his motion to kill the man. It was quite logical. Letting him live was simply an unnecessary danger. Yet John felt some pity inside himself. In the cultivation world it might be considered a weakness, but he considered it a sign of humanity. At the very least, he had to consider it. John crouched down next to the man. He wasn¡¯t a threat with his flagging spiritual energy. There was also little time to think about it, if he was truly going to consider his plea. John gathered a gauntlet of darkness on his left hand. ¡°Don¡¯t resist.¡± Whether the man decided to trust John or simply didn¡¯t have the strength, John felt little resistance from him as he dug his energy into the man, driving deep into his meridians to root out the intrusive energy. It seemed there was little that being from the same sect had done to help the man against the attack, and John tore out all of the energy with their signature. He was able to avoid the man¡¯s dantian, but he wasn¡¯t especially gentle everywhere else. He didn¡¯t have the time or patience, but soon the man was¡­ as well as he would be. At least nothing was getting worse, and the invading energy was gone. They provided him basic medical treatment with what they had available before moving out. John wanted to aim towards Vrona, but he would circle around to come in from the east side. He didn¡¯t want to run into the next group of their enemies, but he also didn¡¯t want to spend days wandering through the desert hoping to encounter another large city and avoid being tracked. ----- The other shard of Ciaritzal was now in Vrona. John was certain of that as they approached. It still felt odd, however. Unstable, like the cultivator was unable to properly contain it. Perhaps they had gotten injured, or used up too much of their spiritual energy at once and it was fighting back. John considered if the sway of the Milanovic clan was high enough to be able to kill the man inside the city. He wasn¡¯t sure of that, and wanted to assess the situation more carefully as they entered. Everyone was exhausted, and John went to seek out the previous places they had stayed at. It was easier to get a place at an inn on short notice than to try to stay with one of the local sects, and he didn¡¯t have any Milanovics with him. All of the survivors, plus their captive, staggered into an inn that was fortunately much cooler, out of the overbearing sun and the oppressive fire elemental spiritual energy that permeated the area. John quickly threw a sack of coins to the innkeeper to get cool water and food for everyone immediately. He downed some water himself, but upon growing closer to the shard of Ciaritzal he had noticed more details that he couldn¡¯t help but investigate. He wouldn¡¯t get close enough for a battle to happen, and the city guard would interfere if it did. Before he had time to reconsider, he was close enough to gain several very important data points. First, he could sense Steve and Yustina, and then his uncle Aydan¡¯s cultivation revealed itself. Unsteady and weak¡­ and clearly not doing well with a shard of Ciaritzal inside him. John rushed towards them, ignoring the annoyed looks of others in the street. He could get a way with a little bit of impropriety for his strength, and he wasn¡¯t causing any damage. Steve came out to meet him as he approached. ¡°Hello there. Might want to get in here.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The usual. A battle, but I assume you knew that from talking to the rest of your clan here. Aydan¡­ is not doing well.¡± ¡°Bring me to him,¡± John said. Instead of an inn, he was brought to Aydan bound up in a clinic. The turmoil of spiritual energy was clearly a problem, but physical wounds were equally responsible for his condition. A quick sweep with his senses informed John of the deep wounds. ¡°It would be best not to disturb him,¡± the doctor on duty said. ¡°Unless¡­ you can deal with that,¡± he gestured vaguely, but the chaotic spiritual energy was clear. ¡°I should be able to,¡± John said. If he failed, Aydan would die¡­ but that was likely going to be the case regardless. Somehow his uncle had a shard of Ciaritzal inside of him, and it wasn¡¯t even close to stable. Aydan had fairly high affinity for the guardian beast, but not sufficient to carry a piece of him without preparation. Physical wounds combined with lingering spiritual energy intruding in his body were exacerbating the situation, and John found himself not knowing where to start. What could he do that wouldn¡¯t make things worse? But he had to do something, and soon¡­ so he carefully stretched out a strand of spiritual energy, hoping that he had enough left to deal with this after the day¡¯s exertions. Chapter 149 The mix of writhing darkness energy inside of Aydan was actually three different energies, all similar in their own ways. First was Ciaritzal¡¯s energy. It was relatively small as a simple shard of something greater, but what there was of it was powerful and volatile. The shard had been taken into Aydan¡¯s dantian, the core of his cultivation where spiritual energy was stored. There it reacted with Aydan¡¯s own energy, and while it wasn¡¯t necessarily trying to suppress it, that was the default reaction. While it could doubtless feel the blessing of the main body, a shard that had been separated for so long wouldn¡¯t have the understanding of the entire situation. Then there was the third energy, from the Society of Midnight. This energy also had its origin with Ciaritzal, though John felt it was more sinister. Of course, that was due in no small part to how it was trying to tear apart his uncle, seeping in through his wounds. The doctor taking care of Aydan had done his best to treat his physical wounds, but recklessly attempting to wrangle with the energy could easily make things worse. At the moment even Ciaritzal¡¯s energy fighting off the intruder was causing serious lacerations inside of Aydan¡¯s meridians. John¡¯s own energy burrowed deeper. It was not so easy for his energy to flow between himself and Aydan as with Matayal, having dual cultivated together for years now, but being from the same clan their energies didn¡¯t clash as harshly as they might have. The first thing John sought out was the intruding energy from the Society of Midnight. That was causing the most active damage and had the highest risk of immediate death. The shard in his dantian might affect his cultivation negatively in the future, but if he wasn¡¯t alive for that¡­ it would hardly matter. With its originator not only distant but deceased, using Spiritual Energy Absorption to siphon off the darkness energy was not terribly difficult. Unfortunately John couldn¡¯t afford to be slow and methodical in his approach at the moment, so he pulled it inside and ground it down with his cycle of elements working together. He lost far more than he gained, but it helped him quickly relieve Aydan of the danger. The next step required great care. Against his enemies, John had little concern what removing a shard of Ciaritzal from them would do to their cultivation. In fact, he rather preferred to cause the most damage he could. In return the shards were quite eager to come to him, sensing the affinity he had. John crept his energy deeper, keeping it as well concealed as he could to avoid conflict with Aydan¡¯s energy as he reached the dantian and to not alert the shard too early. If his uncle were conscious he could work together, but John unfortunately had to tear away some sections of energy. That would weaken him temporarily, but as long as he didn¡¯t damage the structure it would cause no lasting harm. Aydan¡¯s energy absorbed more comfortably into his own self, though he took little time to dwell on that. When he reached the core of Aydan¡¯s dantian where the shard rested, John surrounded it all at once with his energy. Aydan¡¯s energy responded by attacking him instinctively, but John stood strong against it. Meanwhile, the shard happily latched onto his energy, trying to follow it towards its source. John clamped down on it, keeping a careful grip to slowly guide it out of the dantian, back through the largest meridians down one leg. The larger meridians were safer for this maneuver, and though the ones near the heart were even greater in size, the risk to vital organs was too great. Aydan¡¯s energy rallied together as he left the dantian, following after him to try to tear apart the intruder. Careful control allowed John to gain momentum from the attacks to help his outward progress. And then¡­ he was free. The shard cleanly flowed into him to meet up with the other. There was little intelligence to be had among such small pieces, but they settled inside him content¡­ but cautious. Having sensed the significant damage to Aydan¡¯s internals, John began pulling out what precious medicines he had. He was quite pleased that the mid Consolidated Soul Phase man had some as well, and he provided everything he could- except where the doctor indicated they would mutually interfere. Exhausted, John looked over at Steve. ¡°Thanks. You saved him, I presume?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Steve nodded. ¡°What brought you here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s simple,¡± he said, ¡°We intended to meet up with you and escort you to meet up with the clan. I got a bad feeling and we came ahead of our escorts. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll reach the city soon.¡± John nodded. Gut feelings were one of those things a cultivator couldn¡¯t afford to ignore. One had nearly led to him getting killed with the first shard of Ciaritzal he retrieved, but while it wasn¡¯t always safe, a cultivator¡¯s instincts could lead them towards potential benefit or away from danger. John had the feeling his transmigration friend Steve¡¯s lead him towards danger, and most of the time it seemed there was no benefit to that for the man himself. It was good for John, though, so he wasn¡¯t going to complain. Maybe there was some connection because of their origins. Yustina was present as well. She was not a transmigrator, but rather someone who had reincarnated from within this same world while keeping her memory. She was the third member of their little club, with Renato being the last. ¡°There was another group to be concerned about,¡± Yustina cautioned. ¡°The Kartal clan, I believe,¡± she looked at a few tokens doubtlessly taken from their bodies. ¡°Aren¡¯t they up in the Blustering Peaks somewhere?¡± ¡°Those assholes? I thought they learned their lesson,¡± John grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m going to destroy them¡­ later. I¡¯ve already offered my aid to the Milanovics after all.¡± ¡°Their clan head was here,¡± Yustina added. ¡°Must have been Bora¡¯s whining. His guards seemed smarter than that. What happened to him?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t seem happy fighting me, for some reason,¡± Yustina shrugged. ¡°He ran off rather quickly. I thought it better to prioritize Aydan and the rest of your clan.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I agree with that,¡± John nodded. ¡°But they might cause more trouble with the clan while I¡¯m away. Ugh.¡± ¡°You could ask for Renato¡¯s help,¡± Yustina noted. ¡°He has at least a half-element advantage over the Kartal clan, and any allies they have might reasonably also be air element.¡± ¡°I suppose this is an attack on our alliance in some manner,¡± John nodded. ¡°I should at least contact the Order of the Amber Heart. And the Brandle clan. They¡¯re closer to the Kartal clan, I wonder if¡­¡± he shook his head. ¡°Well, if there¡¯s trouble Matayal will handle it. The message will take a while to arrive, but they should be made aware if they aren¡¯t already.¡± ----- John decided that Aydan would be sent back to the clan, along with some of the others. There would be some expenses for hiring additional guards from Vrona, but it would be well worth the cost and slight loss of face for hiring outsiders. Besides, they had the dead body of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator to display. John hadn¡¯t carted the ones from out in the desert, but the battle that ultimately took place on the road would be of interest to the Green Sands. Such a brazen attack could at least sway the public opinion further against the Society of Midnight, and to a lesser extent the Shadowflame Disciples. ¡°What are the two of you doing here anyway?¡± John asked again. ¡°I mean, obviously to escort us but¡­ aren¡¯t you rather important to the clan? When did you reach the Consolidated Soul Phase anyway? You weren¡¯t there a few months ago.¡± ¡°So many questions,¡± Steve complained. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m only half part of the clan. Nobody can stop Yustina. And very shortly before we came here.¡± ¡°Come to think of it,¡± Yustina said, ¡°The clan might not know yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not the most surprising thing I¡¯ve heard. Though you¡¯d imagine someone would have noticed your breakthrough.¡± Yustina looked to the east where a dark cloud of smoke trailed off. ¡°Zolvolj was¡­ especially grumpy this time.¡± ¡°Are the clan¡¯s structures alright?¡± John asked. ¡°They will withstand something little like a little lava and ash. Otherwise our clan would not have endured for so long.¡± Along the way John couldn¡¯t help but think about the third shard of Ciaritzal. It was unlikely that whoever what was would pursue them further, upon learning about the other defeats. Though with the two fire cultivators at his side, John kind of wanted them to make an appearance. He wasn¡¯t afraid of much with such powerful support at his side. The only thing that could be better would be Matayal. It wasn¡¯t long before they came upon the rest of the Milanovic cultivators, as though they had been left behind several days prior the day of rest and going back towards them made them meet up quickly. ¡°Mistress Yustina,¡± said an exasperated, balding man with a ring of mixed white and green hair around the edges. ¡°Please do not run off ahead of us again. You and master Lucanus are too important to risk¡­ especially now.¡± ¡°You worry too much Sebastian,¡± Yustina replied. ¡°We had to save Fortkran¡¯s uncle from an assasination attempt. We were fine.¡± ¡°Just because you were successful doesn¡¯t mean you weren¡¯t reckless,¡± the man sighed. He then smoothly turned to John and bowed. ¡°Good day, Clan Head. The Milanovic clan appreciates the support of the Tenebach clan in these times. Allow us to escort you the rest of the way back.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John nodded in return. ¡°The Tenebach clan looks forward to future fruitful exchanges between our clans.¡± The new cultivations of Steve and Yustina would of course influence their opinion as well, but the meteoric rise in cultivations wasn¡¯t just limited to the two of them. Nor was it limited to just those who were allies. A greater number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators has been popping up in the surrounding regions in recent years, though the younger generations were most notable for rapidly rising to that level. John still had reason to consider himself above the others, but he wasn¡¯t going to assume he would always come out ahead. He¡¯d come far too close to the other side of the survival line a few times recently. ----- The physical distance between the Milanovic clan¡¯s core and the Shadowflame Disciples was rather large. It was the distance between the core of the Green Sands and along the southwestern border, and there were no roads that took the direct route through the desert between them. However there were certain resources that were worth fighting over. In the desert one of those was raw ore to make weapons. Steel weapons could be purchased anywhere, but higher quality metals were more coveted. There was a certain material especially suited for fire cultivators present around the region. Greensteel ore was formed in areas of high volcanic activity- mining around Zojvolj had already drawn out what was easily accessible, but other pockets appeared from time to time. Word had come to the Milanovic clan of an unclaimed node of Greensteel ore, and they had secured the land for themselves. Unfortunately the Shadowflame Disciples had produced permits that appeared legitimate enough that they seemed to have a claim too, though the Milanovic clan refused to believe it. It was enough, however, that the Green Sands as a whole wasn¡¯t willing to interfere and instead was letting them resolve the conflict in the traditional way. For that, they needed more, stronger cultivators¡­ and so they had called upon their allies of various sorts. That included John, but also others. The aid of some would come at a price, but the value of the node would make it worthwhile. When they arrived at the Milanovic¡¯s clan grounds, John found it rather empty. It wasn¡¯t a surprise, and there was still some activity. There were still guards and family members about, but many fewer than before. ¡°Clan Head Fortkran!¡± some of them approached John to greet him, specifically Tempkeit. ¡°It is good to see you again.¡± ¡°And you as well,¡± John greeted him in return. ¡°How has life here been for you?¡± Tempkeit had married into the clan when Alina had taken interest in him. ¡°I am quite happy. Though at the moment I am worried about Alina¡­¡± Tempkeit shook his head. ¡°Of course, her talent and cultivation are far above my own. I just wish I could contribute to the fighting instead of just taking care of the kids.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an important role,¡± John pointed out. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be able to fight as well if she didn¡¯t know you were safe and sound here, keeping the children safe.¡± Even John worried about Matayal and the kids despite their strength and the protection of the Brandle clan. There were legitimate concerns sometimes, but eventually logic overtook him and made him realize that they were as safe as anyone in their position could be. ¡°I¡¯ll let her know you¡¯re thinking about her.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Tempkeit nodded. ¡°And uh¡­¡± he looked at Steve and Yustina. ¡°Congratulations. I hadn¡¯t heard about your advancements.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. This is kind of our official announcement, I guess,¡± Yustina shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading out for the battlefield soon enough. I suppose we should take care of a few things before we go.¡± Yustina pulled Steve away, leaving Tempkeit looking after them with a bit of jealousy. It might not be fair that they could almost casually break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase while he was still struggling in the late Foundation Phase, but that was just the way the world was. And John knew that the two of them worked quite hard, even if they didn¡¯t always show it to others. Chapter 150 Only a short time was spent at the foot of Zolvolj in the Milanovic clan¡¯s territory, and then they were on the road again. John found he already missed his proper carriage. The others were fine, but simply not as good. It was a shame to lose it, but as far as he could tell it had done its job as a decoy. The third presence with a shard of Ciaritzal had not come to Vrona but moved away until John could no longer feel it. It was unlikely they could learn exactly what happened, but traces of it were available to be found. Evren Kartal would also have information for them once they learned he fled, though John was unsure how well they would take that. Though he had already been ambushed once on the trip, John actually found himself traveling without concern. It was simply a matter of practicality- if the Society of Midnight was planning to kill him, splitting their forces into smaller groups meant to attack him in sequence was a waste. Plus, there were limits to what they had available, even an old sect like them. The same was true for the Kartal clan whose leader had fled, as well as the Shadowflame Disciples who were mainly embroiled in the battle with the Milanovics over the Greensteel mine. Adding to that sense of security were the other two coming along with him, Steve and Yustina. They were strong, and even if they had only recently advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase he trusted their power- and he would have even if they hadn¡¯t shown it when saving Aydan. They had to be strong, because Steve was the kind of person to get himself killed if he wasn¡¯t. John got himself in a number of dangerous situations, but Steve seemed to actively provoke them. It was only when they were close to the mines that they began to be cautious. It was reasonable enough for their enemies to stage an ambush for incoming reinforcements, and it wouldn¡¯t require going far from the rest of their forces. But either there weren¡¯t any ambushers waiting, or they decided not to make the attempt. They arrived without additional fuss, and John found himself reinvigorated and brimming with spiritual energy, though his recovery was certainly slower in a fire-dominant area. He had some small wounds that were not yet fully recovered, but three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and a few dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators would tip the balance of power significantly, even if a few were not quite in optimal states. John recognized many of those present. One he hadn¡¯t thought about in some time was Erik, who he¡¯d had previous conflicts with. They were relatively small as things went, mostly a young man attempting to improve his own position within the clan, and that of his faction. Erik was now at the peak of the Foundation Phase, and while that could have been considered reasonable talent for his age in normal times, during the current wave of cultivation it was subpar. Greatly so. But John didn¡¯t let his thoughts linger on the man or his guardian Patrik. Matters had been settled between them long ago, and it would be undignified to do anything more. It would simply be pointless, petty revenge. Besides, the way they avoided his gaze was good enough. Next on the list in terms of power was Tena, who had been attacked along the road by bandits. She was now in the early Soul Expansion Phase, which was a position of reasonable power even in the current wave. Then of course there was Alina, one of the shining stars of the Milanovic clan. She was at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase, and would almost certainly reach the Consolidated Soul Phase. As John and the others arrived, she approached them. ¡°I am glad to see the Tenebach clan was able to respond to our call for aid. Your support is much appreciated. And¡­¡± her eyes turned to Lucanus and Yustina, ¡°Congratulations on your advancements. I had not heard¡­¡± Despite her polite words, she seemed a bit uncertain. ¡°It was fortunate timing,¡± Yustina stepped forward, smiling pleasantly. ¡°Perhaps if you had been present at old Zolvolj¡¯s latest eruption you would have advanced as well. Though I¡¯m certain you will do so at the next given opportunity.¡± Yustina¡¯s words and demeanor remained friendly, but the way she moved close clearly made Alina nervous. Was there some conflict between them or¡­? The workings of politics were important for a clan head to function, and John had learned what he could. Among other things he knew that the Milanovic clan was larger than the Tenebachs, with more factions vying for power internally. Alina was a prime candidate for the next clan head, and yet here Yustina was. Just a handful of years prior she had been average at best, climbing Zolvolj only to collapse from dehydration. Now, she had surpassed Alina in cultivation. And her husband was Lucanus, whose cultivation far outweighed Alina¡¯s own chosen Tempkeit. That could reasonably make her uncertain about her position. There were brief glances at John as well, and he had to admit that if it came between the two of them he would likely side with Yustina. They were part of the same club, after all. But he would prefer there were no conflict between them, as he considered both allies. The tension was broken by Steve. ¡°So, who should we be beating up?¡± ¡°Straightforward as always, Lucanus,¡± Alina relaxed slightly. ¡°There has been somewhat of a standoff between our groups. We have the support of the Furnace Sect and some others from the Green Sands, while the Shadowflame disciples have the support of the Twisting Terror Clan, from the Wuthering Steppes to the southeast. They have a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, though we lost track of one from the Shadowflame Disciples.¡± ¡°I know where that one was,¡± John commented. ¡°They were part of an attempt to assassinate me on the way, along with some of the Society of Midnight.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Alina frowned, ¡°Can you prove it? It would help sway the Green Sands.¡± ¡°I unfortunately wasn¡¯t in a state to carry bodies out of the desert. I should have at least brought along his head, my apologies,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Unfortunate but very understandable. And you are¡­ you seem to be in good health. I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°There were some losses,¡± John admitted, ¡°And my uncle nearly died in the process.¡± ¡°Aydan, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Alina nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. We did not predict that possibility, but we will of course honor our agreements for fighting alongside us.¡± John could have said that getting attacked by his enemies while coming to help them wasn¡¯t their fault, but he felt obligated to try to squeeze a little bit more out of the Milanovic clan because of the incident. It did involve the Shadowflame Disciples after all. Anything extra would go towards Aydan and the loved ones of those who had been lost, of course. And the Milanovic clan would be quite happy to increase their rewards when they had control over the mine. ----- Despite how well they fought together, John was not assigned to work with Steve and Yustina. At least, not at the moment. That was quite sensible, because the pair were rather unsuited for scouting work. If those two came upon an enemy squad, they¡¯d probably rush them and take them out. And even if they were successful- which John had to admit they probably would be- that wasn¡¯t necessarily the optimum way to deal with things. There were some difficulties trying to pick out the locations of the Shadowflame Disciples. John recalled quite well how they had buried themselves, blending in with the land. Darkness to conceal, and their fire element was natural to the local environment. He didn¡¯t expect them to actually be buried all the time, but they could blend in for the sake of energy senses. Picking out their allies was easier, as the air element around them was less concealed. Air was aligned with fire so it wasn¡¯t a direct contrast with the local elements, but they simply had less ability to conceal themselves. At the moment John was on his belly on the hot sand, watching a camp from the peak of a nearby dune. He couldn¡¯t be certain that his squad remained unspotted, but he carefully controlled the balance of elements around them to feel at least vaguely natural, and all could dim their presence with darkness. Even in the worst case, if they were spotted they should be able to flee towards their allies. The local area was not just sand and dunes, but also rocky outcroppings holding back the sands. That was how the Greensteel had been discovered, with small tidbits of ore poking out of the surface instead of buried under mountains of sand. John could feel the depth of the sand was generally lower throughout the area, and even the dune he found himself atop had a more solid hill underneath past a handful of meters. The enemy was taking shelter among the outcroppings, not much different from the camp of his allies. That wasn¡¯t a surprise, and was already well known. The important detail was the particular arrangement of the area, and if they might be able to find a stealthy avenue of attack- or a time of weakness. Night attacks were always possible, but more in the favor of the Shadowflame Disciples even with the Tenebach clan now present. One important detail was that John spotted no sign of the Society of Midnight fighting with them, and specifically had no sense of shards of Ciaritzal. They seemed unwilling to be openly involved, which was sensible because the Darklands did not have a good reputation¡­ anywhere, really. The Shadowflame Disciples were tolerated as members of the Green Sands because of their history and the fact that they were at least in part fire cultivators. With John and the others arriving, the combat power had shifted significantly, but it was still important to find the best possible route to fight. Sustaining unnecessary losses was not acceptable for any reason, but when the inevitable battle came people would die. Preferably that would be the enemy. John and the rest of the Tenebach clan found little in the way of information that was not already available, just some potential routes through the area. There was little to be gained there, but they did have enough of a power advantage now to take a chance. ----- A small army marched straightforwardly towards the entrance of the mines. Operations had not been completely set up before the conflict began, but some initial work had begun. The Milanovic clan was marching in force, clearly intent on taking control of the area. While making actual use of the mine would be impossible without defeating the Shadowflame Disciples- not without requiring a constant stationing of their army- the Shadowflame Disciples couldn¡¯t simply let them take over the position. The central area was more defensible, but even that wasn¡¯t the most important part. Control over the mine provided legitimacy to the claims, and whether their own claim was real or not it would decrease in value if they let the Milanovic clan have control for any significant period. The recent bolstering in forces would likely have been noticed. Even if it hadn¡¯t, the Shadowflame Disciples would still at least be aware that the Tenebach clan was planning to send reinforcements even if they hadn¡¯t arrived. Even so, the Tenebach clan and the cultivators from the Brandle Clan were hidden off to the side, as the first of two surprise tactics. They would stealthily insert themselves into the battle wherever it seemed appropriate. Lucanus and Yustina would be the second phase of that plan. Two new Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators would be a significant factor, though the only way they could have a stealthy entrance would be for the others to be seriously distracted. After they entered battle everyone would know where they were, so the point was to get them and the squads assigned to fight along with them into a critical position. And if their presence hadn¡¯t been found out already, the sudden appearance of two high ranking cultivators would be a serious blow to the enemy morale. While it might be optimal to defeat as many as possible, simply forcing them to flee would be sufficient for immediate purposes. Chapter 151 The main forces of the Milanovic clan were moving into place, taking over positions within the rocky terrain around the entrance of the mine. The Shadowflame Disciples and Twisting Terror clan moved to prevent them from gaining full control of the area. All of the words that might have been spoken between them had already been said. Neither recognized the other side¡¯s legitimacy, nor were they willing to split the rights to the mine. Around to the side where the sands deepened but tall rocks still stood above, John crept forward with his forces. It was likely the Shadowflame Disciples would try a flanking maneuver, and if they didn¡¯t he would be the one to do so. Otherwise, he would be ready for them and they might not expect him. Even if they knew he was around, keeping his exact location unknown provided just enough uncertainty. As it turned out, they weren¡¯t attempting to flank along the same path he was- but they had a squad watching. John wasn¡¯t charitable with how he began the ambush. The Shadowflame Disciples had been directly involved in the assassination attempt on him, and they¡¯d had no prior history at that point. They chose the wrong side, and would pay for it. Two were dead by his own blade before anyone could react, and simultaneous attacks from others took down several more. John wished Aydan were present, as he was a step above the rest¡­ but he had to take solace that at least his uncle was still alive. It had been close. Blows were exchanged, darkness fighting against darkness and flame. The Brandle clan cultivators were able to overwhelm the fire of just a single squad with a wave of water element, and being both surprised and outnumbered the group was down in a few moments. The short scuffle would have undoubtedly given away their location, but that was fine. Splitting the enemies¡¯ attention was half the point. John and the few dozen following him made their way to a nice chokepoint with solid rock on either side. The area could still use a few improvements, though it was decent as it was. Even so, John began to work some earth elemental spiritual energy into the stone along the base of one side, pulling away sand. There was little reason for John himself to hide, since they would have doubtless noticed someone at the Consolidated Soul Phase present. With him out in the open with a dozen others by his side, the mixed group that came to fend them off was less prepared for the extra numbers that came in from either side, entrapping them in a reverse wedge. A whirlwind of sand whipped up by some members of the Twisting Terror clan attempted to blind John and throw him off balance, and while the former worked to some extent he was able to hold his footing. Just a bit of earth energy to anchor him to the ground and the strongest winds would find it difficult to push him away. The sand did threaten to choke up his mouth and nose, but he quickly wrapped a cloth around his face. Just because he traveled by carriage didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t ready for a bit of sand. Fighting with just his energy senses was not the worst thing for John. His enemies were similarly impaired, though the Twisting Terror clan clearly had experience fighting in the swirling sands and were clearly at a bit of an advantage against the clan members around John. The next event that required John¡¯s attention was a group of the air cultivators breaking off towards the Brandle clan members. Though the Brandle clan was quite familiar with fighting against the air element, water cultivators were still at a disadvantage. John shifted to cut them off, all the while continuing his project with the nearby rocks. There were no individual cultivators that could match John¡¯s cultivation, but he made sure to never let himself get surrounded. He moved through the cloak of darkness the Tenebach clan was forming together, slashing at his opponents with his sword. Small portions of his energy were devoted to pulling away the air and darkness energy from the various opponents. Spiritual Energy Absorption was quite efficient for long battles, as it drew from his enemies and empowered him. Redirecting some of the swirling sand onto Shadowflame Disciples was also quite satisfying. A little bit of water element and it was suddenly a cloud of wet sand that dampened the power of their fire significantly. ----- A group of Shadowflame Disciples stealthily made their way around to the east. They kept low to keep hidden behind the rocks without being overly reliant on spiritual energy, merely keeping their energy wrapped up tightly inside themselves, with the barest amounts blending into the natural fire of the area. Even focusing on stealth, they were aware enough of their surroundings to notice something up ahead. The leader held out a hand to silently stop them, surveying the area in front of them. A fountain of sand shot into the air as a burst of blue fire rocketed forwards towards them. ¡°Oh come on I was subtle and everything!¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. With the eruption of Steve- known in this world at Lucanus- several squads of Milanovic clan cultivators charged forward behind him, revealing themselves from behind rocks. They had not really expected to properly ambush their opponents anyway. Yet despite noticing him, Steve¡¯s crazy charge threw some people off balance. Twisting black flames rushed forward, meeting his own blue flames, but he held his arms wide and caught the core of the fire, carrying it along with him into the front ranks of the enemy. With Steve being a destructive force of chaos there was time for the squads to back him up before he was overwhelmed, and when things looked like they might ultimately be balanced, Yustina revealed herself from the side. Her flames were like ocean waves, splashing over and around and counterattacks or defenses the enemy had. Some flames clung to people, but hers were quite content to settle in a pool under people¡¯s feet. She could control her flames in more traditional ways as well, but the most effective was using an element the Shadowflame Disciples thought they understood in a way they were simply unprepared for. ----- In the center of the battle, Alina was leading the forces. She was meant to be gaining experience as a potential clan head, but at the moment she was unsure of her chances with Yustina already being in the Consolidated Soul Phase. Sure, she wasn¡¯t that far behind, but the other woman had grown explosively from middling power to where she was now. All due to that Lucanus fellow. He¡¯d been a solid ally of the clan so she didn¡¯t begrudge that, but it just made her uncertain of her own future prospects. At least she was friendly with those two, and Fortkran Tenebach as well. If their presence promoted the Milanovic clan to greater heights, it would hardly matter if she became clan head or not. Before all that, she had to live through the current battle. Things weren¡¯t exactly going poorly, but the Milanovic clan hadn¡¯t been able to mobilize any of the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Until they simultaneously got two new ones. It wasn¡¯t exactly a surprise that those two made the advancement, but nobody thought it would come with so little warning. The Shadowflame Disciples had a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among them, and had brought three to the mines. One had disappeared- and subsequently died in the assassination attempt on Fortkran- but that left two more, and two from the Twisting Terror clan. One of the latter was facing off against her, which wasn¡¯t exactly comfortable. Alina needed the support of her surrounding allies to keep up, and even then she found the swirling sands were getting to her. There was a howling in the winds that chilled her. Simply knowing it was part of an enemy technique didn¡¯t make her invulnerable to it. She swung her sword, creating an ephemeral arc of fire to protect her. It was quickly swept away in the winds, but she was beginning to see a way she might use that to her advantage. She just needed to get the timing right and draw upon the power of those beside her. ----- John finally found himself perturbed by the swirling winds and sand when a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator came to head him off. No amount of wind caused by anyone vaguely normal would concern him by itself. He¡¯d weathered far too long on Cyclone Island training with Kusuma to be thrown off by just that. The abrasive nature of the sands was still a problem, however, and it was difficult to keep it from chipping away at his defensive energy. It also didn¡¯t help that a fraction of his focus was still divided. Someone had to be able to notice what was happening, but nobody changed their positioning. To that end, John chose to reposition himself instead, dragging some of the battle with him. He wasn¡¯t willing to attempt throwing any daggers in swirling vortexes of green sand, so he had to rely mainly on his sword. Quick movements were his bread and butter, finding openings and striking before his opponent could react. Feinting to create his own openings worked just as well. John caught on to some of the winds around them, feeding and empowering them with some of his water element, while wrestling for control with wind. When the vortex he was focusing on ultimately flattened between the indistinct battle lines, his opponent might have thought they won. But the burst of power it released was used to make one last tug on a bit of earth, the power supplementing it. With the sands beneath it dug out, one of the larger and more unstable rocks toppled over when provided with a little extra motivation, crashing down towards John and the figure in the wind fighting him. John was expecting it, and was easily able to retreat. Some of the Shadowflame Disciples were clearly unprepared and didn¡¯t move out of the way in time, finding themselves trapped under its weight and pressed into the sand. Unburying them might have been simple enough outside of a battle, but taking out half a squad even for a short time was valuable. Then there was the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator hidden in the winds. They chose to follow John¡¯s quick movements¡­ which turned out to be a mistake. They were quickly isolated beyond the fallen wall of rock, with only a couple lucky others around them- and over a dozen Tenebach cultivators along with John himself. The Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator attempted a hasty retreat, forcing a huge gust of air towards the sands below, meant to push them up and over the rock protrusion. It would have worked, had the sand not been caught around their ankles like two powerful hands. They only succeeded in creating a large dust cloud, and the unexpected lack of movement left them open for John to impale. An air cultivator that couldn¡¯t move wasn¡¯t easily able to resist a straightforward attack, and John wasn¡¯t the only one who moved simultaneously. When the dust settled, John saw the face of a woman. It wasn¡¯t the first woman he had killed in battle, but he still felt a slight twinge of guilt. Even if it wasn¡¯t really more wrong to kill a woman than a man. They were an enemy in battle, and they made that choice. Though he really wished more people would choose a route other than fighting. Not that he could say he¡¯d been helpful in promoting such an atmosphere. It seemed impossible to change anything, so he simply had to be strong. He would defend himself and his family and allies, and anyone who tried to take those things from him would have to contend with that. Chapter 152 Information from the Green Sands and the attempt on John¡¯s life was still on the way to the Tenebach clan and the Order of the Amber Heart- and ultimately the Brandle clan- when Matayal arrived at the Blustering Peaks. She was not alone, of course. Nor did she simply have Brandle clan cultivators with her. Though she personally was quite capable against air element cultivators, there was still an elemental advantage of air over water- and the Kartal clan¡¯s primary element was air, with water as a secondary. Kusuma Mulyani stood alongside Matayal, her cultivation still two ranks ahead, putting her on the brink of reaching mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Other members of the Mulyani clan were present, filling out the ranks with air element cultivators. They would have a partial advantage in element, but they weren¡¯t relying on that as much as the individual strength of Kusuma and the power of those with them. Dozens of Soul Expansion Phase cultivators in a mixture of both clans, a serious display of their might. The forces remaining at the Brandle clan were rather thin, but their allies in the area were taking care of potential dangers- and Netanel was still there, protecting the triplets and the clan in general. Passage from the Shimmering Islands to the Blustering Peaks was not easily accessible. Normal people would not be able to make the trip at all, and even cultivators found the carved switchbacks from a place that could hardly even be called a proper place to anchor a ship. They had to leave a few to watch their vessels so they were not dashed upon the rocks in unpredictable weather. Walking up the slippery wet switchbacks in the cliff among high winds was not child¡¯s play, though the Mulyani clan helped shield the Brandle clan cultivators from the wind. They were able to reach the top in relative safety, though Matayal kept a careful eye on those waiting at the top. Before the path turned into the relatively more smoothly sloped region at the southeastern base of the Blustering Peaks, there was a guardhouse. Stationed there were somewhere around fifty guards, ranging form Foundation Phase to late Soul Expansion Phase. One of those at the peak of Soul Expansion Phase was a relatively young man, clearly having done well for himself in advancing his cultivation. He stepped forward to a prominent position atop the walls. ¡°Halt! For what reason does such a large force intrude upon the Blustering Peaks?¡± Matayal scanned over those on the walls, checking their cultivation not just for strength but for origin. ¡°We have no quarrel with the Blustering Peaks as a whole. However, we will not be denied revenge upon the Kartal clan for their part in an attempt to annihilate the Brandle clan.¡± The man looked down, thinking for a few moments. ¡°Do you have any proof of such an attack?¡± A storage bag was upturned onto the ground, a pile of heads pouring out of it. Several of them began to roll down the slope where they were stopped by those in the rear. A flick of spiritual energy turned some of the heads to face the gates where the might be recognized. ¡°The Kartal clan was involved with the Society of Midnight from the Darklands, along with others. The rest are being dealt with.¡± The man slowly nodded. ¡°Your words ring true. You may pass. If you cause any other trouble, be aware we will not let you get away with it. Also¡­ pick those up.¡± Matayal smiled thinly. Though it was true the Kartal clan had attacked them, having some of their heads wasn¡¯t proof. She hadn¡¯t waited for word of the attack to spread before coming, so they could only trust her. But none of those in the guardhouse really cared about proof. They just wanted a reasonable enough excuse. One where they could claim some sort of justice, and not have to mention that they really didn¡¯t want to fight against any Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. And from their nervous glances, some of them recognized Kusuma. The group continued onward. They stopped in Iclinas to wait for the next morning, resting up for the journey ahead. The Kartal clan was located deeper in the mountains, not as high as the source of the Grandcliff River but a somewhat longer journey of a few days- for cultivators of sufficient power. The group carved a path up the mountain, pushing through winds and eventually snow as they made their way towards the Kartal clan. They paced themselves, not wanting to arrive exhausted. Even if their numbers were calculated to be sufficient, they expected resistance. There was also the matter of the clan head Evren Kartal, who was in the Consolidated Soul Phase. Though the slopes leading up to the Kartal clan were steep, they were sufficiently wide to avoid much risk of falling off. After all, the clan had to receive guests and shipments of goods. Even if they would generally escort them on the last leg of the journey, their personal guidance was only marginally better than what Matayal and Kusuma could provide together. The guards at the gates hesitated slightly to call the alarm as they approached. After all, it was hard to believe that anyone would be coming to attack their clan directly. ¡°Drop your weapons and surrender and we will spare your lives,¡± Kusuma said, projecting her voice on the winds. While they were still processing that, she leapt into the air, cresting over the top of the ten meter high wall. She was met with a sudden bout of resistance as she approached the wall, a gust of wind pushing against her. However, instead of forcing her away she twisted and somehow caused it to accelerate her onto the wall instead of the opposite. She took the metal rod in her hands and anchored it on the wall with a thud, eyes flicking between the nearest guards. ¡°This is your chance.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Three of the four closest guards dropped their weapons and stepped back, while one lowered his spear at her. Perhaps he was especially brave or determined, or perhaps he didn¡¯t realize that he was alone for the moment. Either way, it only took a single exchange. Icy air swirled around his spear as he thrust towards Kusuma, the thrust parried by her metal staff. A spiral of electricity flowed along through the man¡¯s own spiritual energy during the exchange, and his muscles clenched involuntarily. The staff swiftly followed through from the parry to a strike to the side of the man¡¯s head, snapping his neck and knocking him off the wall. There were more than just four guards present, but none close enough who were willing to stop her from slipping inside the guardhouse and spinning the mechanisms to open the gates. A jolt of lightning surged along her arms as she touched it, but she seemingly ignored it and let it flow down her sides into the floor below, though it was clearly not the natural or intended path of the power. With that, the small army was inside the Kartal clan¡¯s grounds. Kusuma looked to Matayal, who nodded. So they were going through with that plan. It might make things more difficult, but they could also potentially divide factions. ¡°Hey Evren! You think you can get away with attacking the Brandle clan? That was a declaration of war against more than just them, you know. Come out and fight! And bring that stupid son of yours too, since his life is forfeit!¡± Even in a place with naturally high winds, Kusuma¡¯s voice pierced to all corners of the small plateau. Cultivators from both the Brandle and Mulyani clans poured through the open gates, cutting down any who came to stop them. Matayal lead the charge, her spear taking more lives than anyone but Kusuma. Surprisingly, there was no sign of Evren- but it was impossible for him to have returned from the Green Sands in such a short amount of time. Bora, however, came into view. And quickly tried to get out of it, slipping around the side to attempt to flee out the gate. Matayal focused on him for a moment, spinning to throw her spear a moment before he came out from behind a building. A spinning trail of water carried the spear forward where it intersected with his lower waist as he stepped from behind cover. He tried to change his momentum, but was only half successful. Instead of being pierced through both hip bones, he simply had a chunk taken out of his left side. That did leave Matayal unarmed for a moment, but even as she turned to defend herself Kusuma was already there. With a sweep of her iron rod, she created a small tornado that picked up a dozen people running forward. Then she leapt into it, allowing her to get swept up in the winds as she spun ever faster, the iron rod outstretched finding purchase on any and every target within the vortex. Matayal sprinted after Bora, who was limping and could barely gain any distance. ¡°Seems I missed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ right,¡± Bora said. ¡°If you¡¯d hit my chest, I might not be here. But now it¡¯s too late for you¡­¡± Four Soul Expansion Phase cultivators swarmed in front of Bora, blocking Matayal¡¯s access to him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to kill you. But we can¡¯t exactly have any more from your line roaming about.¡± Even as she spoke, the four cultivators attacked together, lightning bursting forward from their hands to meet together where she stood. Matayal had moved as much as she could to avoid a direct hit, but the attacks were swift and practiced. Lightning coursed through her veins¡­ and she found it rather unpleasant. But she hadn¡¯t taken a stormcloud as her third totem for nothing. It served the dual purpose of directly shoring up her weaknesses against air as well as augmenting John. Practical experience against Kusuma also helped, and Matayal swept her spear back with the tip trailing along the ground, guiding as much electricity through it as she could while the rest was encouraged on a safer path through her water element energy. Her training didn¡¯t make it any more pleasant to deal with such attacks, but she was able to avoid immediate incapacitation while still rallying her energy for a counterattack. Four Soul Expansion Phase cultivators was certainly a bit of a challenge, but she was up for it. A wave poured forward through the width of the alley, washing over the four. Matayal stabbed forward between them, but not using her spear as an attack but instead using both hands as a conduit for her next move. Her arms swept to the sides, sweeping the water and those caught up in the wave into the side of the alley. That wasn¡¯t all, though. The two on the right were frozen to the wall, while the two on the left screamed in pain as they were scalded by sudden heat. It was a new technique she had developed due to the inquisitive mind of her husband. Water element also involved ice, and he had asked where ice could come from. Where did the heat go? The answer was more or less that additional water element made up for that discrepancy, but it was much more efficient to perform something like this. And strangely enough, though her fourth totem had a tinge of fire element within it, this technique was almost purely based on the water element. Matayal lunged forward as if she intended to stab Bora, who had stopped running briefly when he had guards in front of him. Now he twisted to flee, aggravating the wound on his hip. The two unrestrained guards would not simply let her pass, however, and a bit of extra heat wasn¡¯t going to instantly kill them. They recklessly threw themselves in front of Matayal to stop her movement, which made her job easier because she didn¡¯t have to twist to the side to stab them now. They were her real targets, after all. Bora wasn¡¯t important enough to risk having four cultivators behind her waiting to attack. Her spear stabbed through the chest of one while she avoided the other. The final two were beginning to extricate themselves from being frozen to the wall when backup arrived. Because the cultivators of the Brandle clan weren¡¯t just going to leave their clan head to fight on her own, even if she¡¯d rushed away from them. With the addition of allies, the four guards were dead in a few moments. Matayal then simply had to follow the trail of blood to catch up to Bora, who she would leave alive. Because it would be extra impactful for the clan to have to deal with a crippled young master instead of just having him be dead. Chapter 153 When all the information finished being exchanged between the Brandle and Tenebach clans, they were able to determine the size of the moves that had been made against them. Fortunately for them, those moves had failed. While the clans lost some lives if they were to compare either quality or quantity of lives lost they had come out ahead. None of the main targets had been killed¡­ and most importantly John, Matayal, and the triplets were safe. It was a shame that Evren Kartal had survived, mostly because of his personal power. Nobody wanted a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator with a grudge against them, but the clan itself was in a much worse situation. Matayal¡¯s attack hadn¡¯t wiped out the clan- it would have taken a larger devotion of warriors and provided greater risk. Just because some people on the border of the Blustering Peaks let them pass by didn¡¯t mean everyone present would agree with such excessive actions. However, the damage done was fairly reasonable as retaliation and it would be hard for anyone to find a good excuse¡­ and put together a sizable enough force to make a difference without risking other threats coming for them. ----- The ¡®club¡¯ met up again in the fairly near future. He looked over the group. Two fire, one earth, and himself. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he pursed his lips. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Renato asked. ¡°I was just thinking our elemental balance isn¡¯t all that great.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad,¡± Renato countered. ¡°Fire overcomes Earth, and Yustina is able to overcome fire¡¯s weakness to the water element. And then there¡¯s you,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I was just thinking we could have one of every element and dress in colored skin tight suits or something,¡± John said. Steve snorted, and the other two exchanged looks. ¡°Something from your world, I presume?¡± Yustina asked. ¡°Basically, yeah,¡± John nodded. ¡°But it would be nice to have more people.¡± ¡°We already cover things fairly well,¡± Renato pointed out, ¡°And if we¡¯re simply considering the elements we have access to with our allies, we cover¡­ most everything.¡± ¡°Except light,¡± John said. ¡°Well, there are some steps being taken towards that end but no tested loyalty.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯d have a wide-ranging alliance covering every element,¡± Renato said, ¡°Though not all alliances are mutual at the moment. The Milanovics and the Mulyani clan, mainly.¡± Steve and Yustina looked at each other, with Steve speaking up. ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be a problem, considering everything else¡­¡± ¡°I¡±m not saying you lack the influence, but official alliances are politically useful. Though having too many alliances might make people nervous.¡± ¡°I¡¯m most concerned about the Society of Midnight,¡± John admitted. ¡°They might not be able to try another attack of this scale for a long time¡­ or they might immediately make another big move to try to finish things. We don¡¯t really have a way to retaliate directly, though the damage we caused to them so far¡­ is pretty significant.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you rip out two more pieces of your guardian beast?¡± Steve asked. ¡°There can¡¯t be that many left.¡± ¡°Technically Aydan managed to get one of them,¡± John commented, his eyes drifting vaguely in the direction of his injured uncle. He would survive his wounds, and he¡¯d managed to avoid a drop in cultivation¡­ but it would be a difficult recovery. ¡°But yes, there should only be a few left. One should be with the sect head, one with the third who tried to assassinate me¡­ and maybe a small handful more, though the greater number the weaker they¡¯ll individually be. Our alliance might be able to stand up to the Society of Midnight directly, but the Darklands aren¡¯t friendly to visitors.¡± Steve nodded. ¡°I doubt they¡¯d let any sizable force move freely,¡± Yustina agreed. ¡°Any luck finding a faction to sponsor us against the Society of Midnight? They have to have pretty impressive sect grounds that someone would covet.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± John admitted, ¡°But perhaps that should be an area of focus.¡± ¡°So, after we deal with them¡­ or any other threats,¡± Renato looked around, ¡°How do we reach Ascending Soul Phase?¡± ¡°Hah!¡± John laughed. ¡°Good one. We¡¯re literally the first generation of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators in our respective groups. That¡¯s a bit¡­ ambitious, don¡¯t you think.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Renato asked. ¡°We¡¯re not just normal people. Yustina, you reached this level before, right?¡± She nodded, ¡°Yes, I was a Great Lake cultivator in Aglor.¡± ¡°What were your chances of advancing?¡± ¡°Admittedly? Slim. But I was not in the lead of the pack. The resources I gathered were modest by the standards of the region. Though I should say¡­ besides a few impressive natural locations here, we¡¯re a bit lacking. My prior experience has helped smooth my path greatly up to this point, but I¡¯m not certain about the future.¡± Steve shrugged, ¡°We all made it this far, right? We¡¯re not old or anything. Shouldn¡¯t be that hard, right? Maybe it takes twenty-thirty years or something. That¡¯s uh¡­ not long, right? For cultivators?¡± ¡°Not successful ones,¡± Renato admitted. ¡°As we are now we could live well into our hundreds. One would expect lifespan to increase by at least a year or two for each rank, though ultimately very few cultivators die of age.¡± ¡°... Right,¡± John nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been pretty lucky against older cultivators so far, but all it takes is one bad fight for any of us¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not particularly interested in finding out if we reincarnate again,¡± Renato said. ¡°With memories intact, I mean. It¡¯s highly probable it would happen the¡­ normal way. And it¡¯s unclear if the two of you were drawn here because of your potential for cultivation or if it were random chance. There could be many more transmigrators who simply¡­ don¡¯t make anything of themselves and go unnoticed.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°I wish we could just advertise,¡± John said, ¡°But that would attract the wrong kind of attention, while risking us looking like people trying to do creepy experiments.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s no guarantee others would be friendly,¡± Steve admitted. ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on what we can control.¡± ¡°... how unexpected,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Usually you just act without thinking.¡± ¡°A man can change,¡± Steve said. ¡°Besides, by ¡®we¡¯ I mostly meant ¡®you guys¡¯.¡± ----- Normally there would have been a somewhat larger gap with the triplets staying at the Brandle clan before John made his way over. But normal schedules only worked when things were normal, which John honestly wasn¡¯t sure was ever the case in this world. Either way, he wanted to spend more time with his children and wife¡­ so he was going to. The Tenebach clan would be fine without him for some time, and while it was useful to have him present for many negotiations, sometimes not having him around would be better. Powerful youths were intimidating. Though John technically had somewhere around fifty years of memories, even that could be considered youthful by cultivator standards, at his current cultivation. John had missed the triplets- it was impossible to deny that- but they had the amazing quality to make people have enough of them with only a short exposure. Truthfully they were a bit better behaved then when he had last seen them, but that just made him suspicious. And while there was an unbreakable bond of love with his children, its relative recency compared to Matayal meant the feelings weren¡¯t deep in the same way. And his children hadn¡¯t been fighting, making him worried for their safety. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay,¡± John said, holding both of Matayal¡¯s hands in his own. ¡°You thought I¡¯d get in over my head?¡± ¡°Either of us could, quite easily. Especially because we know we¡¯re strong. Besides, I recall you mentioning something about investigating that sea god?¡± ¡°A cultivator must continually seek avenues to improve. Besides, I thought it might be beneficial for the Brandles to have a guardian beast.¡± John¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a pretty ambitious plan. It¡¯s not some sort of spirit creature like Ciaritzal either, is it?¡± ¡°It does not seem to be, but light and darkness have already been more ephemeral. And many guardian beasts are little more than powerful animals.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why good ones are so rare,¡± John nodded. Powerful sects and clans needed something to give them an advantage. The Brandle clan had little more than their own cultivators and alliances, which was expected of a newer clan. More established clans like the Tenebachs could have guardian beasts or access to special resources. The Milanovics claimed a prime position at the base of Zolvolj and had other resources throughout the Green Sands- now including a Greensteel mine. The Order of the Amber Heart had control of the Crystal Caverns, and though they shared those resources they still gained influence and a larger cut from their efforts. ¡°Do you really think it could be possible?¡± ¡°If it is, we¡¯d have to move. I don¡¯t think such a leviathan would fit conveniently near Pualani. Unless we replaced the whole central island, which I imagine might cause a few people to be upset.¡± ¡°An eventual ambition, then,¡± John nodded. ¡°I doubt you need me to tell you to be safe, but please do be. I wouldn¡¯t want to lose you.¡± ¡°I certainly don¡¯t plan to be finished so young,¡± Matayal grinned. ¡°But maybe we can go together next time.¡± ¡°Risking the heads of two clans together? I¡¯m up for it.¡± And if she was planning to go back¡­ then it was ¡®safe¡¯ by some measure cultivators used. The same ones that climbed volcanoes while they were erupting for training, of course. ----- Elements mingled together. Water was a dominant presence, tinged with minor traces of others. Then there was the darkness, and the elements more strongly laced with it. Everything combined into a stormy island with a great black tree upon it. The darkness intermingled with water and earth, mutually supporting each other- but the more abundant water provided greater support for the air which in turn helped the earth prosper. John couldn¡¯t say he had made much progress with his totem growth since achieving the Consolidated Soul Phase, but then again he was only two ranks in. It was reasonable that they would still be simple fourth tier totems. He would only find himself concerned if he were approaching the Ascending Soul Phase and they weren¡¯t close to the fifth tier. He could likely deal with an imbalance, but it would take more effort to correct it in the long run instead of having balance when he advanced. He had been spending time in the fifth layer of the sea of spiritual totems mostly to get himself used to the pressure, only vaguely searching for a fire element totem. The records of the Tenebach clan didn¡¯t really have any indications of what he might find at that layer, except a few references to elusive and powerful darkness totems that may or may not exist. For the moment though his energy continued to intermingle with Matayal, while there was a vague sense of the two of them relaxing in something akin to a tropical paradise with occasional gloom. That wasn¡¯t far from what the outside conditions were like, but it was nice for there to be just two of them spending some time alone, not talking but sharing feelings nonetheless. Then there was a disturbance. Something external, but concerning. The two of them noticed at nearly the same time, and carefully withdrew from each other. John minutely opened one of his eyes, peeking over into a corner, his eyes piercing the depths of shadow. ¡°Melanthina. Come here.¡± His voice was firm, but calm. This was a situation where anger might be justified, but expressing it would be unhelpful. Their daughter stiffened at being called out, her head turning to see if she could find some way to escape¡­ but of course that was impossible since she¡¯d already been noticed. So she carefully stepped out and put on her best innocent face. ¡°Um, I was just-¡± ¡°Sneaking past the guards into our private room?¡± John said. John pat the bench between himself and Matayal, ¡°Come sit down.¡± Melanthina slunk over, uncomfortably sitting between them. Matayal remained silent, letting John continue to handle the situation. Melanthina preferred him, after all, so receiving correction from him would also be more effective. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to-¡± ¡°Listen, Melanthina,¡± John gently put a hand gently on her shoulder. ¡°Disrupting people in cultivation is dangerous. You know that already. It¡¯s even more dangerous when it¡¯s two people together. And though I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t hurt us, the distraction is still a problem. And your presence throws off the elemental balance.¡± He sighed. There wasn¡¯t much else he could say. ¡°If we had mistaken you for an enemy, it could also have been dangerous for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t do it again. I was just curious.¡± ¡°Next time, ask,¡± John said. ¡°Now, how did you sneak past the guards?¡± ¡°Uh, well¡­¡± John scanned his senses around the room, noticing displaced floorboards. They only provided space for a small figure to move through, but it was still a problem. There was also the question of whether she¡¯d moved completely undetected, because that could be something others could potentially exploit if so. An adult wouldn¡¯t be able to enter and exit nondestructively, but breaking a few floorboards would be easy for an assassination. ¡°Now let¡¯s get you out of here,¡± John said. ¡°Just remember, this is dangerous to interrupt.¡± Melanthina nodded, and he led her out of the room. John exchanged a look with the guards, but they weren¡¯t directly in trouble for this incident. They weren¡¯t even darkness cultivators, so they¡¯d have more trouble detecting her¡­ but it was still good to talk about possible improvements. ¡°Honestly,¡± Matayal said, ¡°I¡¯m glad she didn¡¯t show up later. She¡¯s a bit young to be exposed to that.¡± ¡°Hah. If only that were the extent of our worries with her,¡± John grinned. Chapter 154 Ever since coming to this world, John had become more and more aware of significant differences from the life he had been used to. There were very few things that were new to him lately, but when he had first come it was more than just spiritual energy and cultivation that had drastically changed how things worked- though major differences stemmed from that. Though the world could be said to be technologically undeveloped, the actual truth was that they simply didn¡¯t make the same sort of advancements. Who would need a car when you could simply get faster steeds to pull a carriage? There were limits to what was available in the local region, but there was word of beasts that could outrace high ranking cultivators¡­ and some who could fly, pulling along carriages that would float behind them. They certainly existed, but John hadn¡¯t seen any in their region- and why should he have, when most cultivation was constrained to the first three phases, with Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators being a rarity. Medicine was an interesting area where it had followed a very different developmental path. Instead of relying primarily on chemical properties, the spiritual nature of various plants and herbs was the main factor considered in medicine. Medicines generally fell into a few categories. Those that were used for recovering from illnesses and injuries either provided a boost to the body so that it could recover on its own, or they targeted very specific root causes such as individual poisons. Like on Earth, some lower level medicines simply treated symptoms to make dealing with an illness more bearable. There were some medicines John took for granted that were unavailable¡­ but there were also medicines that would be considered miracles back on Earth. From healing scar tissue to regenerating lost limbs in the most extreme cases, there were some things that simply wouldn¡¯t come about without spiritual energy powering the effects. Of all medicines for the sake of recovery, the most rare and coveted were those that could recover damage to the meridians and dantian, the way spiritual energy propagated throughout the body and the core of cultivator¡¯s power respectively. If Aydan had his meridians and dantian destroyed? There would have been nothing they could do. Even if John believed in the wildest stories about medicines considered to produce miracles even by cultivator standards, there was no way they could get their hands on it if it would even show up in the local region. That was the sort of thing Ascending Soul Phase cultivators would travel around the world to get. But it was fortunate that they were only damaged. Enough to be a serious issue, and not something a cultivator could recover on their own by circulating spiritual energy, but neither life threatening nor impossible to heal with medicine. As it turned out finding medicines for Aydan¡¯s condition was not terribly easy either¡­ but even if it was not on the market the Tenebach and Brandle clans, along with the rest of their alliance, were powerful enough to at least find a way to get it. Nobody had any to sell, or would admit to it anyway- if they did it would be reserved for close associates, and despite what had happened with the Diamond Trading Company Artsiom could not find any available internally. He had taken over Bashkim¡¯s position and continue to improve his own standing, but it simply wasn¡¯t enough- or maybe they really didn¡¯t have any. At least, not of a kind that would be good for Aydan. Medicines often carried with them their own elemental affinity, and while Aydan would find earth and water element medicine acceptable substitutes, anything in the other half of the system would most likely cause more harm than good. But if none existed, that just meant they would have to make some. There were many reasons that prevented cultivators from consistently having supplies of the most valuable medicines. Where the ingredients were plant based, some took a very long time to grow- decades or even a century for a single plant. Others simply required too much effort to sustain as they had to be constantly provided with large amounts of spiritual energy. Finally, some simply had obscure requirements that humans couldn¡¯t provide or didn¡¯t understand, and efforts to grow them anywhere civilized failed. Things were similar with animal based ingredients- many could not be raised in captivity, and others were elusive and difficult to find. And of course the most valuable ones were strong, since if they were not they would surely already have been hunted for the value they could provide. Finding someone who could produce the medicine had been the easiest part in this case, as they didn¡¯t need a miracle. The Tenebach clan had some old connections with the right sort of alchemists, and while there would be a substantial cost for the work it was something the Tenebach clan could afford. Especially if Aydan made a full recovery, since in that case he would almost certainly be able to advance to the Consolidated Soul Phase given some time. All they needed was to get the ingredients. Darkeel livers, of sufficient quality and age- or more directly power and danger. That wasn¡¯t the only ingredient, but it was the only rare one needed for a proper spiritual healing pill of the darkness element. There were other options, of course, but this was the best one- especially since Darkeels were located in the Shimmering Islands. ----- A sizable group found themselves in the southern seas, somewhere close to the Darklands. With few people actually living on the islands in the area the official claim that the area was part of the Shimmering Islands was never openly challenged, but there were also no local groups to enforce anyone who pleased coming and going. Thus, there was some chance of running into the Society of Midnight- but the destination of the trip was only known to the trusted individuals present. John was quite glad that he would be able to fight alongside Matayal once more. Along with them were Livna and Yonit- the latter of which had just advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase after the latest events. Aydan was injured, of course, so he was not present. Crystin had remained back in the Tenebach clan to focus on her cultivation, so neither of John¡¯s two most consistent guards were present¡­ but between the two clans they had another dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators with them. They weren¡¯t being casual with the safety of the clan heads, nor were they planning to underestimate the darkeels¡­ and whatever else swam near them. Though one might reasonably expect darkeels to live in the deep sea, they actually simply preferred water infused with the dark element and lived at quite reasonable depths. The problem was finding a nearby island to use as a base of operations, and then finding a proper nest or luckily stumbling upon a suitable specimen outside looking for food. The former was not terribly difficult. They had considered taking one of the darkland-styled ship claimed in the recent conflict, but given the possibility of backfire they simply decided to go with Captain Sohan. Given the captain¡¯s long experience and the Brandle Clans records, they found a suitable area and set down anchor. It was a small island, and missing some of the nice tropical paradise vibes common elsewhere in the Shimmering Islands, but it had a decent nook to protect the ship from waves in a storm as well as a history of having darkeels nearby. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. After arriving, the away team set about looking for signs of darkeels, diving into the water and sweeping out to cover a larger area nearby each other. They focused on rocky areas, as darkeels tended to live among them. The creatures were mainly nocturnal, but their current hunt was focused during the day with the hopes to catch the creatures off guard. The area was shallow enough that they could return to the surface when they needed to breathe¡­ though John and Matayal only did so rarely. Conserving a little bit of spiritual energy was basically inconsequential, though it was nice to remind themselves that they had the option to breathe real air instead of creating it. Despite the abundant sea life in the area, most of it ignored the group just as they ignored it. Even the sharks were uninterested in them, since they were either not hungry or knew better. The first day sort of felt like a nice vacation day, at least to John. To those from the Shimmering Islands, they might find it relaxing but it was more or less what they dealt with every day. The second day they had completed some ever expanding loops around the island, and determined that there were either no darkeels present or that they were not going to be able to find them except at night¡­ or without poking further into dark crevices than they felt comfortable with. Searching for them by spiritual energy would be difficult, as dark and water element creatures would blend in perfectly with the current environs. Thus, they slept early with the intention to go back out in the middle of the night. It was still possible to see, though the Brandle Clan cultivators had to rely on the moon and star light, which only barely lit the sandy bottom nearby. They were repeating their traversal through the area when what seemed like the entire ocean floor leapt suddenly towards Matayal. Nobody had sensed anything before the attack, but she twisted the water around herself, pulling away from the massive teeth but receiving a deep gash on her trailing arm. Those behind her had a moment longer to react, though some barely managed to move out of the way of the open maw of a giant shark- the mouth wide enough to swallow a man vertically, at least two meters across¡­ even counting the teeth that were up to twenty centimeters in length coming in from both sides. After the sudden attack the powerful spiritual energy of the creature had become quite apparent, and its tail flicked as it passed by the group, creating a sudden whirlpool. Instead of avoiding it as she chased after the shark, Matayal skirted the edge of the flow of water to speed herself, John following just behind her. The shark was a natural swimmer, and though it looked almost ponderous given its size it was away from them before they could launch a proper counter- and then it had turned and was heading back towards them. Though it had relied on an ambush tactic, it seemed quite content to fight straightforwardly. Water and darkness cultivators split off to either side where their respective clan leaders could make optimal use of their abilities. It was obvious that the Brandle clan was more comfortable fighting in formations in the water, but John himself had garnered significant experience¡­ and was able to synchronize with Matayal. Dimming his presence and those of the other darkness cultivators might have seemed like a cowardly move, but it was actually to add an element of predictability. If the Brandle clan was more easily targeted, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the shark swerving wildly towards one of their groups at the last moment. And with spears at the ready, the Brandle clan cultivators were confident in their positioning. John carefully gathered a compressed ball of air elemental spiritual energy in his free hand, keeping his sword pointed towards the approaching beast. As it moved close to clash with the others, he sprang forward. Spears stabbed at the creature from all sides, with Matayal driving hers right in the middle towards the roof of the shark¡¯s mouth. The point sank deep, but the creature¡¯s jaw¡¯s snapped closed¡­ and stopped as Matayal¡¯s spear prevented it from completely closing its maw. It wasn¡¯t such a cheap piece of junk that a creature like this could snap it easily, but the weapon of a clan head. John arrived next to the creature as it slowed in a moment of pain and confusion, stabbing into its side with his sword. The sword was partially deflected down towards the creature¡¯s belly by a combination of its spiritual energy and its thick hide. The more important attack, however, was in his left palm. His hand slapped up against the creature¡¯s massive gills, forcing as much air as he could past its defenses and into the area. There was an explosion of bubbles as the compression of air released. Then he had to duck under the creature¡¯s tail as it tried to swat him while it passed. He was fairly certain he had messed up the shark¡¯s breath, but as any large creature it wasn¡¯t going to go down quickly. Even Matayal¡¯s spear piercing into its the roof of its mouth ¡®only¡¯ went ten or twenty centimeters deep, not enough to reach anything critical. But the combined attacks along with the others- Yonit getting a good stab into a side fin as it passed- meant the creature was coming out more injured than they were. Though if it got its jaws around someone, they would go from uninjured to dead in an instant. The shark was confident enough to come back one more time¡­ which was its last mistake. It lunged straight for Matayal who was unarmed, but instead of dodging away from it she simply dove inside, the layers of teeth not getting close to her as the mouth was still held open. As the jaws tried to bite down on her, she channeled spiritual energy from herself and those around her into her weapon, increasing its sharpness and durability. When the jaws snapped shut, John felt a momentary panic. He stabbed his sword into the side of the creature and used it as a handle to be pulled along¡­ but it was only a few moments before the monster slowed- then stopped. ¡°Help me cut my way out, would you?¡± Matayal said. The ability to speak clearly through the water was one any good water cultivator would develop, and John was quite used to it. ¡°Right,¡± he said. Others were coming along to retrieve their weapons pierced into the creature as well, but with it dying and unable to control its spiritual energy its hide was more reasonable to cut through. John began to slice under the bottom of the jaw, where he felt the bottom of the spear and Matayal¡¯s feet were. Getting that spear out would be easier if she had a straight direction to pull it. She looked quite calm as she slipped out, surrounded by more blood than sea water- but only a small portion was her own. Noticing the approach of interested scavengers, they quickly harvested what they thought most valuable from the creature before leaving it to them. They even noticed some darkeels begin burrowing their way into the creature¡­ though none were yet of sufficient size to make what they wanted. Still, they waited- hoping to snag a big one. Chapter 155 Shortly after they had killed the great shark the area was swarmed by scavengers of all sorts, which included darkeels. None were of sufficient size that their liver would be potent enough for Aydan¡¯s medicine. However, they did get to see how they fought while they competed with other creatures in the area. For the most part they avoided direct aggression, as there was sufficient food for the local creatures. However, a few creatures seemed to think the squirming darkeels looked tasty. One smaller shark decided it would take a bite out of one, and in the span of a second it went from closing its jaws to being completely surrounded by a black cloud. Not ink like a squid, but something vaguely more solid. To John¡¯s spiritual energy senses it felt something like a jelly, though further investigation revealed it to be a large number of threads¡­ some of which had found their way inside the gills of the shark and some unlucky nearby fish. The darkeel itself was likewise surrounded by the threads, but by squirming around its body it found itself free. There were a few gashes on its wrinkled skin, but it didn¡¯t seem particularly concerned about them. John made his way closer, wanting to feel the strange gooey threads. The nearby creatures watched him warily, but they seemed smart enough to be content with the feast of shark or smaller and weaker things. It was clear that the goop was formed from darkness energy as well as some natural chemical processes, much the same way as the gorgons petrified people. He thought about how he might adapt it for his own use, as the most interesting part about the whole incident was how quickly the cloud of goopy fibers had been deployed. It also appeared quite debilitating to anything with gills that could be infiltrated¡­ and disruptive for anything else. John was pretty sure a human would be able to disentangle themselves better with the use of their arms and careful use of energy, but for aquatic creatures it was extremely problematic. After watching for another hour and finding no darkeels of sufficient size while the larger shark was quickly devoured, they returned to the nearby island for some rest and to talk strategy. ¡°We¡¯ll need to do something to lure a larger one out,¡± John said. ¡°On the assumption there actually is one in the area.¡± ¡°Perhaps not precisely there,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°We should try to kill some other larger creatures to provide bait and look at what comes out. Though whether we want an area with more larger darkeels or fewer is another question. They didn¡¯t seem territorial, but it¡¯s possible one of greater size might be.¡± ¡°There¡¯s also the problem of finding any appropriate bait,¡± John frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine there are that many creatures the same size as that shark nearby. It¡¯s not terribly deep near the island, though the darkeels aren¡¯t supposed to live deeper than a few hundred meters. But that means other creatures will be a bit harder to find.¡± ¡°We can just drag something in,¡± Matayal said. ¡°It deepens pretty quickly as we leave the island.¡± ¡°I suppose we could try that,¡± John nodded. ¡°And in the worst case¡­ we might be able to find some darkeels that are closer to the right size and make something¡­ tolerable.¡± It would be better to have something than nothing, after all- though it had been made clear by the one who would be making the medicine that it was far better to have one particularly good liver. ----- If they had all the time in the world then properly studying the darkeels would have eventually gotten them what they needed. However, while the cultivator world sometimes moved slowly, being away for more than a couple weeks was two much for both sect heads. And the both of them being away from the triplets for longer than that was something they wanted to avoid. Thus, they hunted large creatures at various points around the island, looking for darkeels and fighting some of the smaller ones. Along with the slime they released- which was difficult to react to- they were hard to kill. Stabbing or cutting them was only half as effective as it should have been, with their skin seeming to be loose around their flesh. The skin itself was tough, and if it was penetrated getting to anything important was difficult. Of course the stronger cultivators still wouldn¡¯t have trouble with the average darkeels, but against something bigger they needed to be ready for such oddities. Currently, John was leading the group as they worked together to haul a whale carcass close to another area where they hoped to find a larger darkeel. They had killed it further out to sea, but they had been keeping its blood contained inside it as well as they could, and traveled under a cloak of darkness to conceal their forms and the lingering smell of blood. Now they had arrived and they carefully let the carcass fall away. It began to attract attention almost immediately as it started to sink to the ocean floor. Eventually it might begin to bloat up and float to the surface, but they guided it downward, the loss of air in its lungs decreasing its density. They watched carefully as local life began to take note of its presence. Creatures of all sizes began to show up, taking bites out of the whale- though most were within the range that John would have considered normal on Earth. There weren¡¯t any oversized sharks at the moment, and the feeding process could take quite some time. Yet the fact that it didn¡¯t attract the attention of any notable darkeels within the first hour meant they might have another dud. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Even so they stayed to watch for a while longer, after which John noticed something approaching. Though it was actively attempting to avoid notice, the skill of a beast controlling spiritual energy would be lower than a human¡­ in most cases. Either way, he was able to pick it out. Finally, a worthy darkeel. It had to be at least five meters long, though its proportionately skinny body was no more than half a meter thick at any point. As it started to burrow its way into the whale, the group descended. If they could catch it half buried, their jobs would be much simpler. As they crept closer, it seemed they would get their wish¡­ until something suddenly reached up from the sandy floor, instantly clutching a claw around the darkeel. It was a crab claw, large enough for a human to fit comfortably inside of. As quickly as it rose, it pulled back, dragging the darkeel downward. In the same instant, the eel¡¯s natural defenses activated. A cloud surrounded the group that had been carefully surrounding it, and the claw dragged both the eel and everyone surrounding its closer to the crab, which had to be at least twenty meters wide for just its main body. John was glad that he- as well as everyone else- had been prepared for the cloud of slimy strands. Not at that exact instant, but they had kept their mouth and nose well sealed. They weren¡¯t actually breathing in the water, after all, so it was a simple precaution. Even so, being suddenly surrounded by the substance required more than a bit of discipline to keep from panicking. He felt the crab that had just risen from the sand getting closer rapidly, but it wasn¡¯t directly targeting any of them just yet. He swirled his sword, intentionally gathering the threads around it to pull them away from himself. A little bit of spiritual energy and he could slice through some of it, beginning to clear his way out. As he got out, the crab was already ripping apart the darkeel. If they could simply snag the liver for themselves and leave that would be great, but a creature of that size would no doubt consume the whole thing. John managed to catch Matayal¡¯s eye as she freed herself. His ability to talk underwater was decent enough. ¡°I¡¯ll help to free the others while you begin to deal with that.¡± Matayal nodded, swimming above and past the crab to get a better angle. Meanwhile, John began to slice and use his darkness energy to dissolve the tangled mess around some of the others. It seemed that it had been torn in half so the crab could get to the darkeel, but some were still a bit stunned by how things had happened. It only took a few moments before enough were free and the last few were being taken care of by others. John quickly turned his attention back to the crab. It had attacked quickly in its initial assault, but it clearly hadn¡¯t been factoring in the humans. They were too small to be food or predators, so why would it concern itself with them? It wasn¡¯t entirely wrong, either. Even a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator like Matayal was having trouble causing damage to it, but at least she was staying safe. She and the others were focusing on attacking it from behind and below, near its rear legs where it couldn¡¯t really attack them. The crab itself had realized they were some sort of danger and was constantly attempting to turn to reach them, but though its claws were quick, its body was large enough that it found it difficult. The remains of the darkeel were strewn about the area, and John would have liked to scoop them up into a storage bag but he didn¡¯t know which parts to take¡­ and wasn¡¯t particularly keen on filling his bag with saltwater. Analyzing the situation, he thought he could do the most good where he was, vaguely to the side of the crab. Several other members of the Tenebach clan remained with him, providing their support. The first thing he did was create a quick bolt of lightning targeting the crab¡¯s face. The electricity would have preferred to go in all directions in the water, and John wasn¡¯t sure he could do real damage to the creature with such an attack¡­ but it got its attention. It snapped its claws towards the group¡­ or at least where it thought they were. With them creating a shroud of darkness it could only focus on the concentrations of energy it felt, which were a significant distance in front of their actual positions. John was fairly certain he could survive getting grabbed by the claws with his cultivation, but he really didn¡¯t want to have to find out. With the crab briefly focused away from them, Matayal and the Brandle clan cultivators found an opportunity to stab between joints, to various levels of success. Even at its weaker points the creature had some level of water element energy providing a barrier, but it didn¡¯t have precise control to stop Matayal¡¯s focused spear. It took quite a bit of dragging her spear about in one of the creature¡¯s ¡®knees¡¯ before it even seemed to notice, but the water began to be tinged with blood. As it continued to snap at projected bundles of energy, John realized that one of the claws hadn¡¯t fully removed itself from the slimy threads. It didn¡¯t stop something so large, but it slowed its movements through the water. He hadn¡¯t developed a real technique yet, but he had enough control over his own energy to attempt something. His energy swirled, elements feeding into each other in sequence before he created a large net. As he urged it towards the crab it sensed some sort of danger and snapped its claws, tearing apart the middle of the web of energy. However, that simply allowed the rest of it to continue forward, latching onto the arm of the crab. The net didn¡¯t have the force to entangle the crab directly, but it did create a larger drag force as it tried to move around. By the time it realized its legs were actually in danger and tried to squash the people beneath and around it, it was too late. It was already bleeding and slow, and soon enough someone managed a crack in its main shell, into which they thrust an entire spear¡­ which was just enough to hit something important. As the crab began to attempt a retreat, Matayal let it. Though they had caused some damage, there was the danger of the spiked protrusions on its legs catching them or them simply exhausting themselves and being attacked by something else. The crab wasn¡¯t their target, but rather the floating pieces of darkeel. They snatched up everything they could¡­ and were glad to find the crab hadn¡¯t managed to eat much. The liver was intact, and it had to be sufficient for Aydan¡¯s spiritual healing pill. Chapter 156 The next several years passed relatively peacefully. That was not to say there were no troubles, but what problems did arise were easily solvable. Conflicts with major groups were avoided, and nobody tried to assassinate anyone or annihilate a clan. At least, not in regards to anyone from the alliance the Tenebach clan was a part of. It was pretty much impossible for all of the countries in the surroundings to have every clan and sect remain peaceful for years at a time. That just wasn¡¯t how things worked- though some cultivator conflicts took long periods of time to come to blows. It took time and resources to raise capable combatants, and nobody could afford to lose too many. In the span of a decade and a half, Marble County had gone from having no Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators to more than a handful, all concentrated in the Order of the Amber Heart and the Tenebach clan. That included Aydan, who had managed to recover the damage thanks to the spiritual healing pill, though it took some time to recover the portion of his cultivation that was lost and make the breakthrough despite him having previously been on the very cusp of advancement. They weren¡¯t the only ones to significantly gain in Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. It was rare to have one group or larger alliance be the only one experiencing growth during a period, and current times were no exception. Other factions were growing in strength as well, while others declined. It was part of the normal process, though there were some expectations of a maximum cultivation in a given area. The entire region was limited in how much spiritual energy it had and that affected the other cultivation resources as well, limiting growth. Since the availability of such things was what generated wealth, it was also impossible to simply buy more resources from somewhere else, at least on a large scale. The region wasn¡¯t poor in spiritual energy- though Astrein was considered to be that way, given the way the elements mixed there- but the levels weren¡¯t high enough to have them be considered as higher tier countries. Just a few countries away Ascending Soul Phase cultivators could be found in moderate amounts, though they were by no means common. Some places every prominent clan or sect had to have at least one. Beyond that¡­ information was unclear. It could be exaggerated or incorrect, but the one thing that was certain was Exalted Soul Phase cultivators were rare throughout the world. Which ultimately meant John likely wouldn¡¯t complete his full cycle of elements. If he were to look at his chances from a vaguely objective basis, even given his unique circumstances expecting to reach the peak of cultivation was unreasonable. Given his progress so far, however, he might reasonably reach the next phase, at which point he would have completed the cycle of the four ¡®common¡¯ elements as well as the minor cycle aligned with darkness. Even his current level was beyond the expectations of his family, and he was lucky his grandfather Luctus had approved his risky cultivation plan. At the current moment, John could feel the difficulty in advancing his cultivation further. At rank 30, he was on the threshold between early and mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Each rank could take several years now, and he knew that the next step would require significantly more effort and time. Perhaps he might advance within five to seven years, but at that point he would have to factor in something else. The empowerment ceremony for the Tenebach clan. That would come with some theoretical drop to his cultivation and others in his generation to empower those who came after. Regaining shards of Ciaritzal might help with the drawbacks, but it was unknown how much. And John couldn¡¯t justify not involving himself in the ceremony, since he was the most attuned to Ciaritzal and would lead to the greatest success. But that was what other plans were for. Pieces moved here and there¡­ and an inevitable conflict with the Society of Midnight to come. They had built up allies in various places who would help in the fight, but they also needed to keep others in the Darklands out of the fight. They also had to make sure they retained enough forces to protect their own locations during such an endeavor. So it took time and thought, since they¡¯d long missed the window for immediate counterattacks. ----- As was generally the case, the triplets had been smaller at birth but had quickly grown to catch up with others of their age. By now they had long surpassed any effects from their birth size, since they had access to proper nutrition¡­ and more than that spiritual energy that promoted a healthy body. John looked at his three children, who were quite unequal in current height. Melanthina was right in the middle at a hundred and thirty centimeters. That was about average for the triplets at eight, but she would likely enter a growth spurt soon enough as puberty came about. That should be a couple years sooner for the girls, but Tirto had already pulled ahead in height somehow. He was a bit over a hundred and forty centimeters, but still very much retained his childlike features. Then there was Ursel who was a hundred and fifteen at best- though she didn¡¯t let her size stop her from doing anything. In fact, none of the triplets would let something like their physical proportions dictate what they could do. And for good reason. They were already at the sixth rank of the Spiritual Collection Phase at half the age that those with the privilege usually began to cultivate. Their innate attunement to specific elements allowed them to grow quickly even though they were intentionally taking their cultivation at a slower pace. The triplets didn¡¯t necessarily like it, but they understood the dangers of pushing themselves too fast. Unfortunately, it was difficult for them to find playmates of their own age. Their mental development had been faster than most children, and when cultivation came to be involved they just didn¡¯t fit well with most. And as two of them were the young master or young mistress of a clan, socializing was going to be difficult regardless. All of them constantly had to have guards with them, though John and Matayal tried their best to avoid being too oppressive. They doubtless made mistakes, but regardless of advice from others this was their first time being parents. And probably the only time, since having more children would just complicate things. Ursel was already a point of difficulty, though they loved her just as much as the others. ----- ¡°Teach me the bouncy sword thing!¡± Ursel declared to Brage. ¡°Of course, young miss,¡± he inclined his head. Though some might have been taken aback at the demand, the triplets did have the authority to command the servants of the clans to some extent. And Ursel¡¯s demand was more enthusiastic than bossy. ¡°Follow me to the training grounds.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Brage was feeling a bit of his age. Having trained the young master Fortkran a decade and a half earlier after his sudden turn for the better, Brage had only advanced a small handful of ranks in his cultivation. He simply didn¡¯t have a great aptitude for growth, and without the resources the clan provided he would have not even made it as far as he was now. His skill with the sword, however, was something he could be proud of. Teaching it to an eight year old child seemed like a risky proposition, but the clan heads had determined it was riskier not to teach the triplets. Putting a sword into the hands of a child seemed to be dangerous, but as they had been born with cultivation in a way they came equipped with a more dangerous weapon. It was riskier for them to attempt to improperly use their abilities than to learn in a controlled environment. ¡°Now then, young miss Ursel. What did I tell you about handling a sword?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± she thought for a few moments. ¡°Only swing it at people you mean to hurt!¡± That was a vague summary of some of the safety lessons he had taught her, but it was just like her to remember things that way. ¡°That¡¯s right. Never draw steel unless you mean to fight¡­ or if you are training with an opponent who understands proper limits. Always receive verbal acknowledgement that someone is ready in a spar before you make a move.¡± ¡°Right, that!¡± Ursel nodded enthusiastically. ¡°And be aware of what is within your reach!¡± She stretched her sword out, beginning to turn before suddenly stopping and making sure it was sheathed properly. Then she completed a full circle. ¡°Nothing in the way.¡± In truth it wouldn¡¯t have been dangerous for her to spin around with the blade unsheathed as long as she didn¡¯t apply any of her spiritual energy to it, but that was a poor habit. There was always a slim chance that a servant without cultivation would be around her outside of the training area. ¡°Good,¡± Brage said. ¡°Now, watch my movements.¡± He stood off to the side, checking his surroundings visually even though his senses told him everything was clear- and he¡¯d just walked into the middle of the training area so someone would have had to sneak up. He unsheathed his sword. ¡°Follow the flow of energy. Here is what it looks like with the sword still.¡± The blade wobbled up and down. ¡°And now with the blade in motion. Watch how it impacts the ground.¡± His sword swung down, striking into the ground¡­ before rebounding upwards. ¡°Remember that if you can hit your opponent with the initial swing, it¡¯s also a success. Now, make sure to face the proper direction before trying it yourself.¡± Ursel¡¯s first few attempts sprayed sand and dirt everywhere, with most of the energy she controlled going down instead of forcing her weapon back up. But even without further guidance she began to get the hang of it, until finally her sword bounced up so quickly she lost her grip on it. It flew through the air towards one of the guards standing nearby, who plucked it out of the air casually. ¡°Ahem,¡± Brage cleared his throat. ¡°Perhaps we should go over proper grip once more. I understand that things aren¡¯t perfectly sized for you at the moment, but you mustn¡¯t neglect the fortifying spiritual energy around your hands in battle, or you will end up with a perfectly intact blade separated from your hilt. Or nothing,¡± he looked over towards the guard delivering the weapon. ----- It was unfortunate that the two months a year John and Matayal got together required so much business to be done, but some things were more easily said in person. ¡°It¡¯s time we begin planning for our children¡¯s future,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I do believe we have already done much of that,¡± John said. ¡°Tirto will take over the Brandle clan, Melanthina will take over the Tenebach clan¡­ and Ursel will be apprenticed to Renato.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± she nodded. ¡°But that is merely one aspect. What about their partners?¡± John frowned. That was a tough subject. He knew he had been effectively betrothed to Matayal before either of them were even born, but he still wasn¡¯t used to arranged marriages. ¡°I am uncertain that things will work out so well for others as it did for us,¡± John said. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Matayal admitted, ¡°But even if we do not arrange for their betrothals at the moment, we should at least introduce them to some prospects. We can see how they might get along. Perhaps Tirto and Emilia? He could use someone strong to support him.¡± ¡°Emilia, huh¡­¡± That was Steve and Yustina¡¯s first daughter. In the last few years they had been quite busy, and they had a second daughter Verusha as well. ¡°That might be appropriate,¡± John said. ¡°Any alliance there would be rather long distance though.¡± They¡¯d been working on faster communication, but there¡¯s really not much way except to set up a system like the Sunfields which was not private. And the distance from the Green Sands to the Shimmering Islands wouldn¡¯t suddenly shrink. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s more about what might be brought to bear than just what people think can quickly arrive. And it¡¯s better than setting him up with one of the Mulyani clan where he would be giving of himself. I don¡¯t think he would mind such an arrangement, but it¡¯s not exactly good for the stability of the Brandle clan.¡± ¡°Right. Well, I suppose we should at least consider those options. Melanthina¡­ would likely have to have a husband from either the Stone Conglomerate or the Shimmering Islands. I doubt we could find a worthy darkness cultivator.¡± ¡°Maybe after the situation with the Darklands changes,¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°But I¡¯m not really sure what would be good for her. Then there¡¯s Ursel.¡± The two of them simply looked at each other for a good minute. ¡°A difficult subject, to be sure,¡± John finally said. ¡°Being fully independent might be best for her, but that might not go over so well with her siblings. We don¡¯t want to be unfair to any of them, but it simply doesn¡¯t seem possible to treat them all the same.¡± ¡°I have the feeling she wouldn¡¯t easily settle down with a partner we picked out regardless,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But completely allowing her to go off on her own would be a loss to our clans. Yet she likely doesn¡¯t have the same prospects of taking over the Order of the Amber Heart.¡± ¡°For one thing, Johannes seems like he¡¯s planning to remain in his position until the end. We don¡¯t want her to wait around until she¡¯s a hundred years old¡­¡± John sighed. ¡°I suppose we can¡¯t do much about that at the moment. We¡¯ll just have to keep this in mind.¡± ¡°Of course. Everything might change. Though giving people the chance to get used to the idea of someone in particular is also important.¡± John nodded. Letting them pick on their own sounded like the nicest option, but if things went wrong their positions could weaken. Perhaps it could even lead to a split in a clan, maybe a collapse or civil war. It happened to other clans, and just because they had done well so far didn¡¯t guarantee their future stability. Responsibility was difficult. Chapter 157 The techniques available in the Tenebach clan¡¯s library had been fully available to John for study for his entire time in this world, and the stores of techniques had expanded over time. He had learned a few simple but effective techniques at first, Hidden Steps for movement and Unbreakable Boulder as an earth element defensive technique along with Gravity Blade for control and offense. He had never found techniques quite suited to what he needed, but then again the vast majority of all techniques were made for those who used a single element. Instead he¡¯d found that studying techniques had allowed him to develop some of his others. Spiritual Energy Absorption was developed from him simply trying things out, and he¡¯d eventually developed Sinking in the Mire, Clinging Affliction, and Bite of the Gorgon. He¡¯d since learned a few minor air and water techniques, but most of his fighting style consisted of flexibility and combining elements. While he repeated some moves, they certainly hadn¡¯t been formalized. He was reminded of one he hadn¡¯t been able to make use of when he first started. It wasn¡¯t related to understanding or skill, but rather resources. The technique was called Diamond Defense, and it required ingesting diamonds infused with earth elemental spiritual energy. Since he¡¯d been on shaky ground when first around, justifying the expense was difficult. Now he was the clan head and the clan itself was more prosperous, so it was not a problem to expend those resources. It was unfortunate that the technique would be less effective, however. Not because it wouldn¡¯t work, but because the degree of toughness it provided would be less significant. When going up against Spiritual Collection Phase or Foundation Phase cultivators, the level of defense it provided would be a powerful trump card- being able to completely block a blow without the use of spiritual energy would turn a battle. Against Soul Expansion Phase or Consolidated Soul Phase opponents? He wouldn¡¯t rely on it to take a hit on its own. But having an extra layer of defense was not something to be overlooked. Even lessening an injury could be critical. The difference between being stabbed halfway through the heart and just the surface being scratched was not something that could be overlooked. So John had the materials gathered. They were not so rare they could not be bought in the markets, merely somewhat expensive. While the Order of the Amber Heart also had access to the technique, and doubtless others throughout the Stone Conglomerate, it was not enough that the market was drained. Everyone had to analyze whether the cost was worthwhile, and at the moment John thought it was. He even got some extra, in case he had some failures. Even if he didn¡¯t need the spare materials, he could resell them on the market or perhaps make them available to others from the clan. While the Tenebach clan mainly practiced darkness, some of them and their retainers still used the earth element. Training the technique was fairly simple once he had the proper materials. It was a bit odd to actually eat the diamonds, but all it required was some energy to break down the structure and then a specific circulation technique to strengthen the body. It took some time to complete, so John got in the habit of carrying around a small amount and eating them like snacks. It was¡­ crunchy. When broken down it was a little sandy, but it was easy to remove that texture from his mouth. There wasn¡¯t really any flavor, but absorbing the mixed earth element felt good. One afternoon when he came back to his quarters he heard a faint crunching sound. It wasn¡¯t terribly difficult to trace to its source, behind the bed. He stepped around to see Ursel munching on something. It didn¡¯t take long to figure out what, either. He thought about stopping her, but he couldn¡¯t help but watch what she was doing carefully. As far as he could tell, she was properly circulating her energy. If she wasn¡¯t, she would have ended up with something between an awful stomach ache and an emergency. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. She was also properly breaking them down. Should he stop her? That depended on a number of factors. Was she doing anything wrong? The triplets knew they had to be careful when training spiritual energy, but as far as he could tell she was. She was allowed to go pretty much wherever she pleased, and besides weapons she could generally take what she wanted. She was supposed to ask, however. John decided it was better to not interrupt her for the moment. He would leave a note for her to find later, reminding her to ask before taking things. Though perhaps the way he had been casually ingesting the diamonds made it seem like they were common, so that could be his fault. ----- Coordinating across large distances still wasn¡¯t easy, though at least the Tenebach clan was conveniently central. Though that wasn¡¯t exactly a coincidence, as they had spread out from the Stone Conglomerate to gather allies. Currently, their furthest allies were in the Sunfields- the Golden Tomb Guardians. The alliance hadn¡¯t yet been tested, but John at least believed in the common goal they held. Now he had returned for another visit, this one equally uncomfortable as the last. Though he had gotten a new carriage, it was only slightly better at keeping unnecessary light element out. As a sect head he shouldn¡¯t necessarily be so easily called to come to allies, but the Golden Tomb Guardians still had more established foundations than the Tenebach clan. And¡­ apparently Cuah¡¯arn wanted to speak with John again. If it were some sort of trap to kill him John would be very annoyed. Hopefully his earlier understanding that Cuah¡¯arn held more of a grudge against the Society of Midnight and less against Ciaritzal held. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Welcome,¡± John was greeted at the gates by Zacharie, one of the more prominent disciples of the younger generation. And he really had broken through to the Consolidated Soul Phase in the few years since they last met. ¡°Sect Head Lambert requests your presence before you go elsewhere.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John nodded. ¡°Congratulations on your breakthrough. Still planning to make a bid for the position of governor?¡± ¡°You remembered. Indeed I am, though it won¡¯t be easy. I¡¯m still gathering support, and a significant victory would go a long way. Hopefully a victory over the Society of Midnight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± John nodded. He was escorted past the ¡®tomb¡¯, which felt the same from the outside. Inside, John presumed Cuah¡¯Arn should have recovered significantly, though perhaps it would be a longer process to recover such an old wound. Many things flickered and shone in the area, and sect head Lambert¡¯s hair was no different. The silvery glisten had not changed from last time, and John wondered if that was a natural result of techniques he practiced or simply a cosmetic feature he put effort into. ¡°Welcome back,¡± the old man said. ¡°We¡¯ve been preparing our forces for some time. We obviously can¡¯t send all of our warriors so far away, but we are able to provide more than earlier discussed. More numbers, and of course there¡¯s Zacharie¡¯s advancement to take into account.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John nodded. ¡°We need all we can get. Despite the damage we have caused to the Society of Midnight, they should still be a significant threat. I¡¯d rather not wait for them to make the next move, wondering when and where I might be attacked.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll take the fight to them,¡± Lambert nodded, ¡°I am sorry that I cannot come myself, but that would make our presence a bit too obvious, as well as being needed here.¡± John nodded. The man was in the mid Consolidated Soul Phase, so he would have been quite beneficial¡­ but they couldn¡¯t expect a sect head to get involved with every conflict. Doubtless they had other enemies to deal with as well. After discussing some further details, John was brought to see Cuah¡¯arn. This time he did not enter alone, but was guided by Deirdre, the disciple who initially escorted him through the Sunfields. It was nice to have someone leading the way through the traps, especially with the place filled with unceasing, blinding light. This was the place that made him really feel sick. He couldn¡¯t even control it to keep it away from him, like he could with the fire element. Not beyond the most basic level, far too little to make a difference in the current area. Then, suddenly, everything was better. The light around him retreated, most importantly the spiritual energy but also the majority of the actual light. John would have liked to say he did it himself, but he knew that wasn¡¯t true. ¡°Greetings once more, Fortrkan Tenebach,¡± came a voice from in front and above him. He looked up to see Cuah¡¯arn, though only dimly. He could make out a bird- vaguely eagle or the like- and little more. But that was better than being blinded. ¡°Greetings to you as well, great Cuah¡¯arn. Thank you for making me more comfortable.¡± ¡°A trivial matter, now that I do not have to focus on other matters.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if Cuah¡¯arn didn¡¯t want to mention it because Deirdre was around or for other reasons, but he supposed it wasn¡¯t important. ¡°I invited you here partially to thank you once more. Last time I was not particularly verbal with my feelings. In addition, I have a gift.¡± With a sweep of her wing, the guardian beast produced a glowing ball. It was oblong in shape, and slightly warm to the touch. It was at least a good twenty centimeters in the narrow dimension. ¡°An egg?¡± John asked. Deirdre gasped slightly. Cuah¡¯arn provided some explanation. ¡°An unfertilized egg. In such a state it is little more than an enduring bundle of light element, valuable in different ways to different people. It is of minimal effort for one such as I to produce, but a fitting boon. From what I understand, you would benefit from the study of such an object. Alternatively, it would make a fine weapon against the Society of Midnight should you wish to employ it as such. Though I would suggest if you plan to use it thusly that you hand it over to someone less vulnerable to the effects.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John said, bowing carefully. The egg didn¡¯t feel fragile, but he could sense it was filled with great power. It was unfertilized, but he really didn¡¯t want to be concerned about raising some sort of light element spirit beast anyway. Having a source of light to study and practice with, however, could be quite valuable. He was not confident that he would reach the Exalted Soul Phase in any case, but without some way to familiarize himself with light he would have no chance at all. With nothing else to be said, John was escorted back out. As they went, Deirdre explained to him. ¡°That is a great boon. Only a few times in the last century has Cuah¡¯arn seen fit to bestow one of her eggs upon anyone, and it is my understanding that they were not so¡­ substantial.¡± ¡°I will keep that in mind,¡± John said. ¡°I must keep it safe. Perhaps it would be possible for the sect to help me find something like that?¡± Something that would keep it safe would also keep the light element from leaking out, which was probably more useful for him. He didn¡¯t want to keep that sort of thing in his carriage, or even his house. As for the size or power of it, he imagined that it was easier for Cuah¡¯arn to produce now, though that didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t still an appropriate gift. ¡°I am certain we could provide something,¡± Deirdre said. That was good, because even though it was good for his station in a way, openly carrying such a thing around the sect would seem rather arrogant. Walking out of the ¡®tomb¡¯ with it, however, was probably a great boost in local eyes. As for using it as a weapon¡­ though it would be a shame to give it up, it felt like it had sufficient power to be worthwhile in a battle against the Society of Midnight. Especially if they turned out to be stronger than expected, it might be important. Chapter 158 Most clans and sects had ceremonial rooms for formal meetings of various sorts. Sometimes these rooms were one and the same with formal dining rooms, and sometimes they were separate. Some had pompous thrones for the purpose of intimidation and looking down on those visiting¡­ but the Tenebach clan avoided the latter. Not because displays of power weren¡¯t useful in politics, but because they were a displaced clan. It was better to maintain a different air in the Stone Conglomerate, and more subtle methods were preferred for displaying their power. Currently John was seated in a comfortable sort of office with a table more suited for speaking across than the dining hall. It would have been rather awkward anyway, with just two people in the hall. John could have brought aides along with him to either location, but they were basically unnecessary. He wasn¡¯t isolated of course- just a few steps away were several guards, including Aydan. But the room contained just John and the older man for a sense of privacy. At least, they were the only people in the room. There were quite a number of other things crawling all over Elder Risto of the Calamitous Swarm. Long centipedes coiling around his limbs, spiders dangling from his chin, and flies buzzing in a swarm around his head. It didn¡¯t take much to deduce that the movement of the various things crawling over the man were meant to be unsettling, since it would have been simpler for them to remain still. And they couldn¡¯t possible move about as they were at all times or they wouldn¡¯t remain with their host. John wasn¡¯t one of those who hated bugs. In fact, he could appreciate the value they provided to the world¡­ but he still had to admit it was a fairly effective tactic, especially when combined with the man¡¯s wide smile. ¡°Our sect head offers her apologies,¡± the man bowed his head. ¡°She would have come herself, but her movements would be too obvious.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John said. ¡°It is best to avoid alerting our mutual enemies. It would have likewise been difficult for me to make a trip there myself. I trust your presence means you are open to discussing the alliance?¡± ¡°Yes, temporary though it might be. There are simply some details that must be discussed. It is quite obvious that the Tenebach clan has flourished in recent years, but you must know that despite your recent victory the Society of Midnight is strongly entrenched in their position. They have quite a number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ve killed a few myself, and wrangled with several more. The Tenebach clan has the support of several other powerful clans and sects, as I¡¯m sure you are aware.¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± the man steepled his fingers in front of himself, ¡°It is to our understanding that those alliances include the Golden Tomb Guardians.¡± ¡°Is that a problem?¡± John asked. ¡°I¡¯m certain you know they don¡¯t intend to relocate to the area. It would not suit them.¡± ¡°It is simply a matter of prior conflicts between us. And others in the Darklands. They may draw more trouble than they are worth.¡± ¡°Another reason we could use the help of the locals to ease our path. I doubt the rest of the Darklands wishes to be drawn into a conflict resulting from the Society of Midnight blatantly raiding into other lands. A large scale war such as that wouldn¡¯t benefit anyone.¡± Elder Risto frowned, the movement shaking a beetle off his forehead into his lap. ¡°Things are not so far gone, are they?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± John said, ¡°But as the matter concerns the survival of the Tenebach clan, we have little choice but to do what we can. Cultivators are always looking for opportunities¡­ but if some free space happened to open up in the Darklands, I¡¯m sure the pressure there would abate somewhat, would it not?¡± ¡°We have the intention to take over as much of the Society of Midnight¡¯s holdings as possible. Without competition.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly why you should be prepared to work with us, and move in quickly. Besides, there is the potential for other areas to open up. The Society of Midnight is quite close to the nearby Shadow Wolf Clan, are they not? It is doubtful you could hold that territory as well. They would prefer to fight against a weakened group instead of one who quickly solidified some new territory, I¡¯m certain. And elsewhere in the region there may be some weaknesses as well.¡± ¡°What if the Society of Midnight stands alone?¡± ¡°Then you risk almost nothing by joining a sizable army, take your portion of plunder and choose what territory you think you can hold. Or you stay out of the conflict and protect yourselves, missing out on a prime opportunity.¡± ¡°And what would you need from us?¡± Elder Risto asked. ¡°To fight, of course. Earn your portion and be ready to take over as well. And to make that easier on yourself, keep as many other sects off our back as possible. This isn¡¯t some crusade against the Darklands as a whole, but a conflict that the Society of Midnight themselves have escalated.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Though Risto tried to appear reluctant, John knew that the Calamitous Swarm was eager to join them. The Tenebach clan was uninterested in moving back to the Darklands, and the risk to the Calamitous Swarm was minimal with great potential gains. If the Society of Midnight came out the victor they would be in an awkward position, but it really was true that the alliance would likely triumph without them. Even so, having more allies to share the burden would help, and keeping opportunistic clans out of the battle would help as well. It was unlikely that too many people would attack the combined army along the way- as the army could simply turn on the nearby clan or sect and wipe them out instead of continuing towards their initial goal. They wouldn¡¯t necessarily know of the shards of Ciaritzal that John was eager to retrieve, and they had to consider their own lives. Some might be swayed to join the Society of Midnight, but if possible the plan was to give the enemy minimal time to prepare. It wasn¡¯t exactly possible to march an army to the doorsteps of the Society of Midnight secretly, but giving them only a few weeks to prepare while an army was marching towards them could throw them off. Especially since the Tenebach clan had so far been passively resisting them. ----- The route that was planned almost certainly mirrored what the Society of Midnight took to reach Marble County on prior occasions. It curved through less populated areas through terrain that was relatively easy to traverse, at least for cultivators. Nobody weaker than the Foundation Phase was part of their ranks, and they covered the whole spectrum of elements. First was the Tenebach clan, mainly darkness cultivators. The water element Brandle clan was of course participating as well- though the two clans operated independently, with John and Matayal as the respective clan heads they would obviously help with troubles the other faced. Even if that hadn¡¯t been the case, the Society of Midnight had launched attacks in the Shimmering Islands. The Order of the Amber Heart marched alongside them, covering earth. Then the Milanovic clan, fire cultivators. The Society had attempted to weaken the latter with their machinations, but they only gave them more reason to participate in this assault. The Mulyani clan led by Kusuma was participating as well, with their air element completing the core elements. Finally, there were the Golden Tomb Guardians. Unlike the four core elements that had checks and balances, light and darkness had a sort of direct opposition between them. Attacks from either could be particularly deadly to the other as the energies reacted strongly with each other. The Golden Tomb Guardians would have a disadvantage in prolonged battles as their recovery of spiritual energy would be limited, but as part of a larger whole they had a valuable position. Because they had the whole spectrum of elements, if the alliance was able to control the battlefield and pick their opponents they would have a significant advantage. It was expected that most of their opponents would be darkness cultivators, but they could overcome any strength and take advantage of any weakness. If they fought as a cohesive whole, at least. It wasn¡¯t the same as a proper cycle of elements, since the individual forces wouldn¡¯t be feeding energy into each other and directly augmenting each other, but they had versatility and power on their side. Although the forces as a whole hadn¡¯t fought together before, smaller parts had. The Tenebach clan had fought alongside all of them to various extents, though only minimally with the Mulyani clan. The Brandle clan had worked with them more closely due to their previous alliances and closer proximity. Even the Milanovic clan had worked with the Golden Tomb Guardians in the past. The proportions of each group were related to what they had to spare. It wasn¡¯t possible to just send everyone and assume things would remain fine back home. Things were being kept secure in case of unknown threats. The triplets were currently staying with the Brandle clan, though Matayal was participating in the attack as well. It was somewhat of a risk to have both clan heads participate in the battle, but they were strong and it was important. More significantly, they were stronger together. Netanel was fairly similar to Matayal in strength, though she would surpass him soon enough- but fighting alongside John both of them were significantly more effective. Beasts of burden carrying supplies marched alongside people. Even with storage bags, it was difficult to carry enough supplies for an army, and though they numbered only in the hundreds that was what they were. The storage bags they did have available at least allowed them to not need large supply wagons, and part of the current arrangement was that they intended to be bringing more with them on the way back. If they won, they would be looting the Society of Midnight, along with the Shadow Wolf clan and anyone else they came into conflict with as long as it didn¡¯t require them to remain in the Darklands for too long. People wouldn¡¯t suddenly drop dead, but unrelated sects and clans would get antsy with them nearby. Along with the armies, they had several trump cards. John personally held two of them- one being the light element egg from Cuah¡¯arn. The other rested inside his chest, biding his time. John had been hesitant to bring Ciaritzal along, but the guardian beast had insisted. If they lost and Ciaritzal was recaptured by the Society of Midnight, it would be devastating. Then again, that likely meant John was dead- and they were already committing heavily enough that a loss would ruin at least the Tenebach clan regardless. Only a few trusted individuals knew about Ciaritzal¡¯s presence. At most people would feel that John had grown slightly stronger, while the true power was much more than what they felt. The other hesitation had been carrying the guardian beast around for weeks. John had previously integrated with Ciaritzal for the length of a battle- and while it had gone more smoothly than could have been hoped, it still took a lot out of him. Their affinity had only grown stronger in recent times, but in an active battle John would have lasted no more than a few hours. As it was, Ciaritzal was more like a passive fount of darkness element. Was that how the Society of Midnight used the shards of him? Perhaps that would be beneficial to individuals, but in truth many of their number were rather uninspiring. In sum total there were ten Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among them. Along with John himself, there was Matayal and Kusuma. Then there was the rest of the ¡®club¡¯- Renato, Steve, and Yustina. The Golden Tomb Guardians had sent three- Zacharie, Deirdre, and her master Monika Zeman. Finally there was Aydan, filling out the ten. The Society of Midnight should be able to match them in number- they might even have more- but they were hoping that there wouldn¡¯t be too many more, and that not all of them would be present- or that they could fight them staggered over several battles. If not, the number of other cultivators could make up the difference, though their losses would be greater. Chapter 159 The ability to feel one was being watched was pseudoscience at best back on Earth, but since coming to this world that same ability was simply good practice. Even if he couldn¡¯t pick out where someone might be, John¡¯s instincts told him there was something off about the surroundings. That had hardly changed as they moved through the Darklands, but John was fairly certain it wasn¡¯t the same sets of eyes. So far, nobody had taken the effort to inhibit their movements. That was the logical choice, as they were marching with an army sufficient to take down a major sect. If they didn¡¯t appear to be heading towards those on the way, why would they sacrifice themselves? The primary concern was whether they would stay out of the conflict or attempt some sort of flanking maneuver. The route had been planned to avoid those most sympathetic to the Society of Midnight, but their information was likely incomplete. The occasional monster attacks were comforting. Otherwise John might have thought things were going too well. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t unbelievable that they could strike deep into the Darklands with an army of several hundred- the Society of Midnight had stolen into Marble County with a sizable group as well- but they were a bit harder to conceal. Over the course of the next day the feeling of being watched changed from a constant background sense to a blatant series of squads standing along the road, watching them. They continued onward, but John had the feeling they would encounter trouble soon enough. John hadn¡¯t had the chance to encounter them before, but based on the hints he was picking up they should be the Serpent Watchers. Two hours later, they spotted an army as they crested a rise. It was impossible to say for sure if it matched theirs, but it was at least powerful enough that they could not ignore it. But the situation was not as bad as it might have been. After all, though they were blocking the road¡­ it was out in the open instead of an ambush. Furthermore, there was an open stretch of land where there were at best sparse hiding spots, where a woman stood flanked by two guards. If that wasn¡¯t an invitation, John didn¡¯t know what one was. ¡°Aydan, you come with us,¡± John said as he walked forward. Obviously Matayal was the other part of ¡®us¡¯. While the Tenebach clan was the core of this whole conflict, the Brandle clan was tied inextricably to their fate¡­ and he wouldn¡¯t want to go anywhere without her support regardless. He was the leader here because someone needed to be able to give orders in a combat scenario, but when given time they would jointly make decisions. The woman waiting for them had long hair formed into dreadlocks that dangled down past her waist. Though her mouth smiled, her eyes didn¡¯t. ¡°Travelers.¡± She nodded her head in acknowledgment. John returned the basic gesture. ¡°What are you doing on these roads?¡± ¡°It is as you have said. Traveling. Are the roads not open to all?¡± ¡°They are, as long as the proper taxes are paid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m certain the taxes will be quite reasonable. If so, we would gladly pay, if you have the authority to collect. Might I ask who you are?¡± ¡°Idartha. Head of the Serpent Watchers. The taxes from Kurgate go to us to maintain the roads and their safety, but it seems you have avoided the city merely for the purpose of avoiding our very reasonable taxes.¡± John could feel his head begin to ache. Going into or through the city wouldn¡¯t have been a good move, but now going around it was an issue as well. ¡°We didn¡¯t wish to raise a fuss¡­ given our company.¡± ¡°Perhaps¡­ but avoiding taxes comes with certain penalties. If those who refuse to pay are merely charged the same as everyone else when they are caught, it does no one justice to follow the rules.¡± ¡°So you wish to double the road tax? Triple?¡± A few coins per person wasn¡¯t that much to begin with. John felt there would be more, to justify rousing such a large group. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t let you off so easily. You could be smuggling anything through here. We require a tenth of everything you carry¡­ equipment included.¡± At that outrageous demand, things could have easily turned into a battle. But John had the feeling Idartha wasn¡¯t interested in that either. Even if they won, the Serpent Watchers would take heavy casualties. It was to be a negotiation¡­ something Matayal would perform better with. He looked to her. ¡°That is far more than even the most extreme penalty would justify. Standard merchants would pay perhaps one part in ten for proper trade goods, and we carry none of them,¡± Matayal began. Idartha¡¯s smile grew, but became no more real. ¡°In that case, you must be planning to return with something of great value. We would charge the same at that time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too much¡­ almost tantamount to banditry,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°Perhaps we might bear to part with five percent of what we acquire¡­ and of course the equipment we now carry would not be included in that figure.¡± Idartha¡¯s brow furrowed, ¡°We might go as low as eight.¡± ¡°Six percent¡­ and twice that for local coinage,¡± Matayal said firmly. The second part was a tantalizing offer- it would have to be melted down or exchanged at lower margins if they brought Darklands coins back to the Stone Conglomerate¡­ but the locals of course could make better use of it. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°That would be acceptable. Be aware we will be thoroughly inspecting your wares¡­ and will be quite perturbed if you renege on the deal for any reason. We will also remind you that other routes aren¡¯t nearly so safe, but if you abide by our rules you can expect the same protection as others.¡± So she knew or had guessed that they had chosen the route because there were fewer people sympathetic to the Society of Midnight. There was also some implication that she might deter anyone attempting to cause trouble as they left if they returned properly. John and Matayal could exchange more than enough with just a glance. ¡°We accept that proposal,¡± John agreed. It would cut into their profits- some of which would be used to recover from whatever losses they had- but avoiding a conflict here was more valuable. John wasn¡¯t sure if the Serpent Watchers would actually slow anyone chasing after them, but as long as they did not delay them overly long on their way out they could afford to give up some loot. That wasn¡¯t their primary goal, after all- even if it was necessary to maintain their status or continue their growth. ----- Astoundingly, they made their way close to the territory of the Shadow Wolf clan without further incident. Planning and a rapid approach would no doubt be part of that, but luck also had to be a factor. Cultivators were always eager to get into a scuffle. Then again, walking around with a big army was a decent deterrent. Now came the moment where they would run into the first real resistance. The Shadow Wolf clan couldn¡¯t be ignored, nor was it likely they could be swayed from supporting the Society of Midnight. Hopefully they would be the only allies for the fight, but that would depend on how well they had done keeping the attack on the down low. Unless the Society of Midnight had suddenly become incapable they should at least know that something was planned, but whether they knew the attack was already on the way was something else. More importantly, it was whether they¡¯d had enough time to call back all of their forces from various missions. It was anticipated that they would be able to beat the Society of Midnight at full force, but dealing with less of their forces would be optimal. There was no warning before the attacks began- not that anyone expected otherwise. Wolves sprang from the nearby wolves, cultivators riding atop them. They were swift, attacking and retreated in the same motion. The army had already been aware of the tactics they would face, but it was impossible to have every section of their army perfectly on watch and with the strongest forces. Some were lost, though they inflicted casualties in return. On the other hand, one poor squad charged close to Steve and Yustina. They technically got away, but John wasn¡¯t sure how long they would last as they charged off into the woods on fire. It was a fortunate thing that the local trees were infused with darkness, as well as being quite fresh. They didn¡¯t catch fire easily, so the entire landscape didn¡¯t burn. That might have been technically good for the army, but if it spread to affect nearby clans and sects they would be less likely to remain neutral. Only sparse attacks had been made on the front of the marching order- a few handfuls of arrows directed at the leading group. John didn¡¯t even have to do anything, but instead relied on Matayal¡¯s water barrier to protect them both. After the first attack, John felt Ciaritzal growing restless inside him. ¡°Something wrong? Maybe to do with the wolves?¡± John pondered, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose they¡¯re relatives of yours?¡± ¡°Them?¡± the ephemeral voice of Ciaritzal spoke from inside him. ¡°Laugable. They are at best similar in appearance, but their substance is weak.¡± That was a rather comical thing to hear of a being that was more spirit than physical form, but perhaps that was what he meant. ¡°They did seem quite¡­ physical.¡± ¡°And killable. Were the circumstances different¡­ I might feast on a few.¡± ¡°They do seem to have some rather nicely condensed energy,¡± John admitted. He wasn¡¯t going to eat a wolf himself though. Or at least he wouldn¡¯t be the first to suggest it. Matayal glanced over at John, potentially only hearing his side of the conversation- but she seemed to understand. The army continued, ready at any moment for more skirmishes. The Golden Tomb Guardians found themselves disadvantaged in such situations- the swiftest would have a greater advantage in a battle between light and darkness- but the Mulyani clan¡¯s air cultivators swiftly repositioned themselves to shore up any weak points in the marching lines. Kusuma herself chased after squads that got near her, her movements on foot matching the impressively fast wolves. John could have chased after them as well, but not with the same level of confidence. Kusuma returned unscathed, though she couldn¡¯t afford to continuously do the same. Recovering energy for those on the other side of the elemental spectrum would be a more difficult task. Though the Order of the Amber Heart was unable to force anyone to attack them, as they distributed themselves among the ranks they were able to block for others. Darkness against earth, neither had an advantage of any sort- and earth was quite good on the defensive. Not great for chasing, but they could at least repel an attack. The army didn¡¯t intend to just put up with the attacks forever. They were making their way towards the heart of the Shadow Wolf clan, where they would have to mount a proper defense¡­ or give up their structures and anything they couldn¡¯t carry away with them. Personally John hoped they would take a stand there, as it would be easier to fight them on the defensive. Before that, they had to set up camp for the night. They didn¡¯t just pitch tents- they were in enemy territory. John had vague ideas of old generals who put up fortifications at the end of every day¡¯s march¡­ and the Order of the Amber heart was best able to fulfill that role. Everyone chopped down some nearby trees to form a palisade, but trenches dug by earth cultivators were quite impressive. Their temporary fortifications wouldn¡¯t make them immune to assault, but it would make it more difficult for skirmishers to get in and out of the encampment. If they were planning to stay for longer perhaps the water cultivators could have filled the surrounding trench with water¡­ but that was a much more weighty effort than simply shuffling around some dirt. In the morning, they would begin their assault- they couldn¡¯t afford to wait around and give their enemies more time to prepare. John had trouble sleeping, not because he was afraid of battle¡­ but because the anticipation was worse than the act itself. He also couldn¡¯t help but think of how much his life had changed to find himself at the head of an army¡­ even if by numerical standards it was a rather small one. Chapter 160 If there were time for a proper siege, the attacking army would have a significant advantage. They had more options available to them with their full covering of elements, though the one most directly useful in a siege of any length were the earth element cultivators. Tunneling, even with spiritual energy involved, was a bit too slow to use in the timeframe they had available if they wanted to go deep, but they could reasonably burrow under walls if the defensive enchantments on those walls didn¡¯t extend deep enough. On the other hand, piling a reasonable amount of dirt to create a ramp was also fairly quick- and even if it was difficult to reach the top of the five meter walls, a ramp halfway would allow cultivators to easily leap the rest of the distance. Of course there would be defenses limiting that, and people atop the walls¡­ but they had to deal with those one way or another. Their temporary fortifications had served them well enough throughout the night, and they were now marching towards the enemy¡¯s gates. There was little other choice, with difficult to navigate terrain dominating the rest of the area. There was some choice between sides, but as far as their information went both were equivalent. They were in the same defensive formation as before, ready for harassing attacks- but they were moving at a faster pace since they didn¡¯t intend to travel all day. As expected, the Shadow Wolves rode in, taking shots with their bows or riding attacks in melee before dashing away. When it was expected, it was fairly simple to deal with, and they managed to keep things even. The scouts moving ahead noticed traps set up on the road- but they were hasty and generally not significant in danger. They might have been able to injure Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators, but all they could do against the incoming army was slow them slightly and cause them to expend some spiritual energy defending. Not worthless, but insufficient on their own. The gates seemed rather unimpressive to John¡¯s eyes, just like the walls. Then again, living in the Stone Conglomerate, anyone who didn¡¯t have massive and sturdy stone walls was something of a laughingstock. The materials needed and the available expertise were so cheap, it was only to be expected. The walls were fine, considering they needed to cover a large area. Housed inside the walls were not just members of the Shadow Wolf clan, but their mounts- and animals needed a lot of space. Especially those that were young and untamed, they could not be allowed to roam freely. John and Matayal stood at the head of the army, not because they wanted to show off but because it was a practical position for them to control the energy from their clanmates. Water and darkness formed a tall barrier over the front of the army, protecting them from an incoming bombardment of attacks. Poisoned arrows were among the more worrisome projectiles, though there were also some different forms of dark element attacks. Countering all the different options with finesse was impossible, so they simply had to be overpowered. John took in the battlefield, sensing no shards of Ciaritzal. Unless they had developed a technique to hide it recently- which was possible- he presumed that none from the Society of Midnight were present. Or at least, nobody relevant. Either they were unaware of their allies¡¯ plight, or simply fortifying their own grounds. The latter might not make the Shadow Wolf clan wish to continue the alliance, but they couldn¡¯t bet on that and the Shadow Wolf clan not attacking their backs if they just ignored them. And if they could fight the two groups independently, they would have a greater advantage of numbers. The Order of the Amber Heart pressed forward, trying to reach the walls. Their march drew attention away from others, while the fire cultivators of the Milanovic clan counterattacked those on the walls. At the same time the Mulyani clan continued to help defend against the riders, their speed helping to counter the Shadow Wolves. Finally, the Golden Tomb Guardians were staying in reserve- though those with proper ranged abilities directed attacks towards the top of the walls, spears of light streaking through the shadowy surroundings. This helped significantly in countering the darkness for those not part of the Tenebach clan, letting them perceive their opponents more clearly. At this point, it was basically a charge towards the walls- moving slowly would only advantage those on the walls. However, it was important to recognize that the walls could also have more significant defenses than the traps along the road. There was a limit on how much one could expend for a temporary defense, but something intended to last forever could be more costly. The entire army continued to march forward, crossing the distance to the wall in less than a minute. As the earth cultivators swept loose dirt into a mound- and where that was lacking nearby stone- the Golden Tomb Guardians arranged themselves for a powerful attack. Throughout their ranks stood many individuals with staves held high, topped with brilliant clear gemstones. Spiritual energy flowed from the surrounding cultivators into them, and from their staves shot beams of light, meeting at a central point. There stood Zacharie, channeling the power from his own staff into a beam directed towards the wall. When the beam struck, the wall projected a barrier. The spiritual energy in the area was all darkness, and this made use of it. The two energies met, annihilating each other. The beam was unable to push through the barrier, but it continued to fight against it. Then the wall cracked- not around the fighting energies, but halfway down where Renato stood with others surrounding him. With all of the energy concentrated against the beam, the stone was simply that. As the wall fell apart, so too did the structure of the defenses that focused the barrier. A moment later, hundreds of cultivators were running for the break in the wall. Renato was holding off defenders on the wall on one side while John and Matayal covered the other, backed up by their own people of course. As the fighting died down for a moment, John was able to see into the clan¡¯s grounds and find¡­ very little. He could spot cultivators fleeing from the far side, but besides those on the wall few were staying to fight. A reasonable choice, against forces they could not defeat. Presumably they would be joining forces with the Society of Midnight, but their actions left John and the others with several decisions to make. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The first was easy- chasing after them would only benefit the Shadow Wolves. As far as he could tell their riders had already begun to make their way around, and they would no doubt continue to harass anyone following- which meant the fastest people would have to deal with them alone. The remaining defenders were also an issue- was it worthwhile to capture them and attempt to use them as hostages? The decision was soon made for itself- John didn¡¯t think they could manage so many potential threats, and the battle continued with the final defenders on the walls falling. Inside the clan they found the remaining buildings- many of which were still full of mundane items required for everyday living. A quick investigation revealed that most valuables had been taken away- at least the portable ones. Obviously things like energy gathering arrays, training rooms, wolf burrows¡­ these were not something that could be easily transported. The same was true of statues and furniture, all of which had value¡­ but were difficult to take away. The question was¡­ should they destroy them? John consulted with the others, since he really had no idea. ¡°They are enemies,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure if destroying things will benefit us. We¡¯re not planning to have a long drawn out war.¡± ¡°But they might want revenge,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Costing them time and effort to rebuild would reduce that danger.¡± ¡°Or make them want it more,¡± Steve said. ¡°If we do destroy things, I would suggest collapsing the dens first,¡± Renato said, ¡°That could set them back on breeding and training for at least a season.¡± John looked to Matayal, who contributed her opinion. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth the effort. We don¡¯t want to expend too much energy here, especially for those who have more difficulty recovering,¡± she gestured to the Golden Tomb Guardians, who were doing their best to draw in what small amount of light element spiritual energy they could. ¡°I think we leave it,¡± John said. ¡°Maybe knock out the gates in case they try to flee back here. From the inside we should be able to handle that fairly easily. Then we get back on the road. A few hours won¡¯t matter too much, but we can¡¯t rest here for a day without giving the Society of Midnight too much time.¡± Nobody really disagreed, so they soon moved on- after looking for at least some valuables to loot. Lighter art pieces, spiritual herbs left in the fields, and so on. The Shadow Wolf clan was only involved as an ally to the Society of Midnight, so they honestly didn¡¯t care about their complete and utter destruction. If they were successful at wiping out the Society of Midnight, the Shadow Wolf clan would probably be more concerned about taking care of whatever remained of themselves against local influences more than going after them. ----- The Darklands were never quite as bright and sunny as everywhere else, but there was still a clear difference between day and night. Some darkness cultivators lived a nocturnal lifestyle, but the Shadow Wolf clan couldn¡¯t exactly take advantage of that when they were attacked during the day. Thus, as the army marched they had continued to harass them¡­ and when nightfall came, even though they would still be functional they had to rest. John wasn¡¯t content with having their people die- or at least get injured- for another whole day of travel to reach the Society of Midnight. Thus, he proposed they track down where the warriors were making camp. He mainly brought with him cultivators of the Tenebach clan- for their ability to function in the deeper darkness- and the Milanovic clan. Mostly for Steve and Yustina. If someone had to ask what they were for, it was clear they didn¡¯t know the two. Matayal was also with them, mostly in case something went wrong and they had to fight. John just wasn¡¯t as good without her. One would think that tracking horse sized wolves would be trivial, but the darkness element they carried fogged the mind, making picking out their tracks somewhat more difficult. The darkness element they carried was also ubiquitous to the region, so it was more about detecting slight variations than seeking for something specific. However, during the day they had kept track of the general direction the enemy was coming from- and where they were going when they made their last assaults. As their group moved towards what would hopefully be an enemy camp, John formed a bridge between the darkness and fire cultivators. If he were doing anything more complicated than helping conceal the latter, it would have been an issue- he had no fire totem himself, after all. His practice with the fire element mostly allowed him to not hurt himself, which was enough for the current situation. Scent was the area he focused most on erasing. No doubt Shadow Wolves could overcome the limitation, but they didn¡¯t need to remain completely undetected- they just needed to get close enough. John led the group around to the side that seemed to have the least guards on watch- and more specifically none in the Consolidated Soul Phase. He moved slightly ahead with Aydan to take out a pair of guards- their loss would be noticed in a matter of moments if the remaining guards were competent, but John quickly motioned for the others. The night sky was suddenly lit up with streaks of green and blue flame, along with more traditional oranges. The targets were tents, any storage crates, and finally the sleeping wolves. Well trained as they might be, wolves being awoken in the middle of the night because they were on fire was bound to cause chaos. By the time a proper response was being organized, the groups were already on the retreat. Their strength was sufficient they might be able to withstand a direct confrontation, but John really didn¡¯t want to fight without all of their army, though he could hold a pretty good line of defense with Matayal, and Steve and Yustina working together would give enemies significant pause. Obviously the Shadow Wolf clan sent riders after them, but their direction of approach was predictable. Because they were between the Shadow Wolf clan and Society of Midnight, nobody they weren¡¯t already enemies with would raise too big of a fuss if a section of forest burned¡­ which the Milanovic clan nicely demonstrated as they moved. The trees were healthy and green which meant they wouldn¡¯t burn for long nor would the fire spread terribly far, but only a few brave souls chased them through the fire, and that was the sort of bravery that left people exposed and alone. They were quickly dealt with, while John and the others made their way back to camp to get most of a night¡¯s sleep- their fortifications provided by the Amber Heart and the elements of the individuals involved making it more difficult for the enemy to return the favor. Chapter 161 Light filtered from the box John had placed in front of him. He had been concerned that the natural levels of darkness elemental spiritual energy would harm the egg, but it seemed his concerns were unfounded. At the very least, it seemed to be more than sufficient to resist for the moment, though he wasn¡¯t sure if it would eventually run out of energy. He supposed that it should, without any way to replenish itself. After that point it would likely begin to corrode. Perhaps a true light element creature might generate some spiritual energy of their own, but the egg was only half alive at best. Even so, he did his best to shelter it from the surrounding darkness energy so that it could avoid wasting its potential. He hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to train with it for very long. Just a few months, after which he could barely consider himself familiarized with the light element. But it wasn¡¯t just a source of energy. It could also be used as a weapon. As for how¡­ that he was unsure. Thus, he was consulting with the experts. ¡°It does seem a potent enough energy source,¡± Zacharie commented. ¡°However, using the depth of its energy would likely be dangerous, even for one of us. It is no wonder that Cuah¡¯arn suggested you don¡¯t try it yourself. Even if you have three other elements, you still are primarily based in darkness. Even I would be rather hesitant to make use of it.¡± ¡°What would happen?¡± John asked. ¡°The easiest answer is an explosion,¡± Zacharie said. ¡°At best, it could be directed somewhat, but regardless whoever triggered it would be at the epicenter.¡± Deirdre was one of the other two from the Golden Tomb Guardians, and she had her own opinion on the matter. ¡°It could likely be delayed enough for it to be thrown some distance,¡± she surmised. ¡°Rather reckless, is it not?¡± Monika countered. ¡°If it¡¯s an emergency¡­¡± Deirdre shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s better to try it.¡± ¡°I wanted to provide the option,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯d rather not limit our options when dealing with the Society of Midnight. They¡¯ll still have the majority of the Shadow Wolf clan with them at minimum. One of you could carry it to help with energy replenishment at least.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Deirdre said. She looked at the other two, ¡°I know both of you are stronger than me. I¡¯ve only been able to advance just recently with extra time in the tomb. But if we need to use it as a weapon, I won¡¯t be watched as much as the two of you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t feel obligated to try it,¡± John said. ¡°If it¡¯s still dangerous for you, you don¡¯t have the obligation.¡± ¡°I know but¡­ they¡¯re not our enemy for nothing, right? Both the Tenebach clan and Golden Tomb Guardians¡­ we have to win. I won¡¯t be reckless about it,¡± Deirdre persuaded. ¡°I agree they will most likely focus on the two of us,¡± Monika nodded. ¡°But let me remind you that you have a bright future. If you believe there¡¯s a way to trigger it away from yourself, you must swear to do that¡­ and only if necessary.¡± ¡°I concur,¡± Zacharie nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless with it. You should instead use it to bolster yourself, and of the three of us that¡¯s still best done by yourself.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°I swear to use it only if absolutely necessary, and with the greatest caution.¡± The whole discussion made John not want to hand it over. It was like asking someone to sacrifice themself for others. In a way, that was the same he was asking of everyone he fought by his side, but usually not so direct. Was he hesitant because Deidre was perceived as more valuable? Because he knew her better, or because she was stronger? But ultimately, they might need it. ¡°I¡¯ll entrust it to you, then,¡± John held out the box. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly easy to hide, so that will need to be discussed.¡± The egg was similar in size to a basketball, but more awkwardly shaped. Not easy to hide in a pocket, for example. Now they had to coordinate with everyone else on making it potentially useful, though how that would work was another question. Should they support her movement into enemy lines, or let her go alone? Ultimately it should be based on her decisions. And if all went well, Deidre would be fighting as just another branch of the Golden Tomb Guardians, dealing with mundane tactical choices. ----- The counterattack on the Shadow Wolf clan¡¯s camp hadn¡¯t caused serious damage to them, but it did at least disrupt them to the point that their attempts to harass the army as they continued towards the Society of Midnight were limited. It wasn¡¯t possible to completely stop them, but limiting the damage they dealt was good enough. At a sustainable travel pace they arrived in the area controlled by the Society of Midnight within two days. They began to encounter scouts and outposts, but their presence in the area was already clear so there wasn¡¯t much for their enemies to determine except more precise positions. The outposts cleared out as they approached- nobody wanted to take on an army with only a squad or two. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Their only deviation from the expected route was the last few kilometers approaching the Society¡¯s headquarters. They deviated from the road coming from the east, heading around to the south. This was to avoid any traps that might have been placed along the road, as well as to allow them easier access to sending messages west. Specifically, to the Calamitous Swarm. Their speed of travel was limited by their beasts of burden, but they were capable in rough terrain off road, and the Order of the Amber Heart helped smooth out the area where they marched. The headquarters of the Society of Midnight was a small city, with a keep at the center. The general arrangement was already known ahead of time, and plans had been made with the Order of the Amber Heart to determine how they would proceed. While they didn¡¯t exactly have time for a long siege, now that they were at their main goal they could afford a few days at least. The enemy could of course leave their walls to attack, but that would accomplish the goals of the combined army rather well. Fighting outside of the Society¡¯s defenses would be to their advantage, and was thus unlikely. Except for sabotage and the like. The location they picked was a high rise nearby, rocky terrain that looked down at the walls. It didn¡¯t quite provide the angle to see beyond the walls, but it made it harder to approach them stealthily. Setting up fortifications was somewhat more difficult, but the Order of the Amber Heart could bend the earth and stone beneath them. John would have helped, but he was just one more person. Besides, they had the situation handled- soon enough primitive walls went up, and then they were working on the real plans. Because they were staying for longer, the Brandle clan began a moat around the outside. While it seemed like it might actually make the area easier to traverse, it was closer to filling a trench with weapons. They were replacing the environment with one favorable to themselves, so anyone who thought it would be simple to swim across to the walls would find themselves sorely disappointed. Leaping wouldn¡¯t help either, as a few cultivators together could raise an entire section to grasp incoming enemies. The fire cultivators of the Milanovic clan worked with the Mulyani clan to begin bombarding over the wall- gusts of wind pushing concentrated balls of fire. The rise they were on was distant enough from the walls that it hardly contributed to their range. The enemies on the walls and the defensive formations intercepted the vast majority of the attacks, but it kept them occupied. That left the Tenebach clan with the second most important duty of hiding what the Order of the Amber Heart was really up to. There were a few steps to the deception. Most straightforward was to use darkness energy to hide the details of their encampment, limiting specifically energy senses. Blocking vision would just be a waste of energy outside of combat¡­ and the angles involved were favorable for them. Meanwhile, the Order dug down into the ground. A digging operation would usually involve a large amount of debris being removed, but the earth cultivators were able to shuffle around some of the dirt and stone while compressing other parts. The compression had the added benefit of strengthening the walls of the tunnels they were constructing. Each tunnel was only wide enough for a handful of cultivators to stand abreast, and even then it was rather tight- but for their purposes, it was sufficient. After it went down they immediately curved towards the walls, though they kept a depth of five meters. Along with the depth of the earth itself and intentional misdirection from Tenebach clan members in the tunnels, it was predicted they shouldn¡¯t be noticed. And if they were, they could adapt depending on how the enemy reacted. That left the Golden Tomb Guardians. There was actually an exception to being able to see over the walls- they didn¡¯t have the angle for it, but what good was it to have people that could control light if they couldn¡¯t accomplish something simple like that? John understood that while the activity would normally be trivial, in a darkness dominant region it took more concentrated effort. The three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among them gathered around the egg, using it to replenish their energy and empower their efforts to pierce through the veil of darkness that the Society of Midnight hid behind. Instead of lending his aid to one of the other groups or leading the efforts of the Tenebach clan, John found himself monitoring their balance of energy. He didn¡¯t want half of their group to run out of energy on halfhearted attacks or distractions. Or one third, since they did have a proper source of light element, and the rest of the Golden Tomb Guardians were conserving themselves. To affect things on a larger scale, John co-opted Matayal. And though he didn¡¯t want to reveal his presence too early, John also called upon the aid of Ciaritzal inside of him. From above they drew in darkness energy, providing a path for the light and heat of the sun to reach them in concentrated form. He filtered out the air element- it was never completely absent anywhere, but cultivators worked better with higher purities of their own elements. Earth and water were related to darkness, and thus those elements were more freely accessible. The trick was getting everything to where it was needed¡­ without alerting anyone. John could feel shards of Ciaritzal within the walls, vaguely moving about. It was possible they had already sensed Ciaritzal inside of him and were preparing, but there was little he could do. The spiritual beast himself was quite happy to be absorbing some of the dark element around them, though much of it was channeled down to the tunnels as well. The more he worked, the more John felt as if the natural elements were inexhaustible. That wasn¡¯t quite true, but there was a way there was always more than there seemed. Astrein, for example, was taken to be a place low in spiritual energy. John¡¯s own experience had found that to be quite untrue- it was simply that it was a nearly uniform mixture of all elements, which required more work to access any individual portion. Yet John judged that the overall quantity of spiritual energy in Astrein was higher than most places, at least the ambient energy. It didn¡¯t contain any areas of particular power, but it was all there. Though night fell, work didn¡¯t stop. Knowing what the Society of Midnight was up to while it was most difficult to watch them was also the most intriguing. The tunnels were being constructed in shifts- for multiple reasons. They could have attempted to work harder for part of the day and taken the rest off, but empty tunnels could be more obvious than actively concealed ones that were expanding. If anyone looked down, at least. Someone might, but by the morning their tunnels would be touching beneath the walls, and would have achieved at least the first stage of their plan. How far they ultimately got provided more options, and nothing strictly prevented them from a frontal assault except the inefficiency of it. Chapter 162 Forces inside of the Stone Conglomerate had been watching the Tenebach clan and the Order of the Amber Heart. A warning had been sent to the Society of Midnight, though the message might not arrive much ahead of any approaching forces. Now it was time to perform the other part of their duties. Chert looked at those with her. Only a couple dozen, not enough to get into a conflict with the Tenebach clan. Even whatever forces they had remaining could be a problem, if the battlefield was against them. The powerful guardian beast they were heading towards wasn¡¯t something they could handle¡­ normally. But the Society of Midnight had arranged for a powerful suppression talisman. With that, the Rock Runners would be able to capture the creature and transport it. Payment was just waiting for them. ¡°It¡¯s too dark,¡± one of the men commented. ¡°Of course it¡¯s dark,¡± Chert shook her head. ¡°This is the den of a darkness element creature. Why would it pick anything less?¡± Even though she said that, she still found the way that their torches wouldn¡¯t light up the corners or most of the ceiling disconcerting. It felt like something could be hiding anywhere, ready to pounce at any moment. Every time someone kicked a stone or had their boots come down too hard, it spooked her. Quite reasonably, since if she couldn¡¯t use the suppression talisman they¡¯d probably be lunch. They moved deeper into the caves, searching for the creature. Their torches weren¡¯t just mundane sticks, but enchanted to pierce through darkness¡­ and even so the shadows grew around them, ever thicker. Chert clutched the talisman to her chest, as if it would protect her. They were looking for the deepest darkness, shadows that even those with the sight couldn¡¯t see through. Movement would do just as well, but if that happened someone would almost certainly die. Chert slowed her pace half a step. It wouldn¡¯t be her. Deeper still into the caves found them in a large chamber. The stone sloped upward, a giant stalagmite with its top cut off to create a flat plane. Atop it was a blob of darkness, powerful¡­ but still. Somehow, they had caught it completely unaware. It was hard to tell, but Chert didn¡¯t think it was facing them. She clutched the talisman tightly¡­ then threw it. It unfurled over some unseen shape, suppressing the darkness energy. The power shrank until she could even see what was there¡­ or what wasn¡¯t. All that was revealed was a small formation, a few bowls placed around that must have held spiritual darkness¡­ and nothing else. But her eyes trailed up to the ceiling, where the line of darkness was no longer concealing what was there. When the ceiling started to crack and splinter, she began run- along with the others. But the wave propagated faster than they could move, and they found that previously solid sections of floor gave way beneath their feet, dropping them into pits or cracking away to reveal traps that snapped closed on their ankles. Individually those weren¡¯t of much danger, but combined with the cave collapsing it slowed them enough for them to be buried in rubble. ----- Ciaritzal ¡®stretched¡¯ inside of John, as if waking up from a nap of sorts. ¡°I¡¯ll miss my cave.¡± ¡°It might not be destroyed,¡± John pointed out. ¡°If nobody goes in, you could still use it.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be the same. Besides, I won¡¯t need to concentrate my power in the same way if this works. And I suggested it, so I¡¯m not really complaining.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you need some place to live?¡± John asked. He was slightly concerned that Ciaritzal would not wish to remain with the Tenebach clan after being restored. But if he really didn¡¯t want to, John didn¡¯t wish to restrict him. ¡°Remaining idle made the darkness stale. I¡¯m not so old that I need to settle down in a den for the rest of my life.¡± John wasn¡¯t sure how old Ciaritzal was, but he had to be at least a few centuries. Unless he¡¯d been extremely young when the Tenebach clan rescued him. ¡°I might travel with you more,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°And if I need a cave, they¡¯re rather simple to dig out given time.¡± John shrugged. Trapping the cave made some sense, but seemed ultimately unnecessary. Though leaving it empty might have encouraged someone to look at the clan itself. The triplets were off in the Brandle clan, but the Tenebach clan was still less protected than normal with a large portion of their forces away. John saw Renato approaching. ¡°How are the tunnels?¡± ¡°They¡¯re going well. We¡¯ve passed the walls, except for the outer ones curving to parallel the walls. We can go at any time.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John nodded. ¡°We just need to wait for the signal.¡± ¡°Do you think they¡¯re actually coming?¡± ¡°If they know what¡¯s good for them? Absolutely. With the help of the Calamitous Swarm, our victory is basically guaranteed. And they¡¯ll be in prime position to take over.¡± ¡°Just give the word,¡± Renato nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll get back to it.¡± The sun was already up, but John was willing to wait a few more hours. Optimally their attack would begin slightly before noon. Some of their forces would have an advantage at that point, while the others would be equally disadvantaged as the enemy at worst. They might predict that, but hopefully they wouldn¡¯t be ready for how the attack would happen. So far, it didn¡¯t seem like their work had been noticed. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. As he waited, he resumed his efforts to replenish the energy in the area for those aligned with light. The main component of darkness separated from it was used to conceal what they were doing, as before. Just about when John was about to give up and send the signal, a mosquito buzzed past his ear. Normally he would have squashed it, but he was waiting for something of the sort. There was another, and another. All three landed nearby, looking up at him. ¡°Message received,¡± he said. It wasn¡¯t clear if they could actually hear him, but they buzzed off a few moments later, flying in formation. It was impressive- he could barely feel the influence of darkness energy on the creatures. Then again, insects didn¡¯t have much of a brain, so controlling them might be surprisingly easy. At least on that scale. ¡°Time to begin the assault.¡± They didn¡¯t blow any trumpets to sound the assault. That would be unnecessary for the number of people they had. Instead, a portion of their forces gathered together before marching out of the gates of their small fortification. John and Matayal at the front, along with Zacharie and Monika. And of course their two fiery friends. Six of their ten Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators were visible, but others remained within their fort. That was the idea they intended to convey, anyway. Against them were arrayed many defenders atop the walls, and clearly some behind. The Shadow Wolf clan had archers atop the walls, but had chosen not to risk themselves outside the walls. If they got caught between their enemies and the walls, their skirmishing talents would be worthless. John sensed a number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Most were in the early stage, perhaps even a rank or two below himself, but one from the Shadow Wolf clan was in the mid phase. That would be Damian, most likely. He hadn¡¯t met either of the heads of the two groups. There was another in the mid Consolidated Soul Phase from the Society of Midnight¡­ and one in the late Consolidated Soul Phase. The man was truly ancient, skin wrinkled like a prune. Deep bags under his eyes. But inside, great power¡­ and a shard of Ciaritzal. Faramund, likewise not encountered in person before. Though that made sense, because such contact would have almost certainly ended with one of them dead. ¡°I¡¯m impressed,¡± the Society of Midnight¡¯s head spoke, his voice crackly and rough, but still infused with vigor. ¡°You¡¯ve survived this far¡­ and even managed to grow somewhat. But you made a mistake, to come here. Especially with this disorganized mess,¡± he gestured towards their army. ¡° John kept his gaze locked on Faramund¡¯s. The old man was trying to intimidate him, and it might have worked¡­ if John were alone. With Matayal by his side, he felt he could resist any suppression¡­ and frankly with Ciaritzal inside of him succumbing to a bit of pressure would have been laughable. ¡°And who¡¯s going to kill us? You? Why don¡¯t you come down here for a proper fight?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± he said. ¡°Katla will be enough. I have other matters to attend to.¡± That left John somewhat concerned. Not having him participating in the battle at the walls meant the enemy¡¯s forces were missing a significant advantage they should have had¡­ but he wouldn¡¯t just be fooling around, wasting his time. He couldn¡¯t be that overconfident, could he? No, he had to be preparing some sort of trap. Though why he would announce it was another question. ¡°I¡¯m sure the rest of your forces will understand they are outmatched when you fall.¡± With that, he turned and left. In some ways, Faramund was right. John was the core that tied their alliance together. But if he died¡­ he doubted that his allies would give into despair or otherwise cease to attack. Most people involved actually liked him, so he hoped they would at least try to avenge his death. Though he really would prefer that not be necessary. Having Faramund split from the rest of the battle was ultimately a good thing, though John could sense the final shard of Ciaritzal was also further into the Society¡¯s grounds. They weren¡¯t devoting all of their attention to the outer walls, but it was a significant hindrance regardless. John kept internal track of time. A few seconds either way wouldn¡¯t matter, but he didn¡¯t want to be too fast or slow. ¡°Begin the assault!¡± he decreed. He began to move forward with the others, contributing his own energy towards the communal defenses. Arrows and attacks with spiritual energy rained down on them, but with everything being darkness element¡­ it was fairly easy to adjust. Faramund might have called them a disorganized mess, but having cultivators of every element let them adjust to any weaknesses they might have. The Golden Tomb Guardians remained in the back for the moment, as they would be most effective when they could attack unrestrained. At the moment there were some problematically high walls restricting them. But that shouldn¡¯t last long. The first tremor happened when they were about halfway to the wall. Judging by its height, John didn¡¯t want to be closer than twenty meters when it fell. Covering the remaining distance would only take a second or two, so he kept a measured pace, glad for the water cultivators providing a wave to catch the arrows in front of them. He circulated his energy to support everyone he could, but he was mainly conserving his own energy. Another tremor, and John wondered if the tunnels were big enough. If the walls came crashing down just a few meters, would it even matter? But he needn¡¯t have worried. The Order of the Amber Heart knew what they were doing. One section of the wall began to tilt, stone blocks tearing away from each other as it sagged. Part of the wall toppled forward, some backwards, some to the side. As the ground tore apart, he could feel how the tunnels had wormed around like a snake, moving back and forth and even vertically. Part of the wall didn¡¯t completely collapse at once, hanging down from a connected section¡­ but without flat ground to rest upon it couldn¡¯t hold. This happened on both sides of the gate, opening up tens of meters of area on either side, though rubble filled most of the area. With so little time, they hadn¡¯t been able to exactly determine how the walls would fall. Beyond that, John knew that the rest of their army had already been moving through the other tunnels, and would be coming up inside the walls soon. As enemy troops began to scurry to fill in the gaps, their army marched forward to meet them¡­ not rushing, but instead fully occupying the enemy¡¯s attention so that the group inside the city could properly complete the pincer attack. The walls were just one step, though. Some of the guards had been injured or killed as the walls collapsed, but the home territory of the Society of Midnight wasn¡¯t short on cultivators. There were also those of the Shadow Wolf clan, and some small bands of mercenaries. Hopefully the bugs were close. They¡¯d be able to make up the numbers. Chapter 163 Collapsing sections of the walls not only allowed the Tenebach clan¡¯s alliance to proceed, but also disrupted possible traps they might have laid out on the walls. The remains of the walls on either side as well as the gatehouse in the center still provided the defenders some advantage, but it was reduced. Most of the members of the Shadow Wolf clan were remaining at a moderate distance, unable to make optimal use of their skirmish tactics with the lines of forces fighting each other. Making a sortie through the gates would just allow another entrance into the city, and if they had previously made their way outside the city they stood a chance of being cut off from the rest of their forces. Waiting for the attackers to enter the city proper where they could make full use of their tactics was a sensible choice given those conditions. The head of the Shadow Wolf clan, Damian, was participating in the melee. His giant wolf tore into people while he cleaved at them with a halberd. John and Matayal moved to intercept him, as he seemed to be well suited to fighting against those of lower cultivation. In the other opening, the Golden Tomb Guardians fought against Katla of the Society of Midnight. Zacharie and Elder Monika cut through darkness cultivators with their twirling bladed staves, the light cutting through enemy defenses. Light and darkness directly opposed each other, so they were conversely in danger themselves- but they had the support of the Milanovic and Mulyani clans. Fire and air were less directly in conflict with darkness, allowing them to mitigate damage. Or rather, the Mulyani clan was able to do that. The fire cultivators were focusing on more aggressive tactics. John gathered earth and water energy as he approached the wolf rider, circulating supplemental amounts of air and darkness into the mix. The more he combined elements the more John learned about which proportions were optimal for different techniques, but it was always better to add a trace of supporting elements. It was just possible to be inefficient with his additions. Matayal moved a few steps ahead, confronting Damian with her short spear. He swept out with his longer reach, but she kept just enough distance for his attack to miss. His wolf went to move in for a bite, its jaws opening large enough to surround Matayal¡¯s torso. She almost dove underneath it, but didn¡¯t want to have to deal with its slashing claws on her way. Nor did she want to discover what would happen if the beast merely attempted to crush her. The energy John had gathered was flung out like a net, provoking Damian to spur the wolf a step forward to avoid his energy as much as possible. Most of the combined water and earth energy found its way onto the mixed dirt and rubble from the wall. It was only when Damian went to maneuver away that he realized John¡¯s technique was never meant to hit him. Sinking in the Mire, Quicksand- whatever John called it, it involved controlling the earth beneath someone and loosening it up so people would sink. Water made that more effective. If the area had been loose sand already, an injection of air would have produced exceptional results. Either way, the wolf stumbled back as its rear legs suddenly sunk, throwing Damian off balance and allowing Matayal an opening to strike at the wolf. She avoided its jaws, her spear thrusting into the tough hide of its shoulder after scraping along its neck. She pulled back immediately, avoiding the sweep of a halberd. The awkward angle meant she was safer, but she still didn¡¯t want to face such an attack directly. Around them the other forces faced off with each other, fighting to keep the other side from joining against their leaders. While a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator might be easy for John to defeat normally, in addition to a proper Consolidated Soul Phase warrior it would be a dangerous distraction. The great shadow wolf found its purchase and leapt out of the entrapment, but not before John managed a slash along its side. He barely broke through its hide, but his darkness energy clung to it, tearing at the creature¡¯s innate energy to empower itself. Clinging Affliction combined with Spiritual Energy Absorption could last almost indefinitely if left alone. The shadow wolf didn¡¯t seem to know what to do about the attack, but its rider contributed his own energy to wrestle with John¡¯s attack. He was able to negate the effect, but the moment of distraction cost him. The shadow wolf had to leap slightly into enemy lines to get out of the mire, and John and Matayal charged after it- the angle not allowing it to go more than a handful of meters. Once more they targeted the wolf directly. It was tougher than Damian, but less able to defend itself. Blood dripped down from various points of its body, the weakness of having a physical form. Not far away, Katla found herself barely able to defend with her long blade as she faced off against the unexpected ferocity of the Golden Tomb Guardians. Monika seemed to have some particular grudge against the woman, attacking with reckless abandon. She cut her way through other defenders to land any attack on Katla, though Monika received some wounds of her own. Seeing that part of the city was beginning to burn behind her- more as a side effect than any actual intention- Katla knew that remaining to fight would only result in her death. She¡¯d already done enough to delay. Tugging on the spiritual energy of the others from the Society of Midnight, Katla gathered a great power- enough to create a shroud of darkness over the whole battlefield, if only for a few moments. On one side the light cultivators cut through it in a few moments, and on the other the Tenebach clan was only minimally affected¡­ but it provided enough time for Katla to disappear, along with Damian, leaving his injured shadow wolf behind. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ----- After triggering the collapse of the walls, it didn¡¯t take long for Renato and the others to make their way further into the city. Combining his efforts with those who could squeeze in nearby, Renato smashed upward out of the end of the tunnel, opening half inside a building and half on the streets. With a swing of his stone club he scattered the wall out of the way to make the climb easier for others. The other tunnels should be doing the same on a similar timescale. Though they should have been unexpected, the city wasn¡¯t completely unprepared. Cultivators kept in reserve moved to face them, gathering from where they were stationed around the city. They were not as organized as those on the walls, but they still managed to delay them enough for further reinforcements to arrive. That slowed the intended pincer attack, but Renato found his position to be strong enough that he didn¡¯t need to consider retreating into the tunnels. The Order was contributing enough, if not exactly in the way intended. Deirdre had come up in another one of the tunnels with some from the Golden Tomb Guardians. Facing off against darkness cultivators directly was a risk for both sides- skill trumped power to some extent, and she deflected many incoming blows¡­ but if she slipped up she could easily die. She fought alongside other from the Golden Tomb Guardians and the Order of the Amber Heart, making her way towards the walls. That was when she noticed a fleeing group, with a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator in it. She took a deep breath, absorbing some of the excess light elemental energy from the egg she carried with her. It looked vaguely like a strangely bulky backpack, but despite its size didn¡¯t weigh much. The light energy it produced should mix with her own to not be particularly obvious, but she honestly couldn¡¯t guarantee anything. Whatever reason the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator had for moving around, she wanted to stop it. Bringing with her as many of the others as she could, she moved to cut the enemy group off. She didn¡¯t recognize the enemy by sense, but upon seeing her Deirdre recognized Katla, a bit battered and bruised but still ahead in cultivation, the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. WIth more experience, and likely a shard of Ciaritzal¡­ she wasn¡¯t sure she could face off against her. On the other hand, she couldn¡¯t afford to let her flee- and what was the point of Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s egg if not to even the balance? ¡°Stop right there!¡± Such a demand in the middle of a battle was practically useless, but it filled Deirdre with some confidence. Like facing down a villain¡­ which she was. The initial clash of their two forces was relatively evenly matched. Unfortunately the advantage was on the side of the Society of Midnight, not only familiar with the streets they were fighting on but with Katla¡¯s cultivation advantage. Deirdre found herself barely able to deflect the long, thin blade that Katla wielded, keeping it away from her vitals but wearing herself out in the process. If that had been all, perhaps she might have turned things around. Unfortunately, reinforcements were approaching. More from the Society of Midnight, and not just a squad or two. It was likely not a coincidence that they were making their way towards Katla- she was the vice-head of the sect, after all. Meanwhile, Deirdre found herself and the others cut off from their own allies, Renato and the others having focused on the original plan. Blades appeared and disappeared on her staff at her convenience, but the slight advantage of reach was not enough against her superior opponent. She couldn¡¯t hold on for long¡­ and the time to retreat had perhaps already passed. ¡°Guardians! Lend me your aid! Order, get back!¡± She didn¡¯t have time to explain exactly what she had to do. She didn¡¯t fully understand it even, but she had a large source of light energy on her back. She just had to use it. She shouldn¡¯t have let herself get overconfident just from its presence, but she wanted to make a name for herself. She¡¯d lucked out just to get where she was, and wanted to prove something. Unfortunately, it seemed she¡¯d done the opposite. As the earth cultivators moved away, taking a defensive position, the light cultivators gathered around her. As she drew deeply upon the power in the egg, she realized as it was positioned it wouldn¡¯t be as effective as she wanted. Her staff turned into a longspear for a moment as she thrust, forcing Katla back. Then she hoisted the backpack above her head. Katla looked confused for a moment- then concerned. Deirdre hardly noticed it, though, as she was focusing her utmost on directing the power that would be coming out- even the other members of the Guardians around her were at risk, since uncontrolled power was dangerous to anyone. Then there was a great flash, and nothing more. ----- John cursed as he both felt and saw the explosion. It was directed away from the gates, further into the city, but it almost made him blind anyway. With it came no small amount of destruction, as well as fires. There was also knowledge of what had happened. Giving Deirdre the egg had seemed sensible at the time, but now he knew he was responsible for another death. It was rather unfair to others who had died in the course of his cultivation that he cared more for those he knew personally, but that was just how humans had to function. Without that egg Deirdre likely wouldn¡¯t have pushed her way so far into the city¡­ though he might never know for sure. What he did know was that they would take advantage of the situation. ¡°Push forward!¡± he shouted. ¡°Their forces are weak!¡± He could already sense Renato and members of the Order battering at the rear lines of the enemy. ¡°We march for the central keep! We can¡¯t allow Faramund to complete whatever he has in mind!¡± Whatever was so important that the sect head couldn¡¯t participate in defending against a siege¡­ that absolutely had to be stopped. And though John couldn¡¯t tell exactly what it was, he could sense a gathering of darkness elemental spiritual energy¡­ and something happening to the shard of Ciaritzal in the sect head. Inside of him, Ciaritzal himself squirmed in discomfort. Chapter 164 Movement through the city streets was limited by frequent pockets of resistance. Crushing them one at a time with overwhelming force would be the safest method to deal with them, but something happening up ahead indicated unnecessary delay would have dire consequences. A great conflux of darkness, and whether that spiritual energy was meant to be used for one powerful attack or something more lasting, waiting for the process to complete and stabilize would ruin them. They pushed past enemy forces as quickly as they could, leaving behind segments of their army to finish the job- and keep them from being attacked from behind. The Calamitous Swarm moved alongside them, not under their command but allied in purpose. They intended to secure the city for themselves, and that meant fighting for it. On the other side were skirmishing attacks from the Shadow Wolves, ambushes from the Society of Midnight, and small groups of mercenaries and whoever else the Society of Midnight could get on short notice. Parts of their army continued to break off. Eventually it came to Yustina, Monika, and Aydan breaking off into their own group, fending off a large amount of enemy forces. Renato joined up with the others as they moved through the city, but there was no concrete word on what had happened with Deirdre. Assumptions could be made, however. Upon arriving at the central keep, they wasted no time breaking down the gates. John called upon the power of Ciaritzal from within him, and a combination of six elements tore apart the gates, despite the disharmony of the attacks. It was still six Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators working together, after all. Darkness continued to pour into the area. If he had the option to stay in such an environment, cultivating, John thought he could advance rather quickly. Even if he didn¡¯t have access to other elements, he would have managed. But of course this sort of thing couldn¡¯t be sustained for long- and it was being absorbed at an astounding rate. Ahead, he felt two shards of Ciaritzal- one from a yet-unseen elder, and the other from Faramund, head of the Society of Midnight. The latter was straining somehow. John felt secondhand sickness and pain via his connection to Ciaritzal. ¡°We need to hurry,¡± he said- though there really wasn¡¯t more they could do. The courtyard was filled with enemy cultivators. Sometimes, conserving energy was the better option. This time, those who didn¡¯t die from the gates exploding over them were quickly overwhelmed by a wave of mostly Soul Expansion Phase cultivators supported by six Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. As John rushed through the courtyard, slicing the head off of one of the enemies, Ciaritzal snapped out, chomping through the torso of another. Flesh and bone disappeared as darkness swirled about without a host. More groups tried to stop them, but cultivators continued to peel off to face them, leaving only John, Matayal, Renato, Kusuma, Lucanus, and Zacharie. One of every element¡­ not completely intentional, but not an accident either. Keeping a diverse team to cover their weaknesses was what they wanted. Two early Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators stood guard outside the room where the energy was congregating. One attempted to block Zacharie¡¯s slashing halberd, but the moment there would have been an impact the blade of light flickered out, then reformed instantly beyond the guard. The light element blade cut deep into the man¡¯s body, light and darkness reacting violently and explosively. The other John distracted, feinting as if to attack himself- but Matayal was there to spear the man through the heart. The two might have lasted a moment longer if they were more cautious, but that was the limit. Contrary to expected, the large doors swung open easily. The room was almost filled with too much darkness for John to see- like a normal person walking into a room with spotlights blaring. It was much akin to Ciaritzal¡¯s cave in that fashion- even if he could see through the power of darkness, there was a certain point where he was overwhelmed. Placed strategically around the room were pedestals atop which stood bowls carrying various mostly used up quantities of spirit darkness. Those seemed to serve only to power the larger formation drawing in the surrounding darkness from over the whole city, and perhaps beyond. At the moment the doors came open, John felt something disappear, as if a part of him was consumed. A part of Ciaritzal, in truth. That consumption pushed Faramund beyond the boundary of the Consolidated Soul Phase- into the Ascending Soul Phase. A shockwave staggered everyone, including the dozen mixed phase cultivators within. ¡°Quick!¡± John called out, ¡°Before he stabilizes!¡± If Faramund had simply made use of his own energy for the breakthrough he would have likely been exhausted. As it was, the abundant power in the area was invigorating the man- but controlling a new level of power was not something that could be done with full proficiency in an instant. Along with Faramund, there was the other elder, a woman in the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Damian was there with his halberd, but his wolf had previously been slain. There were several early Consolidated Soul Phase members, seemingly just advanced in the recent months at best. The rest were in the late Soul Expansion Phase, enough to at least slow down the attackers. This would be an excellent place to have a powerful light element object, though in truth John would only be able to take cover and hope that it didn¡¯t grievously harm him as well. He was still concerned for Deirdre, but as a light element cultivator she might have survived that amount of energy. He could hope. Stolen story; please report. The Society of Midnight mainly used thin blades. Daggers, rapiers, and the like. They had been ready for the intrusion, and several of their weapons already had the dark sheen of poison on them. John joined together with Matayal to target one of the weaker cultivators. It was perhaps a bit rude, but the most tactically sound decision. Their two energies entwined, and the man lasted only a few seconds- and that because they had to reach him. Others sought out their own opponents, and John felt the power of all of his companions. They were strong. Organized. Working together as a team. But it wasn¡¯t quite what it could have been. Not quite what they needed. Several more Soul Expansion Phase cultivators fell quickly, but the stronger cultivators then engaged them in battle- including Faramund. Even taking control of his power, they didn¡¯t have anyone who could take him in single combat- nor the numbers to work together against him at the moment. As Faramund moved along with his other elder towards John and Matayal, John braced himself. And then Ciaritzal leapt out of him, dragging his claws across the Faramund¡¯s face. The wounds were so shallow it took a moment for them to bleed, but it was a reminder that Ciaritzal was not bound by the same levels of strength that they were. John recalled him facing off against a moderately sized army on his own during one of the Society of Midnight¡¯s attempts to retrieve him. Ciaritzal had ultimately been losing- but one against over a hundred that was only to be expected. As the two great darknesses clashed, John couldn¡¯t say for sure which was stronger. He hoped it was Ciaritzal, but the spirit beast was still missing parts of himself. One might remain gone forever. Another¡­ had been with Katla, lost in the explosion of light element. Faramund had done something to fully absorb his¡­ but there was one more. John stepped forward, moving in tandem with Matayal as they faced off against two long, thin blades. They appeared so light as if they might shatter under any force, but the power of the cultivator wielding them fortified them- and the materials might have been unexpectedly durable. John made use of his slightly sturdier sword to directly clash with the blades, forcing more attention to him while Matayal searched for openings to attack with her spear. John wondered if the woman in front of him knew. Had Faramund¡¯s deconstruction of the piece of Ciaritzal inside of him been planned all along, or was it a response to John¡¯s tactics? Weapons clashed, and the woman eventually realized that John¡¯s attacks were nothing to be concerned about. Or at least, she chose to believe that, and she was mostly right. His sword flicked forward, attempting to pierce through her defensive energy. He didn¡¯t even pierce her skin¡­ but he hardly needed to. He reached deep inside, grabbing at the subdued piece of Ciaritzal. The woman had done enough that it wasn¡¯t even fighting against her¡­ until it sensed John. Even when the shard did begin to fight, the woman¡¯s power clamped down on John and the shard. John could withdraw, but he chose to believe that Matayal would be protecting his body. He was unsure if the woman could properly fight an inner and outer battle at once, but they would soon find out. Outside, Matayal weaved a distracting display of waves and spear strikes, keeping the woman on her toes. The others kept their own opponents at bay- overcoming them one at a time, though some were suffering wounds in the process. Ciaritzal was fighting evenly with Faramund, even as the latter came to be more in control of his power. That remained true until Faramund gathered energy onto one of his blades, an obvious attack that would be simple to dodge. Then he sent it spinning towards John¡¯s stationary body. Smoky darkness streaked through the room, reforming into a vaguely animal shape in front of John. The blade sunk up to its hilt in Ciaritzal¡¯s shoulder. Ciariztal unleashed a growl-roar, pain and rage and bone-chilling terror. His teeth snapped down on the hilt of the blade, twisting and snapping the blade off within him, tossing the handle to the side. John was vaguely aware of all of this in the back of his mind, and he grabbed onto the shard within the last elder, ripping and tearing. He did his utmost to avoid harming the shard, while attempting the exact opposite to the person he was extracting it from. A sudden pain and loss of power was enough for Matayal to drive her spear into the woman¡¯s heart. Damian went for a killing blow on Renato at the same time, his halberd curving down towards Renato¡¯s shoulder. The latter could not dodge in time, and the blade connected. At that point it became clear that he simply chose not to dodge. John had trained some of Diamond Defense. It would protect against blades, even those augmented by a cultivator¡¯s energy to some extent¡­ but it was nothing like this. Damian wasn¡¯t striking Renato, but rather through Renato he was striking the whole of the keep beneath him. Stone was stone- and darkness element suffusing the area didn¡¯t make it any less comfortable for an allied element. The ground trembled slightly as the strike impacted. Then it trembled once more as Renato batted the man through the far wall. Several charred corpses surrounded Lucanus, while the opponents of Zacharie and Kusuma were slain with a bit more finesse. Quick cuts, though the light element wounds tore open further from the opposing elements. At that point, with only one opponent, the battle might have been considered won. But Faramund did not seem concerned. His form turned ghostly and indistinguishable, much like Ciaritzal himself. His power did not diminish, but instead continued to rise. Mostly as a distraction, John tossed a dagger towards the man. It was quickly deflected, not just being knocked to the side but sent directly back at him, forcing him to duck under his own weapon. As others began to move in, Faramund¡¯s limbs twisted, deflecting attacks from behind as if he had no front or back- which perhaps was the case at the moment. This was the power of a cultivator with centuries of experience, as well as the power of a stage that was merely a legend in the region. Would seven of them even be enough? It would have to be, or the consequences would be dire not just personally, but for their sects and clans. Chapter 165 Normal standards told John that seven people should be able to defeat one, even if that one was a single phase higher. Media interactions aside, numbers were often a significant advantage. He would have been less confident if one of the seven wasn¡¯t near the threshold- Ciaritzal was close to the Ascending Soul Phase, though for a spirit beast his cultivation functioned somewhat differently. Either way, he played a key part in keeping the attention of Sect Head Faramund. John and Matayal remained uninjured, if somewhat fatigued from the fighting so far- but several of the others had injuries of various severity. Though Renato didn¡¯t show it, taking attacks head on still had some impact beneath the surface. Lucanus hadn¡¯t escaped harm entirely as he destroyed several of the weaker enemies. Zacharie had several gouges where small bits of darkness energy had cut into him, producing the same sort of effect his attacks had on darkness cultivators. Faramund continued to twist unnaturally as his body took on the ethereal properties of darkness, deflecting attacks from all directions. Somehow between the spears, swords, stone club, and general bombardment of elements he found time to counterattack, stabbing primarily into Ciaritzal, but finding time to attack almost everyone. The flow of the battle wasn¡¯t looking good. Faramund¡¯s advancement had invigorated him and his momentum continued to increase. Meanwhile, if any of the other combatants were taken out he would be able to capitalize on that advantage. If they could inflict a serious injury on him first the battle might swing the other way, but overextending was risky. The main issue seemed to be that they were not used to fighting as a group. John had fought alongside most of them before- all except Kusuma and Zacharie. His synergy with Matayal was top notch, and he could fight just fine alongside Renato and Steve¡­ Lucanus. Ciarizal seemed to read John¡¯s flow, so his component was easily worked into the battle¡­ but the rest weren¡¯t quite meshing optimally. If the opponent were slightly lesser, it wouldn¡¯t have made a difference. At first, John worked with Matayal to individually support the other combatants. If they needed a barrier of water, that could be provided. Deflecting incoming blows or attacking to force Faramund to respond were used with great skill, but they only really managed to delay anything negative. Lethal wounds were turned into minor ones or avoided entirely, but they had fought their way through an army to arrive. There was some hope that backup might come support them but they couldn¡¯t rely on that. There was the potential option to retreat, though John wasn¡¯t sure how well that would work. If they split up, any of them could individually be taken down. Ciaritzal might be able to hold Faramund off for a time, but that would simply result in him being recaptured- and used to even further empower the cultivator. Then they would have to live in fear of revenge from an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, though likely not for long. They might be able to draw their opponent into a different area, but the ritual room was more convenient for them to fight in given the space available. Even a short time where they fought less optimally in a confined hallway could be risky. A flash of lightning drove into Faramund¡¯s side. The damage it caused was minor- in his current state, his body was difficult to injure- but the attack was not avoided and regardless of injury it weakened his energy reserves. The attack itself wasn¡¯t what mattered, but how it came about and what it represented. Matayal¡¯s water barrier had been interposed between Kusuma and Faramund, but when she began her attack Matayal had twisted the barrier to make contact- augmenting the attack instead of blocking it. John¡¯s realization might have seemed obvious, but there was a big difference between using the cycle of elements himself- or with just Matayal in addition. Combining on a deeper level with the others simply wasn¡¯t possible, and attempting an impromptu formation of sorts could do more harm than good. His first instinct was to try to guide them into a powerful killing blow- which sounded great, unless it failed. An obvious windup could just result in the attack being dodged, and then they would waste a great amount of energy on nothing. Nor did they have the coordination for it. But both John and Matayal had the water element, able to augment Kusuma. Air augmented earth. Next in the cycle was fire, then water again¡­ though any of the allied elements could instead lead into light or darkness. John hesitated to state his plan in front of Faramund¡­ but if they did it right, it didn¡¯t matter if he knew what they were doing. ¡°Everyone work with me!¡± John called out. ¡°Kusuma, assist Renato! Renato, lend your assistance to Lucanus! Lucanus, assist Zacharie!¡± For most of those steps, he could provide his own efforts- except for Zacharie, he could add another effort to any of the others. The only issue was the limit of his energy, but he tentatively reached out to Ciariztal. Though the guardian beast was putting his all into his own fight, he still immediately responded to John¡¯s probing request to draw upon his power. Inside of John, darkness was converted into the other elements, maintaining something of a balance. The battle didn¡¯t shift in their favor all at once. In fact, Zacharie suddenly became a target- but he knew his vulnerability, so he pulled away instead of attempting to clash. Faramund could have taken another step to stab his thin blade into Zacharie, but focusing on a single opponent for more than an instant would have left him wide open to everyone else. He might search for such opportunities later, but he had to respond to the immediate threats. A bit of air element added to Renato¡¯s swiftness- enhancing the threat of the mass of stone he wielded. Earth pushed the power of Lucanus¡¯ blue flames up to a higher level- if Yustina had not been needed to head off incoming enemy forces, no doubt the two of them would have grown even greater together. Lucanus¡¯ widespread attacks allowed Zacharie to pinpoint target his own attacks, and to keep his positioning relatively safer. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The first real injury on the head of the Society of Midnight came from Ciaritzal. His claws slashed across the man¡¯s ribs as he went for Renato. As a beast of spirit, an insubstantial opponent was only a small barrier for Ciaritzal who tore away black and red, droplets of blood splattering on the floor. In return, Renato was unable to fully avoid the incoming attack, and even his prodigious defenses couldn¡¯t prevent his shoulder from being stabbed through. His main hand grip on his weapon slackened, but he continued to fight with the arm dangling at his side. Zacharie managed the next strike- a seemingly small prick into Faramund¡¯s lower back while he tossed a dagger into Kusuma¡¯s midsection. The attack didn¡¯t penetrate deep immediately, but light and darkness flared up as they collided. After that point, the rotating of Faramund¡¯s torso was restrained- pained and slow, and though his arms twisted out of shape to block, parry, or attack all around him nothing was as effective as fighting from the front. It also limited the speed he could switch between dealing with any two opponents. John had several attacks fly through the darkness that was Faramund. He was unsure if they caused serious damage, but he attempted to draw away some of the darkness energy and apply the poison on the weapons to what ultimately had to be something more than just spiritual energy. After one such attack he was met with a terrifyingly close view of the point of a sword- slowed just enough by a barrier of water for him to duck to the side, receiving a gash along the side of his face and clipping his ear. At the same time Matayal stabbed her spear into Faramund¡¯s chest- but instead of withdrawing for another attack, she held it there. John followed up by directing electricity along her weapon, which burst out in the man¡¯s core. Water didn¡¯t have much destructive force against an allied element, but that burst of lightning was more. John had to cut it short, pulling himself and Matayal away as a counterattack came an instant later. Damage was being done. Faramund¡¯s momentum was no longer rising, and everyone was covering for each other more effectively. They were taking injuries, but they had a chance. As long as nobody did anything crazy, like throwing themself directly into Faramund. Fortunately, Faramund wasn¡¯t expecting such an insane action from Lucanus either. The burning blue fire surrounding Lucanus as he tackled provided just enough actual force to knock Faramund over. Renato had been ready to take a hit for Lucanus, but upon receiving such a wonderful opening he swung his stone club with his remaining good arm, directly down towards Faramund. That would result in more than just a shattered ribcage in normal cases. Against a stronger opponent that was partially insubstantial¡­ it appeared it was still close. Faramund twisted to avoid the attack and only had half his ribcage crack. As Faramund tumbled to his feet, his head twisted as if looking for an exit- but before he could attempt anything, the light energy gathered in Zacharies palm was blasted over him. John almost felt himself blinded despite it not being directed at him, and the diffuse energy did no direct harm¡­ but it did briefly reveal the battered body of the man in a more physical form. And more importantly, with his defenses stripped away for an instant. Jaws clamped down around his guts as Ciaritzal took full advantage of the opening. He ripped and tore, throwing his head back before chomping again. After the first attack Faramund managed a half effective stab into Ciaritzal, who didn¡¯t bother to avoid it. With the second chomp, another piece of him was torn away before he could recover defenses. Suddenly, the battle turned into an uncomfortable scene of a beast tearing apart a person. ¡°You wished to consume my power?¡± Ciaritzal dripped blood from a maw of darkness. ¡°I will consume you!¡± It came to John¡¯s attention that while his conflict with the Society of Midnight had felt long and bloody, it was less than two decades. Ciaritzal and the Tenebach clan had a feud that stretched back longer than a century. The guardian beast had never been shy about how much he hated the Society of Midnight, but he hadn¡¯t exactly had occasion to show his aggression. The only thing left of the man after five minutes was his head, scraps of armor, and the storage bag at his waist. ¡°Feel better?¡± John said, patting Ciaritzal on the back. ¡°Yes. Though that was not entirely for the sake of catharsis.¡± John could feel the power flowing through Ciaritzal, as the final piece of him was returned. Apparently there had been something of it inside Faramund, even if it could not be felt. Or eating such a powerful darkness cultivator was beneficial for the guardian beast. Perhaps even both. Ciaritzal¡¯s power flared, and his eyes filled with darkness. His head turned towards John- features barely visible even with his special vision. Then he leapt, mouth open wide, tackling John to the ground. The teeth seemed like they should have smelled like torn flesh and blood, but the tongue that licked John¡¯s face felt and smelled only like darkness. ¡°Thank you,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°I owe your Tenebach clan a great favor. Let us work well together in the future.¡± After picking himself up from that terrifying moment, John looked around. ¡°We should probably assist with the rest of the battle.¡± He picked up Faramund¡¯s head, likely left for the very purpose he intended. Before stepping out, however, he glanced at Kusuma. ¡°You¡­ are you alright?¡± Upon taking a closer look, she was clutching her stomach, a pained look on her face. ¡°We have to provide treatment immediately!¡± ¡±I don¡¯t think it will help,¡± Kusuma said sadly, blood trickling between her fingers. Then her face changed from sad pain to a wry but still pained grin. ¡°But you damn well better try! I trained you and your wife, I deserve that much at least.¡± ¡°Matayal!¡± John said, ¡°Check her bloodstream for poison! Anyone with medical expertise, help us here¡­ the rest, go join the battle.¡± He tossed the head to Renato, who nodded. His friend was many things, but trained in dealing with wounds was not one of them. Not beyond the basics any cultivator who survived for long knew. Chapter 166 At the conclusion of the battle, the one in the best shape was Ciaritzal, who was now more vigorous than before the battle. On the other end, aside from those who had perished, Kusuma and Deirdre were in the worst shape. John checked on Kusuma first- she was immediately nearby, after all. ¡°Stop fussing over me,¡± she waved him away. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± The fact that she could barely speak those words didn¡¯t fill John with much confidence. Being conscious was more due to her stubbornness than any sign of health. John was particularly concerned about potential traces of poisons still in her system, since she was nearly drained of spiritual energy. If some trouble arose, she wouldn¡¯t be able to purify herself. He didn¡¯t think he could remedy the situation except for offering some air element to help replenish her. The quantities of such elements wasn¡¯t exactly high in the Darklands. Deirdre was another problem. Her body was surprisingly intact given the torrent of energy Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s egg produced during the explosion. That is to say, she was injured- but not gravely so. Not on the surface, anyway. She had directed as much energy as possible away from her companions, absorbing it herself- damaging her own cultivation in the process. The fact that she wasn¡¯t dead was already a miracle, but she certainly wasn¡¯t conscious. John regretted entrusting her with the egg to some extent¡­ but it was also the case that she used it to take out the vice-head, Katla. Removing a powerful opponent from the battle had helped pave the way to victory. The real problem, perhaps, was discussing that the egg could be used in that manner to begin with. Deirdre was old enough to make her own informed decisions, he supposed, but even offering risky maneuvers like that was problematic. The Society of Midnight was looted, though after achieving their victory they took care to not unnecessarily damage the surroundings. That was part of the price for the aid of the Calamitous Swarm, and though John hadn¡¯t been present for much of their involvement in the battle, they were quite helpful in reducing casualties of the alliance. A portion of the spoils was set aside for them as well. The alliance did not stay long. While everyone could use some rest, rest in the Darklands was much less effective for those on the other side of the elemental spectrum. Several members of the Tenebach clan were assigned to Deirdre strictly to protect her from intrusion of darkness energy. Her body might begin to heal, but her spirit could not recover in such conditions. Kusuma wasn''t much better off, though air energy was not completely absent like light. After only two nights, they were back on the road. The Society of Midnight had no doubt called for the aid of further allies- or those who owed them favors. Their destruction might give some an excuse to stay out of the way, but others might wish to take advantage of fatigued cultivators. Despite previous business, it was decided that they would be returning along the same route. That would mean paying the Serpent Watchers a not-insignificant bribe, but it would also keep them out of uncertain territory. Whether the Serpent Watchers could be held to their word was another matter- preventing others from chasing after them aside, they might see the weakened army and push for further payment. John considered what he would do if that were to happen, and he decided the response would involve a particularly happy spirit beast hanging out inside him. Though they were not aware of any significant enemy forces in the region, they remained cautious while traveling- setting up fortifications along the way. Renato and the earth cultivators had to work hard for that, but they were among those who could properly replenish their spiritual energy, since earth was aligned with darkness. The closer they got to the Stone Conglomerate, the easier it would be for them. ----- Instead of attempting to avoid the Serpent Watchers, they adjusted their route to run into them as soon as possible. This would give the Serpent Watchers less advance warning, and though it was possible that they had kept their soldiers actively on guard for more than a week, it was more likely that most were standing down or taking on other duties until they were called upon. Simply pushing through the territory would give them time to gather them- and catch up to the army that would be moving slower and on unfamiliar roads. John met once more with Idartha- outside of the Serpent Watcher¡¯s fortified areas, but away from the rest of the army with him similarly to before. ¡°It is good to see you again,¡± John began. It wasn¡¯t, of course, as they were basically being shaken down¡­ but avoiding the conflict would be best. He didn¡¯t want to be responsible for lost lives over a relatively small amount of money. The fight against the Society of Midnight had been more about survival and revenge- their wealth was mostly going to go to paying back what was lost in the attempt. Though they¡¯d been successful enough that it would be somewhat profitable even after compensating families of the dead and allies. ¡°As previously said, we have returned¡­ with an offering of equipment and materials not tied down in what we need to function.¡± ¡°I believe we agreed on six percent,¡± Idartha said. ¡°Indeed,¡± John nodded. ¡°And twelve percent in local coinage. We have set aside the portions already, though you are welcome to inspect the remaining wagons. I am certain you have an approximate idea of what we are bringing back with us.¡± Ultimately they had decided on six percent of what they actually got before the split with the Calamitous Swarm. It was slightly more costly that way, but she should have nothing to complain about. ¡°We would prefer if you could be expedient about it, regardless. We have many people who wish to return to their homes without further conflict.¡± An excuse and a threat bundled together. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Idartha didn¡¯t respond immediately. No doubt considering if she might push further. John¡¯s face was set, determined. If she tried¡­ he knew he likely couldn¡¯t kill her before reinforcement from the nearby fortifications swarmed over him- and his side would back him up, turning it into a huge battle. John couldn¡¯t do it alone- or with just Matayal- but Ciaritzal would be a deciding factor there. Would they be the type who wanted revenge for their leader, or who were cowed by her death? ¡°Very well,¡± she nodded. ¡°We will begin immediately.¡± John relaxed slightly. It seemed it wouldn¡¯t come to that, but he wouldn¡¯t fully let down his guard. Inside him, Ciaritzal felt slightly disappointed. In the end, the bribe- for that was all it really was- went through without incident. They accepted the wagons set aside for them, and didn¡¯t press for examining any storage bags. Ultimately it was a good deal for them- they had to do nothing to get paid what was likely more than a year¡¯s worth of taxes from the nearby city of Kurgate. Whether or not they kept their promise to slow anyone following behind, at least they did not delay them much. ----- The Order of the Amber Heart split up shortly before the rest of the allied army arrived at the Tenebach clan. Their portion of the loot was already set aside, and they were only a short distance from home and would prefer to go directly. John didn¡¯t relax until they made it all the way back to the Tenebach clan¡¯s land, even though he knew there would be more trouble waiting for them. There had been traps set in Ciaritzal¡¯s lair, and the world wouldn¡¯t be so kind to leave him with no business to resolve after such a duration of absence from his duties. Most of it could be handled by others, but some would need at least his opinion if not his personal involvement. At least Matayal was with him. Even if the circumstances weren¡¯t ideal, spending more time with his wife was nice. Being together for little more than two months out of the year was far too little. Yet moving either clan was impractical, as they both had alliances, and of course moving a clan was not so simple as one small family changing houses. ----- The Golden Tomb Guardians passed through immediately- aside from the issue of Deirdre who had yet to regain consciousness, they also asked for no share of the loot. They had their own longstanding conflicts with the Society of Midnight and could make little profit from things useful for those who practiced the darkness element. The small exception were a few items stolen from them in previous conflicts that had been recovered. They weren¡¯t exactly selfless with their aid, and John knew that the Tenebach clan could easily be called upon in the future, but it was reasonable enough. The Mulyani clan set off with approximately half of the forces from the Brandle clan, the other half staying behind with Matayal for a time. Kusuma was appearing to recover, and it would be good for her to get to somewhere with the proper air energy as soon as possible, so she could accelerate that recovery. The Stone Conglomerate was not that place. Steve and Yustina stayed for a while longer, while the rest of the Milanovic clan returned. Once more the loot of the Society of Midnight was not directly useful, but they were closer to those who they could trade it with. Most of that would be left to the Tenebach clan, however- and payment would be returned in alternate materials or in future favors. ----- Given the circumstances, Ciaritzal didn¡¯t move back into his cave. It was an old arrangement anyway, sensible at the time but not reconsidered as decades passed. Instead of a place outside of the Tenebach clan¡¯s walls, he would have an underground area constructed. There was some talk about connecting those artificial tunnels to various sections of the clan, but in the event of an attack they could also be used by enemies- so that was still uncertain. Ciaritzal didn¡¯t require natural caves to begin with- it was simply a convenient place to store up darkness energy. The cave itself hadn¡¯t actually had inherent affinity for it compared to any other cave. Its location also hadn¡¯t done much to discourage certain naughty individuals from sneaking off into it, so having it in the center of the clan was more efficient. There was still retaliation to consider for the mercenaries who had dared to enter the area, triggering the traps. The Order and the Tenebach clan were the overlords of Marble County, and they had made it quite clear any involvement with the Society of Midnight would not be allowed. Coming from somewhere else wasn''t a good enough excuse- they would be expanding their influence and making it clear that they were more than just local powers. Eventually. After a good period of rest. ----- Of all the things John didn¡¯t expect in the near future, towards the top of the list would have been a giant glowing bird landing outside the Tenebach clan. But that was what happened not two weeks later. The members of the clan were reasonably quite alarmed, and John was surprised as well. When it asked for John and Ciaritzal, he wasn¡¯t any more surprised, but still somewhat confused. Hoping he wasn¡¯t about to go start a war with the Golden Tomb Guardians, John brough Ciartizal with him to meet Cuah¡¯arn. As they approached, Ciaritzal spoke first. ¡°We meet again¡­ Cuah¡¯arn.¡± ¡°Ciaritzal,¡± the glowing bird politely inclined her head. Ciaritzal¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t exactly friendly, carrying a somewhat mischievous tone, but it was polite. ¡°I do apologize for what happened last time we met. I was not given the choice.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Cuah¡¯arn bowed her head again. ¡°All is forgiven between us for that incident.¡± Something about that implied previous grudges¡­ but neither seemed interested in fighting at the moment. ¡°I thought it would be rude to enter your territory without speaking to you in person, but my main business is with Fortkran.¡± John smiled. While Cuah¡¯arn was certainly intimidatingly powerful, she had also not intentionally harmed John. With Ciaritzal by his side he felt quite comfortable. ¡°We meet again, and so soon. How can I assist?¡± Cuah¡¯arn stepped back, revealing a prone figure beneath her. Deirdre. How awkward. ¡°I feel somewhat responsible for what happened to this one. I require the assistance of one who wields the darkness element with finesse¡­ and who would not inevitable cause a catastrophic explosion should our energies mingle accidentally.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John nodded, ¡°If you could explain what we will be doing, I will be glad to offer my assistance as I am able.¡± Chapter 167 Taking note that he was outside in a random field with Cuah¡¯arn, John make a suggestion. ¡°Perhaps we should move inside somewhere? Where Deirdre isn¡¯t just lying on a rock?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you have a location suited for either of us. At best, anywhere within your clan would increase our discomfort,¡± the great bird of light responded. ¡°Regardless of how things go, a short time in the dirt will not significantly harm this woman.¡± ¡°Alright, fine,¡± John nodded. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± ¡°Deirdre¡¯s cultivation was overloaded with excessive light element,¡± Cuah¡¯arn explained. ¡°She has not retained consciousness, and left unchecked it will destroy her. You need to remove it.¡± ¡°Pardon me, but would it not be safer for someone of the same element such as yourself to perform this task?¡± ¡°I considered that option,¡± Cuah¡¯arn crouched down closer to John and the comatose Deirdre. ¡°Performing this task myself would be risky, as my compatibility with her is low. I could easily worsen the situation. The same is likely true of others from the Golden Tomb Guardians.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe that necessarily makes me a better choice. I have very little experience with the light element, and all of it quite¡­ combative. I could easily destroy her from the inside out on accident.¡± ¡°You could,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said matter-of-factly, ¡°But you have more experience rooting around inside others than anyone I know in the current year.¡± ¡°Do I?¡± John frowned. Depending on parameters, that might be true. Dual cultivation with Matayal was cooperative, but certainly counted to some extent. He ripped shards of Ciaritzal out of many people. On the other end, he stabilized Aydan when he attempted the same with less success, helped Renato break through to Foundation Phase, and removed a claw of Ciaritzal from Cuah¡¯arn herself. ¡°It is possible I have more experience than others,¡± John admitted, ¡°But I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s enough to make up for opposite elements.¡± ¡°It will have to,¡± Cuah¡¯arn stated. ¡°Ciarizal will be able to provide you with necessary energy, should you run low. It is too late to explore other options. Perhaps we are already too late for this.¡± John sighed, ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± He did feel partially responsible for Deirdre¡¯s situation. Cautioning against a certain course of action wasn¡¯t as helpful as simply making sure it couldn¡¯t happen. If he hadn¡¯t given her the egg, she couldn¡¯t have done what she did. John sat next to the comatose woman on the hard ground. He extended his senses, focusing on using the air element within him that should be least negatively reactive with the light. Deirdre¡¯s meridians were flooded, but not in the proper way that someone brimming with energy should be. Instead, light element clung to the edges of her meridians like plaque in arteries. That wasn¡¯t mere speculation- John had the unfortunate experience of having seen that. Or perhaps fortunate, as a cultivator¡¯s ability to deal with such issues before they grew was likely one contributor to their extended lifespans. But he shouldn¡¯t let himself get distracted. Energy was not flowing through the meridians, but remaining stagnant- half clogged, but without flow regardless. If he didn¡¯t know better, the complete lack of circulation might make him presume Deirdre was dead. He attempted to coax some sort of change with his air energy, but the light element was unfortunately too unreactive. Attempting to control the light element directly just made John¡¯s head hurt- he had minimal control over free light energy to begin with, and this already had Deirdre¡¯s patterns engraved in it. Water and earth weren¡¯t much better. The light pushed back against him instinctively, increasing the pressure inside Deirdre¡¯s meridians. Though he didn¡¯t really know if darkness would be better, he had to try. He created the smallest tendril of darkness energy he could imagine, smaller than a hair. He carefully brought it to the entrance of one of Deirdre¡¯s meridians. As light and darkness met, the light lunged forward, clinging around the hair-thin tendril of darkness. What sounded like a single small explosion was actually a series as light wrapped around the tendril, reacting as it made its way up. A small patch of blood appeared on Deirdre¡¯s palm, skin scraped away in the event. And that was with everything happening outside of her body. Within her meridians would be a mess. And yet, John could sense the entrance of that meridian had cleared slightly, and while there was no proper flow of energy still some of it was squeezing through her meridian from further in. ¡°Cuah¡¯arn,¡± John said. ¡°If you could protect her, I can make at least a small amount of progress drawing the energy out.¡± It took some doing, with Cuah¡¯arn having to make a small pocket for John¡¯s energy to slip through. He felt the light energy straining to latch onto his darkness and annihilate it, but it was tightly controlled. Keeping his own tendril of darkness from reacting like the light energy around it was magnetically attractive took significantly more work on his part. If he was in the exact middle, he could almost ignore the pull. Another explosion of energy pulled from a different meridian, but this time properly contained away from Deirdre. There wasn¡¯t enough to cause danger to John, but he still tried to make sure his tendrils of darkness were extended as far as possible so that there was never too much potentially interacting. Repeating the same process for every meridian was exhausting, and once that was done he had only cleared a small portion near the surface. He was already feeling drained, as controlling a fine point of darkness took a lot more effort than anticipated. Ciaritzal¡¯s presence helped replenish him. There was some aspect of moral support, but more practical was Ciaritzal directly giving him a steady stream of energy. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Now what? John couldn¡¯t expect even a small explosion inside Deirdre to have any sort of result he could accept. With the entrances cleared, he could likely have a strand of energy find its way inside only to be immediately annihilated past the entrance. ¡°Cuah¡¯arn,¡± John said. ¡°If you could redouble your hold on your energy, and especially focus on the portion protecting Deidre¡­ I¡¯m going to attempt something. Keep the path to that meridian open.¡± Since it already seemed instinctual for light and darkness to seek each other out and annihilate each other, he planned to work with that. He focused a small concentration of energy, using it as a lure. The darkness called in what he hoped was an enticing manner. He felt some light element slowly begin to be drawn towards his lure and then¡­ it surged forward, a crack of power flinging his palm away. He looked at his hand. No real damage, but it stung. The explosion hadn¡¯t been enough to break through his defenses, but the shock could still be felt. Deirdre was¡­ fine. Cuah¡¯arn had reacted quickly enough to seal the remaining opening as the explosion happened, likely minimizing it by cutting off the flow as well. This was harder than John thought it would be, and that had already been quite difficult. He had to be aware of that acceleration. Pulling on the light element with a steady flow was important. His next few attempts were somewhat better, and soon he¡¯d cleared out the second portion of each meridian. How long had it been? The daylight was fading¡­ but rather than concerning himself with that, he accepted the comfort of natural darkness. When he found he could not entice any more light element to leave its domain, John knew he would have to dive deeper. That was where he truly couldn¡¯t afford any mistakes. As he began to explore another meridian, he noticed there were still pockets of light energy embedded in the walls of the meridians. Something akin to crystals, more solid and less usable. Moving past them would be risky, but interacting with them would be dangerous as well. They seemed fairly set in place, as John attempted to attract them towards his own energy. If he got too much closer he was worried they would suddenly break free and catch onto his tendrils. Yet he couldn¡¯t exactly form a lure for the energy beyond them without being closer. He¡¯d have to see if he could remove them. With the energy more solidified, he decided to try again with air element. At worst there would be minimal reactions. It wasn¡¯t exactly made for grasping onto things, but he managed to pull on a tiny crystal- more akin to a grain of sand or something- wresting it free from its position. It seemed pulling it out would require more effort, and John could tell he wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain that with the air element alone. He intended to coax the loose grain along with his darkness energy, but he got too close. It suddenly lunged towards his lure, and he could only instinctually react by smothering it, his energy wrapping around it to contain the explosion. He couldn¡¯t even hear it, but it was surprisingly difficult to contain. The internal damage it could have caused was much worse than what actually happened, though John could see some scarring around the area. He hadn¡¯t perfectly contained it. One mistake like that wasn¡¯t too much, but if every meridian had a small bit of damage, or several¡­ it wouldn¡¯t say much for her health. As John grew more tired, a sensible person might have told him to stop- but he didn¡¯t have that thought, and he moved into some sort of flow state. Loosing crystals, carefully pulling them out of the meridians or occasionally destroying them where they were, containing the damage. He worked his way along one meridian until he reached Deirdre¡¯s dantian, where everything was the same¡­ but more. A lure of darkness carefully extended to the area, and when the light element began to attract towards it he withdrew at a steady rate. However, the light sped up. John did as well, but it only pulled the light more quickly. He had to weave his way back out avoiding touching the walls of the meridians as much as possible, and he stopped attempting to lure the energy, but it kept following him. As his tendril of darkness managed to pull its way out, a burst of light element followed. John threw up his arms, absorbing the initial impact, but as if floodgates were unleashed the light element exploded out of that meridian- and the ones parallel to it. John was knocked flying, but while it seemed problematic at first, that simply meant he got to spread out the absorption of energy over a longer period. And Ciaritzal even softened his fall. ¡°Damn,¡± John cursed, ¡°I messed up.¡± He couldn¡¯t see Deirdre at the moment, the explosion of light briefly blinding him, but he reached out with his senses. Her body seemed intact, at least. And then¡­ there was movement. ¡°... What?¡± Deirdre sat up suddenly. Her head jerked around. ¡°Where am I? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Relax,¡± John said slowly. ¡°Just take a moment to calm yourself. What¡¯s the last thing you remember?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ there was a bridge?¡± ¡°A bridge?¡± John frowned. ¡°What about the battle?¡± ¡°The battle?¡± John could vaguely see Deirdre¡¯s face now, his eyes recovering. Her brow furrowed in concentration. ¡°... There was an explosion?¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± John nodded. ¡°It flooded you with a bit too much light element. It¡¯s normal to be disoriented for a bit.¡± ¡°Light element¡­¡± she slowly nodded. ¡°Um, right.¡± ¡°If you can, I¡¯d suggest carefully circulating your energy. Your meridians and dantian might be in a poor state. The sooner you begin the healing process, the better.¡± ¡°Okay so¡­ I just have to do¡­ that thing you said¡­¡± ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t, actually,¡± John said. ¡°You seem off balance still. Maybe have something to eat or drink?¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± Deidre nodded, squinting at him. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Fortkran, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. ¡°You know me.¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯m Odette.¡± ¡°What?¡± John asked. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Cuah¡¯arn interposed some of her feathers between the two of them. ¡°Could you translate what you are saying for me?¡± ¡°Translate?¡± John responded automatically. ¡°Ah, crap.¡± Chapter 168 Upon realizing what had been happening, John knew he had to take advantage of the situation while Deirdre was still confused. If this had been her for a longer period it was a bit of an intrusion of privacy, but if it was a new person in there then they needed to know that. Transmigrators should be people like anyone else, and trusting them incautiously would be a mistake. ¡°What killed you?¡± John asked in English. ¡°Car crash? Heart disease?¡± John wasn¡¯t actually sure what the top causes of death were, but he just wanted to keep this person off guard. ¡°For me it was a car crash.¡± ¡°... I think it was a big light explosion?¡± Deirdre frowned. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make sense. Is this heaven? How do I know you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not heaven,¡± John replied. ¡°As for the latter, I believe we¡¯ve technically never met. I¡¯m John,¡± he extended his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Same here,¡± not-Deirdre said. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Deirdre?¡± ¡°Try the other one,¡± John said. ¡°Odette?¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Odette.¡± ¡°Why is there a bird made of light and a spooky black thing?¡± she said looking around. ¡°You died and came to another world that basically has magic,¡± John explained. ¡°Fortkran¡­¡± Cuah¡¯arn appeared to be getting impatient. ¡°Sorry,¡± he replied to her. ¡°It appeared that Deirdre died.¡± He had to assume that conversation on this side would be understood by Odette despite her disorientation, but that was just how things would have to be. ¡°I must admit,¡± Cuah¡¯arn replied, ¡°I am used to those who are dead being less¡­ active.¡± ¡°I believe I understand what is going on here,¡± Ciaritzal replied. ¡°You will need to take a closer look.¡± He looked to John, who just shrugged. He wasn¡¯t sure if Cuah¡¯arn knew his secret, but it wasn¡¯t a terrible concern if it was revealed. One of Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s great feathered wings rested lightly atop the head of ¡®Deirdre¡¯. The connection between the Golden Tomb Guardians and Cuah¡¯arn was not quite the same as the Tenebach clan and Ciaritzal, though perhaps it was going to be that way now that Cuah¡¯arn was healthy. After a few moments, Cuah¡¯arn withdrew. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°See what?¡± Odette asked, finally speaking in the local language. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just what I said before,¡± John explained. ¡°You¡¯re just in someone else¡¯s body now.¡± Cuah¡¯arn seemed to be taking it as well as expected for someone who had asked John to save a disciple. ¡°She died¡­¡± Odette hugged her legs against her. ¡°... why does everything hurt?¡± ¡°Your meridians are not in a great state,¡± John explained. ¡°I¡¯d suggest slowly cultivating to repair the damage.¡± ¡°Cultivating? Like¡­ farming?¡± ¡°Just think about it,¡± John said. ¡°The information should come to you.¡± John had a significant amount of time alone when he came to, so he¡¯d figured this out on his own. This seemed significantly more stressful, but beating around the bush probably wouldn¡¯t have helped. Odette closed her eyes, and John could feel her slowly begin to circulate what light element was left inside her. Cuah¡¯arn covered her, providing a steady trickle of energy that she would otherwise be unable to obtain much of in the Stone Conglomerate. After half an hour or so, she stopped. ¡°Thank you for mentioning that,¡± she said. ¡°I feel a bit better. This feels like a dream, though.¡± Her eyes looked up to the large glowing bird looming over her, which was hopefully more comforting for her than it was for John. ¡°I can assure you that it is real,¡± John replied. ¡°Though another person that speaks English seemed a little unlikely.¡± This would really spark some theories in the Club. ¡°... what should I do now?¡± she asked, looking between John and Cuah¡¯arn. ¡°Cultivation is quite fulfilling, if dangerous,¡± John said. ¡°Though not cultivating in this world might be more dangerous. It¡¯s hard to say. Either way, I¡¯m certain Cuah¡¯arn can aid you¡­¡± He was hoping so, at least. Not that he was worried about the spirit beast''s capabilities, but rather her willingness. ¡°Of course,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said. ¡°We still desire you to be part of the sect.¡± That was surprisingly easy- then again, cultivators were generally practical. It made sense that spirit beasts would be the same. Deirdre was dead, why not have someone replace her? Though John was unsure if there had been some deeper connection between the two. With him and Ciaritzal, they¡¯d only met in the formal capacity and Fortkran had been terrible. ¡°I will handle things from here,¡± Cuah¡¯arn turned to John. ¡°Thank you for your assistance. If she has trouble adjusting, I may ask for your assistance¡­ John, was it?¡± ¡°You picked out my name among everything else? I suppose I shouldn¡¯t be surprised.¡± John inclined his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel any change in you¡­¡± Cuah¡¯arn said. ¡°I assume it was before we met?¡± Ciaritzal answered that one. ¡°The previous one was quite intolerable. Fortunately, it has been many years since anyone had to deal with him.¡± ¡°We shall be off now,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said. ¡°I hope you do not have problems with heights.¡± ¡°What?¡± With that, Deirdre or Odette was lifted up by Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s talons slipping around her shoulders, and they flew off. The woman being carried was momentarily surprised, but seemed not too afraid. Then again, they were hardly close long enough for John to get a good sense. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°This complicates things,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°It sure does,¡± John nodded. ¡°But, if we can remain allies¡­ it should be fine.¡± Ciaritzal grinned, the silhouettes of his teeth uncomfortably visible from a side angle. ¡°If I need to fight Cuah¡¯arn again, my advancement should make it a good showing.¡± ----- With that complication out of the way, John was able to return to dealing with the other complications in his life. He would have to eventually inform the club of Odette¡¯s existence, though whether she remained anonymous or was invited to join them was ultimately going to be up to how she adapted. With another person speaking English, it was almost guaranteed that people were being pulled from Earth, though in what quantity it was hard to say. If there were too many transmigrators it would likely become obvious, but a handful or even a few dozen throughout surrounding countries wouldn¡¯t be totally disruptive. What was disruptive was children. John loved his children very much, but sometimes they could be disruptive. They were growing up so fast, and while that did mean they were becoming more mature¡­ it also meant puberty. That meant the children being able to get into new varieties of trouble if he and Matayal didn¡¯t properly guide them, but at least it also meant that Ursel wouldn¡¯t be sneaking around as easily. Though she¡¯d already stolen a full set of materials for Diamond Defense, so anything further would just be because she liked the crunch. Though she didn¡¯t really need to steal anything. The more time passed, the more resources were being set aside for training up the young master and young mistresses. There was only a single matter of concern, which was Ursel herself. The clans were splitting the costs there, but she wasn¡¯t going to become clan head of either. She wasn¡¯t interested in joining the Order of the Amber Heart, either. Oh, she was glad to train with Renato- at ten years old she and the others were now in the Foundation Phase despite the caution put forward in training them. She could bash a stone club into the floor and cause earthquakes better than pretty much any member of the Order a decade older than her. She was only slightly limited by her still growing body, but spiritual energy made up the bulk of a cultivator¡¯s power. Yet despite her success in that area, she wasn¡¯t interested in joining the Order. ¡°Dad! I want to train with you!¡± If anyone was allowed to be informal, it was the triplets- though the other two usually still kept some amount of formality on account of their future duties. Tirto was just that polite, and Melanthina chose her words carefully to get the effect she wanted. ¡°Of course you can train with me,¡± John said. ¡°Though I have to say I¡¯m nowhere near good as Renato is.¡± ¡°Not with earth!¡± Ursel folded her arms. ¡°Darkness! ¡­ And without Melanthina, because she¡¯ll make fun of me.¡± John frowned, ¡°Why do you want to train darkness?¡± ¡°Because uh, um¡­ I want to¡­ diversify my abilities?¡± John wanted to make fun of her for using a ¡®fancy¡¯ word like diversify, but he had to respond seriously to the rest. ¡°That could be useful, but you have such a great affinity for earth I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll get much out of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what mom said about water!¡± ¡°And?¡± John waited for an answer. ¡°... I learned some.¡± ¡°Did you now. Show me.¡± ¡°Well, uh¡­ it wasn¡¯t anything impressive, really. Not like Tirto.¡± John held out his cupped hand, filling his palm with water. Terribly inefficient compared to just finding some already around, but it was more expedient. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Well¡­ okay.¡± Ursel stepped forward. A year or two before John would have had to bend down for her to see into his palm, now she was just a bit taller than a comfortable position to hold it. She furrowed her brow in concentration, slowly drawing some water element from the air to power her efforts. She didn¡¯t store any, unlike John- though she didn¡¯t have a totem for it, so it was quite reasonable. Slowly, the water in John¡¯s palm climbed up to form a spike of ice. ¡°See?¡± ¡°Pretty good,¡± John nodded. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to control an element without a totem.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Ursel said. ¡°Anyway, teach me darkness!¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± John said. ¡°We can go to the tunnels.¡± Ursel grabbed John¡¯s sleeve as he began to turn. ¡°Can we¡­ not?¡± ¡°Why not? John said. ¡°Somewhere with the greatest amount of the proper energy will be easiest.¡± ¡°Because¡­ Melanthina will be there. And Ciaritzal might tell her if she¡¯s not.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John nodded. ¡°Then, to my personal training room.¡± It was not the same room from before- that room now belonged to Melanthina, as the young mistress of the Tenebach clan. Besides, a room that only condensed darkness was no longer optimal for John¡¯s needs. The room needed no adjusting for them- unless specifically tuned to something else, darkness was the natural state for the training room, the energy coming up from the constructed tunnels where Ciaritzal now lived. John slowly began to guide Ursel on controlling darkness, guiding her through absorption and control. Ursel was attempting to concentrate the darkness into a smaller area, instead of being diffuse and ineffective. Otherwise, anyone could just see through it- or ignore whatever other effects it was controlled to make. John could see the concentrations changing, but at the point it almost became useful even in a small area, Ursel¡¯s control slipped and the energy scattered around the room. ¡°I¡¯m terrible,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Useless.¡± She was on the verge of tears for some reason, so John wrapped an arm around her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re a great cultivator. Most people haven¡¯t even started at your age. And nobody¡¯s good at everything.¡± ¡°... you are,¡± Ursel said. ¡°You can control every element and I can only do one.¡± ¡°First of all,¡± John said, ¡°You¡¯re already better at earth control than me. I just have a higher cultivation. And my fire control is pathetic, with light being¡­ even worse. There¡¯s more than just the elements, too. I¡¯m not particularly good with weapons, just ask swordmaster Brage.¡± ¡°You¡¯re way stronger than him though,¡± Ursel shook her head. ¡°Only because I have more power. If we were close in power, he would beat me.¡± ¡°But you aren¡¯t. You¡¯re stronger than everyone.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°What about your mother, or Renato?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t count.¡± ¡°There are many others in the Consolidated Soul Phase,¡± John said, ¡°And not all of them are our allies. Your natural affinity for earth is high, and Renato said your weapons skills are improving quickly. Not just the stone club, either. What¡¯s wrong with focusing on what you¡¯re good at?¡± ¡°... I didn¡¯t get to choose.¡± ¡°Most people don¡¯t,¡± John said. ¡°They¡¯re limited by what techniques they can get, and their country of origin.¡± He also wanted to mention there were other areas where people didn¡¯t get to choose. Like Tirto and Melanthina didn¡¯t have a choice but to take over the clans. That was for later, though. Comfort for now, practicality later. Chapter 169 While he made sure to put in the effort, John found that any real success with the fire element was bound to be a long time off. He would be much more effective once he had a totem, but conversely he needed to have a certain attachment to fire to be able to select a good totem. Resisting the pressure within the sea of spiritual totems was just the first step. Besides needing that affinity, there was another simple reason. For years he had remained at the threshold between early and mid Consolidated Soul Phase. That was perfectly normal, but was a significant change from earlier rapid advancement. Yet if he had continued advancing even yearly, he should soon expect to be in the Ascending Soul Phase soon enough. Given that only one person had achieved that rank on record anywhere John had been, he shouldn¡¯t expect it to be an easy process. Faramund had taken most of a very long lifespan to reach that point- long enough for many generations of the Tenebach clan to come and go. Expecting things to be quick was simply greedy. It was fortunate he¡¯d never really gotten to settle into his power. Whether the advancement was rushed by their attack on the Society of Midnight or simply coincidentally timed was unclear, but that level of power still made John shudder when he thought about it. Ciaritzal was nearly that powerful after having restored himself, but leaning too much on him would be a problem. John had no reason to believe that Ciaritzal wasn¡¯t planning to continue his alliance with the Tenebach clan- if he had, he¡¯d missed the opportune moment- but ultimately the guardian beast had different thought patterns than a human. Relying on a single powerful individual was just asking for their forces to get whittled away regardless. Ultimately, if John never advanced again and the Tenebach clan stagnated as it was for his lifespan¡­ he had still been wildly successful. Even so, there was always a better future to look forward to, a world where his children were secure. And he was certain he could continue to advance his own cultivation given time and effort. ----- Dark storm clouds gathered atop the peak, crackling with lightning. For Kaimana, that meant a perfectly normal day. That was why the island had been chosen as the location to host the Mulyani clan. Such a storm carried more air element than water, and its previous occupants had not been strong enough to hold their position. Perhaps somewhere in the Blustering Peaks would have been optimal, but the competition had simply been too fierce. By the time Kusuma felt up for the challenge, it was too difficult to move a clan. Even one relatively small by such standards. She took stock of the clan cultivators. Few had displayed great talent- at least, not enough to stand out from the others. That was unfortunate, but at least she knew their future was secure for a while due to alliances. The Brandle clan would swiftly come to their aid if called upon, and the Tenebach clan would do the same- simply from a further distance. Kusuma wondered if the lives of her descendents had been too difficult or too easy, for them to turn out so bland. Or perhaps she shouldn¡¯t always compare people to herself. Mere decades before she¡¯d been comfortable resting in the Soul Expansion Phase without more than the ambition of reaching her peak cultivation. Seeing the growth of youth had spurred her forward, but perhaps she¡¯d put too much of herself in that rapid advancement. Or just overestimated herself. She gingerly placed a hand on her belly. She knew that the Tenebach kid would have tried to help if he knew she had such a lingering wound. Perhaps he might have¡­ but the risk that the burrowing darkness would have harmed him instead was too great. What did it matter to Kusuma if her life was cut short a few years, compared to the potential harm for a lifetime of someone with that talent? So the kid was nearly forty now¡­ that meant he had a good century left to go, at least. Unless something damaged his cultivation he had an amazing future. Truthfully, even if it had been removed Kusuma knew the darkness inside her had done the majority of its damage already. Her cultivation dropped from the mid Consolidated Soul Phase she had pushed herself to achieve back into the early phase. The lingering trouble was nothing compared to that. Someone knocked on her door. She hadn¡¯t called for anyone, but she supposed she¡¯d been avoiding people lately. That was the sort of attitude that ultimately had people check up on you. ¡°Come in.¡± Asih was not who Kusuma had expected. A timid girl, hardly suited to the wild power of air. Her cultivation talent was not bad, but besides advancing her cultivation Kusuma had yet to see anything come of it. ¡°Matriarch Kusuma. There are delegations from the Blustering Peaks here to see you.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there always?¡± she asked. ¡°There are,¡± Asih nodded. ¡°Few others come to our harbors. Many seek cultivation advice or brides.¡± ¡°Oh? Any catch your eye?¡± ¡°No. Their talent is insignificant, or they would manage on their own. I came to ask for permission to officially turn them away.¡± ¡°Do what you wish,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°If anyone of note arrives, you can send for me. Otherwise¡­ I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Asih nodded her head again, her expression neutral. ¡°I will relay your words.¡± Kusuma sighed as she closed the door behind her. Who was sending the girl on errands such as this? She watched her for a bit, but didn¡¯t find her reporting back to anyone immediately. Kusuma returned her thoughts to the brewing storm. In the past she would have eagerly stood upon the tallest tower and fought the lightning, but she simply didn¡¯t feel up for it at the moment. ----- Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Of course you managed to advance before me once more,¡± John smiled earnestly as he once more met with Matayal upon Pualani. ¡°I can only struggle behind you.¡± Then he shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that makes it sound as if you do not put in the same sort of effort. What have you been doing?¡± ¡°The same as before,¡± she said. ¡°Meditating in the presence of the sea god.¡± ¡°Any luck with communication?¡± John asked. ¡°Or does it simply continue to sleep?¡± ¡°It sleeps. Not only that it¡­ perhaps I should not speculate.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± John asked. ¡°Speculate away.¡± ¡°It seems to be weakening,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Though perhaps as my own power grew I lost objectivity in that regard. It could be due to its long hibernation, and not being a spirit entity I would assume it requires some sustenance. Or I could be mistaken.¡± ¡°We could find out,¡± John replied. ----- As they were preparing to leave, Tirto came to find them. That was not terribly odd, since he was quite fond of his mother. John tried to bond with him as well when he got the chance, but spending about half the year away separated from his children had made that difficult. He tried to avoid the urge to monopolize Matayal¡¯s time during the two months of overlap they had so they could spend enough time with their children to make them turn out¡­ normal? Or well adjusted, at least. There was no way normal was going to happen given various circumstances. ¡°I want to go with you,¡± Tirto said. ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± Matayal said automatically. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°... Foundation Phase cultivators go to the Kelp Spire Forest all the time.¡± He had them there. He wasn¡¯t a weak kid anymore. He was still a kid, but there were many adults weaker than him now. Early Foundation Phase was still relatively low on the totem pole of cultivators, but it wasn¡¯t the level of a beginner. John and Matayal exchanged looks. He gestured for her to speak, trusting her to make the right judgment. Her words meant more to Tirto, and she should be more familiar with the risks. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to go with us into the depths,¡± Matayal explained. ¡°That is too dangerous. However, if you wish to take advantage of the opportunity to train in the Kelp Spire Forest, that could be arranged. Your sisters might wish to come along as well.¡± Tirto nodded. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t pleased with that idea, but he also knew he couldn¡¯t argue with it. And as far as siblings went, the triplets got along quite well. They squabbled sometimes, but that was normal. And for the sake of those watching over them, the fact that they weren¡¯t always coordinated made it possible to deal with them. Just the more mischievous two caused a lot of trouble, and if Tirto were to ally with his sisters in shenanigans they could be an even bigger menace. Though the girls had gotten many of the most obvious troubles out of their system already. ¡°Will we get to fight?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Matayal nodded, ¡°But you will need your guardians. The two of us will be bringing our own, naturally. It would not do for the young master of the Brandle clan to be easily subject to the random dangers of the world.¡± Perhaps it wasn¡¯t fair that those from powerful clans or sects had guardians that kept them from experiencing true danger, but life was never fair. And John and Matayal certainly weren¡¯t going to risk their children¡¯s lives for some perceived notion of ¡®fair¡¯. It was still a bit early for them to be getting practical combat experience- they were still not even teenagers, and would normally not have begun cultivating on any serious level. It was difficult and slow for those who were young, and there were other dangers as well. The triplets simply didn¡¯t have the option to not cultivate. ----- When given the option to go on an adventure, obviously Ursel and Melanthina jumped at the opportunity. Thus, the excursion turned into a larger endeavor than previously intended. It was already something significant for the two clan heads to be going somewhere together, but with the heirs to the two clans going along as well, it required more security. At that point, they supposed they might as well organize a proper excursion, offering opportunities to other members of the Brandle clan. That meant making use of more vessels, though they were not short on available ships. They had come into possession of some fairly decent ones in previous conflicts, and they¡¯d always had some. The number of people involved meant that there would be no use for Captain Sohan¡¯s services- the Wavecutter¡¯s feature was its great speed, not capacity or comfort. Ships that could sail in a fleet were better. Arranging for everyone took more time, and being required to go around storms likewise added on more days. It was an unfortunate chunk of John¡¯s month in the area, but on the other hand he got to spend that time with his family¡­ even if there wasn¡¯t much exciting about waiting for ships to be readied or traveling on them. The triplets were already used to journeys back and forth between the clans, and a slightly different route didn¡¯t add much excitement. The fleet couldn¡¯t moor directly inside the Kelp Spire Forest- taking larger ships there was dangerous- but they were able to anchor at a nearby island. That was another thing that took more people, watching the ships. It was unlikely anyone would get any ideas about stealing from them, but having the force to remind them was always the correct choice. Instead of diving directly into the depths like they had planned, the two parents watched their children try to adapt to the new environment. Aggressive beasts roamed the waters, but near the surface the trio was capable of fighting against some of them. Tirto was the most effective underwater, while the other two did better on the spires themselves. It wasn¡¯t quite land, though the spires were moldable by earth element techniques. That was both a benefit and a drawback for Ursel, since she could do more things but also had to make sure she wasn¡¯t destabilizing a large structure. Letting danger approach the triplets was one of the hardest things John ever had to do. He knew they were cultivators, but trusting his own assessment of their combat strength versus any incoming beasts was difficult. Both he and Matayal were likely guilty of pruning down the number of enemies too much¡­ and even then, Ursel and Melanthina received minor injuries. At any moment either of the parents could have annihilated the attacking beasts, but keeping the triplets too safe wouldn¡¯t be good for their futures. There wouldn¡¯t always be someone stronger around to protect them. Chapter 170 As it turned out, most people ultimately cared less about who they talked to than the results they achieved. Kaimana was conveniently placed to be one of the few viable rest points between the Blustering Peaks and the majority of the Shimmering Islands, at least by direct route. Those who passed by frequently were interested in signing long term contracts for better deals, and Asih was quite capable of negotiating acceptable rates in that regard. A few individuals really did wish to meet Kusuma, but whether or not she would provide them guidance ultimately was up to her. She could be quite fickle, refusing to interact with people she didn¡¯t find interesting. Enough people passed by that it would be impossible for one person to keep on top of every detail, and Asih didn¡¯t even attempt it. Reviewing things at the end of the week was good enough. The Mulyani clan wasn¡¯t in a position where they could levy more than basic taxes on those passing through, so the financial numbers were much less than the clan members brought in from various excursions, but every revenue stream was significant. Most of the time, things looked good. If there had been a significant problem during the week someone would have come to her. Things remained more or less the same, but reviewing events was a good practice. This week, everything lined up as well. There was only one thing that nagged in the back of her mind. She stepped out to see her assistant. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± he asked. ¡°Four days ago,¡± Asih said. ¡°Remnants of the Kartal clan came through, is that correct?¡± ¡°If it is in the summary, it is accurate,¡± he nodded. ¡°Why? Should we have informed you? It is my understanding the conflicts with them were resolved, and the score settled in our favor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Asih nodded. ¡°Those conflicts were settled years ago.¡± Something bothered her though, so she found herself on the way to see Matriarch Kusuma. The explanation was short and simple. There really wasn¡¯t much to say, just a hunch. Yet Kusuma¡¯s response was even more concerning. ¡°Prepare me a ship.¡± ----- Somehow, John felt that Aydan and Crystin along with the triplet¡¯s normal guards seemed insufficient. There was no logical basis for that, considering that there was also a significant portion of the Brandle clan present. It wasn¡¯t even cultivator intuition, warning him of something he couldn¡¯t sense. Instead, it was something deeper and harder to ignore- parental worrying. Not the helpful kind that actually solved problems, but the kind that wouldn¡¯t let him ignore things that were perfectly safe. On a practical level, the triplets were stronger than most adults, and even when considering cultivator clans and sects in the region they were not weak. It was the same sort of worry he felt whenever they were at the Brandle clan without him- completely unjustified, because there was no way Matayal would let harm come to them and she was one of the strongest people he knew. He knew that this was simply a thing humans had to deal with, and did his best to temper it. Otherwise, he might smother the children with worry. He wasn¡¯t even going far- but it was significant enough of a distance that it was at least vaguely reasonable. A couple kilometers on the surface was much different than the same distance straight down. That was where he and Matayal were going of course, along with Livna and Yonit because having backup was always preferable. He had appreciated the intimacy of his first time in the deep sea with Matayal, but he would have been happier to not have to worry about constant danger. Descending was simple. They were more than a full phase stronger, and anything that picked a fight with them on the way down simply didn¡¯t have good judgment. There were a few creatures that might have been unlucky to come across them with unclear intents- perhaps they would have moved on, but they found themselves impaled upon spears upon entering within a certain threshold. Within an hour, they were beyond the deepest John had gone- though it felt much less oppressive than the previous time. Matayal¡¯s unconcerned demeanor helped as well. They passed by their little cave- no doubt intentionally- but there wasn¡¯t much to say about it. The memories were good ones, after they had survived to reminisce. They¡¯d first been drawn into the depth by the great inhalation of the sea god. Now, they were approaching it with intent. The magnitude of the creature made its power seem less- the vastness of its energy stretched out over the whole terrain. As the group descended into the ravine once more- though John had barely gone beyond the lip- abundant life once again began to show itself. John already knew that pieces of the terrain were in fact molded over the body of the slumbering sea god itself, but it was strange to actually sense it himself. With John¡¯s proficiency in the earth element he was able to pierce through the layers of stone atop it more easily for a clearer picture, though it was still just the same myriad of fins and strange layout previously described to him. He had no idea what such a thing might look like if it were actually moving around. Matayal brought them to a cave with a strange flow of water. ¡°I believe this is one of the creature¡¯s nostrils,¡± she said. ¡°Or something like one.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It had been previously noted by those involved that a sea creature should not breathe in the same way as they did, but even so John could feel the currents slowly go in and out. Then again, a creature of such magnitude that remained stationary could not manage much with traditional gills. Investigating more thoroughly would involve going inside which nobody was willing to attempt for various reasons- greatest of which was possibly disturbing the creature and having it choose to actively attack them if it was upset. While he couldn¡¯t say he gained any deep understanding of the creature, John could feel how it had influenced Matayal¡¯s cultivation. He¡¯d picked up some things about the water element from her, but viewing the source directly was completely different. It also reminded him that the Consolidated Soul Phase was not the limit of cultivation. Nor was the Ascending Soul Phase. Not even close, though to be fair the only Ascending Soul Phase cultivator he¡¯d seen was brand new. ----- Ursel found some of their battles quite annoying. Tirto was good with a spear, and Melanthina was annoyingly proficient. Hammers and clubs were rather terrible underwater, and using attacks meant for different sorts of weapons with a spear was annoyingly difficult. She¡¯d worked with their mother trying to learn more about controlling the water element, but while she was able to adapt some earth elemental techniques to function better underwater, they were still difficult in the open sea. She preferred fighting close to the stone spires, where she could have a wall to her back and some proper terrain to work with. Even better was fighting atop the spires, on the large twisting kelp that grew up them. Of course, the creatures they were up against were different. Fighting fish on land would have been trivial, but there were hunting birds that were vigorous defenders of their nests¡­ and occasionally thought humans looked like a decent meal. Ursel¡¯s stone club swung in front of her, missing an incoming bird by a tiny margin- but she had expected it to slow. Her club struck the side wall and bounced back out, a jut of stone rebounding it faster. The bird had a wingspan twice as wide as a man was tall, but its bones were hardly better than chalk. Its defensive air energy did nothing to deflect the heavy stone club, either. Ursel nodded, letting the club rest on the plant beneath her for the moment. She was still not large enough to carry it without expending spiritual energy, so to conserve herself she took the weight off. ¡°I¡¯m glad you feel more effective here,¡± Tirto said. ¡°But the options for battle are more limited. I¡¯d prefer to remain in the water. Maybe we should split up?¡± Melanthina looked over at Aydan. ¡°I don¡¯t think our uncle would approve.¡± He was technically a great-uncle or something like that, but the distinction wasn¡¯t important within the clan. Not as much as cultivation. ¡°I think looking for new opponents would be best. It would involve swimming between stone spires, but we could taunt some creatures out of the water. I know there are crabs and leaping fish, at least.¡± ¡°I suppose so,¡± he agreed. ¡°Though fighting in difficult locations might be better for us. As long as it¡¯s on purpose, we can learn from it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I can learn anything in the open water,¡± Ursel crossed her arms. ¡°Except that I have to swim somewhere else. It¡¯s hard enough just staying afloat.¡± If Ursel didn¡¯t have the benefits of using spiritual energy, there was literally no way she could swim with the heavy stone club. It dragged her down, just as many as her defensive abilities. At least most of those worked, except the ones to steady her position. With nothing to hold onto, she was pushed around in the water like¡­ well, a heavy boulder really. She still had that going for her. ¡°Let¡¯s try once,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°I think I sense something three spires that way. I¡¯ll keep anything from sensing us too early, so Ursel can get her footing before the battle starts.¡± The others agreed, mostly because there wasn¡¯t much other choice. They certainly wouldn¡¯t be allowed to split up here, at least not while their parents were not around. And while they had issues with each other once in a while, they had learned that the greatest reprimands came if they let that affect them on the battlefield. They had been taken away from training exercises early when they caused trouble, and that meant missing opportunities to improve their cultivation. The three moved through the water together, Tirto taking the front in the water while Ursel held up the rear. Melanthina floated between the two, shrouding their presence from anything in the water. There weren¡¯t always creatures waiting to bite at their toes, but the important part was diverting the attention of anything waiting by their target. Of the three of them, Ursel was least likely to be injured for being out of position- some technique she¡¯d trained meant the others couldn¡¯t stab through her skin without the aid of spiritual energy- but Melanthina could already tell she was in a bad mood. Making sure the other two felt effective was most important right now. Instead of crabs or anything of the sort, there were large barnacles at their destination. That would work well enough. Melanthina knew it would be easy to hide from creatures that barely had brains. There were also snails in the area, likewise of limited intelligence. Their size was somewhat concerning, but that was just how things in areas of high spiritual energy were. Ursel found her footing on a twining kelp, but before Melanthina could climb up behind her she slammed her stone club into the side of the spire, dislodging the barnacles and making them flail about wildly, long tendrils trying to grab for anything. Tirto was ready to fight them, but Melanthina had been planning to get onto land as well. And she still would, but now she had to reach out an arm of energy to grab higher up behind Ursel instead of climbing up next to her. She would have sighed at her sister¡¯s haste if not for being underwater. Tirto made short work of some of the underwater creatures, but that was where the odd snails came into play. They were generally quite slow, but able to put on sudden bursts of movement by spraying jets of water from various places. Finding the barnacles vulnerable they shot off after them- but they also weren¡¯t averse to trying to reach for unarmored bits of meat as well. Ursel scooped at them, her heavy club slicing through the water quite effectively despite the strong resistance and slamming one of them back into the pillar, crushing it between stone. Even so, she had to retreat herself as some jetted towards her, even leaping out of the water. Melanthina found herself having to choose between assisting Tirto and her sister, and even if she hadn¡¯t the position wasn¡¯t good for her¡­ but that was what they were learning for, right? Ultimately, she decided on her more vulnerable brother, who despite his ability to slip around in all directions in the water seemed to be overwhelmed at the current moment. Chapter 171 No matter how clear water was on the surface, after a certain depth even light was filtered to make it appear as blue, deeper and darker the further underwater one went. At a certain point, sight became difficult- then impossible for those who weren¡¯t cultivators. Of course, well before that point those who weren¡¯t cultivators would die, either due to lack of air or pressure. Cultivators could and would go deeper, and it was at the current deepest point they were aware of that John and Matayal found themselves. The sea god was intriguing, but John found himself drawn to the rest of everything- though there was hardly any space around them that wasn¡¯t an extension of the giant creature. Strange beasts, adapted to live in high pressures and what was otherwise the most bleak of locations still teemed with life. Perhaps not quite as densely as some placed, but John was able to see quite a few creatures that darted away from his spiritual energy senses. The blessing of the guardian beast that allowed him to see in darkness was a great advantage without which he wouldn¡¯t have noticed many different creatures. It seemed they survived mainly by avoiding notice. Then there was the sea itself, powerful pressure squeezing down on him. However, instead of being unpleasant it was invigorating in its strength, especially as it aided the growth of his fourth totem. His first experiences with the deep sea had left enough of a mark that he had adopted a totem representing it for his fourth totem, but only now he realized what he had been missing. He wondered if there were even further depths to explore. Though even if they were found, perhaps it was best for another time. John found his experience to be quite different from Matayal¡¯s. When they dual cultivated, the basis of her energy felt quite different from his own. It was sleeping power, contained and nearly unfathomable, as opposed to a slowly revealed mystery of a myriad of lifeforms. The two concepts were not incompatible, however. The focus of each of them provided context for the other to grow. The landmass John held in his dantian, an incomplete and crude representation of elements, shared strengths with the wider focus on the oceans that Matayal held. The only thing that drew the two of them out of their reverie was the need to breathe- and underwater, that meant refreshing the air in their lungs. The water of the deep sea itself had less oxygen than higher up, but exchanging oxygen with the water around them was not necessary with the use of the air element. John wasn¡¯t sure exactly what he was doing, or what happened to the carbon that was presumably detached from the oxygen as he followed the process, but perhaps it didn¡¯t matter. It could have been converted to some other sort of energy, entering the world around him or perhaps somewhere else entirely. Assuming molecules were actually the same as on Earth, which he wasn¡¯t entirely sure of. Cells seemed to be more or less as he remembered from biology classes, but it could simply be visual similarities. And none of it really mattered, as long as he understood how things actually functioned in practical terms. Opening his eyes to stare into a cave that he knew what simply part of a living creature was unsettling. The thought of actually going inside was intriguing- but ultimately pointless for him. Perhaps Matayal might benefit, so if she thought it would be worthwhile he would back her up. Otherwise, he would prefer to maintain his position. He wondered if this sea god was something they could truly come to understand¡­ or if it was something they could only look at and wonder. Perhaps that might depend on whether they could reach the next stage. That would be a long process, perhaps to the point that the triplets would have grown into adulthood beforehand. John didn¡¯t want to rush anything, but he also couldn¡¯t wait for the opportunity to be with Matayal more than two months a year. Placing the burden of leading a clan on their children¡­ was only what could be expected, the same as them and their parents. Along with the responsibility came privileges that few cultivators got, so it was difficult to complain. As he thought about their children, John couldn¡¯t help but look up. There was nothing to see- kilometers of ocean between him and anything that mattered, the density of the sea also restricting energy senses to a smaller distance. There wasn¡¯t any feedback, but he still had a feeling. He looked over at Matayal. ¡°Should we return to the surface?¡± ¡°It is a bit early,¡± she replied. ¡°But I see no harm in it.¡± Something in her eyes told him she had the same sort of feeling as him. It didn¡¯t necessarily mean anything- they were often simply worried for their children for no reason- but taking the opportunity to settle down would be worth the time. ----- The first sign that anything was going wrong was the arrival of a ship. They would normally not approach close to the Kelp Spire Forest, as the combination of unpredictable tides and obstacles made it dangerous for larger ships. Yet some were bold enough to attempt to anchor nearby in an attempt to show off. The second sign was Aydan recognizing someone, no- two people. Evren Kartal he¡¯d seen occasionally¡­ and fought once. Then, more distant but more immediately apparent, was Kusuma. She wasn¡¯t making any attempt to hide her speedy approach. The first thing Aydan did was check the status of the triplets, not that they had ever truly been out of his perception at any point. ¡°Crystin, trouble is brewing.¡± Crystin was closer to the same age as Fortkran- and in any other generation, her talent would have been considered remarkable. The status of a high ranking guard was perhaps not the most glamorous task, but it was both important and respected in the clan. She was at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase and was expected to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase soon enough. Her senses scanned where Aydan indicated, and it was not difficult to determine what he meant. ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°You go alert the others- especially the triplet¡¯s normal guards. I¡¯ll move to delay them.¡± There was little doubt in Aydan¡¯s mind that they meant to cause trouble. The Kelp Spire Forest was not so small that they should end up in the same part of it by coincidence. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Aydan moved atop the water which was slightly faster than swimming. He warned any Brandle clan member he passed by, though the state of his energy would serve better than any words. He was ready for battle, and anyone should be able to feel it. He prepared his words for Evren as he went. Just because he was ready for trouble didn¡¯t mean he needed to escalate things. As he moved, members of the Brandle clan broke away from what they were doing to go with him. ¡°There is sufficient room in the Kelp Spire Forest for your clan to find an exclusive location,¡± Aydan began. ¡°Perhaps you should go elsewhere.¡± In response he expected primarily some sort of direct rebuke- some sort of declaration that the Kartal clan could go where they wanted and that the Brandle clan should be the ones to leave. He hadn¡¯t expected them to not even slow their approach, the waves they were riding beneath their feet carrying them swiftly forward. Aydan barely had time to pull out his weapon to clash with Evren as he passed. He hadn¡¯t expected such an audacious move, so he wasn''t even prepared to punish the man for pushing past him. A single swipe of his blade merely grazed against Evren¡¯s defensive energy. Normally cultivators of the highest cultivation would engage each other- not out of politeness or formality, but as a practical matter. If Evren didn¡¯t meet Aydan, Aydan could kill the others with him. And¡­ it seemed as if he didn¡¯t care. Aydan turned to chase after him, but the Kartal clan cultivated water and air. They were more in his domain, and his speed was greater than Aydan¡¯s. The only thing Aydan could do was chase madly after him- and the others, who seemed intent on shoving past not just Aydan but the majority of other Brandle clan members. ----- There was nothing particularly odd about Crystin coming to speak with their guards. Crystin was another member of the Tenebach clan, their father¡¯s cousin, and currently another of their guards. It was odd for her to conceal what she said from them, twisting darkness energy blocking the words she spoke, but adults sometimes like to keep things private. Then she turned to the triplets. ¡°I think it¡¯s a good time for the three of you to take a break,¡± she said. ¡°Then you can¡­ dammit.¡± Most adults didn¡¯t swear around the triplets- except the ones who did so profusely- so when those who generally chose their words more carefully used even a milder sort of profanity they took note. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Melantina asked, the first to lock on to the approaching individuals. ¡°An enemy,¡± Crystin said flatly. ¡°We need to take a defensive position. In there,¡± she gestured to one of the small ¡®caves¡¯ in the stone spires. A place generally meant for cultivators to rest and have some time not spent in the water. ¡°Are we going to fight?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t,¡± Crystin said. ¡°We¡¯re here to protect you. Just keep yourselves safe.¡± Herding the triplets into proper shelter took most of a minute, at which point Evren was almost upon them. Along the way various members of the Brandle clan had attacked- some managing to injure or engage others, but Evren himself continued forward without stopping. It was slightly comforting to know that the various scattered members of the Brandle clan were coming together to fight, or that Aydan and a more distant Kusuma were approaching as fast as they could¡­ but it wouldn¡¯t do much good if she couldn¡¯t stop him long enough. He should have been far too occupied with rebuilding the shattered remains of his clan, but it seemed he preferred to have it erased from the history books. That was the only option, regardless of what he achieved here. Even in the Consolidated Soul Phase he wasn¡¯t a threat to either clan, or even just the forces they had present- but he was a threat to individual members. The guards of the Brandle clan chose to face the enemy in the water, except for one Crystin conscripted to stay by her side on the sloping kelp. Behind her was the opening of the cave- or at least where it appeared to be. The actual entrance was on the other side, concealed by Crystin¡¯s power. Likewise, the opening next to her was also ¡®concealed¡¯, but she was hiding that it was just part of the stone spire instead of the proper entrance. Out of the water, Crystin thought she could hold her own for a time¡­ but she hoped those in the water could stop him. They did their best, guarding the base of the spire. When Evren approached with just a half-dozen Soul Expansion Phase cultivators around him, they swarmed towards him- but as the two groups clashed, Evren managed to form a taller wave, riding over them and even landing himself about a quarter of the way up the spire. The others, at least, were forced to engage with the remaining guards. Crystin was ready with her spear- longer than those of the Brandle clan, and meant for use on land. Fighting at an angle was actually advantageous for her, but her cultivation wasn¡¯t as high as Evren¡¯s. Like his son- or rather, Bora most likely copied his father- Evren made use of various weapons including a pair of war fans. He had pulled the seas along with him as well as the winds, a swirl of energy as he charged his way up the spire. Crystin held her spear point towards him, concealing the area in darkness so he couldn¡¯t determine its precise location, or length. He didn¡¯t even slow, sending crashing waves over Crystin as well as flicking a bolt of lightning towards the guard at her side, piercing through the watery barrier around him. Crystin managed to stop herself before she went over the edge, dangling off of one of the oversized leaves of the gigantic kelp. As she began to pull herself up, Evren twirled towards the spire, blasting a cone of lightning into¡­ nothing. At least her concealment had worked, though it was now painfully obvious. She anchored her feet more strongly, but as she stabbed her spear towards the incoming wave of water, she found it curled around her weapon, jolts of lightning digging into her arms before her weapon could land a solid blow on Evren. She did manage to hit him, the point of her spear dragging along his side, piercing his defensive energy along the way. Yet it wasn¡¯t enough to stop him, and anchoring her feet only made it take another moment for her to be blasted out of the way- this time, falling into the water below. She twirled to catch herself on the next loop of the kelp, but she hadn¡¯t been able to stop him. Evren twisted around the loop until the actual cave- the distance weakening the effects of her energy- repeating his attack on his new target and causing the spire to shudder. Chapter 172 Three children, not quite teens, huddled together. They could feel the vicious power of the approaching enemies, especially the strongest among them. Consolidated Soul Phase, far beyond any of them. ¡°Where¡¯s mother? And father?¡± Tirto was crumpled into a ball next to Ursel, who was clutching onto her stone club. Melanthina did her best to try to act like a mature older sister, as if that mattered where minutes and seconds were the difference between her and her brother. ¡°They¡¯ll come,¡± she said. But she didn¡¯t believe it. She couldn¡¯t sense either of them. They were down in the depths, beyond where energy senses could reach. Then the spire shook beneath them- for the second time. Melanthina believed Crystin had the best intentions when she told them to take shelter in the cave, but a concealment was another tier more effective when the target was somewhere else entirely. So she¡¯d had them climb to the top of the spire. That had bought a few moments, at least. If she was lucky, the madman below wouldn¡¯t see through her own concealments. It was unclear whether he did, or simply continued up the spire regardless of knowing they were there. Either way, they could all sense him coming. Melanthina was trying to figure out what the next step was, what trick she could pull¡­ but real danger was new to her. Ursel stood up, her feet heavy as she dragged her weapon. ¡°I¡¯ll stop him. When he gets here, you need to jump down.¡± ¡°What?¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°We can¡¯t do that!¡± Ursel looked over her shoulder at her two siblings. ¡°You are both heirs to your clans. Nobody needs me. So I have to do this.¡± There was no time to object to her words- the approaching swirl of water and air was immediately upon them. And at that point, it was really too late for them to run. Crackles of lightning formed and were blasted at them across the top of the spire. Yet Melanthina found herself and Tirto unharmed. ¡°Hmph,¡± a voice said through the swirling dust. ¡°How pointless.¡± Wind blasted, revealing Ursel, her stone club with its head pressed to the ground. Her clothes were shredded, her skin cracked- not just that, it began to fall off like pieces of shell, revealing muscle underneath. Writhing lines squirmed along her arms and down her body where lightning had coursed through her. The only thing that held her form together was the entirety of her earth elemental spiritual energy¡­ and Diamond Defense, though it barely allowed her to sustain a single strike. Her bravery bought them a moment- but she could do no more. Evren was already preparing his next attack. It would only take a slight flick of his wrist to take out Ursel, injured and without defenses as she was. To kill all three would require some effort, but they were two whole phases weaker than himself. Blocking a single attack, even if it wasn¡¯t serious, was the limit of what could be expected. A storm gathered in his hand, crackling sparks of lightning mixing with swirling clouds. His arm stretched forward, concentrated power barely held back. Then it was released, a thunderous boom and a flash of light blanketing the peak of the spire. There was no time for eyes or ears to recover before a second surge of power followed. Then another, and another. Any sort of follow-up should have been completely unnecessary, but the energy was not directed towards the triplets- at least not all of it. Instead, it was an exchange of energy, lightning, water, and wind clashing against each other. Every attack directed towards the triplets was redirected, impacting the ground or reflecting back towards Evren. ¡°I struggle to see how you thought this action would benefit you in any way,¡± Kusuma said. ¡°As if digging a deeper hole was going to magically make your mistakes better.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for a response, swirling winds pushing behind her, the triplets toppling down from the spire. They would have to deal with a little fall, but she couldn¡¯t fight properly if Evren could easily target them. ¡°If you wished to cause pain to those who made you suffer, remember that you are the one at fault for everything.¡± Lightning crackled around Evren¡¯s fist, and he charged forward. ¡°At least I can impart some of that suffering on the clans that spited mine.¡± His trajectory took him almost directly towards Kusuma, but at the last moment he stepped to the side, his arm outstretched to keep her away while he ran past. Instead of keeping her away, she grabbed the outstretched arm by the wrist with both her hands. Lightning crackled in both directions, trying to worm its way into the limbs of both combatants. Kusuma¡¯s hands began to blacken as lightning burned them from the inside out, but she only tightened her grip. ¡°Your mixed cultivation certainly provides you an advantage against the water cultivators of the Shimmering Islands, but against those of pure air¡­ it is a weakness.¡± With a sudden jolt, Evren fell to the ground. His external wounds didn¡¯t appear to be much, but in that moment where he was stunned Kusuma flipped him onto his back, stomping onto his stomach, right over his dantian. Mixed air and water energy burst out, but without any control it merely caused a slight increase in pressure. ¡°Another mistake you made was assuming you had nothing left to lose.¡± ¡°My life means nothing anymore,¡± Evren grunted. ¡°Even losing my cultivation didn¡¯t matter. Just kill me.¡± ¡°See, that¡¯s the problem. Because you could have built up your clan again, if you put in some real effort. Obviously not through Bora¡¯s line, but he was a pretty garbage son anyway. But now you¡¯re going to have to watch as we dismantle your clan the rest of the way and invite all of your rivals to take whatever you had left after last time.¡± Evren didn¡¯t have any response except to slump further to the ground, unable to mobilize his body or make use of any spiritual energy. ----- John almost cut off Evren¡¯s head when he reached the surface and saw Ursel¡¯s injuries. Matayal stopped him though, placing a hand on his arm even as his energy was gathering. ¡°Was it a mistake¡­?¡± John asked. ¡°Were we too lenient, somehow?¡± It had already seemed quite extreme to attack the Kartal clan directly after a couple incidents. Fully annihilating the Society of Midnight had been the only way to resolve a generations long conflict, and while the Kartal clan had worked with them it seemed like some amount of mercy was warranted. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Perhaps the only mistake we made was not immediately hunting down Evren himself,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I could have waited for him to return to the clan¡­ or we could have tracked him down in the intervening time. Our actions were within reasonable standards, though.¡± John understood the implicit ¡®for cultivators¡¯ behind those words. As well as by the norms of the world. Actually destroying a clan or sect to the last person was only for extreme situations. There were a few ruthless groups that practiced it as the norm, but generally they didn¡¯t last long- they would be eventually hunted down by a coalition of other cultivators fearing they might be next. ¡°So what should we do with him?¡± John asked. ¡°I¡¯ll handle that,¡± Kusuma said. Her hands were bandaged, but even if she had the energy to attempt to conceal the true damage John would have known something was wrong by the very act. Kusuma was not in a good state- but it seemed like more than just one battle¡¯s injuries. Perhaps he should have noticed sooner. ¡°I should be there,¡± John said. No doubt it would involve more killing, which outside of battle was always unpleasant, but he knew it was important. Especially after this happened. He was most upset by the triplets being attacked, though he knew that there had been some people who died. Their deaths would be honored, of course, but they didn¡¯t have the same personal sting. ----- Needless to say the excursion was no longer as appealing at the moment. While it was unlikely there would be any further attacks- the Kartal clan didn¡¯t have any additional forces to speak of- there were too many injured, and sending them back alone or with minimal protection was inappropriate. John wasn¡¯t in the mood to cultivate anyway, even if it was an effective location. He knew Matayal was just as angry as himself, though she seemed to be better at concealing it. As they were making their way back to the ships, John was surprised that Tirto asked to speak with him in private. It was understandable that the triplets would want to talk, but Tirto generally preferred his mother. The subject wasn¡¯t what John had thought it would be, however. ¡°That was pretty scary, huh?¡± he said. Tirto nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was late.¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Matriarch Kusuma came to save us. And aunt Crystin and the others helped too.¡± Tirto was clearly still emotional about the incident, clutching John from the side as they sat in the boat taking them away from the Kelp Spire Forest. ¡°But I think Ursel hurts more.¡± John was concealing their conversation- it was private after all- but he could see Ursel bundled up by herself. ¡°She¡¯s tough,¡± John said. ¡°But it must be difficult to get hurt like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean,¡± Tirto said. ¡°She¡¯s sad.¡± ¡°Because I wasn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°She said¡­ nobody needs her.¡± That hurt more than the time John¡¯s actual heart had been stabbed. ¡°Did she really say that¡­?¡± Tirto¡¯s slight nod was more than enough. John knew she¡¯d been feeling out of place, but not this much. He¡¯d assumed her willingness to sacrifice herself for her siblings had been bravery and love- and while those were still there, knowing that she felt less important put a whole new twist on things. He needed to talk with Matayal about this¡­ but first he needed to talk to his daughter. ¡°Thanks for saying something,¡± John ruffled Tirto¡¯s hair. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go find your mother?¡± John knew he would need to speak to Melanthina as well, but he could only be in one place at a time. Hopping from boat to boat was rather simple, and soon enough John was crouched down across from Ursel. ¡°Hey there.¡± He received a noncommittal grunt from his bandaged and bundled daughter. The fact that she was conscious really spoke of how tough she was, but physical toughness wasn¡¯t the only important one. ¡°That was very brave, protecting your siblings like that. But you need to take care of yourself too.¡± ¡°Why?¡± That single word twisted the knife in his guts. ¡°Because we care about you. Me, your mother, Tirto and Melanthina, and many more of us.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not important.¡± ¡°Why would you say that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an heir to either clan. I¡¯m just an extra.¡± The worst part of her words was that they were sort of true. Had John and Matayal had one child at a time, they would have stopped at two, precisely to avoid situations like this. There were other issues with only having a single potential heir, but theoretically with two either could have gone with either clan. But instead they had triplets with extreme elemental affinities that made it impossible to place them in any other positions. ¡°You¡¯re still my daughter. That makes you important. And being the heir to a clan comes with all sorts of problems. People watch you all the time for even a tiny mistake.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m not even important enough for anyone to care about my failures,¡± Ursel sulked. ¡°What failures?¡± John asked. He was genuinely curious, because his daughter was quite talented. ¡°I can¡¯t cultivate anything but earth. I tried darkness and water and air and fire and I can¡¯t do any of them!¡± Ursel exclaimed. ¡°So?¡± John said. ¡°You¡¯re way stronger than I was at your age.¡± In either world, really. The Original Fortkran should have been studying the basics of cultivation, but he was instead wasting the options available to him. He didn¡¯t even pick good leisure options. ¡°... But I¡¯ll never be as strong as you now. I can¡¯t do a cycle of elements in either direction. I can only cultivate earth.¡± ¡°Your mother is a pure water cultivator, and she¡¯s just as strong as me,¡± John pointed out. ¡°The same with Renato and Lucanus and many others. You don¡¯t have to follow some weird path I thought might make me stronger.¡± In truth, the cycle of elements had been working out very well for John. He was almost certainly stronger than he would have been otherwise¡­ and if he could manage to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, having not only the allied cycle of darkness but all four core elements would be a great boost in power. The fact that so many in the same generation could keep up with him was actually pretty impressive. Though most of those he was thinking of were reincarnated or transmigrated. Matayal just happened to have found the right path the first time. ¡°Work with what you¡¯re good at, and do it the best you can, and you¡¯ll be someone amazing.¡± John grinned, ¡°And if you want to run a clan you just have to found one. I could help you look for someone to marry if you want.¡± Ursel snorted. ¡°Uh¡­ no thank you. I¡¯m fine.¡± And she did seem better- though John doubted a single conversation would solve everything. ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± Ursel said, closing her eyes. A moment later, she was asleep. John later carried her to her room on the actual ship, and if he was not a cultivator he wasn¡¯t sure he could have. She wasn¡¯t even a teenager yet, but her muscles and bones were dense- and the club Renato gave her didn¡¯t make things any easier. Chapter 173 Despite there being a common idea that it was satisfying, John found nothing pleasant about revenge. It would have been much preferred for their clans to have no contact with others and avoid conflict, but that simply wasn¡¯t possible. Someone would find issue with something- or perhaps simply desire whatever location they dwelled in- and there would be more conflicts. Thus, the only choice became making sure they would come out on top. Enacting revenge upon those who were in a weaker position was one step worse, but they couldn¡¯t simply allow the Kartal clan to continue to exist after their recent actions. Or at least, John told himself that it was justified that way. Either way, he wouldn¡¯t allow any threat to the triplets. Evren was brought along to see what had to be done, and to provide a reason for the other clan members why their lives were forfeit. There always had to be a reason for everything. An excuse. And it didn¡¯t feel good, but John would do it again if he had to. ----- Back home in the Tenebach clan, John wondered what could be done for Ursel. She didn¡¯t feel as if she belonged, and what made it worse that in a way she was right. On Earth the correct answer might have been a therapist, but they didn¡¯t exactly have anything like that here. He wasn¡¯t exactly qualified to do that himself, nor was Matayal. But knowing about the problem might give them a chance to do something. One conversation obviously wasn¡¯t going to solve things. And being separate from his children almost half of the time likely wasn¡¯t helping anything either. Politically the marriage alliance had made sense. Practically, if there had been other heirs, there were perfectly good reasons why second or third in line individuals were married off. Ironically enough, it would have been easier if John simply didn¡¯t care about his wife and children. John found it frustrating to run into a problem that couldn¡¯t be stabbed or politicked or bought away. Those weren¡¯t the only solutions, but they were certainly the easiest. Unfortunately in all of the stores of techniques the Tenebach clan had, they didn¡¯t have ¡°Relate to Your Own Children¡± or anything social beyond manipulative techniques and a tiny bit of empathy related ones for reading other¡¯s moves. That was a serious gap in practicality. John didn¡¯t know if he had the talent to develop a technique along those lines, or if it was even the right path. It might be more appropriate to do things the old fashioned way with lots of work, but unfortunately that meant being present as well. But sometimes there were things cultivation simply couldn¡¯t solve. Then again¡­ there were techniques for confusing and befuddling people, why not some designed to promote mental clarity in others? Or he could just properly connect with his children. So he should do that. But while they weren¡¯t around, he could think about developing techniques, even if they were probably stupid ideas. Cultivation might not be the solution to everything, but it certainly did a good job of seeming like it was. ----- John clapped his hands together. ¡°Well then, we¡¯re all here. Everyone, welcome to the once-in-a-while club meeting for reincarnators and transmigrators. I¡¯d especially like to welcome our newest member, Deirdre. Or Odette, if she prefers.¡± ¡°Deirdre is safest,¡± their light element newbie nodded. ¡°I¡¯m glad to be included. So¡­ what actually happens here?¡± ¡°This is basically it, honestly,¡± John gestured to the tea and snacks in front of them. ¡°Social interaction, I suppose. A place we could talk about such things, and we can also make alliances. Except we basically already have.¡± John shrugged, ¡°But seeing each other is good, and I¡¯d like to keep up our relationships.¡± ¡°... I kind of expected something more,¡± Deirdre said honestly. ¡°Like, discussing plans to take over the world or something.¡± ¡°That is a lot of work,¡± Renato explained. ¡°Though maybe we should continue to expand. The Order of the Amber Heart and the Tenebach clan now control Marble County. Attempting to take over the entirety of the Stone Conglomerate would be a bit ambitious, but further expanding our influence seems logical.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much to control in the Green Sands except¡­ well, what¡¯s in the name,¡± Lucanus shrugged. ¡°The Milanovic clan figures out that stuff, but mostly I¡¯m interested in growing stronger myself.¡± ¡°Same here,¡± Yustina said, nestled up beside him. ¡°Though having the support of a clan is quite useful for that.¡± Ultimately, nobody had specific goals in mind just yet. Given that the latest generation had explosive increases in the number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators letting some things stabilize might be the best choice. Though that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t things being done. John had long admired the communication network in the Sunfields, allowing swift communication over long distances. That was good, but what it lacked was privacy. Good for national news that should be distributed to all, less useful for secret messages or even longer form communication. Creating something as swift or close to it without the flaws was an ambition, but such things took time. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ----- One benefit of knowing and trusting a variety of people from different elements was the potential training improvements. Sparring was an obvious option. While the club didn¡¯t have anyone with the primary elements of air or water, John could fill those roles to some extent. Yustina was almost as good at standing in for the water element as John despite not using the element at all, her fire able to flow like a liquid. And of course, the club didn¡¯t have to work with only their technical members. Matayal wasn¡¯t part of them, but she was aware of them and made herself available. Kusuma was normally willing to spar with anyone friendly as well, but¡­ her health had taken a downturn. John knew that the idea of an invincible woman who would live forever was just a faulty image in his head, but it was still strange to see the image unravel. Ultimately the older generation would die out even in a world of cultivators, but John had kind of expected it to be more¡­ climactic. Not building up injuries that wouldn¡¯t fully heal over the course of several important battles, but a huge explosion of power in a great battle. And perhaps that was what most cultivators would prefer- it was just not usually an option. Kusuma still lived, but John could tell she was simply holding onto her current power and what health she had left. Perhaps he should have seen signs sooner, but then again- Kusuma didn¡¯t want anyone to know. When he got the chance, John focused his sparring with the two fire element cultivators and Deirdre. It was strange at first, fighting against Deidre who was now someone else. Even though she had assured him that a majority of the fault for what happened was not his own, that meant that some of it was. Something of a friend had died, and now there was a new friend in her body. It was strange. John¡¯s family had only come to terms with himself so easily because of their poor relationship with Fortkran. Though John had a growing cycle of elements, everything was still rooted in darkness. Sparring against Deidre was explosive, and both of them had to be careful in exactly how they attacked, their energies easily destroying each other. If they were incautious, they could pierce through the other¡¯s defenses and cause serious injuries. Sparring against each other gave them some experience properly protecting themselves, but it didn¡¯t change the fundamental nature of the interaction. Outside of sparring, John was still attempting to learn how to control the fire and light elements. Fire was the next in his cultivation path, and while he still had the mid and late Consolidated Soul Phases to contend with, he wanted to familiarize himself as much as possible with the elements. Especially since it was so difficult. He only had one totem out of four with any positive connection to fire and light. And though John could quash the fire element with water or feed it with earth, handling it on its own was still difficult. And light was worse. While he could keep tidbits of fire contained in his dantian, doing the same with light was just asking for a disaster, a reaction of light and darkness that would explode him from the inside out. Perhaps his plans for a full cycle were actually impossible- though in truth it wasn¡¯t expected for him to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase to begin with, let alone the Ascending or Exalted Soul Phases. He was further than Fortkran really dreamed of, but he couldn¡¯t help but set his sights higher. Maybe it was a curse of cultivators, to always have ambition to go one step higher. Or maybe it was a blessing, a fount of motivation. John knew that power didn¡¯t somehow provide meaning to the world, but as he grew in power he could see more of the world, not just by traveling further but by delving into its secrets hidden around him. That, at least, was a worthy cause. Struggling for power and fighting¡­ those seemed to just be inevitable human traits, and it just so happened that the situation of the world made death and killing seem more acceptable. John could feel his cultivation slowing down, though he felt he was close to breaking through to the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. It would have been stranger if he did not start taking multiple years per rank, but the doubt at each further stage of advancement was unsettling. And the person John wanted to speak about such things with the most was not present in his life for most of the year. It was a terrible set up, yet one which might still be the best possible in the world he¡¯d found himself in. Yet he couldn¡¯t wait for a time that he and Matayal could remain together as much as they wished. He was also gathering a plethora of advice to teach future generations about how not to arrange clans. Practical for the sake of improving the clan as the whole? It certainly was. But watching out for individual members was just as important. Perhaps some would say he had nothing to complain about as a clan head and a cultivator with great talent, but his problems were just as real as everyone else¡¯s. And in some way, any that remained were that much harder to deal with. ----- John found himself back in Astrein, a country he personally found quite pleasant with its even blend of elements. Others found it to be lacking in whatever they wanted, having to dredge out their specific element from the mixture of the rest if they even realized it was possible, but now more than half of the elements were exactly what he wanted. Carefully filtering out most of the fire and all of the light was not terribly difficult, and taught him much. He was back in Astrein for much the same purposes as before, though he couldn¡¯t participate in a significant portion of the tournament. Various factors of age and cultivation influenced who could participate in what rounds, and while he was on the younger end being in the Consolidated Soul Phase still restricted him to the latter half. Hopefully he could attend the entire tournament this time. He shouldn¡¯t end up in a situation where he had to flee the country or risk death. At the moment, the Tenebach clan and their allies had precious few enemies, and even fewer still that would risk breaking tournament rules to kill any of them. It wasn¡¯t fighting himself that most interested John, though he did have a feeling of pleasant anticipation. Instead, it was seeing the others who joined. While there were certainly many from the surrounding countries who would not attend, it would allow him some sort of overview of the wider state of the world around the countries where he had spent his time. He was aware of other factions growing in strength in the Stone Conglomerate and more distantly connected to the Shimmering Islands and the Green Sands, but beyond the Golden Tomb Guardians he was basically ignorant of the Sunfields or anything more than a couple countries away. He couldn¡¯t keep track of everything, but John was fairly certain that if growth continued as expected their region would begin to draw the attention of those from afar whether they wanted to or not. Learning what he could was one way to avoid unpleasant surprises. Chapter 174 The quality of individuals John felt gathering in Astrein was significantly greater than the previous time. More than a decade could bring such change, though that was still considered rapid by cultivator standards. The last time John had been in Lunson, the capital, his cultivation had been far lower and they didn¡¯t even know Matayal was pregnant when they arrived. It was also where he had first discovered the shards of Ciaritzal that members of the Society of Midnight carried. Quite a lot had happened all at once there, John almost dying, him and Matayal worrying about the developing triplets, and a cascade of consequences. If the Society of Midnight hadn¡¯t had other things to deal with, perhaps they would have managed to take back Ciaritzal as things escalated. But that was the way of the world- there was rarely just one thing that had to be dealt with at a time, though and priorities had to be chosen. From the Society of Midnight¡¯s perspective, their sect head being on the brink of reaching the Ascending Soul Phase had been more important than recapturing Ciaritzal. They simply couldn¡¯t have predicted that the Tenebach clan would grow so quickly, along with their allies. John wasn¡¯t able to make note of everyone relevant before the tournament began, but he did notice two factions with Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators coming up from the Stone Conglomerate. One was Heavy Gold Mountain, centrally located within the country. They were as ostentatious as their name- and they used real gold in their weapons and armor- but nobody could say they were not effective. Contrary to them was an unexpected up-and-coming group: the Quartz clan. No, not the Quartz clan whose young master got in a feud with Steve. Also not the Quartz clan with the pleasant fellow Raghu, in the northeast. Another one of the many, located in the western region of the Stone Conglomerate. The Tenebach clan had little interaction with either of those factions, but there were some John did recognize. They ranged from generally friendly- the Calamitous Swarm from the Darklands- to mere passersby like the Ebon Crest from the same region. John also recognized the Twisting Terror Clan from the Wuthering Steppes, part of a previous squabble not directly related to either clan. They weren¡¯t long term bitter enemies, but they would likely be pleased to have an opportunity to defeat someone from the Tenebach clan. Speaking of which, there were several special participants who would be involved in the earlier stages of the competition, with those of the lowest cultivation. That was, of course, the triplets. Strictly speaking they were not all part of the Tenebach clan. Tirto officially carried the name of the Brandle clan, though he was certainly able to use either name. The two girls officially were members of the Tenebach clan, Melanthina because she was the heir and Ursel because the Stone Conglomerate was more comfortable for her. They were much younger than most of the participants, but with their cultivation they should be as safe as reasonably possible, since the defensive formations that kept people safe from more serious injuries were most effective when considering those with weaker cultivations. And while their parents would be nervous every moment, they couldn¡¯t just forbid them to fight when they had the power to do so. That would only stifle their growth. John wondered how his own family here had felt¡­ after he was no longer the version of himself they might prefer to die. ----- With the rest of the Tenebach clan staying together, John found no reason to stay apart. He just made minimal use of the energy gathering formation. His cultivation favored darkness, but splitting apart the various elements for his own use was good practice. That was the thing about Astrein¡­ it wasn¡¯t actually without spiritual energy, it was simply an even mix that wasn¡¯t much good for most purposes. John rather liked it, as he even had fire and light to¡­ very inexpertly mess around with. Deep inside he could feel his cultivation growing. He couldn¡¯t exactly say it was rapid at any point over the last years, but it was consistently pushing forward. His cultivation fed his totems- a great tree of darkness, humble earth composted from fallen leaves, the atmosphere with all its impurities, and the sea around it delving to its very depths. In turn, the growth of his totems facilitated the gathering and conversion of spiritual energy, feeding the power inside of him and attuning him to its so he could sustain control over greater quantities. His advancement to the Mid Consolidated Soul Phase and the thirty-first rank of cultivation was smooth, not the product of any major events but an accumulation of everything that came before it. It wasn¡¯t training upon the slopes of Zolvolj or the Crystal Caverns or the journey into the depths of the sea and contemplation on the sea god. Training on Cyclone Island and within Ciaritzal¡¯s cave hadn¡¯t provided any specific need. Instead, all of that put together, the time, effort, and balance as well as admittedly significant expenditures of wealth had brought him to this point. Sometimes, advancement was a struggle or a desperate fight, but sometimes¡­ it was just how things had to be. John wished all of his future advancement could be like this, but even if reaching the late Consolidated Soul Phase worked out for him, adding a fire element totem would be a significant hurdle. Following that up with light¡­ well, it had been a wild ambition to begin with. He hadn¡¯t seen anyone beyond Faramund in even the Ascending Soul Phase, and even that was just barely reached. ----- Tirto found himself facing off against a cultivator named Orazio from Heavy Gold Mountain, a massive lad probably five to seven years his senior. It was difficult to tell, because not only was his build bulkier than Tirto, the heavy armor he wore inflated his size. His weapon was a warhammer with a golden head, and Tirto knew the momentum it carried would be significant. Such a weapon should be extremely difficult to accelerate as well, but Tirto imagined the man¡¯s cultivation technique would account for that somehow. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t matter how much damage it could do- he would simply dodge it. Their initial appraisal of each other came while the field was still setting itself up. At first it appeared to simply have regular pillars throughout that would block vision, but as darkness settled around Tirto he also noticed wind rushing above. This was a field that advantaged neither of them, with the darkness being equally compatible with both earth and water. Perhaps if it came to fighting atop the pillars this Orazio might have some advantage, but it was mostly up to how they might use their surroundings. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. As the darkness blinded him to his opponent, Tirto felt the size of himself and his spear to be inadequate. Reach was important to cultivators, and while a significant portion of that relied on cultivation mastery, he was still at the point where his physical body was a problem. A stroke against him, but battles were about who could find a path to victory among every factor. At least he was used to fighting in the dark. Melanthina could completely suffuse a room with darkness, so when she got to choose the battlefield she generally chose confined quarters. All he had to do was pick out his opponent. Perhaps he would listen for Orazio¡¯s breathing, or his heartbeat. ¡°Match, start!¡± *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* Or maybe he would follow the booming sound of his footprints. At least that was handled. Tirto padded his own feet with water, skating across the ground rather than stepping. The darkness surrounding them was static rather than actively controlled so it wouldn¡¯t completely conceal his use of energy, but he could leverage what he had available. Both he and his opponent should favor melee combat, so Tirto approached while doing his best to slip around behind Orazio. He gathered energy on his spear, striking forward. He pierced the defensive energy on his opponent, but barely damaged the armor beneath. Tirto slipped back, two thuds indicating feet changing their orientation. Surprisingly, the swing of the weapon he knew was coming had no sound at all. It did have a significant weight of energy attached to it, but it was lumbering and slow. He could dodge that without stepping back. So Tirto decided to duck in, aiming for where he sensed a shoulder. It was fuzzy, but if he could hit a gap in the armor it would save him a lot of energy compared to trying to punch through it. As he stabbed, Orazio clamped his arm to his side- clearly sensing the trajectory of Tirto¡¯s attack. The heavy hammer swung back towards Tirto, slightly awkward for multiple reasons. Tirto simply slid under it, aiming for the waist. He thought he hit flesh but he couldn¡¯t follow through with the hammer coming back towards him. He slipped under Orazio¡¯s legs, becoming more confident with his movements. His weapon continued to seek unarmored joints with quick thrusts as Orazio spun around to follow his movements. Duck, dodge, weave. It was simple enough, with the weapon being so slow. And that was when it hit him in the side. For a moment, Tirto was flying- though instead of rising into the air, he remained parallel to the ground. Then he slammed into a pillar¡­ and through it. His momentum was lost there as he thudded across the ground, rolling. As the pillar collapsed, he could see a vortex of wind drawn down into the area taking its place. It might not last, but then again the battle probably wouldn¡¯t be that long. Tirto tried to get up, clutching his side. Something was definitely broken. Orazio¡¯s attacks were certainly powerful, and Tirto hadn¡¯t anticipated the acceleration as he swung continuously. A blunder that led to him taking a blow. Seriously, Orazio hit as hard as Ursel did! Which meant with her watching, he couldn¡¯t afford to go down after just one blow. He swapped his spear to his left hand, since that side¡¯s ribs were more intact. *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* Heavy boots slammed into the ground as Orazio charged, hefting his hammer in an overhand swing. Knowing how earth element techniques worked, Tirto was going to be nowhere near that when it came down. A wave pushed him to the side before circling around, allowing him to jab into the general area of Orazio¡¯s waist where he¡¯d landed the most hits. Most people would stagger back even if they weren¡¯t seriously injured, but Orazio was like an unmovable boulder. Tirto wasn¡¯t sure he could really damage the man if he simply held still for a few seconds. This time, Tirto was expecting the swings to accelerate- not only in individual speeds, but between swipes. Earth element carried the warhammer one way before jerking the momentum back in the other direction and adding more to it. Orazio was expending some energy for each of those jerks, but it was made up for by keeping the majority of his power from each swing unless he were going to actually hit. Once he was tracking that increase in speed Tirto was ready to dodge swifter attacks, but eventually it would reach a speed he couldn¡¯t handle. But it was a matter of who reached their limits first. Tirto ducked under the hammer, then vaulted over it at the handle, bubbles of water attached to his feet and spinning him over. High or low, he could avoid predictable attacks. He was even ready when instead of swinging back Orazio continued his momentum with a spin. Tirto took advantage of that moment to stab the small of his back, but the attack was angling towards him as Orazio spun. Then Tirto leapt forward, sliding between the beefy arms of his opponent and flipping over his head. No doubt Orazio was ready to catch him rolling between his legs again, but that was an unexpected trajectory. He did an impressive attempt at shifting the momentum of his hammer but¡­ committed to it a bit too hard. Instead of continuing the spin, his arms twisted¡­ and twisted¡­ and then there was a snap. Tirto was surprised- not that Orazio managed to break his own arms, but that he managed to only break them. That amount of power would have taken Tirto¡¯s arms clean off. Orazio kicked out at Tirto, cussing, but it was clear he hadn¡¯t practiced any actual unarmed combat. Tirto still had control of his weapon, and after getting a few stabs to the backs and sides of his knees Orazio was forced to surrender. ----- ¡°Which makes me a worse parent?¡± John asked, clutching his fist hard enough to dig his nails into his palm. ¡°Threatening to break a teen¡¯s legs for daring to hurt my boy, or not doing that?¡± Matayal snorted. ¡°Just come congratulate our son.¡± ¡°Right, yeah. That¡¯s more logical,¡± John nodded. He was only perhaps a tenth serious with his inquiry, but it was interesting what thoughts slipped into his head. It almost excused clan heads getting involved in their scion¡¯s battles. At least there was a core of something good there. At least when it was love that made them do that and not a distorted pride. But also, they should really be able to control themselves better when not under threat of community violence. Chapter 175 It was natural that other factions would be using the tournament for the same purposes of assessing the strength of different groups as John. In a way that was made easy, since many people wanted to display such strength. They might keep some things hidden, but ultimately showing off in front of other factions was for the purpose of asserting dominance. One of the stated reasons for the tournament was to avoid larger conflicts between regions, and while individual factions might show some weakness, as a whole a region could show their strength. The tournament didn¡¯t always serve that purpose, but it was decent enough, and while grudges might form during the tournament, it could also be a place to resolve more minor disputes with less chance of anything serious happening. John knew he was supposed to pay more attention to rivals or potential rivals, but he couldn¡¯t help but continue to focus on the triplets. There were others in attendance to report on the other battles anyway. It would be fine. ----- A beam of light shot past Melanthina¡¯s head, scattering on the wall behind her. The walls were the only thing saving her as she slid behind another one, additional beams of light following up quickly. What was she supposed to do in an arena brimming with the light element against a cultivator who practiced it? It wasn¡¯t fair! But of course, nothing would be fair. Both walls and wide open areas were beneficial or detrimental to different individuals, and the same was true of element. Melanthina mostly just wished she wasn¡¯t having to face off against the worst sort of opponent for her. She¡¯d had the opportunity to spar with a few younger disciples of the Golden Tomb Guardians, but they favored close range abilities, unlike this jerk. Some kid who used light beams that turned into rainbows. What the heck was the Combining Luster Sect anyway? This guy wasn¡¯t combining anything. If anything, he was doing the opposite! Another stupid light ray split apart as it reflected off the wall instead of falling apart like it properly should on impact. The smaller beams barely contacted Melanthina but it stung. Light did not get along well with darkness. Melanthina slipped behind a wall, trying to erase her presence. What was this Nik even doing in the tournament? He was a kid! It was embarrassing to have to fight him. Sure he might be like¡­ somewhere close to her own age, but it still didn¡¯t make sense. And the way he pranced around on top of the walls was annoying! Just stand on the ground like a normal person! At least he lost track of her for a second this time. She had a good angle from below and behind. She just had to be quick with her attack, gathering energy and chucking her throwing dagger right for the middle of his back. And the punk still managed to dodge it. Just a twist of his body, and he was looking down on her from above. What was with that blank expression anyway? It was like he didn¡¯t even care. He was so sure of his win already. ----- Nik was going to die today. He knew it. It didn¡¯t matter what the tournament rules said or what protections the area theoretically offered. This crazy girl was going to stab him in the spine and then his entire torso would explode and he would be dead. And she might get a slap on the wrist as punishment because she was from a powerful clan. Melanthina Tenebach. Whereas he was just Nik. Being a disciple of the Combining Luster Sect really didn¡¯t compare to that. He wasn¡¯t important, just another disciple. If the sect was really looking for a war they might use him as an excuse, but they wouldn¡¯t actually care. It was a good thing Melanthina didn¡¯t have particularly strong ranged abilities, at least as far as she¡¯d displayed. It was all he could do to run around on top of the walls creating a sort of maze in the arena, keeping out of reach of her weapons. Except when she threw those little daggers. It was the malice that tipped him off, the complete antithesis of darkness against his light element, and even then he just barely twisted his body out of the way. His shoulder burned, even though it hadn¡¯t been touched. He was lucky that the arena had some light element to replenish himself because these walls were really screwing with his abilities. The technique he was using needed sufficient space to split and recombine the facets of light to amplify the effect. Melanthina was darting around in unpredictable ways and he could never get a good angle. He just needed to hold on for her to make a mistake¡­ or something. He didn¡¯t really know. He stretched his hands out, forming his fingers into something like a triangle. He knew that obvious movements were a weakness, but he could only perform his techniques with the mental support from that. Once more Melanthina dodged his attack, and though he could split the beams back towards here just before they struck the wall, he didn¡¯t have an angle to recombine because she was gone again. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. How did she even do that? He knew darkness dulled the senses, but it should have stood out against the arena. His head swiveled around, trying to track her somehow. A hint of her presence was all he needed. But he had to move. He leapt between walls, watching for threats down below while trying to find somewhere that had a good angle. Maybe he could spot a sign of the techniques she was using, but what was he going to do against someone that was born with an affinity? From what he knew, her clan even had a guardian beast that empowered each generation with even greater darkness affinity. All they had at the sect was shiny underground rocks. At least he could detect when she was going to attack. If he anticipated that, he could dodge, possibly even dropping down on the other side of a wall- though that would forgo a counterattack. The next dagger that came for him was a fake. He didn¡¯t even realize it until he dodged it, but it forced him to dodge one way while the real attack came later. Nik¡¯s attempt at a counterattack fizzled out, and instead of a proper beam a flash of light exploded from his palms as he toppled over the wall behind him. Somehow his arm was still attached, but he didn¡¯t want to pull out the dagger at the moment. The more serious damage had been caused by the elements reacting as they were expected to do. He¡¯d probably lost half of his defensive energy all at once as his whole left side took a hit. At least he ended up in one of the longer corridors he¡¯d been aiming for. Now he just had to hope he predicted the right direction for his opponent to arrive. She couldn¡¯t actually make herself invisible, but she really messed up his energy senses. He slowly gathered light between his hands. Would she be coming? He saw just the slightest movement ahead and took his chance. A single ray fanned out, splitting into a rainbow of colors and then recombinging. He had just enough space, and what was even more amazing was that his target was actually there. His attack hit and he felt the safety formations kicking in as Melanthina was pushed back against the wall. Nik vaguely heard his name being called as the winner, and he swiftly turned around and made to leave. No way was he staying to stick around after that. He needed to patch up his arm and maybe sleep for a week. ----- ¡°And then he left without even saying anything!¡± Meltanthina complained. ¡°Why did they even let a kid like him into the tournament?¡± ¡°You know,¡± John said, ¡°He¡¯s probably actually a year or two older than you.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± his daughter crossed her arms. ¡°Tournaments are stupid anyway.¡± ¡°Yeah, pretty much,¡± John agreed amicably. His daughter needed a chance to vent, but she¡¯d likely forget about the whole thing soon enough. ----- Since the triplets couldn¡¯t be in combat at every moment, John still had some opportunities to watch different groups. This particular match was the Mozdar clan versus the Emerging Bamboo Sect. They were about as physically separated as any group that attended this tournament could be. The Mozdar clan was from the Glass Hills, east of the Green Sands. The Emerging Bamboo Sect hailed from the Viridia Wildlands, beyond the Shimmering Islands to the west. Both regions had little population, but what they had produced tough cultivators. The arena currently resembled a sort of desert canyon- John could feel the heat from the fire element, though it was only minimally weighted towards that element. It might come into play if the battle dragged on, but it didn¡¯t really benefit either side. The battle began quickly with the cultivator from the Mozder clan sending a bolt of lightning streaking through the sky- rising above the ¡®canyon¡¯ and streaking back down to avoid the terrain in the way. John expected the cultivator from the Emerging Bamboo Sect to just take the hit. They were an earth cultivator, after all. Instead they stomped the ground, but instead of a pillar of earth rising up a ten meter tall stalk of bamboo arose from the ground. The lightning found it to be a tempting target and even controlled was unable to pull away to attack the earth cultivator. A plant made purely out of spiritual energy wouldn¡¯t last beyond a few moments, but for the sake of a battle they were lasting enough. John was intrigued to see different types of earth techniques be used. The Stone Conglomerate really leaned on its name, more or less considering dirt the same as stone. They were sturdy and powerful cultivators, but plant life also fell within the earth domain. The Emerging Bamboo Sect, at least, seemed to be quite adaptable. Before their opponent could make another move, they launched themselves forward, angled stalks of bamboo launching them in the air. They were clearly expecting a similar sort of attack as before, and their opponent obliged in the most roundabout way. Even though their target was without any sort of cover, they didn¡¯t aim directly for them or arc their attack upwards. Instead, they focused on the ground. A blast of air element fizzed into nothing¡­ or so it appeared at first. Then feelers of lightning rose from the ground, lightning striking towards the sky. The airborne cultivator managed to react in time, spreading their arms wide and forming a sort of shield of latticed bamboo which spread out the impact of the attack, but that wasn¡¯t all of the attack. As they landed, the ground beneath them was molten. Nothing a cultivator couldn¡¯t resist, but they had to immediately leap away while flinging the clinging ground off of their boots. The Glass Hills cultivator was prepared to follow up, but a forest began to spring up around the other, growing towards them. The giant stalks of bamboo acted as a sort of mobile defensive barrier, only covering the ten meters around the cultivator but providing many avenues to divert lightning attacks. Earth ultimately had the advantage as an element, but the field favored the air cultivator to some extent. They dashed about, keeping their distance while leaving charged bolts in the ground behind them. The way they concealed their attacks- either stationary buildups or targeted at their opponent- was quite masterful for someone of their cultivation. Ultimately, it was still early in the tournament so John didn¡¯t imagine he¡¯d learn much from the Foundation Phase combatants, but it at least let him understand their styles. And the appearance of the groups at the tournament with cultivators of all levels indicated they were interested in making a showing on both sides. Chapter 176 Some of the arenas were made for the sake of those watching to make things more exciting, but the particular setup Ursel found herself in wasn¡¯t something that most people could observe. It was a series of tunnels fully contained in the arena floor, one step further than what Melanthina had been fighting in. That meant mostly the referee and people as strong as Ursel¡¯s parents could actually sense what was happening. In a way that was comforting, she wouldn¡¯t have to concern herself with what her siblings might see. They would ultimately know if she won or lost, but if she lost horribly it wouldn¡¯t be as obvious. And going up against a fire element cultivator in an arena with strong air element affinity- the tunnels were full of rushing wind- she was not confident in her chances of victory. Sure, the two allied elements of fire and air actually meant that she was resistant to the arena¡¯s tricks, but she was weak against the actual cultivator she was fighting. Ursel had only seen her briefly as they entered the arena, but Lileas looked to be twice her age¡­ which was fairly normal for Foundation Phase cultivators, but still intimidating. Tirto won and Melanthina lost, but unfortunately that increased the pressure Ursel felt. She had to win, so their family could have a better record. Besides, if she couldn¡¯t fight, what was the point of having her around? Every cultivator had to contribute, and since she wasn¡¯t an heir¡­ Fortunately her thoughts were drawn away from the topic when she rounded a corner and a pinecone exploded next to her. She¡¯d been walking with the wind because it was easier, but apparently that was a mistake because she hadn¡¯t sensed the bundle of fire energy. The good news was the wind carried some of the heat away from her, allowing her to stabilize herself. If she¡¯d gone down immediately, it would be terrible. She expected to have her opponent jump out at her, but Ursel didn¡¯t sense Lileas anywhere. She might be just around a corner, or somewhere further away. Still feeling the lingering heat of the explosion, Ursel decided to head back upwind, hoping something similar would throw off her opponent. It was harder to move in the other direction- she imagined without spiritual energy a person would be thrown about with no control- but earth overcame air and she put one foot solidly in front of the other. When a swirling vortex of flame came from the corridor in front of her, Ursel slammed the ground to raise a wall directly in front of her. The fire riding the wind had to go around the barrier- but a good portion of it simply swirled around the sides and still struck Ursel. It was certainly not as bad as directly taking the attack, but it ate away at her spiritual energy. At least the area wasn¡¯t fire dominant so she could easily dissipate the excess heat from the attack and not let it build up. The question she had now was how her opponent sensed her. Did she stand out among the wind element? She supposed the traces of earth wouldn¡¯t blow away so easily, and fire might sense better through an allied element. Yet she hadn¡¯t even been close enough to sense the fire cultivators in the direction that should have been advantageous. Maybe it was a lucky guess, but the attack seemed like a stronger commitment than that should allow for. Maybe she could set up a defensive stronghold¡­ but that would only allow her opponent to prepare to overcome it. If only she could control the air element, but she¡¯d tried. Earth was the only thing she could manage. In that case, she should at least do a better job of countering that swirling flame attack. The way it moved through the air, maybe angling the stone barrier differently would make it miss her entirely? She managed to sense the attack coming slightly earlier the next time, flames riding the wind towards her. She slammed up a defensive wall, angling it and- she took half of the attack directly in her face. She split it in two, but one half slid right around the edges of her earthen barrier. There was no follow up attack to bring her down, but it ate through another chunk of her personal defenses. Diamond Defense also did little to help her skin from getting burned. It was something, but the heat still sunk through her skin. Ursel¡¯s nostrils flared and her feet stomped the ground. With a forceful shove, she pushed all of the lingering heat out from her into the ground all at once. It wasn¡¯t efficient or pleasant, but she wasn¡¯t interested in that at the moment. She slung her club over her shoulder and began to run. Between two branching paths she followed the one that had the strongest flow of air and maybe a lingering feeling of fire. When she rounded a corner to see Lileas forming a ball of fire energy- another exploding pinecone- both sides were surprised for a moment. Ursel¡¯s momentum carried her forward, and both hands grasped her club, swinging it forward and down. Lileas didn¡¯t even try to directly block, instead forming a wall of fire in front of her and stepping back. Her reaction was unfortunate, but she had to drop her formation of the exploding pinecone so it dispersed into nothing, the energy wasted. As for the wall of flames, Ursel¡¯s club smashed through it, heating up but leaving a gap for her to slip through. She wasn¡¯t that big, after all. She was growing, but still closer to a kid. The flames still beat against her on either side, but Lileas was running¡­ and not that quickly. At the very least, it seemed like pushing against the wind was harder for her. They were allied elements, but she was not in control of the wind- and earth overcame wind. Ursel got a couple good swings in, clipping Lileas¡¯ back as she wreathed herself in flames. She also tried for a sweep of the woman¡¯s legs, but didn¡¯t quite get it- and then the tunnels came to another split. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Lileas leaped to the side downwind in one of the tunnels, and a few moments later she was out of Ursel¡¯s reach. Ursel stopped, dropping her stone club and pressing her hands to the wall. She grit her teeth, pushing the heat out of them. The club could contain a lot of heat before it reached her, but it had its limits. Based on their few exchanges, Ursel thought she was going to lose. It wasn¡¯t really unreasonable to lose to a cultivator of similar cultivation with a dominant element, but it bothered Ursel. Her father¡¯s cycle of elements allowed him to overcome such things, but there were other exceptions as well. Yustina Milanovic apparently overcame water element cultivators with great regularity, despite being a pure fire cultivator. The thing was, she had a good understanding of the element. Ursel didn¡¯t get air. Or fire or water or darkness. Light wasn¡¯t any better. Ursel considered her situation as she gave her weapon a moment to cool off. The powerful wind was helping with that, at least. She kept her senses open for Lileas, but the woman wasn¡¯t interested in direct confrontations, it seemed. Though as a fire cultivator she didn¡¯t really lose out on them either. Earth overcame air. That let Ursel move against it fairly well, but it didn¡¯t really support her speed. Was it supposed to? In the other direction, air bolstered earth. That was normally demonstrated with air and plant life, an aspect of earth she didn¡¯t really work with. Perhaps she should, but she couldn¡¯t spontaneously learn it at this moment. The problem was even if air empowered earth, it took some sort of will to make that happen, and Ursel had no control over it. Except her breathing, but that didn¡¯t really count. Or did it? She focused on her breath for a few moments, drawing in deep. Was that really control over air, and if so did it matter? Actually, she did a better job of controlling air with earth more directly. Her first two times had been failures, but if she shaped a quick wall of earth more like a wedge the fire shouldn¡¯t really be able to swirl back towards her. She had to watch out for more exploding pinecones of fire though. Go too fast and she opened herself up to those, go too slow and the bombardment of swirling fire would continue forever. And here Ursel was, spending a good thirty seconds or more in one place. She forced the last bits of lingering heat out of her club and marched back upwind. Not too fast, but not too slow. That was the plan, and it more or less worked out. She noticed one of the fiery pinecones before she could run headlong into it. She wasn¡¯t quite sure what triggered them but¡­ she chucked a rock around the corner. It was pretty easy to get it to bounce off the walls at the angle she wanted with a bit of earth energy. Then fire rushed down the corridor towards her. Ursel dropped to the ground, and was glad that the explosion only released uncontrolled fire. Not being immediately next to it would have made it bearable, but she already had enough burns to deal with on her hands and sides. Her face might be blistering too. At least it mostly went over her. Ugh, and her hair. She was going to look like a boy for a while, with her hair burned down to basically nothing. The only option was to cut it short so it didn¡¯t show. Ursel took a deep breath. She was going to smash this woman. Determined feet carried her through the tunnels. She was getting used to the places they crossed each other- there were only so many intersections. Restricting herself to traveling in one direction was annoying, but at least she was able to sense upcoming threats. When another fire-swirl came, she managed her wedge formation. It worked but¡­ it was too much. Too inefficient. Fire pinecones popped up occasionally, and Ursel realized that they didn¡¯t make a perfect sphere of fire, but instead the little segments shot out like knives. That didn¡¯t change the way she had to react to them, but she found more efficient defensive methods. It wasn¡¯t elegant, but lying down on the floor with a little overhang of earth angling off a wall covered her well. Then bouncing a little rock- or a chunk of wall if there weren¡¯t any loose ones- and the fire was triggered. The last couple times Ursel was fairly certain she was pulling ahead, but she couldn¡¯t defeat Lileas if she couldn¡¯t find her¡­ and the other woman could most likely recover some spiritual energy by converting the allied air element. Ursel could only breathe it in, which¡­ maybe let her replenish the tiniest amount of her own spiritual energy. But it wasn¡¯t enough. She¡¯d have to find her. But how? That was the question. She found another pinecone and prepared to blow it up but instead¡­ ----- Given that she was basically the same cultivation and had a dominant element, Lileas thought this should have been an easy win. Sure, the kid was from a clan but the Firepine Palace wasn¡¯t a tiny sect. Lileas wasn¡¯t one of the most prominent disciples there at the moment, but she was still advancing at a reasonable pace. Most of the others just started first. She was still confident in her victory, but she hadn¡¯t found Ursel in a while. No pinecones exploding, no sensing her dissipating the heat from an attack, and she hadn¡¯t even broken any little threads of flame. Which meant she should be somewhere around this area. If she was turtling up this was the perfect time for Lileas to finish her off and be done with this. She pushed her way against the winds, preparing to pass one of her own traps. Then the ceiling fell on her head. If only it had been just the ceiling collapsing she might have been fine, but the girl and the stone club that was just as tall as her were the more relevant part of what fell. The most embarrassing part was getting knocked to the side into her own pinecone and used as a shield. That stunned her enough to prevent her from doing more than shifting her defenses towards Ursel- no wall of fire to keep her back. And then that stone club caught her in the ribs and sent her into the wall where she slumped unconscious. Chapter 177 Sometimes arenas wouldn''t match one or both cultivators, and they had to deal with their poor luck. The random choice of arena was watched by enough separate people that it was unlikely anyone could cheat if they wanted to. The current arena was little more than a large pool, which equally suited both Tirto and his opponent. Another cultivator from the Shimmering Islands, the Kekoa clan. Cahaya Kekoa, to be specific. He was one of the names Tirto had to learn for the sake of the clan, though Tirto would have ranked him towards the bottom of those he knew in importance. Unfortunately, his progress in the Foundation Phase was several ranks higher than Tirto. He was also a significant amount older, nearly twice Tirto¡¯s age. That made him think. Could he win? And if he couldn¡¯t, how could he win while minimizing embarrassment? Sure, losing to someone in their early twenties wasn¡¯t bad, but he was the young master of the Brandle clan. He didn¡¯t have long to think, however, as the match soon began and both sides stepped into the water. Cahaya carried a longer spear than Tirto¡¯s own, with a long tip and wide blades on the end. It would not be as agile, but it would excel at keeping enemies at bay- and the lack of agility only really applied if someone could get past the point. Water swirled as the two combatants approached each other. Tirto attempted a push of water to deflect Cahaya¡¯s spear, but he didn¡¯t manage to force it far enough off course. He had to block its return swing with his own spear, catching it below the head- unfortunately, the blade slipped off his weapon as Cahaya retracted it. Controlling the flow of water in such a battle was important. Because of its greater density, water was more effective than wind at redirecting things, and not just loose weapons but even people¡¯s movements. There were no natural tides to contend with, only Tirto and Cahaya. The waters pushed and pulled, swept and spun. Tirto attempted to build up a continuous swirl, but his efforts were held back. He wished he had his mother¡¯s control, able to instantly freeze or vaporize water¡­ but he was not quite there yet. Certainly, he couldn¡¯t do either in enough quantity to hinder another water cultivator. The battle at first appeared to be a stalemate, but Cahaya didn¡¯t have just one weapon. His spear was a powerful tool for offense and defense, but the Kekoa clan was also known for using a myriad of blades. Swinging a sword underwater was terribly difficult, and even those who were able to lessen the drag of the water ultimately found it more limiting than using a different sort of weapon. But Cahaya wasn¡¯t swinging around swords, but instead released small, dagger-like blades without any unnecessary features like a hilt or guard. They were carried by a wave of his energy, swirling together to create a storm of attacks. Tirto counteracted Cahaya¡¯s flow to some extent, but his opponent kept tight control over the weapons themselves. Even if he stopped the impact, the blades were meant to slip around, cutting as they passed rather than chopping with momentum. Tirto¡¯s main response was to keep his energy defenses solid, but the unfamiliar weapons cut through his defenses repeatedly, the greater power of his opponent overcoming Tirto. At this point, he had read enough into his enemies strength that if they were not in an arena match, he would find his chance to flee. He knew he was going to lose. He could surrender, but what would he learn then? He could try to learn something or make his loss look good. He watched the dancing blades, like a school of silvery fish reflecting light. Perhaps that was their inspiration for motion. They didn¡¯t move individually, but unfortunately that insight didn¡¯t help him much. He might be able to force his way past them, but then he would have to deal with Cahaya¡¯s spear. Tirto began to swim, though the motions he made were hardly relevant compared to his control of the water around him. He created his own personal flow, trying to keep just ahead of the school of blades. He created vortices behind him to disturb his own flow so they couldn¡¯t just take his streamlined path. Moving at his top speed, he couldn¡¯t keep it up for long¡­ but he managed to just pull away from the blades. Then he turned inward towards Cahaya. Charging straight at an opponent with a spear was foolish, but Tirto had noticed one flaw he might be able to exploit. He¡¯d been more or less staying on the same plane as Cahaya, but there was no reason he had to. The water was deep enough he could go over or under, so he chose over. His reason was simple- the sun might blind his opponent for an instant. That was all he could hope for. Tirto charged in and up, entering Cahaya¡¯s range at an angle. The spear thrust at him, and he parried it with his shorter weapon¡­ then used his other hand to grab onto it. When Cahaya pulled back, Tirto propelled himself forward along it. He shot down at an angle, spear tracing a trail of blood along his opponent¡¯s side. He only managed to pierce through Cahaya¡¯s defenses a small amount. Then, a massive surge of water pushed the two cultivators apart- and Tirto barely avoided being slammed into the school of blades swimming about. If he¡¯d managed any sort of real injury he might have kept fighting, but as it was now was the time to surrender. He¡¯d fought well enough. ----- John was proud of each of the triplets, and he let them know that. Though some had more victories than others, ultimately they couldn¡¯t continue beyond the early stages of the tournament. They were only in the Foundation Phase, after all and still quite young. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Tirto he praised for fighting in a situation he knew he was outmatched. Perhaps Matayal¡¯s words were more meaningful to their son, but he still had to make that connection. Melanthina had already received her praise- fighting against a light element cultivator skilled in ranged attacks was extremely difficult, especially with the arena favoring that cultivator. John wasn¡¯t sure if his words ultimately helped because it just reminder her of the battle and caused her to rant on about how much she hated Nik, but he thought it was ultimately positive. Ursel was good at fighting, and John was pretty certain she didn¡¯t care. So he focused less on the fact that she had several victories and more on how she made them look good. He tried not to praise her too much to be fair to her siblings, but she needed a little more motivation at the moment. Hopefully, he was doing it right. ----- The tournament continued on, and eventually it came time where John himself could fight. There was a relatively small collection of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, but there were still a few dozen participating from the surrounding countries. And a surprising number of them were younger, hovering around forty like John. And though that might have been middle aged on Earth, cultivation extended lifespans significantly. John could still be considered in his prime. His first opponent was a man not much older, perhaps a couple years. He was announced as Asgeirr of the Righteous Flame League, which was¡­ annoying. People were allowed to call themselves what they wanted, but from what he knew of this particular group they were a bit overzealous. ¡°Fortkran Tenebach,¡± Asgeirr stood in his gleaming armor across the arena sparsely scattered with vegetation, spear clutched tightly in his hand. ¡°Your clan has been a negative influence upon the Sunfields in recent years.¡± ¡°I believe I can claim some portion of the Golden Tomb Guardian¡¯s recent growth in strength. If anything, the growth of a faction such as that should only benefit the Sunfields.¡± Asgeirr shook his head, leveling his spear towards John. ¡°That cannot be so when they are led astray by darkness cultivators.¡± And that was the problem with the Righteous Flame League. It was natural for groups to clash where their ideologies misaligned, but the Righteous Flame League was of the opinion that cultivating darkness was always evil, regardless of anything else. Even though it was just another element. John wasn¡¯t sure what he knew about good and evil in this world, but it certainly wasn¡¯t what element people cultivated. Were many darkness cultivators evil? Certainly, but if he were to apply the same standards to those who cultivated other elements and were the warmongering sort, killing needlessly and excessively, then it could apply to any element. ¡°So what?¡± John asked. ¡°You plan to kill me?¡± ¡°In the sanctity of an agreed upon neutral zone? By no means. But suffering a defeat should allow the Guardians some perspective.¡± At least he wasn¡¯t all bad. John believed his words- though there were far too many people watching for anyone to get away with killing. Especially in the later rounds. Personally, of course, he had to take into consideration how far he would go in case his opponent got any stupid ideas. Some portion of his power would be held in reserve, just in case. The trees scattered about the arena were no doubt created by a technique similar to the Emerging Bamboo Sect. They were temporary constructions sustained only by the earth element suffusing the arena. That element might have given John an advantage, if not for one obvious thing. The Righteous Flame League, like many in the Sunfields, cultivated both fire and light. When the battle began, Asgeirr instantly caught on fire the copse of trees around him, waves of flame rolling from him as he charged straightforwardly towards John. John calculated the stabbing trajectory of the spear¡­ and threw into a place a barrier of water just as the man reached him. A flash of light came as the spear stabbed towards John, but the water scattered some of the blinding light, though the transitory water evaporated even as the spear pierced towards John. Somehow, attempting to blind people with light was more okay than doing so with darkness. Or something like that. John parried the spear, the heat from the fire surrounding it felt even through his coating of water. Normally he would attempt to suffuse the battlefield with darkness, but that would likely be a waste of energy. It would easily be dispersed¡­ and would be too slow for the pace of battle Asgeirr was setting. Against a light cultivator, John would be relying more on other elements with darkness playing only a supporting role. Weapons clashed as everything caught on fire. John used his earth to funnel the heat away from himself rather than directly defend with it. Then he formed a bubble of water, thicker than the barrier but less wide for its shape. Even though it would have been simple to go around, Asgeirr didn¡¯t even attempt it. Instead, he stabbed straight through it once more. Light scattered in all directions, and John kept his eyes continually squinting as he moved towards where Asgeirr had started, with the trees already having burned halfway down. The man charged once more, and John was ready with a bolt of lightning to face him directly. The lightning coursed down the man¡¯s spear, latching onto the few traces of water John had forced not to evaporate in the flames surrounding the man. At the same time, he parried the tip with his sword, sliding his blade along the shaft to squeeze inside the man¡¯s guard. It was hot, but he wasn¡¯t planning to stay long. His free hand punched forwards, pounding darkness into the man¡¯s chest. There was an instant reaction from the light, tearing apart the light element portion of his defenses. Then John stabbed his sword forward, water swirling around it to pierce through the fire. The light element tried to reform, but sneaky little bits of darkness clung onto the fire in the area, delaying the reforming for a moment. The sword pierced the man¡¯s armor, and Asgeirr drew back. John let him go, well aware the man could respond with his own violent explosion of energy. Though it seemed John was letting him catch his breath, the blood dripping from his chest would weaken him. On the other hand, John was circulating his energy to replenish himself and keep a good balance of elements. Drawing out the battle would only be to his advantage. Chapter 178 Since John had moved the battle to the already-burned trees the secondary effects of Asgeirr¡¯s flaming aura were minimal. Heating the air and directly affecting John were still possible, but it wasn¡¯t the same as the extra energy that came from having something on fire. Though the area around them did seem to be spewing fire elemental spiritual energy as things burned, providing slightly more recovery for Asgeirr. Ultimately that narrowed the advantage John had from being able to absorb multiple elements from the surroundings- but he was still pulling ahead. The fight was giving him a headache, though. The spear flashed at him when it stabbed towards him, repeatedly blinding him. Closing his eyes meant cutting off a valuable source of information, so he had to deal with it. He also created a sort of dense film of water in front of his eyes to minimize the effect, or at least distribute it around. Using darkness directly would have risked a negative reaction around his vulnerable eyes. As the battle continued, John parrying and dodging the spear while finding moments to close in or counter with a throwing dagger, he briefly wished his cycle of elements had gone in the other direction. Though perhaps it wasn¡¯t bad regardless. Water overcame fire, which meant that was what he needed to use- his other element just didn¡¯t support it directly. John thought about Matayal and the other members of the Brandle clan fighting. Not only did they also use spears like his opponent, more importantly they practiced the water element. Though he thought he was reasonably proficient with it, it was John¡¯s latest element. He had fewer years of experience than with the others. Another thing came to mind- Yustina¡¯s usage of fire. Perhaps that wasn¡¯t entirely appropriate at the moment, but the way it flowed like water¡­ it certainly didn¡¯t hurt to consider it. Air empowered his speed, and earth his defenses- even if fire could ultimately overcome earth, it was better than nothing. Meanwhile, water and darkness gathered together. One of the very first techniques John had learned, Gravity Blade, was excellent for drawing weapons together. If he wanted to go all out, he had to make sure his opponent wasn¡¯t free to sneak in an attack. He gathered his energy around his sword, stepping forward. In response, the spear came to hold him back but he flicked the tip aside. Then his blade clung to the body of the spear as he dashed towards Asgeirr. A surge of light came to unravel his technique, but John used rolling waves of water to push the surge of power back. Water and darkness gathered around his blade as he stabbed into Asgeirr¡¯s chest, one of his elements dominant and the other mutually destructive. The fire was quenched, and that left his opponent open to conflicting energies. John still had other elements to protect himself from the explosion, but his opponent had none- instead being thrown across the battlefield. John felt the arena¡¯s formations activate, dampening the blow and signaling his victory at the same time. Asgeirr drove his spear into the ground to stop himself, glaring at John. Few words had passed during the battle- they were both focused. But Asgeirr naturally returned to the topic from beforehand. ¡°Hiding your foul nature with smatterings of other elements will not absolve you of your deeds.¡± Then the man turned away. There wasn¡¯t much John could do if the Righteous Flame League hated the Tenebach clan simply for using the darkness element. At best, he could be cautious and advise the same for the Golden Tomb Guardians. At least they seemed like the kind that would come to stab him in his front instead of secretly plotting. ----- Since his next big step required understanding fire, even if he was still six ranks away from having to attune to a totem, John focused on observing fire type cultivators in the latter matches. That included Steve and Yustina, of course. Doing so gave John an appreciation for all the ways fire could look. It wasn¡¯t just yellow, orange, or red. Those were the ¡®normal¡¯ colors for fire, but even on Earth he knew that different things would burn different colors. He had learned that certain colors burned hotter¡­ though he knew that was only partly correct on Earth, and less so here. Different elements or mixtures of them would burn a different color, and that was a factor determined color and heat together. For cultivators who didn¡¯t necessarily even have to set anything on fire, it was more of a personal style than anything else. Brightness did come into play, but the rules simply weren¡¯t the same. For example, Steve- Lucanus- always had blue flames, even when he was a lower tier cultivator. Likewise, the cultivators from the Milanovic clan, and many others from the Green Sands, had flames that were also green in color. The huge variety in power between them meant there was something more going on. It was entirely possible that Steve¡¯s flames were blue because he felt it was better if it matched his hair, consciously or subconsciously. Though there could certainly be something deeper behind it. The current match between Steve and a woman from the Olivine Inferno Sect was hard to watch. Not because it was a lopsided battle or anything, but because the arena was suffused with the light element, a bright crystal in the center flooding the battlefield. John was fairly sure that the Tenebach clan¡¯s blessing was also making this worse. Or it was just difficult for every darkness cultivator to see, but he didn¡¯t have much to compare to. A few of the juniors of the clan, perhaps, but there weren¡¯t many other darkness cultivators he could speak to. Instead of two figures fighting, all John could see were fonts of blue and green which briefly pierced the blanket of light. And maybe he didn¡¯t need to see what the participants were doing, because he could feel it. Steve¡¯s way of using fire was blunt, like he was wielding a large hammer. Oh, he could be precise if he needed to, but it was clear he had a strong grip on the power and used it with great force. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. His flames would linger on opponents, reminding John of Clinging Affliction. Perhaps there was some small connection he could make use of there. Steve¡¯s opponent Irene was not part of the youngest generation, but somewhat older comparable to John¡¯s parents¡­ but with sufficient talent to have advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase along with the wave of others. Once clans and sects saw others attaining that level, they began to pour their resources into talented individuals to keep up. Whether they could sustain the process or not would determine their status in future generations. Green flames from Irene danced along the ground like a slithering serpent across the sands. Sometimes they snaked under the ground as well, erupting under her opponent with explosive power. In a way, it felt like a bolt of lightning- though quite different in actual form. The impression of the fight washed over John, but he was honestly unsure if he actually learned anything. Perhaps the fight was simply too far beyond him. Did he lack any talent in fire? Since the early parts of cultivation the small flame in him barely grew. Then again, without a totem he couldn¡¯t expect much. Perhaps his current difficulties were simply a matter of cultivation. Combining each element should reasonably get more and more difficult, and fire was a conquering element over his early core of earth. ----- Inside the Sea of Spiritual Totems, John found himself able to push to the fifth level. Though he was less than halfway through the Consolidated Soul Phase, he could maintain his presence at that level for a handful of minutes at a time. Totems at the further levels were much the same as the others, but more. More powerful¡­ but also more specific and exacting in what they required. Determining the properties was also more strenuous, and John found himself having to seek out individual totems multiple times to envision what they might do. The family¡¯s literature was almost useless- very little of the fifth layer of the Sea of Spiritual Totems had been explored, and the Tenebach clan only had information on a few of the darkness totems from many generations previous. Perhaps that didn¡¯t matter though. John didn¡¯t want to rely on the guidance or perception of others when he could find something suited for himself. He found himself tempted by various totems. A volcano, a great construct of earth that spewed fire. Thermal vents would flow nicely from his water totem. Fire was actually advantageous in that many of its totems were better able to grow, given time and effort. Fire liked to spread, after all. But of course, it still required a cultivator to pursue that route to power. John pulled himself back to his body where he found himself sweating profusely. Exertion and the heat of the totems themselves were both contributing factors. Cooling himself off and cleaning his body were relatively simple matters for someone of his cultivation, but he let himself lay in the bed for a few moments, experiencing the fatigue it brought. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was necessary to keep pushing himself further. He was already strong enough, wasn¡¯t he? Then his eyes settled onto his wife next to him, snuggling peacefully. Matayal of course brought to mind their clans and their children, and so much more. Watching the tournament let him realize how many powerful figures there were around him, previously hidden or perhaps only recently leaping forward. It wasn¡¯t entirely true that cultivators and clans that weren¡¯t growing in power would instead lose it¡­ but it would certainly be easy for that to happen if one grew incautious. ----- The triplets had become motivated to grow stronger during the tournament. Suffering actual losses was one thing- against anyone in either clan close to their age, they would dominate¡­ and even against those of similar cultivation they would usually win, with the exception of each other where they remained almost evenly matched. Being exposed to a wider range of people had broadened their horizons. Tirto realized he could lose to other water cultivators outside of the clan- sparring with others from the Shimmering Islands had been limited by the disparity between his cultivation and age. Melanthina was perhaps a bit obsessively motivated to take down the fellow from the Combining Luster Sect that had defeated her, but learning to fight against opponents such as Nik would be good for her. And Ursel¡­ wanted to learn to grow plants. ¡°I want to train in the Viridia Wildlands!¡± Ursel exclaimed. ¡°Please?¡± It wasn¡¯t fair for his cute little girl to be so motivated. How was he supposed to refuse her? Why was he supposed to refuse her? Oh yes, danger. As the words were preparing to leave his lips, he knew they were stupid. ¡°It¡¯s quite far, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Not any farther from then Shimmering Islands than between the two clans!¡± Ursel protested. It was annoying that she was right. But it was further from John himself. Oh no. Was he going to become a stifling parent? It hadn¡¯t been long since he was wishing Ursel was motivated or ambitious. Then again, going so far away¡­ she already felt she didn¡¯t fit, what if that made things worse? ¡°We don¡¯t really have any contacts there yet,¡± John said. ¡°Then get some! We send groups to meet with different clans all the time.¡± That was true, but most were closer and didn¡¯t involve the triplets. After the attack in the Kelp Spire Forest he couldn¡¯t help but worry. Then again, the Viridia Wildlands were quite far removed from any enemies they¡¯d had previous or during the current moment. ¡°I need to talk to your mother about it,¡± John said. ¡°If we¡¯re to arrange for something, it will likely be through the Brandle clan. I can¡¯t promise anything yet though.¡± Maybe he could just go on a trip? But spending more than a month or two away from the clan was difficult, and there were the travel times¡­ which wouldn¡¯t leave long for any sort of decent training. ¡­ Being a parent was hard. John was almost certain it would be easier to master the fire element without a totem than manage to be a perfect parent. But he didn¡¯t have to be perfect. Just good enough. Though for the sake of his children, he had to have high standards. But really, Ursel off on her own in dangerous jungles? Sure, John could only imagine the beasts finding that she was harder to handle than they thought, and she wouldn¡¯t actually be alone, but it was still difficult. He definitely needed to talk to Matayal about it. Perhaps there was something closer that would satisfy her. Chapter 179 For a while, John wondered how his parents had managed to avoid worrying themselves to death about him. The answer he finally came up with was not particularly inspiring. Fortkran was the sort who got to the point the Tenebach clan was thinking about replacing him. Before that, even if they had love for that version of him- which he didn¡¯t care if they did- he might have caused them worry because he got into trouble. Just not mortal peril. There was no danger in training if he never did anything exceptional. But the former not-John had been dead for either a third, half, or a full lifetime depending on how John wanted to count it. His full memories made it close to a third of that, and fortunately Fortkran wasn¡¯t causing any specific trouble anymore¡­ nothing that wasn¡¯t memory, at least. Unfortunately none of that prepared him for his personal worries, specifically about his daughters. He loved Tirto, but the young man was doing just fine and not getting into any trouble. Maybe that meant it would all come later, but for the moment he didn¡¯t have to deal with it too much. And when the time came, it would mainly be Matayal¡¯s responsibility as his favored parent. The problem John was facing now was that both of his daughters were suddenly interested in going on journeys to advance their training, and he both couldn¡¯t stay away from the clan for an indefinite period without a stronger reason¡­ and he also couldn¡¯t be in two places at once. Just in case, he quickly scanned through the Tenebach technique library and asked Matayal do the same, but there was nothing about a technique allowing a cultivator to exist in two places at once. Not in any real capacity or at any distance, at least. There were ways to make fakes, but they were basically illusions and couldn¡¯t function without the control of the actual cultivator themselves. Ursel remained serious about her desire to train in the Viridia Wildlands. Having her be actually excited about a training opportunity meant he couldn¡¯t just deny her. But at the same time, Melanthina wanted to go train with the Golden Tomb Guardians for¡­ some reason. He certainly didn¡¯t mind her working on dealing with light element cultivators, but she didn¡¯t have a good reason. Not that she would say at least. ¡°I just thought¡­ I should get better at fighting against light element cultivators,¡± Melanthina explained vaguel when he asked about it. ¡°Since I¡¯m going to be the head of the Tenebach clan and all.¡± John nodded, ¡°So, it has nothing to do with you losing to one in the tournament?¡± ¡°N-no! Of course not. I mean, not him specifically. But I have to get better so I can seek my revenge!¡± This left John with mere speculations about her true motivations. He didn¡¯t want to voice them or even think about them in case it made them real. But at least she was motivated to grow, and not just from the clan pushing her towards something. ¡°I will help you arrange for training,¡± John said, ¡°But it might take some time. There are some complications with just sending you to the Sunfields. Not least of which is¡­ it will be highly unpleasant for you.¡± ¡°Ciaritzal can help with that!¡± Melanthina nodded, ¡°He said he¡¯d come with me!¡± ¡°Did he?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s surprising that you didn¡¯t think to ask me about this. Especially considering that it seems like an excellent way to start a diplomatic incident.¡± ¡°... We get along with the Golden Tomb Guardians though, right? Aren¡¯t we allies?¡± ¡°We are.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s the problem? Ciaritzal even likes Cuah¡¯arn, everyone will be happy.¡± ¡°So you considered the potential consequences of taking our clan¡¯s guardian beast through territory full of light element cultivators that might want to kill him or us?¡± John narrowed his eyes at Melanthina. ¡°Well I¡­¡± she looked away. ¡°We could just keep it a secret.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to speak with Ciaritzal. Then we will discuss what is actually happening.¡± ----- ¡°So?¡± John asked to the pool of deeper darkness that was in the shape of a large beast- not quite matching either a large cat or canine. ¡°What did you and Melanthina actually talk about?¡± John got the impression of teeth that were probably something like a smile. And still extremely threatening. ¡°Basically what she said. She asked me to go along, and I said I would.¡± ¡°You actually want to see Cuah¡¯arn?¡± ¡°Of course. We have old scores to settle. Do not worry,¡± Ciaritzal slunk around behind John as he spoke. ¡°It would ultimately be beneficial to all of us. And give you more chances to speak with the newest member of your group. That will ultimately provide you with more opportunities for growth, and the alliance could be beneficial.¡± John nodded. ¡°Its strange. Ultimately, if my cultivation path continues, I will grow more incompatible with you.¡± ¡°Only in the elemental sense,¡± Ciaritzal made a low rumble, ¡°Our other affinities will not change. But you need only maintain the former for a small number of years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The empowerment ceremony¡­¡± John frowned, ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to a drop in my cultivation.¡± ¡°Then make sure you are well prepared. I am no longer incomplete. With proper preparations, you and the rest of the older generation will only have temporal fatigue. Though much of that depends on you in particular.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good to know,¡± John admitted. ¡°I had considered that it might not need to happen the same way¡­ though I certainly need to make sure the next generation gets the best benefits it can. Some have been waiting for¡­ a while.¡± ¡°Melanthina should be able to handle the results soon enough, though she is already quite strong in her affinity.¡± ¡°What about Tirto and Ursel? Could they undergo the blessing? Should they?¡± ¡°They could¡­¡± Ciartizal drew out the word, ¡°But I would not recommend it. Especially your daughter Ursel has terrible affinity for darkness. Mixing that up with her cultivation already advanced would be inadvisable. I must admit I am unsure of your son, but I fear the process could diminish his water affinity.¡± ¡°I see. I suppose we don¡¯t need to discuss it further then. Are you really alright with going to the Sunlands?¡± ¡°I would suffer little if you were to carry me along¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not staying the whole time,¡± John shook his head. ¡°If I even have the time to go myself.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m certain they can provide a tolerable place for me to stay,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°Your daughter would only be burdened by my¡­ direct presence. Until her cultivation improves, at least.¡± ----- With vague plans for Melanthina, there was still Ursel. ¡°Can we go now?¡± John¡¯s second daughter asked. ¡°First of all, if you¡¯re serious about the training it won¡¯t just be a short trip. I may not be able to join you for any of it.¡± ¡°But Melanthina said you¡¯re taking her to-¡± ¡°Somewhere closer, if I go at all,¡± John answered. ¡°There is clan business here for me to attend to.¡± ¡°What, like sitting and talking with people? None of them are important!¡± John sighed, ¡°While I don¡¯t actually care about most of the visitors, that does not make them unimportant, or at least what they represent. You may not be taking on the responsibility of running a clan, but you should know the importance of politics.¡± ¡°Mmn,¡± Ursel grunted in vague acknowledgement. ¡°It¡¯s still stupid though.¡± ¡°I agree, but neither of us are strong enough to ignore it.¡± ¡°... not even you and mom?¡± ¡°We¡¯re mid Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Last generation¡­ maybe that would have been close. But as it is, we¡¯re not strong enough to just ignore everyone and everything. Even if we became Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, I imagine that would just draw in trouble from further away that we¡¯d have to deal with.¡± ¡°That sounds hard. Is your cultivation¡­ not going well?¡± ¡°It is progressing well enough, but we¡¯ve been busy with¡­ clan related business.¡± He almost said raising the triplets, but Ursel already had problems with thinking herself of something like a burden or unnecessary. As if¡­ anyone was necessary, really. ¡°As for your training¡­ your trip to the Viridia Wildlands may require a couple months.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Because Renato will be going with you.¡± Ursel looked a bit disappointed in that- though John knew she was at least fond of the man. ¡°Besides, I wouldn¡¯t be able to escort you if you went right away.¡± ¡°You¡¯re coming?¡± Ursel¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°If you wait, I can find the time.¡± It was a shame that Melanthina would be coming chronologically first. Perhaps Ursel would do well with a bit more exclusive time with him before that excursion took place. ----- If Ciaritzal actually took up space, the inside of the carriage would be extremely cramped. As it was, it still felt that way. But it was more comfortable to have Ciaritzal lounging about in the open than strictly tagging along inside John. Just because he could carry the guardian beast with him didn¡¯t mean it was an appropriate long term arrangement. ¡°We¡¯re in Astrain again, right?¡± Melanthina asked as she looked out of the window. ¡°It¡¯s so¡­ flat. And lifeless.¡± John was aware there was plenty of life in the area, but the reason it doubtless felt like it was because the spiritual energy was evenly mixed. It didn¡¯t have a distinctive feel of any sort. Even the carriage had difficulties filtering much in the way of darkness element for those inside, though that was unnecessary with Ciaritzal inside. John had long ago stopped thinking about spiritual energy as being perfectly logical. Cultivators generally drew it from the world around them, but animals and plants could produce it inside of them, in small quantities at least. That included humans. As for spiritual beasts like Ciaritzal, it was much greater. Even so, for something like Ciaritzal to grow stronger required a higher density of a particular element. That was why he had a lair- or now the new series of tunnels beneath the clan. Building up an area like that was the safe, passive method of growth for the guardian beast. The active method¡­ fighting and devouring. Some of that had happened with the Society of Midnight, though quite a bit of Ciaritzal¡¯s ¡®growth¡¯ there had been the return of his final fragments. The bits Faramund had annihilated to break through were regrown instead, though presumably not quite the same. But ultimately, everything came down to power. ¡°Astrein is much more pleasant than the Sunfields will be,¡± John reminded Melanthina. ¡°They are hot¡­ and bright.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been to the Milanovic clan,¡± Melanthina nodded, ¡°I know what hot is like.¡± ¡°... the light element will be worse,¡± John sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t go to the area until I was stronger than you. It¡¯ll be hard to resist.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the whole point though, right?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Training so I can resist that stuff and beat up that stupid- I mean, generally overcome any light element cultivator. If I happen to run into more of them.¡± John had the feeling she¡¯d nearly mentioned a specific name, which only solidified some of the options. The way she¡¯d spoken of that kid she lost to, Nik¡­ he¡¯d certainly have to arrange for a rematch at some point. ----- Darkness cultivators were terrifying. That was what Nik had decided. The Darklands were immediately north of the Prism Underfields, but coming to the tournament the Combining Luster Sect had completely circumvented the place, heading through the Wuthering Steppes and then Green Sands. After crawling up out of the Deadfields of course. It was pretty much impossible to go directly because of the Annihilation Strip in between, but going around to the west through the bogs got him into the Darklands soon enough. And then he was swarmed by cultivators and bugs. Technically, he¡¯d asked for it. The Calamitous Swarm was looking for training partners, more from the perspective of wanting to temper the weaknesses of their insect companions than out of any desire to interact with others, specifically light cultivators. At least when he killed them and they exploded nobody got mad. If it had been people, though, it would be completely different. And that counted dark haired cultivators sneaking up to stab him in the spine. Chapter 180 Despite only one of his totems and thus somewhere more than a quarter of his spiritual energy being darkness element, John found that being in the Sunfields was harder on him than Melanthina. Was it because his cultivation was higher, because of Ciaritzal, or was there something more? Maybe his problem was that he wasn¡¯t completely ignoring it. He wasn¡¯t stupid enough to attempt to draw any of it inside himself at the moment, but trying to control the light element was¡­ painful. It probably should have occurred to him that a full cycle of elements was only theoretical, but then again it was likely nobody expected him to advance beyond the Foundation Phase, or maybe he might reach the Soul Expansion Phase. He needed to talk to his grandfather more about that at some point. But if he had advanced like his parents in this world, that was about where he would have ended up. It wouldn¡¯t have been considered unreasonable, before the current wave of cultivation. John watched Melanthina as she leaned her head against the side of the carriage. Her strained face made it clear that even the small amount of light element filtering through was uncomfortable, but she didn¡¯t shy away from it. Instead, she protected herself as best she could. Diffuse light element didn¡¯t have the same explosive reaction with darkness, but it still wore away at it. John felt her trying different things, including copying what he did to some extent- though John¡¯s actual best defense was to create a film of air element to keep things separate. If he did that, he could basically ignore the problem¡­ but he wouldn¡¯t get any better at handling light. He was still quite far from needing to consider that, of course. He still had most of the Consolidated Soul Phase to get through, and first he would have to gain more familiarity with fire. ----- The journey through the Sunfields was not terribly difficult, though they took a specific route to avoid going near the territory of the wrong sects. The Luminous Harmony Sect was still on terrible terms with the Golden Tomb Guardians, and they would doubtless like to get back at John for his part in damaging them. It was only their fault, of course, but even though the Golden Tomb Guardians had been able to retaliate, the other sect persisted. Then there was the Righteous Flame League. They were rather open about hating any darkness cultivator, and approaching too close to the northern territory where they were might be seen as a provocation of sorts. John really didn¡¯t want to end up in conflict with them, because the Tenebach clan didn¡¯t really need to gain new generational enemies. It would be better to get along without anything like that¡­ and it wouldn¡¯t be possible to wipe out the Righteous Flame League if it came down to it. The Society of Midnight in the Darklands was one thing, but doing something similar in the Sunfields? Unlikely. And pointless, because they would both lose good cultivators for nothing. ----- ¡°Uuuuuugh!¡± Melanthina complained. ¡°Is everything here awful like this?¡± John pat his daughter on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is training. Exactly what you wanted isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything that would be worse than a constant bombardment of light.¡± ¡°Then I would suggest not entering the Tomb itself,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m serious about that. You could die. Not that they¡¯d let you, anyway.¡± ¡°Is that where their guardian beast stays?¡± That information wasn¡¯t exactly public, but at some point talking about Ciaritzal had brought it up. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s terrible in there.¡± Ciaritzal slunk his way out into the open. The Golden Tomb Guardians knew he was present, of course, but it would still make most of them uncomfortable to actually see him so he mostly stayed hidden. Sparkles of light colliding with darkness and annihilating each other flickered about his edges. ¡°An interesting place.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you been here before?¡± John asked. ¡°Not exactly,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°The Golden Tomb Guardians did not exist in this manner during my previous¡­ interactions with Cuah¡¯arn.¡± ¡°Right. Of course not.¡± The whole reason there was a tomb was the injured Cuah¡¯arn. The Golden Tomb Guardians had provided shelter while benefiting from Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s nature as a spirit beast, though they kept that information secret. Hidden in plain sight, really. ----- Just managing not to throw up was pushing Melanthina to her limits. Agreeing to actually spar was so much worse, though at least the sparring chamber the Golden Tomb Guardians had set up was able to filter out some of the light element for the sake of visitors. It didn¡¯t get all of it, which provided a slight advantage, but that was generally expected for anyone to have a home ground advantage. It was just worse for Melanthina than anyone not attuned to darkness. They paired her with weaker opponents at first. Like, really weak. People in the eighth or ninth rank, not even in the Foundation Phase. And yet, they were a handful of years older than her¡­ and it wasn¡¯t an inappropriate matchup, with the disadvantage from even the lesser amount of light suffusing the battlefield. Fighting against the Golden Tomb Guardians was quite different from fighting someone from the Combining Luster Sect. Sure, she¡¯d only fought Nik but it was immediately obvious that the styles were different. They focused more on melee combat, wielding a short staff- but it was deceptive. At any moment, blades could extend from either end¡­ and they could also disappear the moment she tried to block. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Not that Melanthina was fond of blocking. Direct confrontations were never her favorite option, and against a light cultivator? It was just asking for the battle to be over with everyone riddled full of holes. Though theoretically the arena would blunt the damage, it wasn¡¯t as good as Astrein¡¯s which had the advantage of wealth pouring in from many sources. Melanthina actually quite liked the fighting style. It was tricky, and she stole little bits of it for herself. She wasn¡¯t sure about attempting the same thing exactly, but she attempted extending a blade of darkness from the rear side of a dagger she held. That could be a good surprise attack for whoever she needed to take out. It wasn¡¯t a structurally sound as reinforcing a proper blade, and she didn¡¯t have the leverage advantage the short staff gave to the Golden Tomb Guardians, but it was an option. Then after sparring was over she collapsed onto the ground until her father came to carry her away into their nice, almost completely light element free room. After resting there for a while she could actually eat something, digesting it overnight and then skipping breakfast in the morning because she would just lose it anyway. ----- Talking with Deirdre- or Odette as the current inhabitant had once been known- John was able to help with things she couldn¡¯t talk about to just anyone. She wasn¡¯t exactly ready to tell everyone she transmigrated, but at least she¡¯d grown to actually believe everything was real and try to settle into her new life. ¡°It¡¯s crazy!¡± she said. ¡°I have all these memories about cultivating and stuff, but I¡¯m basically new. My body almost fights without me, even after training for over a year. And I¡¯m strong but¡­ I didn¡¯t really do anything to earn this. It was all¡­ her.¡± John didn¡¯t have much to say to that. Saying he was sorry for what happened would only get him the same response- that the original Deirdre wouldn¡¯t blame him, and Odette was just happy to be alive. Even if she wouldn¡¯t really talk about how she had died. Personally, John thought swerving off the road was an embarrassing enough way to go. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t exactly relate to that part,¡± John said. ¡°The original Fortkran died from failed cultivation and I ended up back at the beginning. Not that he had even made it to the Foundation Phase.¡± ¡°And now you¡¯re really strong, whereas I¡¯m just¡­¡± Odette gestured towards herself. ¡°This, I guess. I kind of understand cultivation, but I¡¯m not really sure. I have so many thoughts flow through my head and I don¡¯t know if any of them are right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the whole process,¡± John shrugged, ¡°Gathering energy and insights and trying to piece everything together. And I wouldn¡¯t worry about your talent. You still managed to advance a rank since you came here¡­ and as a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator, it¡¯s not easy to do that. The final insights and control are the most important, and they had to come from you.¡± Odette nodded. ¡°I guess that¡¯s good to hear. There are just so many expectations for me! I never thought I would fight so much¡­¡± ¡°Me neither,¡± John shrugged. ¡°But in this world, that¡¯s the norm. Personally, I¡¯m glad to have power when it could have ended up quite different.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Odette nodded. ¡°And Cuah¡¯arn actually lets me spend time with her, which I guess makes me special here. I can¡¯t believe you told your family about it though. I don¡¯t even know who to tell! If you didn¡¯t discover it immediately I might not have told anyone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the club is for,¡± John shrugged. ¡°So we have some people to talk to. But honestly, half of mine was being intimidated by the memories of my grandfather¡¯s power. I was fortunate that Fortkran was¡­ undesirable. Though cultivators are more likely than not to make a practical choice regardless. If the previous me had been decent, they might not have been happy with me replacing him, but they probably would have accepted it.¡± ¡°And then you just accepted an arranged marriage.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I couldn¡¯t really fight it. And Matayal was very supportive of the new me. I¡¯m lucky we actually managed to fall in love. And unlucky that the way we arranged things means not spending every day with her. We¡¯re gonna have to live a really long time to make up for that.¡± ¡°Do cultivators really live longer? I mean, I know something about that but¡­¡± ¡°Look at me,¡± John gestured. ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m fortyish?¡± He quickly moved on from that. ¡°And my grandfather is well over a hundred. He didn¡¯t have kids until he was my age at least. And Faramund was¡­ at least a couple hundred. It¡¯s weird, basically feeling like a young kid yet among the strongest¡­ in this region. And then my actual kids were born with crazy affinities and it¡¯s probably even weirder for them.¡± ¡°Your daughter is cute.¡± ¡°Probably gets that from her mother. And the stubbornness from both of us.¡± ----- The dynamic between Ciaritzal and Cuah¡¯arn was completely different depending on the circumstances. John had only seen them interact a few times, but when Deirdre had been brought to him by Cuah¡¯arn they didn¡¯t even show signs of hostility towards each other. But now that they were coming together for some sort of official spar¡­ ¡°Prepare yourself, old bird!¡± Ciaritzal hiss-growled, his voice forming without an actual physical component to produce it. ¡°I¡¯m not going to go easy on you just because we¡¯re in your home!¡± ¡°Likewise. If you complain about your defeat because you chose it to be in this location, I will have no sympathy.¡± It was quite dramatic¡­ but if it was an actual show it was kind of a waste. Very few people were watching. Just John, Deirdre, and Sect Head Lambert. They were in the core of Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s ¡®tomb¡¯, where the light was strongest. John was present because he was to watch over Ciaritzal, obviously. Odette seemed to have a better affinity for Cuah¡¯arn than the original Deidre, and of course the Sect Head had to be present. Melanthina could have been, if she could stomach stepping one foot inside the area. The battle was¡­ hard to watch. Not that it was awkward or uncomfortably gory or anything like that, but because it physically hurt his eyes. Going from light to dark to light immediately was a larger swing than just suddenly having his eyes flooded with light. He could only barely pick out what was going on with his energy senses, though the shockwaves of power were quite clear. When it ended, it appeared that Ciaritzal might have come out somewhat the worse for wear, but both sides dripped blood that disappeared upon making contact with the floor. ¡°I guess you win this one,¡± Ciaritzal said, sliding over towards John. ¡°You will have to come for a rematch in my territory at some point, glowing bird.¡± Despite his apparent loss, John could feel Ciaritzal was rather happy. Then again, he was a spirit beast that only got to hang around humans. Interacting with an old rival might bring back fond memories. Chapter 181 Slowly, ever so slowly motes of light elemental spiritual energy were drawn towards John¡¯s hand. The speed was both a consequence of caution and simple inability to go more quickly. As they drew closer, small tendrils of darkness were drawn towards them. There was a flash, not of light but pure energy¡­ and both were gone. The same issues with the light element continued to bother John. He knew that light and darkness elements were not the same thing as light and darkness on Earth. For one thing, while light existed darkness did not. It was simply the lack of light, not a tangible thing. On Earth, that is. Here, he could hold it in his hand. But not all darkness nor all light was a product of spiritual energy, though they would tend to create them, or perhaps draw them from unknown places. The important part was the spiritual energy itself and how it functioned. Darkness was¡­ deception, concealment, falsity¡­ a drawing in and a false weight. Light, in turn, projected itself outward. He had some other academic knowledge of it, but as for practically controlling it, it seemed to want to slip out of his grasp instead of cling to him. That could be in part his affinity for darkness, and in part the true nature of the energy. There was an exception to its tendency to pull away from him- that was when light chanced upon a gathering of darkness. There, it was attracted to the pull of darkness¡­ or perhaps it felt an innate hatred? Not that John thought spiritual energy by itself was capable of actual feeling. Certainly not in typical circumstances, though he wouldn¡¯t rule it out completely. Perhaps that was what spiritual beasts were, in a way. When light and darkness were drawn together, there was little else John could do to observe what was happening than watch the explosion. It didn¡¯t matter if they were large or small, he got little out of it but a momentary sense of amusement. Perhaps they were simply incapable of existing in harmony. A full cycle might simply be impossible¡­ though John thought he could at least finish the cycle of core elements. Presuming that he might reach the Exalted Soul Phase was a bit much regardless. ----- As it turned out, John was wrong. Not about his likelihood of reaching the Exalted Soul Phase, but something closer and more observable. He wasn¡¯t entirely wrong, but when he went to check on Melanthina¡¯s progress he was surprised to say the least. A blade of light swept down towards Melanthina, but her hand brought her dagger up to parry it. As her blade grazed against the light there should have been a swift rejection of energy, but instead she pulled it along like a trail, her dagger sweeping around towards her opponent¡¯s chest. There, the trail of light snapped forward past the tip of her dagger before finally interacting with Melanthina¡¯s own darkness element. There was an explosion of energy, relatively smaller in the grand scheme of things¡­ but carefully directed away from Melanthina, costing her little and her opponent much. She was not able to achieve the same result every time. Occasionally, she would suffer to her disadvantage of reach and take a hit herself, whatever abilities she had to draw along the light useless. And sometimes her interactions went more according to the standard, her energy reacting immediately with her opponent and forcing them apart. But sometimes there was a dazzling trail of intertwining energy that tore into her opponent. Fortunately the safety precautions kept anyone from being too injured, but it was impossible to have a serious spar without some risk of injury, beyond a certain cultivation limit. After her match Melanthina came running over to John, showing off an injury on her shoulder. A cut combined with a burn, skin reddish beyond the wound itself like she had spent too long in the sun. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t quite that, because John didn¡¯t want to think about skin cancer. Though it seemed that there was quite a bit cultivators could do to combat any health issues that arose, except for those caused by time itself. ¡°Look at this!¡± she complained, ¡°Ugh. Fighting against light element cultivators is a pain.¡± Melanthina grimaced. ¡°Physically and mentally, too. My head hurts being here and thinking about the light element so much.¡± ¡°Are you learning, at least?¡± John knew she absolutely was, but whether she knew that was a different question. ¡°I guess,¡± she shrugged. ¡°I was kind of hoping that they could teach me to fight against¡­ light beams and stuff. Because I- well, because light cultivators do that kind of thing. But not many people here do, and not the same way that¡­ some other cultivators do.¡± John nodded, waiting to see if she would continue. ¡°I did try to make some darkness beams but¡­ it wasn¡¯t the same.¡± ¡°Projecting energy without a specialized technique is difficult, especially for the elements aligned with darkness. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know any method that does that. Which is why I throw daggers. Attached to something, it¡¯s easier.¡± ¡°Slower though¡­¡± Melanthina frowned. ¡°Kind of. It takes a moment for light techniques to reach their full power, so you can dodge them before they get there. But after that, they¡¯re just there instantly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably not instant,¡± John said. He assumed that the speed of light still applied in this world, even for light element techniques, ¡°But it¡¯s certainly close enough.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yeah,¡± she nodded. ¡°And it¡¯s not fair that some people can like¡­ redirect things to where you dodge or whatever. And light isn¡¯t supposed to bounce off things!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ exactly what most of it does,¡± John said. ¡°That¡¯s how vision works.¡± He avoided saying the other thing he wanted to say, because his daughter was still taking her loss very seriously. Enough that it screwed up her normal method of speaking as she tried to avoid saying certain things. ¡°Yeah but not like¡­ like that,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Not like everything¡¯s a mirror.¡± ¡°I imagine it takes a lot of training to accomplish that.¡± ¡°Yeah right!¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Nik is barely even older than me! There¡¯s no way he trained more than me! He¡¯s not even important! Just some random disciple of a boring sect!¡± John sighed. What was he supposed to do about this? He¡¯d promised her a rematch, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he could accomplish that without his daughter killing someone. Or worse. At least she was motivated with her training¡­ though John couldn¡¯t remain with her much longer. But the rest of the clan members would take care of her, and the Golden Tomb Guardians would as well. ----- ¡°We¡¯re really going?!¡± Ursel danced around excitedly, shaking the room ever so slightly as she subconsciously made use of her energy. Normally she was better controlled than this, but circumstances were special here. ¡°I told you we would, didn¡¯t I?¡± John smiled down at his second daughter. ¡°Yeah but then you ran off with Melanthina for like, a year!¡± Ursel grumped. ¡°It¡¯s been two months, and a good portion of that was travel time.¡± As John rubbed Ursel¡¯s head, he realized that it was an extremely rare occasion for the triplets to not all be together¡­ at least, staying at the same clan. Which meant one of them was always out of place. And from what John knew, Ursel herself always felt like that. She was still young and immature, so it wasn¡¯t really a big deal¡­ but it could feel like it. And as puberty came around, feelings were more important than ever. Feeling like you didn¡¯t belong in the world wasn¡¯t something John had terribly much experience with, but the fact that Ursel was upset about it more than nearly dying, he had to take it seriously even if later it wouldn¡¯t be that relevant. It wasn¡¯t as if Ursel didn¡¯t fit into the world as a whole. She was a cultivator, and would be a strong one once she had more time to grow. That was the easiest way to fit in¡­ but she likely didn¡¯t care about that as much as her family. ¡°We managed to get an opportunity to train with the Emerging Bamboo Sect like you wanted,¡± John explained, ¡°But we can¡¯t stay too long. Maybe three or four months, since we need to return within half a year.¡± ¡°... Four months?¡± Ursel hugged her father¡¯s waist. ¡°Thank you!¡± He held onto her. Even if she was going with the longer estimate, she at least seemed genuinely happy. It wasn¡¯t even that long. Four months was just¡­ actually, that was still a very significant portion of her life. She was still young, after all. ----- The current excursion with Ursel was more something of the Order of the Amber Heart than a clan related activity. There were some members of the Tenebach clan who cultivated earth- they were located in the Stone Conglomerate after all- but the rest wouldn¡¯t have much to gain from the journey. Their route took them through the southernmost parts of the Shimmering Islands and their sea, not because it was more direct but rather because it was safer. Most ships preferred to avoid the stormier parts of the sea unless they absolutely had to be involved, and when taking larger numbers of people that became a requirement. It wasn¡¯t just John and Ursel on the Wavecutter. Captain Sohan was usually busy anyway. It was a journey of weeks to arrive in the southern third of the Viridia Wildlands, but that was not the end. Instead, it was merely where they were able to make port, docks sequestered in the shelter of large mangroves. The salty trees continued for a considerable distance inland before being replaced by others more suited to the specific location. When they arrived, it was raining. And then it was sunny. Then it was a combination of both. John wasn¡¯t quite sure what allowed a rainforest to be oriented north-to-south instead of between specific lines of latitude, but the huge masses of spiritual energy certain places had was a greater effect upon weather patterns than things like the sun. At least, that seemed to be the case. They were met at the docks by the Emerging Bamboo Sect, this particular group led by a woman named Chandra. She was on the brink of the Consolidated Soul Phase, close to the same age as John and Renato. The whole region was experiencing a period of strangely high cultivation growth, but that was just how things worked sometimes. ¡°Greetings,¡± she bowed to the group. ¡°We¡¯re happy to receive your group for an exchange of knowledge. First, though, we must find our way to the Sect.¡± She gestured towards the forest behind her. ¡°Come along. And don¡¯t touch any of the plants.¡± It was a very strange and ultimately impossible request. Or as John learned rather quickly, warning. Plants grew out over the road they were traversing, and though John thought it was because of infrequent traffic or neglect, he was quite wrong. The disciples of the Emerging Bamboo Sect walked ahead, clearing the path. As their feet touched the ground, those in front released waves of earth element energy, driving the plants off the road, vines and roots coiling away. It seemed to be a frequent occurrence, as thick walls of plants flanked the roads on either side, even denser than the general rainforest around them. Yet even with the road cleared, John felt the plants growing back towards the road, seeking out any available sunlight it provided. It wasn¡¯t just a hunch, he could actually feel some of them growing. Some might snake across the road within a few hours, others might take days or weeks¡­ but before long, the road would be nearly impossible to find. John wondered why they would not cut the plants back. Many of them carried blades, heavy machetes meant for chopping through the jungles. They even used them on a few dangling vines, which seemed much easier than what they were doing with their energy. But he couldn¡¯t quite be sure. Then he realized he should be watching in depth how they controlled the plants, because that was some of the training they had come for. Chapter 182 The first hours of trekking into the Viridia Wildlands were pleasant. John was not the only one who attempted the same thing as the Emerging Bamboo Sect, using earth energy to control the surrounding plants. The results were¡­ mixed. Some tried to push against the plants directly with their energy, not understanding the mechanics behind what was done. The result was often the opposite of what they expected, the bushes and vines stretching out onto the road to seek the threads of energy. John was able to use that same attraction to curl some of the underbrush further from the road, but he didn¡¯t manage anything on a wide scale. The whole process was interesting, but not quite what he actually was most interested in learning from the Sect- though it was likely a step along the path. After the first few hours, the Viridia Wildlands showed some of their true colors. The air was already hot and muggy, but then it began to rain. Water soaked into his clothes and mud formed underfoot, causing his boots to begin to sink. Dealing with either of those was simple enough on their own. A little bit of water element kept John dry and adding a bit of earth along with the water element kept the ground under his feet solid, but the instant he stepped forward it became muddy once more. That was all tolerable, not the worst conditions he had trekked through. At least they had a road. Then the rain stopped, the sun came out, and insects began to swarm. There had been some activity from them before the rain, but after it ceased there was a burst of activity. A cloud of insects washed over the group- at first concerning, but the locals showed no particular caution. The cloud of insects was thick and impossible to see through, and it was not just one kind. There were smaller mosquitoes attempting to bite and larger ones that had some sort of stinger. Yet every cultivator had constant defenses of energy, and soon the swarm passed. ¡°Eew,¡± Ursel said as she looked at her hands and hair. It seemed she had taken it upon herself to squash some of the bugs crawling all over her, and now she was suffering more than they did. Then she threw herself onto the ground, rolling her head into the mud and rubbing it all over her hands. She stood up, shaking herself and a small wave of earth energy sloughed most of the mud and thus the accompanying bug bits off of her. When she saw John looking at her she blushed and turned away. John smiled to himself. That was an interesting way to deal with the problem. It did leave Ursel somewhat soaked, though that wasn¡¯t particularly different from how she¡¯d been a few moments before. She would dry just fine, and it wasn¡¯t as if she would catch a cold. It might be uncomfortable as it dried, but it wasn¡¯t any sort of actual issue. As they walked along, the ground greedily drank up the water. The depth of the mud shrank rapidly, quickly drying. Within a short time the ground merely looked damp. Then the cycle began again, frequent bursts of rain and activity from swarming insects and surrounding plants. John had the desire to wipe out a cloud of insects, but he also knew it wouldn¡¯t do much actual good, so he simply kept them away from himself. The group kept a decent pace, suitable for cultivators in the Foundation Phase. Of those, Ursel was not the slowest. It was a training expedition after all, so many of the juniors of the Order of the Amber Heart were present. Ursel was the youngest, of course, since most people couldn¡¯t even begin to train at her age. For the triplets, however, the opposite was true- they couldn¡¯t afford to not train their spiritual energy, since they had it. It was dangerous to remain incapable of proper use. They were all beyond basic control now, but continuing their training was only natural. Walking along the roads, John could certainly see how those without sufficient cultivation couldn¡¯t live normally in the area. The frequent nuisances would be much more troublesome for anyone else. But it still wasn¡¯t living up to its reputation. That would have to wait, it seemed. Though not for long. Suddenly, Chandra stopped, holding her arms out. ¡°We will have to take a small detour,¡± she explained. John looked ahead, the shape of the road still clear even with plants clearly creeping across it. The biggest factor was the lack of actual trees, leaving a strip of sunlight to forge their way. He couldn¡¯t see anything that would make them stop, but John trusted their guide. ¡°Why are we stopped?¡± Ursel asked, looking up at her father. ¡°Why don¡¯t we try to figure it out?¡± John said. ¡°What do you sense ahead?¡± ¡°Just more plants and bugs and stuff,¡± Ursel said. ¡°The same thing as everywhere else.¡± ¡°Or¡­ something trying to appear the same as everything else,¡± John said. He hadn¡¯t quite found anything yet, but he was trying different elements to sense for something. There were webs stretched across the road, large sheets completely filled with struggling insects and swarming spiders. Yet this was not the first time they had encountered such things. The insect life was so plentiful that the spiders shared the sheet webs without concern for competition¡­ not at the moment, at least. Perhaps that would change within the next hours or days, like the rest of the jungle. Chandra began to lead them off the road, chopping blades finding their place when stubborn vines refused to move out of the way. John still hadn¡¯t discovered what they were avoiding as they began to curve around back towards the road. ¡°Is it that?¡± Ursel pointed. ¡°The spiders.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡­¡± John stopped himself, ¡°Which ones?¡± He tried to follow where her energy senses might be roaming, but found nothing. Following the line of her hand, however, she wasn¡¯t pointing between the trees but at an angle down towards the forest floor. There, John could see spiders resting on the ground. Large ones¡­ by the standards of Earth, at least. They were hand sized, appearing somewhat like tarantulas, visibly hairy and wide. Worryingly, he couldn¡¯t sense them at all, though now that he¡¯d seen them he could make out dozens, some standing among the leaves and some barely poking out of little holes in the ground. If he concentrated, he could sense the nests in an abstract sense, little voids without earth, but casual observation made them slip his mind. After all, there was nothing in them. Except there was. ¡°How did you find them?¡± John asked. ¡°I just looked,¡± Ursel shrugged. ¡°By the holes.¡± So she took note of those. Was it because she was careful, or were her senses better than his? Well, that wasn¡¯t quite right. John was more powerful and could certainly feel things at a larger distance. But¡­ she was more specialized. John had four different elements and totems, with all having grown to the fourth tier. Ursel, however¡­ she had two fourth tier earth totems. Similar to the other triplets, her extreme affinity for one element had allowed her relatively short excursions into the sea of spiritual totems to be fruitful in finding certain totems. There was a reasonable chance they might even pick up fifth tier totems for the Soul Expansion Phase. But John didn¡¯t have those specialties, and if anything he leaned towards darkness. Using that to sense underground wasn¡¯t particularly effective, so missing the particular spiders wasn¡¯t strange. Except¡­ as he thought about it, he idly stretched out to them with darkness and managed to pick out something. Air also registered a slight difference between them and the ground, but water couldn¡¯t really pick them out. So that was what it was. John couldn¡¯t say he immediately understood how it worked, but they had adapted to feel ¡®normal¡¯ against the main energy senses in the area. The Viridia Wildlands was strongly attuned to the earth element, but it was also a rainforest and thus had a subtext of water element. John should have noticed something sooner. Sure, they were being guided by locals and it had worked out¡­ but that was no excuse for being sloppy. Soon enough they found their way around the spiders, which must have sensed their group. Either they remained in their position because they preferred to remain hidden or found themselves slow, or they simply weren¡¯t aggressive. Though traipsing over their territory was likely another matter, thus their change in route. ¡°Look, a frog!¡± Even as Ursel crouched down, John was moving behind her. He yanked on her collar, lifting her up and letting her dangle in the area. ¡°Hey! What was that for?¡± John¡¯s eyes drifted to the brightly colored frog, orange with blue spots. It likely had a different pattern than ones from his world, but the same general idea should apply. ¡°That frog is almost definitely poisonous,¡± John explained. Upon sensing it, he felt the same. Unlike the hairy spiders from before, this creature easily advertised its presence. ¡°I know that!¡± Ursel complained. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to touch it!¡± John turned her towards him and looked deep into her eyes, and she looked back. Eventually, she turned away. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to touch it much.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch it at all until you know what will happen,¡± John said, letting his daughter down. She hadn¡¯t actually resisted him, or it would have been a lot tougher to yank her away even with the gap in cultivation. Ursel crouched down by the frog, just staring at it for a few moments. ¡°It¡¯s so cool.¡± Then a mouth surrounded the orange and blue spotted creature, replacing its bright colors with dull greens and browns. John¡¯s hand was already on his sword. He¡¯d failed to sense a threat once, and he wasn¡¯t planning to let that happen again. So far the beasts had little in the way of cultivation, but that wasn¡¯t the only way they could be dangerous. He¡¯d sensed the snake coming, but it was angled away from Ursel. If it had lunged for her, he would have chopped it in half lengthwise. ¡°It ate the frog!¡± Ursel yelled, unslinging her heavy club from her back. But before she could step forward and smash the large snake into a pulp, John put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Ursel asked, gathering her energy and subconsciously causing a small tremor in the ground. ¡°For it to eat another cute frog?¡± The snake, a couple meters long and about as thick as a man¡¯s forearm, was already slithering away slowly. Very slowly. Then, it stopped. If it had curled up on a rock or on a branch it might be to digest its latest meal, though it was only a small morsel, but the way its muscles spasmed a moment later said otherwise. Then, it stopped twitching entirely, its mouth hanging open. A few moments later, a small orange leg poked out of the snake¡¯s throat, then the rest of it slowly squeezed out. Then it began slowly hopping away, looking rather fatigued but otherwise fine as it snapped up a passing insect with its tongue. ¡°You were going to crush its head, weren¡¯t you?¡± John asked. ¡°... everything needs a head to live,¡± Ursel said. Her eyes trailed onto the floor. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about¡­ squishing the frog.¡± John tousseled her hair, and then the two of them hustled to catch up to the rest of the group who had mostly passed them by. Ursel might be a Foundation Phase cultivator, but she was still a kid. And to be fair, it was a cool frog. The repeated patterns continued for the rest of the day, but come evening they approached something different. A large swath of jungle was cleared, with stones laid out in a large ring surrounding a city. This would be their first stop on the way to the Emerging Bamboo Sect, Great Ring City. The walls of the city were carved from the trunk of a single massive tree, with roots of unimaginable size having been severed around the outside. John wondered just how large such a tree would have been¡­ and what could have become of it that only the outer edge of its trunk remained. Chapter 183 Great Ring City was a welcome break from constant hiking and dealing with the forest. Despite it being manageable- and the Emerging Bamboo Sect handling the actual dangers- it was still stressful. Specifically, John couldn¡¯t help but constantly worry about Ursel. It was the curse of being a parent, and the triplets having encountered real danger didn¡¯t make it easier. In some ways, worse than the physical danger were Ursel¡¯s other problems. John could always kill anything that came after his family, and the triplets were growing strong themselves. He just hoped that this trip could help resolve Ursel¡¯s feelings to some extent and that it wasn¡¯t something lasting. It seemed weird that fighting someone to the death was easier than dealing with feelings, but maybe the world had always worked like that and on Earth people just did less of one. Though it certainly hadn¡¯t been without conflict. He was just able to ignore it. For what it was worth, Ursel seemed happy about the trip so far, though she was a bit hesitant to approach anyone from the Emerging Bamboo Sect. That was perfectly reasonable, as they were both new and much older than her. Even a few years would feel insurmountable at that age. The inside of Great Ring City was surprisingly lacking in plants or soil of any kind. Instead, every road was paved in stone, with even the empty lots covered with a thin layer of something like concrete. Drains carried rainwater away, beneath the walls of the city. It seemed like a lot of work to maintain, but it likely had some reason beyond simply using the space. With the way things grew outside the walls, perhaps it was simply too much trouble to allow anything to grow inside. John found Renato up on one of the walls, the outer bark of a massive trunk. He hadn¡¯t really been looking for his friend, but his steps had brought them together anyway. ¡°Strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± John asked. ¡°So much life, but inside the walls it¡¯s reminiscent of home.¡± ¡°Humans make of stone what they wish to be permanent,¡± Renato shrugged, ¡°Even if they know it can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°People try, though. What do you believe about the path to immortality? Some say the peak of cultivation leads to that.¡± ¡°I would say¡­ that it¡¯s a pointless pursuit.¡± ¡°Really?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re one of those most devoted to cultivation.¡± ¡°But not for the sake of immortality,¡± Renato said. ¡°The path itself is what I want. If I wanted something else, I would pursue that instead. Besides, the two of us know that life will come to an end eventually regardless.¡± ¡°Do we?¡± John asked. ¡°Because it might be exactly the opposite.¡± Renato shrugged, ¡°Perhaps we are strange exceptions. Or¡­ something about the world at this time. But the fact that we are not flooded with others like us means that it doesn¡¯t happen every time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a real pain to fit into a new life,¡± John admitted. ¡°But uh¡­ you were born, right?¡± Renato nodded. ¡°That is correct. I do believe I was quite troublesome for my parents to deal with. I was too independent.¡± ¡°That could be. My kids¡­¡± John sighed. ¡°They¡¯re amazing. But it¡¯s not easy. And Ursel is quite dissatisfied with her thoughts of the future. I don¡¯t know what to do about that. Or now. I have the urge to follow her around the city and keep her safe. I just don¡¯t think that will make her happy.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t really know¡­ but if you¡¯re worried about safety, I would not bother yourself too much. She does have friends among our disciples. They can explore together, and she will keep them safe.¡± ¡°Not the other way around?¡± John asked. ¡°There are few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators in this city besides us, and she already survived an attack from one. My best disciple will be fine.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t help but worry,¡± John sighed. ¡°I understand,¡± Renato said. ¡°I¡¯m simply experienced with waiting to see what happens. And if anyone actually does anything we can raze the city to the ground.¡± ----- As it turned out, John didn¡¯t need to worry about Ursel. She spent the day exploring the city with two of her friends, finding interesting nooks and crannies as well as meeting some of the locals. It was quite an enjoyable day. Ursel¡¯s closest friends in the Order were perhaps not the most traditional students. Mala was closer to her father¡¯s age, but everyone seemed so old to Ursel that it didn¡¯t really bother her that much. Besides, the woman treated her well and didn¡¯t seem upset by Ursel¡¯s cultivation, despite Mala herself not being much more advanced. In short, Mala was¡­ rather lacking in talent, at least in terms of cultivation speed. When not training with Renato Ursel had simply found herself more comfortable with the woman than most, and they had become frequent companions. Virag was another woman, even older. Her hair was already like granite, but she was actually a more recent addition to the Order of the Amber Heart than Mala. Perhaps if she had begun cultivating at a younger age she would have turned into something amazing. Though, Ursel didn¡¯t really care about that part. She was just fun. ¡°... I wonder what it¡¯s like in the drains,¡± Ursel mentioned offhandedly as they were walking around, recent rainfall still finding its way beneath the streets. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Only one way to find out!¡± Virag said, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°You can¡¯t be suggesting-¡± Mala sighed, ¡°Ugh. I hope you can swim, at least.¡± Virag shrugged, ¡°Can¡¯t be too hard.¡± ¡°Of course I can swim,¡± Ursel said. Virag waved her off, ¡°Yeah, yeah, your brother is the heir to some fancy water clan and you spend half the year there. Some of us have to make do with lakes and crap.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you just admitted you hadn¡¯t even tried,¡± Mala pointed out. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Can¡¯t be that deep,¡± Virag said as she pulled open a grate nearby. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not too bad.¡± She hopped down, looking up at the others as the water rushed against her. ¡°Hmm. Coming?¡± Ursel hopped in after her, finding the water significantly higher on herself. ¡°This is a big pipe,¡± she commented. ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t make me regret this,¡± Mala shook her head and jumped in. ¡°... I regret it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Virag asked. ¡°... I¡¯m pretty sure this is combined with the sewers. Can¡¯t you smell that?¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not that bad.¡± Ursel was busy keeping her head above water so she didn¡¯t say much. Then, she let herself be pulled by the current. ¡°Onwards!¡± It was actually quite difficult for water to push her along, with her muscle and the stone club Master Renato gave her, but it only took a little bit of nudging with earth element to keep herself from touching the bottom of the channel they were in, and she propelled herself forward a little with that. Virag and Mala were right behind her, though one of them was significantly less happy than the other. Then they ran into the roots. The first indication of their presence was a sudden increase in the water level. The second was actually running into them¡­ and then they began to attempt to crush them. As a root wrapped around her neck, Ursel called upon her practice the day before. The root really didn¡¯t want to listen to her, so she nudged harder and harder until it snapped apart with a huge crack. She planted her feet beneath her, even if that meant she was momentarily underwater. Her club swung down against the roots attacking the other two, but there wasn¡¯t really enough room to build up momentum, and the water made it a bit difficult too. The others found the same issues, but they were able to wrestle with the roots and tear them apart, leaving large hunks to slowly retreat through the walls of the tunnel. Water quickly began to drain, lowering below Ursel¡¯s head again. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s worse when you¡¯re head¡¯s under.¡± She tapped on the walls, taking note of the chunks of brick beneath her. ¡°Should we fix this? More roots might get in.¡± ¡°If you want to,¡± Mala shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re already here, I guess.¡± It wasn¡¯t too hard to move everything in place, and a bit of earth energy fused everything together and added the missing bits that had probably washed away. Working directly with stone or similar materials was much more familiar to the group than dealing with plants, so it was easy enough. Then they continued on, floating along in the water. Mala pointed to an upcoming grate. ¡°This might be one of the last ones before the walls. We don¡¯t want to get carried outside the city.¡± Having already satisfied their curiosity, the other two went along with her and climbed out of the grate. They were all soaking wet, and that was the pleasant part. A loud snort came from nearby. ¡°Well, look what just crawled out of the sewers.¡± The individual speaking was one of several girls, all in their late teenage years. ¡°Tell me, little girl, do they not have sewers where you come from?¡± ¡°We do,¡± Ursel said, not really sure what to make of the situation. She was looking down at her dripping clothes, wishing she could control the water element- even a small part. ¡°So you enjoy being covered in crap, then?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Ursel admitted. She could at least deal with that part. With a flick of effort, her boots were cleaned off. Of course, what she had removed had to go somewhere, and that place happened to be the group of people in front of her. ¡°Oh, oops,¡± Ursel said as she saw the gunk dripping off of the girls¡¯ faces. The one doing all the talking narrowed her eyes. ¡°What was that, huh? Wanna fight?¡± She lowered herself into a wide stance, her fists clenched in front of her. Around her wrists were wooden bracers with thorns protruding from them. ¡°... Alright,¡± Ursel said, ¡°Sounds good.¡± With that, she propelled herself forward, punching her fist straight into the older girl¡¯s stomach, the flashing image of a tree breaking her momentum. Ursel also took a strike to the jaw, but it only made her sway backwards. More uncomfortable was her own hand, which had small rivulets of blood running down it. Ursel had felt the older girl¡¯s energy shifting, but she hadn¡¯t expected it to be so sharp. And she also hadn¡¯t expected her opponent to just take the hit without even staggering back. ¡°Never gone up against someone from the Indestructible Kapok Grove, huh? Figures.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a kapok?¡± Ursel asked Virag, who was standing ready at an angle behind her, just like the others behind the one Ursel was fighting. ¡°It¡¯s one of those big spiky trees.¡± ¡°Oh, the spiky trees,¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°Makes sense.¡± Ursel looked down at her fist. If she hadn¡¯t trained Diamond Defense, she might have really hurt her hands. As it was, it was just a few small pricks. She looked up at the other girl, unslinging her club. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind, it kinda hurts to punch you.¡± ¡°Hah, can you even swing that thing?¡± ¡°Of course I can,¡± Ursel said. With that, she stepped forward once more. Her opponent seemed content to let her act first, so she took full advantage of that, swinging wide. The pavement beneath Ursel¡¯s feet buckled in a wave as she moved, pushing off of the stone with her energy. Once more the image of a tree appeared, wider than the girl herself and perhaps twice as tall. Ursel could see the thorns on it, and felt the strength of her opponent¡¯s stance. Her bracers moved together to block the blow, and the study tree collided with Ursel¡¯s landslide. There was a moment where it seemed that nothing was happening, then another cracking sound- the image of the tree as well as the bracer¡¯s around the older girl¡¯s wrists both shattering as she was knocked flying down the street. The others girls exchanged looks, then went running off after her. ¡°Well, that was fun,¡± Ursel said. She looked down at the pavement below, tiled stone that was now torn up and strewn in all directions. ¡°I don¡¯t have to fix that, right? That was where she was standing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they have a system to handle things like this¡­¡± Mala said. ¡°But we might as well toss things back into place.¡± Chapter 184 It seemed that even the Emerging Bamboo Sect had enjoyed their day in town. Great Ring City had a lot more to offer than their sect, opportunities for socializing and relaxing or whatever else they might want. Cultivators tended to spend all their focus on a long period of training and needed a chance to relieve stress. That was true for those from clans as well, but social interactions were somewhat of a requirement which made chances for isolation more enticing to some extent. A single day wasn¡¯t much of a vacation, but that wasn¡¯t what all those from out of the country had come for. They still had a journey of several days before they would arrive at the sect, where they could start whatever real training they would be doing. The second day of travel was much like the first, though John felt the plants were a little bit more stubborn getting out of the way, and the swarms of insects somewhat more troublesome. Actual dangers would no doubt increase deeper into the Viridia Wildlands, though he didn¡¯t expect all that much on the route between the sect and Great Ring City. In addition to practicing his basic understanding of plant control, John couldn¡¯t help but watch his daughter. When she wasn¡¯t alone or with him, the only people she really socialized with were some older women and Renato. Mala and Virag were fine, but John would like to see Ursel with anyone her own age besides her siblings. Then again, it was difficult for that to be the case, with her being born ahead of everyone else. Cultivation was one of those factors that people couldn¡¯t just ignore because they felt like it. In a few years- or perhaps a decade- at least it could be expected that most of her peers would have some cultivation, but by then the triplets would probably pull further ahead. None of that helped with Ursel feeling like she didn¡¯t fit in anywhere, and John still didn¡¯t have much he could do about it. Except this trip, which should at least remind her that he cared. ¡°... These trees are big,¡± Ursel commented. It was true. At the port, there had certainly been some impressive mangroves but most of them were within what John would consider a normal range. The same was true of the majority of trees they¡¯d encountered along the way to Great Ring City, though obviously that was an exception. Just the remaining shell was the largest tree John had ever seen, perhaps would ever see. He couldn¡¯t imagine even a place like Viridia Wildlands produced trees like that more than once every few centuries, or maybe it was more on the scale of millennia. Either that or he¡¯d really been missing out on information. ¡°They¡¯re certainly healthy,¡± John replied. ¡°They¡¯re absorbing all this nice earth element.¡± ¡°Then¡­ why aren¡¯t our trees big?¡± Ursel asked. How was he supposed to answer that? He didn¡¯t have the answer for everything. ¡°They have lots of water here,¡± he said. ¡°That also helps.¡± ¡°Yeah but the trees by the rivers back home aren¡¯t that big either.¡± Though John had to admit his memories of trees on Earth were quite lacking, he did think that the Stone Conglomerate¡¯s trees were probably larger than average. It was difficult to tell, because they were also growing in rocky soil that might be terrible quality. He tried to think of the trees in Astrein, or the Sunfields. There wasn¡¯t much impressive about them, but they weren¡¯t that different. Other than that, the only place John had been where he could compare trees was the Darklands. The Green Sands obviously had nothing like normal trees, and the Shimmering Islands was a whole different deal. ¡°It might be the manner in which the earth element here presents itself,¡± John finally said. ¡°But the water is certainly a big part.¡± ¡°But air is the supporting element for earth. Why does water help so much?¡± Because the cycle of elements was an imperfect representation of how things actually worked in the real world. That was the first thought that came into John¡¯s head, and he decided that it was correct enough, so he said it. Then he followed up. ¡°The cycle of elements we know about is more geared towards cultivators interacting, or pure elements. And even if there isn¡¯t much free air elemental spiritual energy here, the air is pure and fresh.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Because plants make air. Or rather, they turn air we can¡¯t breathe into air we can.¡± ¡°So¡­ earth makes air which supports earth?¡± ¡°Elements interacting makes them convert from one form to another. Fire supports water by making the process of becoming a solid or gas easier. None of those forms are necessarily better, it just depends on what you want.¡± ¡°I want to breathe.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll like what most plants do with air.¡± There were many smaller complexities to the elements that John couldn¡¯t really explain with words, partly because he didn¡¯t understand them all. Perhaps once he grasped fire and integrated it into his cycle he could have a deeper understanding. Or it might be the other way- understanding first. It was kind of a mixed bag with cultivation, but the most important part in general was to understand how things actually functioned in crisis situations. All the theoretical knowledge and deep understanding in the world wasn¡¯t any good if you were dead. ----- Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Aside from encounters with more colorful and cute animals that Ursel wasn¡¯t allowed to touch, the rest of their journey was uneventful. Trees were certainly beginning to grow larger, though most of those near the road were on the smaller side of things. Particularly large trees seemed to choke out the other ones around them, though plenty of vines and underbrush lived in the shadow of the behemoths. At night, they camped out on the road, clearing a larger radius of plants as they settled down. While they tended to grow into the camp overnight, the dangerous varieties were dealt with more strictly. John kept careful track of what the locals did, because some plants didn¡¯t feel dangerous. A cultivator¡¯s instincts were good, but not perfect. About half a day out from the Sect he managed to spot it- or at least something that had to be near their territory. The variety of plants changed swiftly as they traveled, going through so many varieties that he wasn¡¯t even sure how many he could equate to something back on Earth. Then again, there were so many species of plants that nobody could recall them all, and that was without spiritual energy muddling everything up and creating new and exciting opportunities. Regardless, John was able to recognize bamboo. It wasn¡¯t terribly common in the Stone Conglomerate or Shimmering Islands, but it had been present. So even the former Fortkran knew the word and the look of things. And this was exactly as expected. Just¡­ bigger. Otherwise, John wouldn¡¯t have been able to see it from so far away. ¡°... How tall are each of those segments?¡± John asked the lead disciple guiding them, Chandra. ¡°In general, they¡¯re about three meters high, and anywhere from half as wide to the same width,¡± Chandra answered. Counting segments, John saw about thirty. And that was over the trees blocking his view. That might be about half of a single cane, which would put them at¡­ sixty stories tall? Rivaling the height of actual skyscrapers, though admittedly not terribly spacious. Those were just the average canes. There were larger ones, including a great central one that absolutely had to belong to the sect or they were terrible at controlling the territory around them. As they got closer, John could see sections of the canes were carved out, most covered with small doors or simple dangling cloths. As they approached a cutout section of the forest, they were close enough that he could see people going in and out of the giant bamboo- though the average size wasn¡¯t able to accommodate much more than a single person at a time. The cutout section of forest had stones implanted around it, just like around Great Ring City. They even had a wall, made from what appeared to be much more normally sized bamboo strapped together. The guards were alert, but upon recognizing Chandra and the others they didn¡¯t delay the group¡¯s entrance. ¡°Welcome to the Emerging Bamboo Sect,¡± Chandra said, spreading her arms wide. ¡°I will show you to the guest section, where you can pick a previously carved chamber or secure your own.¡± As they passed through the gates, John was able to make out more varieties of bamboo, specifically shorter and squatter ones. They seemed wide enough to serve as comfortable huts, compared to tiny closets- and that was him being generous with the taller variety of bamboo. He was impressed with how massive it all was, but nobody ever praised bamboo for being roomy. Scattered among the naturally growing shoots were more constructed structures, once more using sensibly sized bamboo. John wondered if they had to grow that special, or if the larger varieties took some sort of special effort. They were so huge, and he could almost feel them growing taller by the moment. ¡°Any of the canes marked with an x have finished their growth,¡± Chandra explained. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t cut through the entire outer edge of them, they will withstand you coring them out. Don¡¯t worry about the extra bits, just toss them off the path and they will settle into the forest soon enough.¡± ¡°Where do you want?¡± John asked Ursel. ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± she said, looking around in a daze. ¡°They all seem¡­ good?¡± ¡°Do you want to be at the top of one, or down by the ground?¡± John knew it would be a bit of a task for her to climb up to the top every time, but he wasn¡¯t really concerned about danger. She was a cultivator, she wouldn¡¯t fall and even if she did she would be fine. ¡°... I¡¯ll take a spot by the ground,¡± Ursel said. John had thought she would have gone for the most adventurous option, but he had to admit it was more convenient to be near the ground. ¡°Then, how about¡­ that one,¡± John gestured. It was one of the more spacious ones, the most appropriate for a sect head. Even if he hadn¡¯t wanted the space, it would be weird for him to pick something too ¡®humble¡¯. ¡°Okay,¡± Ursel said, walking towards it. ¡°So we just¡­ open it?¡± John took note of everything around them, including those that were already occupied. Some were clearly cut, while the method of removing a section from others was less clear. John assumed it involved the proper manipulation of earth element. If there was a method for that, it would be best to do so himself¡­ though failing at it would be rather awkward for a cultivator of his stature. Fortunately, Ursel wasn¡¯t thinking about any of that. Instead, she traced her finger along the bamboo, and John could feel a response from the plant itself. He already knew this, but despite or perhaps because of Ursel¡¯s lack of ability with other elements, her talent for manipulating the earth element was remarkable. And that wasn¡¯t just his proud fatherly instincts speaking. After Ursel traced the outline of a door, she pressed her hand on the bamboo. Then she frowned. She withdrew her hand, and John could feel her coaxing it outward, but it didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Hmmn¡­¡± she frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s really able to bend,¡± John said, judging what he thought she was trying to do. Where she had traced her finger, the fibers had separated- but the final side remained attached. ¡°I think you¡¯ll need something like hinges so it can swing open.¡± ¡°... But then it will be dead,¡± Ursel frowned. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that part of the bamboo will die anyway,¡± John shrugged. ¡°But if you want to try to do it your way, go ahead.¡± For his own sake, he hopped up to the section above her, standing on the edge of a small ring separating the two. The nodes between the sections were solid, providing an easy floor and ceiling. Obviously living in such a thing wouldn¡¯t be comfortable without adding anything, but for simple meditation or sleep it would be fine. And it would be a nice change from things. Instead of trying to do anything fancy, John just followed Ursel¡¯s technique to break up the fibers, and was glad that his cultivation was more powerful because it was not as easy as she made it look. Instead of trying to make it so he could open and close anything, he just removed the whole door shaped section, tossing it over to the side. Inside was a nice little hovel, though he didn¡¯t plan to stay there all that much. Chapter 185 The first step of training for the Emerging Bamboo Sect was watching bamboo grow. At a base it sounded like an excruciatingly dull method, but it was actually quite interesting. Watching grass grow was one of the typical mind-numbingly boring things one could do, up with watching paint dry- though John was unaware if paint in this world dried in the same way. Regardless, bamboo was not grass. And bamboo in an area teeming with earth and water elemental spiritual energy grew even faster than standard bamboo, even when it was larger in every dimension. John had actually been right when he thought he could feel the bamboo growing the previous day. It wasn¡¯t fast enough that his naked eyes could quite see it, but his energy senses acutely felt growth as he kneeled next to a new shoot. Over the course of a minute, he felt a couple millimeters of growth. If he watched very carefully, comparing its height to a stationary background object, he could see it with his bare eyes. Rain came frequently, though it seemed the sect grounds were a safe reprieve from the swarms of insects that plagued most of the Viridia Wildlands. As it rained, the bamboo drank greedily, growing both taller and wider. John was not an expert on bamboo, but the latter seemed to be abnormal. At the end of the day, John¡¯s ¡®shoot¡¯ was half a meter wide and a few meters tall. He had looked forward to tracking its growth in the future, but unfortunately that was never going to come to pass. ¡°Anything under one meter in width is too small,¡± Chandra declared. ¡°Such a plant will never reach a usable size. Thus, it is your responsibility to remove it.¡± She demonstrated with one in front of her, using her earth energy to yank a ¡®shoot¡¯ out of the ground. Then she hacked it to pieces with her heavy blade, gathering the pieces together into a pile and chopping them into a fine sawdust. That she tossed into the hole left behind the roots she dragged out, leaving a small mound. ¡°In the future you will learn to nourish plants for sustained growth, or temporary explosive growth. This will help with understanding the fundamentals to fight as we do.¡± John inclined his head to the unfortunate shoot in front of him. Such a short life, less than a day in total. Such a shame. He held his sword in hand, gleaming in the transitory sunlight. Using his energy to uproot the plant was more difficult than Chandra made it appear, both because she was practiced and because she had more earth energy under her control than John. Even so, it soon released its grasp on the ground below. The bamboo itself was hard- that was a defining feature of bamboo and why it was so useful, but it did make it rather difficult to chop into small pieces. John didn¡¯t have the free time to use the same methods as carving out the door on every bit of scrap, but if his weapon was inadequately enhanced with sharpness he knocked the bits of bamboo around more than he cut through them. Eventually, he reduced it into a satisfactory pile. He wondered if that was actually part of the training, or just to provide some sort of fertilizer for future growth. Not that wood dust or chips was necessarily the best for other plants to grow, not in a pure form. Ursel was having trouble with her plant, not because she didn¡¯t have the right kind of control, nor because she was hesitant to destroy a plant that had been her companion for the length of a whole day. Instead, it was something simpler than that- she didn¡¯t carry a blade. So she was beating the thing to a pulp with her stone club. John went to stand next to Renato. ¡°Will she think to ask for a blade, I wonder?¡± John smiled. ¡°Probably not,¡± her teacher admitted. ¡°Besides, it looks as if she¡¯s having fun this way.¡± If Ursel had been powderizing rocks, she would have been done rather quickly, but the fibrous nature of plant material made her job much more difficult. Ultimately, she formed a hard barrier of her own energy beneath her intended targets to crush things against. She also used some of the same technique she¡¯d used for their doors, breaking the bonds of the plant apart directly. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± Chandra clapped her hands together. ¡°We¡¯ll meet up more tomorrow, but don¡¯t forget to meditate on the bamboo around you tonight. You might learn something.¡± Though it was a casual announcement, John knew it was probably important to listen to. They hadn¡¯t received a large amount of specific guidance yet, but it was still just the first day. Letting things develop naturally made sense. ¡°What do you think, Ursel?¡± John asked as they walked back towards their accommodations. Even their meals had been brought to them, so they spent all day watching shoots of bamboo grow. ¡°... it grows a lot faster than anything we had at home,¡± Ursel shrugged. ¡°Even the bamboo.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. ¡°Even if our regions are dominant in the same element, it¡¯s expressed differently. And the water here helps as well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s different too. It rains in the Shimmering Islands, but most of the water is just¡­ there. In the sea.¡± ¡°Also true,¡± John nodded. He knew all this stuff on some level, but he didn¡¯t always think about it. And it made him wonder if perhaps he might be more successful in learning about fire somewhere less familiar than the Green Sands. Something new might be good. If he could find time. He would need to spend some time catching up with clan responsibilities when he returned before he went on another expedition. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. As he settled in for the night, John took in the feeling of the structure around him. The bamboo was still alive, despite having large holes in its structure. John let his senses wander as they willed, studying the nodes between the sections and the walls. They were staying at one of the canes that was no longer growing- all of the visitors were- but that didn¡¯t mean it was devoid of activity and life. John focused in on the cell walls, recalling old biology lessons. Determining exactly how earth elemental spiritual energy interacted with the cells was difficult, but he recalled his study of Bite of the Gorgon, so long before. Improving the life force of a plant was quite opposite from petrifying it, but he had at least some familiarity with the general process. His meditations took him through the night, gaining some insights that would have to be turned into something practical with more time and practice. Ursel was still young, so she was not able to maintain such a state of concentration for as long. He could hear her snoring away long before he was tired enough to have to actually sleep. He was glad she felt comfortable enough to do so easily. ----- In the seas beneath the Shimmering Islands, the last of the triplets was also on a training excursion. He wasn¡¯t visiting any particular clan or sect- though Tirto did often train with the Mulyani clan to learn how to reduce his weakness against the air element. Instead, it was mainly him and his mother and the sea itself. And also some sort of unfathomable sea god. Not that Matayal let Tirto get that close to it. His current cultivation was strong enough to get him into the depths under his own power, though if they were attacked on the way he wasn¡¯t necessarily able to deal with the large number of creatures that could be interested in eating him. But that was an issue Matayal and John had faced with somewhat higher cultivations. Instead of visiting the very depths, where pressure was beyond what a Foundation Phase cultivator could handle, he instead hung around his edge where his parents had apparently spent an uncomfortable number of days learning to survive. He couldn¡¯t stay that long, though. Even if he could draw some air out of the water, he would tire before the day was out and need to return. Upon returning to the surface, the Kelp Spire Forest came into view. Tirto had to admit he wasn¡¯t as fond of the place since he and his siblings had almost been killed¡­ but here he was never without his mother and the normal amount of guards. Though Matayal was a level above the others, being at the 31st rank, in the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Like Tirto, she was a pure water cultivator, and while that wasn¡¯t unusual¡­ Tirto¡¯s father was not at all the same. Tirto loved their father, but his sisters were more attached. Perhaps it was because of their respective elements, or simply something else. Tirto did his best to avoid sighing and wasting air. The triplets had been together most of their lives, with only short times apart. These last several months had been different, with each of them splitting up to do their own things. It was inevitable that they wouldn¡¯t always be together- Tirto would be leading the Brandle Clan, and Melanthina the Tenebach clan. Ursel would¡­ hopefully find something fulfilling for herself. She deserved it. Tirto always loved his sisters, so seeing Ursel step in front of Melanthina and himself, nearly dying¡­ that was something difficult to forget. Maybe if he had been stronger, she wouldn¡¯t have had to do that. Tirto set his jaw, looking down into the dark depths below. He could feel the faintest pulses, leftover ripples from the last time the sea god had taken a breath. That was power, and some day he¡¯d have the chance to study it properly. No doubt his mother could bring him down there now, but he needed to be able to fend for himself- and skipping ahead in his training would only harm him. ----- Everything hurt. It always hurt and never stopped, since Melanthina came to this stupid place. But that was the point, training to get stronger, to overcome weaknesses. She was learning so much- about control, about light and darkness, and about her own limitations. She found herself growing accustomed to the constant bombardment of light from the moment she stepped out of her room. She refused to shy away from it. After all, if she didn¡¯t put in the effort, she wouldn¡¯t grow stronger. Then the next time she found herself fighting a certain stupid light cultivator- or rather, anyone important who used light in an environment that suited them- she would be more prepared. Ciaritzal was a great help as well. Though he was a spirit beast and thus didn¡¯t think and feel quite the same way as humans did, he still had many years of experience and previous battles with light cultivators- and Cuah¡¯arn. Melanthina was pretty sure those two should be deadly enemies, but every time she¡¯d seen them together they seemed more like old rivals, or siblings. They enjoyed fighting each other, and though they wanted to win they didn¡¯t want to kill the other. Even if they had fought a battle that was theoretically to the death in the past, they seemed to have gotten over that. Sure, it had been like¡­ a century or more, but Melanthina couldn¡¯t find herself forgetting anything like that so easily. She wasn¡¯t supposed to lose. She was important. She was going to be the next head of the Tenebach clan, and she was strong and talented and good looking and nothing at all like a certain someone who was just some random disciple from some sect. She was supposed to win, and she would. Next time she met Nik. Or maybe she¡¯d just fight one of the important disciples from the Combining Luster Sect and ignore him entirely. Yeah, that made sense. She couldn¡¯t let him know that he got to her, even a little bit. Chapter 186 As a real bamboo shoot rocketed towards the sky under John¡¯s encouragement, he wondered how Earth would change if he could impart any of the things he knew. If his knowledge was even true in the same way, between worlds. So far, he had found every physical law on Earth to be true here, just significantly influenced by spiritual energy. Perhaps it was the lack of it on Earth, to his knowledge, that would make his current insights meaningless. But thinking about what could be done with just plants, growing as quickly as he wished. World hunger¡­ should already have been solved, realistically. It was more of a matter of logistics and price. But John knew that he could grow a seed in the desert sand without water, given more practice. If the small details he was experiencing could be applied in a lab, even without spiritual energy amazing things could be accomplished. Or perhaps he was overestimating himself. Careful selection and breeding of plants had transformed crops to the point they were barely recognizable. He could certainly cause rapid growth, but he couldn¡¯t really say he could alter the properties of a seed. Not yet, anyway. It was nice, though, using cultivation in this way. Part of it was Ursel¡¯s happiness reflecting to him- she had been desperate to expand her own abilities, and now she finally had one that was something she could accomplish. It wasn¡¯t a new element like she so desperately desired, but this was likely the best she could get. Her training had already shown she couldn¡¯t attempt a cycle of elements like her father, no matter how much she wanted to. And that¡­ was probably better. Not because John thought his daughter lacked the talent or drive, but because it was a difficult path to pursue. On the other hand, of the triplets she was the only one who could have easily received that freedom of choice, if her affinity allowed for it. ¡°Woohoo!¡± Ursel cried out from the top of the cane she¡¯d raised from the ground, waving it back and forth with her weight. It was only through its sturdy nature enhanced by spiritual energy that the ten centimeter wide cane withstood her glee. John, meanwhile, remained at the bottom of his¡­ and finding that it grew ever further from his reach determined that she might have been onto something, if she even thought about it at all besides the fact that Emerging Bamboo Sect members used bamboo to propel themselves. Somehow, despite his technical youth, John felt like an old man. The extra decades of memories certainly didn¡¯t help, but it was more about how he had occupied himself. Being serious was quite reasonable in a world where great powers could be around any corner and death through battle was a common threat, but relaxing sometimes wasn¡¯t bad either. It had been a bit easier during the early marriage, when he could roam around with Matayal as he pleased. He was eager to have that back, but he had to think about the costs. The Tirto and Melanthina would one day take the reigns of the clans, possibly as soon as a decade from now¡­ but then he would just be shackling his children in the same manner. Even if they wouldn¡¯t have the same issues with their spouses being far removed, freedom would be lost. There always had to be some of that, for the sake of responsibility required of adults- whether part of a clan or a cultivator from a sect. Even independent cultivators weren¡¯t truly free to do what they pleased. No, handing over control too soon would be damaging to the children¡¯s lives. And before that¡­ it would be welcome if they could share the load of the Sect Head. John wasn¡¯t doing all of the work in the Tenebach clan- not by a long shot- but his presence being required frequently limited him significantly. How best could they keep the clans stable while allowing more mobility for the children? That was a discussion he would have with Matayal later. For the moment, he was simply glad that even when distracted by other thoughts his control of spiritual energy was still adequate. Enough to not embarrass the clan, and since he was only one part an earth cultivator, that was all he need concern himself with. He was mostly here for Ursel. With continuous snapping sounds, wood grain was rent asunder and a bamboo cane began to fall. John caught sight of his daughter teetering over, twenty meters up. His eyes flicked to Renato, who exchanged the same expression with him. The ground trembled as Ursel impacted the dirt, with a small layer of leafy bark providing precious little padding. She looked up, stunned for a moment. Then she laughed. ¡°Hahaha-¡± the bamboo cane bonked her on the head, ending her mirth. ¡°Aw. I broke it.¡± John looked at the crater around Ursel- people did not naturally leave craters, no matter how heavy they were or what they carried. At best, they would leave an impression of their bodies. The circular indentation meant that Ursel had done what she had been trained as she hit the ground- spread the force out through her surroundings. John had no doubt that she could do that- she was in the Foundation Phase, after all. He had just been uncertain about her being ready, in a relaxed state. He was quite glad to find her instincts and training held solid even then. ----- Growing one kind of bamboo was not the limit of the training the Emerging Bamboo Sect had- but there would be more days for such things. They didn¡¯t allow the visitors from the Stone Conglomerate just to be nice. This was an exchange of knowledge- and while large boulders were few and far between, their fellow earth cultivators could still teach much about the control of soil and stone in exchange for an understanding of plants. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. John could also provide different options. Along with his own, self-created techniques he could provide variety in sparring for those who needed it. Though he was missing the biggest weakness of the Emerging Bamboo Sect- the fire element- he could provide everything else except light. As this was a simple training excursion, he would not give away too much. Sinking in the Mire was not a style of attack unfamiliar to earth cultivators, but John¡¯s personal twist made it quite versatile. On the other hand, he would be keeping the secrets of Bite of the Gorgon- known only to himself, Renato, and at some point Ursel. He was not as practiced with it as he should have been, and regretted that. He also thought to perhaps formalize some multi-element techniques so he could improve his efficiency- channeling elements into each other to boost their power was good, but didn¡¯t always overcome a single set technique practiced over many years. Darkness was the root of his elements, providing a basis for everything, and that was where his interaction was most sought out. Chandra specifically sought him out. ¡°I heard that a trained darkness cultivator could hide anywhere. Is that true, even upon the earth? It seems it would be simple to seek you out.¡± ¡°It is true, more or less. There are very few who could hide from those seeking them knowing their specific location, but when trained properly a general area is sufficient.¡± ¡°Can you show us?¡± Chandra asked. ¡°I can show you¡­ enough,¡± John smiled. ¡°Sufficient, at least, to pick out those from the Darklands or otherwise unfamiliar with how you would seek them.¡± ¡°Very well. What should I do?¡± ¡°Wait briefly,¡± John smiled. Already, his darkness element was spreading throughout the area. ¡°Should I close my eyes or something?¡± ¡°Just¡­ wait.¡± In an instant, the diffuse darkness energy went from simply existing to concealing. John restricted himself to using only darkness, despite it being less effective. Partly because that was how most darkness cultivators would operate¡­ and partly because the rest were his secrets. Suddenly unable to see, Chandra¡¯s eyes darted around- though they did little good. ¡°Can I use my spiritual energy now? Can I move?¡± ¡°Yes and yes,¡± John said. ¡°I will remain in this field.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already-¡± Chandra nearly declared that she found him, following his voice- but not only did that seem to break the spirit, she realized a moment later that she was wrong. The cluster of energy had not been him at all, slowly fading from where he had stood. ----- Chanda wasn¡¯t concerned about the sudden disappearance of Fortkran Tenebach. She would feel him through the ground, the vibrations of his feet. She would hear the crunch of his shoes on the ground, or sense his touch on the nearby bamboo. Or at least she should be able to. At the moment, she couldn¡¯t hear anything except the beating of her own heart, not even the whistle of wind or the breaths of the other disciples she knew were no more than twenty or thirty meters from her. How could this- No, it wasn¡¯t strange. Fortkran Tenebach was the head of the Tenebach clan, and just because he¡¯d been born into his position didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t deserve it. From what Chandra recalled, in the span of little more than a decade their clan had grown significantly, coming to possess multiple Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, the likes of which they hadn¡¯t had in over a century. His wife led another clan at the same time, similar in power. Meanwhile, Chandra had observed their daughter over the past few days, full of great potential but not simply riding on it. A darkness cultivator in the Stone Conglomerate would obviously know how to best hide from earth cultivators. The only question was whether she could catch him somehow, with something he wasn¡¯t expecting. She would find him eventually regardless¡­ but by this point he could have easily prepared a deadly attack. She heard a breath behind her, her energy darting through the air and ground to grab at it. There was nothing. ¡°Not there,¡± John¡¯s voice said. ¡°Perhaps over here?¡± She knew it was bait¡­ but her senses flickered towards it regardless. Nothing. She calmed herself, slowly wriggling her senses around her, doing her best to keep it hidden with the ground. She wouldn¡¯t want to spook him from a position. Her senses spiraled outward as she held a stance, ready for an attack. They had not agreed on any such thing, but she would be a fool to let down her guard even against a guest. And it would be an insult to not take him seriously. Her sweep continued to find nothing, nothing, nothing- until her senses broke from the darkness. Just in case, she made certain he had not left his field of darkness. That would be a mistake she could never recover from. It was difficult to reach so far, her tendril of energy numbed by the distance, but she could still do it. Occasional sounds caught her attention, drawing her in every direction. Still, she caught no definitive sign of anything. Was a lingering trace a sign she just missed him, or that she was far off? She was systematic with her search, but swift. How long had it been? Thirty seconds? A minute? Multiple minutes? It wasn¡¯t an embarrassment to not find him, but it was a flaw in her ability. Then, she felt something. She wrapped her energy around the area, feeling the depressions in the ground, before she made her declaration. ¡°You are¡­ where you started.¡± The darkness faded away, and the man¡¯s smiling face- pleasantly professional, and missing the mockery it could have had- was there to greet her. ¡°Not bad. With training, you¡¯ll be faster¡­ and able to pick out my tricks.¡± That was some comfort to Chandra, but currently she was focused on the question of whether or not he had taken a single step. Had he moved away, only to return to his starting position¡­ or had his lack of presence there even at the very beginning simply been a trick? Chapter 187 A week passed with the only plant John had attempted to grow being the regular sized bamboo. With his earth energy enhancing it directly, he could make it grow to its full height of thirty or more meters within a single minute, which might have taken him an hour previously. Truthfully, it was still far too slow to consider in combat- what took him a minute to form was still basically just standard bamboo, the sort that could be sliced in half in an instant- if anyone bothered to consider its existence to begin with. Still, John didn¡¯t expect otherwise- it took years to master techniques, and his experience with earth had not included plant manipulation prior to the current excursion. The best among their group was Renato- though it was unclear if he had any experience in the area from his previous life, his general experience with earth matched with his hard work and talent to bring him to the top. Next was Ursel- at least in tasks that didn¡¯t involve a higher level of cultivation, she was able to beat out the rest of the others. There were two more members of the Amber Heart consistently performing better than John, but he simply had to accept his limitations. As a clan head, he had to do well- but earth was simply one of the elements he controlled. Inside his dantian, his totems continued to dwell and grow in power. The sprawling tree of darkness, so different in how it developed compared to actual plants¡­ yet something about his training spurred forward John¡¯s development of his totem. It didn¡¯t suddenly shoot up in level, but its growth rate slowly began to increase. His totems were about halfway between the fourth and fifth tiers, basically keeping up with his increase in rank¡­ but it wouldn¡¯t hurt for his totems to reach the fifth tier earlier. In fact, it would likely make the process of choosing his fifth totem more smooth. The tree itself was still embedded in his second totem- Compost, soil made of decayed plants. Inside of John¡¯s dantian the main source of plantlife was the tree of darkness, but a semblance of other life had developed. It wasn¡¯t real, even less than the spiritual totems themselves, but the function of other ¡®plants¡¯ inside of him still happened. The tree absorbed and expelled air as well, along with greedily drinking the rain that fell upon the sizable island growing inside John. The sea flickered with its own sense of life, representative of the power inside him. In the far distance, his small amount of fire elemental spiritual energy burned as a sun, providing almost pitiful amounts of light and heat, relative to everything else. His understanding and control of that element had hardly advanced as he grew through the phases- and direct light element was still uncomfortable to even think about. Back outside of himself, John was instructed on new plants- they would start with fast growing vines, but within a few days they would be moving onto trees as well, widening their experience to more than just bamboo. After two weeks, it was anticipated a sufficient number of them could move on to direct spiritual energy constructs, substantial only as long as they needed to be, but requiring less of the battlefield. No matter one¡¯s ability, growing a seed into a proper plant in an instant still required somewhere for it to take root, if primarily to anchor itself. The soft vines responded quite differently than bamboo- if John didn¡¯t provide any guidance they would grow in whatever direction they pleased, even upon him- though his general defenses prevented the vines from sinking their roots into his clothing. That wasn¡¯t the sort of thing one had to worry about normally, of course, but at such a rapid pace of growth days or weeks were compressed into minutes- so a lack of movement could allow such a thing to find purchase. Not all day was spent on simply growing plants out of the ground and eventually returning them to that same soil- since otherwise the sect would be entirely overrun by plants within a few days- there was also sparring and exchanges of knowledge to take place. John was the resident expert in darkness, and by default he was the same for air. Earth was the main element of the Viridia Wildlands and the Emerging Bamboo Sect, but there was water as well, with some training in the element. If it were a matter of swimming, John imagined he would outclass them- but the local uses of water were more geared towards additional control of plants. ----- John wasn¡¯t sure if the time went too fast or too slow. He wanted to learn as much as he possibly could, and was quite enjoying himself- but all too soon he would be pulled away. Taking a few months- plus travel time- away from his duties at the clan meant he would soon have to return. But at least they had gotten to the best part. Legs placed together, John made sure he was balanced and then called upon his earth energy. He could certainly form it into a pillar of earth to hold him up, but such structure was rigid and overly dense. Bamboo- even just the spiritual impression of bamboo- was so much easier to conjure swiftly. He was thrust into the sky as it spiritual energy took form, though instead of launching himself he simply focused on how it grew and maintaining his balance. The latter wasn¡¯t terribly difficult with all of his training as a cultivator, but standing on a small moving area was more difficult than it seemed, especially when his spiritual energy wavered from its straight path upwards and the bamboo shifted. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. His entire journey took perhaps ten seconds, much more efficient than even his improved speed with an actual plant- but not yet usable in combat. He couldn¡¯t vault himself forward with the momentum or create a barrier between himself and an enemy, except one that would be easily circumvented. But it was becoming closer and closer to that point, and even if he didn¡¯t modify his fighting style to incorporate these techniques, the learning was valuable. Meanwhile Ursel was¡­ having fun. Not that she was neglecting her training- she simply performed her training in a less regimented manner. Instead of propping herself upon a single stalk of bamboo, she grew two beneath her wide stance. She wouldn¡¯t be able to adjust her position that way, but the same was true with feet planted on a single stalk. The canes swayed back and forth as Ursel shifted her weight, but her control had increased to the point that the bamboo didn¡¯t get out of her control and send her toppling. Not by accident, anyway. Being able to choose what happened was always the point, so if Ursel went tumbling for fun it hardly mattered. John was glad that his daughter seemed to be happy. Her inability to learn other elements had been a hard blow for her- broadening her perspective on the earth element seemed to be good for her. There was so much left she could learn- each element had enough secrets to advance an individual to the Exalted Soul Phase¡­ in theory at least. Even with great talent few individuals reached such a point- to the point that even one passing through the region John now lived in was merely legend. Even so, no single element was better or worse than any other for such a purpose, except as it pertained to an individual¡¯s talent. ----- The final week, at least as far as John was concerned, they got to work with more interesting plants. The first thing they did was go out into the surrounding jungle, away from the sect proper where things grew wild. Chandra explained as they went along the way. ¡°You all have some experience with growing and controlling plants¡­ but only those that did not wrestle against such control. Today, we are to seek out more vigorous samples to provide a proper challenge.¡± At first John presumed they would be searching for larger trees or any sort of old growth, set in its position, but they passed by such things in all shapes and sizes as they trekked off the path, not stopping to bother with them. It was only when they stopped in front of a particular plant that John realized what they were doing. The plant in question was a venus fly trap- though Venus was not a planet in this world, and John wasn¡¯t sure even within the vibrant jungle there were any flies big enough to fill the leafy maws. Chandra pulled out a hunk of meat, tossing it towards the plant. John expected it to snap closed as the tiny hairs upon the leaves were triggered, but what he hadn¡¯t expected was for it to lunge towards the treat. Two separate ¡®mouths¡¯ caught onto the torso sized hunk of meat and tore it apart, before settling back with their prizes and snapping closed their maws. ¡°As you can see, certain plants have sensory abilities beyond their normal kind. Along with that, even if they don¡¯t have their own stores of spiritual energy they will resist foreign control. However¡­¡± Chandra extended her hand and leg, energy trailing forwards from them towards the plant. John felt it, strong and insistent, burrow its way into the plant. The heads moved, the two that had captured food turning towards others of the same plant, only to release their ensnared prizes. They dropped them into other segments of the plant, though John could feel how reluctant they were to open before digesting anything. ¡°They can always be controlled. They even become more docile when fed, but can still be quite aggressive. A member of the Sect will be assigned to each of you to minimize the effect of any failures.¡± The stronger members of the sect paired with the weaker visitors- which was perfectly reasonable. Neither Renato or John had much to fear even if they totally messed up, but they still had Foundation Phase cultivators to guide them if they needed advice. ¡°Greetings, Fortkran Tenebach,¡± the woman assigned to assist John said. ¡°I am Cameron, here to guide you in finding appropriate targets, and disentangling them nonlethally if possible. The things we seek are not so plentiful that we can afford to have them destroyed unnecessarily.¡± Cameron¡¯s words were quite formal, but John couldn¡¯t expect much different from a standard disciple when he was a clan head. ¡°Great, let¡¯s look for more then.¡± A few minutes of hacking through the jungle later, Cameron stopped. ¡°Here is one. I will trigger it with bait to throw it into a state of calm.¡± She also pulled out a hunk of meat, throwing it towards not another venus fly trap, but another sort of carnivorous plant- a drosera, if John recalled correctly. Large arms close to human size with sticky fronds bent and coiled around the hunk of meat as it tried to fly through them. ¡°Just try to gently take control of it, no need to do anything in particular or make quick motions.¡± Listening to Cameron¡¯s advice, John reached forward much as he would do for other plants. As his earth energy reached into the plant, it seemed tense, though the section coiled around the meat was both pulled tight and yet somehow relaxed. At the very least, it wasn¡¯t ready to spring into action. John managed to wiggle some of the grasping tentacles, but when he tried to exert more complete control his energy was resisted. Not just that, one of the arms flicked towards him. He was more than ten meters away, so the plant could not reach- and it didn¡¯t appear to be mobile- but some of the liquid attached to the tips of its tentacles flew towards him. John sidestepped it, watching as it clung to a tree behind him- and he saw the bark begin to dissolve. These plants seemed to have some tricks up their sleeves. He was glad that the Emerging Bamboo Sect had been their guide through the overrun roads and when they occasionally had to step away. There were many dangers he wouldn¡¯t have anticipated in this place, though that was more a concern for the weaker parts of their expedition. Chapter 188 Controlling the basic actions of carnivorous plants full of spiritual energy was manageable, but the way they were brimming with spiritual energy and imbued with intent if not consciousness made it more than just a casual process. He had to wrestle against them, but that was the whole point. It was a great way to improve his understanding and control of plant life, even if they were more exotic than most things he would encounter. By the time he had spent a month training with the Emerging Bamboo Sect, John found himself more than basically proficient with the control of plants. He could make projections of them, too. That was the first demonstration of the sect¡¯s abilities he had seen, and temporary constructs were usually all that he needed. He wasn¡¯t quite certain if he was skilled enough to use them for the bursts of mobility or attacks that the sect did, but he could at least consider incorporating it. In a way, it was little different than the defensive spheres of water or shields of earth he conjured, rather costly but more durable and useful than simply using spiritual energy. At his current cultivation level, the expenditure for similar things was not overly burdensome- though of course proficiency with the technique always helped. Ursel was already skilled enough to use them with higher efficiency, but it still tired her quickly at only the Foundation Phase. Both her storage and recovery of earth energy were limited simply by her time spent cultivating and her rank, but in the next years she should swiftly overcome that limitation. Time flowed swiftly, and soon enough it was time for John to say goodbye. ¡°How is it, Ursel? Been having fun?¡± ¡°Yeah! Lots,¡± she nodded. ¡°So many new things to learn, I want to know it all!¡± ¡°Everything, huh? That might take a while,¡± John smiled. ¡°Make sure you train hard, Renato will tell me if you don¡¯t!¡± ¡°I always train hard!¡± Ursel assured her father. ¡°So you¡¯re¡­ really going.¡± ¡°You know I have things I must do. I can¡¯t be in multiple places at once.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°That¡¯s just how things work,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Hmph. Aren¡¯t you really strong? Just make it happen anyway! You told me that anything is possible with cultivation.¡± ¡°Maybe it is,¡± John admitted, ¡°But everyone has limits. I might seem like I can do anything, but there are always limits.¡± ¡°Then just get stronger.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ll certainly work on it,¡± John smiled. He didn¡¯t intend to give his daughter¡¯s words that much thought- they were spoken without understanding, after all- but he couldn¡¯t help but at least consider what would be required to be in two places at once. A second body? He certainly didn¡¯t have the expertise to form a functioning human body, let alone more troublesome things like a dantian or meridians. He could make a lump of energy that looked like him, but that wouldn¡¯t really mean much. Nor did he imagine it could go far. No, it was a foolish idea¡­ but it certainly would solve a lot of problems, being in more than a single place at once. That was a technique everyone could dream of, and if they¡¯d actually accomplished anything like it they would surely be famous worldwide. ----- Eventually John had to leave, taking the time of some of the disciples from the Order of the Amber Heart and the Emerging Bamboo Sect as they escorted him back to the port. It was still strange, to monopolize so much time for his safety. Even so, he recognized how important he was. He wasn¡¯t just a politician with many friends and great wealth, but his personal power meant something. Being escorted by people weaker than him was rather entertaining in that light, but there were limits to how much one could do alone. The lush plants of the Viridia Wildlands faded into the distance as John set off towards his next destination- it wouldn¡¯t be for long, but he would be stopping by the Brandle clan. He wanted to at least see his wife for a few days, since he was passing by. That was a luxury of time he could afford. ----- John was fortunate to find that Matayal had just returned from one of her training excursions, having brought along Tirto. The married couple took some time to themselves in the gardens, something they rarely had time to do since taking over greater responsibilities. Even those moments of relaxation eventually turned to practical matters, such as establishing better communication between the clans. ¡°Carrier beasts are reasonably swift, but can always be intercepted¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°When it matters, it becomes both expensive and insecure.¡± Setting up a communication network like the Sunfields was impossible- not in any technical manner, but rather it required too much trust. It was basically an open signal anyone could look on in, passed from person to person repeatedly. The Stone Conglomerate was implementing something similar, but it was only to be used for dangers relevant to the area as a whole, intrusions of large groups of cultivators or beasts. Not that the Sunfields was much better in that regard, since even a powerful sect like the Golden Tomb Guardians had basically only been able to pass along basic information about John¡¯s arrival, and maintaining any secrecy meant knowing a general message was to be expected. On the other hand¡­ ¡°Perhaps ciphers of some sort,¡± Matayal stole the thought right from John¡¯s head. ¡°We already use some.¡± ¡°Certainly, as long as no one gains access to the decoding methods, or figures it out on their own. It¡¯s not important now, but if we were at war and our codes had already been broken¡­¡± ¡°For the moment,¡± Matayal said, ¡°Continuing to expand our network of reliable messengers should be sufficient.¡± There was a short time of silence before Matayal asked. ¡°What else is on your mind?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Mostly stupid things,¡± John admitted. ¡°Thinking about a technique to be in two places at once.¡± ¡°That sounds¡­¡± ¡°Impossible?¡± ¡°Like it would take many decades of study and practice to even gain a basic foothold,¡± Matayal concluded. ¡°That¡¯s unexpectedly optimistic about the possibility,¡± John said. ¡°It would depend what you wanted, of course,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But splitting up your power into separate portions might be possible.¡± ¡°Unfortunately,¡± John sighed, ¡°If it took even close to that minimum time and dedication, I could barely even begin before what I would most use it for comes to pass. It still seems impossible.¡± ¡°That is because you are thinking like a Foundation Phase or Soul Expansion Phase cultivator,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Neither we or our clans have significant experience with the Consolidated Soul Phase and beyond. This period of explosive growth is leading to many political complications that limit the time we would otherwise have to spend in training. Our grandfathers had years to spend contemplating training and techniques, but we¡¯ve still barely started.¡± ¡°And yet¡­ we¡¯re more than halfway to the peak.¡± ¡°Only in terms of phases and ranks,¡± Matayal pointed out. ¡°Time¡­ now that¡¯s a different matter. How many years before we reach the late Consolidated Soul Phase? How many more for the peak, and then to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase?¡± ¡°You sound quite confident that we can reach the next Phase,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Confidence is important¡­ besides, we are still quite young. I know we can¡­ unless there is something that stops us. It is not a matter of talent¡­ but perhaps access to knowledge, resources, or something else. But if we do not encounter some such limiting factor or get taken down by jealous rivals¡­ I do believe we can.¡± ¡°What about the Exalted Soul Phase?¡± John asked. ¡°You might as well ask any unknowable question. I have confidence, but even I can¡¯t say anything to that regard. If either one of us were to reach that, we¡¯d shatter more than just our region¡¯s understanding, but that of the world as a whole.¡± John nodded, ¡°Well, I¡¯m having enough difficulty with fire to begin with. I have no idea how I¡¯ll manage light.¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Matayal smiled. ¡°At the point you truly understand the complete cycle of elements, anyone will look foolish for even imagining you couldn¡¯t fulfill your ambitions.¡± She squeezed his hand, ¡°I will support you every step of the way.¡± He squeezed back, ¡°I don¡¯t intend to leave you behind.¡± Later, they retired to their shared quarters, and John was glad they didn¡¯t have to worry about having more children by accident. John wasn¡¯t sure what he would do if his heart was tugging him into more directions at once. ----- Though he desired every possible second with his wife, John didn¡¯t forget to spend time with his son. Just because Tirto preferred his mother didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t need fatherly affection as well. The Brandle clan had water everywhere- in pools as well as the ocean not far away- and Tirto was always happy to spend more time in it. Apparently, he¡¯d even done so much as to visit the depths, where John and Matayal had found themselves dragged. ¡°Did you see the sea god?¡± John asked. Tirto shook his head. ¡°Not quite. I visited your cave and went a bit deeper, but I¡¯m not strong enough yet.¡± ¡°Good enough to support yourself there, though. That¡¯s quite amazing for your age.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Tirto said, while managing to sound only a little bit arrogant. ¡°Father¡­ what about my sisters?¡± ¡°What about them?¡± John asked. ¡°Are they doing well? We¡¯ve been separated for training¡­¡± ¡°Well¡­ Melanthina is¡­ very stubborn. But her training with the Golden Tomb Guardians was going well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why she would be so adamant¡­¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°I have trained with the Mulyani clan, and fighting against a dominating element is not pleasant. But beyond gaining proficiency, I found no reason to push myself further. I can¡¯t imagine the opposite elements are more pleasant to experience.¡± ¡°They are not,¡± John confirmed. ¡°It¡¯s much worse than just fighting a dominating element, because both your enemy¡¯s energy and your own fight against you. At least you can trust your energy to support you against air. Darkness against light¡­ is less pleasant to handle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why Melanthina is so obsessed. It was just one loss. She was too arrogant to think that someone unknown couldn¡¯t defeat her.¡± John agreed but¡­ ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let her hear you say that.¡± ¡°Of course not, father. I value my life, and the sanctity of my possessions while I am away from them.¡± ¡°Either way, Melanthina¡¯s doing alright. Ursel¡­ she actually seems happy, now that she has something new to learn. New experiences, and new paths of cultivation she hadn¡¯t considered.¡± ¡°Happy?¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°Good. She was¡­ not her usual self recently.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll fully be over things,¡± John admitted. ¡°But at least it¡¯s a step in the right direction.¡± He reached out to tussle Tirto¡¯s hair- soaked by saltwater, of course. ¡°Thanks for looking out for your sisters. You¡¯ll see them again soon enough.¡± ----- The next problem with communications, beyond figuring out how to do it, was getting permission for going through various territories. Whether they were hostile or not, planning any route that didn¡¯t take the main roads turned into a hassle. Not that John handled all of those logistics on his own- but he did have to get involved in negotiations. That was one of the various things waiting for him upon the return to the Tenebach clan, dealing with envoys from groups that always wanted more. Of particular annoyance were the growing Heavy Gold Mountain and the same Quartz clan from the tournament. They weren¡¯t hostile, but they were expanding their influence in their own regions much like the Tenebach clan and Amber Heart were doing in Marble County and now beyond. For the moment it was not a concern¡­ but eventually they would butt heads. John preferred to do that with minimal bloodshed, but he also had to avoid appearing weak. With mere envoys, that was simple enough- displaying his cultivation was good enough to edge negotiations in his favor, unless they wanted to send a Consolidated Soul Phase leader to negotiate with John- in which case that was a sufficient show of face that he wouldn¡¯t care too much. Then there was the matter of the empowerment ceremony. John didn¡¯t want to perform it for the next generation too early or too late. He would have to consult with Ciaritzal on that, when he returned¡­ and that would also require planning around the downsides. It would be nice to go back to managing a burger restaurant instead of a clan, just for a few days. At least there nobody died if he did something wrong. Chapter 189 The Tenebach clan had a number of income streams- hunting beasts, mining spirit stones, and businesses and trade throughout Marble County and beyond. As long as they were conservative with the mining, all of those were sustainable. Now that the clan had Consolidated Soul Phase members- and the overall cultivation and power had improved- they were pulling in greater quantities of resources. In turn, those resources were used to feed into that growth. It was a self-sustaining cycle, but there were limits to what the Tenebach clan could accomplish without taking risks. Whether it involved moving on contested territory or striking out into dangerous but freely available domains, anything that could propel the clan to even greater heights would carry some danger beyond what was normal for the cultivation world. For the moment, John was content for the clan to settle into its new position instead of pushing too hard. Stability was more important than further bursts of growth, and though it could eventually lead to dangerous stagnation, that was more on the order of years and decades without growth. And it wasn¡¯t as if the Tenebach clan wouldn¡¯t be growing, just not as swiftly. There was another matter he still had to consider, and with Melanthina returning from the Golden Tomb Guardians- along with Ciaritzal- he was able to at least consider preparations. After reuniting with his daughter, of course. ¡°Did the rest of your training go well?¡± He asked. There was confidence in how she stood, though that wasn¡¯t exactly new. ¡°It went swimmingly father,¡± Melanthina¡¯s eyes almost sparkled, even though as a darkness cultivator she would be the last to have something like that actually happen. ¡°I am now ready to combat even the fiercest of light element foes! None shall stand before me!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± John nodded, patting her on the head. She gave a little snort of annoyance, but clearly wasn¡¯t actually averse to the affection. ¡°I am now ready to defeat¡­ the one who was victorious over me in the tournament.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even remember his name?¡± John grinned. ¡°Of course I remember his name! And his stupid, smug face.¡± She crossed her arms, ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to sully my tongue with his stupid name.¡± John was quite certain she remembered, given how many times she¡¯d said it until now- intentionally or not. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯re stronger.¡± It wasn¡¯t just that her rank had improved- though she was now just short of reaching the late Foundation Phase- there was definitely more to it than that. And being so confident in going against a light element cultivator was encouraging. ¡°So, I¡¯m ready,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°For what, exactly?¡± John probed. ¡°For¡­ my next training excursion. Obviously I have to travel to the Prism Underfields, defeat Nik, and reclaim my honor!¡± Her face and tone were quite serious, but it was funny to see on someone who couldn¡¯t even quite be called a young woman yet. ¡°And what makes you think you¡¯re going?¡± John asked. ¡°Well I¡­ that¡¯s what the training was for, right?¡± ¡°The training was to overcome your weaknesses,¡± John said. ¡°If you get the opportunity to defeat a prior opponent, it¡¯s worth taking¡­ but do you really think I¡¯d just send you off to the Prism Underfields?¡± ¡°... Why wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°There are a number of reasons. First, it would involve going through the Darklands and we¡¯re still not on good terms with the factions there.¡± That wasn¡¯t entirely true- and the Tenebach clan was actively planning to improve relations with more factions from the Darklands, now that they didn¡¯t have to concern themselves with the Society of Midnight¡¯s influence. ¡°Then you¡¯re just going to waltz through the Annihilation Strip and the Deadlands to end up in another light element country¡­ one in which we have no allies?¡± ¡°Well I¡­ I¡¯m certain we could manage something.¡± ¡°And then you plan to humiliate a sect¡¯s disciple while you¡¯re there,¡± John finished. ¡°I doubt he¡¯s important enough for anyone to care¡­¡± Melanthina grumbled. ¡°He¡¯s just a brat without any status!¡± ¡°Without any family, you mean. Because I imagine that a young teenage disciple who is in the Foundation Phase is worthy of status in pretty much any sect. Especially since he wouldn¡¯t have had the same advantages you got.¡± ¡°Yeah but-¡± ¡°And though I¡¯m sure you could beat him, no doubt he has been training as well. Things might not be as different as you think. Better to wait for the blessing ceremony and pull further ahead so you can make a good showing of it.¡± Melanthina¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°He¡¯s just one¡­¡± she began to murmur below her breath- though that didn¡¯t exactly make it secret. Then she shook her head. ¡°I will consider your words. If you will excuse me, I must rest from the journey.¡± John smiled. ¡°Of course. Sleep well.¡± As she stepped out of sight, John made sure that someone would be watching to make sure she didn¡¯t do anything stupid like slipping away to go on her own. Now, John would go seek out Ciaritzal, no doubt in his new ¡®home¡¯. The properly constructed tunnels were still filled with a pleasing darkness, without the discomforting unevenness and uncertainty of caves. While some measure of uncertainty might be useful for darkness cultivators, having it be intentional was the best. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ciaritzal was found sprawled out in a vague pile of spirit mush. John wasn¡¯t sure if he could even make out which parts would be which, if they even existed at the moment. The guardian beast had a powerful aura, but it felt¡­ subdued, at the moment. ¡°How was the trip?¡± John asked. ¡°Exhausting,¡± Ciaritzal said with a sigh. ¡°Living in such a light tainted land, even with nightly reprieves from its fury, is more than I can bear.¡± Silence reigned for a few moments before he continued. ¡°Traveling back with your daughter was also less than optimal. Our affinity is reasonable, but as she has not undergone the blessing ceremony it is not¡­ optimal. The carriage was not any better.¡± ¡°Sorry to hear that,¡± John said. ¡°Still, did you find your spars with Cuah¡¯arn worthwhile?¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± Ciaritzal¡¯s smile was evident in his voice, if not his insubstantial face. ¡°Though I suggest that next time, the Golden Tomb Guardians come to us. It will be more appropriate, as we don¡¯t even have relentless darkness beating down on people above ground.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± John nodded. ¡°Speaking of that ceremony¡­ I have been thinking about it. I figured we should make use of it within the next few years, though it would be nice to be able to plan for what happens. I¡¯m not quite certain how much the cultivations of myself and the others will drop¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I understand,¡± Ciaritzal shifted and reformed into a standing state. ¡°You forget that I have been restored to my undamaged form. In addition to your control and greater personal power¡­ any setbacks will be minimal for you and the others.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good news, actually.¡± He had been concerned that perhaps he might drop from mid Consolidated Soul Phase to early¡­ or perhaps even back into the Soul Expansion Phase. ¡°You mentioned¡­ myself and others. What about you?¡± ¡°I will give up part of myself¡­ but it is not damaging. I will be more powerful when it is returned with interest.¡± Ciaritzal paced around the room, bare except for a few piles of pillows that the guardian beast requested. ¡°I can offer more of myself this time in exchange for your assistance recovering myself¡­ and when the younger generation returns my gift in a decade or two, they will still be more powerful than they would have been otherwise.¡± ¡°That seems like a significant time to be weakened¡­¡± John frowned. ¡°Try missing parts of yourself for over a century,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°You will find that a few decades becomes insignificant. And¡­ I shall still be able to grow during that time.¡± ¡°But you won¡¯t be comparable to the Ascending Soul Phase, I imagine.¡± ¡°I will not,¡± Ciaritzal confirmed. ¡°So I would suggest not making enemies that attack the heart of your clan. Though perhaps that should be the case at all times.¡± ¡°I would prefer nobody try to wipe us out, yes. So about the timing¡­ when would be optimal?¡± ¡°For who?¡± Ciaritzal questioned. ¡°For the clan as a whole¡­ or for your daughter?¡± ¡°Is there a difference?¡± John asked. ¡°Some. There are many of your clan who could make optimal use of the blessing now¡­ but splitting it up over different time frames will dilute the effect. Perhaps at some point we could establish a regular schedule or five or ten years¡­ but these longer stretches of time are also good. But your daughter is not quite ready, I think. Perhaps a year, maybe two or three.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could wait for just her? I remember you did it with just me¡­¡± ¡°You were an exception,¡± Ciaritzal stated. ¡°And there are others in your younger generation of similar age to Melanthina. All waiting will restrict some, but advantage others. It would not look well upon the clan if you were too¡­ particular.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± John agreed. ¡°Then we shall wait. If you can keep me informed of your estimations, I would appreciate it.¡± ¡°Of course. Oh, and I would begin preparing some darkness infused catalysts. If you are concerned about the older generations'' cultivation, best to expend some material resources to ensure optimal results. Your skills at channeling the energy might indeed suffice, but a little caution would not be untoward.¡± ----- Most spirit beasts were quite unlike Ciaritzal and Cuah¡¯arn. The majority were simply animals with some level of cultivation, and while that cultivation might bring increased intelligence it didn¡¯t bring them the level of sapience the two guardian beasts had. Perhaps even classifying both groups as spirit beasts had gone too far, because some were without a traditional physical form. Regardless, no matter what type, powerful spirit beasts were valuable. Those with physical form were excellent materials, hides and claws tempered to match the finest manufactured materials. Insubstantial creatures were used as sources of power- either willingly or unwillingly, with Ciaritzal having experienced both. The power and value of any particular spirit beast was closely tied to its age- it was possible for them to grow old and decrepit even with cultivation, but up until that point their value only increased. It was one such beast that drew the attention of the Tenebach clan, a Shadowhawk with feathers as dark as the night- they would be valuable for any number of purposes. The estimated power of the creature was equivalent to the Ascending Soul Phase- more or less equivalent to Ciaritzal. That was why the information on it had come to the Tenebach clan instead of the creature being hunted by someone else. A mixture of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and Soul Expansion Phase backup could certainly defeat such a creature, but without vast numbers and sacrifices a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator would be required. Aydan would be coming along as well, and a dozen individuals in the late or peak Soul Expansion Phase. Bringing any more could potentially slow their travel, and it would certainly make them even more obvious. As it turned out, this particular creature was in the Darklands- at least according to many maps. It was on the eastern edge where it bordered the Stone Conglomerate, the Green Sands, and the Wuthering Steppes. Such border regions contained less concentrated elements and thus were mainly unclaimed territory. At most they could expect patrols of vaguely nearby sects or clans, but it was unlikely they could or would stop their group from passing through the area. Nobody wanted to risk their lives fighting against strong opponents that weren¡¯t even threatening any locals. The time that John had led an army into the Darklands was obviously different, with people staying out of his way more because they couldn¡¯t do anything than not wanting to. Avoiding the patrols would still be valuable, not necessarily because of danger but because they might realize the target- and others in the Darklands might be looking for the Shadowhawk as well. The same information might have also been sold to them- the only requirement was that the information on such things be accurate. As long as the creature was in the stipulated area and alive and well to the informant¡¯s knowledge, nobody would have a right to complain if the same information was sold to others. The Tenebach clan hadn¡¯t been given the option for exclusivity, so no doubt others did have such information. Which was why they were moving swiftly but with as much stealth as they could maintain. The information was still fresh, and they would want to be the first ones to find the prize¡­ instead of arriving too late. Chapter 190 The sky was dim even during the day, the atmosphere of darkness elemental spiritual energy wrestling against the power of the sun. It reached a balance that John didn¡¯t particularly mind- he didn¡¯t have to deal with the harsh glare and heat of the sun, and he had no trouble seeing. It might even have been better for him if it were darker, but not every member of the Tenebach clan had the same magnitude of the blessing. They could all see in darkness to some extent, but at a certain point they would be less effective. Deeper in the Darklands the effect was stronger, but they were traversing along the border with the Green Sands, the fire element reacting over larger periods to create a stable balance with less potency. Because of the dominant element the area was by default part of the Darklands, and nobody was motivated to change that. The forested hills were unremarkable on most counts, at best full of beasts that made it unlivable. The elemental concentration wasn¡¯t strong enough for anything impressive to appear¡­ normally. That was why an Ascending Soul Phase equivalent Shadowhawk was serious news. Had it been hiding in the area for years? Unlikely given the concentration of spiritual energy, but possible. More likely it had come from deeper within the Darklands, unless there was some exceptional concentration of darkness energy somewhere else where it had made a home. The most likely candidate would have been the southeastern corner of the Stone Conglomerate, since the only other nearby areas were the fire dominant Green Sands and the air dominant Wuthering Steppes. ¡°Where do you think it came from?¡± John asked his uncle Aydan. ¡°Perhaps somewhere high in the mountains. That would be the optimal location for a Shadowhawk to make its nest.¡± ¡°Our border with the Darklands, then?¡± John asked. Aydan shook his head, ¡°The hills there aren¡¯t quite enough, I imagine. Perhaps it was further inside the Stone Conglomerate or¡­ perhaps the border with the Wuthering Steppes. Though a Shadowhawk is attuned to the darkness element, no birds are unfavorable to the air element. There are towering peaks that it could have roosted atop, and it might have found or made a nice concentration of spiritual energy for itself.¡± John nodded. Spirit beasts might not be able to create energy gathering formations like people, but even those that weren¡¯t an incarnation of the elements themselves could influence the area around them. ¡°Do you think it was chased away from its home, then? It might have always lived out here, with few people passing through.¡± There was little travel from the Darklands to the Green Sands to begin with, and the direct route was not the most pleasant, with no roads on either side. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to say. If this has always been its roost, it will have an advantage. Otherwise, there might already be others seeking it. Beyond those who received the same information as us, of course.¡± John nodded. ¡°We will need to approach cautiously in either case. Let¡¯s just hope the information is accurate.¡± ----- Though the information was likely as precise as the traveler who had made the sighting was able, it still left a wide area to cover. A large Shadowhawk could easily roam more than a handful of kilometers from its nest every day, and if it was inclined it could go further. The fact that the traveler had sighted the Shadowhawk in the same area over a couple days of travel was the only thing that indicated it hadn¡¯t just randomly been in the area. And even that was marginal. Still worth gathering the Tenebach clan for. In theory, good equipment could come from any material. In practice, that was only practical at earlier cultivation phases. There were few materials that could service a Soul Expansion or Consolidated Soul cultivator which did not have any element tied to them, and since everyone could use them they were highly sought after. Even then, that would only result in weapons and armor that were functional, instead of exceptional. An elder Shadowhawk would have great value. Its sharp talons would be sufficient to be made into spears. Its feathers, impossibly light but as durable as thick steel armor. If such a creature had a nest of eggs, it young could be raised as companions- messenger birds or even for combat. And this was only an approximation of its value given what weaker Shadowhawks had been previously hunted or captured. Having reached a higher power than the rest, the differences might be even more profound. For any of that to matter, however, the Tenebach clan had to actually be the ones to get their hands on this prize. That meant finding it first- or at least early enough to get involved in the contest. Once combat broke out with a creature of such power, it would be obvious to any with even the most elementary of spiritual senses within many kilometers. That factor also influenced their decisions about how they moved about. No matter how stealthy they were, a decently large group could not avoid every beast in the area. They would inevitably cross some, and those beasts fighting or fleeing could both have consequences. There wasn¡¯t much concern about actual dangers from anything besides the Shadowhawk they sought, unless there was actually something special about the area nobody had ever caught onto. They just wanted to avoid alerting the Shadowhawk or other hunters to their presence. One would expect that a lack of sunlight would hamper the growth of local trees, and that was true to some extent. The plants that John would consider ¡®normal¡¯ were stunted in their growth, low bushes and familiar but scraggly trees. Some did well with lower sunlight, and some plants actually fed off of the darkness element. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. During the assault on the Society of Midnight, John had seen massive trees that sucked up all the darkness element around them, as well as many other things hidden off the roads. Nothing here was quite so sizable as those, but there was a very interesting effect to be found. Deeper in the darklands where the spiritual energy was so dense that it would never completely diminish, the darkness attuned plants struggled against each other for dominance and eventually reached some sort of equilibrium. Here, darkness attuned trees were generally bastions of power on their own, surrounded by nothing but normal vegetation- which also grew more healthily than anything else. In short, the trees would absorb the darkness for their own use, letting the actual light of the sun filter to the regular plants around them. They were nothing impressive- but stood out sharply against small or sickly trees without a ¡®protector¡¯. The variation between denser and sparser areas of growth made more traditional stealth methods difficult, and while manipulating the darkness could hide their group to some extent the local fauna would be more attuned to such deceptions. They couldn¡¯t help but disturb lesser beasts they came upon, and even if they could instantly slay them that only left traces of their presence for others to track down. Much like something they were currently investigating, clearly not the result of local beasts in conflict. ¡°An ebon-eyed boar,¡± Aydan observed. ¡°Missing its tusks, and of course its namesake.¡± ¡°... What do you even do with boar eyes?¡± John asked. He learned what he could about beasts in this world, but he still didn¡¯t know everything. His uncle had extra decades of experience to absorb more knowledge, which was one of the best reasons to keep him around besides his strength. ¡°They are generally sealed in resin and used as display pieces,¡± Aydan explained. ¡°Pure black spheres radiating a simple aura of darkness.¡± Now that he said it, John thought he had seen some. He wasn¡¯t sure how eyes like that functioned- even if there was a benefit to having pupils take up the entire visual area, absorbing what little light fell on the Darklands at night¡­ the rest of the eyeball being black was an oddity. But it was far from the craziest thing he had seen or heard in this world. ¡°How long has it been dead, then?¡± John asked as he set about answering the question himself. There was a bit of bloating, and the blood was dry¡­ but no real signs of decay. More than that, the carcass hadn¡¯t been picked over by scavengers yet. ¡°It should be relatively fresh,¡± Aydan said. ¡°The wounds tell us something. Deep, sharp¡­ impaled all the way through its width. A powerful cultivator, leaving traces of darkness.¡± John nodded, trying to pick up on the details of the remaining spiritual energy. There wasn¡¯t much of it- some combination of it fading in the last hours and there being minimal extraneous energy left behind. ¡°It¡¯s unlikely someone of that strength was here just for this.¡± He didn¡¯t recognize the energy signature, either because it was so minimal or because it was unfamiliar. Not that he¡¯d interacted with many groups from the Darklands except in passing. The group continued on their way, keeping their eyes on the sky. Where the trees thickened, John had scouts climb the trees at regular intervals to keep a constant watch for their target. Night fell, but that was not a reason for them to cease their search. The area would be more active, but that was exactly the time they could expect a Shadowhawk to prefer to roam. John had scaled one of the trees himself, reasoning that his higher cultivation might be advantageous for spotting something. His energy was concentrated on his eyes, because while piercing the darkness came naturally, his actual vision was hardly better than a normal person without augmentation. He would have been quite pleased to have better than 20/20 vision back on Earth, but here it was just alright. He hadn¡¯t put all that much effort into developing his eyesight, since it was already sufficient to see people on the horizon- and sensing spiritual energy was generally easier. In this case, however, his spiritual energy senses didn¡¯t pick out anything- but his eyes did. There was a small change in the darkness levels in the sky, something he might not have picked out if he weren¡¯t so used to looking at Ciaritzal and attempting to discern any form in his black void. Regardless, he saw the shadow moving across the sky, and with an intention to focus he even picked out a shape. When John had heard of a massive bird, he had expected something slightly larger than a human¡­ but this was even larger than Cuah¡¯arn who was already an impressive six meters in height. It was one thing for the being made of light to be so large- for something with physical form to be at that size reminded him of the great lizard that had been slain within the Stone Conglomerate. Except that creature strode on the ground- it didn¡¯t have a wingspan larger than a dozen meters. While the Shadowhawk was indeed smaller than the enemy at that time, it wasn¡¯t weaker. Its spiritual energy was much more powerful, and more importantly it was condensed into its ¡®smaller¡¯ body. The contributions of John, Magtel, and Crystin had only been possible in that previous battle because the spiritual energy was spread out over the creature¡¯s whole body, and its intelligence hadn¡¯t been sufficient to counter their attempts to ¡®dig¡¯ through it. Given that comparison, John supposed that this creature was relatively ¡®conservative¡¯ in size, though having its danger condensed into the beak and talons that almost hurt to look at from a great distance meant that there would be some significant risks. John could likely defend himself to some extent, but if any of their Soul Expansion Phase cultivators were attacked directly they would have great difficulty defending themselves. That said, John was already planning to lead a combat formation and consolidate the power of their warriors. Still, he was a bit hesitant to begin a fight with such a creature. And with others already around¡­ perhaps it would be better to let someone else take their shot first. But they could decide that in the morning. For the moment, John kept track of where the creature flew, approximating the distance as best he could from his vantage point until it disappeared below the treeline- though he could not be certain if it was truly landing or just swooping low and beyond the horizon. Chapter 191 There had been some discussion on whether or not to adjust sleep schedules to better deal with the Shadowhawk. It was likely to be more active at night, which was both a benefit for tracking it and a detriment- likewise, the darkness cultivators would be fine at night, and the Shadowhawk as well. Ultimately they decided for the simplest solution of minimizing their sleep. Four hours of sleep was an acceptable amount of sleep for powerful cultivators, but even Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators still had bodily needs. John had spotted the creature around sundown, but after it went out of view they took note of the details and swiftly set up camp. The total time spent stationary was closer to five hours with shifts of active guards and time required to set up, but it was still deep night when they were active again. If there had been any direct conflict with the Shadowhawk they would have sensed it and quickly been on the move- nobody was changing out of their armor for the duration of the hunt. The beasts active during the night were a different lot, but the Tenebach clan found themselves well equipped to deal with them. Smart hunters would rather deal with individual targets that weren¡¯t active at night. As they traveled they found markings of further battles- those involving cultivators and not just the local beasts. There were more signs of the same group that had killed the ebon eyed boar, deep wounds piercing entirely through beasts. Perhaps a spear, or something similar. But John¡¯s eyes picked up traces of something else as they traveled in the direction of the last known location of the Shadowhawk. He allowed himself to lead the group away from the most direct path to check out the disturbance, quite obvious once they approached the area. John had noticed a few odd scratches on trees, but up close he could see the clear manner in which all of the loose debris on the forest floor had been tossed about, and how it settled in a certain fashion. ¡°Air element,¡± John confirmed. He was the best at picking out non-darkness elements, though it wasn¡¯t particularly difficult in their current situation. It stood out easily against the main background element. ¡°The Wuthering Steppes, then,¡± Aydan proposed. ¡°They¡¯re just as far from home as us, though the dominant element is more advantageous for our clan. Still, that¡¯s further competition.¡± ¡°I doubt they¡¯re here for anything else,¡± John agreed. ¡°I just wonder why they would bother.¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Aydan shrugged. ¡°Perhaps it is for the sake of training. They could sell it for quite a tidy sum as well. Besides, even the feathers of a darkness element bird have value for air cultivators, though I wouldn¡¯t imagine it¡¯s the best possible option.¡± ¡°Either way, we should expect conflict,¡± John nodded as they continued towards the last direction their quarry had been spotted. As they got closer they should be able to track it through signs beyond visual confirmation. Aware they would be getting closer to the other hunters soon enough, John increased his efforts to conceal their group. Up to that point, he had kept the shroud around them at just around the rate the group could maintain their energy, now he drew upon himself and the others more strongly. They shouldn¡¯t be more than a couple hours from the predicted location of the Shadowhawk¡¯s nest, and they would be getting closer to the competing groups. For the most part they tried to keep other signs of their presence minimal- they couldn¡¯t be certain they were the last group that would be passing this way. There could easily be someone right on their tail. However, they didn¡¯t have much trouble with the local beasts- given that any willing to get close to groups had generally been defeated by the other two groups. The different battles were distinct and separate enough that John was fairly certain they weren¡¯t traveling together. A small pack of wolves pierced through seemed somewhat fresher than a nearby mess of wind-splattered insects. With the fresher corpses, John was able to glean more information from. Not from them specifically, but from the traces of energy. He¡¯d definitely encountered the darkness cultivators before¡­ but he didn¡¯t believe they¡¯d fought. ¡°I¡¯m going to write down who I think it is,¡± John said to his uncle. ¡°I would like you to do the same so we don¡¯t influence each other¡¯s guesses.¡± Aydan produced the same answer as John. ¡°The Serpent Watchers.¡± John sighed. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s not unreasonable. They are more on the eastern end of the Darklands.¡± John pursed his lips. There was no indication they had brought their full forces to bear, though they should have their stronger cultivators like the Tenebach clan. ¡°We can expect at least Idartha, maybe other Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators.¡± ¡°I imagine so,¡± Aydan agreed. ¡°What should we do if we encounter them?¡± ¡°If they don¡¯t cause any trouble¡­ we can pass them by. Though I won¡¯t just let them swoop in to take the prize, we don¡¯t need to enact revenge over other priorities.¡± The grudge with the Serpent Watchers was minimal- nobody had died, but they had more or less blackmailed the forces sent to wipe out the Society of Midnight. Revenge would be nice, but could easily be ignored. On the other hand, knowing the group were opportunists John wasn¡¯t going to trust them to stay out of things. They wouldn¡¯t have come all this way just to go back empty handed. John felt that the air element seemed somewhat familiar, but it wasn¡¯t the Kartal clan. They were well and truly destroyed now, and John would have instantly recognized the mixed elements. Aydan didn¡¯t find any familiarity, so perhaps it was someone he¡¯d seen in a tournament, or he was imagining things. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. As they seemed to be gaining on the others, John continued to focus their energy to avoid notice¡­ and John could feel lingering traces of the other groups simply from where they passed. The air element was obvious, the darkness was hidden- but as the effect unraveled it left a small trail behind, though only because he was actively looking for those specific energy signatures. Then, a beacon lit ahead of them- the Shadowhawk, previously just a dim presence that could have been imagined, as well as a bundle of air cultivators. That information was valuable in two ways. It revealed both the location and distance of their targets, as well as something about their strengths. The air cultivators weren¡¯t foolish- they had brought two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and more than a handful in the Soul Expansion Phase. However, they also brought Foundation Phase cultivators¡­ indicating to John that their forces were limited. Or perhaps they didn¡¯t care for the lives of their disciples. Of the Serpent Watchers, John felt nothing except the sparse trail in front of them. They clearly had similar plans to snatch the prize, and when they circled around to the right, presumably to find a hidden position to approach the battle from, John led the Tenebach clan in the other direction. Simply knowing the Serpent Watchers were around was enough, and they had to take care the Tenebach clan was not in turn being followed by another group. They weren¡¯t¡­ or their followers were sufficiently skilled to show no signs. It would be difficult to entirely hide their movements with people watching the areas between the sparse trees, and little could conceal better than darkness. As for the nest itself, they were just close enough to pick it out, along with the battle occurring around it. One of the darkness devouring trees grew tall above the rest, outcompeting its own brethren while allowing other vegetation to grow wild at its feet. Carefully nestled in the high, thick branches was a nest large enough to be a proper house. At the very least, it was bigger than the huts the poorest folk lived in. John estimated it to be five meters across, and perhaps one and a half to two meters high. Besides the particular dark wood that it was made from, it was much like John imagined any bird¡¯s nest to be, woven together from twigs and branches¡­ though most were a larger scale than what would be expected. The air cultivators John suddenly recognized. He had fought them before¡­ and there was a reason Aydan didn¡¯t recognize them. The Twisting Terror clan had fought with the Milanovic clan over some mines in the southern Green Sands, and Aydan had nearly died to an assassination attempt at that time- absorbing a shard of Ciaritzal into himself without having the required affinity for it to benefit him. The Shadowflame disciples had been the main antagonists, but the Twisting Terror clan worked with them, and had mainly been present at the site of the final battle whereas Aydan was not. Through combined efforts, they had created a large whirlwind around the base of the tree, with sufficient power to carry some of their members to the same height as the nest, a maneuver they were clearly practiced with given that nobody was tumbling end over end but rather maintaining their focus inward. Atop the nest was the Shadowhawk, though John was confused why it wouldn¡¯t just fly around and cause them trouble. Birds weren¡¯t meant to be sitting in one position no matter how able their beak was to bite off someone¡¯s arm, and whether or not their feathers could pin people to the ground- both of which it was doing. It was defending the nest, but such a thing could be rebuilt without major losses, even at its size. Except, of course, if it had eggs in it. That would explain the behavior- flying directly around the nest would be difficult at the creature¡¯s size, so it could only flutter its impressively large wings at the surrounding cultivators as they cut and stabbed at it. John was judging the correct time to go in. Should he wait until the Twisting Terror clan was defeated? Unfortunately for them, it seemed the Ascending Soul Phase equivalent creature was more than outmatching them even with its restricted movements. Branches of its tree were falling into their whirlwind as the creature flapped its wings- though none that threatened the security of its nest¡¯s position. John¡¯s thoughts returned to Faramund, who had forced himself to the Ascending Soul Phase during their attack. There were many differences in the situations- John¡¯s allies were significantly fewer, and the Shadowhawk had no allies- but he could feel there was a strong difference in power. Furthermore, the Shadowhawk wasn¡¯t fighting to stay alive, but to defeat the attackers. That was worse for it, as it allowed injuries to come upon it rather than risk damage to the nest¡­ and worse for the attackers, as it tossed their strongest cultivators away with a flap of its wings, hurtling them out of the supporting winds. John had a thought that working together would be best to defeat the spirit beast, even if it was simply to keep it in its disadvantageous position. But the Serpent Watchers made his choice easy. One of the two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators had flown more or less directly across from John, apparently into their midst. At least one of them had attacked instinctively- or at least there didn¡¯t seem to be time for detailed orders to happen. Either way, their presence was revealed. Though they continued to conceal themselves in the deep night and the shadows of their own power, John focused his eyes and senses to pick out those present. A couple dozen, with three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, eight Soul Expansion Phase, and the rest somewhere around late Foundation Phase. But the sect head Idartha was not among them. That left two options. First was that she was present and still hidden- in which case the Tenebach clan revealing themselves would lead to a whole mess of trouble, with their forces leaning in the Serpent Watcher¡¯s direction. Or¡­ she wasn¡¯t present, and this was a perfect time to cause damage to an unfriendly faction without them being completely aware of the details. There might be some suspicion if the Tenebach clan laid their hands on a Shadowhawk, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to prove anything if they were taken out. And if they truly lost three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators they would have to concern themselves with local troubles in a moment of weakness. There was also the chance that some of them escaped, so John had to judge whether it would be worth the attempt- and if there were not more yet hiding. Either way, he planned to be the one walking away with the Shadowhawk- and its eggs. Then again, so did everyone else. Chapter 192 Justified caution had John sweeping the area around them with his eyes and senses, as simply assuming the Tenebach clan was the sole remaining hidden force coming for the Shadowhawk would be a terrible idea. Like before, none of them found anyone else, which hopefully meant there wasn¡¯t anyone. They¡¯d been fortunate to come in behind the other groups so they weren¡¯t leaving behind signs for the Twisting Terror clan or the Serpent Watchers. The latter had just revealed themselves when members of the Twisting Terror clan were flung into their midst by the Shadowhawk, huddling defensively over its nest. The larger whirlwind the clan had created around the Shadowhawk¡¯s tree was continuing to orbit the majority of their forces along with it, but now they had to divert their attention between two sides. Knowing when to properly inject the Tenebach clan into this whole mess would be key. They could wait until everything was resolved- that might maximize their enemies¡¯ exhaustion, but there was no guarantee that nobody from the Twisting Terror clan or the Serpent Watchers would withdraw, bringing knowledge about what happened with them. What was more important was if they noticed the Tenebach clan, because he wanted to minimize enemies actually knowing anything. Suspecting was fine, but having public reasons to act against them was not. But nothing could be perfect. The other flaw with waiting until the end was that the Serpent Watchers- who he predicted to be the most likely victors- might not actually be sufficiently fatigued, and thus cause more damage to the Tenebach clan when they fought. If he could attack while they were otherwise occupied with the Twisting Terror clan and the Shadowhawk, they might be able to save their own forces as much as possible. He began to lead Aydan and the others around the far side of the tree, away from their initial direction of approach. He wanted to pin the Serpent Watchers in, so they had to get closer and the direction he chose would let him survey more area for additional enemies¡­ just one more time. The natural darkness element in the area cloaked them, with John making only minimal adjustments for optimal concealment in the direction of the combatants. It was unlikely they would notice either way while engaged in combat, but anything could save a life. One he cared about, specifically. His time in this world was now nearly matching his life beforehand, and with Fortkran¡¯s memories it felt closer to two thirds of his experiences. Killing had become a part of his life, and while he still had standards for when that was appropriate, a group they¡¯d had conflict with before and another that had blackmailed them were both acceptable targets. As they circled the tree, John kept an eye on the battle. The Shadowhawk was continuously bombarded by projectiles and prodded by spears, but the feathers protecting it were not flimsy like a natural bird¡¯s would be. John saw dark blood glinting on its black feathers, so it wasn¡¯t unharmed- but it was also not close to death. In return, it snapped at approaching enemies with its beak or flung feathers like razor blades, many of them impaling people while the rest were buried in the ground. There was something about the way they stuck out of the ground that made John pay close attention to them, but the battle was shifting towards the far side of the tree where the two groups clashed, with the Shadowhawk frequently targeting the highest density of enemies. The Serpent Watchers favored thrusting weapons- spears and thin swords, though not all of the latter were like rapiers. They had two handed swords as well, not bulky weapons like some used for chopping through things, but a handful of centimeters at the base tapering to a finer point. Though John imagined they were perfectly capable of slicing with the blade as well, the Serpent Watchers rarely made use of such moves. Instead, they struck like their namesakes- snapping forward like a snake, in most cases impaling their enemies before they could react. They did so through a combination of speed and subtlety, concealing both their body movements and their gathering of energy for the attacks. They didn¡¯t possess an absolute advantage, even flanking the Twisting Terror clan. The air element users were mobile, making use of ranged attacks and their combined whirlwind to stay out of easy range, forcing the enemy to overextend or even enter their whirlwind. The few cultivators who were swept up in it quickly found themselves unable to control themselves while the Twisting Terror clan had no issues coordinating to finish them off. But their initial failures still put them behind, one of their Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators having fallen while the Serpent Watchers had three in relatively healthy states. John left several members of the Tenebach clan behind about a third of the way around the ring of trees at the edge of the influence of the greater tree the Shadowhawk dwelled in. The cultivators left behind were intended to deal with any Twisting Terror clan individuals who fled on the far side- they weren¡¯t on the complete opposite because that might be more obvious, and because this way they would be closer to joining the battle if their other purpose was unnecessary. Leaves and twigs were prone to crunching on a forest floor, but John blazed a path for the others to follow that resulted in minimal sound, taking advantage of his training in the Emerging Bamboo Sect. Though dead plants were somewhat different, they were at all times enough within the domain of earth that John was now comfortable softening them, making the flexible blanket of leaves and twigs below him acting like padding. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Reaching a place behind the Serpent Watchers- and determining for certain that their sect head, Idartha, was not present- John waited for an opening. Then he gave the signal, readying a throwing dagger, gathering darkness and earth to it. His arm snapped forward, propelling the blade, the spiritual energy causing it to curve up unnaturally into his target¡¯s armpit- one of the three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. It stuck in the side of the arm, the weakness in the joints being better reinforced on the side of the torso where the vital organs were. Perfectly reasonable, but seeing how the Serpent Watchers fought, they needed the full range of movement they had¡­ and the earth element burrowed its way into the muscle tissue, petrifying some of it as Bite of the Gorgon activated. Any time he could nearly guarantee landing a hit, that technique was very useful. Even non-earth cultivators could reverse the effect given time¡­ but in combat it wasn¡¯t that simple. The Serpent Watchers cursed as the Tenebach clan leapt into battle, and now they too were pinned between two dangers. The cultivator John targeted turned to face him, angling a spear. Both individuals gathered their energy at a handful of meters away- longer range than either the sword or spear, but it wouldn¡¯t stay that way. Both sprung towards each other, John relying on his newfound training to create a cane of bamboo pushing him forward and just slightly to the right. The spear twisted to meet him, springing legs carrying it forward, but the angle did not favor a thrust- and the undiagnosed petrification in the right shoulder froze the extension partway through. The powerful thrust still nearly impaled John, grazing past his torso- though he liked to think that he could have withstood at least a single blow he wasn¡¯t going to test that. His sword thrust towards his target, but the Serpent Watchers were more than proficient in dealing with attacks similar to their own. A swaying body of the man meant John¡¯s blade only grazed his ribs¡­ but the gathered spiritual energy still served its purpose. Water element, clinging to the ribs only to freeze. John immediately followed up with a drawing cut back towards himself, stepping forward to stay inside the spear¡¯s optimal range. His free left hand reached for the shaft of the weapon as it was withdrawn, stopping its movement and forcing his opponent to choose what injury they suffered. Completely avoiding the draw cut wasn¡¯t possible without forcing John away or perhaps releasing their spear. There was only the faint sense of tensing muscles and gathering energy, but John picked up enough to prepare a response. As a leg kicked towards him, aiming to shatter his hip and knock him backwards, a tree grew from the ground next to him. Not a real one, of course- it was merely a construct of earth elemental spiritual energy. Even so, the form of something that could be real made it more effective than simply shaping his energy. The ¡®tree¡¯ only came up to his waist, but it represented a greater thing. It was unfortunate that the spikes on his kapok were similarly downsized, but it served its purpose, the man¡¯s shin kicking into the spikes. Ultimately, his attack shattered John¡¯s transient plant, but not without damage. In return, the kick struck John with less force and he held his ground. There was a twinge of pain as his defensive energy was sundered, but his armor and Diamond Defense kept anything from breaking. His sword cut between ribs, slicing through spiritual energy, armor, and a bit of skin and muscle. But John wasn¡¯t done. Enshrouded in darkness, making it seem like he was trying to wrestle away the spear, air elemental energy crawled towards the man¡¯s hands. His left hand let go of the spear to perform a palm strike towards John¡¯s chin just about the time that the energy began to shock his other hand, tensing the muscles while John continued the motion of his sword, bringing it towards him and up. He parried the palm strike while he twisted his wrist, his blade cutting into the man¡¯s forearm slightly. Then the man was stabbed in his slightly petrified right armpit, one of the other members of the Tenebach clan backing up John. He¡¯d sensed his ally, of course- he was coordinating the flow of spiritual energy between his clan members. He didn¡¯t need the help, because his opponent was only in the early Consolidated Soul Phase and he was more powerful, nearly at rank 32, 5 out of 9 ranks in the Phase. But the teamwork was appreciated for efficiency- John wasn¡¯t going to insist on defeating everyone alone just because he could. Unlike John¡¯s attack, the dagger went into the torso, piercing a lung as the man¡¯s defensive energy was mainly focused on the other side. It only took a few quick motions to finish the man off between the two of them. With one of the Serpent Watchers¡¯ strongest members fighting the Twisting Terror clan, John coordinated with Aydan to swiftly take out the other. Just like that, the flow of battle shifted greatly once more. By the time the Serpent Watchers had fully coordinated their response, their slight numerical advantage had been lost, and they were now surrounded. There were curses, some directed at the Tenebach clan as a whole and some at John. He shrugged. They were the ones who had caused trouble first, and a cultivator was wise not to forget those who opposed them. The balance had shifted away from the Serpent Watchers, leaving the Twisting Terror clan in a slightly better position even with the Shadowhawk harrying them. That wouldn¡¯t do, so John focused on the flow of the twister around the tree, and when he had a decent grasp of how it functioned he stepped in. The control of the winds was still with the Twisting Terror clan, of course, and they wrestled against him- but there was no Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator ready to directly stop him as he cut down a few Soul Expansion Phase individuals before letting it fling him out, away from a wave of feathers. John intentionally fell on the far side, where there were fewer previous feathers- his actions justified as the ¡®spent¡¯ feathers pulled out of the ground, flinging towards him or whatever opponent was closest to their position. He swept his sword, chopping against the concealed spiritual energy guiding them and dodging to the side. He was pleased to find they weren¡¯t particularly mobile- shooting more or less directly back to the Shadowhawk. Though that, too, might have been a ploy. Chapter 193 As John dropped out of the vortex, the Tenebach clan pressed their advantage before the others could even think of unifying, forcing the Serpent Watchers against the Twisting Terror clan. John would have been lying if he said taking advantage of the former in return for their previous blackmail wasn¡¯t satisfying. John¡¯s sword swept forward, slicing through the shaft of the spear of their next strongest fighter, his personal energy augmented by the others of his clan around him. It was always satisfying, fighting alongside them- not just because of the power, but because his ability to smoothly control it was something he was good at¡­ and unlike many of the other advantages he had, that part hadn¡¯t been given to him. The blessing of Ciaritzal had improved his affinity with darkness from whatever it would have been to its current state, but the ability to control the flow of spiritual energy that others had was not part of that. That was something he¡¯d discovered as early as when he first created Spiritual Energy Absorption. With his primary weapon useless, the man was quickly cut down. Realizing the situation, some individuals began to flee, circling around the tree to gain distance. However, John¡¯s position wasn¡¯t chosen entirely by chance, and the mixed cultivators ran into the area with the waiting cultivators of the Tenebach clan. Soon, it was just the Shadowhawk left. The spirit beast was already wounded from the Twisting Terror clan, having given of itself to protect its nest. John¡¯s eyes met it. In them, he thought he saw signs of intelligence, but any sort of beast that could speak like Ciaritzal or Cuah¡¯arn was an exception. More importantly, it would have been even more dangerous- even at the same stage. ¡°Aydan, with me,¡± John ordered. ¡°The rest of you, keep in formation. Harry the creature with ranged attacks.¡± They would be less effective that way, but they could still funnel some of their spiritual energy to him to control- and with the Shadowhawk having the power of the Ascending Soul Phase, any careless moment could lead to their deaths if they engaged up close. He didn¡¯t want to take the risk, even with the beast wounded¡­ no, especially because it was wounded and doubtless knew its end would come. John and Aydan ducked their way through another hail of feathers as they approached the base of the tree, then John propelled himself upward with his new technique. Feathers were retracted, aiming to hit him and his bamboo projection from behind and below, but John swept away the few that would hit him, trusting in the power of the Emerging Bamboo Sect¡¯s technique to hold its form. It did, at least long enough for him to reach the peak and leap onto some of the thicker branches surrounding the Shadowhawk. Immediately, the giant beak tried to take a bite out of him- or perhaps swallow him whole. John sidestepped with a bit of air element to support him between branches, and some darkness to blur his precise location. The Shadowhawk could likely do the same with darkness, if it were fighting optimally- but it still remained in its nest. John danced around it, swiping at anything he could reach be it throat, wing, tail, or back. No slice was decisive, but he cut away at the creature¡¯s spiritual energy, drawing some of it into himself. Alone he might not have been enough, but he had the power of a dozen others to call upon. Then Aydan reached them, the few moments still allowing many exchanges in a high level combat. Flanked by two empowered cultivators, the Shadowhawk could not compete. It managed some close calls, its beak cutting into John¡¯s side, but already weakened it soon fell¡­ though now without a final attack, razor sharp feathers exploding around it, cutting through everything. Its tree fell apart, John and Aydan received handfuls of lacerations even through their enhanced defenses, and there were some close calls with the rest of the clan operating below, but the beast¡¯s heart stopped. Then began the process of binding wounds and collecting the spoils of war. Every part of the Shadowhawk was valuable, not least of which was its claws- unused in its defensive position over its nest. Even in death, its body did not fall onto its eggs, instead tenting over them to avoid crushing them. John could only promise the creature that such eggs would be used well. He already wanted a more reliable method of communication, and these fit the bill. Having beasts that could move swiftly, while also having the ability to cloak themselves and the combat ability to fight should it be necessary, would be quite advantageous. Not as swift as telegrams or phone calls, but aside from the difficulties of setting up such a network, those weren¡¯t exactly secure. Not over the long distance between the Tenebach clan and the Brandle clan, or to their other allies. The Shimmering Islands would have been an issue anyway, and still might. John wasn¡¯t exactly sure of a Shadowhawk¡¯s ability to navigate the frequent storms in the area. Along with the Shadowhawk, there was value to be gained from the fallen cultivators. Though they didn¡¯t carry all of their wealth on them, on such a mission they would at least have valuable equipment. There was the issue of markings on some of them, which meant they would need to be removed somehow or sold anonymously, likely lowering the price. Though John was keen on some retaliation against the Serpent Watchers, he didn¡¯t want things to become a war- and being involved in the death of three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators would do that. Actually, that had to be a significant blow to their forces, but John still wasn¡¯t keen on what sort of alliance they might throw together if they found out. The Twisting Terror clan was more remote and already basically hostile, but he still didn¡¯t want to be tied directly to things. Both clans would know their people set out for this prize and didn¡¯t return, but the Tenebach clan could control the narrative and provide sufficient doubt. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. If there had been other cultivators involved with no prior conflicts, John might have hesitated to simply kill all of them- the politics of a cultivation world were difficult, but not all conflicts resulted in hatred. Some were just inevitable, and people allowed to withdraw with their lives might be positively inclined. The bodies of the cultivators were piled together and burned with spiritual fire. It was both to preserve their dignity, not being torn apart by animals, and to cover up any details of their presence. The ashes were buried at the roots of the significantly damaged tree. ----- ¡°I am not a bird,¡± Ciaritzal noted when John brought the torso sized eggs down below the Tenebach clan. ¡°I¡¯m not going to cuddle up to these things in a nest and keep them warm. In fact, I would much prefer to devour them.¡± ¡°I¡¯d really rather you didn¡¯t,¡± John said. ¡°If it¡¯s actually useful for you, we can feed you some choice parts of the mother, but I have plans for these. I do believe the darkness here will be sufficient to nurture them, in any case. No cuddling required.¡± Ciaritzal sniffed one of the large eggs. ¡°Yes, that does seem to be the case. They are quite hungry. But what will you feed them?¡± ¡°We took samples of all the bones around the area, though it seems likely they would eat almost anything. We¡¯ll have people scouring libraries for any information on how to raise Shadowhawks, of course.¡± John circulated his spiritual energy, guiding some of the darkness into the half dozen eggs they had. It was quite a large number, and hopefully sufficient for them to have more than one generation. From what he understood these eggs were larger than the norm- but that was to be expected with their mother. Along with that, John could hope that the offspring would be more impressive specimens than the average, though even if they turned out to be nothing special, Shadowhawks all had at least the potential to be equivalent to a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator- and as natural fliers, that was very valuable. Each egg greedily absorbed the ambient darkness as well as what John offered, reminding him of Melanthina. Speaking of which, he wondered if she would be interested in being involved in raising them. It would be a valuable experience, and since she would likely be in the area frequently regardless to visit Ciaritzal or just to train, she might as well. ----- Darkness swirled through John, but it didn¡¯t stop there. Darkness flowed into earth, through air and water and back into itself. He eagerly awaited the time he could incorporate fire into his cultivation, but he really didn¡¯t have enough of a grip to do more than let some passively remain present in his dantian and add a bit of heat to everything. Even so, his totems grew in strength along with his density of spiritual energy. Almost without fanfare, his power condensed another rank, the thirty-second. The second step of the mid Consolidated Soul Phase, a welcome increase in power but nothing earth shattering. Having reached a particular section of a phase, it was almost guaranteed that any cultivator would complete the phase in time. The true difficulties were stepping from early to mid to late, and between phases. One or two more ranks would flow smoothly, otherwise. John stretched as the power flowed through him. It still felt good, even if he knew it was coming. And the power wasn¡¯t insignificant, though even if it was he would never complain of having more. Ursel had returned from the Viridia Wildlands, with plans to return for future training some years down the line. Then she and Melanthina had gone to their mother to resume the somewhat regular cycle. Tirto would return with them. As for the Shadowhawk eggs, they were slow to develop. John thought that the Shadowhawks vigorous defense might have meant they would hatch soon, but instead it seemed the mother was simply very attached. Or perhaps these simply had a particularly long cycle, where a few more months wasn¡¯t even enough for them to hatch. At least they appeared to be healthy and continuing to grow, and Ciaritzal had stopped complaining about their presence. Once or twice John had seen him slinking away from their chamber, finding the eggs imbued with lingering traces of his power. John considered his next move. Not being at war was nice, and the lack of exciting local developments was a relief in some ways, but that mainly left training and wishing he was with Matayal. He focused on the former as much as possible, when not managing clan affairs. Now, he had in mind something for himself. His control over fire had hardly improved from his early days, where he could draw upon wisps of the energy. Sure, he was more powerful and thus the relative magnitude had increased, but he still wasn¡¯t as familiar as he would like- and waiting to familiarize himself with the energy after he attuned to a fire totem seemed like a waste. If nothing else, he couldn¡¯t choose freely among fifth tier fire totems if he didn¡¯t already have some skill at controlling fire. The Milanovic clan and Steve had been of little help, though not for lack of trying. Their methods simply didn¡¯t work for John. He hoped he wasn¡¯t just garbage at controlling fire. He was already so far into his cycle of elements, if fire was a weak point of his then it would have been better to forgo air as well and instead double up on the trio of darkness, water, and earth. That was assuming he reached the Exalted Soul Phase, of course, which was already pretty ambitious. Still, he was at least confident in reaching the Ascending Soul Phase in his lifetime. Another decade and he should be at the peak of Consolidated Soul Phase, more or less. If he couldn¡¯t surpass that point, reaching where he did so quickly would be rather odd. He couldn¡¯t say much about beyond that, though, since literally nobody he had ever met knew anything beyond that point, and Consolidated Soul Phase had previously been rare in the region. But times were changing, and it seemed that throughout every land there was an increase in the growth of the younger generation. A phenomenon that couldn¡¯t be explained, but had happened before. But John wasn¡¯t planning to give up on fire, just because his own attempts had been poor. He¡¯d only really tried one style of learning from others on that topic, and just because it wasn¡¯t for him didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t have the ability. What he had in mind was something that fit his cultivation anyway- the Phoenix Forest. The area¡¯s claim to fame was not just the fire, but the forest part. In short, it was a region of both earth and fire. So far his flow of cultivation had been through dominating elements, but he already had earth so using it to support his learning of fire only made sense. If he succeeded, he would be left with only the final and likely hardest step¡­ but it would be worth it to try. Chapter 194 Of his usual guards, John only took with him Aydan. Crystin was attempting to break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, and after her success- John was confident she could make the step- she would be best served on her own, working for the Tenebach clan¡¯s purposes apart from him. Aydan was not without his own ambitions, but as they had discussed the main ones involved his own cultivation. Naturally, those were being fulfilled with the rise of the Tenebach clan, and John wouldn¡¯t let him go without whatever he needed. Everything else- spending time with his family and the like- Aydan was actually able to do more than John, since they spent the same amount of time with the clan, but Matayal was away from John for a frustratingly large portion of the year. Who thought it was a good idea to wed two heirs of clans that were geographically distant? Oh right, two old grandpas. Presumably it had been expected that Matayal would have siblings, but that never happened. At this point, appointing someone else to govern the clan affairs would take up enough time and effort they might as well wait for Tirto to finish maturing. Regardless of all that, John was fairly happy¡­ but he still had his own ambitions in cultivation. So along with Aydan and enough other guards to be appropriate for someone of his status, they were heading north to the Phoenix Forest, where they would be received as guests by the Firepine Palace. There were very few who would refuse the visit of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Even if they had hated his guts, they would probably at least entertain him for a few days and then find some excuse to avoid him. But there wasn¡¯t a conflict between their factions- not that it would have been easy to develop regardless. Astrein was directly between the Stone Conglomerate and the Phoenix Forest. They were passing through it now, in fact, and while John was quite pleased with the spiritual energy in the area¡­ most people were not, given the even mix seemed to pretty much everyone like a near complete lack of spiritual energy. But as John had totems for two-thirds of the elements, he could clearly determine that even that portion was more than the ambient energy to be found in other countries. After all, few cultivators bothered to draw upon it- they could simply go in any direction to find their preferred elements. The only element not present directly adjacent was Darkness, but that could be practiced reasonably well in either earth or water dominant areas- or one could pass through the Stone Conglomerate to the Darklands. ¡°What is it?¡± Aydan suddenly spoke. ¡°What do you mean?¡± John asked. ¡°You have a look. What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°... In the future I might like to establish myself here.¡± ¡°It seems a bit¡­ remote?¡± Aydan commented. John laughed, ¡°Maybe for the moment. Our influence is already spreading out of Marble county. In a few years, maybe a decade, how far will we have expanded? In this direction, at least, there¡¯s no competition.¡± ¡°For good reason,¡± Aydan commented. ¡°I could found a sect,¡± John posited. ¡°We don¡¯t have to be limited to clan structures.¡± Aydan clicked his tongue. ¡°If only your grandfather could hear you now. Such an unfilial member.¡± ¡°... He¡¯s still quite alive,¡± John pointed out. ¡°And the Tenebach clan has been doing quite well under me, I do believe.¡± ¡°We¡¯re at our highest point since the founding,¡± Aydan confirmed. ¡°But with such a rapid rise, we must be on the lookout for an equally rapid decline.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to just abandon the clan,¡± John pointed out. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure Melanthina is properly settled in, and I¡¯ll still make myself available.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I haven¡¯t mentioned this to Matayal yet anyway. Our plans for what we intend to do in the future are still quite flexible. Though there was some mention of traveling the world.¡± ¡°A dangerous proposition¡­¡± Aydan said. ¡°Even for cultivators of your power. I know it¡¯s difficult to believe, but this region has generally been considered peaceful compared to some others. At least from the view of those with lesser power.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like other countries can have Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators killing each other every day,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Even if they have a head start, there simply aren¡¯t that many of us in the world.¡± ¡°I imagine not,¡± Aydan agreed. ¡°But a self assured foreign traveler might run into some trouble.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the sort of asshole who throws my weight around,¡± John pointed out. ¡°You know me better than that.¡± ¡°And I also know that you¡¯re the sort who would step in when they found one of those. Thus, conflict.¡± ¡°... Fair. What do you think about bringing Lucanus?¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Are you intending to maximize your chances of getting into a conflict?¡± Aydan asked. ¡°Because that would do it.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I just thought it would be¡­ interesting. We can¡¯t just stay in relative isolation here forever. Yustina has also mentioned some interest in visiting Aglor and Hegresh.¡± Not in so many words, but she¡¯d indeed mentioned wanting to visit her former home to see with her new eyes. There might have also been some implied asskicking should whoever caused her death still be alive. Even so, she¡¯d been a Great Lake cultivator then- the same Consolidated Soul Phase as she was at now. Alone, she wouldn¡¯t be any better off¡­ but perhaps with a group of similarly inclined individuals. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even be able to place those countries on a globe,¡± Aydan admitted. ¡°Personally, their names sound like unaspected countries rather than places of impressive cultivation.¡± It was true that the local countries were named more after geographical and spiritual energy related features more than a proper name- except Astrein- but that wasn¡¯t true everywhere, as far as John knew. ¡°I would be willing to bet that Aglor means something about lakes or water in some old language.¡± Though cultivators had spread one language to more or less everywhere, some people still spoke local languages and there had been more variety in the past. And there were some languages competing in size even still, which reminded John to at least gain some proficiency with them if he truly intended to travel. ----- Along the way they stopped in Lunson, the capital of Astrein. Logically speaking if John were going to set up something in the area it would be the capital, but he didn¡¯t really feel like that was correct. It was the only place in the country where land was expensive- because of the tournament and the associated industry- and it would be too¡­ obvious. If John was to grow something in the area, he wanted time to make something of it before people started taking note and thought to stop him. Though once more, he wasn¡¯t sure if he even would follow through on these vague, at least a decade off plans. He wished he could talk to Matayal. How many decades would it take to advance things to the point he could have a cell phone so he could do that? No more than a couple centuries, if he got people interested. Though going down a path of technology wasn¡¯t of much interest to people in a world of cultivation, and frankly speaking John didn¡¯t have the know-how to do much himself. What was an equivalent replacement, then? Shadowhawk messenger birds were a start on the level of communication he wanted to receive. The Sunfields had telegrams, more or less- if extremely unsecure. Maybe he could promote more things like that so that security could be developed. Or figure out how to make satellites or something that could redirect messages to only where he wanted. Which was of course an even further step beyond what he could actually do. Still, he could encourage some things in Marble County. A local network with slightly more convenient communications could catch on, and if it just started internally the security and privacy issues would be minimal. Hell, even telegrams started with someone literally transcribing a message which meant every single one passed through the eyes of at least two people that weren¡¯t the sender or recipient- and that was still widely used. Though he didn¡¯t intend to set up in Lunson itself, and if he did it would be later, John still took a look around the city, casually sensing everything he passed. The area wasn¡¯t quite as devoid of permanent cultivator residents as he¡¯d previously thought. He took note of what factions were permanent fixtures in the capital. Instead of being cycle cultivators like himself, he mostly found they were small sects that accepted cultivators of different elements, most likely as a mutual defense pact rather than anything more. Properly supplying techniques, one of the main draws of a sect, couldn¡¯t be easily accomplished if three, four, or six elements needed to be covered equally. But John could only see what was on the surface. Perhaps there was more. Still, his initial investigations gave him enough to work with for the moment, if any of it was even going to be relevant later. ----- ¡°... I thought they were exaggerating when the descriptions said the forest was constantly on fire,¡± John narrowed his eyes as he finally set his eyes upon the actual Phoenix Forest. He was sweating already, and they were still a good fifteen minutes from entering the area. At least the road was quite wide, to avoid what was happening. ¡°This is worse than the Green Sands.¡± ¡°I do believe this is somewhat seasonal¡­¡± Aydan contributed. ¡°It¡¯s spring so¡­ new life is born. Or something like that.¡± John was glad that the carriage had been properly prepared for the journey. The carriage itself would have likely been fine without more changes, but the wheels might have been a bit rough. The same with the carriage driver and what could have been normal horses if research hadn¡¯t been done. Special bits and bridles were prepared to resist the heat, transferring some of it elsewhere as it could. ¡°I have the feeling I¡¯m going to get too much experience with fire,¡± John continued. ¡°I thought it was supposed to be secondarily earth dominant here as well¡­¡± His spiritual energy senses stretched out. It was true that on the surface the firepines which were the main species to greet them felt only like pockets of fire element, but underneath they were still plants. The ground itself also radiated energy, the ashy ground being soil surprisingly vibrant with life. Even as John watched waves of fire burn through the area, new growth was poking up through the remnants of previous plant matter. The growth wasn¡¯t so rapid as the Viridia Wildlands, but that was to be expected. It would be a hell of a lot more difficult to cut a path through burning jungle to get anywhere, so the area would be even more sparsely populated if that was the case. John paid attention to the smallest details he could catch as they passed by the scenery. From his understanding, Firepine Palace was oriented much more towards the fire side of things so they might not have the insights he was looking for directly¡­ but providing him an opportunity to learn for himself would be sufficient enough. One thing John could say about the Phoenix Forest was that it was surprisingly minimal in terms of smoke. He kind of expected his lungs to be full of smoke already, but most of it seemed to either remain high in the air or rapidly settle to the ground instead of lingering. Even so, John idly wondered how high the incidence of lung cancer was in the area. For his own part, he did his best to filter out his lungs- and he could see that Aydan was protecting himself as well, even if he couldn¡¯t literally replace the air inside him. Chapter 195 Firepine Palace certainly didn¡¯t shy away from their namesake. Every building in their sect had an internal courtyard with a single firepine growing in it. The largest and most prominent buildings had clearly been placed some time before, and John wondered if they were built around already present trees. The buildings themselves were made of some sort of red brick with dark stone shingles, doubtlessly both fireproof. Windows appeared to be covered by shutters of the same material as the roof, able to flatten and seal a room completely or to open and allow air to circulate. Hopefully, something kept out smoke. A fine coat of ash covered the ground and trees, and John saw lesser disciples brushing the main walkways while the outside of the buildings seemed to be enchanted to repel it. Presumably the windows were enchanted to keep the bits of ash out with the rest of the smoke, otherwise they would be dealing with a massive, constant mess inside- or they would have foregone windows entirely. As the carriage made its way inward, John felt the spiritual energy of the woman waiting for them before he saw her. She was strong, the late Consolidated Soul Phase, even. Yet that was not terribly surprising, given her age. If Luctus had not had various setbacks, such as was caused by the Tenebach Clan¡¯s empowerment ceremony, perhaps he too would be of a similar cultivation. Even so, it was impossible to say that people such as her were all that common, and the fact that she was only a few ranks ahead despite John only cultivating for slightly less than two decades was more of a factor of something being exceptional with the current generations as a whole. That seemed to apply to a wide variety of people- transmigrated individuals like himself, some reincarnated people, as well as Matayal and some of their peers. Even Bora Kartal had been blessed with significant potential, it was simply underutilized and then he went and made the wrong enemies. ¡°Greetings, Sect Head Charlotte,¡± John engaged politely as he stepped from the carriage. ¡°I appreciate your willingness to indulge my curiosities.¡± ¡°We are honored to have such an up-and-coming youngster like yourself visit,¡± Charlotte smiled, her wrinkled skin bunching up around the eyes. Either well practiced or sincere, John was unsure- but he leaned towards the latter. ¡°I will admit to being interested in your growth given your¡­ abnormal cultivation path.¡± There was no way John could fight as much as he did and hope to keep his cycle of elements secret, though the actual information anybody had about it was usually more limited. There was only one logical next step, however. ¡°I have found it quite suited, though my results with fire in particular have been less than I might like.¡± ¡°You will find out style relies on quite different insights than the Green Sands,¡± she said, guiding him between the buildings. ¡°We are particularly less inflammatory than your friend Lucanus. It is a delight to watch him bring down those of similarly high temper, but our methods are not the same.¡± ¡°I will admit I¡¯ve been somewhat limited in my understanding of different styles within the same element.¡± Obviously he was familiar with many groups from the Stone Conglomerate, yet they still fell under generally the same style of ¡®hit it with a rock¡¯. ¡°Though I have seen someone use fire like flowing water.¡± ¡°Yes, the young Yustina. A delightful pair, they make. One would think that should suit you, given your other achievements.¡± John shrugged. ¡°I could probably make it work, but I¡¯d rather not settle for anything.¡± Just like the Emerging Bamboo Sect, John¡¯s visit wasn¡¯t one purely for his own benefit. Exchanging techniques and training went both ways, but John had little to offer to the Firepine Palace in that regard, unlike the Order of the Amber Heart and the other earth cultivators. Thus, they made a deal where he would assist with some resource gathering excursions in exchange for training and a reasonable share of those same resources. ----- John held a pinecone in his hands, and he had to say it was the most unpleasant time he¡¯d ever done so, even when he¡¯d pricked his fingers with surprisingly sharp bits of some as a kid. Of course, that pinecone hadn¡¯t been on fire or producing fire. As long as he didn¡¯t actually touch it, the fire element making the thing seem to be on fire was actually relatively stable, meaning that it didn¡¯t emit much heat into the atmosphere and could stay flickering pretty much indefinitely, even when separated from the firepine and thus dead. Touching it accelerated its decay into pure fire element, and John was trying to not insulate himself from it too much, while keeping his hands from burning. Diamond Defense helped slightly, with the caveat that it was an earth technique and thus inherently less effective against fire. Ultimately, inspecting a ¡®dead¡¯ pinecone provided him little insight. Hopefully he could learn more from studying proper firepines, but they were too complex for him to easily wrap his head around. He hoped that his affinity for fire wasn¡¯t so terrible to end his path here, and that he might still find the method suited for himself. ----- ¡°What is fire to you, Fortkran?¡± Sect Head Charlotte asked him. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He had answers for that, of course, but he took a moment to think about how to put them into words. ¡°Fire is destruction and consumption. Heat and power.¡± ¡°All true,¡± she agreed. ¡°But that¡¯s not all. This is not called the Phoenix Forest simply because some of those majestic animals dwell here, nor because it is effectively on fire at all times. It is not just destruction, but the ashes of destruction bring rebirth and promote growth.¡± John nodded. He got that, intellectually, at least. However, it was difficult to grasp on a deeper level, which was important for cultivation. He could see the plants growing out of the ashes, but he could also feel smoke and ash entering his lungs, filling him with death. He understood things could be more than just one thing, but to him it felt more like the ash was no longer really fire. Just caused by it. Yet perhaps if that was the case, he could still use it¡­ should he comprehend how. Charlotte didn¡¯t bombard him with flowery words or really say much of anything else, which doubled down on how important she thought what she¡¯d mentioned was. Perhaps there was some link of understanding she had that she could have shared as well, but it might be better for John to realize it on his own. Or maybe it was so simple that it didn¡¯t even deserve mentioning. ----- Firepines were everywhere in the Phoenix Forest, as common as any other tree elsewhere, yet more valuable. Their value was not something that could easily be captured, however. Just like their pinecones, the needles and wood itself rapidly lost its fire properties when removed from its source of life, so when used for training they were only beneficial if one could sit among them to absorb some of their energy. Their wood endured, but while it was fire resistant it wasn¡¯t fully non-flammable so it ultimately turned into a medium value wood, valued more for its reddish color than its physical properties. There were other resources that were more highly coveted for their more widespread usefulness, for use at a later time or trade. Obviously there was spirit fire- it could spontaneously form anywhere with large enough concentrations of fire elemental spiritual energy. The difference from free energy was just like everything else- it was a durable conglomeration of spiritual energy that was easy to use for whatever purposes desired. Spirit fire was a bit harder to transfer than spirit earth or water, but it was still generally a cohesive whole. John found a few wisps of spirit fire in his first few days staying with the Firepine Palace, but he left them alone. There was only minimal value in small gatherings, and they were more likely to develop further if unmolested. He was more interested in the various fruits that Firepine Palace served, full of fire element but instead of being hot and dry, shriveled up peppers or the like, they were juicy and delicious. Also kind of warm, but it was the right level to be pleasant, like the filling of a cooling pie. They also had peppers, and John was properly warned about their potency. He took a small nibble of one and was extremely glad he prevented it from actually entering his stomach. He was breathing fire for a few hours, and he did not want to experience it passing through his whole system. The more pleasant fruits were only minimally laced with the fire element, providing easily digestible energy that John could have integrated into the ecosystem in his dantian if he was in need of more. It was just another way for proper fire cultivators to grow their power while participating in standard day-to-day activities. And some were close enough to delicacies that going out of the way to get them was worth it regardless of actual benefits. In general, the more benefits a particular type of resource had the rarer it was- it wasn¡¯t just a matter of attempting to cultivate plants, but needing very specific conditions not always able to be replicated in a human livable environment. Thus, the particular plant that John was tasked to help retrieve ----- As they marched through the forest, John was glad he had experience converting elements to what he needed. Everyone could do something similar to some extent- or at least draw out the background levels of different sorts of spiritual energy- but his level of proficiency allowed himself to make use of water and air to keep himself nearly comfortable instead of sweating and hoping that it didn¡¯t evaporate too quickly and turn him into a mummy. ¡®Normal¡¯ parts of the Phoenix Forest wouldn¡¯t cause John to get anywhere even close to fatigued at his current cultivation, but they were heading towards a lake region. And unlike normal, sensible places the Phoenix Forest didn¡¯t define lakes by having water. In the distance John could see haze caused by some combination of even higher heat than the surroundings and various sorts of offgassing. ¡°We¡¯re getting close,¡± Charlotte announced for the benefit of everyone- both those of the Firepine Palace who had not been to the area before and for John and Aydan. ¡°The lake is just up here. Soon we should meet up with our rangers and they will provide us with specific locations of Fire Lilies.¡± That was what they were here for. Fire lilies. As an analog to the water lily, one could assume that they grew atop a lake of fire, and that wouldn¡¯t be fully incorrect. But even when massive amounts of fire element could form together into a cohesive thing, there was an easier arrangement to provide similar results. Lava lakes. That technically made it a majority of rock as a base, but once something had become lava it was absolutely fire dominant regardless of if there was more to it. As predicted, one of the specialized disciples quickly came to find them. ¡°Sect Head,¡± she bowed quickly. ¡°It is good you have arrived. Though we have staked our claim to this area and the local sects know better than to go against us¡­ we have spotted signs of others in the area.¡± ¡°Any indication of who they are?¡± ¡°Beyond other fire element cultivators¡­ no, nothing specific yet. They avoided our patrols for the most part, and we didn¡¯t think it was wise to engage with the limited combat power we had available here.¡± ¡°A wise choice,¡± Sect Head Charlotte agreed. ¡°Now that we are here, we will deal with them. We expected some conflict regardless. Now there will simply be more than the lake itself and beasts interested in the same thing as us.¡± Chapter 196 Trees thinned as they approached the intended lake of lava, replaced by smaller shrubs and things that looked remarkably like cattails growing in the lake itself. The biggest difference was that the base of each plant was atop the lava instead of buried under it- though they seemed to have roots digging into the viscous liquid. From a handful of meters back, John found that there was only minimal increase in heat from the lava lake- though no doubt it would ramp up quickly as they got close. Sect Head Charlotte was closer, both because the increased heat was more tolerable for her and the Firepine Palace, but also because John and Aydan would be more effective blending into the background. An unknown enemy was still in the area, after all. In the midst of the lava lake ahead, the purpose of their presence in the area stood out on the surface. Surrounded by meter wide spots of red that were like round carpets atop the orange-white lava was a fire lily. At the moment it didn¡¯t look like much more than an orange-red pod with sparkles of different colors peeking through the outer petals. As it was supposed to come into bloom today, it should quickly look like another further into the lake, blades of fire spreading out radially in several layers. Throughout the sizable lake were more than a dozen examples from fully closed to spread wide open, flames surging around the petals. According to what he¡¯d been told, fire lilies bloomed one day per year and had to be used or preserved that same day for optimal effect. Fortunately, as all fire lilies in one lake tended to be in sync, predicting when that day would be was fairly simple. Since the Firepine Palace was dominant in their area the locals had stayed away and wouldn¡¯t have known when the time was, but clearly there had been either spies or someone slipped information to a third party- which was also espionage, just that one was strictly external. No doubt Charlotte would be looking into things later. Spouts of lava that John didn¡¯t quite understand at first suddenly erupted near the most advanced fire lily, the one that was fully open and swirling flames about itself, producing all manner of yellow, orange, and red hues with small traces of other colors sprinkled in. John quickly realized that the spouts were not some sort of geological instability- though geysers were not uncommon in the region- but rather splashes from creatures under the surface. Two large creatures John might have called ¡®fish¡¯ were engaged with each other, with more watching from afar. Charlotte also noticed the action, smoothly transitioning into motion. ¡°Firepine Palace, with me! The rest of you, secure the area.¡± That included both John and Aydan as well as the other allied sects who had come to lend a hand in exchange for some of the rewards. Charlotte''s steps upon the lake of lava left behind dark patches as she drew the heat into her. She didn¡¯t completely solidify the surface, but the following cultivators who walked in the same place as her would not have to deal with so much of the extreme temperatures. A late Consolidated Soul Phase fire cultivator like Charlotte had nothing to fear from a simple lake of lava, but the weaker members of the sect would find it troublesome to resist. As she got further in the lake, instead of simply paving her own way Charlotte hopped to the dark red sections that were already present, the giant pads of the fire lilies. The lake of lava supported those walking atop it with relative ease due to its density and viscosity- cultivators wouldn¡¯t sink far into it even standing still- but the pads provided a natural insulation from below. When Charlotte approached the two fish in conflict, they reacted to her presence by combining their attacks, gouts of lava spewing towards her in arcs. She avoided those and countered with an attack of her own. It was not visible above the surface, but John felt something twisting beneath. Several of the large lily pads trembled and then shifted, the tendrils attaching them to the greater plant twisting around the swimmers. The battle was not over so easily, as the lake dwellers were more than just fish. They were about as large as moderately sized sharks, a couple meters in length. Their ¡®fins¡¯ clashed against the tendrils of plant matter enwrapping them, curling into sorts of claws that sliced it apart. Charlotte was not done, of course. Even against creatures so clearly comfortable in heat, as a proper fire cultivator and the leader of a local sect she knew how to handle them. The wrappings had simply been to slow them while she approached closer, then she leapt forward and landed with a double footed stomp near them. Lava splashed upward, vaulting one of them into the air. Charlotte already had her blades in hand, a longer one near to the length of John¡¯s arming sword and a smaller one more akin to a sai with additional blades. The secondary blade went mostly unused as Charlotte chopped into the creature in the air, her fire elemental spiritual energy able to augment the sharpness of her blade against the fish as she cut through its scales where John presumed gills would be on a normal creature. It was sliced open, while at the same time the second lunged for Charlotte¡¯s legs. John kept an eye on the battle while following a small group around the edge of the lake, watching for the mentioned intruders. He did his best to blend the image and feeling of himself and Aydan with the others such that only the very careful or those with highly trained senses would pick them in particular out of those around them, either due to their divergent elements of their cultivation strength. That was feasible enough, as long as they weren¡¯t directly engaged in combat. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Charlotte finished her battle at nearly the same time as the fire lily itself finalized its display. She immediately set about harvesting it, storing petals and seeds and other parts in separate specially made boxes, much like a small jewelry box in size. At the same time, several others across the lake began their prominent displays and flashes of light came from the far side of the lake, combat being engaged by the groups that had patrolled in the opposite direction. John saw other cultivators moving out on the lake besides Firepine Palace. Further conflict was inevitable now, the only question was whether each side would secure the lilies closest to them or go on the offensive. It was a bit of a split. The intruding cultivators secured a few locations, two active and two not, while Firepine Palace took a defensive stance as well except for a small group with Sect Head Charlotte. At this point it was John¡¯s responsibility to reach one of the battles, though instead of going directly he continued to circle the lake with the group he was with. Not only could they cut off potential directions of retreat, spending less time on the fire lake was best for them to conserve energy. Even the fire cultivators who could draw upon the power could only take so much. As they moved closer, John sensed something. A familiar aura, both in general and specific. The flashes of light had been an indication- as it was specifically light and not just spiritual energy colliding. Now, John was certain it was the Righteous Flame League¡­ along with Asgeirr, the spear wielding cultivator John had fought in Astrein¡¯s tournament. Since they had fought, John had advanced from rank 31 to 32, another step in the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. He couldn¡¯t tell exactly, but it seemed Asgeirr had similarly advanced, or if not he was close. That wasn¡¯t surprising with their similar ages, at their current level one would not expect either of them to suddenly pull ahead by a significant margin. A single rank would have only shifted things slightly in the favor of one side regardless. Asgeirr was not the only Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator among the Righteous Flame League- there was an older man who had just begun to clash with Charlotte. That left that balance slightly in the favor of Firepine Palace with the presence of John and Aydan, but the Righteous Flame League had also brought more Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. At the risk of worsening the man¡¯s opinions of darkness cultivators, John opened his offensive with a throwing dagger. The weapon was coated in darkness and water to be maximally effective against the man¡¯s fire and light elements. It was infused with Clinging Affliction, aiming to cause maximum consternation to the man. Just because he had beat the man once before didn¡¯t mean he was confident in doing the same in terrain that favored him. The dagger met its mark, drawing the man¡¯s attention away from the lake creatures and the fire lily Asgeirr was focused on towards the shore. He raised his spear defensively. John could attempt further ranged assault, but with the man prepared his abilities would only be minimally effective. The Clinging Affliction had already run its course, water destructively feeding on the fire and the darkness reacting with the man¡¯s light element to explode around his left shoulder, on the rear. It was meant to cause more lasting damage, but that simply didn¡¯t work out in this case. With the allied fire cultivators moving forward, John and Aydan joined them atop the lava. It was not the optimal position for them to fight, but their cultivations could make up for some of that. The Righteous Flame League¡¯s split between fire and light would likely make the fire lake less optimal for them as well, so with John¡¯s water element it was Aydan who was the most affected. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the small fry,¡± John¡¯s uncle said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep them off your back¡­ and I don¡¯t want to face a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator like this.¡± John nodded as he followed the same path as some of the other fire cultivators. What amount of heat they had drawn away or dispersed made the trail somewhat easier, and John added his own water element to cool it and earth to push the heat outward. It wasn¡¯t the most effective, but it was better than directly clashing his energy against the lava. He moved for the fire lily pads, natural areas where the heat was minimized. Asgeirr saw his plans as well as seeming to recognize him. He moved to cut him off, forcing John to stop short. ¡°We meet again, villain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one who is uninvited, intruding in unowned territory to steal another¡¯s claim,¡± John couldn¡¯t help but point out. At the same time, he was looking for a good opening. If there wasn¡¯t one, he would have to make one. His legs tensed as he leapt off the surface of the lake, air element carrying him higher. Beneath his feet he gathered earth and water once more. His trajectory carried him at an angle to Asgeirr, but the man took the opportunity to charge forward. His spear flashed with light as John moved through the air, but he was already prepared for that move with a small filter of darkness over his eyes. He parried the spear with his sword as his feet hit the surface of the lava lake¡­ and his earth energy pushed through, shoving a pillar of lava out beneath Asgeirr¡¯s feet and knocking him back. The earth energy consumed by the fire was more or less balanced out by the lava already being liquid, though obviously making any lasting changes would be terribly difficult. John repositioned himself even further, alighting on one of the large lily pads. It wasn¡¯t comfortable to stand upon, but he didn¡¯t have to split as much of his concentration to supporting his footing. Asgeirr was already charging back towards John, drawing the local fire element into him as he moved. That would increase his endurance in the battle while John would find his lowered, making drawing out the fight undesirable. Asgeirr¡¯s aggressive style already favored short engagements, but John hadn¡¯t chosen to engage on the lava lake without a plan. He just had to rely on Aydan to keep others away, as promised. Chapter 197 Sharp stabs of light threatened to blind or injure John as Asgeirr continued his aggressive attacks, but John kept himself in a reasonably effective state. He hadn¡¯t spent so long training with the Golden Tomb Guardians for nothing, and on a personal level he would be ashamed if his daughter was more effective against light cultivators than he was, both because of the difference in age and cultivation and because someday John fully intended to have control over the element of light. For now he would have to settle for managing the strong reactions between them. He could shield himself from the light with other elements, but instead he did his best to use tiny amounts of darkness to trigger a stronger response from Asgeirr¡¯s light. Each mote of his own energy could detonate several times as much if done well. He needed to maintain that level throughout the fight, because of the unfavorable terrain. Asgeirr¡¯s spear stabbed down, puncturing the lily pad that John was standing upon. A simple hole didn¡¯t suddenly make it sink or anything- but the broken seal ruined the insulation from the heat below. John danced around to another position, slicing at Asgeirr along the way. Air element formed the outer edge of his attack with darkness coiled beneath, injecting itself through Asgeirr¡¯s defenses. He was unable to fully pierce through so the effects on the man¡¯s body were minimal, but the attack tore apart some light element and forced Asgeirr to redirect his flow of energy away from just attacking with his spear. Beneath them John focused a trickle of darkness and a greater quantity of earth. The former hid his machinations, while the latter was bent on reshaping the battlefield. John felt something as he worked his way through the lava among the tendrils of the fire lily stretching to the surface. He had a sense of understanding now, minimal thought it was, of how to go along with the flow of fire. It was a bit risky, experimenting with new techniques in the middle of an actual battle- but John had come to learn, and he wanted to provide his best contribution to the battle. Especially since John didn¡¯t like this jerk. There was no time to exchange words between the flurries of attacks, not that there was anything to say that would change things. Four elements circulated through John, the final two being represented by Asgeirr. Heat and light had John sweating, though he kept his body at a not too unreasonable temperature. Since the ¡®ground¡¯ was the main source of issue he couldn¡¯t use his traditional trick, but he had water element now which was quite adept with cooling. So far, Aydan and the others were keeping the other Righteous Flame League cultivators away from the fight. Neither of the two combatants wanted to be interrupted so it was a reasonably agreed upon arrangement. Whichever side came out ahead in that battle would likely determine the fight between John and Asgeirr, except that it would most likely be the opposite- Asgeirr¡¯s aggression not allowing their battle to wait for the conclusion of the other. Which was a shame, because John trusted Aydan to win that for him. He landed on the final undamaged pad, having completed a full rotation around the central fire lily. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to fighting directly on lava or even a partly intact pad, but he¡¯d chosen to come to this position so he had to deal with it. Asgeirr saw John¡¯s conundrum and vaulted into the air, his body aligning with the sun to make it difficult for John to even look at him. A move just as underhanded as any proper dark element cultivator- or any cultivator that wanted to win. Not that John disapproved, he just thought it was hypocritical. Personally, once battle began he couldn¡¯t see any dishonor in using most tactics. Even poison was fine, as long as it didn¡¯t come down to poisoning someone within a diplomatic situation of some sort. He simply didn¡¯t use poison much because the worthwhile ones were costly and sometimes difficult to apply. Since he couldn¡¯t make out anything of the attack itself, John had to judge only by Asgeirr¡¯s position. Then he did more or less what the man expected him to do, which was to leap away. Except instead of going directly back, he moved to his right away from the fire lily. Giving up his hard fought position was effectively conceding the battle. If he didn¡¯t have a plan, that was. Asgeirr landed with great power, unable to completely negate the force of his own attack even with no target. As he struck the pad, piercing it with his spear, he pressed it downward into the lava. Unlike water the viscosity and density of lava prevented it from just splashing out of the way so he should have expected minor trembling at most, but instead he sunk in as a ring of lava cracked. All around the fire lily John had dug out a trench beneath the surface, one that could only hold its shape for so long despite some reinforcement. Under his final position he¡¯d dug a bit deeper, such that Asgeirr now barely had his head above the edge. And it wasn¡¯t just empty space he¡¯d fallen into. An adjusted version of Sinking in the Mire had John greatly decrease the viscosity of about half a meter of lava beneath the man, an unnatural change he immediately released along with the rest of his efforts. Asgeirr was up to his knees in lava that resisted his efforts to leap away as a wave of lava poured over him. John really wished he could count on that to kill the man, but he was a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator- and practiced the fire element as well. He wasn¡¯t immune to the effects of heat, but he was highly resistant. By the time one foot was free, lava had oozed over Asgeirr¡¯s left side, greatly limiting his movements as John chopped his sword towards the man¡¯s head. With an awkward angle of his spear he blocked John¡¯s sword, power swirling through the man as he worked on tearing himself out of his predicament. John really thought he had the man, but apparently his subordinates had been paying close attention to the battle. Before John could finish him off several of them rushed at him and he was forced to respond to their attacks. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. In the time it took him to finish them off, Aydan and the fire cultivators working with Firepine Palace killed or forced away the others, but Asgeirr was also back on the surface¡­ and running. John considered chasing after him, but he wasn¡¯t exactly fresh himself and the man was running into a waiting group of Righteous Flame League cultivators upon the shore. It didn¡¯t seem worth the risk. He did throw a dagger at the man¡¯s spine, putting a good portion of his remaining water and darkness into the attack. Asgeirr still had enough presence of mind to avoid the attack and it only sunk into his left shoulder blade, the reaction of light and darkness not quite providing the explosion John wanted. The red of blood contrasted the other red of his left side which looked like a boiled crab. Sadly not charred to bits, but certainly affected by the lava. John angled himself towards a different part of the shore as the group pulled away. He was not fond of the feeling that his toes could catch on fire at any moment, and his energy wouldn¡¯t last indefinitely. Firepine Palace would be dealing with the retrieval of all of the fire lilies anyway. Few people gave chase, instead securing the shores as Charlotte finished her harvests. The Righteous Flame League had intentionally avoided her, ultimately making off with a couple of the fire lilies that might compensate for their losses. As for the denizens of the lake, the strongest occupants had been among the first to attack her, and now nothing dared to compete with her for the fire lilies- at best chewing on the roots left beneath the surface. ----- John accepted the sealed box from Charlotte. It contained the majority of one of the fire lilies- at least the important parts like seeds and petals. Some portion of the seeds had been set aside to hopefully create a new generation of the fire lilies in the lake. As a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, John wasn¡¯t completely sure if one part in ten was a lot or a little for his contributions. Counting Aydan¡¯s contributions, there were two of them. On the other hand, there were dozens of other cultivators involved from the Firepine Palace to local allies. Having actually secured just one of the plants, it was pretty reasonable. That discounted the efforts of the allied cultivators, but also considered that he stopped Asgeirr and the group from bleeding over into other conflicts. ¡°If you¡¯re planning to consume those, I¡¯d start with the petals,¡± Charlotte advised. ¡°They¡¯re much more mild, and unlikely to cause any internal damage even if you screw up. Without a fire totem¡­ well, you¡¯ll have to make your own judgments on if and when you¡¯re ready to consume a seed. I might suggest externally deconstructing one. A waste of energy, but you may gain some insights that would help you.¡± John nodded, ¡°I appreciate it. I wouldn¡¯t want to overtax myself.¡± ¡°Oh, and feel free to make use of the training rooms. They¡¯re a good environment for such things.¡± ¡°And it will recapture all of the fire element I let go to waste, I imagine,¡± John grinned. Charlotte shrugged, ¡°What can I say? You manage a clan. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t like waste either.¡± ¡°As long as the rooms themselves remain fairly neutral in their activity, I¡¯m sure it will be beneficial.¡± John intended to take a good look at what he had- opening up the container that was effectively an enchanted jewelry box would expose the fire lily to some potential decay, but it would be minimal until he actually removed the various pieces from their containment. As John thought about his future training, he also thought about Aydan. His uncle was always paid well and supplied with resources from the clan, but he deserved something extra for helping secure this prize. Just because the man had grown beyond a level the Tenebach clan had been able to anticipate didn¡¯t mean John shouldn¡¯t continue to provide what he could as the clan continued to grow. Something special would be best, to show appreciation instead of just treating it as a normal transaction. They still had more of the Shadowhawk to work with¡­ ----- The feel of the petal between his fingers was odd. It was less like a plant and more like a solid piece of fire. Yet when he placed it on his tongue, it was simultaneously hot and sort of wet. As he pulled apart the spiritual energy within it it basically melted, fire trickling down his throat. He did only what was necessary to protect himself as it found its way to his stomach, preferring to directly control the fire to prevent it from burning rather than negate the heat with water element. It was, as stated, very easy to work with. Smooth. Even so, without his efforts studying the firepines and his exposure to the lilies he would have found himself hard pressed to control it. Going from the Viridia Wildlands to the Phoenix Forest had given him some new perspective, and he was now familiar with traditional plants with a minimal understanding of the fire plants. Minimal from his perspective, of course. He could feel how they worked to some extent, something unattainable on Earth, but a very real experience here. Ultimately, the energy was drawn from his stomach into his dantian, metaphysically not that distant. The majority of it was used to bolster his water element, the heat providing power for water to change forms from oceans to clouds, or from ice to liquid water. Not that John had much ice in his internal world at the moment, a problem he thought he should perhaps correct. He didn¡¯t plan to simulate a full world or anything, and with the aspects his totems had it could never really do so, but containing more different aspects of the elements he had control over seemed like it might provide a better balance. John looked forward to when he might consume some of the fire lily seeds, as the petals also came with insights into working of fire as he consumed them. All spiritual energy did, to different extents, and John needed every bit of understanding he could get with fire. And he was starting to get it more deeply, his own thoughts and Charlotte¡¯s words letting him see more sides to fire. Though it was still mainly destructive and consumptive, it was part of the cycle of elements and contributed to growth of new things and to change. Maybe he¡¯d actually be ready to attune to a fifth tier fire totem whenever he finally got to the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. By pure ranks he was more than halfway, but he expected the late phase to take even longer for every step. Chapter 198 Sparks danced upon John¡¯s fingers, wavering flames that sent flickering shadows across the walls. The flames took various shapes, flaming pine cones, a fire lily, an inferno berry bush. Unlike what he produced with earth energy, these projections were all form and no function. At most they could slightly burn someone, but that could be done more easily with a direct attack. Even so, it evidenced a clear improvement in his control of fire. Flames flickered out as he ceased his practice, taking deep breaths and circulating his energy to recover what little fire energy he had expended and bring himself to his best state. Then his mind dove into the sea of spiritual totems, diving deep towards the fifth layer. He found resisting the pressure of the totems on that layer quite manageable at his current level, and thus he expected little trouble once he finally was ready to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase. As long as he continued to improve his affinity with fire so he could attune to a proper totem. What did he want? There had been a moment in his history when he almost skipped over attuning to a water element totem entirely, planning to rely on Matayal for that part of the cycle. Perhaps if he had done so he would have found it to actually be a good idea, but given the majority of his time was separated from his wife, he might have found the imbalance difficult. He would have still had a partial cycle from fire to earth to air, but with darkness in the mix having the allied cycle complete was probably better. It might still be somewhere around another decade before he approached the next step, but he was confident he would at least make it to the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. It was unclear if that was where he would stop, or if he could step beyond. It was a level not so easily reached, even in the wider world. Totems flickered before him as he ¡®moved¡¯ throughout the sea. A volcano. A burning forest. A simple field of ashes, lingering heat emanating from them. Tempting, but unlikely to provide a major contribution to his abilities. He already had a contributor to the ground of his world, having two in competition might improve things or it might be a waste. What he wanted was a new component to add to the synergy. So far, he had the Tree of Darkness around which most of the rest revolved. His earth totem was Compost- the recycled remains of the tree itself. His air totem was a representation of the Atmosphere, including all of the ¡®impurities¡¯ that made it up. That too would grow and change with the rest. The dark depths of the Deep Sea stretched beyond the central island upon which the Tree of Darkness rested, providing a home for more false life to dwell inside of him. Any fish or other water dwellers he found were just constructs of energy maneuvering bits and pieces around, the same with the other plants now growing upon the island. Traditionally, his fire element formed a small sun, hanging over the area. It was there that he ran into a conundrum. Four of his totems were darkness itself or carried some element of darkness. That was logical, as the root of his powers. But aside from ashes, there were few things he had found that could be a mixture of fire and darkness. He might have made a mistake, as far back as when he chose his air totem. Should it have instead been aligned with light? That was what was natural for air to begin with, and with four totems already aligned one way he could end up imbalanced. The biggest issue was finding a light element totem aligned with darkness. What would that even be, ultraviolet? He hadn¡¯t found such a totem- but perhaps he should look. He could likely push himself to the sixth layer easily enough. He was only stepping up one layer at a time because he wanted his totems to be balanced as the others grew. So far, that seemed to be the correct choice. He pushed himself deeper into the sea of spiritual totems, the sixth layer. As far as he was aware, that was the deepest it went. He had no idea if totems could continue to grow beyond the power the totems of the sixth layer possessed or not. Likely the only people who would know would be Exalted Soul Phase cultivators, legendary existences that were sometimes referred to as gods. John wasn¡¯t sure if he would say the same, but at a certain level of power people could do whatever they wanted. He would certainly humble himself if he came across an Exalted Soul Phase cultivator, simply out of necessity. John moved towards light. Everything hurt as he did so, the eyes he didn¡¯t have trying to shut eyelids that didn¡¯t properly exist on a spiritual body. He passed by many uncomfortably powerful lights. Various forms of stars- some with pure light, others with light and fire of a proper star. However, not all totems were equal, even at the same tier. One that he was fairly certain was simply a large laser nearly cut him apart, yet found itself insignificant next to what John thought was a supernova. An explosion of fire, light, matter and non-matter tore at John from a great distance, forcing him out of the sea of spiritual totems. He took some time to calm his spiritual energy. No actual harm could come in the sea of spiritual totems, but it could easily result in fatigue like John was experiencing now. His mind couldn¡¯t take much more strain of that sort for a while, so he would have to forego further searching for the moment. Yet keeping the process up regularly would help ready him for his eventual connection to fire and then hopefully following that light. He had time, so he would simply have to maintain his efforts. ----- During his time at the Firepine Palace, John had engaged in a few additional excursions, though they were of less interest than the first one. Now, he was ready to return- both because he had business back at the Tenebach clan, a constant requirement he could not stay away from for too long, and because there was little more they could teach him. If he had been a pure fire cultivator, no doubt there were deep insights Charlotte or even their Soul Expansion Phase cultivators had, but he was planning to add fire in with the rest of his elements. It didn¡¯t necessarily take lesser insights, simply different ones that pure fire cultivators couldn¡¯t teach him. Yet the different perspective provided by Charlotte and the Firepine Palace, especially with how fire could relate to growth and the way it could sustain life- even if they were particularly odd forms of it- had pushed John in what he felt was the right direction. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Perhaps he would return another time, several years later when he was close to the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. No doubt it would be helpful to him. Yet there was something more he could learn while he was here, with only one way it could be taught. In a bare arena with a floor of imported stone John stood across from Charlotte, prepared to spar with her. It was strange how combat was both a sign of trust and preparations for a betrayal of that trust. Not that John thought Charlotte or the Firepine Palace had any reason to do so. It wouldn¡¯t benefit them to anger the Tenebach clan when they could easily call upon the aid of the Brandle clan. But he might still eventually fight them- or more probably cultivators like them- in the future. The battle was less frantic than anything involving Asgeirr. John opened with throwing daggers- predictable, yet worthwhile. He could determine how his opponent would react to such an attack, and there was no point in being at range if he didn¡¯t attempt to make use of it. He wasn¡¯t surprised when Charlotte parried with her off hand weapon, that was what the shorter multi bladed weapon was for. What slightly surprised him was how easily she picked out the second dagger following the first and cut it out of the air with her other weapon. He had hoped to get some initial damage in, even if he didn¡¯t expect there to be any incapacitating effects from the attack. Despite the arena not specifically catering to fire element cultivators, John knew he was at a disadvantage. The spiritual energy in the surroundings would seep in regardless of the formations¡¯ intentions, and he couldn¡¯t blame Charlotte for making use of it. In fact, he would be insulted if she didn¡¯t. Unlike with Asgeirr who had gone on the offensive even on the lava lake where he had the advantage over the long term, Charlotte accepted her defensive advantage and kept to her position. For the moment, at least. John could feel her fire element working around her, her efforts not concealed from him merely because of the presence of earth. John¡¯s next move was an intentional sacrifice of energy. His earth energy reached forward, growing entangling vines around her. Those were predictably and quickly burned away, resulting in her never even being restrained. Yet they still maneuvered her in the position John intended, away from her efforts underground. His sword slashed towards her, parried by her off hand while she countered with her other blade. John danced back, thrown daggers aiming for her lower body where she could not block or parry without compromising her position. That meant dodging or accepting a hit with her spiritual energy defenses. She preferred the former, and ultimately they went back and forth with attacks for a few moments with little ground gained by either. Even so, John had maneuvered them a few steps further from her work, at the cost of himself being between her and whatever she was doing. Reaching for the tendrils of fire underground would be obvious and give him time to react, and her efforts would likely be weakened by the distance. An acceptable option, though John didn¡¯t plan to just let it happen regardless. He gathered water element around his sword, a clear and obvious attack in the making- yet not one she could ignore. John could have formed ice, requiring the most heat to overcome it, but he had plans for the flowing liquid around his blade. He stepped forward, wind speeding his steps. Yet along with that was another flow of water and darkness intertwined with earth, preparing. His sword was, predictably, blocked. He had every intention to attack in such a way that Charlotte couldn¡¯t catch his sword in her off hand weapon, but she managed to maneuver that to happen regardless, her weapon twisting to a strange angle to catch him. Yet she required her energy to resist the blow- thus fire and water met. Water was dominant over fire, but Charlotte focused more energy to burn away his attack. John let it happen, evaporating into steam and creating a brief cover. At the same time, additional vines grew up from the earth below, grabbing for Charlotte. She countered them in the same fashion¡­ but this time, she found the water element made the projections of the plants more akin to their live versions. Plants burned, but only in extreme heat or when dry. She was capable of creating the former situation, but she needed a moment for that. They vines wrapped around one of her legs and her waist, restricting her movement. John¡¯s off hand was already on its way up to intercept the wrist of her right, stopping her incoming retaliation. If his sword were free he would have slid it around her guard weapon, but as it was he had to let it go. His fist punched out, a mix of elements augmenting the attack- but not before she kicked out the leg she¡¯d managed to keep free towards his waist. He was knocked backwards away from her, both limiting the effectiveness of his blow and sending him sprawling. When snakes of fire coiled over him, John realized she needed no active control over the energy, and in fact her task was already done. Getting her away from the area had done him no good at all, and the maneuvering he¡¯d intended might have been her plan all along. A crafty old woman. She hid her true intentions by how obviously she¡¯d used her energy, proving that it wasn¡¯t only darkness cultivators that could manage deception. If John still had his sword he might have continued the fight, but as it was he had to surrender. If this had been a real battle he could have pulled out more tricks, but he was content with learning from this loss. That was the entire point, after all. ¡°I surrender,¡± John said clearly, feeling the tendrils of fire recede after he did so. Charlotte helped him to his feet. ¡°Not bad. With a couple more decades of experience¡­ you¡¯ll be a mighty force beyond just your cultivation. I look forward to seeing it.¡± John smiled. Future friendly relations with reasonable and powerful cultivators was something he would always appreciate. Chapter 199 The straight vertical cliffs of Dolomite Harbor were just as impressive as the first time. John doubted that many natural or even manmade phenomenons could match the size of the place, the main lifeblood of the Stone Conglomerate regarding its access across the Shimmering Islands. The stairs carved into the cliffs wound back and forth, descending sharply, while a large series of ramps were used for wagons, taking up the majority of the space between the stairways on either end of the cliff. Before he even saw the ship, John sensed who he was waiting for. Picking out a water element cultivator on the sea from among many others wasn¡¯t easy, even if that person happened to be a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, but there was no way John wouldn¡¯t notice Matayal, even with her power subdued. As they were more interested in comfort than speed, a Brandle clan ship had been taken along their journey. The Wavecutter and Captain Sohan were reliable and fast, but certainly not representative of comfort. Seeing them entering the harbor John made his way down from his vantage point. He wanted to run down to meet them, but he had to maintain some dignity. Besides, unless he ran out on the water- which he absolutely could- a more moderate pace would have him arrive at a reasonable time. The first to disembark from the ship was Ursel, not waiting for things like the anchor, tying up, or the gangway. Instead, she leapt from the ship onto the pier, her body heavily thudding on the stone. ¡°Daaaad~¡± Ursel came running with her arms out. John prepared to scoop her up, but she came to a screeching halt in front of him. ¡°Mel won¡¯t shut up about that stupid boy.¡± So it was to be complaints instead of touching reunion. Melanthina made her own response from the ship¡¯s deck. ¡°Shut up! That¡¯s not true¡­ I just mentioned that I was looking forward to fighting¡­ someone from the Combining Luster Sect. To prove how much better I am.¡± John looked at his wife, who shrugged. That and the look of displeasure on the patient Tirto¡¯s face indicated this had been going on for a good majority of the last five months. Melanthina seemed to think it was undignified to leap off the ship, but barely waited for the gangplank before scurrying down to the docks. Ursel was already further along with some of the other members of the Tenebach clan, likely reveling in the solid land beneath her. ¡°We are going right?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°You¡¯re not going to cancel or something?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± John stroked his chin. ¡°Maybe I should.¡± He was more than ninety percent joking, and a small bit serious. He didn¡¯t want Melanthina to get spoiled by just giving her whatever she wanted. Nor was he certain if she would get the results she wanted. ¡°But I¡¯m already here, so we might as well.¡± Melanthina huffed air and stomped off in the same general direction as her sister, doubtless still pleased despite the teasing. Finally, Matayal and Tirto disembarked. The former exercised proper demeanor in how she approached, but that didn¡¯t stop her from initiating a passionate if short kiss with her husband. ¡°Good to finally see you again.¡± Their arrangement left them apart for close to ten months out of the year. If their arranged marriage hadn¡¯t resulted in feelings for each other, then it wouldn¡¯t have been so bad. As it was, they had chosen to actually develop love for each other- it wasn¡¯t something that just happened by accident- and now they could hardly wait for a chance to spend time together. ¡°Just another decade¡­ or so,¡± John smiled. ¡°We¡¯re still young.¡± That was something, at least. Because of their cultivations, they would still be young in their fifties when their children took the reins of the clans. They didn¡¯t want to rush them into anything, but Tirto and Melanthina would have to take over at some point. Tirto would honestly be easiest. He could probably step into the role immediately upon reaching adulthood. That wasn¡¯t strictly necessary, but he was almost certain to be ready as long as he kept maturing as he was. John rubbed Tirto on the head- which was much higher up than he remembered. Then again, both girls were taller than Tirto at the moment. Going into the early teen years, girls generally had their growth first. ¡°How are you doing, putting up with all that?¡± ¡°It is exhausting,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Ursel would also not leave me alone until I learned to control water plants. An exhausting endeavor.¡± ¡°She¡¯s excited about her new abilities, and likely assumed you would be interested in the same,¡± John said. ¡°Probably,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°That did not make it less exhausting. Though it kept me away from Melanthina. She would not cease talking about Nik, whether or not she said his name. I wish she would decide whether she wanted to fight or kiss him.¡± ¡°Hmm, is it that obvious?¡± John asked. ¡°Besides, it can be both.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± Tirto shrugged. ¡°You and mother do not clash.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not quite true,¡± Matayal admitted. ¡°We¡¯re just less open about it. Personally, I¡¯m hoping she¡¯ll get over all this upon actually seeing the kid again.¡± ¡°That would be best for everyone,¡± John agreed. ¡°But for that, we must be going.¡± The plan was to travel south along the western edge of the Darklands. They had no particular history there, so with their strength the roads would be safe enough. Any former allies of the Society of Midnight would simply be glad they hadn¡¯t been around for the battles to take any losses. Nobody should be aware of the specific travel clans anyway- at most, they would have had to hear of the arranged exchange of pointers with the Combining Luster Sect and the Brandle and Tenebach clans. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The distance through the Darklands would be most of their journey, but the most difficult parts would be after that. The most direct route would take them through the Annihilation Strip, and needless to say that was not the planned route. However, the route around to the west wasn¡¯t much better, traveling through the Soulrot Bogs. The distance would be mercifully short, just a few days, but there were reasons travel from south of the Darklands was infrequent. The other option would have been to entirely circumvent the Darklands, which would have meant traveling the entire width of the country back beyond the Tenebach clan then around through the Green Sands and hooking through the Wuthering Steppes. That would be more than twice as long, and the Wuthering Steppes weren¡¯t necessarily safer than the Soulrot Bogs. It was simply a matter of where the danger came from. ----- ¡°Why can¡¯t we live here?¡± Melanthina asked after they had crossed the border into the Darklands. ¡°It¡¯s so much nicer and closer to the Brandle clan.¡± ¡°Well,¡± John had been about to spout reasons, but the main one was no longer valid. The Society of Midnight was gone, now. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to just move a clan. Moving to the western Darklands would take us further away from some of our allies. I¡¯d have to convince Ciaritzal and the rest of the clan to move, even if the expenses didn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the clan head!¡± Melanthina said. ¡°You can just order everyone.¡± ¡°I could,¡± John said. ¡°And people listen to my orders, but only because they are not unreasonable. A poorly constructed attempt would simply cause a split in the clan, weakening us beyond the expenses. Besides, I doubt the locals would be enthusiastic about us taking up residence.¡± ¡°Yeah but it¡¯s flowing with tons of darkness elemental spiritual energy,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°It¡¯s way better.¡± ¡°For you,¡± John said. ¡°And the rest of the Tenebach clan!¡± ¡°Most of them,¡± John admitted. ¡°But it¡¯s not something that can be done so easily. We only moved in the first place to avoid extermination.¡± ¡°If you won¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll just do it when I take over the clan,¡± Melanthina declared. John hadn¡¯t wanted to suggest that option, because she might really do it. ¡°If you still think it¡¯s a good idea at that time, you can look into it.¡± John couldn¡¯t just forget about what his daughter said. He truly didn¡¯t think it was a good idea, but whether or not she went through with it the distance between clans still existed. A persistent problem, only part of which would be solved by raising the Shadowhawks they acquired. Communication might be eased by such things, but transport was still an issue. It was becoming ever more important to acquire animals of greater power, for both small and large scale transport of people and goods. The difficulty was finding worthy creatures that could also learn to obey. ----- Their group wasn¡¯t going to just wander into the Soulrot Bogs and hope they made it through. Chances were, with Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, they would. But there were to be no chances taken with the triplets, or the other weaker members of the clans. And frankly, it would have been foolish if it were just John and Matayal. Thus, they stopped to meet with the one group they knew in the southern Darklands. The one remaining group they knew, at least. That group was the Calamitous Swarm. Though John had considered himself the sort of boy that liked bugs, he wasn¡¯t sure he liked swarms of supernatural insects, no matter how well they were controlled. But that was basically just prejudice. Most cultivators of their group looked fairly normal most of the time. Most of them. Not Bodana, though. She was, by her voice, a middle aged woman. That was about all John could tell through the soft buzzing of insects. They seemed quite well contained, not floating in a cloud about her but instead covering her with wiggling wings. There was not just one sort of bug, John could see various sorts of mosquitoes, locusts, perhaps cockroaches. Centipedes and things with stingers. Maybe even a few small scorpions and spiders also in the mix. Somehow, they didn¡¯t get crushed as Bodana moved about- and when she reached out her hand they pulled away. John summoned all of his confidence to shake that hand. ¡°I¡¯m glad to have an experienced guide coming with us,¡± he said. It would be so easy to just burn them away, even with his limited control of fire. A good wind would do just as well to remove them from the area. But of course he did neither. Instead, he paid careful attention to how the swarm moved, little active control keeping them around but instead it seemed to be some sort of longer term change to the insects themselves, likely passed on through generations. He certainly wouldn¡¯t want to spend even a few seconds of effort for each member of that swarm if the whole thing died every few weeks. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you away from the worst nasties of the Soulrot Bogs,¡± she said, displaying a single insect on her palm. ¡°Like these.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just¡­ a regular mosquito?¡± John asked. ¡°Is it?¡± she raised an eyebrow- or at least that was what he assumed the changing shape of the swarm on her face meant. ¡°Or is it a mosquito carrying Soulrot?¡± John frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell. But that still makes it kind of a normal mosquito.¡± She shrugged. That was obvious enough since it involved a larger body movement. ¡°I suppose so. Except that this little guy can prick you through your energy defenses without you even noticing.¡± ¡°Noted,¡± John said. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± While John noticed Ursel shying away from the woman, Melanthina- the more girly of the two- seemed slightly interested. From a distance, at least. It was a novel use of darkness element, so it wasn¡¯t that odd. But neither would he have assumed she would show any interest of the sort at all. Just so long as she kept her insects more removed, John wouldn¡¯t care if she learned such techniques. She wouldn¡¯t get many hugs otherwise. Chapter 200 ¡°Uuuuughh¡­¡± came a groan of annoyance, then a loud smacking sound. Ursel waved her hand which had the remains of a mosquito the size of a small sparrow stuck on it. She eventually just wiped it on a nearby bush and then coated her hands in mud. ¡°Why won¡¯t they stoooop?¡± ¡°Because you feel vulnerable,¡± their guide Bodana said. ¡°Though clearly they¡¯re wrong.¡± No matter what sort of insect attempted to bite Ursel, whether it was capable of piercing through defensive energy or not, they were incapable of penetrating Diamond Defense- in short, her skin was too durable for them. That didn¡¯t mean she liked having them around, though. Everyone else had their own solutions. Bodana had her own swarm of insects, so clearly she didn¡¯t mind more- they either became a member of hers or were consumed by it. Melanthina was attempting her techniques to control the bugs, to varying results. She was at least generally able to keep them away, though sometimes it was because they were overloaded with darkness and their bodies collapsed. There were a few moving around her unstably, without any real control except a compulsion to not be close to her. John had also trained Diamond Defense- or rather, he had trained Diamond Defense and it was Ursel who had snuck in and stolen some of his spare materials. The Tenebach Clan was in a much better financial state than they had been when John first arrived so it wasn¡¯t a big deal to spend that sort of money on one of the triplets, but she¡¯d gotten in trouble for a lack of permission. His energy- specifically the darkness element- extended beyond himself and around Matayal and beyond her to Tirto. Both should normally be able to keep bugs away with a bit of spiritual energy, but with some of the local specimens being able to sneakily pierce through such defenses, it would have required them forming an actual bubble of water or the like to keep themselves fully protected. That was fine for a while, but keeping such up all day was draining. So John was practicing the swarm influencing techniques, at least the obvious basics. He almost thought about sending the ones he caught towards Ursel, but resisted the bullying urge. Generally he just saw what he could make them do and ultimately directed them towards Bodana to have them dealt with in some manner. The rest of the Tenebach and Brandle clan members had to deal with things on their own. Bodana did keep watch for any particularly dangerous specimens, namely those that were diseased. The trek through the Soulrot Bogs was as unpleasant as expected, the ability for cultivators to dry themselves being one of the few comforts they had. There were long distances where they had to slog through leech infested waters, and finding dry ground to camp was a significant effort. Unlike Bodana, none of the rest of them could control insects subconsciously, and the enchantments upon their tents were only sufficient to keep them safe but not comfortable. Effort had to be taken to those ends through the use of spiritual energy, of which the prominent ones were darkness and water. John found it better than being in the deep sea where he had to constantly replenish his own air, but certainly uncomfortable for himself and still a significant difficulty for those weaker. That was just the constant annoyances. Snakes and other larger creatures sometimes thought it reasonable to approach them, intending to take out someone smaller and weaker. Perhaps that might have worked against a herd of animals, but human cultivators watched out for their weakest members and were able to act to defend them. Ultimately, though the Soulrot Bog was a hostile place the main danger was if one got lost within it for days or weeks and was worn down by its features. The edges, at least, were not a danger zone for groups traveling with Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Bodana was a proficient guide, bringing them around troublesome areas that even John and Matayal wouldn¡¯t have spotted before stumbling into them. Some areas they avoided not because they sensed anything, but because they didn¡¯t. Usually, that meant a more powerful spiritual beast in the area who was demanding of its territory. Since they weren¡¯t interested in ending up in combat engagements- especially with unknown entities- they avoided it. To the east, John could sense the main area they were avoiding. If he had to describe it, it would be like¡­ a static. An area of great power but no spiritual energy as far as he could tell, simply remnants. A meeting of light and dark elements, resulting in the Annihilation Strip. As its borders weren¡¯t exact, they avoided approaching too close. It was uncertain when a wave of light might push into a portion of the Soulrot Bog. ----- Even with their circuitous route, it only took a few days to circumvent the annihilation strip and find themselves in the Deadfields. Practically, it was a much safer place than either the Soulrot Bog or the Annihilation strip. Emotionally, it was in some ways worse. Except for small traces of light element seeping from below ground, it was actually devoid of spiritual energy. People thought the same of Astrein, but there it was simply an even mix that John found quite comfortable. Spiritual beasts did not live in the area. At most they might run into some wild boar or slithering serpents that would force them to expend some of their energy. An annoyance, as without a proper source spiritual energy replenished very slowly. That was true even for John, as his cycle of elements merely amplified the effects of others, it didn¡¯t wholly produce new spiritual energy from nothing. What he might replenish John had to use to fight off intruding light element. Melanthina seemed to do that with less effort than most, though John was on the better end of the Tenebach clan because of his training. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It was a week of uneventful and only existentially unpleasant days of travel before they arrived at their destination. John thought he sensed the scout at about the same time as they sensed the group, but he couldn¡¯t be certain. Either way, they were soon moving towards each other. ¡°Elder Rimantas,¡± Bodana inclined her head. John hadn¡¯t seen the older man at the tournament, but he¡¯d known the man¡¯s name. It was part of his job as clan head to memorize such things, especially when related to groups they were going to train with. John inclined his head the appropriate amount as well. As the introducing party, the Calamitous Swarm¡¯s representative was about as important as an unfamiliar clan head like himself. ¡°Honored Bodana,¡± Elder Rimantas responded, ¡°And the Tenebach and Brandle clan heads,¡± he bowed deeply. ¡°We have been anticipating your presence.¡± After finishing the appropriate social interactions, the man led them towards a sealed door in front of a cave. When he opened it, John wanted to swear for several reasons. Traditional light stabbing into his eyes and the response of his darkness energy were the largest of those reasons, but he held himself back. He had to keep some form of dignity, though squinting was fully justified. Even Rimantas did so, as the inside of the tunnels was brighter than outside. John was reminded of the Crystal Caverns the Order of the Amber Heart had claim over, except instead of earth element crystals these were very clearly light element. Some were hexagonal, others triangular like example prisms designed to make rainbows. They came in many other shapes and sizes as well. Each produced its own light, some purer whites or yellows like the sun and others any color of the rainbow. Light bounced off the smoothed surfaces and filtered through other crystals, amplifying the effects. Though great care had been taken not to disturb the growth of the crystals, most of the rest of the tunnels was carved flat and polished. It was nearly as bad as being in Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s lair, light bouncing everywhere. It was rather pretty, when he could see, but constantly uncomfortable. The density of crystals waxed and waned as they moved through the tunnels, but never did they come to a place where it was even approaching dark. There were even occasionally floating motes of light, unconstrained by any crystals- spirit light, formed naturally in the caverns. The Tenebach clan had the most difficulty in the area, though the Brandle Clan members were clearly not fully comfortable. John watched Melanthina in particular strode forward with determination. Instead of fighting against the light directly, she managed to redirect it, something John himself found more difficult than she made it look. Though it was clear she couldn¡¯t exactly be casual about it either. John did his best to listen as Elder Rimantas spoke about the area, but he already knew the basic history and he was doing his best to fight off a headache. All of his elements were naturally infused with some amount of darkness, so he had to be careful with how he shielded himself. ¡°The northern end of the Prism Underfields actually used to be the most powerful,¡± Elder Rimantas explained. ¡°Then there was a great war, tearing open the ground of the area and exposing it to the darkness. Now, the area known as the annihilation strip is uninhabitable by anyone. Attempts have been made to reclaim those caverns, sealing them from the surface above, but it is simply too dangerous for any to succeed.¡± Elder Rimantas shrugged, ¡°There have been few serious attempts in the decades of my life. Despite the potential power there, the other crystal nexuses are sufficient. And having a natural barrier from invasions is quite convenient. Ironically, it has resulted in better relations with the Darklands. That is to say¡­ not openly hostile all the time.¡± The old man smiled with some sincerity. ¡°I understand that the Tenebach clan once lived in the southern Darklands?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. ¡°Though that was more than a few generations ago. Most of our history before our move has been lost.¡± ¡°Unfortunate,¡± Elder Rimantas said, ¡°But understandable. We heard about your conflict with the Society of Midnight, of course. It is interesting that you managed to combine forces of every element, including the Golden Tomb Guardians representing the light. Your allies are as diverse as your own cultivation.¡± ¡°More, technically,¡± John said. ¡°For now,¡± the elder agreed. ¡°A difficult path you¡¯ve set out upon. Both in cultivation and politics.¡± Personally, John hadn¡¯t found it difficult to get along with people from other elements. Now that ¡®the club¡¯ had members from every element- except cultivators who were currently practicing water- he was quite certain that they were compatible. He had likely gotten lucky with the particular transmigrated and reincarnated individuals- he could have stumbled across some of ill temper. But he also had conflicts with people from every element- and because of proximity, people were actually more likely to clash with those of their own. ¡°It is work, but mutual assistance is quite beneficial, especially with the diversity of resources to be sought out.¡± There wasn¡¯t much more to say on that subject in particular, not at the moment. Perhaps in the future the Combining Luster Sect might find it beneficial to keep up a relationship with the rest of them, though they were rather distant to have frequent interactions. They journey to the sect itself took sometime, though they were not terribly distant. Even so, they had to follow winding corridors with uncomfortable amounts of light. When they finally got to a larger cavern, John found it had been fully carved out into a rectangular prism, except for spires of crystal and the rock they were growing out of. It was a particularly large cavern, sizable enough to comfortable house several hundred people at least. Vaguely akin to the size of the Tenebach clan with all its members. John was quite relieved when they were taken to their chambers, where the sect once again used the same trick as others for providing quarters- funneling away the light element for their own uses would make it comfortable for others to some extent. The Tenebach clan also had such chambers for visitors from the Golden Tomb Guardians, the Milanovic clan, or the Mulyani clan, and others of the three light allied elements. ¡°We will let you get settled in,¡± Elder Rimantas explained, ¡°Tomorrow, we will discuss more about what training and competitions we will have. I¡¯ve heard some specific requests,¡± his eyes briefly flickered over Melanthina. Interesting. Perhaps that Nik also wanted a rematch with her¡­ John would have to keep both eyes on that situation. Chapter 201 Though Melanthina was certainly eager to get onto what was in her mind the main event, things simply weren¡¯t set up that way. It was a joint training exercise with the Combining Luster Sect and the Tenebach and Brandle clans, and while her position certainly afforded her some benefits, Melanthina was not able to demand to fight someone specific right away. And she knew it well enough to not try, though she certainly looked as if she were going to. The first battle John thought was of note involved Tirto, notable partly because he was John¡¯s son but also because he was the first member of the Brandle clan to go up against the Combining Luster Sect. Before that, only a few of the younger disciples from the Tenebach clan participated. The triplets were most certainly the youngest participants, but they were not the weakest. They were in the late Foundation Phase, putting them in a similar position as those who had trained for several years as an adult. Their previous restrictions in how they were allowed to train were being lifted as it was determined there were no ill effects unlike most cultivators beginning too young. Tirto just happened to be positioned in an optimal state where he could provide some variety in both style and cultivation level. Those who were watching were trying to learn, after all, and while the individual participants should learn just about the same if they were matched appropriately, the watchers would do better without so much repetition. His opponent was Madelen, somewhere around twenty years old and one of the sect¡¯s promising disciples. Both were matched at the sixteenth rank, the first rank of the late Foundation Phase. Though it was an oddity to have such an age gap in the earlier phases of cultivation, ages would generally diversify in later phases as those who were quicker and slower matched each other in rank for a time. John watched the arena from the viewing platform, having already determined that it was about as close to fair as a sect could provide on their home turf. Various pillars covered the battlefield, ranging in shape from round to anywhere between three and six flat sides. Not all of the pillars were precisely vertical, and more importantly the battlefield had rises and falls that varied things up. There was cover for those who would use it, but not all of it was easy and predictable. There was little spiritual energy making its way into the arena, though between sect disciples it would be left to its natural inclinations towards light. The favored weapon of the Combining Luster Sect seemed to be scepters or staves. In either case, a crystal would be embedded in the top of the weapon to aid in focusing their attacks. When using a scepter they tended to also use a shield in the other hand, polished to a mirror sheen for more than just looks. The battle began somewhat predictably. Madelen had no reason to hide her abilities when they were much the same as all of the other disciples, firing a beam of light from her scepter towards Tirto. The young man calmly took cover nearby as he sensed the attack on the way. It wasn¡¯t quite clear if the attacks actually reached light speed, but they could be avoided by both time required to form them and the sustained contact required to cause significant damage. After the initial attack the battle rapidly became more complex. Madelen didn¡¯t just aim her attacks directly at Tirto, but instead at any of the surrounding pillars or the floor itself, rebounding the beams of light. The pillars themselves hardly aided the process- they were only made to be sturdy. Instead, it was the Combining Luster Sect¡¯s techniques that made everything possible. The arrangement of the battlefield was irregular not to empower them, but to set them apart. Those who had the skill to make use of difficult angles could fight on nearly any battlefield to great effect, whereas those who could only deal with regular patterns would be greatly weakened. Tirto kept track of his surroundings, accurately predicting the easiest angles to target him and staying on the move so that they couldn¡¯t be used to great effect. A few beams from Madelen grazed him as he worked his way towards her, but ultimately neither had used much energy yet. Madelen had maneuvered herself into an area with greater open space such that Tirto would have to expose himself to her to approach. That also meant she had fewer opportunities for tricks inside the area, but it was still advantageous to her. As Tirto slid around a triangular pillar, Madelen was waiting with her scepter pointed, requiring only minute adjustments to her aim. Tirto broke into a sprint, his spear ready, while she gathered energy for her attack, unable to simply hold it ready indefinitely. He was at most a third of the distance between them when her attack was ready, then a powerful beam of light struck Tirto in the chest. Or it would have, had he not prepared himself for just that. His defensive energy wasn¡¯t just formed around his body, but instead a bubble of water was extended. That could have scattered the light to some extent, but he also had a nearly invisible prism of pure, transparent ice within the bubble. The water itself would have slightly scattered the light, no doubt accounted for to some extent by Madelen, but the prism split the power around Tirto, the parts that still struck him barely relevant. If Madelen could have sustained her beam in one continuous attack she might have adjusted for his defense, as it was she could only angle to either side where the curvature of the water did the job as much as the hidden prism. She wasn¡¯t done just because Tirto reached her, however. Their weapons could focus light, but were also usable for blunt force in melee combat. She deflected Tirto¡¯s spear thrust with her shield, her own counter swing slowed by the sphere of water Tirto sustained. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. A battle between light and water was much less destructive than light and darkness which were mutually explosive, neither having any sort of specific advantage or disadvantage besides their own skill. Ultimately such a battle would go to whoever had more talent or experience, and Madelen would have been reasonable to assume that would be her. Yet Tirto had been training himself in some form since he was able to move about on his own, and had an almost unfair amount of natural affinity for his element. Ultimately Tirto expanded the influence of his water sufficiently to slow Madelen more than just a little. First he controlled her attacks, then her movement, then at a key moment he froze her to the arena floor. His spear pressed against her throat as her shield failed to reach in time. The defenses of the arena activated, protecting her, though Tirto had been ready to stop his attack regardless. ¡°A good match,¡± he inclined his head politely. Madelen responded in kind, but she couldn¡¯t deny his victory had been legitimate despite it being somewhat embarrassing to lose to someone much younger. That was something the Combining Luster Sect would have to get used to, though. John was expecting each of his children to win more matches than they lost. ----- To Melanthina¡¯s continued annoyance, she was not the next of the triplets to fight. That honor went to Ursel, the one stand out oddity in the matches. She was sort of part of both clans while also being a member of neither, but nobody could say she didn¡¯t belong. And for the sake of training, having diverse opponents was good. It was just unfortunate for her opponent who had no prior knowledge of her abilities except that she was an earth element combatant. Erle was close to the same age as Madelen, though he favored the larger staff instead of opting for a shield. He was also the seventeenth rank- exact matches for every opponent weren¡¯t always possible. When he opened the battle with a beam of light at Ursel, he could have easily expected several options. Logically she could have dodge, seeking cover or simply sidestepping his attack. Blocking with her heavy stone club would have also been reasonable. Even amping up her defensive energy would have made sense. Instead, she just ignored the attack, charging forward without any actual response. She wasn¡¯t crazy, and while she was sometimes reckless in battle John knew she at least thought about things at some point. She¡¯d seen plenty of battle so she should know what sort of damage the attacks could do. And that was why. The attack wasn¡¯t completely ineffectual, poking a hole in her flexible armor that John was going to make Ursel repair for her carelessness. However, when the beam got to her skin it made it no further, the beams of light even reflecting slightly. Diamond Defense came into play, showing the drawback of sustained attacks. There was a reason Ursel only wore the lighter armor she had on when she could clearly wear something heavier. Ursel continued to charge straight forward, accelerating her motion with the Emerging Bamboo Sect¡¯s techniques, propelling herself forward and into the air slightly. Erle dodged her downwards swing easily, stepping to the side, but clearly didn¡¯t expect the shockwave in the ground to reverse its course after it went behind him, shoving the ground up and towards Ursel as her club rebounded towards him. Despite the surprise, Erle was still a rank ahead of Ursel. He met her club with his staff, absorbing some of the energy and letting himself be thrown back. That was the perfect time to make use of another beam of light, but Ursel had managed to convince him it was pointless. To that end he charged up a more powerful attack, his beam splitting apart into a rainbow with the intention to recombine into a more powerful attack. It was just a bit too slow, and Ursel brute forced her way into the splitting part, where each individual part of the rainbow was individually less intense. She only needed to land a single solid attack to win, and her pretend invincibility kept Erle on the back foot until he was finally taken out. After the match, Ursel quietly complained to John about her burn from the first beam. It wasn¡¯t bad, and looked like even less, but sustained effort could have definitely made it into something serious. Diamond Defense was only decently powerful. John was afraid of the expenses required to make use of a more powerful version. He didn¡¯t think the Tenebach clan could afford that as they were now, such would have been the required materials. ----- Melanthina could be described as more than a little bit put out that her first opponent from the Combining Luster Sect was not Nik. However, instead of complaining about it she simply dealt with it. John wasn¡¯t sure if it was in a healthy manner, but she did go through with the match. John didn¡¯t get to remember her opponent¡¯s name, but he was the sixteenth rank. The opening salvo was generally quite effective against the Tenebach clan, who had no choice but to avoid it. Defending with their spiritual energy was just asking to get injured in an explosive reaction. Yet when the match opened, Melanthina didn¡¯t dodge or seek cover, but instead pointed her finger directly towards her opponent. A beam of light met a sharp dart of darkness, destabilizing the attack and creating a flash of light and darkness, impossible for any vision to see properly through. That was where Melanthina took cover, slipping behind pillars once her position was properly hidden for a moment. Her opponent tried to catch sight of her or pick her up with his senses, but she was quite good at stealth and had trained against the light element in particular. Where normally a wave of light element would strongly react if it passed over her and reveal at least her general location, the sweeps of her opponent reacted as if she didn¡¯t exist. Then Melanthina stabbed him in the spine, just below the skull. Thankfully the arena¡¯s formations were able to override her attack, or they would have had some difficult explaining to do. But she had likely been counting on it. Her opponent could only freeze as he felt cold metal touch his skin and the formations activate, but when he turned around she really was there. Instead of any sort of proper reaction, Melanthina stomped off. That wasn¡¯t necessarily good for future relations with the Combining Luster Sect, but hopefully Melanthina would control herself better later. And maybe if she were up against a stronger opponent she¡¯d have to act more appropriately. Chapter 202 Melanthina continued to dominate her opponents, even in matchups against those of superior rank. The matches resulted in awkward looks between the elders of the Combining Luster Sect, including Elder Rimantas who had escorted them down below and Sect Head Ardalion. It wasn¡¯t the most embarrassing things could be- after a few more combined victories under their belt both Ursel and Tirto eventually faced defeat. Likewise, other members of the Tenebach clan¡¯s younger generation were defeated. It was just Melanthina who had specially trained to defeat light cultivators that was doing concerningly well. It was embarrassing to be defeated by someone so young and in many cases lower cultivation rank, regardless of her being the young mistress of a powerful clan. Obviously they could not bring out Soul Expansion Phase cultivators- that was simply inappropriate. And, John saw in their eyes, it would be a greater embarrassment than continuously losing if she somehow managed to defeat one. Frankly, John couldn¡¯t say whether that was possible. In a battle between light and dark elements the stronger cultivator would usually dominate while those who were closely matched would find themselves both on the losing end. Usually strength was pure power and cultivation rank, but there were always exceptions based on familiarity and special training. He¡¯d paid attention to a good majority of Melanthina¡¯s training, but she was performing better than even he would have thought. John sidled his way closer in time to overhear a vaguely whispered conversation. That began with Ardalion leaning over to Elder Rimantas, ¡°Didn¡¯t one of our lesser disciples defeat her in the tournament just last year?¡± ¡°That seems to be the case but¡­¡± Elder Rimantas shook his head, ¡°At the time it was thought to be a difference of age. We didn¡¯t really pay it much mind.¡± ¡°Why not send in whoever it was?¡± ¡°Well¡­ he¡¯s just the same rank as her and kind of¡­ specially requested not to be placed against her.¡± ¡°Not confident?¡± the sect head asked. ¡°Unclear, though I would presume that to be the case.¡± John caught their eye as he was now less subtly approaching the pair. ¡°Ah, the Tenebach clan head. Your daughter is certainly¡­ something special.¡± John smiled, ¡°Yes, quite problematic, isn¡¯t she? I couldn¡¯t help but overhear part of your discussion. She has been quite eager to have a rematch with a certain opponent for matters of pride. Perhaps it would be best to convince this fellow to fight. I¡¯m sure I could convince her to withdraw afterwards, win or lose.¡± Sect Head Ardalion sighed, ¡°Though it would be nice to keep our technical record of having defeated her, it is probably best to get this over with.¡± He turned to Elder Rimantas, ¡°Talk to him and offer him rewards for participating, and more if he can win,¡± Ardalion¡¯s eyes turned back to John at that. John just shrugged, ¡°If he can defeat her still, it would be for the best. If not, we¡¯ll have to find something to deflate her ego elsewhere.¡± It was one thing for the Tenebach clan and Melanthina to get prestige from continuous victories, but he also wanted his daughter to have her head on straight for the future. That wasn¡¯t going to happen without this fight, one way or another. ----- ¡°Finally,¡± Melanthina said when her next match was announced. ¡°I mean, um¡­ it is good they found another opponent willing to face me.¡± John was tempted to inform her that her strong feelings on the matter were easy to read, but perhaps it was best to keep that a secret for the moment. It was kind of fun having her think she was subtle about something and completely not be, especially when she was actually rather good at subtlety in most cases. With luck, her victory over Nik would clear her of this momentary obsession and things could return to normal. That was what John liked to tell himself. John was surprised to see the confidence with which the young man walked into the arena opposite Melanthina. Nik was a few years older, fifteen where Melanthina was twelve. A significant gap at the moment, but one that would quickly become insignificant. That still made him younger than the rest of her opponents. Besides the display of confidence- which John thought was at least partly a front- the young man didn¡¯t have much to distinguish himself from the common disciple. He was not equipped with anything particularly fancy, just a staff with a crystal head like the others of the Combining Luster Sect. The battle began slightly differently than most of the other matches. Nik opened up with not a single beam directed at Melanthina but two, split apart to either side. Those two beams of light then further split into a rainbow of colors forming a wall- momentary but significant. Melanthina hadn¡¯t been quite sure how to react, her prepared counter going unused. She had still reacted well, going for a pillar to cover herself and when she found her way blocked she shifted the gathered darkness that was supposed to counter a direct attack to cover her dagger, slicing apart the curtain of light element. Surprisingly, this happened with little gravitas and no explosions. Melanthina had cover but her position was not unknown. Before she could manage any sort of distraction, Nik had another beam of light going for the closest pillar behind her, somehow managing to bounce his beam off the cylindrical shape in the direction he desired. As it reflected it split into a rainbow. Melanthina moved to dodge the recombined beam, but it never did that. Instead, it remained a cone that covered the area. John expected a particularly nasty reaction when it struck her defensive energy, but she continued to surprise him, casting off a net of darkness and pushing the light away from her without a detonation. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Now out in the open once more, Melanthina didn¡¯t immediately seek cover again. Instead, she launched her own attack, a beam of darkness from her bare hand. Unamplified by equipment and less of a formalized technique it was weaker than the Combining Luster Sect¡¯s attacks, but it forced Nik to cease his next attack and deflect it. His staff swept forward in an arc, creating a sweeping trail of light. The attack flowed along with the trail, light and darkness burying themselves in the ground with only several flashes along the way, minimal as clashes of light and darkness went. This already put Nik ahead of most of the opponents Melanthina had faced, who were either unaware of her location or occasionally out of the fight at this point. Only those who were higher in cultivation than her so easily took her attacks head on, others dodging. Those at the peak of the Foundation Phase had enough extra spiritual energy to simply overpower her attacks, but that hadn¡¯t lasted as the explosions of mutual annihilation were hard on their defenses. Then Nik did something unexpected. From John¡¯s angle, it didn¡¯t look like that much. He simply held his staff vertically, moving it from his right side around the front to his left. There was a shimmer of light and clear usage of light element, but that was about it. Melanthina¡¯s reaction was quite different, her eyes darting around and her senses reaching as she fled for cover. Nik positioned himself behind a horizontal pillar, a triangular shape lying flat on one side. He managed to bounce an attack between two pillars, splitting and combining as it moved around the arena to come at Melanthina from the back rear side. She only barely reacted in time, her dagger chopping awkwardly into it. This time there was some level of negative reaction from light and dark meeting, but the force of the impact was mostly pushed away from Melanthina even in that moment of panic. At the same time, after that attack Melanthina shrouded herself in darkness to dull the senses. John could keep track of her only by virtue of his much greater strength and advantageous positioning. Plus the fact that she wasn¡¯t concerning herself with those outside the arena. Nik quickly shot beams around, reflecting off of several other surfaces in a different direction before finally spreading out in a wide pattern to cover everything around Melanthina¡¯s former position. She couldn¡¯t have gotten far- and she hadn¡¯t, simply slipping to the far side of the pillar which ironically put her on the same side as Nik. Yet shrouded in darkness and with the young man maintaining cover and apparently concealing his position, the two of them didn¡¯t quite have track of each other. The next minute or so involved both combatants slinking around, during which time Nik expanded his technique in all directions, turning invisible. He was even difficult to track with energy senses, which outsiders had to keep passive. The two combatants even passed quite close to each other on the opposite sides of one pillar without either quite picking out the other. The stalemate was broken when Nik extended his staff out from behind his current cover, sweeping it horizontal to the ground. A thin beam of light cut across the arena, small parts of it manipulated to intentionally reflect around the rears of the pillars. It was impressive how much he could do at once, especially given that the actual pillars were not reflective on their own. The thin beam of light was not enough to do damage, but it revealed Melanthina¡¯s position as she automatically tried to bend it around her. In turn, however, the act revealed Nik. Bolts of light and darkness met each other in the middle, creating flashes of light and darkness that blinded both opponents as they sought out different locations. Melanthina shifted her tactics from stealthily approaching her opponent to get him in melee combat to covering as much of the arena as she could, circling each pillar as she passed. She crouched low, beneath the previous height of Nik¡¯s sweeping beam. That allowed her to pass unknown on his next attempt, and she had a dagger ready for it. The weapon flew towards his revealed location- unfortunately for her on the far side of the arena. By the time it reached its destination he was gone, and she had been unable to track him down. Nik didn¡¯t make the same mistake twice, seeking her location with not one but two beams, the light splitting from his staff to end up somewhere around knee and neck height as they swept across the arena. The way they covered the area behind pillars was less expert with the multitasking, but they did well enough to catch the back of Melanthina¡¯s knee as she tried to duck behind a hexagonal pillar. The beam did minimal damage, but revealed her location. Melanthina quickly began to dart around the arena, keeping what cover she could, but Nik moved opposite of her. Everything was fine for him until he ducked behind a particular pillar and found himself stepping on a ring of darkness element, placed by Melanthina¡¯s movements and concealed there. The majority of the energy exploded uselessly on the other side of the pillar, but the trap certainly damaged his defensive energy. Unfortunately for Melanthina, she¡¯d placed many of them and he¡¯d so far only set off one, meaning both were using up their spiritual energy. Nik decided to forego cover from then on, leaving him vulnerable to counterattacks when she saw through his invisibility but saving him from unexpected reactions beneath his feet. Ultimately the two of them fought their way towards each other, Nik realizing he couldn¡¯t keep tabs on Melanthina long enough to do anything but wide area attacks targeting her, and Melanthina preferring melee combat to begin with. The climax of the battle came with Melanthina finding her way behind Nik, stabbing towards his spine. Yet instead of that being the end for him, his staff flicked backwards, knocking Melanthina¡¯s dagger out of her hand. He spun around, light element coating his staff. Melanthina did the craziest thing possible, interlacing her hands with his on the staff. They both controlled one end with one hand in the middle of the others, their energies clashing. Both tried to direct the destructive energy towards the other, but the control of either side was greater near their own bodies, and most of it was deflected around them. At nearly the same time Melanthina twisted the staff, Nik kicked towards her- the end result being they staggered apart, the staff flying off to the side. Instead of seeking out their own weapons or even attempting ranged attacks without augmentation, both seemed to mutually agree on an unarmed brawl- perhaps because they were nearly out of spiritual energy. The battle turned from a dazzling display of light and darkness to two exhausted individuals attempting to pummel each other, gradually getting slower but neither having an advantage. Soon enough they were both exhausted of spiritual energy- the match would have normally been called at that point, but neither of them had a readable advantage. Then Melanthina pulled a page from her sister¡¯s book, finding the opportunity to headbutt Nik when they got close. They both staggered back. Melanthina cussed and held her hand up to her forehead, Nik reached up to his nose¡­ and then they toppled over unconscious. John sighed deeply, looking over at Matayal who was shaking her head. Then they both laughed, because they didn¡¯t know what else to do. Chapter 203 During the match, John had been able to watch Sect Head Ardalion and Elder Rimantas¡¯ reactions. It was clear they weren¡¯t confident in his ability to win, at least not at first. However, even from shortly into the battle he displayed abilities others had not, and he had excellent control. If there was one flaw John found in Nik it was that his power was a bit lacking, even for his cultivation. But that was something that could be improved. He was still young, and his rate of cultivation was sufficient. Between two cultivators, one who made more efficient use of their power would win if their cultivations were close, so even if he fell behind slightly in cultivation he would still be decent. But that presumed he kept the same rate of cultivation even as he grew older, and John was fairly certain it would increase as he properly reached adulthood. ¡°Where did he come from?¡± Sect Head Ardalion asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything about this fellow.¡± Elder Rimantas shook his head, ¡°He¡¯s had no standout results so far. I first took note in the tournament when he defeated Melanthina, but it was only a battle between two Foundation Phase cultivators. Even if one was a scion of a powerful clan, he was three years older so nobody thought much of it. As for his origins, he¡¯s just one of the locals who displayed some natural affinity for light and joined the sect through standard channels.¡± ¡°And the resources for his development?¡± ¡°Standard for his cultivation rank,¡± Elder Rimantas explained. While that sounded reasonable, John knew that it effectively meant ¡®minimal¡¯. A sect could not afford to be stingy if it wanted to raise powerful disciples, but the basic levels of resource distribution were as little as anyone could get. If they were determined to be a waste, a disciple would usually be expelled or at least no longer considered a disciple. Ardalion nodded slowly. ¡°We¡¯ll have to keep track of him from here on out, and what he does with the resources we¡¯ll be awarding him for his participation.¡± Ardalion¡¯s gaze shifted to John. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°He certainly seems to have talent,¡± John agreed. ¡°This rivalry my daughter has with him also seems like a great motivator. I have no intention to ask you to let her win any victories she doesn¡¯t take with her own hands, and if he were to truly defeat her she might learn something. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me,¡± John nodded. ¡°I should go see my daughter before she wakes up.¡± Melanthina had already been carried off by her sister, brought to the infirmary where she¡¯d previously only had minor wounds treated. Though she currently wasn¡¯t particularly wounded either, since both combatants had been out of spiritual energy and disarmed of their weapons. She¡¯d simply brought about her own state of unconsciousness with a poorly executed headbutt. ----- John¡¯s senses flickered over Nik as he moved past him towards the other side of the infirmary. There was something¡­ but if it was important the actual medics could deal with it. John wasn¡¯t going to pretend to know better than them just because he could beat them in a fight. The young man didn¡¯t look to be in a particularly bad state except for the bandage plastered over his nose, except for his drained spiritual energy. Melanthina was likewise healthy, with only minimal marks from her battle, generally scorched clothes where the beams of light had made their way through her defenses. Matayal was already there, but as John stepped forward their darkness attuned daughter reacted to him, her eyes fluttering open. ¡°Father¡­ did I win?¡± ¡°You fought well,¡± John said with a smile. ¡°Ultimately, your battle ended in a draw.¡± Melanthina grimaced. Somehow, it seemed as if that was worse than simply losing again. Melanthina sat up, sighed, then flopped forward. ¡°I¡¯m so exhausted¡­ and my head hurts. Why does my head hurt?¡± Ursel was the one to answer that. ¡°Because you¡¯re not hard as stone, dummy,¡± she said as she lightly pressed her finger on the bandages over her sister¡¯s forehead. ¡°And your headbutt technique is bad.¡± Melanthina reached for her forehead. For a moment, John felt the same sort of thing Nik had, but a flicker of spiritual energy inside Melanthina and it disappeared. It seemed there was nothing to worry about. ¡°I should have won,¡± she declared to the room, or perhaps herself. John and Matayal both seemed to have words to say there, but Tirto was first to respond. ¡°You don¡¯t always have to win,¡± he said calmly. ¡°Sometimes, you just lose.¡± ¡°But to the same person twice?¡± Melanthina grimaced as she already considered her tie another loss. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let some obstacle of some guy with no background stop me!¡± She spun her legs off the bed and moved to stand up, where she immediately staggered forwards into her mother¡¯s arms. ¡°You rattled your head quite a bit, dear,¡± Matayal pat her on the head. ¡°You have to rest until the doctors say you can go.¡± Melanthina grumbled, but accepted being pushed gently back to her position on the bed. ¡°Fine,¡± she declared. ----- You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. John made his way back to the other side of the room. Nik was there, having properly returned to consciousness himself. He wasn¡¯t surrounded by people- the doctors had made sure his condition was improving, then left him be. Though they had declared intentions to encourage his growth, Elder Rimantas and the sect head were not present. A single tie in a vaguely important duel was not enough to rocket him into such importance that he should be visited by such individuals. That also meant that getting a visit from a foreign sect head would be quite unusual, but that was only if anyone noticed. John made use of just a small bit of darkness energy to minimize the impact of his presence. ¡°An impressive fight, young man,¡± John said, causing Nik¡¯s head to jerk towards him. ¡°Almost another victory against my daughter.¡± The young man swallowed. ¡°I- uh¡­ well¡­¡± ¡°It is a good thing, to take such a battle seriously. I doubt she would have been pleased if you simply gave up,¡± John tried to be reassuring, but he understood it wasn¡¯t very comforting to have a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator looming nearby. ¡°What do you think of my daughter?¡± ¡°She¡¯s umm¡­¡± Nik hesitated, ¡°Strong and talented,¡± he eventually came up with. ¡°And scary, I imagine,¡± John grinned. ¡°She doesn¡¯t usually let things get to her, but her loss to you was one of them. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll give up on facing off against you in the future. In fact, she¡¯ll probably want to fight you again right away. Don¡¯t worry, that wouldn¡¯t be good for either of you. I¡¯ll deal with that. As for you¡­ just make sure you keep training. Get stronger. Don¡¯t be afraid to display your power in front of your sect, either. They¡¯ve seen it now, so it will only hurt you to keep your head down.¡± ¡°So you want me to get stronger¡­ so your daughter will have someone to fight?¡± John shrugged, ¡°Why not? It¡¯s better for you either way. And don¡¯t forget you were promised some rewards to show up.¡± ¡°... you know about that?¡± John¡¯s grin widened, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to fight her again either.¡± John took half a step away, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to make use of everything you have to get stronger. Saving things up for the peak of Foundation Phase sounds nice, but if you get there sooner you¡¯ll be able to earn more for yourself. A smart sect won¡¯t let those who show talent go unrewarded. Though that probably doesn¡¯t mean much from someone who was born into his position.¡± ----- With the draw between Melanthina and Nik, the training exercises moved on to include those of higher cultivations. There was a significant period of time before John himself got involved, at which point things were less in a formal match structure. They still fought in the same arenas for the safety precautions, but there weren¡¯t exactly many matchups for John or Matayal. Ardalion was only in the early Consolidated Soul Phase, and the rest of the Combining Luster Sect were weaker than him. Either of them versus a single opponent was a poor match, but when things got to two or three opponents they became unbalanced anyway. There was some intention to have John and Matayal against Ardalion and several others, but there were concerns about the strength of the arena¡¯s wards keeping them safe with so many participants of significant power. During the whole process, Melanthina was moping off to the side, annoyed that she wasn¡¯t allowed to have a re-rematch against Nik right away. She would get over it eventually, though John wasn¡¯t sure how long that would take. The triplets were just about to head into their teens, so there was bound to be more turmoil ahead. ----- A wave of light washed over John. He had previously tried to replicate Melanthina¡¯s techniques, and though she made it look easy to have it flow around her with little damage it most certainly was not. Perhaps it was a particular talent she had, or there was some insight John had missed. Either way, it was more efficient for him to simply protect himself with other elements rather than dealing with the clash of light and darkness. The Combining Luster Sect might not be terribly powerful- though they weren¡¯t weak with a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, the general power of the region had grown- but their actual techniques were impressive. Among other things they properly made use of ranged techniques, and while they were not the most powerful they were swift and accurate. Against darkness users, that was the worst case, as the power came into existence from the clash of elements. John was better able to replicate Melanthina¡¯s beams of darkness. That didn¡¯t require whatever she did with the light, simply forming spiritual energy into a condensed line. More or less. Either way, John found the power was sufficient to stagger his opponent for a moment, allowing him to move in closer. If ranged attacks using darkness were so easy it would be used more often, and John didn¡¯t think it was powerful enough except when clashing against light element cultivators. Throwing daggers carrying energy were more effective, even if slower. He wasn¡¯t going to begrudge another option in his arsenal, however- and he might develop it further with practice. Once in melee range his opponent still had the ability to fight back, but even with John restraining himself somewhat he had more options to work with. He could likely overcome his opponent in a few moves with his other elements, but John tried to make sure he did his best to match his darkness against light to some extent, learning different lessons than he had from the Golden Tomb Guardians. After reviewing various of her new abilities, John found himself once again quite impressed with Melanthina¡¯s talent, and though it would be somewhat embarrassing he might have to ask her for guidance. He didn¡¯t think it was a result of him going away from pure darkness either- he kept up with the rest in terms of control without issue. She was just an exception. Perhaps being born with the affinity helped, but she also worked hard. Without the dedication Melanthina had she would likely have ended up much closer to average. John intended to seek out further sources of motivation for the triplets- though Tirto seemed well covered. He was easy-going and what encouragement he needed came mainly from his mother. John wasn¡¯t planning to ignore him, but he was currently the least likely to fall behind. Ursel had gained a great bout of motivation after her visit to the Viridia Wildlands, but it hadn¡¯t suddenly given her a ¡®place¡¯. She was still the third child of two clans, with no structure constraining her but also nothing telling her where she belonged. Chapter 204 Time continued to pass, and soon the triplets were properly young teens, with all the good and bad that came of it. Though it would have been simple to fall into the bad habit of having his entire life revolve around them, John kept a reasonable portion of his perspective on himself. By that manner, he¡¯d been in his new world over twenty years, with close to two thirds of that time having the triplets as a part of it. Given the split in time spent with them he had ¡®only¡¯ been around them a bit over a third of his time in the world, but by no measure was it insignificant. At the current point in time, he had barely spent more time with Matayal, his actual wife. It was somewhat concerning that he spent what felt like so little time with his family, but he had to remember that it was not necessarily less than he would have expected in a ¡®normal¡¯ life. He was not away at work all day, though he did have clan business that kept him occupied some of the time, with more portions reserved for training. Yet he also had free time to spend with his children. And though some of that time was still occupied with training, improving their cultivation together was a reasonable bonding activity in this world. Nothing was going to be close to what he¡¯d grown up with anyway, not in this world. And while that was fine, it was difficult to not put higher emphasis on his early memories as being ¡®normal¡¯. ----- John was not an animal tamer. Though spiritual beasts were more intelligent and thus the right ones were easier to handle in certain regards, that still didn¡¯t make it a trivial investment of time. However, just because John himself did not have the ability didn¡¯t mean the Tenebach clan had nobody to perform the task. Radulf was one of the branch members only a decade or so younger than John¡¯s grandfather, and though most of his time had been spent handling lesser spiritual beasts before the Tenebach clan¡¯s rise in status, he still had the necessary knowledge. The most important creatures under his care were the shadowhawks. It was not a matter of them as potential combatants, though there was some value in that, but rather for their potential as messengers. It had already taken them several years since they hatched to begin reaching adulthood, but they had a wingspan of nearly two meters and were somewhere around the strength of early Foundation Phase cultivators. Not enough to affect any battles¡­ but more than a trivial effort to take out while flying. For the most part they were only active in Marble County. The Tenebach clan had some influence further to the west, but this was still the first generation of shadowhawks early in their lifespan. Eventually they would be tested in the Shimmering Islands, but the storms there were far too much for them at the current moment. With a bit more maturity they might fly over or around such storms, but there was also the matter of distances between islands. John was glad he barely had to deal with those issues, and had simply come to oversee their progress. ¡°How are they doing?¡± John asked Radulf. ¡°Quite well,¡± the older man explained. ¡°They are eager to return to the comfort and care of the clan, but smart enough to be dutiful. Healthy and strong, too. I¡¯ve been taking some of them around to other climates to see how they handle it.¡± ¡°And?¡± John prompted. ¡°It¡¯s about as expected. They¡¯re not particularly well suited to the heat of the Green Sands, their feathers trapping even more than they would otherwise. They¡¯d likely have to have regular stops if we wished to coordinate with the Milanovic clan. There aren¡¯t really enough of them for that yet, however.¡± ¡°True,¡± John agreed. ¡°Six is a sizable amount but insufficient for large scale operations.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been carefully contacting other keepers,¡± Radulf said. ¡°Negotiating an exchange of breeders. It¡¯s better not to have these siblings produce the only offspring.¡± ¡°Yeah, the small gene pool would be a problem¡­¡± John nodded. While a scientific understanding of genetics was not present in this world as far as John had seen, they still understood the inheritance of traits- and where it encountered problems in animal or spiritual beast breeding. A specific understanding of ¡®genes¡¯ was unnecessary for that, as was clearly shown on Earth where humans had been successful animal breeders for thousands of years. And John, with a college level education but not specialized in the field, couldn¡¯t exactly revolutionize the process just by talking about chromosomes. And there were oddities that couldn¡¯t be explained with that. Like, offspring of spiritual beasts that grew to a higher cultivation rank being more powerful. It was one thing if it was simply potential, but children born later in a certain beasts lifespan were generally stronger, if they had methods to continuously improve. John had a basic understanding of epigenetics and how they could change during a lifespan, but no idea whether that even applied in those cases or if it was something else. ¡°Regardless,¡± Radulf said proudly, ¡°We have reduced the travel time for critical messages in Marble County down by half or more. With another decade or two and additional generations¡­ who can say how things will be?¡± John nodded. Decades seemed so long, yet it had already been two since he came to this world. If they¡¯d had the resources and shadowhawks when he arrived, the process would already be well on its way. Though there were always limits to how many magical beasts a clan or sect could have as a practical matter- they weren¡¯t cheap to raise or maintain. Feeding them average food would result in mediocre abilities at best. The same of human cultivators, in a way, though spiritual beasts leaned more towards the consumption side of things rather than absorbing free spiritual energy. ¡°Good work. I look forward to the future.¡± Radulf nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve been teaching others as well. This knowledge will outlive me, don¡¯t you worry.¡± ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t worried until you said it,¡± John grinned. In truth, he did have some concerns. Radulf was younger than Luctus, but he also hadn¡¯t stepped over the threshold into the Consolidated Soul Phase. Thus, his lifespan would be less by a significant margin. For that matter, Luctus himself was not getting any younger. He was slowly advancing through the early Consolidated Soul Phase, but it was unclear if he would go any longer. Without improvements he might live another fifty years- but his health was not as great as it once might have been and it could easily be cut short. Outside of battle, of course, which was one of the nearly inevitable ends for a cultivator. Though certain individuals would live through many battles, you only died in one. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ----- Though information regularly came from the Brandle clan, John still wanted to personally catch up on everything with Matayal around. ¡°What about the sea god?¡± he asked. ¡°Any progress with¡­ whatever you¡¯re planning there? Insights?¡± Matyal nodded. ¡°The insights, at least, are sufficient. I would not have advanced to mid Consolidated Soul Phase so swiftly otherwise.¡± Hearing her say that was something special, because she¡¯d always been a fast cultivator. At certain points John felt like he was barely able to hold onto her and drag himself along- though he didn¡¯t find that he was actually slowing her down. Especially not now, because even the minor amounts of fire he could control were improving. The improvement was slow, but everything was slow at their cultivation rank. Yet in terms of absolute power growth over time it was also not negligible. It was unlikely either of them would suddenly pull ahead of their peers, but their ability to dominate those sufficiently below themselves would always improve. ¡°I know there were ideas to recruit it as a guardian beast¡­¡± John said. ¡°Have those progressed any?¡± ¡°The leviathan continues to sleep¡­ but I do not think its slumber will continue indefinitely,¡± Matayal began. ¡°If it is at all feasible to bring it into our fold, I will make the attempt. However, though its power is unquestionable its intelligence and nature are unclear. I could only find the barest mention of it in the records throughout the Shimmering Islands. I suspect few know of it, and I have seen no others around it. Though its size is quite expansive, so they could have been missed.¡± ¡°I suppose it might be a bit ambitious to actually recruit it,¡± John said. ¡°Something of that power¡­ what could we offer? It has to be at least compatible to a well established Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Anything it wants, it could take.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Matayal agreed. ¡°Let us hope it is not too hungry when it awakes. Fortunately, it is quite far from Pualani. At least for that sake, as it is rather a tiresome journey to make regularly.¡± ¡°I understand that,¡± John nodded. ¡°The other clan affairs are going well, I hear?¡± ¡°The same as they are here. Measured expansion. There have been attempts to work with the Mulyani clan to tame storm birds as messengers. If that works, they could easily go to Dolomite Harbor. Unfortunately, they¡¯re not easily tamed or they would have been all over the place centuries ago.¡± John nodded, ¡°And you¡¯ll be around for the meeting later, right?¡± ¡°With your club?¡± Matayal grinned. ¡°Since it seems important, I will be. Though before then I intend to spy on our son. Lucanus and Yustina did bring along their daughters, after all.¡± ¡°Are we trying to set him up with one of them in particular?¡± John asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m trying, but Emilia is not too far in age. And she¡¯d be better for him than someone from the Mulyani clan. If he¡¯s going to be clan head, he¡¯ll need someone supporting him in everything, including cultivation.¡± ¡°That does seem suitable,¡± John agreed. ¡°Though I would be reluctant to actually arrange anything, even now.¡± ¡°Emilia wouldn¡¯t be taking over for her clan regardless of her position,¡± Matayal reminded John. ¡°So they would not end up in a situation like us. You know Yustina is not interested in leading the Milanovic clan and disrupting their current lines of succession.¡± ¡°I just hope he can find the right woman,¡± John nodded. ¡°Ursel¡­ well, she¡¯ll have to make her own decisions in that regard. She doesn¡¯t exactly strike me as the type to settle down, but it¡¯s still early. And Melanthina¡­¡± ¡°You just hope she gets over her obsession with Nik.¡± John sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s romantic at all, but I was really hoping the whole thing would go away after our excursion. No luck there. At least she¡¯s motivated to grow stronger still.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just hope she doesn¡¯t do anything too foolish.¡± ¡°As long as she keeps to official matches¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d hate for them to actually kill each other.¡± ----- The club of reincarnators and transmigrators who had discovered each other through various means had five members, a split of two and three at the current moment. Those numbers seemed high, considering they hadn¡¯t found any outside of their inner circle, but nobody could say what the true numbers were. Today, their newest member known to the world as Deidre and the married pair from the Green Sands had news to share, worth coming in person. As John and Renato were located close to each other, Marble County was the easiest place to meet, and the Tenebach clan a bit more secretive. The Order of the Amber Heart would not begrudge Renato having secret meetings, but he was not the sect head. Though he was a decent rival in power for Johannes Dalen, his relative youth made his political connections weaker. Though it was not a true issue, as they were not in competition. Having a strong individual like Renato would only benefit the Order. Deirdre began her explanation first, though the general message was simple. ¡°Recently, the Molten Sea far beyond the Sunfields has been towards Sunfields territory. Not as disorganized squabbles but because of the control of several large clans. In addition, we have reason to believe some of the Sunfields are supporting their activity.¡± Dire news, matched by that from the Green Sands. ¡°Similar activity comes from beyond the Wuthering Heights. The inhabitants of the sky islands that rest beyond those peaks seem to have turned their eyes on areas below.¡± Yustina was the one sharing the message, or it would have been much more casual, if technically correct. ¡°It seems the rise of power in the area is beginning to draw attention from surrounding regions.¡± John nodded. Strong cultivators meant resources, and though it also meant better defenders cultivators were always attracted to what they thought they could get their hands on. And over long periods of time, certain groups would grow ahead, watching for signs of something worth plundering. Acquisition of resources was not always through violence, but at the very least it was backed by threats of it. That was true even for the clans and the Order of the Amber Heart- if they could not fight for what they had, they would lose it. The importance of the following discussions, then, would be how much of a threat to people that were cared about these events were, and what would be done about it. Chapter 205 Countries were a simple way to represent something, though that something was not political unity. Instead, more were geographical descriptors, a certain confluence of elements. Those living within the area might feel protective of the whole area because it was useful to them, but there was rarely any incentive to protect others within the area. They were just competition- that was the reality of the world. Even so, people still had reasons to unite. It could be more than just a sect or a clan, but a larger expansive alliance for the purposes of mutual defense- and ultimately, for establishing control of the strongest in the area. Marble County fell under the sway of the Tenebach clan and the Order of the Amber Heart, joint powers that maintained a good relationship¡­ and had the advantage of needing somewhat different resources. If the Tenebach clan had been earth elemental cultivators, then things might have been different- though it would have still been possible for them to join hands. Those thoughts brought John and the rest of the ¡®club¡¯- along with Matayal- back to the current matters. Powerful groups moving on the Sunfields and the Wuthering Heights. ¡°It seems that the issues to the southeast are further removed,¡± John commented. ¡°Both geographically and politically.¡± He looked towards Deirdre- or at least that was the name convenient to continue using. ¡°I sense greater concern about the Molten Sea.¡± ¡°It depends on where they stop,¡± Deidre admitted. ¡°There¡¯s still quite a distance for them to cover before they even begin stepping into the Sunfields¡­ the bigger issue is that if they¡¯re working with individuals from the Sunfields, will they continue beyond that point or not?¡± Lucanus- also known as Steve- tilted his head, ¡°We¡¯re also just assuming they can do this. Shouldn¡¯t people be able to¡­ stop them?¡± Yustina placed a hand on her husband¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I know you¡¯re not interested in the politics, but I¡¯m sure it must have been mentioned in your presence that these places have produced Ascending Soul Phase cultivators.¡± ¡°So?¡± he shrugged, ¡°We¡¯ve killed one before.¡± ¡°One¡­ not stabilized after their forceful advancement. And it took our combined efforts.¡± ¡°We¡¯re stronger now,¡± Lucanus countered. ¡°Could you take one by yourself?¡± Upon seeing her husband¡¯s face, she sighed, ¡°That¡¯s not a challenge.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he finally shook his head. ¡°I probably couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that none of our regions have regularly produced even Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. This period of growth is a spike¡­ and there¡¯s no guarantee the Molten Sea or any of the sky islands haven¡¯t gone through something similar.¡± Lucanus snorted, bits of flame spewing from his nose, but he just nodded. John was at least glad that he could trust Yustina to keep him from doing anything stupid¡­ alone, at least. John moved onto the next step, ¡°Do we have any information on the groups involved here? Whether they actually have Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, or information like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unclear,¡± Deirdre admitted, ¡°However, there should be at least one among the group from the Molten Sea, perhaps more. That would depend on if they¡¯re a number of lesser sects under one greater banner or if they are a group of relatively equal strengths working towards some common goal. The latter is simply rare enough that it¡¯s a concern they¡¯re moving at all.¡± ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Yustina said, ¡°Our information is also incomplete. Just that there have been rapid successes in taking over parts of the Wuthering Heights. The expansion is too aggressive to just hope that it stops.¡± Matayal nodded, ¡°The question then is if we are going to do anything immediately, either as individuals or as a group. It seems that the incidents are still too far removed to safely involve our forces. Thus, I propose that in addition to keeping watch on the situation, we prepare and train. Not just ourselves, but our forces. Our coordination was sufficient in the assault on the Society of Midnight, but there could always be improvements.¡± John nodded, ¡°Obviously I¡¯m going to agree with you on that. It¡¯s a shame we don¡¯t have any air cultivators among our peers. Kusuma is¡­ not young.¡± More importantly she¡¯d never fully recovered after the incident in the Kelp Spire Forest, her cultivation seeming to stagnate as well. It was impossible to say if the woman would have pushed beyond the early Consolidated Soul Phase if that didn¡¯t happen, or if that was always her limit. ¡°We still need to include the Mulyani clan, of course. It would be a shame if our relations were only tied to Kusuma.¡± ¡°Is there a reason specifically for air?¡± Deirdre asked. ¡°We¡¯re facing air and fire cultivators, right?¡± ¡°He wants all six elements, obviously,¡± Renato said. ¡°To cover any weaknesses. Just like he is doing with his own cultivation.¡± ¡°To cover weaknesses and to augment each other,¡± John pointed out. ¡°You all have seen how that can work.¡± ¡°Fair enough. About the elements, however¡­¡± Yustina shook her head. ¡°It is my understanding that the Molten Sea has abundant water element as well as fire. The sky islands ironically require earth element to stay afloat.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°How does that work?¡± John asked. ¡°Some sort of gravity manipulation¡­ along with natural minerals within the islands. Unfortunately, that¡¯s all I know,¡± Yustina admitted. ¡°So we could be facing each of the four core elements,¡± Deidre nodded, ¡°Though preferably not all at once.¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°Indeed. Hopefully, we have to only face one of them at a time¡­ if we have to fight at all.¡± ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to deal with light element,¡± John said. ¡°Except perhaps those from the Sunfields. The question is the timeline. Should we expect trouble to escalate within the next few weeks¡­? Months? Years? I know conquering territory can take a long time.¡± ¡°If they manage to threaten any of us within weeks, we would do best to capitulate to whatever they wish,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Unless they are planning to annihilate anyone in their path. With just months of time, if they do not have a specific goal in mind that they quickly reach and extract, they will be exposed to all around them. If they truly are conquering, it is most likely to be a matter of years. And perhaps these threats will be forgotten next year, replaced by others.¡± ¡°But we need to be strong enough to face them soon,¡± Matayal expanded the idea. ¡°Because inevitably, there will be more threats of this kind.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Yustina nodded. ----- Not having a proper air cultivator was definitely an issue for some of their training. John was quite capable of many things, but the amount of time he spent training air techniques was less than a quarter- it was closer to a third of his time spent on darkness, then a sixth on each of the other three elements he had as well as fire and light combined. He simply wasn¡¯t up to the same standard as the rest of them. In terms of darkness, however, that was his base. He could perform basically any function they needed darkness for, and if they really truly needed a pure darkness cultivator the Tenebach clan had a few options, including Aydan. Though he was somewhat older, there was a significant difference between one cultivator generation and two in terms of age, and that bled over into growth potential to some extent. The core of their training was combining elements- augmenting individuals or bolstering their whole lineup. These were something they could only do when together. The fire pair were the lynchpins of the whole operation- partly because there were two of them, and partly because there was no air cultivator to be had. Their position meant that Deirdre only had them to make use of as an associated element, at least without involving John who could fill many roles to some extent. But he could only do so much at once, which put those two as the official bridge between Deidre and the rest- and the link between Matayal and Renato. Earth augmented fire. Renato had quite a bit of pure spiritual energy to offer, a wild force that Lucanus was absolutely able to capitalize on. He or Yustina could both filter that energy to her more preferred level of calmness. Yustina was the next step for working with Matayal- as a water cultivator in her previous life, her current style was still influenced by that. She understood the flow of energy Matayal would want, how much fire would benefit her and empower her to rapidly transition state changes within the water element. In a somewhat unintuitive way, it was even easier to make ice when augmented by a flow of the fire element. Yet it always took energy to make anything happen, so it wasn¡¯t actually contradictory. John stood at the opposite end of Deidre, his darkness element working smoothly with both earth and water- especially so as he held totems for those elements himself. He was also the most familiar with using the cycle of elements in battle, so he provided guidance in terms of insights as well as actual control of the flow in many circumstances. Yet he found that, especially without a fire totem, taking a secondary position was usually best. He could be the start of the flow, empowering Renato and his earth element. Lucanus and Yustina were the next step, power flowing from them to Matayal or Deidre. It could go to both- with two cultivators in the line splitting it was reasonable. Yet there were always decisions to be made about the total flow. They could focus on the four core elements, John acting as an air cultivator bridging the gap between Matayal and back to Renato. That was fine enough, but it left Deidre somewhat stranded. John could also attempt to work with her- though light element was still difficult for him- or she could simply work with the fire cultivators but whatever they chose, it could lead to imbalances. Taking the position of air also meant John was potentially ignoring the allied cycle of water, earth, and darkness. He had no trouble working the flow of the core cycle and the allied cycle for himself, but when incorporating other people it was sufficiently difficult. When they managed to attain a proper balance, energy augmenting energy, it could flow back into the cycle for a measure of continuous growth in power. With constant increases, one could wonder why they did not simply let it build up until they were as powerful as they wished- but that was far too naive of an idea. It became clear to all of them that even when they achieved a proper flow with any subcycles there was a limit, not a technical one but simply a matter of control. In short, it was limited by the same things as any sort of power. When there was enough power in an area, it would become an uncontrolled explosion. Of course, it never actually got to that point directly. More generally, someone would slip up and leak out power, potentially breaking down the entire cycle and losing whatever energy the group had projected. That could happen in a violent manner, but they were adept enough to recognize their approaching limits and at least direct things away from themselves. Even so, after one week of near constant training they could augment their power through more or less two cycles and maintain that level. Excess energy would be expended in one way or another- bled off on purpose or by accident. But in practical terms, if they could maintain such a state in combat, all of them would have increased power output that could be sustained. Ultimately, that was one of the deciding factors- total capacity was important, but if an enemy could drive a sword through your heart it didn¡¯t matter how much energy either side had remaining afterwards. Though the cycle of elements was theoretically an efficient use of their power as well. The problem was maintaining a more complicated state in battle, rather than just the basics they had done already. The married pairs could manage with just the two of them, but it was always more difficult with those they didn¡¯t actually dual cultivate with. And nobody was planning to actually open themselves up to a total of five others all at once. That was a level of synchronicity that was a pipe dream. Even if they trusted each other in general, that was the way they would get themselves killed or crippled. The higher level cycle making use of joint formation tactics was quite sufficient. Not too much risk for a reasonable reward. That was the core of their focus for their training, though they also took advantage of the variety of elements at play to test each other¡¯s weaknesses and grow in more traditional manners. Chapter 206 A burst of fire washed over Tirto and all he could think about was how uncomfortable it was. Not painful or anything- how could it be, when produced by someone so much weaker than him and of a supporting element at that. It was just¡­ uncomfortable. Like the itchy feeling of saltwater left to dry on the skin. ¡°I think we should take a break,¡± Tirto said, looking at Emilia across from him, proppering her body up with her hands on her thighs after her exertion. ¡°No!¡± she clenched her fists. ¡°I can keep going.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Tirto drew out the word. ¡°I was just thinking that I¡¯m a little tired. And I have to¡­ reflect on the insights I have gained.¡± Emilia puffed out her cheeks, little trickles of flame shooting out of her nostrils. ¡°Fine! We¡¯ll do that.¡± With that, Tirto wandered over next to the pond and flopped on his back. Being tired wasn¡¯t a lie¡­ just not the whole truth. His spiritual energy was basically full, as could be expected for someone in the Foundation Phase training with a Spiritual Collection Phase beginner. But he was tired. Tirto was well aware that he was still a child- maybe old enough to be called a young man in a few circles, but still a kid. Only his spiritual energy was that of an adult, due to no particular work of his own. He trained, of course, but so did Emilia- and her spiritual energy was just barely getting started. His results didn¡¯t really count. Though he was a child, he had some understanding of adults. That was required for him as the young master of a clan, and he was mature enough to understand some things. Like the fact that asking him to train with Emilia was not random. It was a simple calculation about the elemental cycle- a fire element cultivator would be able to support a water element cultivator. The Milanovics and especially Lucanus and Yustina were friendly with his parents and their clans. It was a pretty obvious conclusion. Some day he would marry Emilia, though he wasn¡¯t sure if she understood that yet. He was fine with that¡­ but boy was watching her exhausting sometimes. ¡°Whatcha doin¡¯?¡± Tirto looked up to see a little kid- something he was comfortable thinking despite his own youth. A girl, clutching in her hands two fistfuls of worms. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little old to be playing with worms, Verusha?¡± ¡°Nuh uh!¡± she shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t even have worms at home! I¡¯m learning!¡± ¡°And what are you learning?¡± ¡°Worms don¡¯t taste good.¡± ¡°I think almost anyone could have told you that.¡± ¡°The birds like them!¡± she protested, her hands flailing and flinging earthworms all over. She reminded him of Ursel, though now he was older than her instead of the same age. ¡°Are you a bird?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°I could be,¡± Verusha crossed her arms. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a phoenix.¡± ¡°Did you hatch out of an egg?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Umm¡­ maybe.¡± ¡°Do you have feathers? Can you create fire?¡± ¡°No. Maybe!¡± Verusha stretched her hand towards Tirto. If she had any spiritual energy or control over it that might have been dangerous but¡­ ¡°Not yet!¡± ¡°You would know if you could,¡± Tirto said. ¡°And you have to be careful with controlling it. Fire is dangerous.¡± ¡°Everyone says that but everyone also uses fire!¡± Verusha complained. ¡°And they control it.¡± ¡°Maybe I should use water, like you.¡± ¡°That seems¡­ difficult,¡± Tirto said. ¡°There¡¯s not really much water elemental spiritual energy in the Green Sands, is there?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I dunno. We don¡¯t have a lake like this, though,¡± she gestured. ¡°That¡¯s a pond,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Lakes are bigger.¡± ¡°Nuh uh! Oceans are the bigger things.¡± ¡°Oceans are even bigger than lakes,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I live in one, I know.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she said, switching from complete rejection to accepting his statement. ¡°When are you going to marry my sister.¡± ¡°Uuuugh,¡± Tirto groaned. ¡°Does everyone know about that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Emilia said that she was going to marry you and then you were going to be my big brother. I don¡¯t have a big brother.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any brothers,¡± Tirto shrugged. ¡°Tell your parents to have more babies,¡± Verusha suggested. ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for a little brother.¡± ¡°More children would be¡­ complicated,¡± Tirto shook his head. He had no intention of explaining why, especially since Verusha wouldn¡¯t understand. Her parents didn¡¯t manage clan affairs, despite almost certainly the strongest. Then again, Tirto¡¯s own parents weren¡¯t the clan heads because they were strongest, just like when he took over it would be because he was born into it. Which wasn¡¯t necessarily a better plan than letting the strongest rule. Maybe he would be allowed to come up with another plan of succession. Though he¡¯d have to run the Brandle clan for that, so it would have to be after that. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Verusha was still talking, though Tirto hadn¡¯t been listening to most of it. It seemed no responses had been required of him, however. ¡°... and my sister wants to win a spar against you. You should let her.¡± Tirto considered that. Emilia did seem frustrated with her lack of power- but it wasn¡¯t unreasonable. The fact that she was training spiritual energy at her age was already an exception. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that would help,¡± Tirto said finally. ¡°Since it wouldn¡¯t be real.¡± Seemed likely to just get her angry. Lying next to his element had been refreshing, even if his spiritual energy itself had not been drained. Sometimes, he just needed to not interact with people for a bit. Though he¡¯d traded one for another, his input had been less required so it worked out. ----- The triplets were strong enough to train with almost whoever they pleased, but it was often easiest for them to train with each other. It was always odd for them to train with full adults regardless. Since Tirto was occupied with Emilia, Melanthina and Ursel were training together. They were also most familiar with each other¡¯s strength, so they knew exactly how far they could go. Ursel stood with her stance wide, her club resting on the ground. It seemed like it would be difficult to lift it quickly to counter an attack, but not only was that incorrect, she didn¡¯t necessarily need to. Her sister was good at many things, overwhelming others¡¯ defenses was not among them. With Diamond Defense, Ursel could afford to slip up once or twice. But her sister knew that, so she wouldn¡¯t carelessly commit. She felt the ground, searching for signs of her sister. Darkness element could erase them, but nothing was perfect. They both had a lot of experience going back and forth. Melanthina couldn¡¯t simply conceal herself from sight or hearing, but if she properly covered up her footprints and the tremors of her movement Ursel had difficulty finding her. That was why the earth cultivator was attempting something new and hopefully subtle enough. It would be obvious she was doing something, but at least the local area had a good mix of earth and darkness so neither of the two stood out too obviously. Tiny roots grew under the ground, invisible to the eye and easily ignored by most senses. They could not grab or trip anyone, nor was there sufficient power to suddenly increase in size. In fact, they were quite delicate, able to fall apart with too much shock to their systems. That was what Ursel was using them for, hoping to find the pressure of feet or a brief loss of sensation. She continued to turn slowly, occasionally reversing directions so she did not get predictable. If nothing else, it was harder for Melanthina to keep herself hidden if eyes were on her occasionally. A twinge in the ground, then a bolt of darkness behind Ursel. She spun to face the attack, raising her arm to block. Darkness energy skittered off her forearm, her solid defenses resisting it. Then something came for her knee from behind. She¡¯d half sensed something, but she was too slow to fully prevent the attack. Her automatic response was to shake the earth, sending bits of it up into the air and causing chaos. Though her sister was not immediately in the area, the disruption still revealed her. Ursel pulled the throwing dagger out of her leg, one which had found its way through not only a weak point in her actual armor but pierced her toughened skin. Ursel hadn¡¯t expected an attack to her lower body, usually safe. Which was, of course, why it came there. A series of moves were exchanged as Ursel dislocated the terrain and Melanthina attempted to stay hidden, but ultimately the latter couldn¡¯t keep it up forever. At some point she would just be spending darkness element to be ¡®invisible¡¯ while her sister knew right where she was from all the stomping around. She had the quickness to avoid Ursel¡¯s stone club- though the attacks were certainly not slow. And though Melanthina had gotten the first strike, Ursel had the endurance to overpower her. Eventually, the club found her ribcage- the force intentionally distributed to knock her back instead of crush her. Melanthina just lay on the ground in her defeat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong sis?¡± Ursel asked, stomping over. ¡°You¡¯re not quite up to par today.¡± ¡°Am I ever¡­?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Yes! Usually!¡± Ursel sat down with a thud next to her sister. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong is I lost to a peasant.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Ursel rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re still hung up about that? That was months ago. And you didn¡¯t really lose.¡± Ursel leaned over her sister, ¡°But if you want to do something specific about it I can teach you to properly headbutt. Because if you¡¯re going to do it you need to know how.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the genius young mistress of a powerful clan,¡± Melanthina ignored the whole thing about headbutts as she vented, ¡°I should be crushing you masters a decade older than me, not losing to people with no background! If only we¡¯d been allowed to train to our fullest all along.¡± ¡°This is exactly the sort of thing our parents were trying to avoid by slowing our training,¡± Ursel said to her prone sister. ¡°Along with injuries, but that¡¯s not the point. The point is¡­ when did you get so entitled?¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯d had some version of this conversation, but there was always more to learn. Melanthina just crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to lose.¡± ¡°Nobody is supposed to lose. But someone always will, in a competition.¡± ¡°Father¡¯s never lost.¡± Ursel held her face right above her sister, an eyebrow raised, ¡°Huh? What are you talking about? He loses all the time. To mom or Master Renato or a bunch of other people. And in tournaments too. Mom and dad had to flee a tournament at the same time they discovered she was pregnant with us!¡± ¡°... He¡¯s never lost anything important.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± Ursel slapped her palm into the dirt next to her sister, ¡°Neither have you. Because nothing we¡¯ve done is important yet. Except that one time we almost died. That¡¯s just how the world works. Most things aren¡¯t important enough to matter if you lose¡­ until it is, and one side dies and can never win or lose again. We¡¯re on the side that is winning and I intend to keep it that way.¡± ¡°Well, uh¡­¡± Melanthina just kept her arms crossed, grumbling. ¡°Things can be important and not life or death.¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°But you just want to find a reason because you don¡¯t want to think about the real one.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°What¡¯s the ¡®real¡¯ reason, then?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°N-no! No he¡¯s not. Nik is average at best, and his attempt to grow a beard is pathetic!¡± ¡°Uh huh,¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°Sure. Also he¡¯s like fifteen. Of course he can¡¯t grow a beard.¡± Ursel patted her sister on the head. ¡°You ever think that boys might also want to win against cute girls to impress them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not- none of that is true!¡± ¡°If you go a whole month without talking about Nik I¡¯ll believe you,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Hmph. Easy. That guy doesn¡¯t even matter.¡± Chapter 207 Despite some threats looming on the next horizon over, time passed relatively peacefully for John and his family. As much as it could in a world like they lived in, anyway. The triplets were now fifteen, looking like proper young adults. Their cultivations were at the peak of the Foundation Phase, just waiting for opportunities to push themselves to the next level. Resources could be used, but using them carelessly could result in issues down the line. They needed something of proper quality or with known effects. Though John was fully confident that the triplets would advance with just a bit of waiting, for Melanthina in particular there was an opportunity that had been waiting for some time. The Tenebach Clan¡¯s empowerment ceremony. All her growth up to that point had been done without an active blessing from Ciaritzal. But an empowerment ceremony couldn¡¯t just be thrown out however people pleased, it was the opportunity for an entire generation of Tenebach clan youths. It had been twenty-two years since John found himself transmigrated, and it had been more than a year before that when the Tenebach clan had their proper ceremony- John¡¯s individual blessing being an exception. Ciaritzal was whole now, but a proper blessing would still require some sacrifice. The intent was simply to provide a treasure of sufficient darkness element rather than some of the cultivation base of the elders. That wasn¡¯t just for personal reasons of John not wishing to lower his cultivation. It was problematic for the clan to have a loss in power, even if it would be merely for a decade or so. The tradition had managed to keep younger generations growing strong, but now that things were better they could hopefully manage the same without the loss- except perhaps financial. Though even that cost did not have to be so significant with Ciaritzal¡¯s current strength. It was with some luck and some planning that an opportunity came. The empowerment ceremony could have been performed already or postponed a few years, so for an event that came only every decade or so it had a reasonable chance to fall within the right time frame. Said event was the opening of the Prismatic Chambers, ¡®managed¡¯ by the Supreme Slate Sect. The entrance to the Prismatic Chambers was within the northern portion of the Stone Conglomerate, and much like the Crystal Caverns managed by the Order of the Amber Heart, the Prismatic Chambers were shared because they were impossible to monopolize. While the Supreme Slate Sect was fairly strong on an individual basis, they could not deal with those from the Stone Conglomerate gathering against them. And that would not be the limit, either. While the Crystal Caverns were dominantly earth element, the Prismatic Chambers were more expansive and transitioned to other elements in various pockets throughout. Thus, it wasn¡¯t simply a matter limited to the Stone Conglomerate either. The Supreme Slate Sect maintained control because their strength was sufficient and they were local- but they kept the price of admission reasonable. It was simply not worthwhile for anyone from a distant power to try to take over, and of those who were local they were dominant. Even with the new heights of the Tenebach clan and the Order, John didn¡¯t favor the forces of Marble County against them. ----- ¡°We must discuss our plans,¡± John addressed the rest of those present- the Brandle, Mulyani, and Milanovic clans as well as the Golden Tomb Guardians and the Order of the Amber Heart. Their full alliance, basically. ¡°While it would obviously be tempting to rush off to the areas with the most resources for ourselves, that would weaken our overall positions¡­ and thus our losses might outweigh our gains.¡± Everyone understood. While the Order of the Amber Heart could enforce some sort of justice within the Crystal Caverns, even that was limited. Any ¡®rules¡¯ in place within the more expansive Prismatic Chambers were much more difficult to enforce so they were barely implemented. The only generally agreed upon thing was to not be ¡®excessive¡¯. What that meant varied wildly, but deaths were common to both natural dangers and cultivators. Losing people for the sake of resources was not a pleasant idea, but those resources could make their clans stronger and save lives in the future. The one thing that was inevitable was violent conflict. ¡°I would propose splitting into two major groups,¡± Renato said. ¡°At least for those focused on gathering resources. For the younger individuals going for training purposes¡­ they and their guardians should be a third group together. There might still be several subgroups for those who are gathering, but they should remain close.¡± ¡°A conservative approach,¡± said Asih, one of the representatives of the Mulyani clan. It was a sad day when Kusuma would not personally come to such an important event- and though remaining to guard the clan itself was part of it, there was obviously more to it than that. Unfortunately, Kusuma was not getting any younger- among other things. ¡°But a reasonable one. My fighting power is sufficient to help with the youths, but I think I would best abstain from the main battles.¡± She turned her head to the individual next to her- another member of the clan, Harta. Harta Mulyani was not a large man, but he had an air of strength. Not that being larger necessarily mattered where cultivation was in play- spiritual energy was the dominant force with few exceptions. ¡°I will participate in the actual gathering. We need to earn our part.¡± It was unfortunate that he was only at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase- though he was young enough it was almost guaranteed he would break through sooner rather than later. That would be an important step for the Mulyani clan, producing a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator for more than a single generation. Their youthful generation was simply at a different phase of growth than the Tenebach and Brandle clans, their closest allies. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Lucanus and Yustina were representing the Milanovic clan, with Alina busy with leadership trouble. Not all clans would have active participation of their heads in every event. That was true even in John¡¯s case, though he did tend to poke his nose into everything important. The current period of growth was not necessarily stable yet, and there were the triplets specifically to be concerned about. Deirdre referenced the ¡®maps¡¯ of the tunnels they possessed. The shifts in cave structure were less significant than the Crystal Caverns, but as the Prismatic Chambers were much larger in scope they were never explored thoroughly. More importantly, that information was not always shared in a reliable manner. ¡°Based on the general layout, the elements are arranged about as would be expected, generally opposing each other. Though Darkness is sort of in the ¡®middle¡¯ the winding paths to get there place it not directly next to light.¡± ¡°Which is good,¡± John commented, ¡°Or there would be another annihilation strip. Or¡­ just nothing.¡± ¡°Right,¡± she nodded. ¡°Now, it seems sensible to send groups of the allied trios. Fire light and air circle around the outside edge counterclockwise here. Earth water and darkness circle clockwise and then inward. But¡­ given the options we have, I don¡¯t know if we should immediately settle on that.¡± ¡°There are other reasonable combinations,¡± Renato agreed. ¡°For example, a pairing of two allied elements- light or darkness and one other- could then have another element in the cycle to support them or the other way around. Darkness, fire, and earth for example. Though the other way covers our weaknesses.¡± ¡°I think much of this will be about traversal,¡± John admitted. ¡°The three elements allied with light would require the longest possible route to cover everything, while the remaining trio would be short, favoring them to find more resources early¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°That is to say, us,¡± John gestured to himself, Matayal, and Renato. ¡°I am not opposed to the possibility, but it seems least favorable to the Mulyani clan who will traverse the long way around the caverns, if the distances are believable.¡± John pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯m not certain if the scale is clear here, but these tunnels might traverse under a good portion of Astrein.¡± Certainly, some of it had to go beyond the borders of the Stone Conglomerate. They discussed groups of pairs as well, of which there were only a few practical options based on the placement. Ultimately, despite their positive relationships, the Tenebach clan and the Golden Tomb Guardians did not wish to travel together to their respective elemental regions. They would both be much less effective that portion of the time, without really covering for potential weaknesses. The final decision was a general balance of trios. Darkness, water, and air would take their clockwise spiral, the three clans having much experience together. Then earth, fire, and light- the groups more on the east side which had also increased direct contact with each other. There was simply too much risk in traveling with fewer since various strong groups would be participating and because others would no doubt form their own alliances. What was more, there was the rumor that some individuals from the Sky Islands and Molten Sea would be participating. Neither had caused any trouble in the Stone Conglomerate as of yet, so the Supreme Slate Sect had no reason to bar them entry. The neighboring regions hadn¡¯t yet had direct conflict with those either¡­ and it would be difficult to refuse them if they showed up. Then again, so far it was only rumors. ----- ¡°Now then,¡± John looked at the triplets. ¡°You know what you¡¯re supposed to do?¡± ¡°Fight and grow strong?¡± Ursel said tentatively. ¡°Stay together,¡± Matayal emphasized. ¡°That¡¯s the first priority. Both with each other and the escorts. If you¡¯re lost, there¡¯s little we can do to find you.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Tirto said confidently. ¡°We will support each other and ensure each other¡¯s safety.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to have escorts along,¡± John said. ¡°But don¡¯t assume that will make you safe. You should know by now that unless they are crowding your area, it¡¯s not possible for someone to fully protect you. The gap of dangers you will be facing is also less significant than when you were younger. A Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator can casually brush off anyone in the Spiritual Collection Phase, but someone or something who is a challenge for the three of you at the peak of Foundation Phase is not so easily dealt with without interfering with you.¡± Melanthina nodded. She was sometimes mischievous, but she still had a reasonable head on her shoulders. ¡°We will properly judge our opponents before engaging, if possible. I don¡¯t want to have to call upon help anyway.¡± ¡°That is reasonable,¡± John nodded, ¡°But if you need it, you can¡¯t hesitate.¡± ¡°We understand,¡± Tirto said. ¡°We remember the Kelp Spire Forest. Though at least those particular enemies are dealt with.¡± ¡°There are more, still,¡± John reminded him. ¡°Clans of our status will never be without enemies, and even those with minor grudges might choose to capitalize in a moment of weakness. It would be best to stay away from those outside of our alliance unless you have some other reason to trust them. You know who we are on friendly terms with, at least.¡± Even leaving the triplets in the hands of Aydan and Yonit, among others, was difficult for John. Yet he simply couldn¡¯t be a hovering parent as that would interfere with both their growth and his. They would be staying in safer and more known areas with fewer treasures but also fewer obstacles. The triplets would be fine. The one he should be worrying about was himself- or at least those who would be with him. They were going to places where there would be competition from cultivators and natural dangers, beasts that lived in the underground and elemental obstacles that would appear with dense concentrations of any sort of spiritual energy. So rather than losing the triplets, John knew he should focus more on making sure they still had parents when things were said and done. The risks shouldn¡¯t be that high, but if they were careless then theoretical danger level would mean nothing. Chapter 208 The entrance to the Prismatic Caverns was not just a small tunnel, but a gaping maw- complete with teeth formed of stalactites and stalagmites. John actually hesitated, wondering if this was another creature similar to the leviathan. But if it had been alive, it was certainly not now. The stone around the entrance felt as natural as it could, easily explainable through natural processes. There were more than just a few sects and clans gathered. All told there had to be thousands of people pouring into the place, a few confident independent cultivators but most sticking to their sects or clans. They all rushed ahead, intent on getting the greatest benefits. Surprisingly, the teeth did not chomp down on them. Sure, it wasn¡¯t a living thing but with all the spiritual energy floating about John wasn¡¯t going to bet something like that couldn¡¯t happen. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Matayal asked from next to him. Given his thoughts felt rather silly, he considered lying. Instead, he went with the simple description. ¡°The rock looks like teeth. I was wondering if the cavern itself might be an obstacle at some point.¡± Matayal nodded, ¡°Perhaps. That would depend on how the energy manifests itself.¡± The other group with Renato and the Order of the Amber Heart should have theoretically been most interested in the resources in the first area, but they were also not rushing ahead. And why should they? With a reasonable understanding of the area¡¯s scale, it was not like rushing into a conquered city to claim spoils of war. The area was much more expansive than that and not so densely packed with rewards. The darkness-water-air group split off from the others not far inside the Prismatic Chambers. Their trajectory was mainly northwest, while the others would be heading more northeast. The youths, on the other hand, would be slowly working their way through the nearby area, looking for smaller challenges that had been passed over. Any place with higher concentrations of spiritual energy would be gone over thoroughly, but it was impossible to completely explore everything. The first thing of actual note, since John wasn¡¯t going to count vaguely interesting rock formations, was a body beneath a large mushroom. The fungus was somewhere taller than head height, its cap looming over the height a man would stand. Beneath it was an individual with a torch dropped next to them. Still alive, it seemed, but unable to move. ¡°Hmm, spores,¡± John noted as he gathered some air element to himself, gusting wind over the fallen figure while following that up with another gust of wind and a stomp on the ground, sending a small shockwave through the rocks and flinging the large mushroom back. The movement dropped more spores from its gills, but those were also carried away into a corner. There was a good chance the mushroom was good for something- medicine, maybe, and clearly it could be used for poison- but John didn¡¯t have the expertise to collect it without ending up like the fallen individual. The man remained paralyzed on the ground, and John propped him up against the wall as he felt through the man¡¯s pockets. He didn¡¯t even have a storage bag. Finally, John fished out what seemed to be the best quality general antidote the man had. It wasn¡¯t clear if it was any good, but John tossed it inside the man¡¯s mouth and made sure it went down into his stomach to be dissolved. The man could either guide it with his spiritual energy, or he could not. John then placed the torch upright next to him, so he would not be unmoving in the dark. All of that only took a minute. If the man recovered, hopefully he would be smart enough to just leave. Or at least be more cautious. After what was at best a minorly good deed that took little effort, the group continued onward. There was no point in doing any more- robbing or putting in the effort to get on friendly terms with someone such as that was a waste. But it seemed a bit too callous to just ignore an easily dealt with plight. There were more than mushrooms alive in the area, pools of water and general moisture providing some amount of sustenance for some amount of spiritual cave beasts and other forms of plants. Well, actual plants given that fungus were not technically in that category- but they were close enough. Some healthy vines dangled from the ceilings, tendrils that attempted to grab anything that brushed past them- a frightened bat was too quick in its flight to properly avoid them as the group approached. That was after one of their own had gotten caught looking down a side corridor- but with allies the vines were easily chopped apart and the individual released. The incident would teach them to be more cautious. As they kept a moderate pace, they soon began to pass other groups that had rushed ahead- either locked in combat or taking a break from their exertions. Nobody wanted to pick a fight with a group including several Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, and their group didn¡¯t intend to start anything. As they traveled, John did begin to pick up some decent concentrations of earth energy. While they might not specifically be looking for earthen treasures, there was no point in leaving potential resources behind if they found them. They could exchange them with the Order of the Amber Heart or sell them to others easily enough. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. As they approached a certain chamber, John and Matayal stopped together at the front of their group. Harta Mulyani was not far behind them, but he was more vulnerable with his lower cultivation so he didn¡¯t quite keep pace. The married couple exchanged a glance as they looked at the room ahead of them. ¡°What is it?¡± Harta asked. ¡°There¡¯s an exceptional spirit stone in there,¡± John said. ¡°And you¡¯re not currently getting it because¡­ there¡¯s some sort of danger?¡± Harta looked around, frowning. ¡°I can¡¯t pick it out. Is it hidden in the darkness deeper into the chamber?¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking too narrowly,¡± Matayal said. ¡°The chamber is the danger.¡± Harta could be seen probing the area with his spiritual energy, finding no pits nor anything particularly sharp. There were neither poisons nor other hazards to be seen. Nor did he sense hidden cultivators. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m looking for.¡± ¡°Perhaps you¡¯ve been cooped up in your clan for too long,¡± Matayal said. ¡°This will be good practical experience. An elemental spirit.¡± This was not John¡¯s first encounter with such- the Crystal Caverns likewise had such things, though their forms were more consolidated into moving piles of crystal shards. Here, it was less obvious. ¡°We should demonstrate,¡± John said. He looked at the edges of the cavern entrance, making some estimations. ¡°Everyone be prepared for combat.¡± John hefted his sword. He didn¡¯t have much in the way of attacks that were particularly effective against earth, but he wasn¡¯t weak against it either. Since he had time, he carefully gathered what fire element he could, augmented by a core of earth. With two hands he stepped forward, chopping at the base of a stalagmite. His sword impacted the stone, shattering it more than it cut through, but his attack forced the majority of the shock away from his sword. It would be a shame to break his weapon carelessly. For half a second after his attack, nothing happened except for the settling of rock shards. Then they began to pile together as the walls began to flow towards them, sharp spikes of rock twisting through the moderately sized opening. ¡°Direct your power to us!¡± John ordered. He would have had that happen sooner, but there was a significant increase in wind up between using his own energy and directing a group¡¯s. The elemental spirit would not have stayed put if a large attack was being formed right in front of it. With the power flowing to them, John and Matayal launched their attacks at the surroundings together. While it might seem like a fruitless endeavor to attack the cavern itself, the elemental spirit was only inhabiting a relatively thin portion of the rock. If that was destroyed, it would have to shift its essence into other stone surrounding it or reincorporate the shattered pieces, both of which would drain its energy- and ultimately its very existence. The exceptional spirit stone it formed was a trap, meant to lure people inside it where they could be easily crushed. Instead of doing that, John and Matayal did their best to hold it at the mouth of the chamber it had been inhabiting. That wasn¡¯t completely possible, but John¡¯s sword cut deep gouges into the stone, ripping chunks away on his side while Matayal pierced her spear into the stone, forcing water inside and bursting it apart. The two of them then directed some of the power being offered by the group to those on the outer edges on either side. When it tried to flow under their feet, they stabbed their weapons into the ground, creating simultaneous shockwaves and driving it back. Unfortunately they weren¡¯t able to fully prevent it from flowing along the ceiling above them, but they weren¡¯t completely encompassed. The cultivators of the Mulyani clan found themselves in a tough position. They couldn¡¯t simply combat stone walls with gusts of wind- though they weren¡¯t actually so limited. Some summoned bolts of lightning, while others chose to serve as distractions. The portions of the elemental that rose above them dropped spikes of stone that might have once been stalactites, but could have easily come from another position as the stone flowed towards them. The air element cultivators empowered themselves and others with the swiftness of the wind to avoid those effects, allowing the rest of those in the middle to keep their focus on empowering the outer row. Even as the elemental tried to force itself into the group, combined attacks pushed it back. Some individuals staggered away from the heavy lunges of rock walls, but others were able to prevent it from fully entrapping anyone. If only John or Matayal had been present, perhaps even the two together, the battle could have been quite difficult. However, with the two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and dozens of Soul Expansion Phase cultivators it was unable to completely surround anyone. Its expansive nature became a weakness as it opened it to attacks from more individuals. In the end, the last bits and pieces of it were broken apart, the spiritual energy losing the semblance of life it had come to possess. Piles of rubble lay around the group and more than a few individuals had bruises or broken bones- but they were not deep into the Prismatic Caverns. The dangers were not so great yet, with this particular challenge being an exception. As for the rewards- why John bothered with provoking it instead of their group leaving- the bait spirit stone was still of exceptional quality¡­ as well as bits and pieces of the rubble maintaining a high level or spiritual density. Battering apart rock was not a simple task even for cultivators so there was a break to bind wounds and simply to rest. The air cultivators would not have the easiest time recovering their spiritual energy, but the area wasn¡¯t completely lacking either. In the worst case, John could convert some other spiritual energy for them. Aside from the rewards, John had another reason to challenge the elemental- promoting teamwork. Though their clans had a history of working together, the individuals in question might not have. Things hadn¡¯t gone quite as smoothly as they might have, but it was better to determine those things now, where there was a significant enough threat to have everyone participate without it being a true danger. But the spirit stones were a nice reward too. Running a clan was expensive. Chapter 209 As a member of the Order of the Amber Heart, Renato was not in a hurry to leave the earth elemental section of the Prismatic Chambers. Of course he didn¡¯t plan to force his allies to remain in the area overly long, but they were a bit more thorough in their exploration along their path to make sure they obtained what earth elemental resources they could get. When they came across some overly large fungus, Lucanus was the one who was the quickest to deal with them. That was his general state, rapidly active in his offense. Gouts of flame washed over the mushroom, focused heat that left little extra around the area. The only thing that remained was the shriveled central stalk and the ash that had been the cap. ¡°Next time let us handle it,¡± Renato said. He wasn¡¯t certain, but it seemed likely that the various things that lived in the caverns would likely have some value. When they came across a different variety, Renato and another member of the Order flanked it, striking the stone on either side of it and crushing it between two waves of stone. They weren¡¯t exactly highly mobile. Once the spores settled, they gathered the slightly flattened remains. They wove their way through the tunnels, seeking out concentrations of earth energy for whatever rewards they might contain- which often resulted in battle. The caverns themselves were alive, and though traditional beasts were rare there were still some cave dwellers- bats and insects, both of which grew to quite significant sizes. Along with those, there were some varieties of fungus and molds, mostly toxic. Then there were the vines. Normally, they would have needed sunlight to grow to any significant size, but abundant earth energy for them to absorb was sufficient. As everything in the area, things that couldn¡¯t fight to survive and take control of the necessary earth energy were not found. A wave of fire washed over vines dangling over a tunnel mouth, but instead of immediately perishing they flailed about, reaching towards Lucanus. Though they were greatly damaged, healthy plants did not immediately burn. Of course, that was only the case when the fire element was insufficient. As vines attempted to wrap around Lucanus, blue flames flourished around him, forming a protective cocoon around his body. The vines could not withstand the sustained heat, and never even got to touch him. When he ceased his efforts, a small circle of softly glowing stone was left where he had been standing. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lucanus grumbled. ¡°That¡¯s not very efficient, is it?¡± He wasn¡¯t asking anyone in particular, so he didn¡¯t receive an answer. Instead, he moved further down the tunnel, seeking out further vines growing from cracks. This time, his opening move targeted only a small portion of the vines- a flat sheet of flame sliced into them. Though its actual sharpness was minimal, the fire was more focused, severing the vines as pulses of power charred through them. With no intelligence to begin with, the vines simply reacted by attempting to grab anything nearby- but separated from their leverage in the rocks they grew from they flailed almost uselessly until they were out of energy to remain mobile. The last sort of enemy were human cultivators. The allied group was not excessively overbearing- if another group clearly arrived first and secured their claim to something they would not rob them. However, if they arrived first they would not give up their claims- and those times when neither they nor others could definitively be said to be first, they wouldn¡¯t back down. Faced with a group sporting no fewer than four Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, most were intimidated and backed down from confrontations. Others remained stubborn- usually those who were stronger, or thought they were fast enough to grab a prize and retreat. For a cultivator, gemstones of great size could generally be considered a vanity- but when possessed of significant spiritual energy it was a different matter, being a valuable training source for any number of cultivation styles. In front of the group now was a large, oblong rock. Yet anyone with basic cultivation sense could feel the power radiating from it. Renato¡¯s experience told him that there was a gemstone concealed within. Perhaps it would be quite lumpy once revealed, but that didn¡¯t change its practical value. Marks of all sorts from claws and crushed rocks from more blunt force scarred the room around it, indicating the native denizens of the area had spent quite some effort digging out this crystal as well as competing with each other for control of the area. The current dominant force seemed to be a rock frog not taller than Renato¡¯s knees- but he wasn¡¯t going to underestimate it for its size. It radiated a strong energy, and its size was such that their significant numbers would be less able to attack it. If that had been the only obstacle to obtaining the prize, Renato would have considered it already theirs. However, there was also a band of unfamiliar yet not unexpected cultivators. With them was a large turtle- and Renato found it was quite an odd experience to see an aquatic creature on land. Though perhaps this turtle would not properly be called aquatic. Beneath its dark brown scales was the glow of a furnace, and when its mouth opened flames spewed out. This was a creature from the Molten Sea- and the cultivators with it as well. A man with a beard like flames- yet streaked with the dull gray of age- inspected their group in the same way Renato and the others clocked their group. The man himself was in the late Consolidated Soul Phase, along with two more behind him. ¡°The Crimson Temple has claimed this prize,¡± the man said imperiously. ¡°Leave.¡± Renato countered his words. ¡°You could not have been here more than a fraction of a second longer than ourselves, if at all. Nor do I see you engaged in battle or in possession of anything.¡± It was Renato¡¯s job to speak, because he was quite certain that Yustina was uninterested and Lucanus entirely inappropriate to do so. Deirdre might do well, but she was still not terribly confident in the authority her power provided, given her limited years in this world. ¡°It would be better in the hands of those of the earth element.¡± Taking in the opponents, their Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators were slightly higher in cultivation, but the rest of their forces were outmatched. It should be a fairly reasonable match¡­ and that was before Renato factored in his high opinions of himself and his companions. Two reincarnated individuals and two who had undergone transmigration and displayed significant talent. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°If a battle is what you wish,¡± the old man settled into a relaxed stance, ¡°We will be glad to provide it.¡± Renato was still assessing the situation. He had not actually fought cultivators from the Molten Sea before, and was surprised to feel that they had a split of fire totems and what felt like water totems. Was not the Molten Sea liquid stone? However, the uniformity he felt even among what he perceived to be different sects indicated it was the norm. Renato was going to continue studying them, but apparently the old man¡¯s words had been sufficient for Lucanus to decide that they were fighting. Renato couldn¡¯t complain about him seizing the initiative, but he personally would have waited. Yustina did not let Lucanus charge forward alone- and of course the other members of the Milanovic clan were quick to react to the expected course of action. Renato kept up with them, of course, but they were the first to clash with the enemy. The elder leading the Crimson Temple placed a hand on the turtle, which lowered its head to the floor, spewing flames. Renato certainly felt the intensity of the fire, but even then the floor melted uncharacteristically quickly, a molten pool several meters across appearing in moments. Clearly a practiced technique and not a simple display of brute force. With the molten pool in place, the three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators moved in unison, sweeping their arms forward and creating a wave of molten rock. Yustina broke ahead of Lucanus, wresting control of the center of the attack and sweeping it around herself and her husband. The molten rock was flung back towards her opponents, though it was blocked- instead falling back into the pool it was pulled from. Lucanus charged through the opening with her. Behind them, the other fire cultivators dealt with the wall of magma in their own ways- though they also had to consider a sudden volley of attacks from the weaker enemies. The wave was avoided by leaping over it or deflected- or in some places even directly countered with spiritual energy, pushing it back. Renato led the charge of the Order of the Amber Heart, creating an angled wall of rock in front of him and pushing through. Unfortunately these particular opponents were the type that made optimal use of fire¡¯s dominance over earth- but that did not mean it was pointless to fight. It just made things tougher for him. Finally, Deirdre and cultivators from the Golden Tomb Guardians charged around the side, looking to get into melee range where their tricky attacks were most effective. Though they did not wait to engage to gather bursts of light, flashing to blind enemies eyes for a moment or a few. Renato had plans to flip the turtle on its back by creating a pillar of stone, after he leapt the pool of molten rock. However, there was one opponent in the battle that had been forgotten, and should not have been. As he leapt through the air a long tongue suddenly latched onto his ankle, sticking to it and yanking him off course. That pulled his trajectory around to the right, where he slammed into the ground. He was quite certain the attack was intended to pull him closer to the frog, but there was simply not enough mass in the creature to redirect his momentum and pull him a significant amount closer. Renato and his weapon were quite heavy. Even as he tried to steady himself in his new position, the frog leapt towards him- crossing half of the room in an instant. Renato only just managed to bring his club up to bat it away, clashing against claws he had not expected upon the front legs. Through his earth energy coating the weapon the claws managed to tear away a significant scrape of his weapon- and it would have likely done much worse to his chest. Meanwhile, the force of his weapon didn¡¯t seem to harm the creature at all, merely flinging it into the rear ranks of the Molten Sea cultivators. Though the damage to his weapon would be costly to repair, at least he¡¯d been able to make something of the situation. A glob of molten rock struck Renato in the back- the frog¡¯s attack did leave him open to the Molten Sea elder, but the turtle and the other two strongest cultivators were currently distracted by Lucanus and Yustina. The molten rock was repulsed by Renato¡¯s own earth element, but not before his back was charred painfully. The two other elders shielded themselves from Lucanus and Yustina with another portion of their pool, but it didn¡¯t stop them from shoving their way through. Though the Crimson Temple elders deflected the burst of flames Lucanus breathed on them, they did not expect him to rush forward and grab onto them. Blue flames surrounded the three, a direct competition of force and heat. Meanwhile, the turtle stuck its head into the pool, grabbing a globule that was intended to be launched as an attack. Its plans were disrupted as Yustina leapt onto it, sitting on the creature¡¯s neck. The globule of molten rock was spat angrily upward, but the creature did not have the flexibility to actually aim at Yustina. The two wrestled their spiritual energy to control the motion, more or less counteracting each other and causing it to land uselessly. The turtle was not defenseless just because Yustina was atop its neck. It angrily flared up, the glow beneath its scales intensifying and flames bursting out. Yustina struggled to redirect them- towards the leading elder. She was only partially successful, keeping herself safe while at least providing a small distraction for Renato to reorient himself. The entire battle had lasted only a handful of seconds, rapid exchanges of furious power. The full forces of the Golden Tomb Guardians had been the furthest back and were only now reaching the enemy, Deirdre at the lead. Her glaive-staff attacks twisted and spun, the blade disappearing whenever it might be blocked and reappearing just in time to cause maximum trouble. She took her forces with her to push in from the side towards the elders while keeping cautious of the frog deeper within the enemy forces. It was not on either side, clearly quite hostile to both, so it could easily become a threat to her or the others if they just ignored it. Chapter 210 The ground rose up, not simple spikes of stone but molten and flowing. A wave carried Lucanus away, tearing his grip from the two Crimson Temple elders he had grabbed onto. The wave carried him across the pool of molten rock onto his back, where it instantly solidified back into rock. It only took a moment for Lucanus to melt it away with his blue flames, but as he pulled himself to his feet he exhaled a cloud of flames, slowly taking a breath to repeat the process once more. However, he couldn¡¯t delay long as that left Yustina with more opponents than she could handle. The Golden Tomb Guardians had broken through the enemy lines, which allowed Deidre to back up Yustina against the elders and the Lava Turtle. Her spinning glaive-staff flickered between having an extended blade or not depending on what was best. When the enemy chose to block, she would usually retract the blade- unless a conflict of energy suited her in that moment. She remained in constant motion as the elders attempted to capture her in molten rock. Renato¡¯s heavy stone club came down on the back of the distracted turtle. The resulting crack was a testament both to the power of Renato¡¯s swing and the turtle¡¯s shell. Any of the elders, should they have taken the attack head on, would have found themselves little more than a pile of flesh and bone. The shell of the lava turtle was made to withstand the heat of the Molten Sea, durable to an extreme. With the conflict of opposing forces, the shell merely cracked- but it was sufficient for the turtle to react on instinct. The turtle charged forward- surprisingly mobile despite not having proper feet. Instead, its front flippers shoved backwards, causing it to lurch towards the molten pool created by it and the elders. Yustina, on the back of its neck, did not appreciate that trajectory and rolled off to the side before it landed with a splash. Neither side appeared to be winning, but the natural inhabitant of the area- a stone frog- was currently in the back lines of the Crimson Temple, causing havoc. Their elders exchanged looks, and without a word they focused their efforts on the molten pool. Rock and turtle together rose in a wave towards them, forcing away everyone around them- but they didn¡¯t go through the effort for a temporary repositioning. The elders rode the wave back into the rest of their forces, then beyond. Other members of the Crimson Temple joined in, adding their own efforts to the flow. Their retreat didn¡¯t leave them completely unscathed, but there was only so much that could be done to punish them without chasing wildly after them- a risk to anyone who chose to do so. Some of their weaker cultivators were cut down as they joined the motions and the expense of energy was sufficient that their elders would be fatigued. The rock frog slashed at a few more individuals as they retreated, its tongue grabbing a leg and slamming someone into a wall- but once they left its domain it focused on those remaining. ¡°Lucanus!¡± Renato called towards him, ¡°You¡¯re closest to the gemstone. Secure it while we deal with this! Amber Heart, watch the exit!¡± If they secure the entrance to the room as well as retrieving the prize, then it didn¡¯t matter if the Crimson Temple returned- they could simply turn and leave themselves. The rock frog picked a target from the three strongest approaching it, its tongue darting towards Renato¡¯s arm. He shifted his large stone club to block the tongue instead, finding that the weight was not so different between himself and the stone frog. They both dragged closer together instead of one being flung about. Yustina and Deirdre moved in from either side, globes of flame launched from Yustina¡¯s hand while Deirdre momentarily blinded the creature with a flash. Dwelling in the Prismatic Chambers which had inconsistent light at best, the creature was not ready for such a thing- though it was tough enough to shrug off the effects after a moment. That moment was sufficient for the three to close the distance, and the frog found itself dealing with the coordinated assaults of three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. Though its own strength was quite high, at best it was stronger than one of them. If they were other beasts it might manage to overpower them, but despite its intelligence it could not match the teamwork of humans. Renato¡¯s heavy attacks forced it to dodge while Yustina blanketed the area with flames it could not avoid. Deirdre¡¯s flashing glaive forced it to take some hits from her weapon to avoid the heavy stone club. The battle quickly finished, and with everything secured it could be called their victory. No, it was a victory- but it was clear the Crimson Temple simply didn¡¯t find the risk equal to the reward. A single elder¡¯s death would completely outweigh the potential benefits. The same was true for the other side- none of them wanted to die- but they had displayed enough confidence and power that the enemy backed down first. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving,¡± Yustina said. ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to stay in the area where they might come back for us.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Lucanus said. ¡°Those guys were¡­ particularly difficult to ignite.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the water element,¡± she explained. ¡°They made use of your own heat to form the molten rock that pushed you away. I can help you figure out ways to deal with that¡­ later.¡± ----- ¡°Who else is here, I wonder¡­?¡± Melanthina said as they passed by several unfamiliar sects. ¡°¡°Uuuugh,¡±¡± came the twin groans of Ursel and Tirto. ¡°What?¡± Melanthina looked genuinely confused. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we try to anticipate our potential enemies?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°You were just thinking about Nik,¡± Ursel commented. ¡°N-no!¡± Melanthina stammered. Perhaps she hadn¡¯t been, but she certainly was now. ¡°Anyway, the Combining Luster Sect is on good terms with us so we should¡­ avoid conflict where it is not necessary.¡± ¡°Did you hear that, sis?¡± Tirto said. ¡°She wants to ¡®avoid conflict¡¯ now.¡± ¡°Hmph. Careful now, I¡¯m not the one getting awfully close to Emilia.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ different,¡± Tirto frowned. ¡°Our parents would approve.¡± Melanthina nodded, ¡°And you think I would pine after someone our parents would disapprove of? A light element boy who couldn¡¯t possibly benefit the Tenebach clan? Preposterous.¡± Melanthina folded her arms across her chest. Ursel tilted her head, ¡°He¡¯s a few years older so¡­ isn¡¯t he just a man now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not age that matters,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°It¡¯s maturity.¡± ¡°So of the three of us, maybe only Tirto¡­¡± Ursel commented. That was the essence of their discussion as they led the pack of mostly younger cultivators- generally in the Foundation Phase or lower. Quietly following along with them, though with a clear protective aura, were Asih Mulyani, Yonit, Zacharie, and Aydan. Three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators with the first on the threshold. Nobody was going to leave the triplets or any of the younger generation completely undefended- but they would still be responsible for facing their own trials. With so many potential dangers or enemy factions, they couldn¡¯t be completely free to move as they wished. They angled towards a place that seemed to have some worthwhile resources, but as two tunnels merged together in a Y, they came across another group. Melanthina spoke confidently for their group. ¡°The Quartz clan, is it? Though we are on good terms, I don¡¯t know if you have the strength to compete with us.¡± This particular Quartz clan was the one from the northeast specifically, not one of the others. The situation was somewhat awkward for the other side- though there were some elders guiding their youth, there was a serious gap between their individuals in the Foundation Phase and the triplets. Specifically, most were in their twenties while the triplets were only fifteen. Nearly adults, but still obviously young. The one ¡®leading¡¯ the group was nearly a decade older than them, but he answered appropriately. ¡°Perhaps in a direct battle we would lose out, but as you have said, we are on friendly terms. Would it not be better to compete with each other in another manner? According to my senses, there is not merely one single prize ahead. They should go to those who have the strength and speed to obtain them.¡± ¡°Oh? Interesting.¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯ll do that.¡± Her stance relaxed, not because she was becoming unready but instead leaning towards mobility. ¡°On the count of five, then.¡± Behind the various weaker cultivators, the guardians of both groups exchanged glances. There was no need for them to step into this situation, as the terms were reasonable- if vague. When the count finished- Melanthina calling out the numbers at a steady pace with no trickery- both groups took off running. The Quartz clan cultivators ran as if the uneven floors were flat and comfortable- but they could not match the enthusiasm and coordination of the triplets. There was little to impress in the combined tunnel, only minor increases in speed that put the triplets perhaps half a step ahead of the others- followed by others from their alliance. The tunnel opened up into a larger cavern with dozens of pools of water filled with dense spiritual energy. Above each pool sat stalactites like sharp teeth, slowly dripping water from above. The triplets charged towards one pool, intent on sweeping up the prizes within. Yet Tirto stopped at the edge, taking a defensive stance- and his sisters understood he would not do so without reason. When the water rose up, anyone that had been standing in it would have been swept up as well- then the water itself reached out tendrils of icy water towards Tirto. Ursel was the first to attack, smashing her stone club through the elemental creature. Her attack was at best partially effective- momentarily destabilizing the form of the creature and forcing it to expend more spiritual energy to piece itself back together. But it was impossible to actually damage water, so the effects only went so far. That gave Tirto time to respond, his own spiritual energy swirling around his spear. As the figure reincorporated, he pierced through it- sending a moderately sized section of back a dozen feet in a waterspout. However, that movement carried him a step into the pool. Melanthina used her free hand to yank him back as the stalactite fell upon him. Even as it crashed into the pool of water, it was shifting to be a strange figure of spikes and bladed rocks. ¡°Ursel? How about you handle that one¡­¡± Melanthina said. She would be better fighting something intangible rather than rock itself. Ursel didn¡¯t hesitate, her club smashing into the rock formation. It did not shatter, but staggered back under her repeated blows. Meanwhile, water and darkness fought against the water creature, wearing it down. Melanthina fired bolts of darkness from her free hand at the separated portion of the creature, desperately trying to recombine. In the other hand, her dagger sliced into the other part, forcing bits and pieces of it apart. Along with Tirto sweeping his spear around, it quickly disintegrated, combining its remnant energy with the spirit water in the pool. A sharp blade struck Ursel on the neck- slicing through her earth energy and but leaving only a bloody line as the force pushed her back. What would have been a deep gouge turned into a more minor wound because of Diamond Defense, though Ursel knew if she didn¡¯t improve its strength it would quickly fall behind. Maybe she could find something worthy in these caverns. The rock creature was quickly defeated by a combined attack from Ursel and Tirto- his spear pierced through it, led by a jet of water. The damage to its structure provided weaknesses for Ursel to smash through, cracking and ultimately shattering the living spiritual energy. It did not have the fortitude to reform itself. Spirit water and stone were left behind, some potentially bait or yet-unabsorbed food for the living energy. Those were quickly swept into storage bags- Tirto being prepared with flasks to store liquids, whereas the stones could be placed loose into a bag with little concern. Other groups were still dealing with their first pool, finding quite similar results- though there were sometimes mixes of darkness as well. The triplets went on the move to claim more, both for the sake of the rewards and to prove what was already spent on them was not wasted. Chapter 211 The terrain in the water chambers varied from the same stone tunnels and pools of water to fully flooded caverns. Obviously the two clans from the Shimmering Islands were fully prepared to deal with all of it, and the Tenebach clan had trained with them enough that most members were confident enough. Since the main group was comprised of those in at least early Soul Expansion Phase, they could at least handle controlling their breath for a moderate duration even without experience. The flooded areas had an interesting variety of water dwelling beasts, though it still contained some earth element creatures as well. There were also pure elementals, water itself that came to life. John found that Matayal was extremely skilled at dismantling them, though he had little experience with them himself. And, despite being lower in cultivation rank, Harta Mulyani was quite effective himself. It was logical that the Mulyani clan as air element cultivators would be effective against the water element, but he was nearly the strength Kusuma herself had displayed when John first met her. He used a spear- a sensible weapon for those from the Shimmering Islands. While the Brandle clan tended towards shorter spears, Harta¡¯s weapon was quite long. While it seemed like that might lose out in maneuverability, with his style it didn¡¯t matter. Harta¡¯s spear merely had to strike out and made brief contact with his target for the lightning he charged it with to seek them out. Even underwater his power only flowed where he wished it to- the control of spiritual energy ignored natural rules. Otherwise, no element would do anything- it wasn¡¯t as if water naturally rose into protective spheres around people. It wasn¡¯t any more odd to control the pathways lightning followed. There were a reasonable number of water element treasures to be found along the way, spirit water that had not yet been devoured or the remnants of elemental creatures, as well as some of the stronger beasts. When beasts consumed materials cultivators would want, they inevitably became materials. The same was true among the beasts, of course- those with power attempted to gather more through whatever means they could for the sake of growth. Liquid water was not the only form it could take, of course. As they moved along it sometimes grew colder to the point that ice would form- generally on the rock faces or the surface of the water. They¡¯d been traveling through this particular area for hours, and were now looking for a place to rest. Day and night cycles hardly mattered- what mattered was keeping everyone in a functional state. They had already been in the Prismatic Chambers for several days, making camp where they found it appropriate. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Matayal murmured as she scanned the area around them with her energy. She was the best of those present at discerning subtle changes in the water around them. Matayal pointed to a flooded tunnel, ¡°If we head that way we can find a reasonable place to rest. We just have to clear out its current occupants.¡± The way she said it made it sound easy, but John imagined it wouldn¡¯t be trivial. For them, a good place to rest meant something where other trouble would not wander into the area- and that meant taking out a dominant force. But such spiritual beasts were a good part of the reason they were here to begin with, so it was quite a reasonable approach. Freezing waters surrounded them as they dove into the tunnels to approach their goal. Entering a large chamber, the water below them was surprisingly deep- enough that even John couldn¡¯t see the bottom. It wasn¡¯t a matter of simple darkness, but sufficient impurities to block vision. Given the fish swimming down there, it seemed to have a reasonable ecosystem beyond everything feeding on spiritual energy- though the density was high enough for that to also be feasible. They surfaced next to ice floes, remaining in the water only as long as was necessary. ¡°We will encounter company soon enough,¡± Matayal said. ¡°It should be¡­ large ice bears.¡± ¡°Polar bears?¡± John asked. He didn¡¯t actually even know if the poles of this planet froze. It was possible they did, or it was possible some spiritual energy concentration made things different. Or perhaps she meant literal ice bears- they¡¯d fought creatures made of rock, why not ice? People gravitated towards comfortable positions on the floating ice. They could swim or stand atop the water if necessary, but conserving their heat and energy seemed more appropriate. As predicted, John felt enemies approaching. He hadn¡¯t expected them to be small- polar bears weren¡¯t, and powerful spiritual beasts were rarely small. That retained its truth here, but John had based his assumptions on what was reasonable to fit through the majority of tunnels in the area. The smallest of the approaching creatures was two meters across at the shoulders, and the largest approximately four- meaning it would only fit in the largest tunnels. That was just their width, the creatures ranging somewhere around four meters long to the largest being nearly ten. There would be plenty for each and every one of their group to fight. There were only about a dozen of the bears versus a few dozen humans, but it did not seem like it was going to be an easy fight. Winnable, though. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The largest bear rose from the waters first- they were indeed white like polar bears, but John wasn¡¯t an expert who could say if they were otherwise the same. Sharp claws dug into an ice floe that tipped alarmingly far under the massive weight of the creature as it climbed up. John barely had time to register its eyeless face before it roared, shaking the entire cavern they were in. Spikes of ice and rock shattered, dropping down on those below. It didn¡¯t seem as if it were particularly targeted at anyone or anything, there were simply so many it covered a large area. The battle swiftly escalated from there- other bears scrabbling up onto the same chunks of ice the humans were standing upon. Gusts of wind and bolts of lightning met them from the Mulyani clan, while the Brandle clan countered the waves of freezing water the creatures brought along with them. John led the Tenebach clan in creating a shroud of darkness over the area- just because the creatures were eyeless didn¡¯t mean it was a waste of effort. In fact, that allowed them to completely ignore that facet, so except for a thin fog of darkness there was nothing visible to the cultivators. They would of course minimize the sensory dampening effects on their allies regardless, but by focusing on their enemies¡¯ best senses they could be more effective. If John had to guess, scent and hearing might be the best- though it was likely spiritual energy senses would be sufficient for the bears. He slashed at one who approached near him, finding it difficult to cut through the thick fur. At the same time, he kept some of his focus on the largest one, currently watching from its position elsewhere in the chamber. Everything seemed to be in the favor of cultivators until several swimming bears flipped the largest ice floe being used. It wasn¡¯t just a show of physical strength- there was only so much force that could be generated by a swimming creature- but also control of water elemental spiritual energy. It was not surprising they controlled spiritual energy, just the method they employed it in. It was quite clever, instantly bringing many individuals into a less advantageous terrain. With that said, two of the clans were quite used to underwater combat- being dropped into the water opened them up to attacks from more directions, but the same was true for the ice bears. And with the Tenebach clan dimming their senses, the human cultivators darted around stabbing them with their spears while only having to deal with limited counterattacks, claws swiping and teeth chomping wildly. That was the point at which the largest specimen joined the battle, its first act as it leapt into battle forcing a large splash of water up into the heights of the chamber¡­ and then freezing those pillars of ice- with people still inside them. None of the cultivators were helpless to escape, but being delayed for even a short time in their participation allowed the ice bears to deal with lesser numbers. The stand out combatants were the Mulyani cultivators, as even if they couldn¡¯t pierce all the way through the bear¡¯s thick hides and fat, they could still release electric shocks into the bodies of the creatures. They made full use of their elemental advantage, coordinating with the Brandle cultivators for the sake of mobility. In the water, John had to rely more on thrusting attacks with his sword. Wider sweeping motions were simply restricted too much. He was able to overcome the friction of the water with some usage of spiritual energy, but he reserved that for when it was significantly better than just adjusting his style. With both water and air elements able to be used, John was mobile and capable of causing significant damage to the ursine creatures, even as he coordinated the sensory deprivation efforts. His earth energy provided protection even when he was in the thick of things. The leading bear made good use of control of water, creating swirling pools and freezing people in whole or in part. A few individuals nearly lost their lives, but Matayal and Harta were harrying the great creature, preventing it from following up its attacks. The creature was the equivalent of the Ascending Soul Phase, so John focused his attacks on it as well. Meanwhile, Livna was leading the efforts against the lesser enemies. Jaws snapped towards John¡¯s neck, teeth rivaling his sword in length. At least, it felt like it when they were so close. The creature didn¡¯t seem afraid of John¡¯s weapon, and when he barely managed to scratch its nose John understood why. But with Matayal next to him, he remained confident. Control of the surrounding water was a constant wrestling match between the bear and the cultivators, and who was winning went back and forth. Even Matayal didn¡¯t remain in constant control, with the tip of her spear suddenly being frozen in a block of ice. That made it more difficult to swing as the great bear bit at her- but Matayal herself was out of its quite substantial biting range. Instead, it actually went for the spear- perhaps understanding that the freezing would make the weapon more brittle. As sharp teeth closed around the block of ice and crushed¡­ the ice suddenly exploded, sublimating into steam. That was not a form of water it would have any experience with, and it was more than a little bit surprised as sudden heat scalded the inside of its mouth as its jaws snapped closed. No longer burdened by the chunk of ice, instead of withdrawing her weapon Matayal thrust it forward towards the creature¡¯s palate. John reacted quickly, reaching out for Matayal and lending his air elemental energy, guiding lighting along her spear. A burst of energy sent the creature roaring away in great pain- though not without damage to Matayal¡¯s spear. To its credit, it remained in one piece- but bent greatly under the force of the jaws. The great creature began to retreat into the depths, and Matayal wasted no time in snatching the spear from a nearby clan mate- many of the weaker bears were already defeated, and everyone should have a backup weapon. Even Matayal, but she didn¡¯t have the time to mess around with a storage bag. She dove along with John and Harta. They couldn¡¯t afford to let the creature get away, not if they wanted to rest safely in the area. No matter how expansive the Prismatic Chambers were, an individual cavern couldn¡¯t be anywhere close to the depths of the sea. That was true here as well, though it was a surprising few hundred meters down that they saw the creature squeeze into a side tunnel. They followed and popped out in a chamber of air¡­ and more than a few treasures in various states. Some had clearly been gnawed on, perhaps for their spiritual energy or because of boredom. Regardless, it was clear that in previous times this particular creature had been the end for many cultivators. Now, though, it was merely a wounded beast- still dangerous, but careful maneuvering could finish it off with a modicum of risk. Chapter 212 The polar bear patriarch wasted no time slamming a claw at the entrance to its den where John and Matayal were just entering. The attack was more than just physical force, but also the intention to free the lower half of the humans just exiting the pool leading inside. The couple split apart to avoid the former while Matayal negated the latter transformation of the water. At least, she kept it from fully solidifying- a thin layer of ice still coated their lower bodies. The two stood side by side once more on solid ground, spiritual energy flowing between them. John was pushing the limits of how much fire element he could control without a totem, augmenting Matayal¡¯s water element while in turn her water element was exchanged back to him to augment his air. He had some of his own, but they needed more than just a quarter portion of air element. Wind wrapped around the two of them as lightning coated their weapons. Their forms blurred, moving with great haste to flank the creature. From the right John¡¯s blade slashed through the creature¡¯s fur, durable as it was. Jolts of lightning blackened the flesh as he moved. On the other side, Matayal¡¯s borrowed spear stabbed into the creature¡¯s shoulder, a sudden burst of power followed by a burst of water element transformation. As her spear withdrew there was no spray of blood and the twisting body of the ice bear came with a cracking sound as frozen blood within its shoulder broke apart. That application of the water element was hardly useful against humans- if Matayal stabbed a spear twenty centimeters into a cultivator they would have a hole all the way through them. The roars of rage from the beast echoed inside the small chamber with great intensity, causing it to tremble as the two cultivators danced around it. Even as it spun around Matayal remained out of its reach while John slashed at its left rear leg. When it threw its body to try to crush him against the wall, that left an opening for her to stab its paw. The creature held back nothing, but the coordinated efforts were able to overcome its rage. The battle ended with the great bear opening its jaws wide, biting at Matayal. Her spear stabbed upward through its palate, having just enough reach to do so without her burying her arm inside the massive creature¡¯s mouth. She still had to drop the weapon as she backed away to avoid snapping jaws that forced the weapon deeper and into the creature¡¯s brain. The bear crashed to the ground, unmoving. John didn¡¯t take its stillness state for granted and stabbed it through the eye, nearly burying his sword up to the hilt to reach the brain from another angle. Matayal sighed. ¡°We need to get better quality weapons. Nobody was ready to make anything worthy for mid or late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators.¡± ¡°That is the unfortunate truth,¡± John admitted. ¡°We¡¯re not even a full generation into our clans having Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. The Stone Conglomerate and Shimmering Islands didn¡¯t have that many before this generation either.¡± He shook his head, ¡°And now things are going well enough that the Molten Sea and some Sky Islands are taking note of the region.¡± He looked down at his blood covered sword, ¡°We¡¯ll definitely need to look into better equipment.¡± There did happen to be a pile of treasure in the den, but there weren¡¯t any unchewed spears or longswords. However, there was the potential to reuse some materials, and plenty of things to pick through. More than that, there was the entire patriarch ice bear. The fur could be used for armor padding or perhaps armor all on its own, and its bones would certainly have other value. The only problem was fitting it in a storage bag- or rather, how they would divide it up between storage bags. There would likely be some mistakes with dismantling it, diminishing its value, but it was better than leaving it behind or trying to drag it around with them. After the battle they took stock of their casualties- dead and wounded. There were fortunately only two of the former, but more than a handful of individuals with more than light wounds. Away from the others, John consulted with Matayal and the others. ¡°Did we overestimate our capabilities? Obviously I understand we can¡¯t completely avoid losses, but we¡¯re here to empower our clans, not weaken them.¡± Harta folded his arms in front of himself. ¡°If the Mulyani clan bore greater strength outside of our matriarch¡­¡± ¡°Your contributions were more than sufficient,¡± Matayal assured him. ¡°We are confident that your strength will reach the Consolidated Soul Phase later, and even if the Mulyani clan fails to grow for some reason¡­ we would not abandon our allies. We fight for each other to what degree we can.¡± Livna offered her opinion to John¡¯s initial question, ¡°In a battle at any scale, losses on both sides are inevitable. Most would judge the rewards from this battle sufficient. There is enough here to train up two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, for which an equal number of Soul Expansion Phase cultivators is no match.¡± John nodded. It was basically like that, wasn¡¯t it? It was all about profits and losses. That was the truth of this reality. ¡°We will make sure their families are properly rewarded for their sacrifice.¡± There was little they could do- except choose to remain stagnant. That would simply postpone losses until someone stronger came around and decided they wanted what the clans or individual members had. A slow and steady cultivation rate was nice, but only worked at a certain size. The clans were growing, but they had not yet reached such a point. Even then, large clans and sects expected losses for various reasons. Had they been somewhere else, the injured would have been sent back. As it was, they could not afford to spare escorts for a trip of many days, escorts who would likely be unable to return. Sending the injured back along the route they came would likely be safe from natural dangers, but that wasn¡¯t a guarantee. More importantly, there would be some cultivators looking to take advantage of weak groups. With the vast scale of the Prismatic Chambers, it wasn¡¯t possible for anyone to enforce actual rules of engagement. Thus, it was riskier to send them back than to just have them trail behind, slightly slowing their progress and weakening their fighting force, but allowing them to rejoin once they recovered. Those who could not recover to a fighting fit state had simply died, though if they had been facing different challenges the results might not have been the same in that regard. Poisons, for example. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ----- The chances of running into any particular group within the sprawling Prismatic Chambers was rather low, with the exception of the tunnels around the entrance. Everyone had to pass through some of a small number of tunnels, and those were well mapped out. The earth element sections which were the closest to the entrance were densely packed and people spread out from there. Because the triplets and the others with them were only present for the sake of experience and training, they were not going far. Though it would have been beneficial for many of them to seek out alternate elemental areas, especially those leaning towards the light side of things, they simply couldn¡¯t reach them without traversing areas that were much too dangerous and too unknown. But just because some would be favored didn¡¯t mean the opportunity wasn¡¯t worthwhile for all involved. The triplets saw their allies fighting and growing, whether it was those on the younger end or those who just took longer to advance in cultivation. Some simply couldn¡¯t gain any insights without dipping their toes into a bit of danger. ¡°Uuuugh,¡± Ursel groaned. ¡°Can we stop fighting things made of rock now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be saying that,¡± Melanthina commented. ¡°You¡¯re quite suited for dealing with them, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°My arms are tired¡­¡± Ursel sighed. ¡°And I can only bash so many things.¡± ¡°I have developed good techniques for augmenting any small cracks you make,¡± Tirto added his own take. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pummel things into dust if you just cause an appropriate amount of damage.¡± ¡°I could do that too!¡± Ursel said. ¡°Just instead of expanding ice, I could grow plants in there!¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen you do it, then?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°... Because I wanted to give you the chance,¡± Ursel said, her eyes turning away. ¡°So you didn¡¯t actually think of that until just now,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°Shut up. I can still smash you into the ground.¡± ¡°That would just make your arms more tired,¡± Tirto shrugged. He was also quite good at countering her straightforward attacks by redirecting the force of her blows just enough. Neither water nor earth had an elemental advantage over the other, but that just meant how they were used was more important. Melanthina looked around them, her eyes surveying the tunnel about them- floor, walls, and ceiling if the continuous flow could be called any of those things. ¡°Something¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tirto said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Yonit was nearby. The Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators were spread throughout the group to make sure they could support anyone who ended up in danger. ¡°It¡¯s like getting caught,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Like a trap?¡± Ursel said, carefully prodding the wall nearby with her stone club. ¡°Uh¡­ more like being watched,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°Which used to happen before I got caught doing something I shouldn¡¯t.¡± Now she got caught less, but when she did it was usually by her father and she couldn¡¯t detect him. She turned towards Yonit, ¡°Something is watching us, right?¡± He nodded. Though they were merely there to support, confirming something like that wasn¡¯t harmful for anyone¡¯s growth. ¡°Perhaps you should pass that information on,¡± the Brandle clan bodyguard pointed out. ¡°Uh, right,¡± Melanthina nodded. She cleared her throat and enhanced her voice to spread behind her. ¡°Careful! Something is watching us!¡± The various individuals behind them all clutched their weapons tightly- even some of the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. The four Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators didn¡¯t really change their relaxed stanced, but she knew they were able to spring into action at any point. They came across an oddity- an offset tunnel cutting through their own. It was vaguely circular like their own path, but instead of intersecting with theirs and splitting off it began about halfway up the wall on both sides. That left them with a high roof very briefly. Ahead, the tunnel split into three more paths, some of which had their own weird intersections that could barely be picked up at the current distance. ¡°What could cause the tunnels to be like this?¡± Ursel asked, and when her siblings looked at her she frowned back. ¡°What? You think I should know? You spend as much time around the Stone Conglomerate as me!¡± ¡°Nearly,¡± Tirto said. ¡°As for the tunnels, I would normally say they should be due to the erosion of particular minerals. That configuration back there, however, would not happen naturally.¡± He closed his eyes and nodded. ¡°Something dug some of these tunnels.¡± ¡°What, like through solid rock?¡± Ursel rolled her eyes. ¡°That would take¡­ a lot of work!¡± ¡°Years, maybe,¡± Tirto said. ¡°But with control over earth it would be much faster.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± Ursel said. ¡°But it would be easier to just¡­ liquify it for a bit and push through. That would leave signs like¡­ weird lumpy piles of stone that aren¡¯t stalagmites.¡± Melanthina turned back to Ursel who had been keeping pace with her. ¡°Why¡¯d you stop?¡± Ursel pointed at an indentation in the wall, around the size of the tunnels but quite shallow. Some of the stone in that area seemed as if it had flowed like melted wax, not quite the same way as magma would as it kept the same properties but simply shifted its arrangement. ¡°Something made tunnels large enough for us to walk through, but circular. And that¡¯s the smaller tunnels.¡± That revelation was met with a slight shifting underneath Tirto¡¯s feet- but being ready he managed to leap aside as nearly circular jaws opened up a meter wide beneath him, a creature flowing out of the floor as if stone weren¡¯t an impediment at all. A strange body with six limbs rose up, upper and lower claws in a tripod formation with a large central mouth on the front. ¡°Oh!¡± Ursel exclaimed. ¡°Those things! They¡¯re called earth¡­ birds?¡± ¡°Earth gliders,¡± Melanthina said while she ducked backwards as the creature began to spin about, upper claws outstretched. ¡°You might be happy to know they are not actually made of rock.¡± Though she said that calmly, she was already taking stock of how many others were appearing throughout and around their group. Not everyone had gotten away unscathed, but the guardian cultivators were already on the move to cull the enemy ranks to a manageable level for people to fight. Chapter 213 Strange creatures with a trifecta of limbs on their front and rear sprang out of the stone tunnels, swimming through the stone as if it were water. The earth gliders only had a front and rear because of their other main feature, a large circular mouth at one end of their squat torsos. It was this that the flailing limbs tried to pull people towards, though if they simply clawed someone to injure them that made them that much easier to grab subsequently. A wide sweep from Ursel¡¯s club forced the creature away from its attempts to devour Melanthina, who found it difficult to dodge three limbs at once. At least three, as the creature sometimes used the ones it was standing on. While that led to strange balance, it was also difficult to judge the creature¡¯s movements as it easily slipped through the floor. Even as Ursel batted it away, it turned that into a dive into the nearby wall instead of simply crashing into it. ¡°Mmmmnnnggg,¡± Ursel grumbled, ¡°It¡¯s not hard enough!¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you just complaining about everything being made of rock?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Yeah but I can¡¯t break this with a club and I don¡¯t have anything sharp to chop through it. Normally that¡¯s fine because I can just squish things against the ground but¡­¡± she gestured to the wall that barely had any visible traces of a larger than human sized bundle of claws and teething having gone through it. ¡°If you can keep its movements controlled, Melanthina and I can attack its torso,¡± Tirto said. ¡°It must have some kind of internal organs.¡± ¡°Mmmn, alright,¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°Careful! It¡¯s coming back!¡± Its maw appeared right below Tirto, but being the target for the first attack had let him recognize the movement slightly sooner. Instead of simply leaping to the side he jumped up, causing the earth glider to strain to reach him towards the top of the tunnel. That occupied its lower and upper limbs, letting Melanthina take a stab at its side. A quick stab of her dagger drove deep, then she kicked off to push herself away. Ursel took the opportunity to aim for a joint on one of the lower limbs. Her heavy stone club met with resistance, which was exactly what she wanted- as the creature was currently pushing off of the ground, it wouldn¡¯t sink through it. There was a snap as the creature¡¯s leg gave out, making it lopsided. Tirto pushed off of the ceiling to land off to the side further instead of coming straight down. Instead of reaching towards him, the earth glider changed its target to Ursel. She dodged one of the two claws on her side of the creature as she swung her club up from beneath. The remaining claw that struck her tore through her defensive energy and gouged three bloody trails along her left arm- a wound that would have been much worse on either of her siblings. That weakened her own attack, but she still managed to strike the creature from below, briefly raising it into the air. Tirto stabbed out with his spear, piercing deep into the creature¡¯s leathery hide. Dark blood sprayed from the wound as his weapon drew back. On the other side, Melanthina threw a dagger near the same place she had previously stabbed. The intention had been for her attack to enter the open wound, but it was simply not big enough to hit on a moving target with earth energy deflecting her attack slightly. When the earth glider hit the ground, it continued falling, its movements clearly indicating its intention to retreat. However, it stopped with just its upper limbs out of the tunnel floor. Ursel¡¯s arms were locked around one of its arms, her wide stance locking her solidly in place. There was no movement at all as the creature strained against her, she was like a stone statue. The positioning of the creature¡¯s limbs allowed it the flexibility to try to attack her with the other two, but she was also half covered by her position behind one of them. As it clawed at her arms, where most of her energy was focused, her siblings moved to cause more grievous wounds to the creature. It happened to have eyes just barely above the surface, and that was where Melanthina¡¯s first dagger landed- then she stepped forward to kick the throw dagger deeper. Tirto thrust his spear down at an angle, stabbing from just to the side of the maw of teeth deep into the creature¡¯s midsection. By the time the creature pulled back its claws from Ursel, it was on its last desperate movements to try to survive. With a yank, Ursel pulled it up further, revealing more of its midsection, the dark blood now flowing slowly as it ran through the last of its life. The bottom third of the creature was still in the stone when it perished, leaving it as a strange growth from the stone itself. Just about the time the triplets were prepared to congratulate themselves, the ground trembled violently. The three exchanged glances, and feeling the direction the new earth glider was coming from they broke off and ran down the tunnel together- away from the rest of their group. As the closest of the guardians, Aydan had already spotted the danger- but as up until that point the triplets were the least threatened by a single creature, he was still some distance from them. He broke into a run about the time a creature twice as large in every dimension poked its tree like limbs out of the ground. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Clawed limbs tore into the surrounding tunnel, building up speed as it moved after the triplets, its body leaving a trail of smooth stone behind it. It was not terribly fast- it was an ambush predator after all- but it was a close match for the triplets. It caught up to them at a the three branching paths, two of its front limbs continuing to pull it along as it half skittered half swam through the tunnel behind them. The third swung down from above, towards the clustered group. In a split second, everyone made their own decisions on how to dodge. Ursel and Tirto went one way, and though Melanthina was half confident in her ability to follow them, she went to the other side as it was safer in that instant. The giant arm crashed down, nearly collapsing the central tunnel and staggering the triplets. Aydan was only a short distance behind, but they couldn¡¯t stop running yet. One hit from the creature would break bones at the very least- perhaps worse. Either because she was alone or because of factors Melanthina didn¡¯t know, the creature chased down her tunnel. She felt her siblings spin about a dozen meters down their own branch, but doubling back simply made them reach the split at the same time as Aydan. Melanthina was around two bends by that point- the overlarge creature didn¡¯t care if the tunnel narrowed at any point, seamlessly slipping through where it should have crashed into the walls. She only had to maintain her lead for a few moments more. She surrounded herself with a cloak of darkness, throwing off the creature enough for her to duck under its sweeping attack and continue striding forward. And that might have been good enough if she hadn¡¯t been focused so much on the tunnel behind her. As she stepped forward the ground crumbled away beneath her, sending her tumbling down, and down¡­ and down. It was all she could do to keep herself in a protective cocoon of spiritual energy while doing her best to prevent herself from striking at a bad angle. If she slammed into something at the wrong angle she could get a concussion or snap her neck. If she hadn¡¯t been so surprised at her sudden descent she could have easily caught herself, but now she was falling down a series of mostly vertical tunnels. She couldn¡¯t tell exactly how many times she split off as she fell, nor how long the ordeal lasted for. She wasn¡¯t even certain she stayed conscious the whole way down, only that when she reached the bottom her spiritual energy was nearly exhausted and everything ached. She thought to call out to Aydan up above, but she could no longer sense him or hear the battle she knew must have been happening. Shouting might draw his attention¡­ or it might draw other creatures. So there she was, sitting alone in the dark. Half of that was not an issue for her. In fact, she felt that the main component of the spiritual energy had shifted from earth to darkness, though it was still on the edge. ¡°What should I do?¡± she whispered to no one. If someone had been around, she wouldn¡¯t have asked. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small pellet of medicine. While she was mostly covered in aches and pains, there was enough damage that leaving it would make her less effective in battle. She swallowed that and followed up by closing her eyes in meditation, drawing in spiritual energy as she could. The medicine flowed through her body, eating away at the pain little by little, while her fatigue was slowly pushed back by her meditation. But she could not simply wait around meditating forever. She had to get back to her family. But how? Now that she was slightly rested, she walked over to the tunnel she thought she probably rolled out of. It was the only somewhat vertically oriented one around, at least. Now that she was not quite as beat up, she was confident enough to project her voice upward, focusing it with her spiritual energy. ¡°Hello? Anyone there? Tirto? Aydan? Ursel?¡± She listened, but got no response. At least nothing was rushing towards her trying to eat her. She began to climb cautiously. It was not terribly difficult with rough stone walls and a bit of spiritual energy to assist her. She was quite used to climbing as it allowed her to get to places she wanted in a way that most people wouldn¡¯t expect. She soon came to her first dilemma- there were two equally viable routes she could have come from, both sloping together to meet up at the same tunnel. She hesitated to call out again, but tried once for each. No response came. She still felt no spiritual energy but her own and the natural surroundings. She grit her teeth and picked a direction. Waiting for someone to come to get her would have been the best option if there was any certainty they could. But while they had been in one of the ¡®safer¡¯ zones in the Prismatic Caverns, none of it was actually safe. Waiting around was just as likely to get her in trouble as moving, if not more so. This was fine. She¡¯d been in danger before. Sure, not¡­ alone. But she could handle herself. She just had to keep climbing. An itching sensation like she was being watched was particularly annoying because she could usually pick out what it was. Even the burrowing earth gliders had revealed some signs of themselves. She couldn¡¯t even tell which direction this thing might be in¡­ if it wasn¡¯t just paranoia. She¡¯d like to hope that all of her training had made it so she wouldn¡¯t falsely identify an enemy, but she might have just hit her head. She climbed through the darkness, wishing there were something comforting like Ciaritzal hiding in it. Maybe they should have brought him along. Sure, taking the clan¡¯s guardian beast everywhere might be a bit risky but¡­ at least she wouldn¡¯t be alone. But Ciaritzal wasn¡¯t here. Just some sort of spooky thing she couldn¡¯t quite pick out. Her fingers found purchase on rough stone and she hoped she was going the right way. She had to be. Chapter 214 Looking down the tunnel revealed a nearly vertical shaft with two branches out of sight of Ursel¡¯s glowing bracers. But she jumped anyway. ¡°Ack!¡± Then she was yanked backwards by her granduncle. ¡°Reckless enthusiasm will not help anyone, Ursel,¡± Aydan said with his grip firm on her shoulder. ¡°But we have to save Melanthina!¡± Ursel tried to shake him off- and perhaps if she weren¡¯t more than a full phase behind him she could have succeeded. But she was merely at the peak of Foundation Phase and he was in the Consolidated Soul Phase. ¡°And getting yourself lost will help¡­ how?¡± ¡°I know where I¡¯m going! Right there!¡± Ursel pointed with her club. Then she looked at it and tossed it down the hole. ¡°Oh look I dropped my weapon I have to go after it!¡± Two seconds later Aydan had shoved her against the nearest wall, manacled her hands behind her back, then tossed her over towards the rest of the group away from the pit. Then he caught Tirto¡¯s sleeve as he tried to sneak past. ¡°Do you need me to lock you up too? I know neither of you know how to pick locks.¡± Tirto protested fruitlessly. ¡°But Melanthina-¡± ¡°Will be looked for. But not by children,¡± Aydan said sternly. ¡°Especially not children who throw away their weapons.¡± He looked sternly at Ursel, ¡°What will Master Renato think about your actions?¡± ¡°You were supposed to let me go get it!¡± Ursel complained, rolling herself to her feet. ¡°Weapons are valuable,¡± Aydan said, ¡°But not as valuable as you. Both of you will stay here with the rest while I go find Melanthina. Tirto, keep your sister safe. She won¡¯t be able to fight like this.¡± Ursel roared in discontent, ¡°Then why not unlock me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯ll be safer being attacked by beasts like this than running off blindly after your sister. If you had waited five seconds for me to explain I might have considered letting you come along.¡± ¡°... Can we?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be good!¡± Ursel said. ¡°No,¡± Aydan declared. ¡°You threw away your chance with your weapon, Ursel. Tirto, I need you to stay with your other sister and keep her out of trouble. Act like the responsible young master I know you can be.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tirto inclined his head. After a brief exchange with the other escorts- during which he handed over the keys to the manacles so they could make the choice about Ursel if it was too much trouble to protect her as she was. Once they were a day¡¯s travel away from the area would be sufficient regardless of her attitude. ¡°I will track down Melanthina¡­ and hopefully your weapon, Ursel. Don¡¯t expect me to meet up with you in the Prismatic Caverns. I will be bringing her directly to the entrance.¡± Aydan looked down into the tunnel, feeling less confidence than he projected. If he¡¯d been a bit faster, a bit more careful¡­ perhaps none of this would have happened. ----- Melanthina was¡­ alive. No, fine. She was fine. She tried not to think about the fact that most of the rations were with others or that she was lost or that something was stalking her. No, she was fine. This was just a little side excursion. One of the events that would eventually lead to her becoming a powerful cultivator worthy of propping up the Tenebach clan. If she survived. No, after she survived. After an hour, she decided that climbing was stupid. It seemed really easy at first when she started, brimming with spiritual energy and with fingers that weren¡¯t covered in scratches and twitching with exertion every time they were moved. Ursel could have probably continued, but Melanthina had perfectly good side tunnels she could go down while looking for a way back up. And she couldn¡¯t say she didn¡¯t roll through any of them on the way down, because she honestly had no idea. She sat down in one to rest, drawing in more darkness element. There was only so much her body could handle in a single day, replenishing her stores a few times. Beyond that point, it would just be exhausting. But she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, drawing in spiritual energy and especially feeling it. The latter was important for when her stalker attempted to kill her. She didn¡¯t feel a human killing intent behind it, everything being muted, but she sprang into action when the thing leapt at her, stabbing with her dagger into the ethereal belly of a living shadow. Dark claws raked across her arm as her dagger stabbed into nothing- but not without any effect. Her dagger twisted, disrupting the darkness element that made up the creature, scattering some and drawing some away. She stepped away as a creature visible only by the fact that she could not see beyond it continued to slash at her. When it stood in the middle of the tunnel it was a gangly humanoid shape with clawed hands as large as its torso, certainly a troubling image, but it was when it was on the walls that it was the most trouble. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Determining that she could damage it, the creature flattened itself- not the way Melanthina might, expelling her breath and pressing herself against a surface, but truly becoming two dimensional plastered over the rough surface of the tunnel. Attempting to strike it merely resulted in her dagger smashing against stone. She might have been able to pull away the slightest bit of darkness energy from the thing, but she was hardly effective. And then the thing reached its arms towards her, one slashing along her wrist as she drew back. The thing was literally made of spiritual energy, and tore through her own defenses like paper. It wasn¡¯t fair. Melanthina took off running, her brilliant ambush failed. She ran down tunnel after tunnel, trying to lose the creature. After ten minutes, she realized that wasn¡¯t going to happen- it matched her pace, lingering there half-detected in the back of her mind. Yet when she stopped, weapon raised, it didn¡¯t attack. And why would it? It could wait for her to weaken, or to try to rest. It was the hunter, and she was the prey. She carefully bound her cuts with one hand, keeping her dagger always ready. The presence had faded to a dull throbbing again- matching the physical one of her head, annoyingly. Melanthina looked around, finding the tunnels were more¡­ natural. She wasn¡¯t sure how long she¡¯d been away from the earth glider¡¯s tunnels. Perhaps it had been before the shadow, perhaps after she started running. Either way, there were fewer vertical options, and a greater presence of other creatures. She was no longer alone, but she didn¡¯t feel any more confident for that fact. She could try to go back past the shadow, into tunnels she might find her way through¡­ or she could hope to lose it somehow. She wasn¡¯t confident she could actually sneak away, but she would try. If a creature of shadow could cloak itself from her senses, why couldn¡¯t she do the same? As she moved down the tunnels, trying to avoid the territory of anything that felt dangerous- which in this case meant of vaguely similar strength to herself- she thought several times that she had lost it, only to pick up the signs of it again later. She was unsure if her stealth was working or if it was her own senses that were failing. Melanthina picked out a dire bat for her next move. She managed to sneak up onto one, hanging from a stalactite in a decently sized cavern. Though many bats flew to the surface at night, she assumed that this one was a full cave dweller like everything else in the Prismatic Chambers. A throwing dagger entered her hand, flying towards the thing¡¯s chest. Its resulting screech almost legitimately knocked her off her feet, and what followed was a battle where she dodged and weaved through the terrain of the cavern trying to avoid the flying bat while slowly whittling it down. Then she set about making a fire with¡­ the¡­ sticks and things she had. Would have had. If she had prepared anything like that in her storage bag. She could have had a dollop of spirit flame, a vaguely eternal heat source. A flint and tinder. Any idea how to cook or butcher meat or anything. She looked at the small handful of rations in her pack, and at the dire bat. Was any of that actually edible? Raw? She just threw herself against the wall and sighed. This was stupid. That was when the shadow chose to attack, but at least that had been part of the plan. She¡¯d just kind of been hoping to get a meal out of the first part. When the claws reached for her from the wall above, they had to extend into space she could attack, could cut apart with her dagger and her own darkness element. She lopped off one sharp finger- only to see it grow back a moment later. So this wasn¡¯t something she could wear down with injuries, but nothing was unbeatable. It only had so much spiritual energy. She just had to be more efficient than it. After another minute of dodging around, taking several small slashes while barely landing anything of her own, she was losing confidence in that. Perhaps if she had other options than fighting darkness with darkness. Water like her brother would have been a nice buffer that would slow the attacks and give her a chance to counter. The strength of earth like her sister. Fire or lightning as more intangible elements would help. But she didn¡¯t have any of that. All she had was darkness¡­ and just the tiniest bit of light contained when she had been training with the Golden Tomb Guardians and later the Combining Luster Sect. Her father did his best to inundate himself to the opposing element that he would eventually possess- if he could somehow reach the Exalted Soul Phase, which was the stuff of legends. Melanthina had no intention of cultivating anything but pure darkness, but dealing with light was a real pain so she¡¯d done her best to learn everything she could. She dodged back, pointing her finger at the shadow and immediately calling upon that tiny bit of light. It came forth in a straight beam of light, something she had seen many times before. She didn¡¯t do anything complicated like splitting and recombining it, she just released it. The resulting flash made her worried that she was blind, and the pain in her finger made her worry she had exploded it off. Fortunately, neither seemed to be the case. She felt her finger and it was all there, more or less. Some of it was¡­ crispier¡­ but everything was there. She had gotten pretty good at handling external light, but that little bit had been contained inside her for so long and she was already off balance from the battle. On the other hand, not blowing up her finger might count as an accomplishment. In front of her was¡­ a puddle of darkness element. More pure than that floating around her. The corpse of the shadow, more or less. She coaxed it into a storage container taken from her bag- at least she was prepared to gather spirit darkness. That was¡­ something. She couldn¡¯t eat it though. So she munched on one of her rations and looked hungrily at the rest, her eyesight slowly returning in the pitch darkness. Those would have to last for a while. ----- Unaware of their daughter¡¯s peril, John and Matayal along with the rest of their group continued to fight and harvest their way through the water element section of the Prismatic Caverns. It was a long trek, but they found quite a bit of value along the way- with less risk than the ice bears had been. Pools of water, underground lakes, frozen and sometimes fog. There was quite a variety of water element to be found, and the Brandle Clan was satisfied with what they found, either the bodies of beasts, spirit water, or a few interesting fruits. They would likely not grow in saltwater oceans, but they could be used for many things still. When they began to approach the air element chambers, John wasn¡¯t quite sure what to expect. Information was scarce among those of the Stone Conglomerate- most of the residents didn¡¯t come this far into the Prismatic Caverns. Winds he did expect. A general charge of static electricity setting his hair on end? That was also within expectations. A chamber full of hovering rocks was not within his expectations, but there they were. Then again, there were entire islands floating in the sky, so why should he be surprised by even that? Except he hadn¡¯t seen any of those islands, only heard about them. In a world such as this with so many amazing things, he had only seen a small portion of them. Chapter 215 Cold metal encased Ursel¡¯s wrists. She did not mind the feeling itself, and might have found it comforting in other scenarios. However, the suppression of her cultivation abilities was not pleasant. It wasn¡¯t that she felt she was in danger- the clan was around her and Tirto would also keep her safe. It was simply how they restricted her from doing what she wanted. Ursel didn¡¯t have a clan she was going to run or anything important like that, her purpose simply being to do what she wanted. Something important, hopefully. And there wasn¡¯t anything more important to her than saving Melanthina right now. And the manacles were stopping her from doing that. Her spiritual energy would not listen to her, her muscles could not break them. Ursel only just barely remembered the path back to where they were- and further and she was afraid she would lose it. Even falling asleep where they had set up for a rest might have her lose that. Ursel rubbed her wrists raw- an impressive result considering her skin was augmented by Diamond Defense- but she couldn¡¯t get her wrists out. She almost wished she were younger again, so she would have been small enough. If only she were stronger, she could have protected Melanthina. And herself, because she understood her siblings cared for her just as much. But she wasn¡¯t. She was only a single step from the Soul Expansion Phase, but it was the most difficult one. Unable to do anything externally, Ursel¡¯s thoughts drifted inward. Deep inside, beyond where the manacles could affect her. Her consciousness fell into the sea of spiritual totems, almost by accident. Bored, she idly wandered past various earth totems. Her browsing had no meaning to it. She¡¯d ended up in the third layer, which had nothing that interested her anymore. She¡¯d chosen one of them in the Spiritual Collection Phase, which was considered a good but not stellar option for someone of her ¡®status¡¯. Her second was from the fourth layer, somewhat stronger. They would not grow as easily as her father¡¯s totems- all of which were nearing the power of the fifth layer now- but they would still develop somewhat as she moved from Phase to Phase. The fifth layer. That was what she planned to pick her next totem from. There were so many choices. A grand mountain. An extensive forest. A body made of stone. The concepts of earthquakes and landslides themselves. Ursel came back to her body, sweating. The exertion of staying on the fifth layer was still difficult, even if she only browsed familiar earth totems. All of them seemed good, but somehow¡­ insufficient. She understood that growth came one step at a time, but she didn¡¯t feel strong enough. Even on a simple training excursion, she had been insufficient. She dove back into the sea, as deep as she could go. She pulled herself to any earth totem, looking for anything that might help her. A totem to cultivate a body as hard as diamonds but flexible? Too slow. A range of mountains? Useless if she couldn¡¯t deal with her current problems. The great momentum of a rock falling from the edge of the sky? A meteor wouldn¡¯t do her any good here, if she couldn¡¯t build up anything. And without access to spiritual energy. She was jerked back to her body, trembling. Diving back in immediately was more strenuous. She was supposed to get used to things a little bit at a time, and rest in between. And she did that. Ursel took deep breaths to steady herself. She¡¯d caught just a glimpse of something that promised to solve her current conundrum. She didn¡¯t stop to think about whether it would be good for anything else. She wouldn¡¯t regret anything even if it lost usefulness later regardless. She dove back in, past the fourth layer¡­ and past the fifth. She didn¡¯t even consciously realize how deep she had gone. She found her way back to her prize, covering the infinite and yet nonexistent distance to her chosen totem in a single moment. She reached out to the unassuming totem. It was a plant type. It wasn¡¯t a forest or a massive world spanning tree. It was just some scraggly roots growing in a crack in a rock. Nothing that seemed as if it should fit with any of the others. But this was what she wanted right now. Ursel reached out, pulling the totem into her. She expected to feel the roots, but what she felt was her being the boulder. Roots grew into her, slowly straining against her, then cracking her apart. She coughed up a mouthful of blood. It seemed too much for her. Or maybe it was incompatible with her two stone totems- she hadn¡¯t been to the Viridia Wildlands until after she reached Foundation Phase and chose her second totem. Ursel lay her head on the stone of the tunnel. She had a pillow and bedroll, but she¡¯d wiggled out of it. They were too comfortable and were going to lull her to sleep. And she couldn¡¯t sleep now. But could she do anything else? Ursel wriggled, straining her arms against the manacles. Why did Aydan have to do that? Yes, she was going to run off at the earliest opportunity if she didn¡¯t have them, but it was still unfair! She could only gather the tiniest amount of spiritual energy, and adding that to her muscles couldn¡¯t hope to break them. And what was worse was her gut hurt. No, it was deeper than that. It was her dantian, only metaphysically in the same location. She hadn¡¯t damaged it by attempting to bind a totem beyond her, had she? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Of course she had. How stupid. Her consciousness sunk into her dantian, where mighty boulders were cracked, the ground split. She could feel the damage throughout. But she also felt something else, deeper. A scraggly, pathetic looking plant. A few leaves sticking out of a crack in the rocks below, with thin roots reaching for anything they could find to provide nutrients. Ursel didn¡¯t think, after that. Instead, she just channeled her internal power through that, trusting in her understanding of its properties. A tiny amount of spiritual energy slipped out of her, not even worth it for the manacles to bother negating. It pushed against the manacles around her wrists, damaging nothing but not fading away either. Ursel pushed, and her power snapped, causing no damage. No, that wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to be done. She had to be patient. Just not too patient. She slowly dredged up more energy, pushing it back into position and straining against her restraints. It was difficult to hold her spiritual energy in such pressure, but she kept it up. Nothing seemed to be happening¡­ then there was a slight pop. The left manacle was open. With one arm free, her spiritual energy was slightly more free to flow, and Ursel reached over to the other. It took another few minutes of squishing her fingers in there and pushing against the manacle, but it too came apart. She felt so free, her own energy once more listening to her. She looked around for her club- realizing she¡¯d thrown it away in an attempt to get a chance to follow. Maybe not her best move. But she¡¯d be heading that way to get it back anyway. She carefully climbed to her feet, remembering everything Melanthina had tried to teach her about stealth. The best she remembered was to not make noise- she could manage that easily enough on stone- and to just not be where people were looking. Or sensing. The latter of which was quite difficult with some of the adults watching the edge of the camp. But she was lucky. Asih Mulyani was probably the weakest of the leaders, not yet having stepped into the Consolidated Soul Phase. And she was in the direction Ursel wanted to go. What was more, she was air element. And earth overcame air. Though Ursel was pretty unclear how that would help her in a situation of stealth. She managed to get to the tunnel she wanted to go down before the woman noticed anything. ¡°... Ursel?¡± Ursel turned and ran. Her feet thudded against the stone, propelling her forward. She felt a strange surge of energy as she ran, doing her best to outpace her pursuer. She vaguely managed it for a while, but while she might be decent at sprints Asih was certainly going to catch up to Ursel eventually, even with her hesitation to immediately give chase. So Ursel looked for somewhere to hide. The best she could do was pick out a nice large stalagmite and slip behind it, doing her very best to blend in with the earth energy in the area. There were a few tense moments where Asih got closer and closer, and then she was three meters away. Ursel held her breath, unwilling to move even a muscle. Then Asih continued down the tunnel at a fast pace. Ursel waited a moment and then stepped out from behind the stone right into Tirto. She stepped back, raising her fists. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you stop me.¡± ¡°Ursel,¡± Tirto said. ¡°This is foolish, you know that?¡± ¡°I know that. But I can¡¯t just leave our sister like that! And even without my weapon I bet I can beat you one-on-one!¡± Ursel had to stop herself from actually shouting, or Asih might hear her and turn around. Tirto also kept his voice to a loud whisper. ¡°I know. I¡¯m not going to try to stop you. I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°You?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Always-cautious Tirto?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my sister too, you know,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Now let¡¯s hurry before someone else gives chase or Asih turns back.¡± ----- Aydan was lucky. He found Ursel¡¯s club only a few twists and turns away, down a few hundred meters of mostly vertical tunnel. When it had come to a particular place it had stuck into the wall and maintained its position, standing out from the surroundings by its higher earth energy as an enchanted piece of equipment. That had taken only a short time¡­ and now he had the more difficult and frankly more important task. He hadn¡¯t gotten a clear sense of where Melanthina fell, and the tunnels split often. Sometimes they recombined, but Aydan could only return to the initial location and pick a route that seemed likely by half letting himself fall. He controlled his descent, which might throw things off but he couldn¡¯t be certain of how Melanthina had reacted. He only knew that his path definitely carried himself deeper. He did his best to reach out for traces of darkness energy. Unfortunately, without any actual combat those would be sparse at best. He thought he sensed tiny wisps of energy, but that could have been him fooling himself with what he wanted. He had no choice but to pick something though. Some path. He couldn¡¯t just let his grand-niece be presumed dead- even if she hadn¡¯t been the young lady of the Tenebach clan, he would not give up on family. ----- How long had it been? The adults seemed to have a sense of time, but maybe they¡¯d just been going with the flow. Melanthina¡­ knew she wasn¡¯t all that far from being an adult. And it probably didn¡¯t matter how many days it had been. She was hungry, having eaten a half dozen ¡®meals¡¯ of stupid rations. She really should have carried more herself. She had a storage bag with plenty of room. Even if she had somehow overfilled it with treasures, tossing out some food would have been fine. But it was too late to change her choices now. Her stomach grumbled. Raw dire bat was starting to sound like a pretty good deal. Certainly more appetizing than whatever squid was ahead of her, lurking in a pool. Melanthina would rather avoid it, but it was the only water she¡¯d seen recently, her waterskin having been emptied a day ago. Or maybe it was just hours? She really should have had more things to store water. Just filling up her storage bag seemed¡­ problematic, however. In the end, even as she was chewing on it, she was still unclear if raw squid was edible. It was certainly difficult to consume, rubbery and squishy at the same time. She ultimately used her knife to slice it into pieces she could just swallow whole. Then she moved to take a nap. If after that her stomach didn¡¯t protest too much and the remaining squid didn¡¯t seem to have gone bad, she would force herself to eat more. Chapter 216 Cold. Silent. Lonely. Devoid of life. That was the world Melanthina found herself in. The latter was good, in some ways, with danger being mainly associated with life. The shadow creatures counted as alive in that regard- spiritual energy with at least some form of will, even if it was difficult to discern. Everywhere felt the same. Had she been down this tunnel before? Had she been retracing her steps? She couldn¡¯t remember, and by the time she thought to begin marking her travel it was rather late. At least carving arrows into the stone was reasonable with the application of spiritual energy. She likely should have done that from the very beginning, but she wasn¡¯t prepared to be separated and had simply floundered around. Now Melanthina didn¡¯t find her progress much better. At least she could see without fatiguing herself. The darkness was almost comfortable, except for the lack of friends. As for enemies, they came- but rarely. Perhaps one per day. Or every time she slept, at least. Sometimes a small group of beasts that could not quite discern her strength. The main danger came when she slept. She couldn¡¯t count how many times the slightest noise woke her up and set her on edge, while at the same time she was concerned she wouldn¡¯t wake when it actually mattered. Then she felt it. Spiritual energy that was not just darkness¡­ but also light and fire. An anomaly such as that could be a danger, but she could not simply ignore the possibility of allies. She would approach cautiously to determine if they could be allies. There was something familiar¡­ She follow her sensation of the individuals in question, a small group. Stronger down certain tunnels and growing in clarity as she moved behind them, slowly closing the gap and bringing them into clearer focus. Melanthina began to build up a pretty clear picture as she got closer. Light and fire in one, pure light in another. Both from sects she recognized. Which was why she had to stay hidden. One was certainly not a friend and the other was- no, they were both enemies. But they might know the way out. She crept forward, spying a man barely old enough to be called that, and a woman several years older. Both were at the peak of the Foundation Phase, the same as Melanthina. She was confident in her abilities, but taking on two people of equal strength¡­ that was just foolish. The woman she had not seen with her own eyes, but she recognized from a portrait. It was her duty as the future leader of the Tenebach clan to keep track of their enemies. Zoubida was somewhere at the bottom of the list of those from the Righteous Flame League that needed to be watched, but she was still on the list for the sake of her potential. ¡°Which way do you think we should go?¡± the woman said, resting her hand on the man¡¯s shoulder while keeping the other hand on her weapon, a polearm. ¡°Left? Right?¡± ¡°We just have to pick one,¡± the man said. ¡°And hope it is the right path.¡± Melanthina clutched a dagger in her hand. It was only natural, since she could wind up in combat at any moment. ¡°You must be more decisive, Nik,¡± Zoubida dropped her hand. ¡°Left it is.¡± As Melanthina snuck after them, she kept alert of her surroundings. If she was attacked by something and revealed herself, she would be in a vulnerable state near two enemies. She sensed something, off to one side. A creature of darkness, a shadow. But instead of making its way towards her to devour her matching energy, it seemed enraged at the presence of two creatures of light polluting its tunnels. It wound its way along the ceiling, reaching down towards Nik. Melanthina clutched her dagger more tightly, a throwing dagger prepared in her other hand. Then Zoubida spun, placing both hands on her glaive. Flames and light slashed through the creature. ¡°You should be more alert. It nearly got you.¡± Nik nodded. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll be more careful.¡± Melanthina bit her lip. That woman was dangerous. It wasn¡¯t surprising that she dealt with a creature of darkness so easily while Melanthina had to tear them apart piece by piece, but it was annoying. ----- Two others, traveling together. ¡°I can¡¯t seem to find your club,¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°Me neither,¡± Ursel frowned. ¡°But I think it was here.¡± She held up a small orb normally attached to her belt, one that created light. It was dim, both to conserve the energy within and because of the sudden prevalence of darkness element. However, it was sufficient for the two of them to see. ¡°Look at the damage to the wall here. It¡¯s just the right size.¡± ¡°Uncle Aydan must have found it then,¡± Tirto surmised. ¡°So if we can follow behind him, we¡¯ll be able to retrieve it.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t- my club isn¡¯t as important as Melanthina. He¡¯ll just make us go back if we find him.¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°No. Not without anyone else nearby. He¡¯ll have to let us come along.¡± Tirto looked up. ¡°Or we can go back now. I still remember the way.¡± ¡°You can go if you want,¡± Ursel shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not letting Melanthina be alone. Besides, I¡¯m stronger now.¡± ¡°And without a weapon,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°I can sense that you broke through to the Soul Expansion Phase, but you haven¡¯t properly stabilized there. Besides, you know I won¡¯t abandon you. Or Melanthina. But if we return to the others now, I can at least be sure one of you is safe.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Ursel didn¡¯t give him any sort of answer, instead looking around. ¡°Finding Aydan will be difficult.¡± ¡°The same is true for sister, if she didn¡¯t want to be found,¡± Tirto sighed. ¡°But I do sense some familiar energy.¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t,¡± Ursel admitted. ¡°You haven¡¯t been spending time developing your senses studying a leviathan. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m the best tracker¡­ but I can at least pick out something familiar in all this. We have to keep moving, though. If it fades any more¡­¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ----- The winds threatened to rip John away from his position, but compared to the focused efforts of Kseniya, the untargeted force of swirling winds was barely able to force him to expend energy anchoring himself. The way the hunks of rocks bobbed up and down slightly in the vortexes, slowly drifting and occasionally bumping into each other, simply added another layer of complexity. Members of the Mulyani clan moved freely through the chambers, riding the currents of air. John could replicate those effects to some extent, but he wanted to conserve his air element for when it was necessary. Though replenishing it was also rather easy in their current location. A bolt of lightning crackled between two ¡®islands¡¯. It came right for John and Matayal, but he used just a bit of air element to guide its trail around the two of them. For a water element cultivator, Matayal was quite proficient in protecting herself from such things- but it was still easier for John to deal with such things when they were at a relatively peaceful moment. Nothing lived in this chamber, so far as they could tell. They had fought their way through a number of creatures nearby- presumably they would feed on the power in the area as much as they needed, then return to somewhere less volatile for their proper dwelling places. At the core of the chamber was a great ball of lightning, ever crackling. Harta was currently approaching, intent on absorbing it. Or at least what he could. The rest would be stored for later. ¡°We have some guests¡­¡± Matayal commented, though everyone present could sense the group coming. They were doing nothing to hide themselves. A curious combination of air and earth- nothing was technically wrong with that particular pairing, but it was odd. One fed into the other, instead of the balance of two allied elements. Difficult to make work¡­ but clearly it did for these individuals. Otherwise they would not have three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among them. The youngest among them similarly seemed to be the strongest. Nearly the same age as John and Matayal, she was a single rank ahead- but that placed her in the late Consolidated Soul Phase. Not an insurmountable gap, but one that should be considered. ¡°We already have claim to this chamber,¡± John stated. ¡°It would be best for you to move on.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± the woman said. ¡°But it seems you have not yet tamed the spirit lightning. So it is still up for grabs.¡± Nothing further needed to be said to know they would battle. The side they entered from was closer to the core. Harta and the Mulyani clan were around it, but alone they would not stand against the enemies. John and Matayal moved forward together, leaping between the floating boulders. Behind followed the members of their clans. The leader of the unknown group made a beeline towards the spirit lightning, while the other two- another woman and an older man- moved to intercept John and Matayal. They cut through the wind, flying with it and yet carrying the weight of stone with them to ignore the air currents as they pleased. They seemed quite familiar with the sort of terrain around them, launching towards the married pair. From their outstretched spears came twin lightning bolts. As the power was controlled, creating a simple path wouldn¡¯t divert it. Instead, John supported Matayal¡¯s formation of a water barrier infused with solid ice, forcing the attack around them. Their efforts seemed successful, but as the pair continued towards them with weapons outstretched, they found their steps heavy. Though they had avoided damage from the attack, something had seeped into them- and the ground below them. Their feet were pulled to the stone, slowing their avoidance. John felt a trickle of blood down his cheek, his deflection not quite sufficient. Once more he wished he had a fire totem, as he had no elemental advantage over these cultivators. Earth beat air- but they were earth cultivators as well, and thus would be familiar with the most easily exploited flaws. Or they would perish quickly, but John didn¡¯t think that was likely. Sliding his feet along the ground, John determined that while the pull was strong it didn¡¯t lock them in place- it simply made it more difficult to raise their feet, strange chains of lightning holding them back. Something they could learn to deal with, no doubt, but it would be better if they didn¡¯t have to. So John wrapped a small coat of darkness around the lingering energy. Spiritual Energy Absorption could just as easily eat away at active techniques as energy defenses, after all. Since he could easily replenish his air element in this place, he pushed a gust of wind towards the two. It was only minimally effective, but it delayed their avoidance of a bolt of lightning between two of the floating islands. They would not be defeated by a single strike, but Matayal did cover them in a wave, soaking them. The leader charged through most of the Mulyani clan, encountering only Harta and another pair. Together their strength was just enough to hold on as they flew about the spirit lightning exchanging blows. Harta had already been absorbing some of the power, and he began to channel some of it through himself, blasts of lightning that the woman redirected with her spear- but not freely. The two others continued their assault on John and Matayal. They were reasonably coordinated¡­ but no more than could be expected of any two sectmates of similar status. Despite Matayal¡¯s elemental disadvantage she held her own, resisting the lightning and winds. She knew her weaknesses and had trained to overcome them. John provided what little assistance she needed, small bits of earth energy to ground the attacks. Meanwhile, he suffused the area with darkness, slowly dulling the enemy¡¯s perception while he observed them. Though they were quite capable of flying around between the islands, they were also quite content to battle with their feet solidly upon them. When John and Matayal remained in place, they would fight straightforwardly, more or less. They had the mobility of air and the strength and durability of earth. They were quite proficient, but John could see stylistic differences that he could exploit. Slowly, he gathered earth element. When next lightning struck, he drew upon that power to enhance the sudden and momentary growth of vines, wrapping around their legs and holding them down. Matayal was quick to exploit the situation, stabbing at the woman with her spear while sweeping water at the legs of the older man, freezing him in position. John added onto that by liquifying the stone beneath the man, the vines pulling him up to his knees before their transitory existence faded. He forced the stone to solidify once more. It would only take an earth element cultivator a second or two to break out, but in battle that could be a critical moment. Especially as the particular location he was in was rapidly approaching another ¡®island¡¯, about to collide. Chapte 217 Crackling flames filled the tunnels, smoke drifting along the ceiling. Along with the flames came the wonderful smell of cooked meat. It didn¡¯t matter what meat it was. Just that it was cooked. It looked juicy and succulent and¡­ totally inaccessible. Melanthina¡¯s stomach grumbled, but she pushed down the feeling. She ate a bunch of squid just¡­ yesterday. Or something like that. It was totally fine and had been satisfying and not a chore to eat, with its rubbery texture. She would have just left, but she had to keep watching. Zoubida was a threat she couldn¡¯t ignore, a member of the Righteous Flame League. It seemed she was colluding with Nik, and thus the Combining Luster Sect. It was important to be cautious, and to keep track of them. If the Combining Luster Sect was trying to play both sides of the field, the Tenebach clan couldn¡¯t afford to work with them anymore. ¡°Hmmnn¡­¡± Nik grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s not¡­ great.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Zoubida harrumphed, ¡°I¡¯d like to see you cook something better with the stuff down here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that could be arranged.¡± Nik stood up, leaving a half-eaten hunk of meat on the ground next to the fire- an eternal flame, it seemed. Melanthina should have had one of those. Though it did require special storage. ¡°We don¡¯t want to remain in one place too long. Some¡­ thing could be watching.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right about that, at least,¡± Zoubida took another bite of the mysterious creature, tossing the remains over her shoulder into a pool of water nearby as she picked up the cooking fire with her bare hands, compressing it and placing it in a box. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving then.¡± As the two left, Melanthina slunk after them, stopping only to pick up the hunk of meat. It didn¡¯t seem any worse off for its time on the ground, but Melanthina cut off one side anyway. Nik was right, of course. It wasn¡¯t great. It was gamey and kind of burnt. It was so bad that a few tears were streaming down her face, with no other reason. But it was a crime to waste food, so she finished it. ----- Two of the floating islands collided, with one of their opponents between them. It would be a sorry day when a Consolidated Soul Phase earth cultivator perished from being crushed between two rocks, but the man did not get away unscathed. John saw at least a broken arm and perhaps a twisted ankle. Realizing his own position, the man retreated instantly, jumping into the swirling winds in the cavern. John would have chased after him, but the woman fighting alongside him held back both John and Matayal for a moment, before she too fled. At around the same time, the ever present feeling of discomfort in the room faded away as the great power of the spirit lightning sphere was fully dismantled. The leading woman appeared to have taken the larger portion, but Harta had claimed some for himself. With the state the battle was in, wrestling what remained out of the other side¡¯s hands would likely lead to death on both sides. The individuals from the sky islands had most of what they came for, and with their injured members they chose to retreat. John and Matayal only gave chase to the edge of the chamber. Running after them alone- or at all- was far too risky. Once they were certain that the immediate danger was past, they went to reconvene with Harta and the rest of the Mulyani clan. The man himself held a metal rod, inside of which John could feel the crackling of lightning. His chest had a wicked wound, his armor having exploded off leaving it bare. Black veins from fresh burns spread over his chest. Even so, the man had a smile on his face. ¡°You alright?¡± John asked. ¡°Got enough to make use of, at least?¡± ¡°Oh this?¡± Harta shook his head as he held up the stored power. ¡°This is for Asih. I got more air element than I needed already,¡± he gestured to his injuries. It wasn¡¯t just bravado, either. John could already feel the man¡¯s energy straining against the limits of the Soul Expansion Phase. ¡°Take care of yourself, then. We should be turning towards the center soon. We¡¯ll continue harvesting anything of note along the way, of course.¡± ----- Claws of darkness attempted to gouge out Ursel¡¯s eyes, and her only defense was to shut them. It hurt still, with damage on the edge of bleeding- but it could have been worse. Diamond Defense combined with her recent breakthrough to the Soul Expansion Phase made her more confident in her ability. As she punched her fist into the wall of the tunnel, however, she grimaced. ¡°How am I supposed to kill that thing? It¡¯s like it¡¯s not even there!¡± ¡°It is an incorporeal creature of darkness,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°Earth is probably one of the worst ways to deal with such things. Though I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a way.¡± Tirto didn¡¯t find himself all that much better off, though surrounding himself with a sphere of water meant such a creature¡¯s claws wouldn¡¯t strike him. And as the two of them quickly learned, nothing could strike them without being vulnerable itself. When they attacked, there was a moment of vulnerability. Tirto stabbed his spear to attempt to damage the claws themselves, while Ursel¡¯s ultimate response was more direct. When claws came to rend her flesh, she grabbed back at them, interlacing her fingers with the claws. Then she yanked, peeling the shadow from its safety on the wall. One would have expected the thing to slip from her grasp easily, but earth element spiritual energy didn¡¯t just deal with rocks and plants. It also dealt with solidity in all forms, including making things solid. Of course, it was much harder to do with another element- but she managed to solidify enough of the creature that it couldn¡¯t pull away without ripping off parts of itself. Once away from the wall, it carried sensible elements of three-dimensionality, and Tirto stabbed it through with his spear. It took several thrusts before enough of the creature broke apart, then it discorporated into a misty remains. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Do you think we should store this?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°For Melanthina.¡± ¡°She¡¯s the one with all of the containers that can hold spirit darkness,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°Best we just convert as much of it as we can to our elements to replenish ourselves. Don¡¯t want to get caught in a weakened state.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Ursel nodded, well aware of how not having her weapon hindered her. ¡°Then we¡¯ll continue after the trail.¡± ----- A clump of bones slammed down in the form of an enormous hand, nearly crushing Zoubida. Unfortunately, the woman dodged between the ¡®fingers¡¯, slicing through the base of one with her glaive, searing the surrounding bones and causing the disconnected bones to collapse into a pile. On the other side of the creature- though it did not have a front or rear- Nik prodded with his staff, sending beams of light into the creature¡¯s midsection as it grew various appendages to counterattack. Melanthina hung back, taking in the whole picture. The creature was dangerous, obviously. Whatever it actually was, it had slain many denizens of the area- and seemingly some humans, or things with very humanlike skulls based on how the jaws attempted to bite down on its surrounding prey. But though it seemed an ephemeral creature like the shadows, Melanthina detected that it had a solid form somewhere beneath the bones it wore as weapon and armor. ¡°What are you even doing?¡± Zoubida shouted. ¡°You have to do more damage than that! Destroy it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that my talents lay in other areas,¡± Nik replied, creating a flash of light that momentarily stunned the creature. ¡°I¡¯m not an expert at direct damage and severing limbs.¡± As the thing flowed about like the world¡¯s most unpleasant river, it crawled over the dislocated bones, happily picking them back up into its form, rendering much of Zoubida¡¯s efforts useless. Once she noticed that she became enraged, spinning her glaive wildly and chopping a path deeper into the creature. With a final thrust the tip of her weapon, coated in light element, burst apart the actual creature inside- though from Melanthina¡¯s perspective that looked like an accident. ----- Only rarely was a hallway not filled with flames or at least dripping with molten rock, which meant the Milanovic clan members had to pair up with Amber Heart members to keep them from overheating. It was not particularly burdensome, but instead just chose where they happened to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy. The earth cultivators had already had their time, and now the group was continuing its counterclockwise journey along the outer ring of the Prismatic Chambers. Soon enough they would be reaching the light element portions, which the Golden Tomb Guardians were looking forward to. Despite the dangers and some further run-ins with sects from the Molten Sea and the rare others with the power to challenge them, the venture had been quite profitable so far. Cultivations were advancing steadily, and the experience would allow that to continue long after they had to leave. But despite their gains, the risks would eventually outweigh them if they stayed too long and allowed themselves to become fatigued. That was why they continued directly towards their furthest goal. If they found themselves in a good state on their return path, they could explore further. ----- ¡°We¡¯re getting close,¡± Tirto commented. ¡°We¡¯ll soon catch up to Uncle Aydan, then we¡¯ll be able to help him find our sister.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I really hope he has my club¡­ my backup weapons are not good.¡± Honestly, she preferred her fists except for the reach they could provide. ¡°Just a bit further,¡± Tirto said as they carefully moved through a cavern that had far too many toothy stalactites and stalagmites. It was as if it would swallow them whole- but they weren¡¯t in an area with high earth element, and they were simply rocks. Though their presence along with varying heights of overhangs could allow many things to hide nearby. Both were on alert, but sensed nothing. Ursel continued forward, eager but wary. She couldn¡¯t help squinting. ¡°I think I feel Uncle Aydan, finally. But¡­ is it getting darker?¡± Tirto looked down at the stone dangling from his belt. ¡°It seems like it. These should still be fresh, though.¡± Unlike their sister, they could not see perfectly in the dark- and she didn¡¯t even have the blessing of Ciaritzal yet. Just a natural affinity. The two of them could get by with less light, as they were attuned to allied elements, but they still needed some. They continued further, but the oppressive darkness only grew. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Tirto said. ¡°... Is this not where Uncle Aydan went?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be safe?¡± Even as she asked that question, she was becoming aware of the muting of their voices. Along with light, sound was fading. No, not just that. They should be even closer to Aydan, but their sense of him had shrunken. Something fell from the ceiling, first only a few then a constant rain. Small, wriggling things only about as long as a forearm. Though given the ring of teeth they had, they certainly didn¡¯t appear small. The two siblings ran ahead, shaking the things off them- but there were so many, sharp teeth biting through their spiritual energy and latching on. And, everywhere they ran there were more of the creatures. Leeches, planning to devour them. The worst part was that they could barely even feel them, as even tactile sensations were fading away with the light. Ursel crushed them in her hands while Tirto tried to protect them with a dome of water above, but they coated the walls, ready to spring on their prey from all angles. The only mitigating factor that kept the two from being immediately swarmed and devoured was that some of the leeches latched onto others, happy enough to eat their own brethren. Ursel grimaced as one bit into her shoulder- she knew that Tirto must have had it much worse, without Diamond Defense bolstering his skin. She recalled a technique from the Viridia Wildlands, and began growing facsimiles of flowers on herself and Tirto. They wafted a foul scent and a poison that should have been fatally potent- but there was only so much she could do with an unpracticed technique. Instead, they were simply deterred for a moment. Tirto was covered with bloody wounds, while Ursel was relatively unscathed. Around them was a swarm of creatures barely held back by their distaste and uncertainty. Unfortunately, Ursel didn¡¯t think she could hold on long. Perhaps they should have stayed behind after all- but it was too late to regret that now. Chapter 218 Though they simply wanted to rescue their sister, Ursel and Tirto now found themselves in danger as well. They were beset by constant barrages of wriggling leeches that were sizable enough to cause serious damage with their teeth before draining the blood from their bodies. Worse, their senses were being dulled by the swarm, making it hard to even feel where they were being attacked. ¡°We need to run!¡± Ursel declared. ¡°I¡¯ll charge forward¡­ you stick tight behind me so they don¡¯t drop on you!¡± Tirto had no time to complain or protest, nor did he have a better option. All he could do was keep track of her from a single step away, and run as she ran. A canopy of branches and leaves grew atop Ursel¡¯s shoulders and head, providing some amount of shelter from those dropping from above. Ursel stomped heavily as she ran, crushing leeches underfoot while Tirto did his best to protect himself with a bubble of water. It was unclear to either of them where they were going- they were just running as fast as they could. That meant some leeches dropped behind them, but some still clung to them and others leapt from in front of them. It seemed as if there was a never ending swarm of tens of thousands, perhaps more. Anything that wandered into these caverns would die. Ursel, despite having just advanced to the Soul Expansion Phase, did not have enough energy to keep up most of her defenses. The canopy simply kept some of them from landing on her, while she had to deal with the rest directly with her body, counting on Diamond Defense. Against a reasonable number, it would have been- but they were still not individually weak enough to ignore. Tirto was already bleeding profusely, his spiritual energy basically empty. He began forming layers of ice over his wounds to staunch the flow. And the hail of creatures seemed as if it would never end. Suddenly, the oppressive, nasty darkness full of writhing creatures was replaced by another darkness, that of a protective blanket. It shrouded them, comforted them. Tirto felt so safe he almost stopped running- at which point a hand yanked him off his feet, dragging him along by the back of his shirt. Salvation had arrived in the form of their grand-uncle Aydan, each swing of his blade cutting down dozens of leeches. In an instant all of the critters attached to the siblings had been eliminated, and at least in their little bubble they could feel, hear, see. What Tirto felt was pain, but also relief. Ursel continued charging forward while Tirto was carried. That didn¡¯t sit right with him. He could still run. He had to. But his feet never got close to the ground, and he didn¡¯t want to disrupt his uncle. They¡¯d already done enough to make him upset. It took what felt like an hour but was probably little more than a few minutes for them to reach a tunnel, though they were still assaulted by leeches the whole way and even beyond. Even still, they were no longer being rained upon. Their movement didn¡¯t slow- though Tirto was allowed to run on his own feet. Aydan held the rear, slashing at the tides following behind. And then¡­ they were alone. Tirto continued to run after Ursel until Aydan stopped them both. The sibling collapsed into separate heaps. Their uncle was still a flurry of movement, pulling out salves to stop the bleeding, pills to purge the internal effects of the leeches, and Ursel¡¯s club- which landed on the ground with a thud. This was the point that Aydan was supposed to yell at them for being stupid. Chastise their mistakes. Perhaps threaten uselessly to send them back. But he didn¡¯t. Instead, he began binding his own wounds. Wounds which he should not have gotten. ¡°You¡­ snuck past the leeches,¡± Tirto said. Aydan nodded, crushing a leech in one hand and using some of his spiritual energy to push its teeth out from the inside so as to not tear the skin. ¡°Then you had to go back in for us.¡± Aydan didn¡¯t have to say more. Tirto was correct about that. ¡°... Sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯d ask what you are doing here,¡± Aydan said, finishing his motions, then standing and pacing around the chamber they were in, eyes searching, ¡°But I can easily surmise. How did your sister get unbound?¡± ¡°... I broke the shackles,¡± Ursel admitted. Sensing that would not be sufficient, she added, ¡°Using my new totem.¡± ¡°How could that even¡­¡± Aydan¡¯s senses swept over her. ¡°... If only you were a bit less talented.¡± Aydan threw them some rations, munching on some himself. ¡°Eat. We need to get moving. This isn¡¯t a safe place to remain still. Nowhere is.¡± ----- Two light cultivators stood at a split in tunnels, only expending enough energy to light up the immediate area around them. The woman, Zoubida, started walking down the one to the left. ¡°We should go right,¡± Nik declared. ¡°Oh?¡± Zoubida tilted her head. ¡°Now you have an opinion? I¡¯ve already made my choice. Feel free to go off on your own.¡± Nik sighed, watching her stride down the tunnel. Then he shook his head and walked down his tunnel of choice. He doubted she expected him to split up, but he had the feeling that this tunnel was much safer. He simply hadn¡¯t offered input before because it hadn¡¯t mattered- everything felt the same. Of course, this way he was giving up Zoubida¡¯s assistance. Having someone fighting by his side might make up for the difference in danger. Along with that, he was picking up more danger in the form of the watcher. Now he was alone, an easy target. Yet even so, he felt slightly safer going this direction, in a manner he would have preferred was actually alone. Not that he ever expected to get out of these blasted tunnels. He would never have come to a darkness infused place had not the circumstances forced it. Well, if he was going to die he might as well get it over with. ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill me you might as well get it over with. You have the advantage here.¡± His muscles tensed. No, he really didn¡¯t want to die. But he could hope it was at least swift. She was usually quite efficient with her attacks. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. But none came. Nik turned around, ¡°Oh come on, I can sense you there, you know? You¡¯ve been following us for¡­ days, maybe?¡± he shook his head. ¡°Quite a while. We had to lose out on sleep because of our watches.¡± He still couldn¡¯t see anything, but he felt the presence step closer. ¡°You lost out on sleep,¡± Melanthina¡¯s voice came from the darkness. ¡°But your lady friend passed out on her shift.¡± ¡°That bitch!¡± Nik grimaced. ¡°Acting like she was so good. Couldn¡¯t you have just slit her throat or something?¡± ¡°I-¡± the voice hesitated. ¡°I could have.¡± ¡°And you could definitely kill me here,¡± Nik said. ¡°I¡¯m barely managing to keep the spiritual energy from eating me alive. You¡¯re basically overflowing.¡± Melanthina stepped closer, into the couple meters of light he had, a hand held over her face. ¡°Or maybe leaking,¡± she shrugged. The bags under her eyes were at least as big as Nik¡¯s own, and she was pale. Not that she ever had a lot of color in her skin. How could a sheltered princess of a darkness clan have her skin touched by the sun? But at the moment, the specific brant of paleness spoke against her health. ¡°... Do you know how to get out of here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Nik admitted. ¡°I was just planning to travel anywhere away from this pervasive darkness. Should suit you, though.¡± ¡°In other circumstances,¡± Melanthina agreed. ¡°You¡¯re actually more efficient with killing the darkness creatures, though.¡± ¡°Listen,¡± Nik sighed, ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill me just do it now. I¡¯m not going to wander around with you making your life easier before that.¡± Which was the main reason he had stayed with Zoubida. She was very aggressive against the monsters here, and willing to expend her own energy. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°I just¡­ didn¡¯t want to lose to a- to someone like you.¡± Nik narrowed his eyes, and Melanthina squinted. She was really not good with even the little light he was putting off. ¡°It sure felt like you were trying to kill me.¡± ¡°You nearly killed me.¡± ¡°Yeah right. I fought you to some stalemates or won by a hair. No way I could have killed you.¡± ¡°Your attacks are scary,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°Really?¡± Nik frowned. He honestly hadn¡¯t felt that. ¡°They¡¯re fast, powerful, hard to react to¡­¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°Without special training, they would have torn me apart.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, as much as I¡¯ve tried to conserve myself down here, I don¡¯t have that much left in reserve.¡± ¡°I can w- protect you while you rest.¡± Nik couldn¡¯t be certain if he believed her. So far, he had no experience to indicate she was a liar. And if she killed him in his sleep, at least it should be fast. ¡°Not here,¡± he said. ¡°Too dangerous. We need to keep moving. If we find a good place¡­ I guess we can alternate watches.¡± If Zoubida really fell asleep, then Melanthina couldn¡¯t do any worse. ----- Walking behind Nik was no good. There was that blasted light which made it impossible to see. So instead, she kept ahead, where it wouldn¡¯t give away her position and she could actually see. He thought she wanted to kill him. Which was true. Or had been, sometimes. But she supposed he wasn¡¯t really an enemy she should want to kill. Just an obstacle she had to overcome, a rival to temper her skills. But sometimes she wanted to kill him, just a little. Not that different from her siblings, really. Though it was a little different because- just because. Progress was somewhat easier. Even though they could not pass unnoticed, many creatures of darkness could find Melanthina regardless. Keeping herself constantly shrouded was exhausting, regardless of the abundance of energy. Shadows especially were surprisingly quickly defeated, with spears of light passing right by Melanthina to strike them. Strangely enough, she wasn¡¯t worried that they would hit her. Corporeal enemies she could deal with herself, and thus for single enemies the division of labor was based on who could most efficiently defeat something. Melanthina tossed a throwing dagger right into the throat of a giant bat, piercing its energy defenses and causing it to plummet to the ground. Melanthina couldn¡¯t help but look at it, her stomach churning with hunger and revulsion simultaneously. ¡°The creatures here have been relatively weaker,¡± Nik began. Melanthina had half a mind to remind him she killed it easily in one hit but¡­ he seemed to have an actual point instead of just saying that. ¡°We should take a rest. There shouldn¡¯t be anything dangerous that comes here regularly, with easy food unclaimed.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Melanthina said. She hadn¡¯t had actual sleep in¡­ forever. Not that she could sleep well here, on rocks being watched over by Nik. But it would be better than being alone. Almost anything was better than that. A squelching sound brought her eyes to Nik and a sharp knife he had driven into the bat. What followed was a bloody scene of absolute butchery¡­ in the most literal way possible. He cut it apart into pieces, then pulled out a metal dish. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be able to do this a lot,¡± he said, ¡°But keeping spiritual energy isn¡¯t any good if we collapse.¡± He dropped bloody chunks of meat into the dish, positioning his hands on either side. Light poured out of his hands, but instead of blinding Melanthina it was basically contained to the dish. It only hurt her eyes a little. She saved her sarcastic questions about why he wanted to see it that badly and just watched. Soon enough, the meat was sizzling. Nik flipped it over, pulling out small pinches of something from his bag and throwing it in. Not a terribly long time later, he handed her a chunk of cooked meat. Melanthina took it gingerly, protecting her fingertips from its heat. Then she took a bite. ¡°Too bright,¡± she said as she immediately turned around- though Nik was barely making more light than absolutely necessary to see the foot in his hands. Melanthina took another bite, then another, as tears streamed down her face. She hadn¡¯t eaten anything cooked in forever. Whatever that burnt garbage was that had been left behind totally didn¡¯t count. This was actually, properly cooked. And with spices? Not a lot, but it made all the difference. She was able to just eat until she finished it without forcing it down. ¡°... That was pretty decent, considering the circumstances,¡± she said, still facing away. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you cook before?¡± ¡°Zoubida insisted,¡± Nik said. ¡°And since she was expending energy instead of me, I just let her.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sleep first? You need to try to replenish that energy.¡± ¡°... Thanks,¡± Nik said. ¡°Make sure it doesn¡¯t hurt when you kill me.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure if she was supposed to see his slight grin or not. Then he just curled up against a wall. Well. Now it was her job to watch Nik. For danger. Watch for danger. Chapter 219 The darkness of the Prismatic Chambers seemed all-encompassing and eternal. The two siblings trudged after their grand-uncle, keeping their light to themselves as he sensed for danger. Few words were spoken, which made everything more difficult. The heaviest steps were in the back, Ursel taking a protective position over her brother. She was wounded herself, but the leeches had done much more damage to Tirto. And Aydan. Both injured because Ursel went running off after Melanthina. She hated that, but it would all be worth it when they rescued her. They just had to find her first. Aydan led the way with conviction, but Ursel couldn¡¯t sense even the slightest traces of her sister. Then again, if Melanthina was trying to avoid dangers, she would be pretty difficult to find. They had to use their senses to the utmost regardless. If they were with the whole group, they would have strength in numbers and the ability to relax. Here, they had just three. With uncle Aydan¡¯s Consolidated Soul Phase strength they should be safe, but that didn¡¯t mean they could be careless. Even their previous caution hadn¡¯t been enough to notice the leeches. Slight tremors in the ground brought back recent unfortunate memories. ¡°Earth gliders!¡± Ursel called out. ¡°Something¡¯s weird though!¡± Their presence was dull, though how they moved the ground was not. When one burst out of the floor, Ursel dodged away, swinging her club down towards its upper body. It was little more than clawed arms and teeth, and her attack struck true. The power of her new totem drove roots into its body¡­ a body that seemed strangely soft. Tirto attacked it from the other side, stabbing into its midsection. Normally the earth gliders would have avoided such an attack, but it simply swept a claw at him as his spear sunk into it. It was only his training to always maintain defenses that saved him, a cushion of water sending him staggering back instead of being rent apart. Two more burst out of the ground, moving towards Aydan. One staggered and swayed, one of its lower limbs bent at an odd angle. The other had a hole straight through its midsection. All three were primarily radiating darkness instead of earth element, and it soon became obvious what these were. Reanimated corpses. Zombies driven by spirits of the darkness element itself. They had no fear of injury or death, attacking only to kill and feed. If a body was slain, the spirits would simply find another. If they were all fresh and healthy, defeating such reckless opponents would probably be simple. As it was, Ursel had to chase after her opponent, striking whenever she could and doing her best to avoid its claws. Her armor would be little better than rags after they returned to the surface, and her Diamond Defense had already been pushed beyond its limits, merely keeping her going instead of being an unbeatable armor. Each strike with her club drove more earth energy into her opponent, and on the fifth strike the roots finally grew enough to seize up the limbs of the earth glider from the inside. If its body had been more rigid she could have cracked it apart, but this was the best she thought she could do against this particular opponent. The slowing of its attacks allowed Tirto to stab into an elbow, destroying bone and muscle structure. That meant that particular arm was held up only by darkness energy, greatly weakening its danger. Aydan dodged and weaved around his two opponents, slicing into them layer by layer. As expected, he alone was more effective than the two siblings. When the first body no longer functioned, the spirit inhabiting it slunk off, leaving him to deal with just the second. He slashed into critical parts of its limbs, slicing between the individual clawed fingers so they hung limply, then moving further into its reach to remove them at the shoulder. When the spirit left its body, he did not simply let it drift away, instead stabbing his blade into it and tearing the energy apart with his own. Tirto made an attempt to disperse the spirit of the one the siblings defeated, but it slipped into the darkness infused walls mostly intact. Left behind were the corpses and the rubble-filled tunnels they had approached through, stone torn apart instead of smoothly swimming through the rock like the living creatures they had inhabited. ----- The rise and fall of Nik¡¯s chest was comforting, partly because now Melanthina wasn¡¯t alone, and partly because it was so peaceful. His rest would not have been quite so pleasant if she had not been keeping the natural darkness away from him. Since he was already exhausted, letting her traveling companion be slowly worn away while he slept would have been foolish. For her own part, aside from sheltering him from the darkness, she sat content and alert. Her stomach was full, but her senses were prepared for something. Fortunately, things tended to be territorial, so there was more danger when they were moving about. The hours were long, but they felt less terrible than when she was fully by herself. It almost seemed quick when Nik awoke, radiating a dim light. ¡°How long was I?¡± Melanthina looked up. ¡°Based on the movement of the sun¡­ I have no idea.¡± ¡°... Right. Well, I feel much better. It¡¯s your turn to get some rest.¡± ¡°Oh. Right.¡± Should be pretty easy. She was exhausted. Nothing weird about thinking about being watched as she slept. It was just like being with the clan. And, strangely, it was easy to fall asleep. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ----- Melanthina woke up to the smell of food. Her eyes quickly settled on the thin strips of meat, much more appetizing than bat. ¡°Go ahead and take some,¡± Nik said. ¡°There¡¯s enough for both of us.¡± She picked up a strip out of Nik¡¯s strange cooking dish. Once she looked closer she could see it was jerky, but it was strangely juicy and flavorful. Fruity, even. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Just some jerky soaked in lightapple wine, then it¡¯s cooked out. Don¡¯t want to dull our senses. Nothing difficult, really.¡± Melanthina had to disagree. Sure, she¡¯d had better and fancier food. How could she not, as the young mistress of the Tenebach clan? But that was done with a proper kitchen and numerous chefs, not in the middle of a danger zone with random things in someone¡¯s pack. It also didn¡¯t hurt that Melanthina couldn¡¯t cook at all¡­ and didn¡¯t have any food in her storage bag. How stupid. She should at least have a pile of tasteless rations. There wasn¡¯t much in the way of conversation. What could they talk about? Nothing good, really. Melanthina led the way through the tunnels, keeping ahead of Nik¡¯s light. He would stand out to anything here, which could either make him a target or have the creatures of darkness avoid him. There were many tunnels to choose between, and Melanthina couldn¡¯t help but look over her shoulder towards Nik as she came to them. She didn¡¯t particularly sense anything, and if he had no reaction then she would just pick one. There were a few places where she sensed high concentrations of darkness, and if she had been interested in training still those would have been potential boons. But she just wanted to leave. At one intersection, she just stood and looked back for a while. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Nik asked. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if I sense any problems. Otherwise you can just pick whatever.¡± ¡°Well, umm¡­ it¡¯s hard for you to be around all this darkness, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said as he stepped forward, ¡°Which is why I would prefer to be out of here as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I could, uh¡­ help with that. The darkness.¡± She stepped back towards him, holding up her arm to keep the light out of her eyes. They were fully dark adapted, so pure light was especially uncomfortable. As she moved forward, Nik¡¯s light shifted its focus, bending around her. She wasn¡¯t sure why she was surprised. That was literally his sect¡¯s focus. Even so, experiencing it in a non-aggressive manner was new. Ever since the first match they¡¯d faced each other, that had defined their relationship. As enemies, which is what they still were and would continue to be after they got out of this place. Melanthina stood awkwardly next to Nik. If he were one of her siblings she would have grabbed their arm or something, to make the process as easy as possible. Instead, she just reached out to the surrounding darkness, pushing it away from him and pulling it around towards her. As they walked along, Nik kept his light focused forward, and also kept it from reflecting into her eyes despite its brightness. Like that they continued onward, looking for a way out. They had to go up, but it was hard to say if one tunnel that briefly rose would be better than any other. ----- Finally reaching the light element section of the caverns, Renato and the Amber Heart cultivators were able to relax somewhat. Light was still opposed to earth, but it wasn¡¯t directly dominant like fire. The Golden Tomb Guardians were now in their optimal area, and the Milanovic clan was recently bolstered by their journey through the fiery chambers. The walls were lined with crystals, much like the Prism Underfields- though more sparse. ¡°Don¡¯t bother collecting any of the crystals here,¡± Deirdre instructed the Guardians. ¡°It¡¯s better to leave them for later, when they¡¯ve developed. And while others might not necessarily extend the same courtesy to us, these chambers are distant enough that fewer will reach them.¡± In truth, they wouldn¡¯t gain much from simple light producing crystals. Those were widely available, and pointless for training unless present in great quantity. As they walked through the tunnels light drifted in and out, but never faded entirely. Few things stood out, but a particularly bright and powerful source pulled them down a particular path into a larger chamber. There in the middle was a formless orb of light, a spirit light source of high caliber. ¡°Hold on,¡± Renato said, putting out an arm to stop the others from approaching. ¡°It¡¯s a trap.¡± Obviously such a thing wouldn¡¯t be completely undefended. The local denizens would want to absorb its power for themselves. However, nothing else was apparent. ¡°How so?¡± Deirdre asked, not trying to push forward. ¡°I don¡¯t sense anything.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the oldest trick in the book,¡± he said, stepping forward and stomping the ground. As he did, a ring of stone crumbled away, leaving the light by itself on a central platform. Beneath the now collapsed thin ring of stone was a trench full of long, thin crystals. They didn¡¯t seem to have formed naturally, but instead were placed near to vertical and sharpened. Then the seemingly lifeless mass of spirit light began to move. A bolt of light shot from it towards Renato, who blocked with his club. Then the light winked out, leaving people in sudden and unexpected darkness. Even the light produced by the cultivators was lessened in that moment as the light element was drawn together. Then the sphere of light reappeared next to Lucanus, who directly punched it, flames coating his fist. His reaction, while inelegant, served as a decent counter to the force of spiritual energy levied against him, a scalding light that scattered around his outstretched hand and focused energy. The light blinked out once more, negating it presence. ¡°Careful, it¡¯s looking for weak targets!¡± Deirdre said. ¡°Get in defensive formations and share the burden!¡± Everyone moved quickly, and as predicted the next attack was on the weaker cultivators on the backline. However, a focus on pure defense and the combination of energy from several Soul Expansion Phase cultivators let them resist the attack. When it disappeared again, Deidre rushed into the middle of their group, forming a blade of light on the head of her staff and slashing at seemingly nothing. An explosion of light burst from where she slashed, revealing the spirit. ¡°It pulls in all the light to itself¡­ watch how the shadows shift to find it!¡± With that guidance, everyone prepared themselves to fight and dismantle this spirit. It wouldn¡¯t be as easy of a reward as simply gathering unrestrained spirit light, but it would be worthwhile spoils for the Golden Tomb Guardians. Chapter 220 The thing that tipped Melanthina off was not something she saw or sensed, but something she didn¡¯t see. It was just the same as Ciaritzal, a form of nothingness that couldn¡¯t be seen even with the eyes of a darkness element cultivator. But she couldn¡¯t see beyond it either, and that was what she noticed. The moment the edge of Nik¡¯s light touched it, it reacted with a whiplike tendril of darkness sweeping across the chamber. Power swirled around Melanthina¡¯s hands as she placed herself in the path, grabbing a midsection and then the end as it tried to twist around her. Without a physical component such a thing should have been able to bend and grow at will, but she disrupted the flow of energy with her own. With his light just shining on the main body of the thing, a lump dangling from the ceiling that did not actually light up, Nik acted quickly. He pointed his staff, light gathering in an instant and firing outward as a beam. That same beam split into a wide beam of colors and focused in on a single point on the target, the Combining Luster Sect¡¯s techniques at play to increase power through a high degree of control. Light and darkness met, annihilating each other as they were liable to do. The core of the creature exploded, and its attacking tendril withered into nothing but raw darkness energy. The remaining bits and pieces of the creature told the story of a large plantlike bulb. It was a short battle, a single exchange of attacks- but many battles were decided in such a manner, especially with ambush predators involved. Even if the ultimate victory came a dozen moves later, the opening moves of battle could decide the flow. ¡°Thanks for blocking that,¡± Nik said. ¡°Uh, yeah. Of course,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°You¡¯re offensively good against the things here, so it¡¯s most efficient to keep you safe and let you attack as you please. Even if you have some defensive training against darkness.¡± She should have probably stopped talking halfway through, as bringing up why he needed to train against darkness element attackers led to some awkward situations. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t the type to bring it up¡­ that frequently. Given the circumstances. ¡°Is any of this useful?¡± he gestured to the bits of plantlike matter. ¡°I think so,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°I can certainly gather it to see what we can do with it.¡± She started stuffing things into her storage bag. ¡°Too bad there¡¯s no light element for you¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Nik sighed, ¡°There was supposed to be a path skirting along the edge of the fire chambers that led more or less directly to the light chambers. Maybe it worked, but I got separated from the sect and ended up being unable to go back. Tumbled through some burning tunnels that I couldn¡¯t see myself climbing out of.¡± ¡°... I was wondering how you ended up down here,¡± Melanthina sighed. ¡°It was earth glider tunnels for me. One was too strong for me, Ursel and Tirto to take on and I didn¡¯t see the fall¡­ then I was spinning and tumbling and at the bottom of a strange web of tunnels.¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°I hadn¡¯t heard of any connections directly from earth or fire to darkness.¡± ¡°Maybe nobody survived to talk about it,¡± Nik said. Then he cleared his throat. ¡°So, uh, I guess we have to be the ones to spread that knowledge.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Melanthina nodded, subconsciously reaching out to grab his sleeve but stopping herself before she made contact.. That would have been unpleasant for both of them, and she could deflect the natural darkness element away from him without actual contact. ----- The next travel period, Nik and Melanthina were still continuing along. They were being slowly worn down¡­ but it was slowly. With Melanthina reducing the strain on Nik and some regular cooked food they were able to maintain a basic equilibrium, though the need to take shifts on watch meant they got by with the minimum of sleep required, hoping to get out of the area sooner. If they came to a bunch of burning tunnels they might just try to push through them. Melanthina also hoped they might get back to the same web she¡¯d first lost herself in, where they could hopefully do a better job of finding the way out. Chances were that they were getting further away from either or both, but they couldn¡¯t expect an exit to come to them. ¡°Something feels weird,¡± Nik commented. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Melanthina pondered, ¡°Down the rightmost tunnel? Should we avoid it or check it out?¡± ¡°It feels a little bit like light element,¡± Nik said, ¡°And while I know that wouldn¡¯t be much fun for you, if it is light element chambers it should be closer to the surface. Or at least explored territory.¡± ¡°That¡­ doesn¡¯t sound very fun,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°But we should check it out.¡± ¡°If it is,¡± Nik said. ¡°I can return the favor. Keeping the light element away from you.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± she nodded in response. Silence took over. There wasn¡¯t much to talk about. Ah yes, here are more dark tunnels. And beasts. And dark tunnels. And spirits. Though they didn¡¯t run into anything trying to kill and eat them as they continued onward. After they got closer, Nik had another comment. ¡°I guess I was mistaken¡­ sort of. There¡¯s certainly more light element, but I was a bit¡­ optimistic?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Should have expected something like this.¡± Ahead, as far as they could feel, swirling light and darkness interacted in their typical violent fashion. That led to what could be considered to be wider tunnels and more open caverns, if one did not take into account shattered stalactites or simply bits of roof falling and caving in areas. ¡°So,¡± Nik said. ¡°The fact that this is still happening, and the whole place isn¡¯t just bare like the annihilation strip, means that this has to be new. Or at least¡­ cyclical?¡± Melanthina frowned, then nodded. ¡°Certain tunnels get flooded with one element or the other until they react. But if there are proper stalactites here then it doesn¡¯t shift that quickly.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°It¡¯s possible they grow quickly due to special factors. With this much spiritual energy interacting, it might only take¡­ days or weeks?¡± Nik shrugged. ¡°Not like it matters either way. We can¡¯t just afford to wait and hope it changes to our favor. So then¡­ what do we do? It¡¯s clearly not safe to go through here.¡± Nik sighed, ¡°We should turn back. Find somewhere else. It¡¯s crazy to mix light and darkness.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Melanthina agreed. Neither turned and began heading away. ¡°But isn¡¯t this our best hope of a real change?¡± ¡°It does seem like it,¡± Nik admitted. ¡°And if we get through¡­ I¡¯ll be happier, but that doesn¡¯t really change our overall status. It would just hopefully bring us closer to a route out.¡± ¡°I guess we have to go through, then,¡± Melanthina said. Once more, neither made a move, forward or backwards. ¡°If we¡¯re going to go through, we need to coordinate as much as possible. If we can prevent the confluence of elements, the danger will be minimized.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ve been working together¡­ pretty well,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°I don¡¯t disagree. But we¡¯d do best to minimize our necessary controlled area and optimize control.¡± ¡°So¡­ we¡¯d have to stand close together? That¡¯s fine,¡± Melanthina lied. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never had contact with a bo- a man before.¡± That was technically not a lie. Family counted, right? ¡°Even that will be kind of risky,¡± Nik admitted. ¡°We¡¯re opposing elements so coordinating the bridge between us is important.¡± ¡°I can handle that,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing light and darkness interactions. For defensive purposes.¡± ¡°Same thing here,¡± Nik admitted. ¡°Which is good, because I think someone one-sidedly handling things would be¡­ problematic.¡± ¡°Great, so we just¡­ grab on. Then step into a miniature annihilation field and hope we can find our way through.¡± Why couldn¡¯t she have just died in the fall? That would have been so much easier. ----- Ursel quietly grit her teeth. Her physical injuries were nowhere near as bad as the others. She was fine. There was definitely no clenching in her guts like her body was trying to kill her. It also definitely had nothing to do with a certain time of month because that was still probably a week away. What day was it again? So maybe she wasn¡¯t quite sure it was not that. She could check if her spiritual energy would allow her to do anything without stabbing her directly in the stomach. Ursel wouldn¡¯t let something stupid like that stop her from being effective in combat, but outside of combat without adrenaline she began to be somewhat concerned. It was probably fine though. What could it even be? It¡¯s not like her dantian would suddenly explode for no reason. If that was going to happen, it would have already. Almost for sure. She wasn¡¯t even absorbing spiritual energy right now. ¡°Ursel,¡± she startled as Tirto put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Stupid empathetic brother. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± Ursel said. Tirto just looked into her eyes. ¡°Seriously if there¡¯s a problem you need to say something. We¡¯re already off balance here.¡± ¡°I-¡± Ursel had already caused enough trouble. She couldn¡¯t afford to add more. But Tirto was right that not talking about it might be worse. ¡°My dantian is¡­ not doing great.¡± Aydan spoke from ahead. ¡°In what manner?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ it aches. There¡¯s a lot of pressure.¡± ¡°... What tier is your newest totem?¡± Aydan had a general sense of it, of course, but there was some potential ambiguity. ¡°I think it¡¯s¡­ siiixth?¡± Ursel said unsurely. ¡°You think it¡¯s a sixth tier totem?¡± Aydan asked sternly. ¡°I know I dove past the fifth tier because I couldn¡¯t find anything to¡­ solve my problem.¡± ¡°Then we shall assume it is sixth tier, which is already an extraordinary achievement,¡± Aydan nodded. ¡°You did not properly adjust to that layer.¡± ¡°Well¡­ no,¡± Ursel admitted. ¡°Your dantian is likely struggling to accommodate such a rapid shift. If you are fortunate¡­ the pain is simply that of forced growth.¡± ¡°If not?¡± Aydan shook his head, ¡°Then there is nothing we can do about it now. Perhaps gently circulating your energy will help.¡± Aydan¡¯s eyes shifted and he picked their next branch, ¡°This way.¡± ----- Since they couldn¡¯t be completely certain there wouldn¡¯t be some sort of attack, Nik placed himself on Melanthina¡¯s left side. That was where she kept her free hand. He was also right-handed, but he could hold his staff in his left hand with little trouble. There would be a minimal loss in effectiveness if he pointed his focusing crystal slightly off target compared to Melanthina having to use her dagger in her off hand. Though moving in combat would be difficult for either of them like they were. ¡°So we just¡­¡± Melanthing spoke to give herself something to distract her rather than needing to actually vocalize their plan again, ¡°... create one flow of spiritual energy around us. We want to repel darkness away from your side and draw it to mine around the back, while having any light element do the same around the front.¡± Nik¡¯s hand had callouses. That wasn¡¯t particularly strange for cultivators, though Melanthina kept her skin in optimal shape with the usage of some of the clan¡¯s resources. It wasn¡¯t just for vanity, but rather expected of her as the future clan leader. But it was also nice, nobody wanted to have rough skin. Except of course Tirto¡¯s skin was smooth and Ursel¡¯s honestly felt more like sandpaper. So it wasn¡¯t a universal desire. It was strangely comfortable, except for the part where Melanthina could completely ruin her hand if she let a mote of darkness out through her palm, or if Nik did the same with a speck of light. Since they were coordinating their control the area of contact was devoid of protective spiritual energy, which would have just clashed anyway. They stepped forward in sync. Most of the spiritual energy in the area was already annihilated, but the flow was continuously shifting because of the contact between pockets of light and darkness. Melanthina flinched as a wave of light flowed towards her, trying to push it away. Even with her practice that still caused a moderate explosion and scoured her defensive energy. She slowly built it back up, keenly aware she couldn¡¯t do that more than once or twice more. ¡°Uh, sorry,¡± Melanthina said. Nik hadn¡¯t been damaged by the explosion, but she had clamped down hard on his fingers. ¡°I was supposed to trust you to handle that.¡± ¡°I understand. It¡¯s hard to go against instinct and training. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Melanthina chose to accept his words as they were instead of concerning himself with whether he thought she was stupid. He probably did, but they could leave that for later if they both survived. When they both survived. They just had to get through¡­ at least a kilometer of chaotic chambers and tunnels. Chapter 221 Danger lurked around every corner. Danger that Aydan might have bypassed on his own, but that was not possible with the siblings present. So he had to continue on, looking for something while he walked with confidence. Was any of this Melanthina¡¯s fault? No. She simply fled a creature she could not defeat, picked a wrong route. Perhaps she could have been more aware of her surroundings, but that would be a failure of her youth and of her training. And up until that point, tunnels without creatures had not been a danger. Ursel¡­ certainly, Aydan was not pleased that she had insisted on chasing after her sister. Tirto should have been the level-headed one there as well, but could he really expect them to remain rational? Certainly not, when this was his fault. He should have maintained a closer position to the triplets instead of assuming they could handle everything thrown at them. They were the most important of those present, and Aydan was responsible for them. And if a tactical mistake in a single battle was not Aydan¡¯s fault¡­ then them being where they were now was. He shouldn¡¯t have declared he would search on his own. With everyone they had present, they could have marked the branching tunnels while keeping contact with each other. If Melanthina had remained stationary- which might not have been a choice- they could have found her soon enough, or at least determined she had moved on. By running off on his own, Aydan had indicated to Ursel and Tirto that such behavior was acceptable. It didn¡¯t matter that he was stronger- what mattered is that he hadn¡¯t insisted on remaining together. Now, the two thought they were on Melanthina¡¯s trail, bound to catch up at any point. And perhaps they would, if she yet lived. Aydan didn¡¯t like to consider one of the reasons they might not have found her. Based on Aydan¡¯s understanding, after stumbling into the darkness layer by an unexpected route and now having gone far from their entrance, it would be easier to find their way to more familiar areas. Based on the sorts of creatures they were encountering, Aydan thought they were getting close. Unfortunately, there would still be quite some distance to go even after they got back on a known route. Aydan wasn¡¯t sure he would last that long. The children- a young man and woman, now- wouldn¡¯t get far without him unless they got to cleared routes. Of course, even those places wouldn¡¯t necessarily be safe. With no hesitation, Aydan picked the middle tunnel of a set of three. Confidence was important here. The danger felt less than others, and even if he was wrong he would have to deal with that. Ursel¡¯s face was still one of pain, her spiritual energy fluctuating. Even in that state, however, she was still a beginning Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. Tirto next to her was at the peak of Foundation Phase, still a significant step weaker. It was clear to Aydan they understood their lack of strength, after their near death. The residents of these tunnels had locked onto their group¡¯s position. Aydan didn¡¯t think they seemed particularly quick, but running away would at best force them to face one of the other tunnels with a greater sense of danger. In the worst case, they would end up sandwiched between two groups of monsters, and it didn¡¯t matter if said groups would kill each other afterwards if they killed the three cultivators first. ¡°Enemies incoming. Stuck to the walls and ceilings. Get ready,¡± Aydan warned. His voice sounded strange to him, the pervasive silence having suffused into everything, both for the sake of stealth and lack of any will to chat. It was as if the darkness itself were coming for them, forms indistinct not because light didn¡¯t touch the approaching threats but because they simply were that way. In fact, the light reflected off of some portions of the creatures, a brilliant sheen on a dark sludge with the only features being irregular half-dissolved bones poking out. Aydan rushed ahead to meet the enemies first. His sword held to the side, he sliced one on the walls clean in half, then he bounded upwards and sliced through one on the ceiling. It was surprisingly easy to dismantle them. Too easy. Even as he was landing, Aydan shifted to reverse his direction. The one on the ceiling dropped down as two- now separate masses, but still completely functional. Darkness wreathed Aydan¡¯s blade as he chopped towards one of the pieces, rending and tearing the spiritual energy inside it. The disruption of spiritual energy at least caused the quavering mass to dissolve. Now all he had to deal with was the second half, and the rest approaching. Hopefully without letting too many past to Ursel and Tirto, but even if he tried to completely block them the two siblings would try to join the fight. The first one from the wall found that the siblings weren¡¯t that easy to eat. Ursel smacked one, splattering it into a dozen pieces that began to slowly crawl back towards each other. So it seemed there was some limit to what they could manage- or perhaps the spiritual energy inhabiting them had some sense it couldn¡¯t attack anyone without enough mass to reach and move quickly. Tirto must have paid close enough attention to Aydan, because his spear stabbed deep into the other half of the first one, freezing its middle with his water element. He then lifted the frozen portion on his spear, smacking it into the wall. The still liquid outer part of the black goop came along, but when it broke apart in the middle all it could do was cling to the spear with part of it, attempting to crawl towards Tirto¡¯s hands. Another unfortunate property the ooze seemed to have was quickly evident. The polished wood of Tirto¡¯s spear had worn away in some parts, presumably dissolved by the creature¡¯s acid. Of the three of them, Tirto¡¯s weapon was the least enchanted. The Brandle Clan had access to high quality weapons, of course, but a more powerful weapon wasn¡¯t always better in the hands of a lower ranking cultivator. Ursel¡¯s club showed a few pockmarks, but it was much sturdier to begin with. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Aydan wasn¡¯t concerned about his own weapon, but he was concerned about his body. Against some enemies he could afford to let his armor take hits instead of spiritual energy, but for these that wouldn¡¯t be possible. More and more masses converged on the group, Aydan slashing them apart and dancing around them. Though tracking more formless shapes was troublesome, it also limited how far they could extend. He also needed less spiritual energy at once to permanently collapse a smaller section. Taking the majority of the burden of the combat on himself, Aydan wasn¡¯t able to perfectly maneuver the battle. Perhaps if he had been fresh, but he was anything but. His spiritual energy was strained, unable to recover fully without proper rest. He also had injuries from the leeches, lingering bites that could have become festering wounds. Medicinal pills helped, but it would take longer to recover blood- and there were only so many pills a human body could process in a short time. If the area were not suffused with the darkness element, Aydan would have lost all momentum days before. First to be grasped was his ankle, a small offcut that Aydan had lost track of wrapping around his lower leg and melting through his spiritual energy. A burst of energy tore it apart, but his trousers and skin bore the scars of the attack. As Aydan chopped apart the oozes, some of them exploded into tiny pieces that retained their acidity for a few moments. One such globule struck his cheek, a small part of it burning through his energy defenses. Aydan couldn¡¯t spend time watching the siblings, but they seemed to be getting overwhelmed. He increased the pace of his battle, though it left him open to more wounds and burned through his remaining spiritual energy faster. After cutting down the last of them, he didn¡¯t hesitate to rush towards Tirto. Aydan had let more than a few slip by, and this one came as Tirto was dealing with another. Aydan arrived as it began wrapping around him from behind. He slashed out with his sword, precisely slicing off most of it- but some still clung to Tirto. Aydan stepped in, grabbing the mass with his hand and tearing it away. The end result was that Tirto was only marginally injured. Aydan hid his hand behind him. ¡°Are you two alright?¡± Aydan asked. There were certainly some new wounds. Ursel¡¯s armor was going to completely fall apart soon enough, and her bodily durability wouldn¡¯t be sufficient on its own. ¡°As much as I can be,¡± Ursel sighed, leaning on her stone club. ¡°I am fine,¡± Tirto confirmed. ¡°Again, as much as one would expect after a battle. How about you?¡± ¡°No serious injuries,¡± Aydan shook his head. ¡°We need to keep moving.¡± As Aydan turned, Tirto¡¯s face didn¡¯t seem completely convinced. But there was nothing Aydan could do but keep pushing forward. He had no confidence in stumbling across Melanthina, but he could at least get these two somewhere safer. ----- The only good thing that could be said about where Melanthina found herself was that there was nothing trying to kill them. The clashing light and darkness likely had no awareness at all. And¡­ if she were asked she would have to admit that her coordination with Nik was keeping them mostly safe. In the sort of way that a vein of ore was mostly safe from miners who had to go get new picks. Eventually the surrounding rock would be broken through and they would be carved apart, but for the moment they stood strong. Energy flowed around the two of them, hinging on their clasped hands. Melanthina could feel the heat of Nik¡¯s hand. He was sweating, and definitely only him. The whole situation was uncomfortable, but she couldn¡¯t exactly complain about that when they were fighting to survive. And then¡­ things began to slow down, and Melanthina found herself with less and less darkness to divert. Until eventually they stumbled out into an ungodly amount of light. Though Melanthina found her eyes were shielded by Nik¡¯s efforts. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we made it out,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Now we¡¯re in light element chambers, of course, so things are still pretty bad¡­¡± she sighed. ¡°For me. I always forget how bad this is. Sorry you had to go through it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as if you are the source of all darkness,¡± Nik replied. ¡°But I am glad to be somewhere more comfortable for me. And hopefully we can find our way out and back to our people.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Melanthina nodded. This was tolerable, with Nik deflecting most of the light. Her own training was useful, but she was still a darkness element cultivator. She could only manage so much. ¡°Soo,¡± Nik said. ¡°Are you going to¡­?¡± ¡°Am I going to what?¡± Melanthina asked, following his gaze. There she saw his hand with loose fingers, and her own grip tight. She loosened her grasp, but neither immediately pulled away. ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright. I suppose this is more¡­ efficient?¡± Melanthina was having trouble coming up with more things to say. ¡°Yeah. Should we¡­ go?¡± The intensity of actual light varied more than the presence of light element. Crystals produced visible light, making Melanthina squint constantly. She could never fully adjust to the current level of light. She was focused on the various forms of light around, so she was first to notice a floating orb of light. She couldn¡¯t tell exactly what it might do, but it came towards them with purpose- and in this place, there was nothing that could be considered friendly. Melanthina didn¡¯t have a fancy darkness crystal to focus a beam through- if that would even do anything- but she could still manage a facsimile of the sorts of attacks the Combining Luster Sect preferred. She¡¯d learned it to fight against Nik, of course, and used it to counter his attacks. Here, she targeted the ball of light, using her training to keep the elements from detonating until her attack had pierced into its core. Then it tore apart. ¡°I guess we¡¯re swapping roles, then,¡± Nik said. ¡°You focus on the incorporeal enemies. I¡¯ll deal with the threats that are easier for me.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°But I¡¯ll warn you, if you also want me to cook it¡¯s not going to be good.¡± Chapter 222 Darkness swirled within Aydan¡¯s dantian. Thin whisps where there had once been a swirling storm of power. Drawing in from outside himself, Aydan was able to slowly replenish his stores. It was not an issue of available spiritual energy that slowed him, but rather the strain on his meridians. Recovering would only take a day or two of rest to let his body balance out, perhaps a week at the longest. But if he had the luxury to do so, he wouldn¡¯t be in this state to begin with. Ursel and Tirto slept back-to-back, the former clutching her deteriorating club to her. Tirto didn¡¯t hold his weapon as he slept, the sharpness making that undesirable regardless. The two of them had been asleep for several hours now¡­ and though they needed more rest, Aydan couldn¡¯t give it to them. Aydan¡¯s eye twitched, on the edge of passing out himself and yet in a way overstimulated. Each change in the flow of darkness could be another threat. He¡¯d dealt with several shadows in the last hours already, creatures of pure darkness. The short battles hadn¡¯t even woken the siblings, the darkness element inherently hiding itself. Just a little longer, and they would be moving again, searching for their goal. Or at least, Aydan¡¯s current goal. ----- With the information possessed by John and Matayal¡¯s group, they were in no particular hurry to go anywhere. So far, their efforts had been fruitful, securing water and air element treasures for the Brandle and Mulyani clans. They had recently entered the area of darkness, where John was hoping to find something of sufficient power to take the burden of the blessing ceremony. With Ciaritzal now being whole, and his personal affinity to guide the process, it was unlikely the older generation would face such a significant drop in cultivation- but avoiding those results altogether was optimal. The trouble came down to finding something of worth. Not all power was usable in the same manner. Ciaritzal might be able to consume a preserved corpse of a great beast, but that might not be the best option for spreading energy about. Their group had picked out a particularly dense energy to reach their current area, but John was not so certain it would be useful. ¡°Careful,¡± he said. ¡°The spores of these mushrooms give off a great power.¡± They had seen some mushrooms in the earth chambers, but these were quite different. Though their form started out fairly typical, a stem leading to a rounded cap, that was where they seemed to break conventions. Some were as tall as a man- not unheard of- but others grew even taller, where the space allowed. Instead of merely growing out of the rock floor, these mushrooms also grew out of other mushrooms, both branching off the stalks and caps. It made them appear somewhat treelike, though their stems were thick all along their length with little tapering- and the caps at the ends were much denser than leafy foliage. John picked up a rock and tossed it into one of the bundles of fungus. Surprisingly enough, the mushrooms themselves did not react. He couldn¡¯t be certain they had no mobility, but as the stone struck the bundle with enough force to make it tremble, a cloud of spores fell. Those spores settled on the ground- and on the lower parts of the mushroom-tree. Before his eyes, he saw new growths appearing. The largest growths pulled in both the surrounding spores and the spiritual energy of the mushrooms they were branching off of, leaving the latter with a hollow feeling. The whole process happened over a few seconds. Matayal shook her head. ¡°Seems dangerous to approach.¡± John nodded. ¡°One more attempt.¡± He pulled out one of his throwing daggers, sharp and well-made. Coating it with earth energy to provide the greatest possible impact, he threw it. The dagger sunk into a different mushroom-tree, shaking it. The blade sunk deep, though the fact that it did not entirely pierce the fungal mass meant it was fairly durable. However, there was no reaction. The spores simply fell, and did their thing- growing more quickly out of the blob itself compared to on the ground. There, the mushrooms only grew to finger sized. The ones around the base fused with the general mass. ¡°They don¡¯t seem to actually react¡­ but they¡¯re certainly dangerous.¡± ----- Wandering into whatever area felt safest was hardly a complex plan, but Aydan could only do so much. He had to make judgments as they came. It seemed odd that one of those would be following a mass of spiritual energy, or perhaps a large number of individual sources, but he had reasoning for that. It was unlikely for anything to immediately double back upon its path, especially if they stayed far enough behind it to avoid notice. Regardless of whatever that mass was, it should clear most trouble along the path it took. In his current state, any logic had to be good enough, and it had served them well enough so far. They¡¯d come across a few corpses of beasts- which was somewhat odd. The corpses were mostly whole, still full of spiritual energy. Numerous tiny wounds littered them at all points, indicating to Aydan that they were dealing with a swarm rather than something similar to the oozes. It was odd they hadn¡¯t consumed their kills, but Aydan didn¡¯t want to question it too much. He just kept his focus ahead, while also paying attention to where Ursel and Tirto moved. They had to remain safe, best accomplished by him staying ahead. Just not so far he couldn¡¯t protect them if something came from behind. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Ahead, he spotted an oddity. ¡°Careful,¡± he cautioned the siblings. Not that they weren¡¯t on guard at all times. He moved closer cautiously. ¡°Looks like some sort of web.¡± A sheet web, to be precise, flapping loosely against the left side of the tunnel. There were shreds of it elsewhere, but some part had held on- and had ensnared some hundreds or thousands of beetles, each with a body about the size of a fingernail. Not particularly tiny or large by the scale of normal insects. Some of the mass was shaking loose, but most of those that remained were starting to weaken in their struggles as a large number of spiders- smaller individually than the beetles- climbed over them, sinking teeth between their defensive plates and causing them to still. The spiders then began to wrap up the beetles. Such a thing could be ignored, were it anywhere else. Insects were the lowest of all life- but the spark of spiritual energy within each and every arachnid and beetle meant that as a whole, they could be a threat. ¡°Oh cool,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Bugs!¡± ¡°Best leave them alone,¡± Aydan said. If they didn¡¯t disturb them there should be no trouble, and from what he saw they could at most be an annoyance. The only concern was that the swarm he was following had many times more beetles in it. Aydan continued on with caution- but fatigue was dulling his senses. There was no way to know for certain if he would have noticed the razor-sharp threads at head level in his optimal state. The only thing that was certain was stumbling into a web face-first, a dozen threads lacerating his skin. Unprotected by spiritual energy he would have been wounded far worse. He immediately jerked back, stretching some of the web with him. His sword sliced through the webs where they had not broken, freeing himself just as something dropped on him. A spider, legs extending out to match the size of his palm. Fangs sunk into his forehead, but he tore the arachnid away, crushing it against the wall. Unlike the others, it seemed to have made its web alone. ¡°... Are you alright?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Aydan lied. He couldn¡¯t afford further wounds¡­ and he felt a sharp pain spreading around his head. Attempts to force out the poison proved difficult. It clung to his blood¡­ so he forced out both, a few dozen milliliters worth of blood he couldn¡¯t afford to lose- but couldn¡¯t keep. He did his best to subtly retrieve and swallow a pill, forcing the medicinal energy through his body. He would pay for that later, but he had to make it to later to care. Keeping his sword in front of him he was able to avoid further trouble from webs, the razorweb spiders unable to reach him if he became aware of them. The siblings followed behind, safe in his shadow. Senses stretched and strained, determining that up ahead the swarm had slowed- Aydan didn¡¯t want to approach, but he was concerned about staying in place as well. He maintained caution, until the point at which he felt something familiar. After that, he didn¡¯t exactly rush, but he strode forward with determination. One step in front of the other, while he still could. The first part of what he found ahead couldn¡¯t truly be called a battle. A swarm of beetles crawling over something that didn¡¯t fight back was hardly a battle. Based on what he saw further ahead, they were mushrooms, sprouting like a tree- he simply couldn¡¯t see any part of the closest ones. Further on, less of the swarm had reached- and some of it was scattered due to the people present. Familiar wind and water elements, and more importantly a pleasant darkness wrapped up with a trio of other elements. Either Aydan was so delusional as to be dead already, or they¡¯d found Fortkran and Matayal. Salvation for Ursel and Tirto, at last. ¡°Mother!¡± Tirto called, maintaining some level of caution and not rushing towards her as he clearly desired. Ursel simply clutched her club, looking for a place she could make a difference. She hung back behind Aydan, which he was grateful for. The swarm had carved a path between the mushroom trees, the latter of which the other cultivators were clearly avoiding- and thus Aydan would do so as well. Skirting by part of the swarm that had just started devouring a mass of fungus, Aydan kept a cloak of darkness around himself and the siblings, simply to make them less attractive of a target. Ice froze part of the swarm into a single odd statue as Matayal strode confidently forward, paired with Fortkran and followed by a number of others. Winds pushed away both beetles and some sort of terrible spores that grew out of everything they touched- including some of the beetles. Nearby beetles seemed interested in what human tasted like compared to fungus, but Aydan and the two with him swept them away, Aydan¡¯s energy straining to its limits. They moved forward, and soon there was only one clump between them and the others. Fire burned through the area, followed by a wave of water sweeping everything to the side. Aydan didn¡¯t stop the siblings from rushing forward into their parents arms. Not that he could have if he wanted to. He smiled, relief flowing through him. His body relaxed, sword falling out of his hands. He knew that just a meter or two away there were thousands of beetles that might try to devour him, but he didn¡¯t care. He¡¯d at least accomplished this. His failures, his overconfidence¡­ at least this had come to pass. Two of the siblings safe. What would transpire for the Tenebach clan without their young mistress, he could not be certain. Perhaps, somehow, she yet lived. That was all Aydan could hope for, that his carelessness wouldn¡¯t break the line of succession. His eyes caught Fortkran, his nephew. There was much to tell, and he gladly would¡­ if it was possible. As adrenaline left him followed by his spiritual energy no longer supporting his tired body, he collapsed to hands and knees, briefly catching himself before total darkness overcame his mind. He was glad that the siblings were not looking. Chapter 223 Despite her growing fatigue, Melanthina felt oddly safe. Maybe that was actually because of the mental fatigue, messing with her brain. How could she be safe, here in a place where even the environment wanted to kill her? Even if Nik kept the light element away from her, she wasn¡¯t actually as safe as if she was with someone¡­ stronger. No offense to him, but he was only a match for herself- and she knew she wasn¡¯t powerful in the grand scheme of things. ¡°Do you recognize any landmarks?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Unfortunately, the Prismatic Chambers shift with time. The last time the Combining Luster Sect came here, there were clouds of insects lighting a path. And a shaft of light coming from the depths of the earth. The rest is just crystals on stone walls,¡± he gestured vaguely, ¡°Which could only possibly guide someone if they had seen them before.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t run into anyone¡­¡± Melanthina frowned. ¡°But your sect was heading here, correct?¡± ¡°Assuming we haven¡¯t stumbled onto an entirely different an unconnected series of light chambers,¡± Nik confirmed. Upon looking at Melanthina¡¯s response, he quickly clarified, ¡°But there¡¯s been no records of such a thing. We just have to find somewhere familiar. Or someone who would let us follow them out. As long as it¡¯s not the Gleaming Sun Sect.¡± ¡°Or the Righteous Flame League.¡± ¡°Or them,¡± Nik agreed. ¡°I wonder what happened to Zoubida.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Melanthina asked, accidentally tightening her grip. ¡°Because if she didn¡¯t get herself killed running off alone, she might not have nice things to say about me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because she¡¯s stupid.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t actually change how people react,¡± Nik shrugged. Silence dominated their time, even though they weren¡¯t actually attempting stealth. Speaking took energy, and something to talk about. Melanthina didn¡¯t do much chatting with anyone but her siblings and to a lesser extent other family, and talking about their current situation was just depressing. Nik didn¡¯t initiate much either, simply commenting on features they came across. They came across a chamber, empty except for the ever-present light element. It was actually rather nice, not too bright. Upon the walls danced patterns that seemed to come from nowhere. It was like sunlight in the clear ocean around Pualani, dancing on the sandy floor. ¡°This is caused by luminescent strings,¡± Nik explained. ¡°A form of spirit light, but it actually had some solidity and surprising durability.¡± ¡°Do people weave them into clothing?¡± ¡°People have tried it,¡± Nik said, leaning his staff against himself then stretching his free hand out, grabbing at nothing. ¡°Tell me, does this seem like good material?¡± ¡°Does¡­ what?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Here, feel it. It¡¯s non-volatile.¡± Melanthina sheathed her dagger and took the nothing from Nik¡¯s hand. In it, she felt perhaps the softest thing she¡¯d ever experienced. Shadowsilk could only just match it. ¡°Wow this is¡­ amazing.¡± ¡°Right? Would you wear it?¡± ¡°Well, it is light element so¡­ probably not?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only reason?¡± Nik raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why else would-¡± Melanthina blushed, ¡°I mean, obviously there are other factors that make it poor as a material. Perhaps a cloak or gloves might do.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± Nik admitted. ¡°People find things to do with it anyway, so it¡¯s still valuable. I don¡¯t suppose you have a spool?¡± ¡°Fresh out,¡± Melanthina replied. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Nik frowned, rummaging through his storage bag. ¡°This will have to do, I guess. My backup staff.¡± ¡°I think I saw that one before. During one of our duels,¡± Melanthina clarified. ¡°It¡¯s a shame to just throw out a perfectly good weapon. And you never know when something will be destroyed.¡± Nik let go of Melanthina to use both hands spooling up as much of the practically invisible thread as possible. The patterns in the room faded away, leaving a pleasant glow around the staff. Nik did something to tie off the ends. ¡°That¡¯ll have to do.¡± He put it away, then naturally reached out for Melanthina¡¯s hand again. She considered refusing, but it was more efficient and less awkward than him simply hovering around her trying to deflect the light element. And though this particular chamber was fairly timid, others could be quite draining. ----- ¡°... What conflict do you have with the Gleaming Sun Sect?¡± ¡°Historical sect squabbles,¡± Nik replied. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I was just thinking maybe we shouldn¡¯t allow fire and light cultivators. The Righteous Flame League is also awful.¡± Then Melanthina cleared her throat, ¡°Also I sense them up ahead. The Gleaming Sun.¡± Now that they were brought to her mind again, Melanthina remembered they weren¡¯t exactly on good terms with the Tenebach clan either. They were significantly weaker so that wouldn¡¯t be a problem except that she was the young mistress of the clan off by herself. And a second Foundation Phase cultivator wouldn¡¯t change the odds any. They had more than a handful in the group up ahead, and twice that in the Spiritual Collection Phase. ¡°Now that you mention it,¡± Nik frowned. ¡°I can sense them. I think¡­ they¡¯re coming this way.¡± He looked at Melanthina. ¡°Do we run? I don¡¯t think fighting is an option.¡± ¡°Running would just get us caught,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°At the very least, I stand out in this place. If we split up-¡± Nik began to pull her down a side tunnel, with haste but not such speed that it required outputting spiritual energy. ¡°Maybe they haven¡¯t noticed us yet. I¡¯m sure they could be distracted by something shiny.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°What¡¯s this way?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Nothing of interest. Which is the point.¡± ¡°... Is that supposed to include no tunnels?¡± ¡°Dammit,¡± Nik also sensed the end of their tunnel up ahead. ¡°It most certainly was not. Alright, what if I go back and-¡± ¡°Can you follow my guidance?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Perhaps we can camouflage ourselves among the light element here.¡± ¡°Light isn¡¯t much good for hiding,¡± Nik pointed out. Melanthina kept them walking forward. ¡°We have to try. And darkness cultivators know how to conceal things.¡± ¡°If this doesn¡¯t work-¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to hope they get distracted by something else. I think they¡¯re already at the entrance of our little tunnel here.¡± Melanthina pulled Nik up against the wall, keeping their connection. ¡°Work with my flow. We want to match the surroundings.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll just be able to see us.¡± ¡°I heard from my father that light can be bent around people for invisibility.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do that,¡± Nik admitted. ¡°Then we¡¯d better figure it out quickly.¡± Melanthina reached out for Nik, her spiritual energy wanting to react destructively with his. That certainly would not be allowed. She¡¯d spent a lot of effort learning how to make it not do that, but actually working with light would be¡­ new. Strands of energy intertwined like fingers, and the two of them managed not to kill each other. Neither of them could spare the attention to determine if the Gleaming Sun Sect was approaching or not. They had to focus entirely on their efforts. First the outer flow of energy was made to match the surroundings. Then they began the complicated process of bending the light. Melanthina kept her voice low as she gave verbal guidance. ¡°We need to make sure that the light from the wall behind us reflects back to their eyes, and the same in reverse.¡± They were wedged into a divot in the wall so the angle they had to deal with was less, at least. ¡°Focus on the flow of energy, since small visual aberrations will likely be ignored by cultivators if the spiritual energy is as expected.¡± Nik was good at this. Then again, he should be. He had plenty of practice dealing with darkness just from fights with her. He knew what people would be looking for. ¡°... Is it supposed to go dark?¡± he whispered. ¡°I¡¯d assume that¡¯s from the light no longer reaching our eyes,¡± Melanthina replied. ¡°Quiet now. I think I hear someone approaching.¡± Footfalls on stone soon became clear enough, and they couldn¡¯t do anything but hope their concealment was effective. ¡°I swear I sensed someone,¡± said a masculine voice. ¡°Well there isn¡¯t anyone here now,¡± replied a feminine voice. ¡°Just a dead end tunnel.¡± ¡°... Maybe there¡¯s a hidden passage?¡± A sudden burst of energy sent the tunnel to trembling, a wave of heat washing over the two hiding individuals. ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel like it. Seems solid. Let¡¯s return to looking for something tangible instead of chasing ghosts.¡± Melanthina wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but she knew that was exactly the wrong time to do so. She continued to control her breath, never actually holding it so she would not become lightheaded. She felt Nik¡¯s breath following the same pattern. After the footsteps receded, she wasn¡¯t sure how long it took for Nik to say something. ¡°When can we stop? I don¡¯t know if I can hold this.¡± ¡°You can drop the visual,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Hold onto the other. I¡¯ll try to sense how far they¡¯ve gone.¡± Suddenly, two faces were looking at each other up close. Too close. Melanthina distracted herself with what she¡¯d said she would do, picking up senses of light mixed with fire as subtly as possible. ¡°They definitely moved past,¡± she confirmed. ¡°If you can maintain this while moving, we can slip down the tunnel they came from originally.¡± Melanthina led the way, choosing where they stepped and their pace, her clasped hand trailing behind. She was pretty sure her fingers were numb, and Nik¡¯s would be too- or aching, perhaps. Soon the feeling of the Gleaming Sun Sect faded behind them. The tension slowly receded from them, and pins and needles flowed into Melanthina¡¯s hand. But she didn¡¯t want to let go, or she¡¯d have to face the light element around them. ¡°Finally,¡± Nik sighed, dropping the extra concealment. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you keep that up.¡± ¡°Practice,¡± Melanthina shrugged, ¡°And perhaps darkness is better suited for such deceptions.¡± ----- Sometime after their next rest, they sensed another group incoming. ¡°Powerful,¡± Nik commented. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can avoid them. They¡¯re also¡­ an odd group.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t quite pick them out,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°What¡¯s odd?¡± ¡°Pure light element cultivators. Mixed with pure fire cultivators, and pure earth cultivators.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Melanthina¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That might be-¡± she stifled her enthusiasm. ¡°We should try to find out who they are.¡± ¡°What were you going to say?¡± Melanthina shook her head, ¡°That¡¯s the same configuration as part of our group. Can you tell the styles?¡± ¡°Just the elements from here. There are¡­ multiple Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators.¡± ¡°We have to approach,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°If they¡¯re enemies¡­ they might already have sensed us. If they¡¯re neutral, I can buy our way out.¡± ¡°With what?¡± ¡°Promises of clan funds,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough of value on me to bother killing me, if they¡¯re not already enemies.¡± ¡°Sounds nice,¡± Nik admitted. ¡°You¡¯d be coming as well, of course. I couldn¡¯t just leave you.¡± ¡°How nice. I suppose we have to determine if they¡¯re friendly or not, first.¡± Nik frowned, ¡°They seem to have turned towards us.¡± Tension filled Melanthina. It could be an unknown alliance of enemies- the Tenebach clan had more than a few groups that would want to kill her. But it could also be friendly. She could pick them out now, through the light element. Then she began to recognize their aura. Her steps sped up. ¡°Are you in a hurry for something?¡± ¡°It is them,¡± Melanthina confirmed. ¡°The Golden Tomb Guardians, Milanovic clan, and the Amber Heart.¡± Tears slowly rolled down her face. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°Seems so,¡± Nik said. He also seemed relieved, though he was clearly less immediately relaxed with the incoming group. Flames. Suddenly in front of them was a whirlwind of blue fire. ¡°Who the hell are you, kid, to make this nice young woman cry?¡± ¡°Uh, I-¡± Nik stammered. ¡°That¡¯s her boyfriend,¡± said a feminine voice that pulled back the blue flames with some green. ¡°Oh, that guy,¡± flames faded, revealing Lucanus and Yustina. ¡°¡®Sup, kid?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not-¡± Melanthina dropped Nik¡¯s hand. ¡°He was just helping me fend off the light element.¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± Lucanus said. ¡°I mean it!¡± Melanthina frowned. ¡°But I¡¯m sure he¡¯s quite fatigued so¡­ perhaps I could get assistance from someone else¡­?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Yustina said, looking back towards Deirdre. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose we could give an explanation of why you¡¯re here with just him?¡± Melanthina hung her head. ¡°It¡¯s complicated and¡­ long.¡± If only she¡¯d dodged the correct way. Or watched her feet. Or chosen a different path. But at least she¡¯d survived. Melanthina didn¡¯t even realize her knees were giving out until Nik was propping her up under her elbow. Her consciousness slowly faded away as others caught up to Lucanus and Yustina. Chapter 224 Bits and pieces of the mushroom-trees, including the spores, were stored along with the remains of the beetles that fed on said mushrooms. All had some value for the darkness element they contained, perhaps usable for the upcoming blessing ceremony. The rewards of the battle itself meant very little compared to the news that came along with it. Melanthina missing, the other two siblings slipping away after Aydan to try to find her. John and Matayal had already exchanged quiet words. They had not even known the two were in peril, but seeing their relief it was clear they would think carefully about what they did in the future. What punishment could their parents provide that would prove more effective than of them nearly dying due to their choices? If they had wandered off simply searching for excitement, things might have been different- but concern for their sister was completely understandable. Even if ultimately they did more harm than good. There would be things to say later, but for the moment they needed comfort. While the two parents comforted their children, other members of the group checked on Aydan¡¯s condition. He was alive, though that was about as optimistic as an assessment of his condition could be. Overtaxed spiritual energy, half-healed wounds, and overall a body pushed to its limits. But he would be carried away on a stretcher rather than in a bodybag. ----- The discussion came up about what to do next. ¡°The future of the clan is at stake¡­¡± John frowned. ¡°It is uncertain if we have enough materials to perform the empowerment ceremony without reducing the older generation¡¯s cultivation. On the other hand, we clearly can¡¯t ignore Melanthina¡¯s plight.¡± Harta Mulyani shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a good answer to be had here. However, the Mulyani clan has already achieved our goals. We will support you in whatever decision you make.¡± Though he said that, the Mulyani clan would benefit from spending more time in the air chambers on the return trip. ¡°She is as much my daughter as she is yours,¡± Matayal added. ¡°And though it pains me to say it, I think we much take a practical approach to the situation. Either she has found some method to survive longer¡­ or she has already perished.¡± Not knowing Melanthina¡¯s actual situation, they could only speculate. ¡°As the current head of the Tenebach clan, it is your duty to decide how to approach the situation.¡± John nodded, closing his eyes in thought. But there were no decisions he could make that were particularly better than others. ¡°We will focus on searching the area. As a group. We will not split apart and weaken ourselves. The priority will be finding signs of Melanthina, with resources as a secondary objective. If we don¡¯t find anything in the near future¡­ we need to withdraw from the Prismatic Chambers with more speed. Perhaps she will have managed to return to the training group or¡­¡± John shook his head. Everything was speculation. ----- What Melanthina wanted most was to see her family. But, unlike them, she was confident she would see them again. Lucanus and Yustina were a powerful pair, not to mention Deirdre and of course Renato of the Amber Heart. She was safe, and she would not stray from their protection. It bothered her how much she needed it, but she had to accept that. Nik had drifted away, more into the center of the Golden Tomb Guardians whereas Melanthina remained on the outer edge with several of them directing the light element away from her. They weren¡¯t as good at the job as Nik alone, but then again that required physical contact. She was the young mistress of the Tenebach clan, so she couldn¡¯t exactly go around touching people casually. It would be unbecoming of her. And without proper affinity, contact would probably do more harm than good. Even the next ¡®day¡¯, when she¡¯d gotten some proper rest, Melanthina found herself in a sort of daze. It wasn¡¯t just the prominent light element, though that didn¡¯t help. It was that she was still alive, which was difficult to believe. She¡¯d learned a lot, about herself and about what she needed to carry with her. Her storage bag didn¡¯t even have rations or much in the way of water. She relied on others for everything. That was what she had grown used to, but clearly her reliance had gone too far. As the head of a clan she would ultimately be relying on others for support, but she had to be able to take care of everything one person could handle. ----- During one break, the parents sat the two down to talk. ¡°We want you to know that we understand why you snuck off,¡± John said. ¡°But we¡¯re still upset,¡± Matayal added. ¡°Because we care about you.¡± ¡°Remember, just like you love your sister and don¡¯t want her to come to harm¡­ she also would be sad to hear you got hurt because of her,¡± John said. The two siblings said little, simply nodding, their heads held down in shame. That wasn¡¯t the main intent of the conversation, but it had to be done sooner rather than later. Their group scoured tunnels, slaying anything that got in their way and looking for any signs of¡­ anything. But the Prismatic Chambers weren¡¯t some tiny tunnels, but a sprawling network that spanned almost a whole country. No matter how much ground cultivators could cover, they could not see all of any section. Their time wasn¡¯t unlimited, either. The Prismatic Chambers weren¡¯t exactly sealed like the Crystal Caverns that the Order of the Amber Heart controlled, but there were safer times to enter. These lasted a month or two, outside of which even a group like theirs would struggle to survive for long. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. One of the hardest things John ever had to do was declare they were calling off the search and returning. Nobody was happy about that- not himself, not Matayal or Ursel or Tirto. Nor were their allies happy. But, everyone accepted it. Even the siblings. Ursel and Tirto would be watched carefully, of course. Just because John expected them to grow and learn the consequences of their actions didn¡¯t mean they would have done so immediately. He hoped their talk, short as it was, would influence them. And either they truly listened, or found no opportunities. ----- Returning through the fire and earth chambers, Melathina grew more comfortable. Nik somewhat less so, but he¡¯d had a chance to refresh himself in the light chambers- and not having to worry about their survival let both relax. They exchanged few words during their gradual departure. When they finally stepped out into the sunlight- a source of light a dozen times better than pure light element infused chambers- Melanthina didn¡¯t have a chance to say anything as she was tackled by her siblings. ¡°I thought you were deeeaaahd!¡± sobbed Ursel. Tirto was clearly using his control of the water element to wipe away his own tears. ¡°We followed after to look for you.¡± ¡°... by yourselves?¡± Melanthina asked. She didn¡¯t get an answer to that, which told her what she needed to know. ¡°... stupid¡­¡± The young adults soon found themselves encapsulated by two more pairs of slightly larger arms- though their parents were not all that much bigger than them anymore. ¡°You made it out.¡± Melanthina easily recognized her father¡¯s aura, and took comfort in it. She also loved her mother, of course, but their connection wasn¡¯t as deep. It might have been due to the lack of shared element, or something else- not that it truly mattered. Because they were still family. And she was alive. Off in the distance, she barely spotten Nik being taken in by the elders of the Combining Luster Sect. His return was met with much relief¡­ but more formality and lacking familial love. Melanthina didn¡¯t want to think about that, and pulled her eyes away. She didn¡¯t see the Righteous Flame League anywhere, so there was no indication if that bitch Zoubida made it out. She hoped not. That would be the only positive about everything that happened. ----- Some days later, in the headquarters of the Order of the Amber Heart. ¡°So,¡± Renato looked down at his pupil. ¡°You broke through to the Soul Expansion Phase, awakened a new totem, and broke free from spiritual energy restraining shackles.¡± Ursel nodded proudly. ¡°And then you went and almost got yourself killed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not quite-¡± Renato cut her off. ¡°If you¡¯re going to act like you¡¯re invincible, you¡¯re going to need to be quite a bit stronger. I hope you¡¯re prepared to train hard, because I won¡¯t be going easy on you.¡± ¡°Understood, master,¡± Ursel stood up as tall and proud as she could. More strength¡­ that was what she needed. Enough that she could protect everyone she cared about. The whole point of them being on that expedition was training, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop there. ----- ¡°I want to visit the leviathan,¡± Tirto declared. His mother looked at him, seeing the resolve in his eyes. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to be doing something stupid, are you?¡± ¡°You will be with me, mother,¡± Tirto replied. ¡°I trust that you will keep me safe while I do what I must.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± ¡°I need to be in its presence to find totems that resonate with it,¡± Tirto explained. ¡°It is the strongest power I know, and both myself and the clan would benefit from positive results.¡± Matayal looked him over carefully. Tirto was usually not the one to undertake foolish actions, but this most recent time he¡¯d gone along with Ursel- without prompting. On the other hand, he seemed to have thought about this next step, and was set in his plan. ¡°Very well. I can take you¡­ but be aware of your own limits. I know your cultivation has gone smoothly up until now, but don¡¯t forget that thresholds between stages are the most important point¡­ and the most dangerous. Even if you aren¡¯t pushing yourself. You cannot afford to fail.¡± Tirto nodded, his eyes filled with conviction. ----- Darkness swirled inside Melanthina. The blessing ceremony was coming up, and if she could break through to the Soul Expansion Phase before she got the proper blessing, it would mean wonders for her future cultivation. Unfortunately¡­ Melanthina sighed. If she kept trying like this, she would just hurt herself. Her mind was just constantly distracted with thoughts of¡­ stupid things. That wouldn¡¯t do. She had to focus on what was best for the future of the clan. To that end, she found her father and made a declaration. ¡°Father, I am ready to accept suitors.¡± ¡°You are, are you?¡± John smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I will marry any of them,¡± Melanthina folded her arms. ¡°But I need to see who will make offers. For the sake of the clan¡¯s future.¡± ¡°Of course. In that case, I will ask for only the most qualified candidates. I am certain there will be many from the Darklands and the Stone Conglomerate eager to make their attempt to win your hand in marriage.¡± Melanthina nodded seriously, but her gaze looked off into the distance. ----- The journey to the Prismatic Chambers had provided much experience to those who went along, as well as opportunities for resources. Overall, the alliance associated with the ¡®Club¡¯ had come out in a good position, despite various setbacks. They were not without their casualties. Injuries- some permanent- along with deaths. But the trials and experience would help others improve, and the resources would be used to train their clans and sects. They weren¡¯t the only ones to have gains. There were other groups of significant power, and not all from the local region. The Molten Sea cultivators and those from the Sky Islands were able to snag resources for themselves, and they continued their encroachment into the area for their own unclear goals, influence spreading ever further as time continued to pass. Chapter 225 Looking for suitors involved sitting around at a lot of fancy parties watching swarms of men vie for her attention. Though some might enjoy that, Melanthina found it rather boring even when things escalated to actual combat. She wasn¡¯t actually in any rush to choose who she would marry, so she just watched and made noncommittal statements. Unless a suitor was particularly dreadful, in which case she told them in no uncertain terms that they could leave and not come back. Otherwise, she tolerated them for the sake of the clan. The first individual to catch her eye did so by suppressing everyone in his path without a word. One component of that was the way he carried himself, with confidence. The other could probably be attributed to people not wanting to be swarmed by bugs. Not that Melanthina actually saw any, as the man from the Calamitous Swarm kept things well contained. ¡°A pleasure to meet you,¡± the man inclined his head to Melanthina. I am Grigorii, of the Calamitous Swarm. Though we remain physically distant, our previous interactions have led to us desiring closer ties.¡± The man spoke like she was the only person in the room. He ignored the other suitors, of course, but he also focused his attention on Melanthina, instead of addressing her father. Not that he ignored the man, but he made his intentions clear. Obviously he was another suitor. That was the whole point of these monthly gatherings. Melanthina began judging him. To his credit, he was not immediately discounted like the vast majority. Backing? The Calamitous Swarm was a powerful darkness sect, and friendly with the Tenebach clan. Strengthening ties wouldn¡¯t hurt. His cultivation? Late Soul Expansion Phase, not bad for his age. His age was the first negative factor, however. He had to be at least a decade older than Melanthina, perhaps even twice her age. In three years when she was of marriageable age it would be less significant, and another decade after that it would hardly be noticeable. For cultivators a couple decades became very little, in the extreme cases stretching to a half century. It was merely the first strike against him. As for his cultivation technique? Melanthina did not mind insects, having even experimented with the basics of the Calamitous Swarm¡¯s control methods. That didn¡¯t sway her either way, though of course like the majority of her suitors he was of the darkness element. The most directly compatible and simple matchup for her, since being outside of the four core elements she was not within the cycle of dominating and supporting elements. They talked for some time, though Melanthina couldn¡¯t show too much preference for anyone immediately. Over the course of the evening she observed his etiquette, which was not something all sect cultivators bothered with. ¡°Do you know Bodana?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°She escorted us through the Soulrot Bogs on one of our journeys.¡± ¡°How could I not?¡± Grigorii replied. ¡°She is well known in the sect. And of course, she was my teacher.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Melanthina raised an eyebrow. ¡°I never would have guessed.¡± She really wouldn¡¯t have. Because Grigorii kept his swarm hidden while Bodana¡­ honestly, Melanthina wasn¡¯t certain if she¡¯d seen the woman herself the entire time, with the density of the cloud around her. ¡°I didn¡¯t end up going with the same style, obviously,¡± Grigorii said. ¡°But I learned much under her tutelage.¡± Melanthina watched the way he used his knife and fork to cut a thin strip of meat. He chewed precisely and evenly. ¡°This is excellent. What sort of spices does it use?¡± ¡°Most of them I don¡¯t know,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°Just the local peppers. I¡¯m certain we could ask the chefs. Do you cook?¡± ¡°Oh no, not myself. But I would be interested to see if we could reproduce the same flavor in our kitchens.¡± ¡°Yes of course,¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡± Subconsciously, he lost points for that, even if it was all entirely reasonable and expected. ----- Strong fingers squeezed the ingot of tempered Mountain Steel, formed by the very hands of Ursel¡¯s master. This ingot wasn¡¯t meant for anything except to exhibit the properties of the material. Nothing she did could cause it to bend, but she knew that if it did, its flexibility would allow it to return to its current state. So far, she hadn¡¯t been able to put a scratch on it, even smashing it with her weapon made her more worried about the stone of her club. Then again, there was nothing she could lay it on that would withstand its force, so it simply created an ingot shaped hole in the surface. She twisted and pulled, straining her fingers and energy, but of course this would do nothing. She already knew that, but her stubbornness didn¡¯t allow her to give up against something that couldn¡¯t even fight back. She had another technique, of course, a new one from her third totem. Roots. If she were to give it a proper name, the totem was Roots Cracking Boulders. These roots could squeeze into a tiny gap, generating exceptional force and tearing at the weaknesses of a material. And so far, she had gotten absolutely zero benefit from them while fighting this tempered Mountain Steel But she was just a newly born hill, and her master was a high mountain. There was the entire gulf of the Soul Expansion Phase and the Consolidated Soul Phase between them. On the other hand, this was a soulless hunk of metal that wasn¡¯t even being augmented by spiritual energy and not being able to overcome it with either raw force or her new ability bothered her. Roots needed at least a tiny crack to slip into, but this ingot was pristine. It had been forged to extreme limits, and while it was technically useless now- once it had been fixed in its form, it would take more effort to turn it into usable weapons or armor- it was still a challenge. There were things she could not beat with brute force even if they just sat there and let her. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Her pride at unlocking her new totem and snapping apart the shackles binding her had already been diminished by the following results- nearly getting herself and her brother killed instead of helping her sister in any way. Melanthina was safe, but it wasn¡¯t at all because of Ursel. And Aydan was¡­ not showing himself around her. Nobody would quite tell her how bad it was, but his injuries weren¡¯t just something he could recover from in a month or two. Ursel ground her teeth, trying to force her spiritual energy into the stupid, flawless hunk of metal. Even if she was trained in cold smithing, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to break apart the bonds of her master. But her new totem was powerful, and if she could find the slightest gap she could do something. In the end, she made no progress, throwing the tremendously heavy chunk of metal on the ground in frustration. She wished she could go out and smash something, but she wasn¡¯t allowed to fight until she showed progress outside of combat. And she knew master Renato probably knew better than she did, but she didn¡¯t feel herself getting stronger, and if she had it couldn¡¯t have possibly been as quick as she wanted. ----- Floating in the depths in front of the leviathan, Tirto felt the ebb and flow of the massive creature¡¯s energy. It permeated everything in the area, influencing not only the sea itself but also the local inhabitants. While some creatures became more aggressive, most simply grew stronger gradually while keeping their normal levels of conflict. Not that either result said much about the leviathan itself. It was asleep. Or hibernating. Or maybe very slowly dying? Tirto didn¡¯t think it was that one, because it didn¡¯t feel any weaker since he¡¯d first seen it, but he couldn¡¯t guarantee anything. ¡°Mother,¡± Tirto spoke, modifying his voice to be more comprehensible underwater. ¡°I would like to get closer to the leviathan.¡± ¡°And how are you going to do that?¡± Matayal asked calmly. ¡°We are already directly adjacent to it.¡± It was true, they were positioned right in front of one of the caves. Whether it was a nostril or blowhole or pore or something else entirely, it was part of the leviathan. There wasn¡¯t much closer they could be. Except, with the layer of rock covering the surface of the creature- even inside the ¡®cave¡¯, Tirto could imagine being closer. ¡°What if we go inside?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°We can feel the core of the beast, perhaps.¡± ¡°Or get swallowed by it, never to make our way out,¡± his mother countered. ¡°If we go by the cycles of its breath, even if it performs particularly abnormally we can expect a long safe spell. If we replenish ourselves and wait for the next, we could spend hours inside when we have days at minimum. I would have to rest long before it became a danger.¡± Even if he could replenish the air in his lungs- with some difficulty- he could only spend some hours underwater, especially considering the pressures of the depths. His mother was able to shield him from some difficulty, and was the only way he was able to ascend and descend quickly. ¡°You know,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I always thought you were the sensible one, of you three. Not the type to go running off doing something crazy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not crazy,¡± Tirto denied. ¡°Intentionally putting yourself inside an unfathomably powerful beast definitely is,¡± his mother countered. ¡°But¡­ I will admit to having some interest myself. We will do as you ask, but you must follow my instructions exactly. The moment I say we¡¯re leaving, you come with me at top speed.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I can hardly use my improvements to assist the clan or the rest of those I care for if I perish. And you are among those I would least like to see hurt.¡± ----- Each month more people came and went. Even if they understood they had no chance of catching Melanthina¡¯s attention, it was still valuable for people to show up at the banquets. That included other young women, looking to catch the attention of those with ambition and status. It was also valuable for networking between clans and sects, both in and around the Stone Conglomerate and more distant darkness clans. Eventually another suitor caught Melanthina¡¯s attention. This one closer to her age, though the vast majority of her suitors would be older. At best they would have just begun cultivating if they matched her age, and cultivation talent was one of the most important factors in who she chose. Someone from a good sect wouldn¡¯t really have any sway there if they had no cultivation talent. Sure, sometimes people married for love or whatever, but the Tenebach clan had to ensure their main line remained strong. Power was attractive anyway. Melanthina couldn¡¯t imagine having a husband that could not at least vaguely match her in cultivation. That would be a hindrance to her own potential growth. ¡°Young mistress Melanthina,¡± the young man said awkwardly. ¡°I hope you will um¡­ I came here to at least¡­ I¡¯m Vahagn. Of the Obsidian Tower.¡± The Obsidian Tower was technically inside the borders of the Wuthering Steppes, though it obviously had ties to the Darklands with the cultivators there. It was prominent enough for him to be considered. His current lack of social skills was certainly a problem, though it was strangely charming and could be rectified with some tutoring should he be chosen. ¡°Everyone is quite aware of why these banquets are being hosted,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Of course someone of your talent is of consideration as a suitor. Tell me, what have you accomplished?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m at the twentieth rank¡­¡± Early Soul Expansion Phase was a reasonable cultivation for his age, and Melanthina was just a step away from the nineteenth herself- she would likely advance after the blessing ceremony. ¡°I have totems from the third, fourth, and fifth layers¡­¡± It was likely he had stretched himself for that last one, but he seemed to have managed well. ¡°And I have won several tournaments, while ranking highly in others.¡± Melanthina just looked at him. He looked back. She continued to look at him. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Um, well, I know my accomplishments aren¡¯t that impressive yet, but I¡¯m sure in the future¡­¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Melanthina blinked. ¡°You were actually done? I thought you were just¡­ well, what¡¯s the biggest thing you¡¯ve killed?¡± ¡°Ah! Well, there was a razorwing falcon, quite comparable to your mature shadowhawks in speed- beautiful specimens, might I add- anyway, it had a wingspan of two men. I fought alongside other disciples of similar cultivation to defeat it.¡± Melanthina felt that the complement for the shadowhawks was sincere. Everything about this guy was. He was nice. Talented enough. Certainly, she could do worse. But she was kind of hoping for a story where he was snatched up into the sky and had to strangle a roc or something with his bare hands. Or something that sounded like he¡¯d pushed himself and dealt with adversity somehow. At least he didn¡¯t inflate his encounters. But somehow, he fell short of the standards she had set. Chapter 226 Shimmering reflections reminded Ursel that the ingot of tempered Mountain Steel was still undamaged. It was tempting to continue her efforts with brute force, and maybe if she was successful in that regard it would be good enough. She had to be able to learn a technique that could damage a completely still target, no matter how durable. That could be one way to surpass the training. But what was the point of having a new, powerful totem if she didn¡¯t use it? And she was quite capable of that, at least when considering anything else. Even if she were attacking Master Renato himself as long as she could break through his energy defenses, she could maneuver roots around his armor. But there were no cracks and flaws in this perfect ingot to exploit. It just was, as if it had always been. Logically she knew that it had been made, but she couldn¡¯t find evidence of that. She needed a crack or a divot or something. On a smaller level, her roots worked on living enemies because they were permeable by energy. That was technically true of the Mountain Steel. She could pass earth elemental energy through it- she just couldn¡¯t form it into something inside. Living things had all sorts of gaps in their bodies, between organs and bones and muscles. Plenty of space to manifest something and take advantage of the pushing forces of roots. Even the individual bones and organs themselves had pores she could take advantage of, eventually. For the moment, she didn¡¯t consciously choose how the roots grew, they just sought out where they could likely cause the most damage. But perhaps she would have to control the finer details eventually. Ursel continued banging her head against the wall- sometimes literally- for weeks. Complaining to Master Renato wouldn¡¯t do her any good, and there weren¡¯t really many others she expected to be able to explain things to her. She could ask for an explanation from him, but that felt like giving up. On the other hand, her father only had a single earth totem¡­ but he did know all sorts of weird things. And if nothing else, he would listen to her complaints. Ursel could also go to her sister, but Melanthina was weird lately along with being busy with clan stuff and Ursel didn¡¯t really think she would get heard properly. Since she wasn¡¯t making any progress, spending a couple days traveling back and forth was a good use of her time. And maybe she would stay a bit longer¡­ though it was awkward to be around the Tenebach clan. Aydan¡¯s injuries were at least partly her fault. ----- Though as the current leader of the Tenebach clan John found himself with many duties to attend to, he could always make time for his children. Especially if that time was being used for questions on cultivation- because that was one of the most important things either of them could be doing. Ursel held out a metal ingot. ¡°I can¡¯t damage it.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± John said, reaching out to take it. ¡°Let me take a look.¡± He almost dropped it when it turned out heavier than expected, but his quick reactions allowed him to adjust his grip and use some spiritual energy to protect both his toes and the floor. A very dense metal. ¡°Ah, Mountain Steel is it?¡± John nodded. ¡°Being difficult to damage is its main function, after all.¡± Ursel sighed, taking back the ingot. ¡°Obviously. But this is the task given to me by Master Renato.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem then?¡± John asked. ¡°... I can¡¯t damage it,¡± Ursel repeated. ¡°Why not?¡± Ursel grit her teeth. ¡°Because I¡¯m not strong enough.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°Because I know you are very strong. What, specifically, is the problem?¡± Ursel just threw up her arms, seeming to barely notice the heavy ingot in her hand as she did so. ¡°I can¡¯t smash it! It¡¯s tougher than anything I can smash it with or against so it just makes holes in stuff!¡± ¡°Alright,¡± John nodded. ¡°That¡¯s certainly one problem. In that case, you just need to find something tougher to smash it against. And no, that should not be any of our defensive walls,¡± John clarified. Ursel hung her head, ¡°Probably wouldn¡¯t even work.¡± ¡°And then?¡± John asked, waiting. ¡°What other ways have you tried?¡± ¡°I tried to bend it,¡± Ursel demonstrated, ¡°But that just makes my fingers hurt. I wanted to use my new totem to take advantage of gaps and pop it apart but there aren¡¯t any!¡± ¡°No gaps, huh?¡± John nodded, ¡°I suppose you could say that. I¡¯d bet it had some crystal defects though. Beyond that, everything has gaps if you look small enough.¡± ¡°How small?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Somewhere like¡­ a billionth of a meter?¡± John was fairly certain that was somewhere close. ¡°So like the gaps between atoms.¡± ¡°What are atoms?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Well they¡¯re¡­¡± John realized that this world didn¡¯t really need the concept of atoms, and in some ways it caused more headaches to know about them. The things that spiritual energy could do broke a lot of his understanding on every level of matter. ¡°Atoms are the smallest unit of a thing that make something the material it is.¡± That was only sort of true, because not everything was a pure element. More were molecules. That would take some explaining, if it mattered. ¡°Beyond that, it¡¯s just components that could become anything.¡± There were probably some ways that that wasn¡¯t true, but this was just a basic explanation. ¡°Anything?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°So if you could break something down into less than an atom, you could make it into anything else?¡± ¡°Sure. How much energy do you have?¡± John asked. ¡°How many trillions of trillions of times are you willing to repeat the process to have a usable amount of stuff?¡± John grinned. ¡°Atoms- and molecules- are very small.¡± ¡°How much is a usable amount of stuff? Like a house?¡± ¡°Like a teaspoon full of stuff,¡± John said. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Not everything does,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d want to break atoms down one at a time even if you could.¡± Though it could be useful? On the other hand, it might require a cultivation at the Ascending or Exalted Soul Phases, or even beyond what anyone could actually reach. Just because something could theoretically happen didn¡¯t mean humans could do it. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s of practical use to you,¡± John brought the discussion back around. ¡°If you could find a flaw in the crystal lattice, perhaps you could use your totem to take advantage of that. I¡¯m not sure how easy it would be to work at that size, though.¡± Ursel looked down at the ingot in her hand. ¡°This is metal though. Not a crystal.¡± ¡°Metals still have a crystal lattice. Uh, let¡¯s see¡­¡± John scooped up some nearby dirt. ¡°Nothing I show you will be fully correct because things get weird at small scales. But I can show a useful explanation anyway.¡± He formed the dirt into seven little spheres with connecting segments in the shape of a cube. ¡°This is one way that you can consider the atoms to connect. Each sphere is an atom, though these connecting sticks aren¡¯t necessarily solid. Or anything, really.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Ursel said. ¡°It might not be a good explanation,¡± John admitted. ¡°This is the sort of thing people can study for decades to come up with what seems like a better and maybe more accurate model.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ursel frowned. ¡°I¡¯m gonna need you to explain it more. How is it like a crystal, again?¡± John hoped he could remember enough to give a good explanation. Or recreate that knowledge somehow. He could certainly sense small enough to deal with things on the cellular level, but that was still several orders of magnitude larger than dealing with atoms. He doubted Renato had any of this in mind, but if this somehow made Ursel more effective it wouldn¡¯t matter. And if it didn¡¯t, hopefully it was fun and a good family bonding experience. ----- When he suggested going inside the leviathan, Tirto hadn¡¯t expected it to be quite so alive. Not the leviathan- they knew that was alive, at least in some sense of the word. There were just a lot more things living inside of it than Tirto expected. At least most of them didn¡¯t seem to be aggressive towards humans. There weren¡¯t any massive divergences in the ecology from standard deep sea fare. Not very many eyes, which Tirto found reasonable since he wasn¡¯t even using his. If necessary they could pull out a glowstone, but navigating by their energy senses was reasonable enough and wouldn¡¯t make them stick out. The few light sources were usually traps of some sort, and at best they would attract curious creatures. There were all sorts of eels, some particularly weird fish, crustaceans and all sorts of jellies and squid and other things that seemed to be more tentacles than anything else. A vibrant ecosystem that somehow thrived despite lacking most traditional sources of life. Except chunks of food from above, Tirto supposed. ¡°... Do you think these things eat the leviathan?¡± Tirto asked his mother next to him. ¡°These in particular? No. Something must have tried at some point though.¡± For the most part, Tirto was allowed to navigate as it pleased him. As long as his mother didn¡¯t sense any particular danger, he chose paths inwards towards what he presumed was the dantian of the creature, though he could not be certain if it even had one. Either way, it was where the flow of its energy was strongest. He didn¡¯t make it all that close before he couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure, both of the sea and the energy from the leviathan itself. He presumed he had at least another kilometer he could travel into the creature¡­ but being a couple hundred twisting meters into the creature did allow him to sense more of it. The overwhelming oddness of it all. He wanted to simply bask in that, taking in its feeling. Hopefully that would allow him to match to a similar totem, one of great strength or great potential. ----- ¡°So what is the point of these fancy dinners again?¡± Ursel leaned over to her sister. ¡°To improve relations with other clans and sects, and to search for an appropriate suitor for myself.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Because the Tenebach clan will need an heir at some point. You don¡¯t need me to explain the process to you, right Ursel?¡± Melanthina grinned slightly. ¡°I know how it works!¡± Ursel grumbled. ¡°I just thought you would¡­¡± Ursel drifted off, ¡°I don¡¯t know, you don¡¯t seem to like any of these guys.¡± ¡°That would be why this is still ongoing,¡± Melanthina pointed out. ¡°It could easily be years, or even a decade, before a proper match is found.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s a proper match then?¡± ¡°I have various standards,¡± Melanthina explained. ¡°One must have sufficient cultivation talent. There is little that can be done to get around that. I would not wish for my husband to be killed off or to have to hide in the manor forever. Along with that, they have to come from an appropriate sect or clan.¡± ¡°What¡¯s ¡®appropriate¡¯?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°A group we have or wish to have good relations with, of sufficient power. At our current status, dipping any lower than the upper-mid tier of sects would hinder the clan.¡± ¡°And someone you like.¡± ¡°Well¡­ of course¡­¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°But that¡¯s a more nebulous requirement. Difficult to discern unless I interact with people. Thus, they come to me because I am a fine catch¡­ and they would be marrying into the clan.¡± Melanthina looked to Ursel as well. ¡°No doubt some people would be interested in you in a similar fashion. Those looking to improve ties with the Order of the Amber Heart.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Ursel groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t make me think about that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying the truth. You¡¯re a woman of great cultivation talent who will have significant status. Many suitors would be interested.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass,¡± Ursel said. ¡°You might change your mind later,¡± Melanthina shrugged, ¡°But I have a duty to the clan.¡± ¡°But do you want to be married?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°... so who¡¯s the best one here?¡± Ursel looked around. ¡°In this batch? Probably Kaleo Kauhane.¡± ¡°Oh yeah. Him,¡± Ursel grimaced. ¡°Oh?¡± Melanthina raised an eyebrow. ¡°I just remembered that he and his sister walked around with¡­ the minimum amount of clothes possible.¡± ¡°The Shimmering Islands can be quite warm,¡± Melanthina shrugged. ¡°So, if he¡¯s the best candidate¡­ what does he have going for him?¡± ¡°Decent cultivation, obviously. The Kauhane clan is a bit on the weaker side of acceptable, but it would tie us more strongly to the Shimmering Islands, improving our alliance¡¯s influence. And I personally quite happen to like what he looks like with his shirt off.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t like him.¡± Melanthina shrugged, glad it wasn¡¯t weird for her to hide her conversation with her sister. ¡°Not really. He was just born into his position.¡± ¡°So were we,¡± Ursel pointed out. ¡°Well¡­ yeah,¡± Melanthina shrugged. ¡°Anyway, his element matches. It wouldn¡¯t be bad.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Ursel said. ¡°That¡¯s why.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why what?¡± ¡°I just expected someone else to be here but he¡¯s not the right element.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°One of the Milanovics?¡± ¡°... Sure,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Let¡¯s say that was who I was thinking.¡± Chapter 227 The block of heavy metal sat in Ursel¡¯s cradled hands. Maximizing its closeness would allow her to better observe it, and potentially pick out these very small¡­ things. Flaws in the structure. Or whatever. Ursel still hadn¡¯t observed anything on the level of ¡®atoms¡¯ or ¡®molecules¡¯ but what she understood was that she could look closer, deeper. It made sense, really. Though it appeared perfect, could anything made by a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator truly be perfect? Ursel knew she couldn¡¯t compare to them, but she also knew that there was at least one phase beyond. The Exalted Soul Phase was too legendary to count, though perhaps that would be the level when something actually achieved perfection. Ursel¡¯s senses focused on a smaller area, then smaller still. The smooth surface of the ingot had no flaws she could discern¡­ but there was at least one place she could look. It had edges, after all. Everything that wasn¡¯t a sphere had some sort of edge or visible change, and in a way a sphere had the most change as it was continuous. In this case, the ingot was the traditional shape, somewhat close to a rectangular prism. But it wasn¡¯t quite that, with angled edges making it slightly wider at the bottom. Closer to a trapezoidal prism, though the edges weren¡¯t hard but rounded. Either way, that left her plenty of places to search for flaws, places where two or even three faces met. She¡¯d done that before, but she hadn¡¯t been looking small enough. Probably. As she sought flaws, she also worked on decreasing the scale of her roots. They were naturally able to find paths, so perhaps if they were the right size they would work on their own. Smaller and smaller still, until Ursel wondered how they could possibly cause anything damage. Though the answer to that was simple- the same way as any other roots. For they did not have to remain at their starting size, but would expand to crack open any gaps they wormed their way into. Days turned into weeks turned into months as she immersed herself into the ingot for much of her waking hours¡­ until she finally squirmed the tiniest root imaginable into a crack she wasn¡¯t sure hadn¡¯t just been imagination. Her following celebrations immediately resulted in disappointment when she lost her focus and the root faded away, leaving no traces. But, the fact that it had been there for even a moment meant she could do it again. If she could find the exact spot again. ----- The way Aydan strode up to John, one would think that he had fully recovered from his injuries. His entrance into the underground chambers carefully policed by Ciaritzal had him standing proud and tall. ¡°How goes the studies?¡± Aydan asked. ¡°Slowly,¡± John replied. ¡°Carefully. Wouldn¡¯t want anyone to end up devoured by these spores.¡± The risks associated with these particular fungi were actually minimal- at least they couldn¡¯t spread out of the underground chambers. Sunlight would immediately kill off the darkness element fungal colonies. However, he and anyone else working with the fungi had to be careful, as it would happily devour darkness element or flesh, if one was careless. ¡°It does grow in contained power quickly, and we took some pointers from those beetles who seemed to feed off of it. Soon enough, we¡¯ll have sufficient energy that nobody has to drop their cultivation for the blessing ceremony.¡± ¡°About that,¡± Aydan commented. ¡°I think it would be better to perform it sooner rather than later. For the sake of not only the young mistress but also the younger generation as a whole.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be long, I don¡¯t think,¡± John assured him. ¡°At this point, a few months could be critical,¡± Aydan pointed out. ¡°Things aren¡¯t as stable as when¡­ you first arrived.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± John sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t come just to prod you,¡± Aydan said. ¡°I have a solution. Allow me to provide the necessary energy.¡± ¡°You know we¡¯ll call upon everyone when the time comes¡­¡± John said. ¡°Not just spare energy,¡± Aydan said, ¡°But using the traditional methods, I can give of my cultivation base.¡± ¡°You already did that a generation ago,¡± John said. ¡°It¡¯s not your duty.¡± ¡°Of course it is,¡± Aydan insisted. ¡°Especially given my failures.¡± ¡°Is this about that again?¡± John shook his head. ¡°It was simply unfortunate circumstances. Nothing you could have prevented. I don¡¯t blame you. Besides, you¡¯ve done so much for the clan- and for myself.¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± Aydan said, letting his legs tremble, ¡°This might be the last thing I can do for the clan.¡± John frowned. His uncle had opened himself up to be fully observed. His physical injuries did seem to be recovering, but John could feel the lingering damage from overusing medicines and overdrawing his spiritual energy. ¡°If you go through with this, it will be the last thing you do for the clan,¡± John said. ¡°Even if you live¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting better,¡± Aydan said. ¡°My cultivation will drop below the Consolidated Soul Phase on its own soon enough. And the time should be now. Melanthina is waiting for this for her advancement, as well as others.¡± Seeing that he would not be able to sway his uncle, John conceded. ¡°Very well, I will speak to Ciaritzal about your inclusion.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ----- ¡°Father,¡± Melanthina came to John while doing her best to not look like she was up to something. A state he immediately recognized. ¡°Your path of cultivation will see you next attuning to a totem that incorporates both fire and darkness, correct?. What totems have you considered?¡± Information on one¡¯s totems was not something that should be shared freely, but such information was never entirely secret. Speaking about it with trusted family members was perhaps unusual, but not necessarily inappropriate. John just couldn¡¯t figure out why Melanthina cared about this, in particular. ¡°That is the plan,¡± he said. ¡°There are a few options. Smoke related ones being the most direct, if I want to lean towards concealment and disruption. Then there would be something more offensive like balefire.¡± John would have called that hellfire, if the concept of hell existed the same way in this world. There were various views on afterlives- though the only thing that was confirmed was sometimes people reincarnated with memories. Though clearly not everyone. Were the rest wiped clean, or did something else happen after death? ¡°What does that one do?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°It would create clinging flames. There are potential variations¡­ like fires that feed only on the immaterial, or flames that draw the heat from the target.¡± That one got quite close to being tri-element with water involved, but John knew there was some flexibility on the edges of things anyway. The same results could easily come from different viewpoints, or they could diverge wildly from the same starting point. ¡°Sounds like you have interesting choices ahead of you,¡± Melanthina said sweetly. ¡°Have you considered what you would do after that? The final element is light. Are there even any light and darkness totems? Is that even possible?¡± John sighed. He¡¯d really hoped she was over that. Not because he didn¡¯t like Nik, but because things would be very difficult for her if she continued down this line of thinking, for various reasons. He looked at his daughter. She looked after him, with her best impression of innocent eyes. Perhaps if she¡¯d ever been innocent, she would have been more convincing. ¡°Combining light and darkness is perhaps the most difficult thing anyone could do. I will have the entirety of the Ascending Soul Phase to consider options. As for totems, I have looked into them somewhat.¡± ¡°And¡­?¡± Melanthina prompted. ¡°And what?¡± ¡°Are there any totems that combine light and darkness?¡± ¡°There are. Though they are quite rare, and have the capacity for great danger. You know what happens when the elements mix, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°... Explosions?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. Now if only she would actually factor that into her decision making. ¡°If I had to pick one, I would probably lean towards something like ultraviolet.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sort of light that can¡¯t be seen.¡± ¡°... If you can¡¯t see it, is it light?¡± Was it light? Of course it¡­ was? Ultraviolet light. Infrared light. People definitely said¡­ that. But they were just parts of the electromagnetic spectrum on either side of light. Which perhaps meant they were not light. Or¡­ perhaps the light element could do very odd things. It was also possible that such rules didn¡¯t apply in this world. John wasn¡¯t some enlightened being who knew everything, after all. Not yet, at least. It was weird to even consider that such a thing might be possible. But regardless of anything else, the most closely associated thing would be the light element. He¡¯d felt the totems. ¡°You should not expect combining light and darkness to be straightforward and easy. But you can say it is light. And it would probably be the thing least likely to make you explode if you tried it. Or infrared, but that¡¯s almost more fire element.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Melanthina frowned. ¡°Once again you prove to have great insights into the world.¡± She turned to leave, but John put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. ¡°Is there something you want to talk about?¡± John asked. ¡°No. Why would there be?¡± John smiled, ¡°Oh, I just thought you¡¯d be concerned about this whole search for a suitor. I haven¡¯t heard you give particularly favorable impressions¡­¡± ¡°The suitors so far have been too flawed.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Though I¡¯m going to tell you right now, if you find someone without flaws¡­ that just means you can¡¯t see them. Anyway, if you need advice on choosing your third darkness totem, I hope you would speak to me about it and choose carefully.¡± ¡°Oh. Yes. Of course,¡± Melanthina smiled. ¡°I will gladly provide a list of options I have been considering.¡± John could see her scampering off to the library to look up traditional darkness totems. She¡¯d probably do some searching through the sea of spiritual totems as well. Telling her about specific totems that she could search for, even just vaguely, might motivate her to make a poor choice. But at least she wouldn¡¯t pick the first light and darkness totem she stumbled across and harm herself, if she could find something like ultraviolet. If John wanted what was best for the clan, it was possible he should have forced a confrontation. He could tell her to not think about Nik, and to marry a darkness element cultivator from an appropriate background. And maybe that would work. She would likely struggle against him for some months or years, but eventually accept her lot in life. But John would regret it. He wanted the Tenebach clan to prosper, and that included his daughter being happy. He hadn¡¯t exactly followed a traditional path himself, so how could he blame her? And though following one¡¯s heart wasn¡¯t the norm here either, he was quite fond of the idea. And if Nik was bad for her, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to disappear. Not that John thought he¡¯d have to kill him. Nor was he planning to. He just briefly considered the possibility, in the case proved necessary. John just hoped that Melanthina didn¡¯t hurt herself, physically or emotionally. Because even if Nik was a perfectly nice young man, it was possible prolonged exposure between the two would find them not good for each other¡­ but it might be beyond a critical point. At least guiding her towards something like ultraviolet would leave her with a functional totem, should things go awry. At least, anything short of the two killing themselves when attempting dual cultivation. John tried to remember if he¡¯d done ¡®the talk¡¯ yet. Not sex. That had been dealt with, fortunately. The other one. Specifically about not mixing that and true dual cultivation. Distractions were never a good idea, especially if you were going to do something like mixing light and darkness. Worry couldn¡¯t help but consume John. Could he manufacture an opportunity for the two of them to meet again before the blessing ceremony? Because if she saw him again she might realize it was just an infatuation- or perhaps admit at all to what she thought nobody else saw. And it would be easiest for everyone if that was all it was, and she got over it before anything else happened. Chapter 228 Finding an excuse to get away from the Tenebach clan for even a short time when the blessing ceremony was on the horizon was difficult, but nobody could really stop John. He considered going alone, but that would be both risky and much harder to set up. Aydan was no longer able to guard him, but there was still his cousin Crystin not too far behind in cultivation. Around the time Johannes Dalen had broken through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, the floodgates seemed to have opened, and over the next two decades many individuals throughout the area had advanced as well. That was especially notable in Marble County, which had gone from no Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators to over a dozen split between just the Order of the Amber Heart and the Tenebach clan. A few other sects and clans in the county had one or two each. That didn¡¯t leave many people qualified to be a guard to John, and for the sake of speed he limited it to just Crystin. Instead of taking a carriage as far as they could, they rode specially bred horses. The two of them could maintain a faster pace on their own- no matter the quality of the mounts, they couldn¡¯t match Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. However, they served the purpose of allowing them to travel with haste without exhausting themselves in case they should encounter danger. ¡°Is this really a good idea?¡± Crystin asked as hooves thundered along the cobblestone roads. ¡°What part?¡± John asked. ¡°Any of it. Running off practically alone to find a light element kid that you¡¯re going to bring back to¡­ marry your daughter?¡± Crystin tilted her head, ¡°Or are you going to kill him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a decent young man. I wouldn¡¯t just kill him.¡± ¡°It would make things easier.¡± ¡°For the clan, perhaps. For myself personally, I don¡¯t know if I could sleep at night.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve killed before. The future of the clan is a good enough reason, is it not?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°I could likely sleep after killing him¡­ if I weren¡¯t worried about my daughter killing me in my sleep. And don¡¯t pretend she wouldn¡¯t find out. Not that it would be a good solution anyway. Regardless of the reason, he¡¯s a subject of inner turmoil for her. I need that to be resolved¡­ and the extreme options are most likely to result in poor results.¡± ¡°So, what, you have them meet up and orchestrate a fight? Then she gets over him.¡± ¡°Same problem. She¡¯d find out eventually. So instead, I will hope that they determine they¡¯re not suited for each other on their own. I just have to first make them actually consider what they¡¯re doing. Perhaps everyone watching from the outside is wrong, and they don¡¯t actually feel anything like that.¡± ¡°Oh please,¡± Crystin rolled her eyes. ¡°She was looking around like a lost puppy the whole trip back. And she was not particularly forthcoming with details of their time together.¡± ¡°Whatever happened, she¡¯s clearly being more than a little bit selective with her search for suitors. I had hoped she might actually be looking, but I think as things are she¡¯ll subconsciously find ways to reject everyone. If they meet again and actually spend time together, they¡¯ll hopefully settle things.¡± ¡°And if she decides she actually wants him?¡± ¡°As long as he¡¯s also agreeable, they can be married. You know I¡¯m not a traditionalist when it comes to cultivation matters.¡± His four different elemental totems spoke to that. ¡°But I won¡¯t let them rush into things either. It will be some time yet before Melanthina actually marries.¡± John wished he was so confident about the options as he sounded. Being a parent was difficult. Maybe in another decade or two he¡¯d be ready to have his first children. ----- West through the Stone Conglomerate, then south into the Darklands. Once more he returned to the Calamitous Swarm and sought Bodana¡¯s guidance through the Soulrot Bogs. The trip posed no danger to two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and one in late Soul Expansion. Without weaker individuals to watch over, they navigated the area quickly to reach the Deadfields. Their actual target was beneath, and they reached the Prism Underfields and the underground Combining Luster Sect about as quickly as any messenger could have. An important clan head like John showing up certainly qualified to interrupt the sect head- but John didn¡¯t think that was necessary. Instead, he asked to be brought to Elder Rimantas, who he¡¯d interacted with more previously. ¡°What brings you all the way here?¡± the man asked. ¡°Without an entourage, even.¡± ¡°I came here to talk to Nik,¡± John stated clearly. ¡°Ah. I don¡¯t know what business you had with the young man but¡­¡± Elder Rimantas¡¯ face fell. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± John gave Elder Rimantas a thorough appraisal. Considering the previous conflict between Melanthina and Nik, it would be easy to assume he might have negative reasons to be present. However, the man at least seemed to be truthful. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The Annihilation Strip.¡± ¡°What happened there? Some sort of training mission?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, precisely. Some of the other disciples said he wandered off there alone. He hasn¡¯t been back for a month. So he¡¯s dead,¡± Elder Rimantas declared. ¡°That¡­ is likely true,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I¡¯d like to know more. Could I talk to some of these disciples?¡± ¡°Of course. I think Erle would be easiest to find.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. John remembered him from his match against Ursel. He didn¡¯t know much about the young man in particular, except that he was one of the talented prospects. That brought some level of suspicion to mind. Perhaps an elimination of a rival? It was too early to say, of course, and if that was the case there was little he could do but confirm Nik¡¯s death. Perhaps inform some of the elders, but he wasn¡¯t going to get involved with another sect¡¯s internal politics. Finding Erle was indeed rather quick, he was training in a chamber with regular patterns of crystals all about, making quite interesting patterns. He quickly took note of the newcomers. ¡°Elder Rimantas,¡± he inclined his head, ¡°Clan head. Are you here to seek me out? Unless you wish to use the training chamber¡­¡± ¡°The clan head would like to hear about the incident with Nik.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Erle sighed, slouching quite convincingly. ¡°It was strange, really. We were training on the surface- nobody cares if you destroy something up there. Over to the north, the tunnels open up and let out the light element, so it¡¯s a decent place. What flows back towards us is quite high quality. And of course further beyond, it clashes with the Darklands.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± John asked. ¡°We were training. He outmatched me, of course, but I could always learn a lot from him. Then he looked off towards the annihilation strip. Said something about needing to push himself further¡­¡± Erle shook his head. ¡°We all told him he was crazy, of course. He mentioned moving through such an area in the Prismatic Chambers, along with¡­ your daughter. Don¡¯t know how they managed that, but the Annihilation Strip is many times worse. Not much a Foundation Phase cultivator can do there, even one on the border of Soul Expansion. Maybe someone like you could survive there but¡­¡± ¡°Can you show me where it was?¡± John asked. ¡°If you want. Not much to see. He just walked off.¡± ¡°A shame,¡± Elder Rimantas said. ¡°He had great talent.¡± Once again, John picked up no signs of deception. In truth, it was possible for cultivators who survived danger to think they were invincible, and immediately get themselves killed. It didn¡¯t always happen, and John thought Nik was more level headed than that- but he hadn¡¯t really dealt with the young man much. ¡°I¡¯d like to see,¡± John said. It took some time to get to the training location, but when they did Erle gestured. ¡°It was somewhere around here. I think he walked between those two hills? It¡¯s not really dangerous until beyond the horizon, but nobody wants to approach that.¡± ¡°This was a month ago?¡± John asked, looking at the ground for tracks. If there had been any, they¡¯d long since faded from the rocky terrain. ¡°Just about, yes. His body¡¯s probably dust now,¡± Erle said. ¡°There¡¯s really no recovering if you get injured out there.¡± John looked at Crystin, who sighed, ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll go. Even if this is the worst side for us to approach from.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going in there?¡± Erle asked. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Well¡­ uh¡­ good luck?¡± The disciple looked up at Elder Rimantas. ¡°I would advise against it¡­¡± the man said, ¡°But you are stronger than myself, so you are better able to judge the danger.¡± ¡°As far as I can currently see, it¡¯s just about as dangerous as standing right here,¡± John gestured. ¡°We¡¯ll take each step in stride. Bodana, if you could wait for us?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± the woman nodded. ¡°I¡¯d probably just lose my swarm if I went.¡± ----- ¡°I hate this,¡± Crystin complained. ¡°Constant light element trying to eat away at me.¡± ¡°Just wait until we get to the explosions,¡± John said. ¡°That¡¯ll be something.¡± To be fair, he was actually doing the majority of the work keeping the light element away. Though his ability to control the light element was still limited, he could influence it safely with a bit of air or even fire element. The latter he was getting better at controlling, and he felt quite comfortable with the thought of attuning to a fire element totem once he attained the last three ranks of cultivation required to approach the Ascending Soul Phase. It wouldn¡¯t be a quick process, obviously. Strangely enough, the density of light element actually increased as they approached the true Annihilation Strip- even though they¡¯d pass the point of origin. It was like the light and darkness were drawn to each other, which perhaps they were. Hopefully, this wouldn¡¯t turn out to be a metaphor for his daughter¡¯s relationship. ¡°What are we even searching for?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°Any signs of humans,¡± John said. ¡°Fluctuations that are not natural. Or just¡­ actual tracks. For the moment, I think we should stick on the easiest to traverse route heading deeper in. This area wouldn¡¯t challenge a light element cultivator at all.¡± Though the Annihilation Strip was quite wide, the border between two countries, it was not particularly thick. It could be traveled through in a day or two- assuming one survived the part where the annihilation happened. John and Crystin took a rest before entering the danger zone, taking their time to get there. Then they entered, and it became ever more important to keep the light away from them- and yet, it was also easier in some ways as the bigger dangers only came with darkness. Darkness both of them could keep away. Despite their best efforts, however, they not only strained themselves but had to deal with unpredictable shifts. Sometimes a burst of energy would reach into the opposing element, forming something akin to lightning as the energies annihilated each other. This left the landscape ravaged with broken and melted rocks, moisture always boiled away and no plants growing. On the other hand, at least they didn¡¯t have to worry about dangerous beasts. It was likely possible for them to simply pass through the area. If they kept going at a steady pace, they would be on the darkness side soon enough- and thus more comfortable. But they were looking for someone. John knew that it was likely true that Nik had already died¡­ so he wasn¡¯t going to search the whole width of the strip. But they could at least dip in and out of the area for a day or two. That was the plan, but he was soon surprised. A vortex of energy appeared in front of them- more off to the side, really, but the point was somewhat deeper in. And it wasn¡¯t just the expected bursts of energy, but something special and¡­ intentional. John led Crystin up the nearest hill, so they could spot the source of the commotion. ¡°Well look at that,¡± John said. ¡°He¡¯s not dead yet.¡± Just as he was saying that, there was a spike in the disturbance. Both were quite familiar with it- the feeling of someone breaking through to a new level and most likely attuning a totem. Then the figure in the distance collapsed, and the strange calm returned to the expected bursts of opposing energy, particularly strong around the fallen lad. ¡°Since we already came this far, we can¡¯t let him die now can we?¡± Crystin was already moving, and John was keeping pace. ¡°That¡¯s right. I have to say, he¡¯s got ambition¡­ and maybe the talent to fulfill it.¡± They quickly approached, and John leaned over the prone form of Nik. His eyes were open, but he didn¡¯t seem fully conscious. His energy seemed to have been pushed to its limits, and John could see a few fresh wounds as well as healing scars. ¡°Hey. Wanna come to a fancy party?¡± Nik didn¡¯t seem in any position to respond, and John was already scooping him up. He didn¡¯t want to stay in the area a moment longer than necessary, even if he was an entire Phase ahead of Nik who¡¯d been in the area for a month. Though he probably hadn¡¯t been in the thick of it the whole time. If he had, John would have to push his already high estimation up another notch. Chapter 229 Following the same path back out of the annihilation strip came with the increased difficulty at the front. Seemingly random bursts of conflicting light and darkness continued to mar the landscape, but eventually John was back in the Deadlands proper, atop the Prism Underfields. There, the light element was only a background headache, as it had to first rise up from underground where it originated. John found himself exhausted. He couldn¡¯t imagine going in and out of that area for days on end, or even worse remaining there constantly. Even with his cultivation, it didn¡¯t seem like it would be enough. Nik, on the other hand, seemed relatively intact for his time there. When John felt him stirring, he backed away so that the lad would be able to channel spiritual energy to himself without interference. It wasn¡¯t clear if Nik recognized what was going on around him at first. Instead, he was reacting instinctively to replenish what he had lost. As he did so, John could feel within him three totems. The first two were light element, of course. The last¡­ felt almost like nothing at all. But it was certainly real, and that meant the young man had stepped into the Soul Expansion Phase. Once he had replenished himself somewhat, Nik gained a greater awareness of his surroundings- including John and Crystin. ¡°Um. Hello, sir. I did not expect to see you here.¡± He looked around, finding no one else. ¡°I¡¯d like to think our relationship with the Combining Luster Sect is mostly positive, and I intend to keep it that way. Congratulations on your breakthrough, by the way.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ thank you,¡± Nik inclined his head. ¡°I presume you are responsible for retrieving me?¡± ¡°Your sect thought you were dead. They weren¡¯t far off. You broke through, but if you¡¯d remained there unconscious¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°Chances are you¡¯d be broken down like everything else there.¡± ¡°I had hoped¡­¡± Nik shook his head. ¡°Clearly, I overestimated myself.¡± ¡°Why did a promising young man like yourself do such a thing?¡± John asked. ¡°Surely, you could have made do with more¡­ conventional training.¡± ¡°Well, in the Prismatic Chambers I¡­ saw the power of mixed light and darkness. I wanted to be able to control it.¡± Those words rang true, but the way Nik wouldn¡¯t look at John indicated they were incomplete. ¡°Would¡¯ve been a shame if you died to this,¡± John said. ¡°My daughter wouldn¡¯t have been happy.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Nik frowned. ¡°We have traditionally¡­ not gotten along.¡± ¡°Yeah, she might have tried to kill you,¡± John shrugged, ¡°But she wouldn¡¯t have persisted in that if she didn¡¯t have strong feelings about the situation. You see, at this moment my daughter is also on the threshold of Soul Expansion. I¡¯m sure you were aware of that, though. After all, you managed to work together to get out of a bad situation in the Prismatic Chambers. You didn¡¯t stay around so I could thank you, by the way. So thanks. The Tenebach Clan owes you for that.¡± ¡°I appreciate the sentiment, but she also helped me survive. So I think we are close to even¡­¡± Nik kept his eyes down. ¡°That¡¯s good, because I have a favor I need to ask of you. I need you to come visit the Tenebach clan.¡± John held up his hand, ¡°And before you protest, I promise I won¡¯t let my daughter kill or otherwise harm you. Not that she probably could, at this moment.¡± ¡°What do you need me for, sir?¡± ¡°I need you to come to a party,¡± John explained. ¡°We¡¯ve been hosting notable individuals from all sorts of places, and you certainly fit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure-¡± ¡°Surviving a month in and around the annihilation strip? Breaking through to Soul Expansion at your age? That¡¯s something worth praising. I was barely beginning my cultivation journey at your age.¡± Admittedly, that was because the original Fortkran had screwed things up so badly, but Nik was still a frontrunner in that way. ¡°Hmm, you don¡¯t happen to be a reincarnation of some great master, are you?¡± Nik¡¯s confused reaction told him everything he needed. ¡°No sir. I¡¯m just¡­ me.¡± ¡°Probably for the best,¡± John said. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ll let you rest for a few days and then we¡¯ll be off.¡± ¡°But I haven¡¯t yet-¡± John didn¡¯t let the young man continue his protests. He was already walking away to clear things with Nik¡¯s sect. Crystin, following after him, had a comment. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell him what the purpose of the parties was.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to scare him off. And I¡¯d prefer to see organic reactions.¡± ----- Each day that passed increased Melanthina¡¯s annoyance. Her cultivation was at a deadlock- likely until the blessing ceremony which still had no definite date. That, on top of the endless hunt for suitors, was wearing down on her. Sure, she¡¯d technically asked for it. But finding anyone good was so¡­ difficult. If Ursel wasn¡¯t around occasionally, she didn¡¯t know if she could put up with it. There wasn¡¯t really anyone else she felt comfortable voicing her frustrations with. ¡°I think I might have begun my search too early,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Because of¡­ because I was thinking about the future of the clan. But now, calling it off early would look bad for the clan.¡± Melanthina sighed, then grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ll have to bring it up with father when he returns¡­¡± ¡°I guess. Still nobody you like?¡± ¡°Everyone is so¡­¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°Not good enough.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I fully understand your standards yet,¡± Ursel said. ¡°And since I¡¯m not really planning to get married or anything¡­¡± she shrugged. ¡°Explain. Who¡¯s the best here, this time?¡± ¡°Hmmn¡­¡± Melanthina reconsidered the options. ¡°If I had to pick someone, I suppose it would be Gordan.¡± ¡°Gordan what?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°I think that¡¯s it,¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°That fellow, from the Supreme Slate Sect.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Oh, him.¡± ¡°Something wrong?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Nah. He just challenged me to a spar.¡± ¡°You are both earth cultivators. It could prove enlightening.¡± ¡°Maybe. Though I¡¯m currently busy figuring out this challenge from Master Renato. I¡¯m almost there. Anyway, about Gordan. What are his traits, positive and negative?¡± ¡°Hmm. He¡¯s from a good sect. Muscular, but not overly bulky. A talented cultivator.¡± ¡°And the bad stuff?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Well¡­¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°I doubt he¡¯s as multi-talented as people say.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just try to find out? Like, ask if he really can drum?¡± ¡°His very steps are rhythmic. I have no doubt he would manage that one.¡± Ursel looked at her sister. ¡°Earth should be compatible as well¡­¡± she drew out the word. ¡°So is it his status? He wasn¡¯t born to anyone famous, but he¡¯s likely to have a high position in the sect.¡± ¡°So you do know about him,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°I had to know about who I might be fighting. I just¡­ didn¡¯t ever learn his name. So, your actual objections are¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just don¡¯t like him.¡± Melanthina frowned. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t particularly dislike him. Logically he should be a good choice but I don¡¯t find myself thinking about him unless he is specifically called to attention.¡± ¡°Unlike someone else?¡± Ursel prodded. ¡°Hmm?¡± Melanthina responded vaguely. ¡°I was just wondering if there was someone specific you were thinking about, often.¡± Ursel continued. No response. ¡°Like, someone with a three letter name and the light element.¡± At that moment, Ursel only meant to tease her sister. But Melanthina didn¡¯t react at all. Ursel followed her gaze, only to find the individual in question standing awkwardly at the entrance. ¡°Wow. He¡¯s got great timing.¡± With her sister unresponsive, Ursel watched her reactions to Nik moving from place to place in the party. Though she was almost slack jawed, Melanthina was also focused. Her expression was mostly neutral as he walked around, trying to find some conversation to join. Pensive, when he briefly joined Gordan. Sharp, when he encountered a group of women. And then almost horrified as he began to walk towards them. Nik bowed deeply to the two sisters. ¡°Melanthina Tenebach. Ursel of the Amber Heart. I appreciate the invitation to your event. Though I will admit I am not terribly social¡­ and I find myself surprised at the lack of certain groups friendly to the Tenebach clan.¡± Melanthina managed to compose herself quickly. ¡°Nik. I had not expected you to be here. As for these missing groups¡­ I wonder which you had in mind?¡± ¡°I understand that you are allies with the Golden Tomb Guardians, the Milanovic clan, and the Kauhane clan. Few if any of which are in attendance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because,¡± Ursel grinned. ¡°They¡¯re not elementally compatible with Melanthina. And the main purpose of these events is to find her a proper suitor.¡± ¡°... What?¡± Nik¡¯s face looked appropriately shocked. ¡°Well you see¡­¡± Melanthina tried to explain. ¡°In a few years I will¡­ I mean, obviously to continue the clan I will eventually be wed. I don¡¯t know who invited you- not that I¡¯m implying disciples of the Combining Luster Sect aren¡¯t welcome- but uh. Umm. That is the main purpose.¡± ¡°I see you made it over here already,¡± the head of the Tenebach Clan appeared out of nowhere next to his daughters and Nik. ¡°Good. I wanted to talk to the two of you regarding that incident in the Prismatic Chambers. I was hoping we could have a discussion on the conflicting elements of light and darkness, and how it ties into cultivation. Perhaps even my own, should my cultivation manage to progress beyond the next phase.¡± Ursel looked at her father, who looked back at her. John grinned. Melanthina and Nik were still awkwardly staring at each other, until Melanthina finally managed to say something. ¡°Yes. Cultivation. That would be,¡± Melanthina only managed to get out words in short bursts, ¡°Wonderful. To speak about. I am certain.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John nodded. ¡°Come, let us sit and talk. I am especially interested in how the two of you managed to work together in the darkness tunnels, culminating in you passing through mixed light and darkness.¡± Nik spoke first. ¡°Well. Um. Because of previous conflicts, I trained to resist darkness. So I was more or less barely sustaining myself¡­¡± John nodded, ¡°What about that woman who was with you. Zoubida?¡¯ ¡°Where¡¯d you hear about-¡± Melanthina cut herself off. ¡°I mean, I did see he was with someone else for a time, which I mentioned to someone,¡± she glared at Ursel, who was looking anywhere but back at her. ¡°What did happen with her?¡± Nik shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. She was clinging to me for support, holding me back. You honestly saw most of it.¡± He cleared his throat, looking back to John. ¡°Anyway, after I encountered your daughter, she helped minimize the effects of the surrounding darkness on my own element. That allowed me to more effectively maintain the reserves I had left, and we split the dangers based on who was most effective against certain forms. My light element was good for destroying bodiless spirits, whereas a pure darkness cultivator would have had to wear them down one bit at a time until they dissolved.¡± ¡°I see, I see,¡± John nodded, ¡°About this part where she staved off the darkness. How was that accomplished?¡± Melanthina answered first. ¡°Nothing complicated. I just redirected the energy.¡± ¡°Is that so, all of the darkness energy in a wide area suffused with it? I certainly know your talent, but that sounds exhausting.¡± ¡°It was,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°Which was we¡­ increased our proximity to minimize the strain.¡± ¡°And how did you handle rest?¡± John asked. ¡°We watched over each other consecutively,¡± Melanthina supplied. ¡°Reasonable. Had the two of you fully let down your guard, you might have had problems.¡± John could have prodded them more about the ¡®proximity¡¯, but as much as he loved making his daughter squirm, he did want to actually determine their compatibility. Not just push them together- or apart- based on his own maneuvering. ¡°What about passing through to the light chambers?¡± Nik answered that. ¡°It was an area of great danger. It required significant coordination¡­ but we did not think we could afford to spend the time backtracking.¡± ¡°Coordinating light and darkness must have taken great focus, and skill. Even so, it was no doubt very dangerous,¡± John emphasized. ¡°Maintaining anything of the sort for the long term would have been quite risky.¡± Melanthina nodded slowly. ¡°We were lucky to encounter our clan¡¯s allies not too long after venturing into the light chambers. Nik shielded me from the environment until then.¡± John nodded. ¡°It is not a secret that my cultivation involves various elements, and ultimately I intend for a full cycle- though whether I actually reach such a thing is quite uncertain. Even so, as my cultivation is mainly focused around darkness, attaining a compatible light totem will be the sticking point. Melanthina previously asked me about it. For her, I shared the idea of the ultraviolet- a light that is not quite light. On the other hand, perhaps greater power could be mine if I were to bind something like your most recent totem, Nik. One based around controlling the destructive overlap of light and darkness.¡± John wished he could actually read minds, instead of just the blatantly displayed emotions of young people. With the two having been called out for both looking into combined light and darkness totems, he wondered what would happen. Hopefully, they would produce results atypical of combining the two opposite elements. Or at least he hoped that they could get along as somewhat friendly rivals, keeping ties with the Combining Luster Sect. Chapter 230 Returning to the surface occasionally was a necessity, but as soon as he was able Tirto would return below, to the leviathan. It was a being of ancient power, yet full of many contradictions. Inside and around it there was much life¡­ yet for the most part the leviathan itself did not act as if it were alive. The occasional breaths in and out were the only exception, the only signs of life it showed. Yet it was easier to compare them to a natural phenomenon. But beneath the petrified outer layers, Tirto could feel some sense of true life. His mind sunk into the sea of spiritual totems. Most totems could be found simply by searching for a particular element, perhaps with some particular qualities in mind. Or at least, most known totems. Tirto couldn¡¯t guarantee there weren¡¯t more undiscovered totems, as the sea of spiritual totems didn¡¯t seem to have physical limits. Perhaps it was infinite¡­ or perhaps not. Either way, there were certain totems that couldn¡¯t be found unless one actually knew what particular features to sense for, having been exposed to something similar. Mere speculation didn¡¯t always work, as there were things outside of people¡¯s comprehension. Such it was with totems that gave off a similar feeling to the leviathan. Water element totems, both alive and dead with hidden depths of power. Tirto couldn¡¯t find anything exactly representing the leviathan up to the fifth layer. He could find a deep sea squid, powerful whales, and various other sorts of creatures whose totems would imbue him with certain features, but nothing fully representative of the leviathan except vague concepts. There was nothing necessarily wrong with them, but he wanted more. Tirto pushed on, into the sixth layer. He could feel the strain immediately as the pressure multiplied. This was not a place he was meant to be. Yet, he had to be able to attune to a totem from there. Ursel had, and he had been able to match her cultivation. He was just a little bit behind right now. A few months¡­ was quite annoying, but she¡¯d ultimately pushed herself forward before she was ready. But with more time, Tirto believed he could achieve the same. He had to. But his time on the sixth layer was short, and he couldn¡¯t hold himself there any longer. He was pushed back into his body, where he had to steady himself and avoid taking the deep breaths he wanted. Getting salt water in his lungs was never fun, regardless of his ability to deal with it. Tirto dove again and again, into the deep sea with the leviathan and the sea of spiritual totems. In his brief moments on the sixth layer, he desperately searched for something resonant with the power of the leviathan. He found himself brushing up against the edges of something, but he was always pulled away before he could reach it. But he refused to give up. He needed the power to fight alongside his sisters, and Ursel had already reached the Soul Expansion Phase. Melanthina would be there before long, once the Tenebach clan¡¯s blessing ceremony occurred again. She was astounding, and would be able to attune to a powerful totem. And if he didn¡¯t manage this soon, they would both pull ahead. Tirto lunged for the totem he could feel, but he found himself flung away with great force. He swirled back into his body, and the world itself continued to flip over as he was filled with vertigo. Was the totem¡­ rejecting him? He wasn¡¯t good enough? Tirto looked at his mother, gesturing for them to return to the surface. He had tried again and again¡­ and he wouldn¡¯t let himself pass out another time. He had to know his own limits¡­ even if he didn¡¯t like them. Layers of sea, from the deepest dark of the sea floor strangely full of life, to layers of darkness with moderate life or none. Up to zones of twilight, then sun, and finally the surface itself. The Kelp Spire Forest rested above. When they finally surfaced, Tirto climbed to the top of one of the spires. It was the same one that he and his sisters had almost been killed upon, what felt like forever ago. Ursel had nearly sacrificed herself there. Tirto could remember being unable to act, both then and to a lesser extent the Prismatic Chambers. He didn¡¯t want that. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to dry off?¡± A gentle voice said from nearby. Tirto looked up to see Emilia. His fiancee¡­ unofficially still. It was ultimately up to them, but both families already approved. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I was distracted and didn¡¯t see you coming,¡± Tirto stood and bowed politely. ¡°I was not expecting you to visit, but I¡¯m glad to see you here.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Emilia smiled. ¡°We came to find you at the clan, but learned you were here. I heard you are undergoing intense training.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°I recently learned that my power was not enough. Being born with natural affinity didn¡¯t prevent myself or my sisters from being in mortal danger.¡± They exchanged a short conversation, after which Tirto felt more relaxed. Then Emilia excused herself, to let him get back to meditating and recovering his energy in safety. Tirto was just settling down when he felt her coming back, so he stood up to meet her. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re soaking wet, idiot.¡± A burst of flames covered him at the declaration. When they cleared, they revealed a younger version of Emilia. But only by looks, and the style of her cultivation. ¡°Dammit Verusha, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she said. ¡°But there are lots of things wrong with you.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Tirto said. He should have just ignored the kid, but she¡¯d immediately put him in a combative mood. ¡°Like your stupid face. Though Emilia likes it for some reason. When are you going to propose to her?¡± ¡°I- when I feel we are both ready,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Not that it¡¯s any of your business.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s my business. She¡¯s my sister. Even if I don¡¯t want a stupid brother-in-law, she¡¯d probably be happy.¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± Tirto said, ¡°But it would be at least five years before we could actually be married. I¡¯m not in any rush.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Five years is a long time,¡± Verusha crossed her arms and nodded. ¡°But if you take that long to propose, I¡¯ll set your hair on fire during the wedding.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± Tirto said. ¡°What are you doing here anyway, just tagging along with your sister?¡± ¡°I wanted to go to the beach,¡± she said. ¡°You don¡¯t know how much nicer beach sand is compared to desert volcano sand. But then you weren¡¯t even there so we had to come out here. Anyway, you¡¯re having trouble attuning to your totem?¡± ¡°Who even told you that?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Nobody. But you¡¯ve been at peak Foundation Phase for a while, so it must mean you can¡¯t attune a totem. Why not?¡± ¡°The one I want is pushing me away. It seems I¡¯m not compatible.¡± Tirto wasn¡¯t sure why he told her that, but he was hoping it would lead to him being able to get back to what he was doing faster. ¡°Then punch it in the face and make it compatible,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Easy.¡± Tirto rolled his eyes, ¡°Like you¡¯d know, you haven¡¯t even attuned to your first totem yet.¡± ¡°So? I¡¯m ten. You hadn¡¯t either at my age.¡± ¡°I totally did,¡± Tirto countered. Sure, he was born with something like the first rank of cultivation so it wasn¡¯t exactly fair, but she didn¡¯t need to know that. ¡°Well, uh¡­ it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t,¡± Verusha turned her head away, snorting fire. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to find the best totem.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°What kind are you looking for?¡± ¡°Like I said¡­ the best one.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a best totem,¡± Tirto sighed. ¡°It just depends on what you want.¡± ¡°Nu-uh,¡± Verusha shook her head. ¡°There is a best one. I¡¯ll prove it.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Tirto waved her off. ¡°You do that.¡± Now all that calm he felt from his chat with Emilia was gone, and he was just annoyed. His whole recovery would be thrown off, and probably the next dive. Just great. ----- ¡°Wow,¡± Ursel said when she was alone with her father. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you brought Nik here. Are you actually setting him up with her?¡± ¡°I just want them to make an informed choice,¡± John said. ¡°I know we¡¯ve made fun of her for liking him, but honestly none of us know for sure if she does.¡± ¡°She never stops talking about him, even when she¡¯s not talking about him,¡± Ursel pointed out. ¡°And that definitely means she feels something, but it could involve confusion from their early rivalry. Either way, I want her to resolve her thoughts on him before the ceremony.¡± ¡°But what if she does like him?¡± John shrugged, ¡°Then she likes him.¡± Ursel bit her lip, probably hard enough for most people to break skin. ¡°Won¡¯t it be awful for her to realize that and then have to marry someone else?¡± John frowned, ¡°... Why would she have to marry someone else? I suppose he might not reciprocate her feelings, but it would be better for her to know that sometime soon, rather than having it in the back of her mind forever.¡± ¡°But she said¡­ would you even let her marry someone like him?¡± ¡°What about him?¡± John asked. ¡°Is there something I don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s¡­ lowborn, or whatever people call it.¡± ¡°So?¡± John tilted his head. ¡°I have standards, but he¡¯s a talented cultivator and he seems like a decent person. He¡¯s marrying into the clan, so it¡¯s generally easier if he¡¯s not part of some important clan.¡± ¡°Oh. Uh, you should probably tell Melanthina that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made myself pretty clear on the matter.¡± ¡°Have you?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Because, uh, you haven¡¯t talked with me about it at all. Besides like¡­ finding someone ¡®decent¡¯.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t have specific duties you¡¯re needed for. You¡¯re free to choose anyone. Or not choose, I suppose.¡± ¡°Oh good,¡± Ursel said with relief. ¡°But uh, you should probably talk to Melanthina about it. Because from what I heard from her, things might not have come across as clearly as you intended.¡± John sighed, ¡°Unfortunate. But at least this came up now instead of¡­ years down the line. Thank you for your concern for your sister.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Ursel nodded vigorously. ¡°I¡¯d do anything for her.¡± ¡°Including break out of special restraints by attuning to a totem too powerful for you?¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Ursel said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t even hurt anymore! I can totally deal with it. And I¡¯m almost done with Master Renato¡¯s challenge.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that,¡± John smiled. ----- John later found Melanthina and straightforwardly explained what it seemed she¡¯d misunderstood. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was ultimately a good idea, because they didn¡¯t end up having a real conversation. Instead, Melanthina just stood there expressionless for a while before excusing herself. John might have preferred to let things develop naturally if they had time, but he couldn¡¯t afford to let her choose the wrong totem because she was confused. Hopefully, at least she¡¯d be able to be more intentional this way. In the same vein, John supposed he ought to be clear with Nik. He wasn¡¯t sure if his opening was necessarily correct, but by the time he really thought about it the words had already been said. ¡°Young man¡­ do you like my daughter?¡± Nik jumped out of his skin at the ambush question. ¡°Well, umm¡­ the thing is¡­ you see¡­¡± John held up his hand. ¡°Just to be clear, it¡¯s fine to answer in either the affirmative or the negative. I¡¯m not going to condemn you for liking her¡­ nor would I blame you if you didn¡¯t, given your earliest interactions. Go ahead and take some time to think.¡± Nik did that, finally responding. ¡°I think¡­ I may have grown fond of her passion, even if much of it was directed towards trying to kill me at first. Once I got to spend some time with her not trying to kill each other, I found her to be pleasant company and a reliable combat companion. I am not sure if that¡¯s what you mean, but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± John said. ¡°I think you should tell her whatever it is you truly feel. Perhaps not right away¡­ but I wouldn¡¯t linger too long either. If nothing else, I imagine your sect would want you back eventually.¡± At least as long as they got to keep him. Perhaps in a few years, they¡¯d snatch him away. ¡°Of course, sir. I am not certain if the words will be so easy to say to her though.¡± ¡°You just have to be honest,¡± John said. ¡°Which sometimes means saying you don¡¯t know what to say, even if it sounds kind of stupid.¡± Chapter 231 Once more into the sea of spiritual totems. To Tirto, the true presence of the leviathan was not exactly an authoritative power. Instead, it was a power so grand it didn¡¯t care about how strong anything else was. Something to that effect, at least. He was back to the sixth layer. That same totem that he felt called to¡­ though it continued to reject him. He¡¯d tried wrestling with it, or even attacking it in frustration that was in no way related to any annoyance that he¡¯d experienced during his training. Now, he planned to beat it. When he approached, he was once again pushed away. He let it happen, but instead of just leaving he waited for some sort of returning flow of energy that he could ride back towards the totem. He got closer, whatever that meant in a place without actual distance. Another pulse pushed him away, but like the ebb and flow of waves he gradually continued his efforts. Until finally, he reached the totem, clutching it to him. He felt it continue to pulse in his grasp, but once he had a hand on it he wasn¡¯t flung away. He drew it into himself, feeling the rush of power as he attuned his third totem and at the same time officially entered the Soul Expansion Phase. All he¡¯d needed was a bit of determination, it seemed. And months of training and effort. Tirto wondered how his sisters were doing. ----- ¡°... marry me.¡± ¡°What?¡± Nik looked over towards Melanthina. ¡°I mean, uh, wouldn¡¯t it be crazy if you came here with the intent to marry me? Though I doubt father even told you the purpose of these parties.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right about that, he didn¡¯t,¡± Nik agreed. Melanthina bit her lip, looking away. ¡°But knowing what I do now, I would have come anyway.¡± A slight intake of breath was all that betrayed Melanthina. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± ¡°It is,¡± he declared. ¡°And I should say, I enjoyed spending time with you even given the circumstances of the Prismatic Chambers. I think we worked well together. And I even enjoy fighting you the times I don¡¯t feel like you¡¯re actually trying to kill me.¡± Melanthina coughed, but Nik either didn¡¯t notice or ignored it. ¡°Should we get married? I don¡¯t know if I could say that¡¯s a good idea for many reasons, but¡­ it¡¯s going to be at least a few years, right? Do you want to at least spend some of that time getting to know each other?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Melanthina said instantly. ¡°Uh, to the last thing.¡± ----- Small, previously imperceptible imperfections appeared before Ursel. She had no idea if she got anywhere close to the size of ¡®atoms¡¯ or ¡®molecules¡¯, but her father¡¯s advice still helped. Regardless of how, there were imperfections in this Mountain Steel. She focused her spiritual energy to finer and finer levels, worming roots into the structure. Then she began to empower it, increasing the pressure around it. The Mountain Steel would be fighting against itself, as the roots of energy couldn¡¯t be pushed out. But, before it all came apart, Ursel stopped. She should show this to Master Renato. She was confident enough that she could do it. It would be better to display it in his presence. She doubted he would accuse her of cheating, but she also wanted to get feedback to see if he could find flaws in her technique. Ursel was a notable figure among the disciples of the Order of the Amber Heart. People took notice of her because of her family, of course, but most cared about her being in the Soul Expansion Phase at an age where most were barely beginning the Spiritual Collection Phase. There were always exceptions, but all of the triplets had been born with a high affinity. Ursel trained hard to make sure she wouldn¡¯t waste it, and she knew her siblings did the same. Walking through the sect without getting requests to spar was a difficult prospect, so Ursel just prepared to accept all of them. Whether people were stronger or weaker didn¡¯t really matter, since she could either learn something or it wouldn¡¯t take long. And knowing exactly the right amount of restraint to use against weaker opponents was still useful. Eventually she managed to wade through all of that and find Master Renato. She held out the heavy ingot, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°Are you?¡± he asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look damaged to me.¡± ¡°It will be in a moment,¡± Ursel said. She focused on the flaws she knew about, and ultimately only a small amount of spiritual energy under extremely fine control wormed its way into the Mountain Steel ingot. Then she pushed, and it crumbled apart, breaking into a handful of distinct and craggy chunks. ¡°See?¡± ¡°Your control has definitely improved,¡± Master Renato agreed. ¡°But you¡¯re too slow.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that slow.¡± ¡°Each second is an eternity in combat. And¡­ you already knew the flaws. Can you do it just as fast with this?¡± Master Renato produced another ingot. Given how much work it was to make those- and how impractical they were, as they could not be feasibly reworked into armor, set into form as they were, Ursel was surprised he had another ready. And not knowing where the flaws were, it did take her a few extra seconds to discern them- but she¡¯d refined her ability to seek out small flaws quite significantly. ¡°There. Done.¡± ¡°Next,¡± Master Renato said, somehow producing yet another ingot. Though Ursel wasn¡¯t expending all that much spiritual energy, which was the whole point of her totem, focusing her senses so much did come with mental fatigue. She got through the third and fourth, but on the fifth she needed a break. ¡°... why do you have so many of these?¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Master Renato grinned, ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be just to screw with me¡­¡± Ursel frowned. ¡°Is this part of your own training?¡± He just shrugged, ¡°You can believe whatever you like. Either way, I¡¯ll have more until you can perform this reliably and quickly. Though I should caution you to not get too focused on Mountain Steel specifically. Made by different people it will be only slightly different, but there will be other nearly impenetrable materials that will doubtless function differently.¡± ¡°... do I even need to break apart everything? Because even if someone wore an armor of pure Mountain Steel, I might be able to turn them into a soup inside it if I smacked them hard enough.¡± ¡°What lovely imagery,¡± Renato said. ¡°But while I imagine you could do that once or twice, if they weren¡¯t too skilled, it would wear you out much more quickly. You can¡¯t always expect your opponents to be a fair match for you in either strength or numbers.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ursel had to agree with that. ¡°I guess that makes sense.¡± Though she could also just pretend to be smacking someone around and make use of her normal roots well enough. ----- The time came for the Tenebach Clan¡¯s blessing ceremony. There were some for whom it felt a bit late, while others would doubtless feel it was too early. Children who were too young would have to wait for the next opportunity in a few decades, meaning that the first Phases would take longer for them than others. But having to work with ¡®only¡¯ their inborn affinity would not be the end of the world. The Tenebach Clan still had sufficient resources for them to match most other powers, at least for a while. Other clans or sects still had their own methods, but the Tenebach Clan simply couldn¡¯t perform the blessing ceremony as they pleased. Not even with Ciaritzal fully recovered. Though perhaps sometime in the future, they might be able to consistently provide enough resources to prevent the older generation of cultivators from having to make a sacrifice. John paid special attention to his uncle Aydan. The clan was just a bit short of what they needed to be able to perform this time¡¯s ceremony without loss. They would have managed by digging into savings or splitting the burden between the older generation, but Aydan had made his choice this time. It was hard to argue against, as Aydan was able to make his own decisions and the logic held. He was not going to stay a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator for long anyway, so it was better to get something from the loss. Everyone involved gathered together beneath the clan, in the constructed habitat of Ciaritzal. That included everyone to receive the blessing ceremony, including most of the older generations and specifically Luctus, John¡¯s grandfather. Of those still living, he had the most experience. Besides Ciaritzal himself, of course. The special blessing John had received upon being transmigrated, involving just Ciaritzal, was an exception. The normal case was for there to be a group effort. Though in theory only Aydan would give of his cultivation, the ceremony still required vulnerability from all of those involved. If the provided resources were insufficient, or if John¡¯s affinity with Ciaritzal or the guidance of the others was insufficient, they could experience some setbacks. Because of that, everyone had to maintain optimum focus. In the central position of those receiving the blessing was of course Melanthina. As the future clan head, the position of honor was hers¡­ but it also came with responsibility. She would be responsible for a small portion of the distribution process. That was a divergence from tradition, but the ¡®traditional¡¯ ceremony had also been modified specifically for Ciaritzal¡¯s injuries, and for what the Tenebach Clan could accomplish. Darkness suffused the area, a comforting darkness even if it was also disconcerting. Ciaritzal was still only a vague bestial form, yet with more power than before. The ceremony began, and John was filtering energy through himself. It was not unlike a battle formation, though they did not have to worry about outside influences. The underground was sealed and guarded- though the exact timing was kept secret just in case anyone intended to cause trouble. Energy swirled to and from John and Ciaritzal. The various materials, sources of spirit darkness, produced a heavy fog. Curved webs of spiritual energy filled the area, flowing from the upper generation to the younger. As predicted, they were a bit short- but Aydan freely offered of his cultivation base. John shuddered at an intrusive thought that it would be easy to take more power for himself. Through John and Ciaritzal, the power flowed from the outside in, and back out from Melanthina. The entire process was less than an hour, but John felt as if he had been fighting the whole time. But eventually, everything settled. For a moment, at least, until Melanthina broke through in a burst of power. While she¡¯d technically waited until after the ceremony, that wasn¡¯t exactly what John had in mind when she¡¯d made her intentions clear. On the other hand, perhaps it was a good thing- shortly after that a handful of others picked either the first totems for the Spiritual Collection Phase, with a couple advancing to Foundation Phase. Reaching the Soul Expansion Phase was a bit more work, especially for the younger generation without a blessing, so Melanthina was the sole individual to immediately achieve those results. And then the blessing ceremony was over. John wondered what totem she¡¯d picked, until he found himself outside and saw that everyone had a light sunburn. Ultraviolet it was then. At least it would be usable in case things ultimately did not work out with Nik. Sure, they seemed compatible now, but as it turned out people were complex. On the other hand, even if they ran into issues that didn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t work out. Everyone had problems¡­ John was just lucky that Matayal was able to talk to him straightforwardly about theirs. It wasn¡¯t always pleasant, but it had to be done. ----- Ursel returned to the clan to see her sister once more. The previous schedule had long been disrupted, and perhaps the triplets would never again spend most of the year together¡­ but with the conclusion of the blessing ceremony, they would see Tirto again soon. ¡°So¡­¡± Ursel asked. ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°How did what go?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°With Nik.¡± ¡°... Why would you think there would be something with Nik?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s been obvious to us for¡­ forever,¡± Ursel pointed out. ¡°... Really?¡± Melanthina frowned. ¡°Really. So, how¡¯d it go?¡± ¡°It seems we¡¯re officially courting¡­ or something of the sort.¡± ¡°Parties called off?¡± ¡°They will be more¡­ infrequent,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°If nothing else, I still must maintain a social presence as the future clan head.¡± Ursel waited until Melanthina was taking a sip of her watered wine. ¡°So did you kiss yet?¡± Liquid went everywhere, and Melanthina was hacking and coughing. ¡°I- why would you¡­ even suggest something of the sort?¡± Ursel shrugged, ¡°I dunno, I don¡¯t even get why anyone would want to. But I¡¯m going to assume that¡¯s a yes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like this subject.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling Tirto you did, whether you admit it or not.¡± ¡°... do as you please. But if any rumors spread about me, something unpleasant might find its way onto your pillow.¡± Chapter 232 It felt like forever since John had been able to spend actual time with Matayal, instead of just meeting in passing. The Prismatic Chambers barely counted, as that was a time of combat and they were surrounded by others. That had led to the triplet¡¯s most recent troubles, but finally everything seemed to be resolved¡­ with all of them alive and generally happy. John sighed, ¡°A small mistake almost led to complete disaster.¡± ¡°That is the ultimate fate of many clans and sects,¡± Matayal mused. ¡°We could have likely recovered, but it would have stymied the upward growth of our clans. In times like this, that¡¯s no different than a sharp decline.¡± ¡°A golden age of cultivation. Makes me worried for what comes after.¡± ¡°Try to put it out of your mind. Phenomenon like this can last for a very long time. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for it to last a generation or two, potentially past our natural deaths.¡± ¡°You say that¡­¡± John said, ¡°But have you considered at what point our natural deaths will occur? Our most recent ancestors hadn¡¯t even reached the Consolidated Soul Phase. Even now that he has, I doubt Luctus will live past one hundred and fifty years. Yet¡­ it would be odd for either of us to not live past two centuries even if our cultivation stagnates here.¡± ¡°A reasonable point,¡± Matayal admitted. ¡°Then we shall have to work all the harder to maintain our positions.¡± The two of them were relaxing in a secluded cove near the Brandle clan, because even if Matayal was used to such things it was still quite pleasant. The warmth of the sun and the cool of the water nicely balanced each other, with the cove having just the right amount of breeze. They were able to spend some time in silence, just being with each other. Alas, there were still duties that needed to be done and questions that had to be asked. ¡°What do you think about the Ascending Soul Phase?¡± John asked. ¡°The closer I get, the more uncertain I am about achieving it.¡± ¡°You should not doubt yourself. I know you have the talent and the drive. Even if it is a more difficult step, you will succeed.¡± She looked at him and smiled, ¡°Soon, you will join me in the late Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± ¡°Hard to believe it was little Tirto who pushed you hard enough to advance, even if indirectly.¡± ¡°He¡¯s gentle, but far from timid or weak. All of the triplets are strong in their own ways, and they will be able to resist the pressures we and the world place on them.¡± John sighed, ¡°Is it unfair to wish we could skip to the point when the clans were their responsibility?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a perfectly reasonable thing to think about,¡± Matayal nodded. ¡°I would like to spend more of our year together.¡± ¡°... This was a stupid plan,¡± John said. ¡°It might be a couple decades late to tell our grandfathers that.¡± ¡°Could have been worse, though,¡± John said, squeezing her hand. ----- Several weeks later, upon Kaimana which was primarily controlled by the Mulyani clan. Many prominent figures were gathered around, from various regional powers or allies. John and Matayal were present, as well as Luctus and Netanel. The triplets were also present. From the Mulyani clan, there were Asih and Harta, recent advancements in their cultivation allowing them to prop up the clan. Finally, there was Kusuma. The question of her presence was a complicated one, with only her body definitely being present. Though she had undoubtedly been powerful, she was also known to push herself to achieve whatever she wanted. Fatigue and wounds from various important events had built up, and most likely she¡¯d been hanging on through sheer willpower for years. It seemed that the relief of Asih and Harta being able to advance their cultivation, together providing structure for the clan, had allowed her to let go of her grip. Dark clouds hung on the horizon, a common sight in the Shimmering Islands, known for its powerful if sometimes brief storms. It was not a coincidence the ceremony was being held at this time, nor would a storm actually disrupt the ceremony but rather was required for it to advance. Asih was the first to speak. ¡°Before Kusuma, there was little worthy of being called the Mulyani clan. However, in her lifetime she built up something great, providing a place for a clan that grew around her. It seemed as if she would last eternally, even if that wasn¡¯t her desire for cultivation. But as we all know, everything must come to its end. She will be remembered.¡± In the distance, lightning flashed. Rain began to fall as winds picked up. Various others took a chance to step up, saying a few words. John, speaking of how she dragged him off for crazy training. The triplets, recalling her defense of them. Various others, speaking on how she was a whirlwind of destruction that showed up to save the day. Luctus and Netanel also spoke of their youth, her ambitions to turn her family into a proper clan¡­ and how crazy it seemed at first, even with the two of them having established clans. But with little but moral support, she pulled something together, fostering the later generations. Harta was the last to speak. ¡°Though my cultivation now closely matches hers, I know my power does not match her true intensity. She was a whirlwind that came to quick decisions, flipping about like the winds of a storm. And so we gather here to return her to the storm.¡± As if punctuating his decision, lightning finally struck Kaimana. The storm continued, and as the storm passed over, the lightning strikes were drawn to Kusuma and amplified- turning her body to ash which was swept up in the powerful winds and carried away. Several others had words to say, but Kusuma¡¯s time had come and gone. A reminder of how people would eventually fade, but also what they could accomplish even in a single lifetime. ----- As always, time continued to pass. The triplets no longer remained together year-round, but had at least a few months out of the year together. When they were apart, they sent each other messages, delivered through the flight of shadowhawks- but there was only so much words on paper could say. But the times of separation came with the joy of reunion, and allowed them to grow independently, even if the purpose was still to support each other. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Luctus and Netanel withdrew into seclusion, focusing on their cultivation. They already had little remaining involvement in clan affairs, but as their ambitions were tied to the clan there was little better they could do but improve themselves for the remaining durations of their lifespan, measured in decades or less. They would make themselves available for the defense of the clan if necessary, but would otherwise be seen only rarely. The younger generation of adults did not slack off in their training either, striving to keep up with the two clan heads. Advancing through the ranks of the late Consolidated Soul Phase was not something that happened quickly, but as predicted by Matayal soon enough John stepped into the thirty-fourth rank with her. The surrounding region likewise continued its surge in growth. Friendly groups like the Order of the Amber Heart, the Milanovic clan, and the Golden Tomb Guardians were among them. The same was true to a lesser extent for the Combining Luster Sect- though their geographical separation limited how much mutual support could come into play. Though it was gradual and almost ignorable, the influence of the Molten Sea wormed its way through the Northern Sunfields until it reached Astrein- which never had the cultivators or the will to restrict movements in any manner. The Sky Islands also exerted their influence into the Darklands, pushing westward. The motivation for such expansion was not clear for either of them, but both seemed interested in the Shimmering Islands. ----- Melanthina¡¯s father had reminded her quite frequently that nobody was perfect, and while at first she¡¯d thought it was intended as some sort of disparaging remark to try to keep her from forming a deeper attachment to Nik, she came to learn it was likely the opposite. Prepared for some sort of revelation that Nik killed puppies for fun, she took some time to realize what was really meant. One of the things she liked about him was his silent stubbornness- his unwillingness to accept defeat at her hands. That was also a source of conflict, though not in the area of direct competition in cultivation. That pushed them both to develop further, and was only a good thing. Instead, it was other areas where they ran into friction. His inability to be present all the time was understandable. Melanthina understood he had his own duties- and he had to train where it was best for him. When he was around, she enjoyed the time they spent together- but less so when it involved official matters. He didn¡¯t seem to take social events seriously. He was never a slob, but he would often show up to events with poor timing, or less than impeccably groomed. Sure, Melanthina could appreciate messy hair sometimes¡­ but others would pick it out, commenting on it where they thought they were not heard. Or worse, when they thought they would, saying she should pick someone better. But that last part was not his fault, directly. She just wished sometimes he would show them that he was better. But with her main problems being that sometimes he was a little bit messy or less formal than she would have liked, and that he was overly humble or didn¡¯t rise to provocations of people that weren¡¯t her, her list of complaints wasn¡¯t that large. Which made them stand out all the more. If she could just change those things, maybe he would be perfect. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± her father said as she complained about it. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ what?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t assume you can or should force him to change,¡± John said. ¡°Maybe he will, given time. Especially if you speak honestly about how you feel. But focusing on the assumption that he will change for you, or that he won¡¯t change in other ways, will ultimately lead to disappointment.¡± ¡°But you and mother-¡± ¡°We what? Have a perfect marriage? Of course not. We just don¡¯t show our flaws in front of others. And, most importantly, we have resolved to work together continuously to manage our marriage. Your work isn¡¯t done when you¡¯re officially married, but just begun. Just make sure you know what is most important.¡± ¡°What¡¯s most important to you?¡± ¡°Putting up with my crazy cultivation path,¡± her father grinned. ¡°Though the two of you have made very similar choices there. Perhaps you¡¯ll have enough struggle just from that.¡± ¡°Is dual cultivation so difficult?¡± ¡°With light and darkness? It will absolutely be. And remember-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mix cultivation and sex. I know. I don¡¯t think either of us would like our organs liquified from a distraction.¡± ¡°It would be an absolutely embarrassing result for everyone involved. And your siblings wouldn¡¯t let it go beyond your grave.¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡± ¡°And don¡¯t forget you can talk to your mother if you have any questions about things.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Melanthina emphasized. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid anymore.¡± ¡°Tell me that in another decade or after you have a child and I might believe you.¡± ----- The club once again met at the Tenebach clan, still the central location for all of their reincarnated and transmigrated members. Plus the honorary member Matayal, who had brought them together because of an important discovery. ¡°We figured out what they want,¡± Matayal said bluntly. ¡°We¡¯ve tracked their movements to the Kelp Spire Forest.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Deirdre asked. ¡°The Molten Sea, or the Sky Islands?¡± ¡°Both. And no, it does not seem that they are working together. But something in the area seems to have drawn their attention.¡± ¡°It seems unlikely we can just ignore them,¡± Renato said. ¡°If they¡¯re in that area, they must be after¡­¡± ¡°The sea god. The leviathan,¡± Matayal confirmed. ¡°Whatever you want to call it. And whatever happens with that¡­ I can¡¯t imagine it will be good for us. The Brandle clan, or the whole region.¡± Lucanus added his thoughts next. ¡°It bugs me that we¡¯ve just let them get this far without doing something. Sure, personally Yustina and I are at the least risk, but we¡¯re still making the area seem like easy targets.¡± ¡°Maybe we are,¡± John admitted. ¡°We haven¡¯t been letting them do as they please because we don¡¯t care. They have the power to back it up. Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and¡­ an unknown number of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. Any number above zero of which being a serious threat to everyone.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think our clans will be enough,¡± Matayal explained. ¡°Which means we¡¯ll need to draw in others¡­¡± ¡°And that means a proper war,¡± Renato nodded. ¡°Unfortunate, but without things coming this far it is unlikely we would have been able to ask for the aid of many beyond ourselves and our closest allies. At best, we could have rallied Marble County and a few clans from each of the Shimmering Islands, the Sunfields, and the Green Sands.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want to show our hand too early,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But we do need to raise support. That¡¯s why I brought the information this way. Others in the Brandle clan know less, though perhaps others in the Shimmering Islands might have picked up on it. Though how these groups came to learn of the leviathan to begin with is a concern. I have not witnessed many others outside of our trusted allies diving even close to deep enough to encounter the leviathan. Perhaps our various visits tipped someone off. Though that would still require some locals to disseminate the information. We need to be careful of who we approach.¡± With that, the meeting was adjourned. Some such as Lucanus would be less directly involved with recruitment. He was perhaps a step or two less reckless than when he was younger, but he still wasn¡¯t suited for such tasks. Yustina, however, could handle it better- and the rest of them had more experience with such responsibilities. Chapter 233 For the first time in a while, Ursel was involved with actual sect business. She wasn¡¯t in charge of anything, of course. She was both too young, barely in adulthood, and not quite strong enough to provide a good impression. The Soul Expansion Phase was nothing to sneer at for someone of her age, but promise of future power wasn¡¯t the same as current strength. Thus, Master Renato who was in the late Consolidated Soul Phase was a better option by far. That didn¡¯t mean Ursel had no purpose, though. Diplomatic missions between cultivators also ended up being demonstrations of might- and while a single person on top was a reasonable influence, having a good base of disciples to hold up the upper generation was also important. Strength wasn¡¯t everything, but it would make people more likely to go along with suggested paths. The first stop was Heavy Gold Mountain. They were a decently powerful sect, more or less centrally located in the Stone Conglomerate. Having developed several Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators in the recent rise, they were worthy of the Order of the Amber Heart¡¯s efforts. Ursel remembered one of their disciples fighting against Tirto in Astrein¡¯s tournament, but though they¡¯d been vaguely matched in cultivation, compared to the triplets even the best cultivators were significantly older. That included Nik- though he was closer to three years than something like six or eight. He¡¯d also managed to keep the gap with Melanthina from changing significantly. He wasn¡¯t born with light affinity, but he¡¯d taken to cultivation early and developed rapidly. All the diplomatic stuff Ursel could afford to tune out, but when it came time for some demonstrations, she was ready and focused. Her opponent was similarly at the upper end of the early Soul Expansion Phase, but he was about as old as they could get away with while avoiding embarrassment. Almost thirty, adding a good two-thirds of Ursel¡¯s own age on top. Though if one counted experience, Ursel had sort-of eighteen years of cultivation experience, and Crenatus was probably similar- maybe a bit less. Though it also wasn¡¯t quite fair to count Ursel¡¯s time before she could walk or talk, even if she had cultivation. After the necessary polite introductions, they got to the good part. Crenatus was of course decked out in shiny golden armor, with a similarly gaudy hammer. It was possible there was some sort of secret that made adding gold into their equipment practical- at the very least they seemed to have techniques so it wasn¡¯t a drawback. But if it wasn¡¯t a true benefit, it just seemed arrogant. Then again, Heavy Gold Mountain was one of the stronger sects in the region, so they could afford it. Ursel didn¡¯t feel like getting any cracked bones, so she made sure to dodge the initial wide swing. She was durable, sure, but that was no reason to take an attack head on. Unless she planned to get something specific out of it. A few years ago, Ursel would have had a significant reach disadvantage. Now, that gap had narrowed. Crenatus was still a large man, tall and with the reach that entailed, but Ursel had attained her adult stature. Her stone club had a long enough handle that she could somewhat match her opponent¡¯s reach, so she was able to get a glancing blow on his shoulder in one of the earlier exchanges. It didn¡¯t seem like much, but for Ursel it was the start of her ultimate victory. The ground trembled as her opponent stepped forward, and then she found herself flung into the air as he slammed his hammer into the ground. Ursel could have avoided it, but she let herself leave the ground without resistance. That was just energy she didn¡¯t have to provide herself as she wound up for a downward assault. Obviously her opponent was ready, swinging his warhammer up toward her as she descended. To save her ribs, Ursel altered her weapon¡¯s trajectory to intercept his. A shockwave of energy scattered small rocks and dust everywhere as the two clashed. To the untrained eye, it would seem that they came out without anyone gaining an advantage. But Ursel was pulling ahead. More importantly, if she could match him blow for blow then he couldn¡¯t build up the momentum the Heavy Gold Mountain was known for. Her first touch had dug roots into Crenatus¡¯ shoulder. They were small enough he might not even have noticed. Clashing with his weapon, more roots grew along the shaft and inside his arms, spiritual energy ready to cause trouble. If this were a grudge match, Ursel might invite another head-on clash and tear apart his weapon and maybe his arms to boot. Instead, she was simply going to build up the pressure inside him until it was obvious. To that end, she chose to exchange blows, hammer striking her ribs as her stone club did the same to Crenatus. They were both flung away, the impact not crushing either of them. Ursel¡¯s ribs were a bit sore, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Though she was working with her father on an eventual improvement to Diamond Defense. The materials for such a thing wouldn¡¯t be cheap though. Ursel held her club out towards Crenatus, a steady smile on her face. He should be feeling the infiltration of the roots, and if he didn¡¯t wrap his head around it soon she didn¡¯t mind causing a little bit of internal damage. She could have probably beat him in a brawl as well, but why expand her knowledge of earth and not use it? Not using her new totem would be a complete waste. It only took two more clashes for the man to realize he¡¯d lost, and he could feel the tension inside his muscles and bones limiting his range of movement. He properly surrendered, and in turn Ursel placed a hand on his shoulder to dissolve the energy roots without causing any injury. ----- The Stone Conglomerate was a wide country, and the next big stop was further west. The Marble Mountain Sect, perhaps a bit less prominent than Heavy Gold Mountain but more positively inclined to go along with the Order of the Amber Heart and thus indirectly the Tenebach clan. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The same general situation, with Ursel prepared to display her power. This time, it was against a guy named Rugg. He was closer to his mid or even early twenties, showing talent a level better than Crenatus. This guy happened to use a halberd, which came with a proper expansion of his reach. He¡¯d have great leverage, and having a proper blade made it riskier to intentionally take a hit. Ursel¡¯s skin might be tough, but once that was chopped through it would get risky. She would have to make sure she kept up solid energy defenses to avoid injury. Her opponent approached, his halberd clutched tightly in his grip. ¡°L-let¡¯s have a good match, okay miss?¡± The almost timid way he spoke and what Ursel thought was a light blush nearly threw her off. Was it some sort of trick? It didn¡¯t matter, because he followed up with taking a solid stance. ¡°Let¡¯s,¡± Ursel responded. She held her stone club at the ready. The halberd came in wide sweeps, swift enough that she found it difficult to move in. Ursel was tempted to catch it below the head, but no doubt her opponent dealt with that sort of behavior all the time. She kept a cautious observation of his style, trying to pick out flaws while avoiding attacks. If she took a bad hit, it could shift the whole trajectory of the battle. Her opponent seemed quite well grounded, steady on his feet and capable of covering pretty much any angle she tried to approach from. But Ursel had some other methods of approach to try. She stepped forward, seeming like she was leading into an upward sweep of her club. Then she was suddenly launched into the air by a projection of bamboo. Rugg¡¯s halberd came up, but he was slow in getting it behind him. Ursel couldn¡¯t suddenly change her trajectory to approach, but her club tore into the stony ground beneath them, launching a spray of shards at his back. He quickly spun around, but instead of raising herself up, Ursel did the same for Rugg, causing his halberd to swing over her head. No doubt if she¡¯d simply raised a pillar of earth he would have been ready, but he seemed to be less sensitive to the plant focused aspects of earth cultivation. Ursel was surprised he didn¡¯t immediately topple as her club slammed into the side of his leg, but she kept herself inside his optimal reach pressing the attack. He shortened his grip on the halberd, taking advantage of its spearlike properties to attempt to fend her off. But ultimately, he couldn¡¯t stand up to Ursel. ¡°I concede,¡± he said simply. Ursel nodded. ¡°Good fight.¡± Rugg then got a dreamy smile on his face. ¡°A marble statue, flying through the sky. A beautiful dove, alighting upon the dais.¡± Poetry? ¡°Uh, what?¡± Ursel tilted her head. ¡°Beautiful Ursel, might I ask for an opportunity to court you?¡± Oh. That was what the poetry was for. Might as well make this clear. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to refuse.¡± ¡°Alas. May I ask, is it a weakness in my cultivation or my personage that you perceive?¡± ¡°Listen, Rugg. I¡¯m sure someone would absolutely love your poetry. But I¡¯m not interested in anyone regardless of flowery words or muscles or cultivation or whatever else. As for your cultivation¡­ I guess you could shore up some weaknesses by expanding the breadth of your understanding of the earth. Maybe see if you can visit the Viridia Wildlands.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Rugg nodded. ¡°If your words are not just a kindness, it is not a fault in myself.¡± ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know anything about proper courtship, but if you find someone you like but they¡¯re not interested in you as you are, it¡¯s probably not meant to be. Don¡¯t assume you should change for someone else. Unless you¡¯ve got a serious flaw, I guess.¡± Ursel shrugged. She literally just admitted she had no idea how any of that crap worked. Why was she giving advice? ¡°I shall contemplate your words, both as a worthy opponent and a guide in the matters of love.¡± Should she repeat her warning? Eh, whatever. He¡¯d probably be fine. ----- ¡°So, how¡¯d the talking and stuff go?¡± Ursel asked Master Renato after they finished their tour. ¡°About as you¡¯d expect. Nobody wants to get involved with the affairs of the Darklands or to step foot in Astrein. But with a bit of time we can get a few involved, and others will join out of momentum.¡± Renato nodded seriously, ¡°I¡¯ve also sewn the seeds of danger in their minds, so whether or not they¡¯d been considering the Sky Islands and Molten Sea as threats, they¡¯ll now be more aware.¡± ¡°Good to hear,¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I was actually that much help, though. I fought a few people, but that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good reminder for them¡­ that in a decade or two you¡¯ll be something amazing. Especially with how your training has been going. Speaking of which, I do have a reward for your progress.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to follow me to the armory to find out.¡± Ursel hoped it was a new weapon. Though she had also been looking at buying one on her own, either with saved up money or through the sect. When she stepped into the armory, her eyes wouldn¡¯t look at the various weapons and armor strewn about but instead they settled on an armor rack displaying a set of darkly shining armor. She was quite familiar with the material. That was Mountain Steel- and because it was settled into its form upon creation, that meant each section had to be formed exactly as it was and then attached to a structure beneath. ¡°I see you like it,¡± Renato commented. ¡°Wha?¡± Ursel came out of her daze. ¡°Uh, yes. It looks nice.¡± ¡°It¡¯s yours,¡± Renato said. When Ursel didn¡¯t have the ability to respond, he grinned, ¡°What, you didn¡¯t think I was spending all that effort on making Mountain Steel for fun? Or so you could break it in training?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I didn¡¯t think about it,¡± Ursel admitted. ¡°But¡­ shouldn¡¯t you have made armor for yourself first? This is so valuable. I don¡¯t know if I can accept it.¡± Renato laughed, ¡°You¡¯re going to have to. Because it won¡¯t fit anyone else. But don¡¯t worry about me, I have my own plans.¡± ¡°... oh right,¡± Ursel said. This armor was made for her, and they couldn¡¯t just adjust a few straps to make it fit someone else. Also, she did want it. ¡°I will humbly accept. I hope I can prove worthy of the effort.¡± ¡°You already have. But if you want to do something more, just stay alive and help out the sect when we need you.¡± Chapter 234 Whichever direction John chose, his path would take him through the carved out paths of one of the encroaching groups. To the south, the Sky Islands were stretching across the close edge of the Darklands. To the north, the Molten Sea had cut right through the middle of Astrein- even taking Lunson under their control. Though that hardly mattered, unless they tried to do something to the normally neutral tournaments. But they seemed smart enough to not mess around with that- and their presence in the Prismatic Chambers had been much the same as anyone else. Perhaps a bit domineering, but not enough to make anyone move against them in a coordinated fashion. And perhaps, like the other factions, John should have chosen to ignore them. But he was not the only one with feelings of indignation about them just extending into the region as they pleased. The whole point of his current tasks were to find others who agreed with them, supporting them. Sure, it would be easier to keep their heads down until these groups pulled out- they couldn¡¯t stay extended as they were indefinitely- but then what would they do the next time someone took a domineering stance? The time after that? There might not be direct losses to the Tenebach clan this time, though the Brandle clan would lose a useful training tool if the leviathan was somehow damaged. It could be worth it to give it up¡­ but the idea wasn¡¯t seriously entertained for long. John set out to the north, disappointed once more that Aydan would not be coming along. Aydan said he was content with how things had turned out- and perhaps that was true- but whether or not he¡¯d come to terms with it, John¡¯s uncle was dealing with adversity that had torn him away from his traditional presence in the clan. He would wind up losing his importance without his strength, though the respect others had for him should remain. The Tenebach clan was not heartless and cutthroat like some clans, mostly due to maintaining reasonable numbers instead of expanding at all costs. ----- There was a clear difference between the Stone Conglomerate and Astrein proper, more than just the fact that the hills and mountains gave way to open plains, or anything related to the tangible world. ¡°How do you feel?¡± John asked Crystin, who maintained her position as his chief bodyguard. ¡°In what regard? My health is in a good state, and my cultivation has been advancing. Slowly, but that is to be expected.¡± ¡°More on the cultivation side. And about here,¡± John gestured vaguely all around them. ¡°I feel like I am in a wasteland completely devoid of spiritual energy,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°Though it is not taxing like being in a light-dominant region, I feel like my recovery here might be even slower.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± John said. ¡°In what way?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°I definitely felt like that at first, but I am under a very different impression of the area.¡± Though it was not flashy, John felt the area was quite vibrant with spiritual energy. It helped that he had skill with multiple elements, as he was able to discern the finely mixed elements- which combined might seem to be nothing. He was able to directly control two-thirds of the elements, and his control over fire without a totem had been improving over the years as he approached the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Once he achieved the thirty-sixth rank there would still be the significant threshold between Phases, but he was no longer worried about attuning to a proper totem along with that. ¡°In the future, this might become the best place for me to train,¡± John commented. ¡°Off by yourself? Even if it is not terribly far from the Tenebach clan, it is still far enough that anyone who had a grudge against you could gather together and attack you without fear of reinforcements arriving.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would even want to subject Matayal to this long term, since her solo cultivation would be limited.¡± Though not so much as she might have, as her totems gave her tastes of the other elements. Something she likely wouldn¡¯t have done if not to be more compatible with him, and something he was continually grateful for. Unlike himself, her totems were all water-dominant with traces of other elements- whereas John¡¯s totems were all dominant in a different element, with traces of darkness. Except for his first totem, of course, the pure tree of darkness. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be in as much danger as you might think, though. If I was not defeated quickly, I would be able to retreat and replenish myself¡­ whereas others would find that more difficult. Though I suppose if they were to expend spirit elements simply for the sake of recovery it would be a different matter.¡± ----- Though the Molten Sea controlled a slice of Astrein, they were mainly focused around a particular east-west road going through the capital. They also didn¡¯t stop others from passing through- they just maintained a presence with frequent outposts along the way. Because of that, John only spotted a couple groups before they arrived in Lunson. There, they had a somewhat larger presence. But John was not concerned about them at the moment, because they would have no reason to harm him. Aside from a few skirmishes in the Prismatic Chambers, they hadn¡¯t had actual conflicts- so as long as he didn¡¯t do anything to change that, he could expect them to not even think about him as anything more than another person of high cultivation. Because of that cultivation his presence wouldn¡¯t go unknown- and hiding it would make him seem even more suspicious if noticed- but they likely wouldn¡¯t bother him. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ----- Most of the time, Lunson was practically a dead city, at least as far as cultivators were concerned. They would only be around for the time directly surrounding a tournament. Thus, accommodations meant for them were largely open during any other time, and quite cheap as well. It was not difficult for John to secure an entire suite for himself and the modest group of attendants and guards traveling with him. John didn¡¯t really need any of them- except perhaps the guards, if something went wrong. But it was best to keep up appearances. ¡°Our first order of business is to determine the situation,¡± John said. ¡°Our information might be old or simply inaccurate.¡± They didn¡¯t exactly have informants placed in Astrein. John didn¡¯t ignore the events in the area, but no special care was taken to get information from what was effectively an empty country. He just took whatever those passing through brought along. ¡°Because of the Molten Sea¡¯s continuous presence, we might be able to get wind of their actual goals, instead of just assuming.¡± Just because John couldn¡¯t think of any other reason they and the Sky Islands would both be interested in the area around the Kelp Spire Forest didn¡¯t mean there was nothing. Perhaps some old sect ruins or the like where they hoped to glean something of great value- though they would have to be very well hidden, which would make it odd that the information could have traveled so far. Then again, the leviathan was much the same. The main permanent population were farmers, a portion of those who ran the various inns, and merchants. The former were certainly most concerned with certain dangers, but were also least likely to interact with cultivators to any significant amount. John supposed that the innkeepers and merchants would be a better bet for information. ----- Odette stepped out of the tomb, one surrounding a guardian beast who had never truly been dead. It was still a useful structure, and keeping Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s existence secret was generally to the Golden Tomb Guardian¡¯s benefit. The guardian beast aided in their cultivation in exchange for the same, the sect and beast working for each other¡¯s mutual benefit- and defense, if it were to come down to that. That was becoming ever more likely day by day. ¡°Deirdre,¡± Zacharie called out to her. ¡°Did she have anything to say?¡± Odette shook her head. It was still weird, in a way, being called a different name. Even though it had been the only name she¡¯d used for many years. ¡°Very little. Just that we should remain wary of the encroachment of the Righteous Flame League¡­ and the Luminous Harmony Sect. She will not be helping offensively against either.¡± The Luminous Harmony Sect had almost killed her once. She¡¯d survived that due to the help of what would be important allies in the future. Then she¡¯d died during an important battle in a moment of self-sacrifice. The Society of Midnight had been stronger than anticipated, or perhaps Deirdre had been naive to think that she in particular would survive. Ultimately, she helped more from their side achieve the same goals. That was who Odette wanted to be. And she¡¯d felt quite good about how she¡¯d been faking it so far. It was strange, being in a world of cultivation after her death, but she had a support group in the ¡®club¡¯. Three transmigrators like herself- strangely all speaking English which was still a point of mystery among them. And two reincarnators born in this world in this and their previous lives, instead of taking over the bodies of individuals who perished but remained relatively intact. Different experiences, but all knew death. Though in a way, the transmigrators knew death twice, even if once wasn¡¯t themselves. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Zacharie asked. ¡°Just the Luminous Harmony Sect. Things would be so much easier if we¡¯d been able to get rid of them years ago.¡± There she was, saying something like that as if it was easy. Or acceptable. But in this world it was. Killing people was part of the norm. Wiping out a clan or sect was an exceptional action, but it wasn¡¯t that uncommon either. Usually, it was avoided because of the cost to the victors, and what that would mean for their relationship with other enemies. ¡°Those little brats tied themselves to the Molten Sea, or I¡¯d go do it right now.¡± ¡°Alone?¡± Zacharie grinned. ¡°Possibly,¡± Deirdre shrugged. ¡°But I¡¯d probably bring you as backup in either case. How went the negotiations?¡± ¡°About as expected. Everyone is waiting to see what might happen. For the moment, those who weren¡¯t rolled over along their path were happy to be left out. And they don¡¯t want to even mess with their allies. So they¡¯d be quite content to let us experience more losses before they concern themselves with the imminent threat.¡± Odette sighed. ¡°At least there isn¡¯t a large delay in mobilizing forces, unlike those of mundane armies.¡± Not that she knew much about those. They didn¡¯t do much in the region since every country had sufficient spiritual energy, and back on Earth she¡¯d stayed as far away from war as possible. ¡°Too bad the Combining Luster Sect is so far away. Even if they¡¯re a bit weaker, they could fill out our numbers.¡± ¡°We might call upon the Milanovic clan,¡± Zacharie said. ¡°I¡¯ve been talking about it with the sect head. Though that means getting our whole alliance involved, and escalating things like that might not be the best right now.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be long regardless,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°Now that they¡¯ve pushed all the way towards their goal, I expect things to escalate quickly from here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we want to keep things minimal. Then, when they¡¯re occupied there, we strike with full force and cut them off. Assuming we can, of course¡­¡± Zacharie shook his head. ¡°They have more than a couple Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators just hanging around to back up their voluntary cronies.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s Asgeir and the League¡¯s Sect Head, at minimum. If only we could bring Cuah¡¯arn on the offensive¡­¡± Deirdre shook her head, ¡°But I¡¯m certain the Righteous Flame League would love to capture her. Hearing about what happened to Ciaritzal¡­ I wouldn¡¯t wish that on anyone.¡± Being ripped to pieces spiritually sounded just as awful as having it happen mentally. Persevering through that was something great. The same with Cuah¡¯arn and her withstanding a darkness element claw lodged in her gut for a lifetime. Both had a mental fortitude she admired, and aspired to replicate. She couldn''t help but think about her death on the bridge. That was something she absolutely wanted to avoid. Chapter 235 The permanent population of Lunson had grown slightly, not just because of the presence of the Molten Sea but also because the surrounding countries were growing. It led to more than a few people spending more time in the generally neutral location, and a few hiding out from various factions. Though the latter would do well to avoid Lunson itself, since they were most likely to be spotted and nobody in Astrein could or would stop any powerful groups from exerting their will. His spiritual energy concealed, John walked around the city picking up tidbits of information. Some of it did not seem relevant to him at the moment, but various people had different information to share. The Molten Sea was not the only one with longer term forces in the area- it also included allies they had picked up like the Righteous Flame League. That gave John more reasons to be subtle, because while he did not have anything closer to a real feud with the Molten Sea just yet, the Righteous Flame League would likely recognize him. John wasn¡¯t looking to get hunted down, so he would do his best to avoid them. As for their presence, the locals didn¡¯t have that much to say. They weren¡¯t exactly appreciated, but they mostly paid for their stays, enough that the local innkeepers weren¡¯t losing out on running their formations. Some of the information he was most interested in was the location of outposts away from Lunson, but that information didn¡¯t come up in casual conversation. Perhaps once he knew who he could trust and the same in reverse, John would bring it up more directly. For the moment, he was enjoying the change in scenery. ----- A thin coating of darkness pervaded everything, but instead of making the atmosphere gloomy John thought it was rather the opposite. It protected from things being too bright, toning down the atmosphere of his little world. If he wanted greater shade, he could rest among the roots of the tree of darkness, taking shade from its voluminous canopy. The earth beneath him, like most dirt, was recycled from living matter. It was just that in this facsimile of an ecosystem, there weren¡¯t really insects and bacteria. So it had to make do with the spiritual energy dissolving and taking the components that matched it. The air began impure, but that only supported the plantlife that John had improved upon after visiting the Viridia Wildlands. Around a slowly growing island was a sea, dark and deep. Its moisture provided something for the air, and the depths were filled with all sorts of pseudo-creatures. They fought and ate each other, leaving behind bits and pieces of refuse¡­ but that too was part of how things were supposed to be. Then there was the sun in the sky, a ball of fire element slowly growing in size. Though it produced something like light, there was nothing but the smallest traces of actual light element in the area. John had grown in his control over fire even without a totem, but keeping a constant amount of light was just too much at the moment. He would have an entire Phase to manage that, and since each one took more time to complete he was confident he could complete his objective. Assuming, of course, that he was able to advance at all in the Ascending Soul Phase. Hopefully, having the full cycle of the core elements would provide a boost. John swirled his energy through the various cycles, augmenting each element with the previous and nourishing his totems. Their ability to grow was the most important feature, along with their particular elemental affinities. It had been many years in the Consolidated Soul Phase, and they were finally approaching the fifth tier in power. At rank thirty-five with one more step inside of the Consolidated Soul Phase, that was just about where he should be according to his plans. He was quite lucky that it had worked out. He knew that. Whatever came from natural talent and intuition he was lucky to have. Being part of a sufficiently powerful clan was also good fortune. And using his inexperienced thoughts to develop a plan for his future that only required small modifications was also something he couldn¡¯t have just expected. He was lucky, but so were the other survivors of the competition known as cultivation. It didn¡¯t discount his efforts as mattering, because all the luck in the world couldn¡¯t replace effort. The former Fortkran showed that. The world shifted, pulsing with power. Roots and leaves swelled, the ground itself expanded. Instead of encroaching on the sea, the sea grew as well, reaching into the distance beyond the horizon. Swirling air picked up evaporated waters from the seas, depositing it on the land where much of it directly returned, while some was captured by the smaller plants. And the pseudo-sun pulsed, awaiting a totem that would allow it to properly exist. ----- Moving around with Crystin following him made John more obvious, but sneaking around alone would make him more suspicious. She was the most powerful of his guards, so it was a reasonable sacrifice to keep her present. The rest would be with him only when traveling out of the city, or if had good reason. ¡°What do you think of our progress?¡± John asked her. Crystin shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m not even sure if we¡¯ve made any progress. We will not be able to accomplish much on our own, and there aren¡¯t any other major powers here that would work with us. All we¡¯ve heard were mild murmurs of discontent.¡± ¡°And with that being visible on the surface, what do you think is underneath?¡± ¡°Well, I¡­ more discontent, maybe?¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± John said. ¡°Or perhaps I am wrong, and we will find nothing. Not everything will lead to a useful result. In such a case, we will be returning to somewhere where your training will have an easier time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about a month or two¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°Maybe not. But I¡¯d like for everyone to have their best opportunities to grow as they see fit.¡± The markets of Lunson usually had little of great value. Most resources were sold within the region they were obtained- cultivators would tend to gravitate towards a region that suited their cultivation method. There was some trade, such as between the Phoenix Forest and the Green Sands. Each had different types of fire attributed resources, and they both bordered Astrein- though the Green Sands only touched at a small point. Often, trade would flow through the Stone Conglomerate instead for their quality and safe roads. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Likewise, the Blustering Peaks and Wuthering Steppes would often pass through Astrein along the way, though there was a reasonable chance of trade passing through the Shimmering Islands and taking a southern route as well. But occasionally something good would find its way to Lunson, with the seller looking for a deal there instead of moving on to a more favorable destination. Perhaps they needed quick money, or they found their time more valuable. Either way, the markets weren¡¯t empty of cultivation resources of various levels. John spent some time there, though the chances of finding anything worthwhile to him was quite rare. There was no local authority to protect people, so the merchants had to have their own strength or hire guards commensurate with the value of what they were selling. On one such occasion, he sensed increasing levels of spiritual energy indicative of some sort of conflict. Not a proper battle, not yet at least, but an argument with tensions raised. There were three individuals involved in the dispute. First was an older man with a respectable Soul Expansion Phase cultivation and dark skin. ¡°That price is much too low!¡± he slapped his hand on his stall. ¡°This is a genuine Fireplume, carried all the way here with my own hands. Gathering its roots and soil to put in a pot was not a trivial task, yet you offer merely half of my already reasonable price!¡± ¡°With a low quality product like that, you should be honored that I am willing to purchase it,¡± countered a younger woman projecting an aura of self-assurance. Perhaps it was justified, as her cultivation matched the older man¡¯s despite him most likely having lived twice as long. ¡°It¡¯s hardly a purchase at that price. I would do better just consuming it myself and hoping to break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± That was when the third individual spoke up. ¡°An old man like you trying such a thing would be a waste. You should accept her generous offer.¡± John had already given the two a once over. The woman¡¯s cultivation showed her to be part of the Molten Sea¡­ and the other was from the Righteous Flame League. Regardless of how he felt about them, he had to consider their positions before getting involved in any way. Especially the Molten Sea, which was not in direct conflict with the Tenebach clan. ¡°You can either take my price or find something else,¡± the old man said. ¡°Unfortunately for you, I¡¯ve now set my eyes on it,¡± the woman said. She reached out to grab the pot which seemed to have waving flames coming out of it directly. The old man grabbed her wrist. ¡°Pay the full price and there won¡¯t be an issue. Or is your sect so poor?¡± Flames sprung up around all three of them, hands edging towards weapons. ¡°Hands off the lady,¡± said the younger man. If John had determined whether or not he was interfering, he would have mentioned how little robbery fit the ¡®Righteous¡¯ Flame League, or supporting those they were subordinate to doing the same. But instead he casually began to gather some energy. No need to reveal himself early. The pair attacked simultaneously, the woman stomping the ground and tearing apart the streets, flames bursting upward and the man flashing light towards the older fellow. John gestured towards the man from the Righteous Flame League, then made his own move, throwing a dagger he charged with lightning at the woman. Crystin understood his unspoken command, charging toward her target with her spear wreathed in darkness. The flames and burst of light faded away with the woman clutching her arm and the younger man with a speartip at his throat. The temporary vendor had flames of his own protecting him, but there were some clear scorch marks. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± asked the woman from the Molten Sea. John took a deep breath as he stepped closer, circulating his energy. ¡°The better question is who the hell are you? Robbing people in open daylight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m-¡± John¡¯s sword was out and half a centimeter into her trachea. ¡°You¡¯re nobody. Especially to a sect like yours.¡± She pulled back, fire in her eyes even as blood dripped down her throat. She choked out a few words. ¡°We won¡¯t forget this insult.¡± ¡°Which we?¡± John said. ¡°Your sect? Perhaps not. And I suppose the same is true for you. But that¡¯s because you won¡¯t have the chance.¡± If she had immediately apologized, John might have considered letting her go, truthful or not. And while he didn¡¯t enjoy bullying the weak, these two weren¡¯t actually so pathetic as to be truly ignorable. And choosing to attack someone simply because they didn¡¯t like his price, and in a pair, was something he didn¡¯t want to allow. Her head fell to the ground, and Crystin had thrust her spear along with his motion. Two cultivators were dead. The Tenebach clan was already at war with the Righteous Flame League. Tipping their hand and starting conflict with the Molten Sea wasn¡¯t necessarily the right choice, but neither was just letting a man die. And John had kind of come to cause trouble. ¡°They were going to kill you,¡± John noted to the dark skinned older man. ¡°I know,¡± he said, hanging his head. ¡°And now I must flee or their fellows will do the same.¡± He looked around the market, where dozens of eyes were watching. John felt their eyes as well. ¡°Let us escort you out of the city, to the north,¡± John said as he casually grabbed the storage bags and weapons of the two fallen disciples. Their clothing would serve as armor, but he did not have the time to strip them of it, and he didn¡¯t want corpses in his storage bag. The older man clutched the pot to his chest and nodded. ¡°I am Suraj.¡± ¡°Fortkran Tenebach,¡± John introduced himself. ¡°And this is Crystin. She probably didn¡¯t want to save you.¡± ¡°I would prefer to not have an incident,¡± she said. ¡°But since it happened, I am glad he is alive.¡± As they stepped out of the open market into side streets, John cloaked them all in darkness, hiding their energy from any who would be searching for them. ¡°... This is not to the north,¡± Suraj noted. ¡°Obviously,¡± John said. ¡°You can return to the Phoenix Forest via a roundabout path if you wish, but I have some people to pick up. You can follow us, or you can go your own way.¡± ¡°I think I am likely better off with you.¡± ¡°Depends on how fast you can run,¡± John grinned. Chapter 236 In the world of cultivators, being indecisive was often worse than making the wrong decision. Though saving the old fellow Suraj in the markets might risk tipping the hand of the Tenebach clan- if it was not seen as a retaliation against the Righteous Flame League that had been openly hostile- it only slightly changed the timeline of hostilities with the Molten Sea. And they had been able to expand into the region far too easily, so it was time someone did something. Sweeping by the inn to pick up the other Tenebach clan cultivators, John settled the bill and they were on their way. Ripples were spreading through the city and word of the incident would no doubt provoke a reaction from the Molten Sea soon enough. But though they were the most dominant power in the city, they didn¡¯t control who entered and exited. No one did, really, and in many places there weren¡¯t even proper walls. Nobody was financing anything that could stand up to cultivators, and the Molten Sea hadn¡¯t contributed to such things during their stay either. Thus, behind a cloak of spiritual energy obscuring darkness, the group left the city behind, traveling south towards the Stone Conglomerate instead of north like John had indicated. He didn¡¯t expect to fool many people for long with that, but his main goal had been to get out of the city. Because the terrain was easy to travel, they were even able to bring along the carriage. If they¡¯d had to, John wouldn¡¯t mind abandoning it. He could have also used it as a distraction, but that would either mean it being caught shortly outside the city or sacrificing whoever would drive it. He preferred to avoid losses here if possible. ¡°Thank you once more,¡± said Suraj as they sped across open fields. ¡°I did not expect them to be so brazen as to attack me in the open. I know the Flame River Sect has little esteem in the eyes of these Molten Sea sects, but for them to completely disregard my position as a factor¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°Then again, I¡¯m not even in the Consolidated Soul Phase. They have more than a few in the late Consolidated Soul Phase like yourself. And there are rumors of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, but hopefully those are just rumors.¡± ¡°Hopefully,¡± John said. He recalled Faramund from the Society of Midnight breaking through, and how difficult it was to deal with him just at that threshold. On the other hand, his personal power had grown significantly since then, and so had his allies. If he fought alongside Matayal, he was confident in beating him with just the two of them at the current moment. But their enemies wouldn¡¯t necessarily be in the first rank of the phase. ¡°Going back to the topic of that Fireplume, I think your price was quite reasonable. I am actually interested in purchasing it myself.¡± ¡°What, this?¡± the old man gestured to the pot carried in his hands. ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly charge my savior for such a thing.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to receive it for free,¡± John said, ¡°But if you insist once you feel more secure, I won¡¯t reject it either.¡± It truly might be worth the price to save his life- it was going to be what Suraj lost his life for, after all. But John wanted to be a bit more decent than that, and Suraj might think he would be left behind if he did not give it up. So for the moment, he would hold onto it. John stuck his head out of the carriage window, looking behind them. He had been hiding their presence, but he couldn¡¯t truly erase the trail behind them. The ground was too soft, decent soil that was relegated to minimal use as it only grew mundane crops. He didn¡¯t yet sense anyone following them , but he had no doubt they would come eventually. It was simply a question of the intensity of the Molten Sea¡¯s response. Perhaps they might forgo a chase, but this was their best opportunity to strongly retaliate against the Tenebach clan. After all, they could potentially kill him here. And while John understood the very real threat, he remained calm. He had Crystin by his side, and some reliable if less powerful other individuals. His own cultivation had reached the late Consolidated Soul Phase, and he was actually fairly confident fighting in Astrein, as he was able to use approximately four times as much ambient spiritual energy compared to most cultivators. The Molten Sea did train both fire and water, so he might only be double compared to them if they were able to separate the elements. But he was ready to handle trouble as it came. He¡¯d made his choice, and was ready to face the consequences. Though it seemed the Molten Sea was a bit slow, as there were still no signs of them after an hour. Unfortunately the horses drawing the carriage weren¡¯t tireless. Neither were the people riding inside. They continued along until the evening, avoiding the main road and settlements. They were heading for the closest part of the Stone Conglomerate instead of drifting more east towards Marble County, especially since there was a good bit of the Stone Conglomerate between them and home regardless. Simply crossing the border would change the dynamic, but it would also be at least another day of travel. ----- John was awoken in the middle of the night by the current watch. ¡°Clan Head, riders are approaching.¡± Nothing else needed to be said. There wouldn¡¯t be any others coming along. John looked towards the horizon, where he spotted just the slightest lights in the distance. But even without them he would have been able to pick out the riders, due to the Tenebach clan¡¯s darkvision. ¡°Suraj,¡± John said, waking the old man. ¡°Be prepared. A battle is coming.¡± It might be possible to run- but only John and Crystin had a reasonable chance of escape. On the other hand, if they ran and were singled out to catch, they would be in a worse situation. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Leaving his senses open to feel out the enemy, he sensed someone familiar. ¡°Pfeh. Asgeirr.¡± What were the chances that he was in the area? Not that low, really. The Righteous Flame League had clearly thrown in their lot with the Molten Sea, and Lunson was the only sizable population in Astrein. It seemed the man had also managed to step into the late Consolidated Soul Phase, and was even the same rank as John now. But if they fought, things would be quite different from before. He¡¯d had a fairly decisive victory in their first clash, with things only being closer in the Phoenix Forest because they fought in a fire-dominant area. And if it had been only Asgeirr, John would have charged forward himself to finally be rid of the man. Instead, there were also three mid Consolidated Soul cultivators, and a handful of late Soul Expansion cultivators. That did put a bit of a damper on the options for retreat. Just the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators could prove a serious danger. ¡°We¡¯re going to try to draw them apart,¡± John declared. ¡°Focus on taking out the Righteous Flame League. I¡¯ll be more effective against the Molten Sea.¡± John wished Matayal went everywhere with him. This bunch of fire cultivators would find themselves washed away. The Molten Sea would at best match up evenly, but fighting alongside John both of them were stronger. His synergy with other Tenebach clan members was at least a tier lower. Crystin gave him a look as he edged away from the rest of them. He smiled back. ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re worried about me¡­ take out your targets quickly.¡± The odds were certainly slanted against them, at least on the surface. Two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators for their one, the only area they were a bit short was the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. Even that was only because of Suraj, or they¡¯d be a near perfect match. John prepared a special trick in front of their group, using just a little bit of earth and darkness energy. The end result was nothing that would appear to be a trap, as it was just effectively mundane potholes. Or whatever the proper name for small sinkholes in a field was. Those wouldn¡¯t do much to a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, but that wasn¡¯t their purpose. Instead, they were for the horses. They were clearly a special breed, but while horses could be fairly quick, they also weren¡¯t known for durability. John couldn¡¯t guarantee a simple misstep would completely destroy a horse like their more mundane counterparts, but if he could limit their capabilities it provided more opportunities for a later retreat. If he simply ran now, they could run their horses ragged and then chase after him on foot, fresh and full of spiritual energy. As the enemy got close, they had clearly caught on to the waiting presence. While the Tenebach clan members were reasonably well hidden, Suraj could only restrict his energy. And the Righteous Flame League was partially light cultivation, allowing them to pierce through some of the veil of darkness. Once they actually got close, they shone like the sun. How annoying. John made the first attack, throwing a water element coated dagger at Asgeirr. It pierced through his spiritual energy, but couldn¡¯t get through the protective collar around his neck. Too bad, it would have been nice if he went down immediately. Then John circled off to the side. Immediately, Asgeirr and two others swerved towards him. That was bad for John, but good for the others, who would have a slight advantage in numbers, with similar cultivations. John¡¯s ploy only got two out of three horses in that group, but that was more than sufficient. Though the cultivators easily leapt off their falling mounts with no ill effects, Asgeirr ended up ahead of the pack by a small amount. John clashed directly against him, sword versus spear as the man leapt from his mount. Swirling water and darkness crashed into fire and light. John had an elemental advantage with the water, and the others were mutually destructive¡­ but the reason Asgeirr went flying back was the final difference, despite their technically matching cultivations. All four of John¡¯s totems were fifth tier. Asgeirr had only one. The others were third and fourth tier, and though they¡¯d doubtless received some improvement from training, it wasn¡¯t enough to advance their tier. It took a significant effort, where totems were not specifically selected for such an attribute. Though John would have liked to follow up on Asgeirr, he had to retreat, sprinting away as the other two closed in on him. Both were from the Molten Sea, which meant John only had half an advantage on them. He could use water to suppress their fire, but they could control the water element as well so it wouldn¡¯t do much. He did have air though. He began to circulate his various elements, as well as drawing from the environment. If he was to sustain a battle versus three individuals, he would need to maximize his efficiency and recovery. And maybe he could flare some emotions to keep his opponents off balance. ¡°How Righteous of you, Asgeirr. First your sect attacks someone to rob him, then you come as assassins in the night.¡± A lance of light stabbed through a position just to John¡¯s left, where he¡¯d shifted his voice to originate from. A new trick from Asgeirr, then, though John had assumed the possibility. And though the moon was dim, leaving only the stars to light the battlefield, that soon was irrelevant with the flames scattering everywhere, catching dry grass alight. The two members of the Molten Sea weren¡¯t able to get a good lava pit going, however, as the topsoil only burned away instead of properly melting. John gathered some darkness energy, recalling his daughter¡¯s battles. She was much better at combating light than him, a skill that had only improved with her latest totem, but he hadn¡¯t watched her and Nik try to kill each other so many times for nothing. And he¡¯d trained with the Golden Tomb Guardians to overcome light element as well. His left hand was filled with a bundle of energy which turned into a bolt of darkness, much like the beams of light the Combining Luster Sect used. Asgeirr sensed it coming and blocked with only fire energy, but it wasn¡¯t as if darkness was offensively bad against fire, and he staggered back. John was going to need to do more than delay his opponents, however. Crystin¡¯s part of the battle might conclude in the Tenebach clan¡¯s favor, and in fact he was counting on it, but as bouncing waves of fire rushed towards him John knew he needed to injure some of his opponents to keep himself safe, and soon before he was worn down by their combined powers. He just had to do it without sustaining injuries himself. Chapter 237 Every move on his part- thrusts, slashes, parries, ripostes, dodges, and each varied technique- reminded John he was missing one step in a cycle of power. He felt the momentum build as he cycled from water to air to earth, each supporting the other. Then there was an awkward hitch as he cycled back through darkness and water instead of continuing onto fire. He didn¡¯t exactly lose momentum with that step, his acceleration just stopped momentarily. At the current moment battling against three Consolidated Soul Phase individuals, he needed every last bit of power he could squeeze out. John had to make the best use of his elemental advantages. Air to overcome water, water to overcome fire, and darkness to destroy light. He parried an incoming spear thrust from Asgeirr of the Righteous Flame League as the two others from the Molten Sea tried to surround him with fire. His actual clashes with the Molten Sea before this point had been limited, and John had to remind himself of their actual elements. Fire and water. They melted rock into a liquid to control it, rather than controlling superheated earth itself. Of course, they could still counter his earth based techniques as each of his opponents was a fire cultivator, the dominating element in that pair. Asgeirr stepped forward as John stepped back, only for the man to immediately find himself half buried in the ground. Sinking in the Mire was one of John¡¯s oldest techniques, and augmented with water its effectiveness was actually much greater. As he performed that technique, John had another brilliant idea¡­ but one that was completely unpracticed. Too risky to use here, but a combination of air and earth that produced unexpected results. With a moment of separation from the light cultivator, John was able to focus on the two from the Molten Sea. Their attacks had a consistent flow to them, and though fire seemed to be their main offense, they were also able to create instant explosions of steam to impair vision and scorch the body. In addition to that, much of the time their defenses were dominated by water elemental spiritual energy. John charged a throwing dagger with lightning, and his arm with earth element. His target dodged his attack, stepping in to attack with a palm strike. John protected his chest with a bubble of water, charged with electricity. There, lightning struck- not just the augmented palm of the man, but also from behind him as the charge was pulled towards the earth element in John¡¯s hand, taking it on a path through the man¡¯s back. The palm strike sent John staggering back, but the relatively unprotected back of the man had left an opening, jolting his muscles and preventing him from following up. As the third opponent immediately followed up, John drew heavily on the ambient spiritual energy, his one advantage, shoving at the third man with a blast of water. It was meant to knock the man off his feet, but as a water cultivator he simply redirected it around him. It still forced him to stand still for a moment, and ended the tempo of enemy attacks with a slight victory for John. He didn¡¯t have much spare attention to pay to Crystin and the others, but he got the impression that they were suppressing the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. If they could take out that single combatant, the battle would significantly shift in their favor. Until that point, John had to stay light on his feet. Fighting against mostly fire cultivators, all of his earth element techniques had to be augmented with water, making them slightly disadvantaged against the Molten Sea cultivators but at least neutral against Asgeirr. It was a shame, really. He would have liked to use Bite of the Gorgon to cripple one of them, but petrification wouldn¡¯t do much unless he got a lucky hit- and if he was betting on that, he might as well bet on it with something that would do fine in normal circumstances. Each step he took, John propelled himself further by shifting the earth beneath him. He floated slightly, wisps of air making his body light. His movements flowed like water. Finally, darkness concealed his exact intent, allowing him to catch them off guard time after time. Even a slight delay in reactions could be enough. But he was still constantly beset by waves of flame and flashes of light as Asgeirr stabbed with his spear. Focusing on fighting two styles at once was exhausting, and though he was better able to replenish himself the total stores of energy within his opponents was significantly greater, with Asgeirr nearly matching him and the other two mid Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators providing the advantage. Even with fifth tier totems he was barely hanging on, but John was able to keep his distance and his opponents didn¡¯t seem too concerned about stopping him immediately. LIkely they thought that he would wear out soon, and if they believed the standard lines that Astrein was a desert of spiritual energy then that thought was justified. It was likely they had never tried to carefully unweave their two elements from the background of the area, and thus would only recover a small amount of their energy. John looked at Asgeirr, darkness swirling around a throwing dagger in his left hand, a core of sharpened ice inside. The repeated combatant looked back, his stance showing he was ready for anything John could do. Which was why the throwing dagger was never intended for him. Instead, it sailed straight over his head, to arc down towards the fourth Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, piercing into his shoulder and throwing off his attack. That left an opening for Crystin to drive her own spear through his heart. The sudden death gave the three remaining Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators pause, though it was only for a fraction of a second. As Crystin turned to take out the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators to free up the rest of the Tenebach clan forces- and the rescued Suraj, who was contributing admirably to the battle- the three charged towards John simultaneously. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It was the right move, of course. If they took him out, the battle was won. Which was why John responded with what he also perceived to be the optimal tactic, turning on his heel and running. No longer was he facing them, carefully avoiding incoming attacks while looking for openings. Instead he sprinted along propelling himself forward with the Emerging Bamboo Sect¡¯s methods, projections of bamboo stalks shooting him at an angle to leap great distances. While in the air Asgeirr targeted John with beams of light, but as he felt the power building John dodged to the side. Cultivators of the air element were not without movement options in the sky, though John found himself somewhat lacking in proper techniques. That was something he would have to fix. The chase lasted no longer than thirty seconds before John circled back around to his allies, standing firm next to a somewhat battered but still combat viable Crystin, as well as the rest of his guards. John took a stance, with the others following and contributing their energy to the battle formation. The cultivators of the Molten Sea charged forward, and at first it looked like Asgeirr was coming with them. Until he suddenly turned at the last moment towards his abandoned mount, leaping onto the creature as four Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators clashed. John didn¡¯t want to let him go¡­ but he was rather occupied. His cultivation outmatched both opponents, but he was also worn down from the constant bombardment of attacks. It was far too risky to do anything but fight them straightforwardly. The first one fell quickly enough, as they now lacked numbers. His bravery was commendable, though perhaps he was too confident. Asgeirr was already nearing the horizon. It would be simple to finish off the last enemy. John had a better idea. ¡°Capture him! He¡¯ll be a valuable hostage.¡± Fanatic cultivators were capable of detonating their own cultivations to avoid capture. But no matter how much stated devotion an individual had to a cause, very few were actually fanatics, especially higher up the chain. Clearly assessing his situation, the man held up his hands in surrender. ¡°I¡¯ll be worth more if I am healthy,¡± the man said unapologetically. ¡°Quite true,¡± John admitted. ¡°It¡¯s too bad your ally ran off all on his own like that, isn¡¯t it? You had a decent chance of winning.¡± That was actually closer to the truth than John would have liked to admit. Though he was confident in his survival once they¡¯d taken out the first opponent, Crystin might have had to be sacrificed. That wasn¡¯t something he was willing to do, so he much preferred this situation. ¡°A terrible coward,¡± the man grunted as they began to bind him with cultivation restricting manacles. ¡°What is your name, by the way?¡± John asked. ¡°Roshan,¡± the man said somewhat reluctantly. ¡°What do you intend to do with me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be a hostage. We¡¯ll trade you for cultivation resources, or perhaps Asgeirr¡¯s head.¡± ¡°... I vote for the second one,¡± the man looked over his shoulder. ¡°You can write a paper to endorse that option, then,¡± John said, smiling only internally. Driving a wedge between the Righteous Flame League and the sects of the Molten Sea could only be beneficial. Winning the battle instead of just surviving was also of great value. The Molten Sea might have replacements for their lost Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, but the Righteous Flame League had only a few, counting their sect head and Asgeirr. A significant blow for a long time rival, and perhaps the first step in a bigger move. Even so, the potential risks made John ponder whether his choices were appropriate. A bit too hasty, perhaps, even if he could justify it with the ultimate results. Then again, they still had to make it to safe territory. There was no guarantee there wouldn¡¯t be more after them. Roshan didn¡¯t look terribly enthusiastic about sharing those details, either. Well, as long as he was otherwise cooperative with the hostage process that was sufficient. ----- Though the next few days weren¡¯t very restful, they crossed the border into the Stone Conglomerate with no further issues. Of course, there was some suspicion about bringing around captive Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, but the Tenebach clan was well known even outside of Marble County. At worse, people were indifferent or curious, as the Molten Sea didn¡¯t have a foothold in the country. They continued straight southward until they were deep in the Stone Conglomerate¡¯s territory before circling east towards Marble County. There, Roshan would be imprisoned and eventually ransomed off, unless the Molten Sea was truly uncooperative. They might be, but even if they had more Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators people like Roshan didn¡¯t exactly grow on trees. If the price was reasonable, they might accept the results- though John still expected retaliation at some point. That would resolve itself later. First, he had a technique to attempt. A combination of air and earth. He was immediately glad he hadn¡¯t made the attempt in combat, because it turned out seeing a video one time years prior was insufficient for him to immediately replicate an effect. The intent was to force air into the earth, ultimately creating something referred to as ¡®liquid sand¡¯. The name itself showed some initial problems with it. It wasn¡¯t functional on any old soil- at best, John managed to blow a bunch of dirt in his face. What he really needed was for the air to rise from the bottom, though that wasn¡¯t the only issue. The size of the soil particles was also a factor, even if he could sneak air element through the ground with his own earth energy. He wasn¡¯t willing to consider it a failed technique yet. Another step in the cycle would be to add some water, which was quite sensible as what he was doing was really just an extension of sinking in the mire. But if he could find a way to augment what he was doing with the air element, it could only become more efficient. Water, air, and earth working together might even be the best. And if ultimately the air didn¡¯t help, he would still learn from his failures. Chapter 238 A small form darted across the night sky, practically invisible. John wouldn¡¯t even have noticed it if he hadn¡¯t been coincidentally looking in that direction. He saw it descend and knew a new message had arrived. The shadowhawks were providing a valuable service, and they were intelligent enough they could be trained to deliver to multiple locations, instead of simply returning to one particular home. They weren¡¯t the only option available, but the fact that they preferred to fly at night made them less obvious, and they were faster than any land or sea based delivery. They still didn¡¯t even come close to instant communication, but it allowed John to contact Matayal and receive a response within a handful of days rather than a few weeks. Contacting other allies was likewise important, even the Order of the Amber Heart which was quite close to the Tenebach clan. The hostilities with the Molten Sea had to be communicated to others, especially the Golden Tomb Guardians. Though they were already somewhat in conflict with them and the Righteous Flame League. ----- John found Suraj in the gardens, where the earth element was allowed to flow naturally. Much of the Tenebach clan¡¯s land focused on amplifying the darkness element, but they had many retainers and allies who made use of the earth element. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Quite well, thank you. It¡¯s much more comfortable to recover here than Astrein.¡± ¡°What if I told you that Astrein has more fire element than this place by a significant margin?¡± The older man looked at John, ¡°I would think you were being insincere.¡± ¡°You can say liar,¡± John grinned. ¡°But it¡¯s true. If you could directly draw upon the fire element there, I imagine it would be more efficient than converting earth here. Though perhaps it is ultimately quite similar for you, as the amount of each individual element there is significantly less.¡± The man nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Given your rare style of cultivation, I will take your word for it. But then why can I sense it?¡± ¡°The whole place has entered a state of near-balance. None of the spiritual energy is concentrated, but naturally overlaps with the other element. Being sensitive to more of the individual elements, I know how to pick them apart if necessary.¡± Though John mainly just filtered out the light and the majority of the fire, letting the others sort themselves out inside his dantian unless he had a reason to intentionally separate them. ¡°Perhaps I could learn to make use of it, should I travel through Astrein again,¡± Suraj nodded. ¡°Speaking of travel, when do you wish to return to the Flame River Sect? We are able to obtain passage through the Shimmering Islands, and the Molten Sea has not acted so arrogant as to attack arbitrary vessels just yet.¡± Or at least not many. Matayal had spoken of increasing numbers of mysterious disappearances, though that could also involve the Sky Islands. ¡°Soon, then,¡± Suraj nodded. ¡°Has the Fireplume been of use to you?¡± The root cause of the incident could be said to be the Fireplume, though it could have been anything of value those particular individuals wanted. The actual value might not have mattered, as they could have demanded anything for free. John personally thought he¡¯d arrived at the best solution, where people saw them make the attempt but get defeated. It would put the Molten Sea on guard, but there was another factor that might balance it out. ¡°I have found it useful indeed,¡± John said. He had ultimately paid slightly less than Suraj¡¯s asking price, saving himself some of the price but more importantly buying favor with Suraj. He would be an important factor in drawing the attention of the Phoenix Forest¡¯s sects to the situation outside their borders. ¡°The energy is sufficiently gentle, yet vibrant.¡± Suraj smiled. ¡°Good. In hands other than yours, I would say a cultivator not of the fire attribute would waste such a thing. But I think that will only be technically true for a short time. Not to presume anything, but I believe a fire totem is coming in your near future.¡± ¡°The near future¡­ well, perhaps it can be considered that,¡± John said. It might be a decade for him to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, or even more. Though that depended somewhat on if he got stuck on the threshold. That was part of the reason he was putting in all this work for elemental attunement ahead of time. He also needed to be able to connect to a fifth tier fire totem, and while he could resist the general pressure of the sea of spiritual totems he needed more. ----- In a cell nearly devoid of spiritual energy- but most importantly devoid of earth, fire, and water- the man known as Roshan sat in meditation. Perhaps he was focusing on the sea of spiritual totems, which could not be cut off from access by any methods the Tenebach clan was aware of. On the other hand, he might have been simply passing the time in the bare comforts he was afforded. As a hostage, Roshan would not be comfortable¡­ but because he had been cooperative, he was afforded more than the basic necessities. His wounds had been properly treated, even with some medicine to accelerate the process. He had a little writing desk, and his bed was nice enough. No doubt things were quite boring still, but that simply motivated him to hope the process would finish sooner rather than later. Though it was decent for a prisoner, it was nowhere near the finery that a Consolidated Soul Cultivator would come to expect. ¡°Have you received a response?¡± Roshan asked as John approached. ¡°Not yet,¡± John admitted. ¡°Your letter is on the way, but we don¡¯t expect a response for at least a few more days. Your cooperation will certainly speed along the process.¡± They had carefully checked Roshan¡¯s letter, of course, to make certain there was no hidden code within it. Not that it would necessarily help him even if he could add such information. There was nothing new to the Molten Sea except for what John wanted shared, specifically that Asgeirr fled while the two Molten Sea cultivators were relying on him to continue the battle. And though John sincerely believed that would have simply led to another loss, the idea that he could have helped would not only help with them underestimating his own power, but also helped drive a wedge between the allies. Asgeirr should have been the most motivated to win, but instead he fled. John had spread that news as far and wide as possible, before the Righteous Flame League could put in place their own narrative. He also emphasized their role in the attempted robbery of Suraj. He did want to turn people against the Molten Sea, but he also hoped there could be a peaceful solution to end their intrusion. Or at least one that involved less harm to the alliance that had built up around the Tenebach and Brandle clans. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°A pity,¡± Roshan said. ¡°I would quite like to be out of here sooner. ¡°If not that, why are you here?¡± ¡°I simply wanted to check on you and your accommodations. Someone of your status deserves at least that much respect.¡± This was the continuation of John¡¯s plan to butter the man up. Though he was ¡®only¡¯ a mid Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, he no doubt felt important. If he had been from some entity other than the Molten Sea, his relative status would be higher. John wasn¡¯t going to say any of that, just do his best to influence the man¡¯s thoughts in the way that was most beneficial to the clan. ----- Any clan or sect would have a dueling arena of some sort, and the larger the group the more they could customize. They were especially helpful for enforcing nonlethal combat, and they could also balance out unequal elements. Or make them worse. Melanthina shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The arena was in its usual state like the rest of the clan, full of darkness element. For most cases, that would allow both cultivators to fight at optimum effectiveness and display their best results. After all, the Tenebach clan was a clan of darkness cultivators. Here, one of the combatants was of the darkness element- but not part of the clan. The other, however, used the light element. It was totally unfair and unbalanced. Not to mention the darkness cultivators was older by a whole handful of years, and a rank higher. Yet the terms of the combat had been agreed upon. She looked over at her father. Should she have made some official statement? Should she have prevented this? ¡°What is it?¡± her father asked. ¡°I¡­¡± she wiggled in her seat, ¡°Was just thinking it was odd to see you behind me, instead of at the forefront.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ll grow used to it.¡± A simple and straightforward answer. Had he truly believed her? Melanthina was quite confident in her ability to deceive, but less so where her parents were involved. Or her siblings. They simply knew her too well, and she might also have hindered her own performance. ¡°They appear to be ready. You¡¯ll have to announce the start.¡± ¡°Oh yes. Of course.¡± Melanthina stood, projecting her voice. ¡°We gather here today for a personal contest between two cultivators. Disputes inevitably arise, and this arena is provided so they can be settled amicably.¡± Melanthina did her best to keep her bias out of her voice. Personally, she thought this situation had arose because someone had been butting into a situation he really had no say over. ¡°On the one side, we have Viljar of the Ebon Crest. On the other, Nik of the Combining Luster Sect. Ready yourselves. Begin!¡± She sat down and did her best not to clutch too tightly onto the arm of her chair. She at least hoped her white-knuckled grip was out of most people¡¯s view. ¡°You should believe in him,¡± her father¡¯s voice whispered in her ear. ¡°You know him.¡± ¡°But what if-¡± ¡°What if¡¯s don¡¯t win battles,¡± he said. ¡°Just relax.¡± Sure. She would relax. It¡¯s not like she would marry Viljar regardless. He was way too old. Also, she didn¡¯t like him precisely because he pushed for this. She was relaxed. Her body? Relaxed. Mind? Relaxed. Everything? Relaxed. She was pretty good at putting on a facade, at least. The battle didn¡¯t start off with a sudden clash, unlike many. Surprisingly, Nik didn¡¯t even use his staff to fire a beam of light, one of his best moves. Instead, he only approached cautiously. That gave Viljar time to drag the tip of his spear along the ground, forming lines of power. He would form a zone of domination it would be very difficult to attack into, but easy for him to attack out of. What was Nik doing, letting him take his time? About halfway through his efforts, Nik finally readied an attack. A simple beam, the moment of charging enough for Viljar to raise his own spear and extend darkness to match and destroy the incoming attack. But instead of finishing his crest immediately, Viljar took the opportunity to shift his stance, a fluid motion that resulted in the spear in his hand suddenly flinging forward. Even Melanthina could barely see the shift happening through the veil of darkness. The spear pierced through Nik¡¯s chest, and the arm of Melanthina¡¯s chair cracked. Totally unrelatedly. It was fine. Everything was fine. Especially since Nik still stood there, unharmed. Though the fact that the image of him there was a mirage had become clear when it scattered into nothingness for a moment during the passage of the darkened spear. The spear returned to Viljar¡¯s hand, carried back by his spiritual energy. He immediately returned to his crest. This was the time that Nik most needed to take advantage of to win this battle, though the rank difference between them and the arena being infused with darkness would be a problem. A few more beams of light came from various angles, though Melanthina couldn¡¯t pick out which, if any, were its proper origin. If she were in the arena, she could use some disruptive methods to pick that out¡­ but she would not interfere in a match. Especially not to her own detriment. Vijlar continued to defend himself, a cloak of darkness growing ever stronger around him. He finished his crest. So that was it then. A moment later, Melanthina couldn¡¯t see. She retained her composure, not cussing up a storm in front of everyone present from a little flash. Actually, a little flash of light shouldn¡¯t have done much to her. Her third totem really helped with that. The other darkness cultivators probably had it much worse. Even so, it took a few moments to blink away the flashes, and she realized there was something she was supposed to say. Looking carefully at the scar that had once been a crest, she determined it was well and truly destroyed. Inside it, Viljar was no longer on his feet, or indeed conscious. She focused for a few seconds to make sure she was not hasty in her announcement, but there was no deception to be felt. Her probe was certain that Vijar was down. Nik was clearly confident of that, as he was standing visible just outside of the former location of the crest, looking at her with anticipation. ¡°Match complete. Victory, Nik!¡± Melanthina did her best to say that in an unbiased fashion. Hey, at least she didn¡¯t cheer. ¡°Congratulations.¡± ¡°Thank you, young miss Melanthina,¡± Nik said, projecting his voice. ¡°In this moment of victory, I would like to make a request.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°Melanthina. Will you marry me?¡± She nearly exploded. Had he just asked¡­? Here? Now? But she had been planning- it didn¡¯t matter now. She had to respond. But her voice barely squeaked out. ¡°Help. Father. What do I say?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m fairly certain the word you¡¯re looking for is ¡®yes¡¯.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Melanthina cleared her throat, properly projecting her voice instead of shouting. ¡°Yes, I will marry you.¡± She knew it was coming, but she¡¯d been caught off guard by him being the one doing it. Then again, wasn¡¯t it more appropriate, as the one of lower status? Ugh. Nominally lower status, anyway. Which was kind of why she had wanted to be the one to ask. But she was kind of glad it ended up this way, even if her brain wasn¡¯t functioning well at this exact moment. Chapter 239 The exchange of Roshan would be taking place at the Quartz clan. This time, it was one of those John was familiar with instead of a new one. This particular Quartz clan was on amicable terms with the Tenebach clan, situated in the northeast of the Stone Conglomerate. Raghu had taken over as the sect head, and was close to reaching the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. One generation prior and he would have been considered something special. Now, he was hardly above average for those born into a clan of any size. This exchange needed to go smoothly. Not because John hoped it might lead to future peaceful interactions- he was quite certain that if ordered Roshan would fight against him again. Sparing the life of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was leaving a serious threat alive. However, Roshan¡¯s life should hopefully cause more damage than his death would. In truth, the exchange was in the Molten Sea¡¯s favor. The resources agreed upon for his release were extremely modest, considering the wealth of the region. However, John hadn¡¯t wanted to push too hard in the negotiations. Even if future conflicts were all but inevitable, he wasn¡¯t certain he wanted things to escalate immediately. This would mollify them for some time. And Roshan was going to complain about Asgeirr, and driving a wedge between the Molten Sea and the Righteous Flame League would be useful. Even if they didn¡¯t completely cut them off, if it made them hesitant to provide support once or twice¡­ it could more than make up for Roshan¡¯s continued involvement. John was more cautious with bringing along backup, though most would not be directly present. Along with Crystin, he had two dozen more guards including a few early Consolidated Soul Phase individuals. However, if the Molten Sea came with a force that was even close to matching them, he had no intention to stay and fight. Roshan would die, and he would retreat into the Stone Conglomerate. If the Molten Sea was foolish enough to give chase at that point, he could call in some favors from surrounding groups. But all of his worries appeared to be for naught, at least in this particular instance. A relatively modest group of three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and twice that many Soul Expansion Phase cultivators was what arrived to retrieve Roshan, led by a man with stark gray hair. As the host and vaguely neutral party, Raghu was present for the encounter, John and the elder approaching each other while their guards stood back on either side of the meeting hall. Raghu fulfilled his formal obligations. ¡°Today, we are here with Elder Aksel of the Flowing Flames, as well as the Tenebach clan head for an exchange. Roshan will be returned to his sect in exchange for agreed upon resources.¡± As Roshan was already visible on the Tenebach clan¡¯s side, the first thing to be brought forward was a chest, opened to display liquid flame. Part of the exchange was the chest itself that could contain such a thing, though the condensed mixture of energy was not as hot or as volatile as true flame or molten rock. After confirming that it was the right amount, John gestured for them to bring forward Roshan. Two weaker disciples carried forward the chest, passing Roshan to leave it with John. ¡°The matter is resolved,¡± Raghu declared. ¡°Let the parties depart from neutral ground in peace.¡± John almost thought Elder Aksel would leave without saying anything, but the man spoke briefly before he turned about. ¡°One might wonder what greater value you gain from this exchange, but the Flowing Flames will remember the return of our disciple.¡± In a way, that was the most valuable part of the whole deal. Because it brought to mind that while the Molten Sea appeared to be one monolithic entity, they were part of a region as varied as any other country. They might act together for a purpose, but they still had their own factions. Unfortunately, John knew little about their internal politics. They weren¡¯t terribly open to outsiders¡­ but it was at least an avenue to approach in the future. ----- When the news came of his sister¡¯s engagement, Tirto couldn¡¯t help but be happy for her. Specifically, for how she had come to accept what she really wanted. Tirto liked Nik, too. He wouldn¡¯t have let Ursel push her towards accepting her true feelings if they didn¡¯t think he was actually a good match. There was, of course, the slight issue of elemental compatibility. In normal circumstances, it wasn¡¯t really an issue. The vast majority of pairings worked out. Any of the four core elements with each other were either the same or one of them supported the other, or was allied with the other. Light and air or fire and darkness with earth or water were also allied. More rarely, one might see light or darkness with opposite allied elements, which wasn¡¯t great for cultivation but also not necessarily dangerous. Then there was light and darkness. But both Nik and Melanthina were the kind of fools who would turn the explosive danger into an advantage rather than a detriment. They even already had totems to bridge the gap. Beyond that, well, it was their personal cultivation. Tirto had to admit that Nik wasn¡¯t the greatest in terms of social situations. He¡¯d put in the effort to learn, but he was a whole lifetime behind politics. But he also wasn¡¯t going to be leading the Tenebach clan, he was just marrying in. For that, his martial capabilities were generally sufficient to cover him. Though Tirto was a little bit concerned about children. On the other hand, he and his siblings were exceptions for having elemental affinities before they were born and with opposite elements the two should be even more likely to have children that were unattuned. Right? He didn¡¯t actually know, and he only knew what he did about unusual cultivator births because he was one of them. His sisters barely knew more than he did. Children. Some day, he would have children. Somehow, that was more terrifying than the leviathan. Actually, that wasn¡¯t really a fair comparison. Tirto was far too comfortable with the might of the leviathan, and though it should have still been terrifying it wasn¡¯t. He just didn¡¯t know if he was ready for the responsibility. On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t in any rush. He was just eighteen now, and just because Nik and Melanthina got engaged at the earliest practical time didn¡¯t mean he had to. There was also the factor that Emilia was two and a half years younger than him, so there was plenty of time to get used to the idea. And they didn¡¯t have to immediately have children, though it was a necessary duty. Unlike the Tenebach clan the Brandle clan didn¡¯t have strict traditions- Matayal¡¯s parents simply happened to die before having a second child. Though Tirto understood not wanting messy lines of succession. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Tirto wanted to talk to Emilia about all of this, but he also kind of¡­ didn¡¯t? He didn¡¯t quite get that, but he¡¯d figure it out eventually. She was often around, so it wasn¡¯t as if he had to rush things. Speaking of which, ¡°Do you ever get tired of being here, Emilia?¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± she asked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s¡­ more difficult for you to cultivate,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°Fire supports water, not really the other way around.¡± Before Emilia could reply, someone else butted into the conversation. ¡°Yeah it¡¯s awful,¡± Verusha complained. ¡°We should make you come with us sometimes! Beaches get boring after like a week, and they¡¯re too cold!¡± Emilia cleared her throat. ¡°Verusha. I have no intention of dragging about my future husband as I please. I personally find it quite comfortable here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just because you¡¯re too boring to have opinions!¡± Tirto took a deep breath. He needed to relax. Verusha was just volatile because she was a teenager. And because of her father, probably. And being a fire cultivator was likely a contributing factor. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be here, you know.¡± ¡°Of course I do! If I hang out back at the Milanovic clan I get approached by all sorts of weirdos. They¡¯ll say things like ¡®Verusha, you need to be more ladylike to attract a suitor¡¯ but also ¡®Verusha, you¡¯re not old enough to climb Zolvolj¡¯. So it¡¯s easier to sneak up on the way back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯ve been disappearing to?¡± Emilia frowned. ¡°Nnnnnoooo? Nope. I¡¯ve been doing completely normal training stuff.¡± Verusha took a deep breath, ¡°And also, people keep complaining about my hair. They say things like ¡®why isn¡¯t your hair green anymore?¡¯ and all I can say is why is your hair still green?!¡± Tirto looked directly at Verusha. ¡°... Was it not always blue?¡± ¡°It was red yesterday!¡± Verusha waved her arms wildly. ¡°Okay?¡± Tirto tilted his head. He was quite uncertain as to why it mattered. ¡°Were you not paying attention?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just hair,¡± Tirto said. ¡°It¡¯s not just hair!¡± Verusha complained. ¡°Hair is important!¡± ¡°Then why do you not like people asking about it?¡± ¡°Because¡­ because¡­ ugh!¡± Verusha stormed away. The calmness returned. Tirto looked towards Emilia, who just smiled back slightly. ¡°She¡¯s just at that age now.¡± ¡°You were a lot more¡­ restrained?¡± Tirto suggested. ¡°Even Melanthina was¡­ less. For everything not involving Nik.¡± ¡°Nobody is going to be quite the same,¡± Emilia explained. ¡°Not even siblings.¡± ¡°Well, obviously,¡± Tirto shrugged. ¡°Soo¡­ why isn¡¯t her hair green?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure,¡± Emilia admitted. ¡°It is green sometimes, though. It changes with her emotions, I think. It didn¡¯t happen until she properly began cultivating, and it¡¯s more frequent since she¡¯s reached the second and third rank. But it could also just be the time. It¡¯s unclear. Perhaps because of her forcing herself into cultivating earlier than she should.¡± ¡°I¡¯d ask why she insisted, but she¡¯s Verusha so¡­¡± Tirto shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s just like that, I guess.¡± ¡°Well, yes,¡± Emilia nodded. ¡°But sometimes she¡¯s¡­ more.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Any idea what causes it.¡± ¡°I do have some ideas,¡± Emilia admitted. ¡°But like the hair, I don¡¯t know if anything is the actual cause, or just a coincidence.¡± ----- She was aware of the heavy club swinging towards her head, but she ignored it. This was a great time to get in a strike of her own, and her stone club came down on her opponent¡¯s shoulder. At the same time, a club hit the side of her helmet. Its momentum was negated with just a slight tilt of her head. Her own attack hit solidly, forcing her opponent to step back. ¡°Haha, gotcha,¡± Ursel grinned. ¡°Bet you weren¡¯t expecting this when you gave it to me, were you?¡± Ursel stepped forward. ¡°Today, the student defeats the maaaa-¡± Somehow, her face was in the dirt. She pushed herself out of the dirt, rising to her knees. ¡°Dammit, I don¡¯t know how you did that trick but-¡± Instead of taking its position under her feet, the whole world decided to spin again, toppling her onto her back. *Clink* *Clink* *Clink* That was the sound of a stone club tapping on her face. ¡°You done?¡± ¡°No I can still-¡± Ursel twisted her body, and her head only went deeper into the ground. ¡°How are you even doing this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m literally not doing anything,¡± Renato said. ¡°But I-¡± ¡°Have a concussion and ruptured eardrums, I think.¡± The world did a dozen flips as she was pulled to her feet. ¡°Focus on your body.¡± ¡°Uuuuuugh,¡± Ursel said. ¡°It¡¯s not fair. That shouldn¡¯t have done anything.¡± ¡°And why not?¡± Renato asked. ¡°Because I¡¯m wearing mountain steel and my skin is basically invincible!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how any of those things would stop this. Were you defending with your energy?¡± ¡°Well, I¡­ didn¡¯t need it.¡± Renato sighed, ¡°Clearly you did. I¡¯m regretting giving you this armor now.¡± ¡°Nooo, don¡¯t! I love it. It¡¯s great. I get the lesson!¡± Ursel spoke wildly. ¡°I guess I can¡¯t do that until I finish Super Diamond Defense.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re naming a technique that.¡± ¡°Well, I-¡± ¡°I forbid it.¡± Renato said. ¡°Why not Hill defense or something?¡± ¡°Because hills suck!¡± Ursel said. ¡°And, uh¡­ I don¡¯t want it to be limited to Soul Expansion Phase or whatever.¡± She grimaced. ¡°I guess I need to focus more on internals¡­¡± she muttered to herself. ¡°What kind of rocks can I eat¡­?¡± Renato popped a healing pill in her mouth, which she automatically began to dissolve, then patted her on the shoulder. ¡°If your technique actually goes anywhere, come to me for help with naming.¡± Chapter 240 The motives of the Molten Sea were easily presumed with regards to the leviathan. Many of their cultivators specialized in both fire and water, so a powerful source such as the leviathan could be of interest for many reasons. The sky islands were a more difficult topic. The majority specialized in earth and air- while the leviathan was pure water. Perhaps it was as simple as water supporting air, and the scale of power involved being of sufficient benefit. Or perhaps they knew something more about the creature, something which even the Shimmering Islands did not know. The leviathan had been the cause of much research for Matayal, with no meritorious results. Certainly, there were records of great sea creatures but the scale of them was far less than the leviathan. Going back several centuries was insufficient to find any true records of such a thing, though Matayal didn¡¯t find it that strange. If it had been buried in the deep sea for so long, few cultivators would have had cause to get anywhere near it. As it was, the creature was embedded in the majority of the sea floors and cliff faces in the depths. It wasn¡¯t impossible that it melted its way through the stone or otherwise arrived in that situation unnaturally, but on the surface it appeared as if the layers of rock and sand had simply formed atop it through mineral deposition. Finding little information through other means, Matayal decided to go towards the source. The Sky Islands had to know why they were doing what they were doing. At least some of them. The rest would at least know who was in charge of things, which was at least progress. There were rumors of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators among the Molten Sea and Sky Islands, but no actual names had been confirmed to be present in the region. Of course, Matayal could not simply go around asking people. They would at best tell her non-secret information, the sort they could already easily acquire. At worst, they would take her for an enemy- which in a way, she probably was. Both personal danger or trouble for the Brandle clan would be a negative outcome in such a case. So she had to be secretive about it. The best method seemed to be catching some of their messenger birds, but obviously that wasn¡¯t so simple. They were swift, and trained to fly high to avoid projectile attacks. The easiest time would be to ambush one upon release, but that also carried with it the highest risk of being caught. A messenger bird going missing was one thing, but those who sent it would most likely watch it for some distance as it flew away. After that point, it was more difficult to track. Fortunately, the limited area that the Sky Islands had cut through the northern end of the Darklands to reach the sea narrowed the range of likely routes and destinations. Even if the birds were returning all the way to the Sky Islands, part of the route would be similar. Not all messages would be going through such routes- many would come with their people on ships. However, more time sensitive and likely more important messages would take the fastest methods. Matayal had so far made several unsuccessful attempts, but as word came in from her spotters, she felt confident in her chances. The particular birds were vaguely familiar to the Shimmering Islands, specifically those who could fly high and for long distances on the winds. They did not land except at their destinations, meaning she couldn¡¯t hope to catch one resting. While it might be possible to keep up with certain ships, it would be quite obvious. Instead, she intended an ambush along the way to capture the target as quickly as possible. She swirled the water beneath her in anticipation. She¡¯d considered forming a waterspout, but they could hardly stretch high enough into the sky to take out a bird flying outside of bow range. Not without the inclusion of a powerful wind cultivator as well, but these birds were sensitive to the air element above all. This made Matayal¡¯s chances look hopeless, but she had one method left to attempt. Releasing her grip on the waters below, she extended her efforts towards the skies. The messenger birds liked to fly high, sometimes even above the clouds for cover¡­ which meant by predicting its route, she could take control of a group of clouds it was going to near. Of course at such a distance, Matayal could barely do much of anything even as a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Extending her power multiple kilometers meant she only had a tiny fraction of her strength for the same effort, perhaps as little as a single percent. But she was not fighting a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator or even a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator, but rather a beast with a more modest cultivation. It would be rare for it to even be comparable to the late Foundation Phase in terms of combat strength. So, as it flew above a cloud, the cloud itself folded in on the bird. A bird such as this could fly even with heavy moisture, as it would drip off of its body. However, that was water without intention. Under Matayal¡¯s control, water condensed onto the creature¡¯s wings and clung to it. She even forced it to begin the freezing process. From a close distance there would have been no contest. From this distance, the creature¡¯s limited spiritual energy protected it instinctually, but while it was able to prevent the water and her energy from infiltrating its body, she still froze a layer around it, limiting the flapping of its wings and more importantly adding significant weight. The main thing that allowed birds to fly was their low density, and some could not even fly with a full belly. The message itself would be lightweight, but water was quite dense- even if it was marginally less so as ice. As it lost height, it became easier and easier for her to control the creature¡¯s bonds. It managed to shake some of it off as it dropped, but even the small portion of the cloud that properly clung to the bird caused it to finish its spiraling descent into the sea. Matayal leapt in after it, directing her ship to follow. She would swim faster than they could move, and she didn¡¯t want to risk damage to the message. A minute later, she had retrieved the creature. Most likely it would be slain, though they could perhaps fake some damage to the carrying straps if they wanted it to seem like an accident. That would be decided later, for now it was caged. The message itself was in a sealed container, to the benefit and detriment of Matayal. It was safe from the elements¡­ and from her. If she opened the container in the wrong way, it would likely destroy the contents. That would take some study. But, they finally had something. Hopefully, it was something useful. ----- It was a week of effort to safely open the message container, though Matayal would have gladly waited longer given her time spent waiting for the opportunity to capture one. As a final precaution, Yonit was the one who actually opened it. There didn¡¯t seem to be enough spiritual energy entangled in it to actually hurt someone, but it was better to not risk it. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. He twisted apart the last strands of detectable protections, tore apart the lock, and dumped a rolled scroll into his hand. He unfurled it, looking at it before shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s in code. No, a special cipher.¡± He turned it towards Matayal. ¡°Look, the character set isn¡¯t even the same as ours.¡± Matayal sighed. ¡°I guess the next step is to get some cipher specialists to decode this. Though if it¡¯s any good, we¡¯ll need a clue to pick it apart.¡± She looked it over. ¡°Unless we are lucky enough to be able to guess, but I certainly can¡¯t at this point. A few shapes seem familiar, but I have no idea if they fit to the sounds I would assume.¡± Instead of being discouraged, Matayal was intrigued. Anything worth inventing such a cipher for had to be valuable. Unless the Sky Islands just used ciphers for all messages, which was quite possible. If it was common, it would be easier to decipher- either manually or by finding someone who already knew how it worked. At the bare minimum, there had to be one person on either end who understood it. If they weren¡¯t a specialist, they might even have something written down. It was too early to attempt infiltrating somewhere controlled by the Sky Islands, of course. Better to not spark a conflict, especially after her husband and the Molten Sea. She didn¡¯t blame him for what he did, but it was inconvenient. ----- ¡°Now remember,¡± Yustina said to Lucanus- or Steve, but she avoided using that name since it would be strange if it were overheard. ¡°You are here along with me because¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m strong and I¡¯m your husband?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ technically correct,¡± Yustina admitted. ¡°But I meant specifically your role. You¡¯re here to protect me-¡± ¡°Like you need it.¡± ¡°I might,¡± Yustina shrugged. ¡°Anyway, to protect me and not to be involved in the negotiations.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Lucanus held up his hands, ¡°Things went great with the Furnace Sect. They like me.¡± She looked at him, her eyes steady. ¡°And I told you the Red Iron Sect wouldn¡¯t want me to be around.¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t mean you had to set on fire the first person who looked at you funny!¡± ¡°... Did it not help the negotiations?¡± Yustina frowned. ¡°Obviously n- well, I mean. They were rather timid after that. But this next group has no history with you, good or bad. So please let me handle things.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Lucanus said. ¡°I try.¡± Yustina wrapped her arms around him. ¡°I knew you were like this when I chose you. But we¡¯re being relied on for something bigger this time.¡± ¡°Like raising our children,¡± Lucanus nodded. ¡°Working together, I think they¡¯re turning out well. So¡­ make sure to ask if you need me.¡± ¡°To beat someone up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called exchanging pointers in this world,¡± Lucanus nodded seriously. ¡°And I know you can do it yourself, but you¡¯re usually not flashy enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that under advisement,¡± she said. ¡°For the moment, though, unless specifically instructed I don¡¯t want you to get involved except for standing there looking tough.¡± ----- The Aesthetic Blaze were firm believers that form was function. It was a component of their cultivation that spread over into all aspects of the sect. It led to buildings carefully formed from the sands themselves, sparkling viridian in the sun. It was also the cause of braziers, fully lit along the paths despite it being midday. That would have made it unnecessarily hot, except for the way the vaulted ceilings channeled the temperature away from occupied locations. Their diplomatic location strangely didn¡¯t favor their own sect, but instead the prominent feature was a central brazier around which all participants stood, with enough room for about a dozen in the center, or many more if they were willing to take a place in concentric circles radiating out and up in the room. There Yustina stood with Lucanus behind her, across from the sect head, a man barely past his prime- after factoring in the slowed aging from cultivation advancements. Sect Head Witold. ¡°So, Yustina Milanovic. What business does your clan have to discuss with us?¡± ¡°It is a matter of importance to the whole of the Green Sands. Obviously you are aware of the Sky Islands cutting a route through the southern territory and the Darklands.¡± ¡°We are, but what of it? They have not come here.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Yustina admitted. ¡°And though the Milanovic clan is more distant, we don¡¯t believe that is the only relevant factor. The Wuthering Steppes and the Darklands are not our allies, nor our own territory, yet we cannot ignore the intrusion.¡± ¡°We most certainly can. It has been years.¡± ¡°And if they choose to take up permanent residence? I understand your hesitation. The Sky Islands are a powerful alliance. But if we unify against them, we can overcome them.¡± ¡°Are you not also dealing with the Molten Sea up north¡­?¡± Witold asked. ¡°Your allies seem to have come into conflict with them.¡± ¡°Though it might not appear to be, it is the same matter. Are you aware that they both expanded into the Shimmering Islands?¡± ¡°Even more removed from us, and of little concern.¡± Yustina almost got mad at how flippant this man was. Fortunately, she had someone to do that for her. Truthfully, she found that Lucanus had been doing quite well keeping himself in check. And spewing just the right amount of fire out of his nostrils? As long as he could hold it there, she would appreciate it. ¡°I suppose you wouldn¡¯t want to know what great treasure attracted them, then,¡± Yustina shrugged. ¡°As tantalizing as such a thing might be, I am well aware the Aesthetic Blaze would never be the one to control anything of such value, regardless of what it is.¡± ¡°Perhaps not,¡± Yustina admitted. ¡°But it would be beneficial to be allied with those who do. And I don¡¯t think you¡¯d receive many benefits from the others when they pull out of the region with our¡­ resources.¡± Yustina intentionally used the final word to keep it a mystery. It might have been a factor she only had assumptions about what it was, shared with the rest of their alliance, but mystery was also quite practical for enticement¡¯s sake. ¡°We might be interested in hearing what this thing is,¡± Witold took the bait. Good enough for a start. From there, she could make him want to be part of their larger- if more temporary- alliance. Chapter 241 Attempting to decode the cipher was proving impossible. Nobody knew where to start, Matayal included. Yet she still had an itching feeling of vague familiarity. Perhaps it was simply that it was recognizable as a language. Matayal had the intention to ask Yustina. Hailing from the far side of the world, she might recognize something from before the overall homogenization of language. The ubiquitous travel of cultivators had mostly narrowed language to one thing, but it wasn¡¯t complete and total. If it wasn¡¯t that, then they needed to capture someone who could decode it. Most likely, a person would be unhelpful- documents would be better. The Brandle clan still intended to intercept more messages where they were able, but Matayal herself couldn¡¯t afford to spend so much time on it. She still had other duties as the sect head to perform, and while this was likely important work she also had to make sure everything else was managed properly. Tirto was learning some of the management, but he wouldn¡¯t take over for some time. Five years, maybe a decade or two. It all depended on what made sense¡­ and though she was eager to be free to spend more time with her husband, it would not come at detriment to her clan. Speaking of which, though their schedule of exchanging the triplets between the clans was no longer in effect, it was about time to have Tirto see his sisters. Especially after Melanthina¡¯s engagement, meeting in person would be valuable. If for nothing else than seeing her darkness attributed daughter squirm in discomfort, the trip would be worth it. ----- Being around her husband was one place she was allowed to grumble and complain without weakening her image as clan head. They kept nothing from each other, or at least nothing important. Obviously they couldn¡¯t possible relay every interaction they had while apart in full detail, or it would take at least as long and probably longer than the actual time involved. ¡°You should have seen her blush,¡± said Fortkran. John, in private. A strange man, but strange in a pleasant way infinitely preferable to the previous inhabitant of that body. ¡°And then she shouted yes. You should see the two of them together. Just standing next to each other, as if the world would explode if they so much as touch. Even though they definitely had more control than that years ago.¡± ¡°Endearing. And better than the alternative where they are too physically affectionate. Certain consequences would reflect poorly on the clan.¡± John nodded, ¡°They do seem to be strongly implying they would prefer a sooner ceremony. It¡¯s not really a good time but¡­¡± he shrugged, ¡°We can¡¯t count on there ever being perfect timing. So, how were things in the Shimmering Islands?¡± ¡°The Sky Islands continue their suspicious activity, with the Molten Sea edging in on the area. We did manage to capture an encoded missive.¡± ¡°Oh? Anything interesting?¡± ¡°Hard to say, as it hasn¡¯t been decoded yet. The strange glyphs and the sensitive nature of its retrieval meant we were hesitant to make copies.¡± ¡°Strange glyphs?¡± John asked. ¡°Yes, they don¡¯t use the common language. It might be constructed, or something older. Though the Brandle clan didn¡¯t have records of these.¡± ¡°Perhaps we could look into it here,¡± John said. ¡°When we are away from prying eyes,¡± she agreed. They could block the sounds from around them, but concealing their visual forms or surreptitiously looking at a page might cause trouble if there were any spies in the clan. As far as they were aware the staff and clan members were clean, but it was better to be cautious. ----- ¡°See?¡± Matayal said. ¡°Strange glyphs. I thought to show them to Yustina in case they were more common around Aglor and such.¡± John took the unfurled scroll, and his eyes widened. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Oh, what?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s not encoded. You were right about it being archaic language, even.¡± ¡°You recognize it? I didn¡¯t know you studied languages.¡± ¡°I know almost exactly two languages,¡± John said pointedly. ¡°Two? But then- oh.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°So¡­ can you read it? How archaic?¡± ¡°Some centuries, I think?¡± John shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not a scholar on the topic. But it¡¯s basically readable, so it can¡¯t be too much more than that.¡± ¡°What does it say?¡± He looked at the text carefully. ¡®Mi?siue regarding te bea?t in te depts, as pro?cribed. Reaching te beast it?elf continues to be a matter of greate difficulty, but its vast ?ize implies trubbl with its retrieval. Tyne personal vysytation might be required for te intended perufal. Work wil contynu in the present.¡± Using both ? (and at least one that looked more like an f) and s in the middle of words as well as the thorns (t) hurt John¡¯s brain, and some things were clearly just misspelled. But it also meant that someone had transmigrated hundreds of years ago. Also speaking English. Why English? Surely he should have run across someone speaking something else by now. It wasn¡¯t so ubiquitous on Earth, especially then. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°It¡¯s not signed, but they seem to be asking for someone important to come join them. And yes, they¡¯re interested in the leviathan. Because it¡¯s English, we can only assume the Sky Islands had a transmigrator a few centuries ago. I think they kept it around as a sort of code language.¡± ¡°How many centuries?¡± ¡°... Threeish? I¡¯m pretty sure whoever wrote the missive learned their best but doesn¡¯t actually speak it well.¡± ¡°They could have still learned from the original source. Which, might be the person in question. Does it say who this is directed towards?¡± John shook his head. ¡°Perhaps it would be assumed as a personal letter. I don¡¯t see any other indications. Perhaps the seal?¡± ¡°It might be the messenger birds,¡± Matayal said. ¡°We ultimately disposed of the one we captured, but there could have been more.¡± ¡°Well,¡± John said. ¡°We learned a little¡­ and that I can translate these. Steve can probably do it as well, in a pinch. I¡¯ll write a proper translation but unless there¡¯s another layer of obscurement, it doesn¡¯t actually say much.¡± John scrunched his nose, ¡°You were implying this individual might be the actual transmigrator?¡± ¡°They would be quite old¡­ but if they reached Ascending Soul Phase, it would be possible to live several centuries. But that¡¯s also assuming the same flow of time between our worlds.¡± ¡°Uh, based on Steve it¡­ should be close,¡± John said. ¡°But with just two of us, that¡¯s a pretty limited number of samples.¡± ¡°You look concerned.¡± ¡°I liked having all of the transmigrators be on our side.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think we can get along with the Sky Islands?¡± ¡°I definitely don¡¯t like how they¡¯re going about things,¡± John said. ¡°Or the interactions we had in the Prismatic Chambers. They don¡¯t seem to care how we¡¯re living here and think they can just come and take whatever they want.¡± Which might be true, and it would support the idea of this person being a transmigrator, if it weren¡¯t far too common of an attitude among cultivators. ¡°But if we can match them against the Molten Sea, whether we¡¯d like them or not they¡¯d be quite useful.¡± ¡°As long as they don¡¯t try to fight it out by moving through the Stone Conglomerate.¡± ¡°Right,¡± John nodded. ¡°Though they¡¯d face more than just a modicum of resistance if they try. Renato has been doing well with the negotiations, and we could actually stand united. At least for this one thing.¡± ¡°... So, the language for their secret messages is the same as yours. Could you fake something?¡± John frowned. ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s¡­ old and weird. My handwriting and style wouldn¡¯t fit. I¡¯d need more samples, and for these things I think are mistakes to actually be that and not some sort of code. If they recognize specific handwriting, I¡¯d be a dead giveaway.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll look into it,¡± Matayal said. ¡°It¡¯s good that we at least discovered this. I feel much more relaxed.¡± Matayal grinned widely, ¡°Want to do something else now?¡± ----- Given the circumstances, Nik was now a permanent fixture of the Tenebach clan. He was familiar with many of the clan members by now, including the current clan head. It was intimidating to be around someone of such power, but he¡¯d been nothing but encouraging of the relationship. One individual he was less acquainted with was Ursel, Melanthina¡¯s sister. She was around frequently, but she was an earth cultivator and more often found training with the Order of the Amber Heart. The two of them had little reason to speak to each other in the past, though ultimately he¡¯d found Melanthina¡¯s siblings friendly even when she had been¡­ less so. It was still weird to find her seeking him out though. ¡°Oh hey, what a coincidence to find you here,¡± she said with the subtlety of a boulder as she dragged him off into a corner. She certainly had a grip on her, didn¡¯t she? Did she¡­ actually think this was subtle? ¡°A pleasure to see you as well,¡± Nik nodded. She hadn¡¯t actually said anything of the sort, but he might as well maximize politeness. ¡°Yeah. So, you¡¯re marrying my sister.¡± ¡°Yes. Everyone knows that.¡± ¡°Because you proposed in public!¡± Ursel said, slapping him on the shoulder. He was fairly certain it was supposed to be friendly, even if it was¡­ bone-creaking. ¡°It saved her the trouble of figuring out how to announce it.¡± ¡°And made it harder to refuse.¡± ¡°If she truly did not want to, she would have made that known.¡± Nik frowned, ¡°Did she say something?¡± He knew it was what he wanted, and as far as he could tell it was the same with her¡­ but could she have been deceiving him? Not to harm him, he thought, but the opposite. ¡°Haah. She never says anything intelligible about you. She¡¯s definitely smitten though. I¡¯m just wondering if you¡¯re prepared for what this entails.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Nik nodded. ¡°Oh yeah? And if you had to fight me to marry her?¡± Nik frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t see how that would be beneficial to anybody. It seems likely to just make her sad.¡± ¡°But would you? You fought that Ebon Crest guy.¡± ¡°That was because it was a good opportunity. It was easier for me to do it than for her.¡± ¡°And you used the opportunity to propose.¡± ¡°Also easier for me. What do I have to lose?¡± ¡°I dunno. Your dignity?¡± Nik smiled. ¡°Only if there was a real chance of her saying no. You should have seen her blushing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I should have. How come you didn¡¯t invite me, huh?¡± ¡°Uh, well,¡± Nik held up his hands defensively, ¡°If I did, she would have known something was going on. I considered it, but you were away and Viljar¡­¡± Nik shook his head. Ursel rolled her eyes, somehow making Nik feel like he was the shorter of the pair as she glared at him. ¡°Fine. Just remember to treat her well, or you won¡¯t have to answer to just our parents.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ----- Ursel was replaced with Tirto not terribly long later. ¡°I see,¡± Nik nodded, ¡°One of you is keeping Melanthina occupied, huh?¡± Tirto shrugged, ¡°You found us out. We just want to make sure our sister is going to be treated well.¡± ¡°Of course. You¡¯ve all been watching me for years now. You know better.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised,¡± Tirto admitted, turning back and forth. ¡°Ursel said you were hardly even intimidated.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of being crushed. Just of a knife in the back.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be afraid of Melanthina then?¡± ¡°Not anymore,¡± Nik shrugged. ¡°And if I do something to deserve it, at least I can presume it will be over quickly. Oh, if something comes up I¡¯d prefer you run it by her first. I¡¯d rather not die to a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°I wouldn''t knife you in the back.¡± ¡°I¡¯d have an unfortunate swimming accident or something, then?¡± Nik grinned. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to give anything away,¡± Tirto grinned back. ¡°But it could involve you getting lost on a deep sea excursion.¡± Of the triplets, Tirto was definitely the ¡®nicest¡¯. But while Nik was certain both siblings would fight for their sister, they really needn¡¯t have any worries. Melanthina could take care of most of her problems herself. Though perhaps that was the issue, avoiding relying on others. He hoped he could be one more option for her to consider. Chapter 242 Following instructions was easy. Ursel could replicate most earth techniques displayed to her in a reasonable time frame. Forging her own path was more difficult. Figuring out how to use her roots to infiltrate Mountain Steel had been a hard process. Part of it might have been master Renato not fully knowing how her ability could work- he didn¡¯t have the same totems as her, after all. But regardless of the reason, his instructions had been limited, and it took longer to figure things out. Then there was Diamond Defense. Easy to practice. Ingest a particular mineral, circulate earth element to dissolve it and distribute it throughout the body, focusing on the skin and bones. She¡¯d done it quite young¡­ without really having permission. But the cost was not in the difficulty or time, simply the materials themselves. And she had no idea how anyone came up with that. Sure, her body and the materials were both tough, but she didn¡¯t exactly have a layer of rocks all over her. Her skin was still very skinlike. So, how did anyone come up with that? And how could she apply that to more of her body, so she couldn¡¯t get knocked about? The most troubling problem was definitely her brain. If it rattled about she could get a concussion, but messing with such a delicate internal organ was asking for disaster. Master Renato didn¡¯t have anything particularly helpful when she asked. ¡°Generally, people will have a moment of inspiration. From there, they work out the details.¡± Inspiration, yeah. How useful, but she wasn¡¯t going to wait for that to just¡­ appear. It wasn¡¯t that Renato wasn¡¯t trying to be helpful, but she needed something more. So she went to the one who always seemed willing to talk about cultivation in weird ways- her father. It took a bit of travel time between the Order and the clan, but the end results were usually worth it. ¡°How do people come up with things like Diamond Defense? Did they just eat a bunch of rocks until they found something that worked?¡± ¡°A good question,¡± he replied. ¡°I would presume they studied the properties of materials, externally and internally. It¡¯s possible it took generations of attempts before anyone was successful. Then again, they might have used more common materials and found success, if somewhat lackluster results.¡± Generations. She wasn¡¯t going to wait for that, plus she would have to start something. ¡°What about other elements? What do they do?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Like to¡­ augment their bodies?¡± Her father pondered for a good few moments, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know of any other such techniques. Perhaps the blessing? But that is a special case that also augments affinity. I imagine the darksight is connected to that more than a change in the body.¡± He stroked his chin, ¡°I should ask Ciaritzal about it.¡± ¡°So nobody else does this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they must,¡± her father replied. ¡°But aside from Diamond Defense, I don¡¯t even know earth element techniques to do something similar. I wonder if they would be compatible, or undo each other.¡± He paused, ¡°I assume you have a reason to ask this?¡± ¡°I was thinking of developing my own to help out my organs. Especially my brain. It¡¯s a bit¡­ squishy and weak.¡± She knocked on her Mountain Steel armor, provided by Renato, ¡°This will protect me from most things, but I can still get knocked around inside it, and inside myself.¡± ¡°Perhaps you would do better with less rigid armor, then,¡± John said. ¡°But I can see the appeal of something nearly unbreakable such as that. And having a more flexible body would be worthwhile¡­ I¡¯d be careful, of course. You¡¯ve no doubt considered how you might harm yourself.¡± Even if she hadn¡¯t, he was giving her an opportunity to agree. ¡°Yeah, though I¡¯m not sure how to determine that until it happens.¡± ¡°Start small. Remember with Diamond Defense, it was a long process. If you absolutely have to try something, modify something¡­ less important. Like a fingernail, even. Actually, it¡¯s quite easy to modify the body- it¡¯s doing so without harm that¡¯s the issue. I can turn things to stone, after all. Would be trivial to do to myself, but my body wouldn¡¯t still function afterwards.¡± ¡°That would be awful,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Agreed. So be careful. And I¡¯ll see if I can find other techniques for you to compare with. Diamond Defense might be unique in its existence, but I can¡¯t think of any reason it should have to be.¡± ----- John wasn¡¯t certain if he should be searching through techniques while the whole alliance was at war or teetering on the edge of it- but if he were to wait for a time without conflict, would he ever get any cultivation done? Ursel had certainly piqued his curiosity. Was Diamond Defense singular among not only earth but all elements? Certainly, it was effective¡­ but it wasn¡¯t so complex as to be difficult to replicate. Though the expense was an issue. It wasn¡¯t something a clan could afford for all of its members. Indeed, it was almost not worth the cost for himself and Ursel. Passive defense was valuable, but the same effect could be achieved with good armor. Then again, it was most valuable precisely because it was inherent to the cultivator, not something that could be stripped away when captured or fatigued. And if it could upgrade a level higher, he could actually rely on it against opponents of his level instead of merely those weaker than himself. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. What would it look like for other elements? Certainly, it should not involve transforming the body into liquid, gas, or flames. Such things were better left to transient techniques, instead of hoping that such a form could be made permanent. Diamond Defense did not make one stone or diamond, but rather simply more durable. Other elements should have benefits as well, but what? As far as physical properties went water, air, and fire were all flexible. Light and darkness as well. Certainly they would not all be the same. What other properties did they have? Changing, free, consuming, concealing, revealing. Few of those fit a physical body. And what materials would be used? Presumably, that would still be necessary. John shook his head. Before he could do any of this, he would need to find other examples. He certainly did not have time to develop a half dozen techniques all on his own. Perhaps once the triplets took over the clan functions, but that would be quite some time off. ----- Capturing several more messages from the Sky Islands did little except reveal that the same hand wrote all of those encoded in English. That didn¡¯t prove much, but it was fairly reasonable to assume that few individuals would learn a language just for message secrecy. A traditional cipher would be more useful in general. Though if it weren¡¯t for other transmigrators, it would have been hopeless to translate the missives. Not without capturing some sort of translation dictionary, which would be much more extensive than a cipher. In addition to the difficulty of catching the messenger birds over the sea, there was also the issue that if they had too much success they would be found out. Some amount of loss was reasonable, but even though these particular birds weren¡¯t durable, they were out of reach of most dangers. If too many disappeared, they might look into it. As for the matter of a transmigrator among the Sky Islands in the past, it was of interest but ultimately unimportant. After centuries, their legacy would be all that remained, and whatever impact their presence would have should have taken place long ago. Even so, John couldn¡¯t help but take interest, hoping to find something revealing. Such as why it should be another individual speaking English. Even if he didn¡¯t understand other languages, the very fact that they were different should have tipped John off should he encounter anyone else transmigrated. But either others didn¡¯t speak old world languages, there was a string of four English-speaking individuals through random chance, or something else was going on. ----- For the moment, things had calmed down. That included the conflicts between the Golden Tomb Guardians and the Righteous Flame League, as well as any sort of open retaliation from the Molten Sea. However, the movement of people towards the Shimmering Islands indicated both the Sky Islands and Molten Sea were continuing to pursue their goals. Members of the lesser and greater alliances began to move as well. Moves could be made against both sets of intruders at any time¡­ but they would have no doubt noticed changes and be ready. Nobody wanted to make the first move and likewise be the first to die, and many people were still foolishly hoping that the groups would just move out of the region. They might, once one of them got their hands on the leviathan. Or they might decide to become permanent fixtures with whatever power they gained from such a success. That was something the region couldn¡¯t afford to allow, but unfortunately they weren¡¯t unified as a whole. Only small pockets under the control of groups of allied sects, though on a whole each country could be expected to work together against outside influence. Because it seemed the critical events would be taking place in the Shimmering Islands, John and Matatayl returned there. The triplets as well, because though they would like to keep them out of a war, it would likely prove impossible. In such a case, it would be better for them to be accessible. That did leave the Tenebach clan low on manpower, but the Order of the Amber Heart could support them if necessary, as well as the larger Stone Conglomerate. It was currently prepared for trouble from the intruding groups that flanked the country. ----- John and Matayal watched the Kelp Spire Forest from afar. ¡°They have to be aware of the other¡¯s presence,¡± John said. ¡°Do you think they will enter into conflict?¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to say, without prodding. However, we have already engaged in subterfuges that would make them less willing to do so. That is the one situation we absolutely could not afford. On the other hand, it is entirely possible whatever they are after cannot be shared.¡± Matayal pondered for a few moments, ¡°I¡¯d have to imagine they are after some core of the leviathan¡¯s power. Perhaps its heart, though I wouldn¡¯t put it past such a thing to have more than one. As for attempting to capture the beast itself¡­ with it fully encased in underwater mountains, it¡¯s not exactly mobile. It seems impossible.¡± ¡°But if they managed it, it would bring massive change to the Shimmering Islands¡­ and any territory they marched it through, if it was capable of leaving the sea,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Just some casual breaths in and out caused massive vortexes here. The southern Shimmering Islands could be ruined if it actually moved.¡± ¡°I would not like to find out the effects,¡± Matayal agreed. ¡°Though it does seem we will have difficulty resisting. The ranks of these powers are not merely made up of a single Ascending Soul Phase cultivator- or a few, if they have them.¡± ¡°True,¡± John agreed. ¡°Though the Molten Sea¡¯s Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators are as mortal as anyone else.¡± ¡°Including us,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Though I still agree we cannot ignore this, I can¡¯t help but think this might be an event we cannot overcome. Certainly, many of us will perish.¡± ¡°That is something I would rather not think about,¡± John admitted. ¡°I have more I wish to do.¡± Matayal smiled, ¡°Everyone does. At least, those who have not given up on cultivation.¡± ¡°I have to at least make it to the Ascending Soul Phase¡­ or conclusively determine that I cannot. Though more than that, I want to stay around to watch the triplets.¡± ¡°Nik and Melanthina are a sight to see,¡± Matayal agreed. ¡°Though I¡¯m personally more intrigued by Tirto and his attempts at romance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I haven¡¯t been able to see as many of those,¡± John said. ¡°Do you think it would have been easier on him to have an actual arranged marriage?¡± ¡°I think this specific setup is performing just fine. He will be able to determine his own feelings. Though no doubt he would have managed just fine had it been chosen for him. He¡¯s like myself in that way.¡± ¡°People can make mistakes, though,¡± John pointed out. ¡°I mean, look who you almost ended up with.¡± ¡°The Tenebach clan would have worked with me somehow,¡± she said. ¡°We would have come to an amicable solution for both parties.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you would have,¡± John grinned. It almost certainly wouldn¡¯t have involved Fortkran though. Even with all the difficulties entailed in finding a replacement. Chapter 243 Swirling winds laden with dense water buffeted a bird that was otherwise unremarkable. John held one arm aloft as Matayal supported him, their energy intertwining. The animal fell, but at a measured pace, the two of them swimming to retrieve it swiftly. There wouldn¡¯t be much more time to change the situation before things came to a head, so this might be their final opportunity. The two of them took the package into the cabin on one of the vessels with them, where they would have some room to work. John unfurled the scroll, careful to not cause damage to the seal. They had prepared another that should at least appear to have similar enchantments, but having a fresh seal would heighten the deception. ¡°In truth, it¡¯s almost what we wanted,¡± John said. ¡°A message of urgency so that they can beat the Molten Sea to the punch. But it needs something a bit more¡­ confrontational.¡± John considered how he would write a similar missive with an addendum. Something about making a move ¡®before the Molten Sea could use the power against them¡¯. But he¡¯d also have to make it look right. Not only did he have to copy handwriting, but old word style. He hoped that the spelling inconsistencies weren¡¯t any sort of code but instead simply that- mistakes. It took some time to craft his message, after which they released the bird with their new message to continue on its journey. ¡°If they¡¯ve got some sort of agreement,¡± Matayal frowned, ¡°They¡¯ll likely know there has been some sort of sabotage.¡± ¡°In that case, they would already be prepared to move together against us,¡± John shook his head. ¡°In which case our alliance really doesn¡¯t stand much chance. We¡¯d have to leave them to do whatever they please.¡± ¡°I believe we could defeat them. The strength of our alliance is more than just forces added upon each other.¡± ¡°That would depend on if they truly are working together,¡± John countered. ¡°With the four core elements split between two groups, they could form a primary cycle without too much prior practice. But¡­ I¡¯m optimistic that they won¡¯t work together. If possible, I¡¯d like to come upon them only after they¡¯ve begun to battle each other, so we can focus our efforts on¡­ whatever they¡¯re after.¡± ----- No member of the club was terribly enthusiastic about the prospect of fighting in the deep sea. At best there was Renato, who would be working with an allied element. John wasn¡¯t counting himself, nor Matayal in this particular instance. They didn¡¯t have another water cultivator, nor a qualifying air cultivator. There was talk about including someone from the Mulyani clan, but they would be neither reincarnator nor transmigrator, and without a connection. Deirdre was a light cultivator, so the depths would be difficult for her. Finally there were Steve and Yustina. The former would do extremely poorly without the latter, who had been a water cultivator in her previous life. Fighting in a disadvantageous battlefield for a short time wasn¡¯t the worst, but the other issue was maintaining an air supply. Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators could last pretty much indefinitely in even without the right affinities, but they would be constantly building fatigue. Weaker cultivators might only make it a few hours if they weren¡¯t water or air element. ¡°I believe we would be best suited maintaining our position on the surface,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Once the conflict begins, we¡¯ll have to protect our ships so we have a place to retreat.¡± ¡°The same with myself,¡± Deirdre admitted. ¡°Unless we determine they have darkness cultivators.¡± ¡°The Sky Islands will likely bring some, as they passed through the Darklands,¡± John reminded her. ¡°Our information indicated they were trying to sway some locals¡­ those who they didn¡¯t tear apart along their path.¡± Fortunately, none of their allies in the Darklands had been along the northern strip- though it would have brought them to an earlier response. ¡°I will most likely contribute best on the sea floor,¡± Renato said. ¡°But the Order of the Amber Heart can also hold the spires, if necessary.¡± ¡°Any response from the Emerging Bamboo Sect?¡± John asked. Renato shook his head. ¡°Not yet, which likely means it isn¡¯t coming. I suppose they weren¡¯t swayed by neighborly issues, just like the rest of the Viridia Wildlands.¡± ¡°At least we managed to rally the Phoenix Forest,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°They¡¯ll be cutting off the Molten Sea¡¯s routes through Astrein once everything begins.¡± ¡°And the Shimmering Islands are ready to move in¡­ once the main forces get here,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Even though none of the clans make their homes here in particular, none of the rest are willing to allow these groups to just come in and do whatever they want in our collective territory.¡± ¡°On that matter,¡± Yustina asked, ¡°Are you still considering moving the Brandle clan?¡± ¡°That will depend on what happens here, and ultimately it will be up to Tirto, since he will have to be the one managing it for longer. He is personally interested, but understands that the leviathan is more beneficial to him than the others. And we¡¯d be sacrificing an established position.¡± Matayal shook her head, ¡°The only thing I can hope is that there will still be a decision to be made afterwards.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. John nodded. The leviathan was valuable to the Shimmering Islands, and whether these regions wanted to somehow make it move away, chop it up into little bits as resources, or just run off with the most valuable parts of its anatomy, it would be a great loss to the locals. That was without considering how it was impacting the sea itself, as a habitat for all sorts of deep sea life which trickled upwards to a significant amount of all sorts of sea creatures in the region. ----- What once seemed like eternal waiting had rapidly become a pot that could boil over at any moment. It was impossible to keep quiet the fleets gathering around the Kelp Spire Forest, though not all were present to participate in conflict. At least not directly. Many were simple curious onlookers, from the Blustering Peaks, the Darklands, and parts of the Stone Conglomerate that weren¡¯t part of the alliance. It had become clear that there was a large event of some sort taking place, and nobody could stop the spread of rumors. This was good for the alliance, because the Molten Sea and Sky Islands didn¡¯t have a clear idea of who was potentially going to act against them, and who was just watching. John¡¯s earlier actions had certainly brought the Tenebach clan into the mind of the Molten Sea, but they wouldn¡¯t start trouble arbitrarily. More forces continued to arrive until a final pair of fleets, nearly in parallel. John sensed them coming from a great distance, not only because of the quantity of cultivators upon their ships¡­ but also because of two individuals. Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, and not just the early phase. Each was at least the fortieth rank of cultivation, a solid handful of steps further than John, who was surpassed within the region only by a small number of individuals at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Faramund of the Society of Midnight managed to briefly force himself to that step, but he hadn¡¯t solidified his position upon his defeat. Now, John was much stronger himself¡­ but these people were a cut above anything he had seen. Up to that point, John had hoped the few Ascending Soul Phase cultivators that had already arrived were the limit. Now, he wondered at the makeup of the Molten Sea and Sky Islands that they could send these individuals. And they weren¡¯t alone in their power, but came with a significant number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and hundreds of Soul Expansion Phase individuals. Twenty-five years prior, just the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators would have dominated any sect or clan in the region. Letting the feeling of the two wash over him, John picked up details about their totems. Not hidden, but proudly displayed. Totems of the fourth, fifth, and sixth ranks. From the Molten Sea, a split of three and two between water and fire- with water being the sole sixth rank. The individual from the Sky Islands had a similar split, except with one third tier totem. She was weighted more towards earth than air. The two flagships continued along their paths, paths which would casually lead them to intersect with each other. As they continued to approach, John watched carefully, worried that the worst might be coming to pass. Then it began. ¡°Gesine, you old bag of bones,¡± called out the Sky Islands cultivator. ¡°Do you return here with the intent to perish?¡± ¡°Fine words, coming from a crone,¡± retorted the second woman, ¡°You are the one more likely to die, with your relatively limited experience, Alva.¡± It was not merely insults they were slinging, but rather once John was able to properly see them it was clear they were both ancient. Baggy and spotted skin, quite unusual for a cultivator. To actually show such age with their cultivation, they had to be over a century old. No, Luctus was about that age, but had been at a lower cultivation for quite some time. Older than that, especially if they had taken any care to maintain their looks. Vanity was a trait of many cultivators- men and women alike. Multiple centuries, then? How unfortunate. While at their age it was unlikely they would make further advancements, that could be exactly what drew them here. And more importantly, the fact that they wouldn¡¯t be stronger in a mere decade or two didn¡¯t matter, since they were dangerous now. At least John didn¡¯t have to worry about them working together. He felt genuine hostility between them. On the other hand, the fact that they would stop and taunt each other spoke of familiarity. That itself was an issue, because while they would certainly work against each other¡­ it also meant that they wouldn¡¯t commit to fighting each other. If they were the sort, one would likely have killed the other long before. If they didn¡¯t weaken each other, then dealing with them would be a difficult task. Hopefully, the particular prize before them would bring what appeared to be a longstanding rivalry to a conclusion. Preferably with the loss of both. Though if one had to get her hands on¡­ whatever their specific goals were¡­ John would prefer it to be the one from the Sky Islands. At least, the information heard about their activities was slightly less troubling than the Molten Sea. ¡°I thought the leading figure of the Sky Islands was supposed to be named Sitora,¡± Matayal muttered next to John. ¡°Is this another? Should we expect more?¡± ¡°Alva¡­¡± John let the name roll over his tongue. In truth, he had begun his time in this world approximating names to his default understanding of English, though he had come equipped with knowledge of the local language which began to dominate his usage. ¡°It could be¡­ that she¡¯s the one.¡± John pursed his lips. ¡°The original.¡± ¡°The transmigrator?¡± ¡°It was obliquely implied,¡± John said. ¡°And perhaps it¡¯s not as much of a secret. With their level of power,¡± he shook his head. ¡°It would hardly matter if people knew.¡± Conversely, if someone of similar power had ill intentions, that was exactly the reason John would hide his own status. Personally, all he was wondering was why all the Transmigrators he met seemed to be connected via language rather than any other properties- but others might have more troubling questions they wanted answered. Finding such answers might be unhealthy for some of those involved. John was briefly tempted to speak to the woman, but drawing attention to himself and those around him would be foolish at the moment, even if everything else somehow worked out. Better to watch and wait. Further words exchanged between the two revealed little more, and ultimately their ships took separate positions outside of the Kelp Spire Forest, maintaining their distance. Nobody attempted to keep any secrets about diving beneath the waves, though some observers would likely be unprepared for the actual goal. Chapter 244 Casual observers were willing to follow the foreign forces beneath the waves, but most were not willing to follow them into the depths. However, the further they went the more those who were serious about involving themselves one way or another grew more determined. It was more than just the wider alliance keeping track of them, but also other forces who wanted to snatch away their prize- or at least pick up the scraps left behind by a rare event. Whether this was the sort of thing that occurred only once every decade, century, or even longer¡­ those with ambition wanted to leave their own mark on history. Not all would be on the side of the alliance, but those not associated with the Molten Sea or Sky Islands would still help them blend in to the crowd. The combined Tenebach and Brandle clan forces did more than just blend in, fading into the darkness of the depths as they swam downward. The two clans had a long history of cooperation, and under the guidance of John and Matayal their spiritual energy was able to work together to support the weaknesses of others. Replenishment of breath and swimming speed from the water cultivators matched with improved vision and stealth from the darkness cultivators. Given the quantities of cultivators involved, the creatures dwelling on the way to the depths were more aware of them, though the individual reactions varied. Some became more aggressive despite the numbers, and some hid away- looking for stragglers. The Order of the Amber Heart came separately, escorting the Golden Tomb Guardians. Meanwhile, the Milanovic and Mulyani clan remained behind on the surface to guard their ships and thus a relatively safe position to return to. When they actually arrived at the depths, among underwater vents and where the sea life changed to the bizarre, they were close to the Leviathan. The flow of the sea in the area was turbulent, unlike normal. A point of contention came when Sitora of the Sky Islands split away from the groups of Gesine leading the Molten Sea. Which of them seemed most likely to have better intel? Assuming they even had the same goals. Ultimately, they split by elemental compatibility- Renato and Deirdre split off to follow the Sky Islands. Earth would match perfectly well against combined earth and air, and the Sky Islands should have some darkness cultivators as backup. Light cultivators would be at somewhat of a disadvantage in the depths, but they would still be very effective offensively. If they were up against only darkness cultivators, the Order could augment their defensive lines. That left darkness and water to deal with water and fire. Cultivators of two elements would always have one that empowered the other, and their weakness to that same element in reverse would be lessened- but it was still better for water to face water than for earth to go up against the Molten Sea where they only had a weakness and no strength. The Tenebach clan had no direct strengths and weaknesses, but would be generally empowered by the darkness of the depths, to a similar level as water cultivators. Each of the groups split up more and more. Either they were leaving decoys, or they were still searching for what they desired. Given the numbers involved, the latter seemed more likely- and it was clear they intended to brute force finding whatever it was they wanted. These groups led not just to the depths, but into the great leviathan and the ¡®tunnels¡¯ through it. Having a small number of cultivators and occasional conflicts with local wildlife hadn¡¯t yet caused trouble¡­ but these numbers were simply asking for the leviathan to do something more than taking a simple breath in and out. They had to be ready. Ultimately, John and Matayal set out to follow Gesine with the core of their forces, being careful to maintain a reasonable distance. ----- The Kelp Spire Forest and thus the Shimmering Islands were not the only places in the region seeing spikes in activity. Not at the same exact moment, but within days on either side other pieces began to move. The Stone Conglomerate and the Phoenix Forest simultaneously moved into Astrein with the intent of expelling the Molten Sea for good. Whether they planned to block their retreat or simply cut off supplies was not set in stone¡­ but either way they planned to send a message. The Sunfields were further along that same path, but they were less united in their intent. A number of them had capitulated to the Molten Sea, foremost among them the Righteous Flame League. They were of limited use in the depths, with both of their elements suppressed¡­ so they planned to act on land. Specifically, they sought to redeem themselves in the eyes of the Molten Sea by moving against the allies of the Tenebach clan- the Golden Tomb Guardians they had prior conflict with. With many of the Golden Tomb Guardians away, it was a prime opportunity. To the south, forces of the Green Sands were moving to their southwest border, that shared with the Darklands and the Wuthering Steppes. Though for the most part not directly impacted by the arrival of the Sky Islands, they had still chosen to stand against them throwing their weight around. They were joined by forces from the southern Darklands, such as the Calamitous Swarm and the Ebon Crest. That even continued around the complicated border of the Annihilation Strip into the Deadlands and Prism Underfields where the Combining Luster Sect and others moved to their northeastern border to enter the Wuthering Steppes. Together these forces didn¡¯t fear retaliation from either of the greater powers, their unity overcoming the initial hesitation at the regions¡¯ power. Not that such a unity was expected to last beyond a short time. Internal squabbles would likely resume once more within a few years. But for the moment, there were common enemies to drive out, powerful forces that simply chose to extend themselves too far for some sort of opportunity. And elsewhere around the Shimmering Islands groups were on the move to participate in the events, even if some of them were slower than others. ----- Monika Zeman stood atop the walls of the Golden Tomb Guardians along with Zacharie, looking down upon the forces arrayed against them. ¡°They sure seem serious about this, don¡¯t they?¡± she said, gesturing to the flaming catapults and other siege engines. ¡°They mean to raze us to the ground.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°They were the ones who began the conflict,¡± Zacharie said. ¡°It¡¯s not strange that they would choose to escalate it, with their skewed view of morality. Strictly speaking, we should be the most righteous as pure light cultivators.¡± ¡°It¡¯s obviously not about that. Not for anybody who knows anything, at least. Maybe their witless recruits. They just like to put up a front, and when that image gets damaged they can¡¯t help but react violently.¡± Zacharie sighed, ¡°Should we have called for aid from the Phoenix Forest? These fellows are working with the Molten Sea after all.¡± ¡°Perhaps. I certainly hadn¡¯t anticipated such a response,¡± Monika admitted. ¡°Hopefully Deirdre does well with the forces she took, because we could have used them here.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± ¡°Well, surrender is out of the question. One would hope that our allies in the region would come to support us against such a blatant assault. We¡¯ll have to hold out against them as long as possible.¡± ¡°And then what?¡± Zacharie said. ¡°If no help arrives in time, I mean. They don¡¯t seem to be dawdling.¡± ¡°Then we retreat and focus on protecting the most important parts of our sect.¡± Zacharie frowned. ¡°Should we lock ourselves up in the tomb?¡¯ Monika shook her head. ¡°I think not. That will take care of itself.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit there are plentiful traps but-¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Monika said. ¡°If they choose to enter there, the situation will resolve itself. Though we could hardly be called the Golden Tomb Guardians if we simply let them do as they pleased. Suppose they find it open and seemingly accessible, while our armories and libraries are secured. Then we simply have to follow in after them.¡± Zacharie sighed, ¡°You are the one with her ear. But I hope you are fully considering the possibilities.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Monika said. ¡°I am thinking of the good of the sect as a whole. And as you say, should any harm come to her my position would be in jeopardy.¡± ¡°You know something I don¡¯t, huh?¡± ¡°Oh, do I?¡± the older woman grinned. ¡°Amazing.¡± ¡°Fine, keep it a secret. You and your apprentice.¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s hardly my apprentice anymore,¡± Monika shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s well on her way to taking over the sect.¡± Zacharie sighed. He didn¡¯t mind Deirdre¡¯s advancement, he just wished he understood more. ¡°I suppose we must deal with what¡¯s in front of us now regardless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. And if you¡¯re lucky, you¡¯ll get to learn some of those secrets you¡¯re itching for.¡± ----- John found himself overwhelmed by the presence of the leviathan and thus unable to properly trace the location of Gesine, despite the fact that she was otherwise quite obvious as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. ¡°Is there any end to this thing?¡± John asked Matayal. ¡°I thought I understood it well enough observing from outside, but clearly I was missing more than I could imagine.¡± ¡°Of course it has an end,¡± Matayal said. ¡°It is not infinite. Just vast. However, there are certainly many winding pathways through it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange,¡± John said. ¡°I thought the first we found was something akin to a blowhole. But now these numerous tunnels, they¡¯d have to be akin to veins or capillaries. Except there is no blood flowing through them.¡± ¡°And what is blood?¡± Matayal asked. ¡°A substance made up of many components, with the goal of carrying nutrients and withdrawing waste from different parts of the body.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s also salty,¡± Matayal said. ¡°So maybe we¡¯re part of the blood now.¡± ¡°... I really feel like at this scale the salt is a minor factor. And I¡¯m really hoping that we aren¡¯t nutrients.¡± ¡°Foreign agents in the blood, then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that makes me feel any better,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to run into any white blood cells or other parts of its immune system.¡± ¡°... I¡¯d love to hear about these details later,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But for the moment, I think we are safe. I have been deeper than this with Tirto and found little that could be of danger. Though I doubt Gesine will stop herself before breaking through something.¡± John looked at the walls around him, flesh encased in stone. ¡°Would that actually help if you don¡¯t know where to go?¡± ¡°Oh no, not through the walls. Things are simply not so open everywhere.¡± ¡°What sorts of things?¡± ¡°Structures out of which bursts of water flow during the ¡®breaths¡¯.¡± ¡°So¡­ valves?¡± John asked. ¡°I suppose so,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t make it seem less like we¡¯re in some sort of blood system.¡± ¡°Anyway¡­ I suspect we¡¯ll run into the true dangers there. Otherwise we just have to deal with incidentals. Speaking of which¡­¡± Matayal called back to the others. ¡°Everyone gather around. Another flow is coming.¡± Everyone packed into as tight of an area as possible without blocking the tunnels they were traveling through. Then, the water cultivators focused on smoothing the flow around them. As Matayal predicted, a sudden force pushed past them. The internal pressure of the tunnels could vastly exceed that outside that created the great ¡®tides¡¯, so caution was important. Even if the pressure itself wasn¡¯t an issue, being flung into a wall from the momentum of a turn could be extremely damaging depending on the speed one was moving. Anchoring down and aiding the flow was the best bet. It seemed Gesine and her group understood the same, as there hadn¡¯t been any signs of injuries- but it was likely more difficult for air and earth cultivators to manage. At best they would be neutral, with the earth helping them anchor and the air making them prone to being pushed about. ¡°Alright, just give it another moment and-¡± another pulse nearly pushed away their group. Matayal shook her head. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s started then. That one wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. A path is open now¡­ hopefully it doesn¡¯t lead to something that will kill us. And if it does, we need to maneuver so it attacks them first so we can flee.¡± Chapter 245 The unblocked tunnel did indeed contain something that wanted to kill intruders, but John and Matayal stayed at a safe distance with the rest, merely feeling the battles around some bends in the tunnels. The first things encountered were swiftly defeated by Gesine and the Molten Sea, revealing little information until John caught up and saw their form. They were large jellies, about half the width of the tunnel. As far as he could tell, their tendrils had only minimal presence of stingers and toxins, but of course what he could see was skewed by how they were partially boiled. There seemed to be a large number of them in the area, John¡¯s quarry leaving a trail of destroyed bodies behind them. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize this particular species,¡± Matayal commented. ¡°Even from my previous trip here.¡± ¡°Perhaps that just means you stayed in reasonable places,¡± John replied. They continued to creep after their quarry, who didn¡¯t seem to have been slowed down by the assaults as of yet. Another pulse through the waters reminded them of the great power in this place, but they could still endure something at the current level. Tunnels joined together, the Molten Sea clearly continuing on at a reasonable pace. However, more jellies flowed out of one of the splits. They blended in with their surroundings- not visually, but in terms of aura. Then again, why shouldn¡¯t they? They dwelled in the area. Sharing the same aura of watery power was not odd, though they were much weaker. The jellies didn¡¯t execute any sort of complete maneuvers as they approached the pursuers. Instead, they merely extended their tendrils and nearly flung themselves forward. That was certainly quite a different sort of behavior from the norm where they would be considered drifters, but they were simple enough to deal with even without a Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. John split one in half with his sword, while Matayal punched a number of holes through another. They didn¡¯t seem to have any particularly critical organs, but enough structural damage would still kill them- and they weren¡¯t without organs either. ¡°I don¡¯t know which of these mostly transparent globules was important,¡± Matayal said, ¡°But we can test that a little bit at a time.¡± There were more than just two- but the other dozen or so were taken care of by the rest. The jellies seemed bent on wrapping themselves around a cultivator, perhaps crushing or suffocating them. Even fish had gills that could be compromised. Though John also detected some amount of an acidic substance, so perhaps they were to be restrained and slowly digested. That would work against truly weak creatures, but there had to be more. Then again, based on the trail of bodies they were following, perhaps they simply made up for things with numbers that were ever increasing. The group ahead of them certainly didn¡¯t make it comfortable to follow them. Along with pockets of superheated water that fortunately didn¡¯t last long, floating bits and pieces of the jellies made it inconvenient to move about. Then there were floating motes of something John didn¡¯t want to touch. A simple flow of water pushed them aside so the group could pass, but they seemed to be coming out of some weird lumpy blobs. More attackers came from behind, and hiding from them was almost pointless. They would fill the whole tunnels, inevitably running into anything in their path. Once they actually got a grip, it was difficult for a cultivator to free themselves. The bigger issue was killing them without using too much spiritual energy, so that those ahead might notice them. Perhaps that was already impossible, but John didn¡¯t think they were completely compromised as of yet. The worse was when the pulses of water came just at an intersection, propelling a group in from an intersecting tunnel. The main path was always cleared, but these things seemed to be converging on the intruders. John didn¡¯t like making things easier for those ahead, but they also had to keep up. The attacks weren¡¯t actually constant- perhaps a short skirmish every five or ten minutes- so they were currently able to keep their energy replenished. But they would have to consider when it was time to retreat. The number of enemies couldn¡¯t be infinite, but it didn¡¯t have to be to wear them down. While the individual creatures didn¡¯t seem particularly dangerous- even the rarer ones distributing some sort of poison- that only seemed true for the first two. John was glad that the group ahead ran into a third type first, because the blast of energy produced a shockwave that even passed as far as their group. It was little more than a spurt of water at their point, but it was still a cause of concern. Once again, the creature that caused it seemed to have very little form. Though obviously it was hard to tell with pieces of it charred and separated from its body, it seemed to be little more than a cylinder. Like a wide and squat worm, about one meter by two meters. It had some teeth, but from that pulse of spiritual energy it didn¡¯t seem like they mattered much. It wasn¡¯t just water element either, but fire. John had thought he was conflating it with the Molten Sea, but he could feel fading remnants from the corpse. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The effect on the tunnel showed its power, however. Somehow, a hundred meter length was twice as wide¡­ not melted away but seemingly gone. At the edges nothing was any clearer, with a smooth sloping transition from the normal width to the larger area. But while the normal tunnels certainly felt cramped, John was more apprehensive of a wider tunnel, especially as he saw it filled with bodies of creatures. He also picked out some human blood- since it was blood like substance. Nobody dead yet, but injuries were being sustained. ¡°We need to be quite careful of these,¡± John said. ¡°We should focus our attention on converging tunnels. I don¡¯t think as many will be coming from directly behind us as the sides of the area.¡± Matayal agreed, and they took more care to allow groups to push onward towards the back of their enemies- saving themselves the trouble and adding to their opponent¡¯s hardships. It helped that Gesine stood out like a beacon, her Ascending Soul Phase power clearly obvious even from a couple hundred meters back. As they moved along, the standard size of the tunnel continued to increase in width, with occasional wider bursts from the weird tube creatures. They were a problem even when dead, as John saw some of the other types lingering around the wider areas. Fortunately, they would move on at some point, but not always together. Soon enough they were several kilometers into the leviathan, wrestling with what John hoped were some of the final foils in their way. The tunnel shapers seemed to lead groups of others, and John finally got to see how they worked. It seemed they had some number of spikes protruding from them at first, but instead of using them as weapons the one they encountered simply had them explode outward into the walls. Those spikes were then pulled into the stone of the tunnels, which began to writhe and undulate in a truly unpleasant way as it expanded. The burst of energy from the tunnel shaper was also clearly a signal to draw more things, so John and Matayal weren¡¯t willing to drag out the battle. There were dozens of the jellies pouring into the area, and a couple of the poison sacks. Then there were more specimens they hadn¡¯t encountered. Only a handful of one, which seemed to launch bone spears from their oblong bodies. Even if they only had several each, the force of their impact was astounding. It was a good thing that the Brandle Clan cultivators were able to swim around easily and augmented their Tenebach allies, but their arrival was the first death. John hadn¡¯t expected this war to happen with no one perishing, but he had presumed it would be at the hands of powerful sects. Or at least the leviathan itself. These were just¡­ weird inhabitants. Or were they? They were certainly not attached, but on the scale of a leviathan he wasn¡¯t certain what should count as part of it. That thought was put aside for later as a monstrously sized jelly squeezed its way through the tunnels. It occupied literally every centimeter of the larger tunnels, and even the further widened areas, a mass of flesh just pushing its way along. John and Matayal gathered the rest of their group around them in formation, with the two of them taking the forward central positions in the tunnel. They had been serious before, but here it was most clear they needed a united front instead of individual actions. The large blob was ponderous, so they had already killed most of the attackers- and the spear launchers had depleted themselves. John and Matayal let the outer edges of their formation test the creature as it approached, stabbing and slashing at its flesh. It was clearly tougher, many of the weapons slipping off of its durable outsides, but even when attacks made it through they couldn¡¯t go deep enough to cause serious damage. And it continued forward, forcing people back as it tried to wrap itself around everything- enemies and allies alike. It was possible to outrun it- but fleeing constantly might push them into another group or worse, the Molten Sea. But as dangerous as it seemed, it also appeared to lack intelligence. ¡°Let¡¯s try some lightning,¡± John said to Matayal. ¡°If you could augment my efforts¡­¡± he drew one of the bone spears towards him with a tendril of energy as the group maintained a fighting retreat. His wife¡¯s energy joined with his- he had his own water element he could boost his power with, but hers was more plentiful. He tossed the spear directly into the ¡®maw¡¯ of the creature, though it was more like a large blanket or pillow than a grasping mouth. The shock seemed effective- but only at slowing it down for a few moments. That was good enough for them to reach a point where the tunnel narrowed once more. Surprisingly it didn¡¯t move any slower as it squeezed through something half the size, but it did force it into a position where John could reach more of it. He tried some earth element, specifically with Bite of the Gorgon. Solidifying parts of its body proved effective at further limiting its movements, though it seemed to have some survival instincts. Or perhaps the opposite. Once it was clear it was in danger, it forced itself forward in a great burst that nobody was prepared for, wrapping itself around and over everyone and everything. John tried not to panic. Being smothered was unpleasant, but it wasn¡¯t as if he had even been breathing to begin with. He felt some sort of acid eating away at his spiritual energy, but the squeezing pressure was more important. He could barely move his sword arm, but he was still able to augment the sharpness of his blade. He also still held onto Matayal with one hand, and together they cut and stabbed their way towards each other, eventually carving out an area that no longer functioned. From there, they moved towards their other allies one at a time, systematically tearing apart the voluminous creature. It only stopped moving when it was more holes and tears than form. Various people had injuries- acid burns, broken bones and the like- but most had survived. They had to take turns to mediate and purge some of the poison from their bodies- as only in this situation had they been exposed long enough to feel its effects. Inescapable wave tactics seemed to be part of the strategy here, and it had been working. Now, John wanted out. But was going back the way they came the best option, or should they continue to follow after the Molten Sea? He certainly didn¡¯t want to die, but he also didn¡¯t want to experience the world where they got their hands on whatever they were looking for. Ultimately, it was decided that following in the wake of the Molten Sea was still safer, and if they found something that seemed to be a way out they would take it. At least they had some understanding of the tunnels being wider deeper in. Chapter 246 Against creatures with soft bodies, Renato found that smashing them against a nearby wall was actually remarkably effective. There was always a limit to how much something could deform. It was still better to impale them upon spikes of stone- and with relatively narrow tunnels, the terrain was never a problem there. Deirdre and the light cultivators were also able to make use of their normal attacks, either their ranged options or their melee tactics with staff-glaives. The motion of their weapons was restricted by the waters, but not so much as to stop them from being effective. Deidre gathered her energy, producing a flash of light just as the body of one of the creatures launched a bone spear. Unfortunately, they were hardly sensitive to light and the momentary flood of a single element didn¡¯t negate their other senses. She had to strike the weapon out of the water, concerned about those behind her being unprepared to dodge. It hardly mattered that the creatures were useless after a small number of attacks considering how effective they were for the first few. Anyone below the Consolidated Soul Phase would have great difficulty stopping them. Their group also encountered one of the tunnel filling amorphous jellies, but under Renato¡¯s leadership the earth cultivators quickly reacted. He was the first to launch an attack- not swinging his club and risking being engulfed, but instead simply stomping on a tunnel edge and creating a spike of stone. But the spike didn¡¯t simply grow straight, instead curving around like a hook. An intelligent creature could have easily avoided such a thing even as it pressed through a narrow area¡­ but the blob simply continued forward. The one hook broke off, but not before puncturing the creature. With it moving slowly, it wasn¡¯t difficult for the earth cultivators to coordinate waves of hooks all the way around, causing the creature to tear itself apart from the edges. It didn¡¯t die from that, but it was significantly less effective at engulfing anyone with its outsides in tatters, allowing the group to more selectively bring it down. As for the tunnel shapers, while they were certainly more efficient at the process than proper earth cultivators, they were not the only ones who could reshape the terrain. The trail left by their groups would be rather obvious, but neither the Order of the Amber Heart nor the Golden Tomb Guardians were ever going to be effective at stealth. They simply intended to remain far enough from the Sky Island cultivators that it was too much bother to deal with them. ----- ¡°The tunnels are narrowing,¡± Matayal observed. ¡°Attacks also seem to have slowed down. Hopefully that means we¡¯re approaching an exit.¡± ¡°Or at least that they¡¯ve run out of defenses,¡± John said. ¡°A constant flood like this can¡¯t be possible forever. We¡¯re not the only ones exploring the leviathan either, so it can¡¯t just draw from everywhere else.¡± ¡°True,¡± Matayal agreed. ¡°But I would bet on there being more verticality and layers in the equation than we¡¯ve encountered.¡± John just nodded seriously. ¡°This thing¡­ it covers more of the Shimmering Islands than we initially thought, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It should be contained to a relatively small area¡­ if we¡¯re talking on the scale of occupied islands. Likely no larger than Pualani, counting the outer petals. It¡¯s just more difficult to get around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still a radius of more than a handful of kilometers,¡± John pointed out. ¡°And even Pualani has a lot of ¡®empty¡¯ sea between its various petals and between the outer ring and the core island.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand that it¡¯s preposterous,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But at most it would remove the Kelp Spire Forest from the map, instead of say¡­ the bottom third of the Shimmering Islands.¡± ¡°Did you really consider that as a possibility?¡± John shook his head. ¡°Have you ever heard about anything that size?¡± ¡°I have, actually. Upon researching the leviathan, I learned about other massive monsters. Though the information on this one was limited, and the others were said to have been slain in times long gone. The stories were perhaps exaggerated- but I think by not as much as one might hope.¡± The feeling of Gesine ahead, as well as the others with her, soon turned upwards. They were out of the leviathan. Their own group soon followed, and they found their way to the surface to take much a much needed rest. Their losses were minimal, but beyond actual deaths they had many injuries. And they still didn¡¯t know what was being looked for, or if they could actually properly change how the situation would play out. But they also couldn¡¯t just ignore it, if they wanted to have control over their own future. Whatever was of value here should belong to someone from the region, not people poking their noses in from several countries away. Renato and Deirdre returned soon afterwards. In many ways they appeared to have performed better, despite not having water cultivators. Then again, everything they were fighting was water element so nobody had any particular advantages to begin with. The air cultivators of the Mulyani clan would- but they were still working on establishing their next generation¡¯s leadership. Asih and Harta were both working their way through the early Consolidated Soul Phase. At the current moment, they and the clan were providing security for the fleets of the alliance along with those from the Milanovic clan. They discussed the various things that had been effective and lacking with their groups to plan for the next day, but mostly they had to rest so they could move out whenever the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators did. ----- The headquarters of the Golden Tomb Guardians were under siege. Forces were unequally matched, with the Righteous Flame League bringing a majority of their cultivators- and conversely the Golden Tomb Guardians had more than half of their forces away to help with the leviathan situation. Once the attack had begun, it was clear that even with the advantage of a defensive position the Golden Tomb Guardians were unable to sufficiently defend. Among other things, they could not properly cover the whole border they controlled, or they would have too few cultivators defending any one place. The enemy began to break through the walls- sometimes literally, sometimes setting up ways to climb over that the Golden Tomb Guardians couldn¡¯t combat. Ladders and ropes were easily destructible, but only if they could fight through the gathered forces to reach them. With each foothold the Righteous Flame League gained, the situation worsened. ¡°Retreat!¡± Monika ordered. ¡°We will take shelter in the core complex!¡± Covering a smaller area would be best with their numbers¡­ but they couldn¡¯t just give up the walls without a fight. The core complex included the technique library and vaults, in short where most of the sect¡¯s wealth was kept. There would be some in individual disciples and elders¡¯ quarters, and throughout the rest of the sect, but the most important features weren¡¯t something that could be carried away. Like the Tomb itself. ¡°We¡¯re really not assigning any defenses to the tomb?¡± Zacharie asked. ¡°No.¡± Monika said. ¡°We will wait, and watch. The traps will cause them a significant headache.¡± ¡°They are light cultivators,¡± Zacharie pointed out. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Only partially, and they aren¡¯t patient.¡± ¡°But what about when they get to¡­ her?¡± Zacharie asked. ¡°We can¡¯t just-¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Monika said. ¡°I have considered the options, and this is the best one. I have already gained her approval.¡± Zacharie sighed. ¡°Very well, but I don¡¯t feel comfortable just hiding.¡± At that point, the last of the cultivators were pulling away from the walls- and the Righteous Flame League let them with little harassment, happily securing their new positions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Monika said as they escorted the last group. ¡°We¡¯re not done just yet.¡± ----- ¡°Pathetic,¡± Asgeirr commented as he saw the Golden Tomb Guardians flee, not even bothering to defend the most grand, central structure of their sect. ¡°What do you think, Stenn?¡± he asked his lieutenant. ¡°Victory is assured,¡± the man said. ¡°And by securing their core treasures, you will be able to secure your position as the next Sect Head. Likewise, we will return to good standing with the Molten Sea.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe their people were pathetic enough to be of so little use in taking out the Tenebach head. It seems they only have a few exceptional cultivators, and a large quantity of mediocre Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± Stenn nodded in agreement, ¡°I would be careful where you spoke such words, sir.¡± ¡°Obviously. I know that we¡¯re but a speck compared to the Molten Sea¡­ at least currently. But with the growth we will achieve after these successes, I think we can push to a higher point. Depending on what we find here¡­ I might even reach the Ascending Soul Phase myself within a handful of years. Then what of that old hag from the Molten Sea?¡± Asgeirr shook his head. The Righteous Flame League moved in, opening the gates but still securing them with their own cultivators, ready to close them against reinforcements- though there shouldn¡¯t be any of that for another day or so- or to stop people from escaping. Asgeirr directed them past the quarters. Looting could happen later. They had to secure the most important locations first. He carefully inspected the doors on the central building. The Tomb. It wasn¡¯t fully clear to Asgeirr what sort of treasure lay inside, but it was clearly responsible for bringing these light cultivators to their current station over the last centuries. But it wouldn¡¯t be theirs any longer after today. Depending on how things went, they would then deal with the sheltered cultivators, as the treasury would be valuable to the Righteous Flame League. As they associated with darkness cultivators, the Golden Tomb Guardians didn¡¯t have any rights to keep anything. ¡°These doors appear quite solid,¡± Asgeirr said to Stenn. ¡°But I don¡¯t sense anything¡­ too troublesome. We should be able to break them open with some effort.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Stenn said. ¡°However, perhaps I could try something first. The locking mechanisms don¡¯t appear particularly complicated.¡± He held up his hand, a swirl of light and flame forming into individual fingers. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Asgeirr agreed. Nothing attempted to kill Stenn as he approached and began to touch the door. He wrestled with the lock for a good minute, but eventually he managed to trigger the right mechanisms, both through applying light element and physically moving what he needed. Then he pulled, swinging open the massive doors. ¡°Little good this did them, if they are unable to defend it.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Asgeirr said, looking towards where the Golden Tomb Guardians had retreated. ¡°I suspect some kind of treachery. We will leave soldiers here to watch for their movements, along with those securing the walls.¡± Inside of the cathedral-like structure, they could see many different intersecting corridors. The whole area was suffused with boundless light element, but it was clear there was more. ¡°I do believe there are traps everywhere,¡± Stenn said. ¡°We¡¯ll pick them out,¡± Asgeirr said. ¡°But finding a route to our goal¡­ will take too long. We¡¯ll need to split up.¡± Ultimately, they devoted a significant portion of their forces to exploring the tomb. The sooner they could find what treasures it held, the sooner they could leave. Asgeirr headed his own group¡­ but any time he was unsure of an area, he would have one of the disciples explore in detail. It was unfortunate for them when they were careless enough to set off a trap- whether spikes stabbing out of the floor or lances of light element, most weren¡¯t able to survive. But they knew the risks. The light element was omnipresent, and though he himself was a light element cultivator Asgeirr found it somewhat¡­ oppressive. He had to get his hand on the source of power. Ultimately, the groups made their way through one step at a time. Unlike John, they weren¡¯t informed of the locations of traps or the route to the central chamber, but they had enough people to work things out. Asgeirr¡¯s group arrived first, but as he finally came to the central chamber he felt the other groups nearing as well. In the center was a most impressive beast. His eyes could barely rest on it, light emanating from its feathers and permeating the rest of the tomb. He could make out a general avian shape with a longer neck, splayed out on a large stone slab as if it were merely resting. No wonder the Golden Tomb Guardians had been doing well. The corpse of such a fantastic creature was not just a treasure, but countless treasures. He couldn¡¯t help but grin to himself. ¡°I see. Every feather of this creature, every gram of flesh and bone¡­ they¡¯re all high tier treasures. We can gain much.¡± He stepped forward. ¡°For it to radiate such power even long after its death, it could only be hidden from the world by this place.¡± He moved cautiously around the beast, looking for additional traps. He didn¡¯t find any, but that wasn¡¯t strange. The power of the beast would interfere with any sort of enchantment, and the area would need to be clear to harvest from the creature. Asgeirr stopped down, picking up a fallen feather. Its power was enough for a Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator to advance a rank or two even with no ambient energy. Or for a more practical matter, it would let them break through to the next Phase with relative ease, drawing them to light aligned spiritual totems. ¡°Strange,¡± Asgeirr said as he reached out for the creature¡¯s corpse. ¡°I don¡¯t see where they might have harvested. Its plumage appears nearly complete.¡± His hand brushed against the feathers, pulling on one and finding it didn¡¯t easily come free. He didn¡¯t see an eye glaring at him, but he did hear the chastisement. ¡°Idiot.¡± As a mid Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, he wasn¡¯t easy to kill. His defenses were powerful, his reaction speed finely tuned, he was able to react. That was why he was merely knocked flying, only a third of the features piercing through his defenses as a great wing batted him into the wall of the large central chamber. And that was a good result, as all of those along with him besides his lieutenant Stenn were completely sliced to ribbons by the feathers, the majority of which then returned to the semi-tangible avian. Asgeirr was momentarily stunned, but then he grinned. ¡°It¡¯s alive. Hah.¡± That was a hundred times more valuable than he¡¯d already thought, even though it must have been greatly weakened to keep it contained. ¡°Righteous Flame League, we¡¯re capturing this beast!¡± His voice echoed throughout the chamber and beyond, pushing others to hurry towards him. His excitement was slightly abated as the general oppression of the area focus directly on him. Light itself was supposed to be weightless, but he felt as if he were covered with a million iron bars. ¡°I am not an ¡®it¡¯,¡± said the creature. That was about the time Asgeirr realized that in addition to not being a tomb, this was also not a cage. No, it was more akin to¡­ a palace or temple. A very much not dead and completely unrestrained spirit beast was looking right at him, with a power well established in the Ascending Soul Phase. And the only thing Asgeirr could manage was flaring his energy to the maximum so he could run away, hoping that his memory would let him avoid some of the traps. Just to go gather reinforcements, of course. They would still capture this thing, but he would need more of their armies. No matter the losses, it would be worth it. It had to be. Chapter 247 The lands of the Golden Tomb Guardians rumbled. Zacharie focused on the battle occurring in the tomb, grimacing. ¡°Are we really going to let this happen?¡± ¡°We will not sit idly forever,¡± Monika assured him. ¡°Can she really last much longer?¡± ¡°What do you think of the Tenebach?¡± The sudden change of topic caught Zacharie off guard. ¡°Well, they¡¯ve been excellent allies ever since we first started working together. Even if our association with them is also the reason we ended up in this situation.¡± He thought for a moment, ¡°Their clan head is an interesting fellow, and the alliance we¡¯ve joined is mighty. The Golden Tomb Guardians have benefited greatly. It¡¯s unfortunate that¡­ things have come to this.¡± ¡°Do you remember his first visit?¡± ¡°Of course. It was quite odd that she would request a meeting with a darkness cultivator. Even if that wasn¡¯t fully the case with him, Fortkran came out looking quite exhausted.¡± Monika nodded. ¡°And what do you think about Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s health?¡± Zacharie wasn¡¯t sure how the pieces fit together, but he had to answer. ¡°It is unfortunate that her condition is so difficult to recover. A cursed wound from a century prior,¡± he shook his head. ¡°But I am also astounded with how she remains willing to share her spiritual energy. It seems we get more than a fair trade from protecting her. Which is why we should.¡± The Tomb rumbled once more. ¡°Once they¡¯re all trapped in there,¡± Monika assured him. ¡°We would seal it? I don¡¯t know that it would buy much time¡­¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Monika shook her head. ¡°But they are still gathering. They need more of their forces, after all.¡± Zacharie frowned. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ surprised. Even as a mighty guardian beast, I would not expect these forces all necessary to defeat Cuah¡¯arn, even with the Tomb¡¯s defenses.¡± ¡°Indeed. It is doubtful she would be able to defeat this army even at the peak of her power,¡± Monika said. ¡°Which is why we will be assisting now. Everyone! Prepare to move on the invaders! Our time has come!¡± It took only a moment for the forces to be ready- everyone was clutching weapons already, anticipating attacks on their inner buildings. Their treasury and libraries. And while those were indeed of great value, the most important part of their sect was in the Tomb. Even the Righteous Flame League had recognized that, though they didn¡¯t understand. Or perhaps they did now. Now that they were on the move, Zacharie had no complaints. He just hoped that Cuah¡¯arn had not sustained too many additional injuries. If she perished¡­ the sect would suffer a sharp decline. Unfortunately, it seemed likely that she would be weak for a long time. Decades, perhaps. A small contingent of Righteous Flame League cultivators stood outside the tomb. They were barely able to shout warnings before they were slaughtered by the staff-glaives of the Golden Tomb Guardians. And while those in the outermost sections were no doubt alerted, it was only a small portion of the Righteous Flame League. Specifically, they had found several routes to the central chamber, but they had to be followed exactly or risk setting off more traps. Meanwhile, the leadership of the Golden Tomb Guardians could more confidently lead their groups as they had deeper knowledge of the actual traps. And instead of trying to deal with every enemy group, they only focused on a small number of paths that would lead them most cleanly to the central chamber. The overwhelming light spiritual energy was oppressive to the enemies of the sect, even though the Righteous Flame League cultivated the same element in part. That was because it was not simply free spiritual energy. Instead, a large portion of it belonged to Cuah¡¯arn, who used it to bolster her allies. Zacharie cut his way through Righteous Flame League cultivators- the strongest were likely already in the central chamber, attempting to kill the sect¡¯s guardian beast. But as Zacharie continued to fight his way forward, he realized he¡¯d made a mistake. At least, his assumptions had been wrong. Because the power ahead of him did not feel like an injured beast desperately fighting off a horde of attackers. At most, Zacharie felt a small sense of fatigue from the spirit beast, but he would be even more confused if Cuah¡¯arn could fight with such vigor for so long without experiencing fatigue. He moved with haste towards the central chamber, focusing on offensive moves that would either force his opponents to take a hit- or dodge as he pleased, which was usually into a trap. If they were lucky, it would be one that had been triggered previously. Either way, he kept moving forward, pushing them back along with the group trailing after him. It didn¡¯t take long to push into the central chamber, which is where he finally met some organized resistance. Not that he expected the Righteous Flame League to just let them march up behind them unopposed. A line of cultivators wielding flaming weapons, light glinting off of their armor, stood in his path. For exactly two seconds, before they were blasted from the rear, each being stabbed by no less than a half dozen feathers made only of light. The moment it took for Cuah¡¯arn to launch that attack provided a small opening for the Righteous Flame League members in the area, including Asgeirr. They struck out together, filling the center of the room with flames. That brought Zacharie¡¯s mind to the lingering odor of flames and what he presumed was burnt feathers. But despite those minor signs, Zacharie knew he had arrived in time. He wasn¡¯t sure if Cuah¡¯arn could actually bleed, but she wasn¡¯t seriously injured at this point. And in fact, she still felt stronger than when he¡¯d first entered her presence. The only way that would be possible would be if the situation had been kept from him. That slightly bothered him, but he could also understand why it would have been kept secret. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Monika hadn¡¯t yet fought her way through her path- but limiting the flow of cultivators into the area was worth that delay. Zacharie didn¡¯t hesitate to charge forward with those behind him. After all, their guardian beast had held on this long alone- they were both obligated to defend her and it was the most practical decision to support her vigorously. An early Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator turned to block Zacharie, parrying his blade with a halberd. Each swing of the long blade left behind a trail of fire that Zacharie had to dance around. But he had his own spinning blades on offense. He stepped inward, swinging down in an obvious manner. It would be easy to parry his attack- and his opponent knew that. He also knew that Zacharie could dissolve the extended blade. So he blocked with the shaft of his weapon, holding it low enough to catch the staff part of Zacharie¡¯s weapon. The rebound force allowed Zacharie to spin his weapon in the other direction, bringing it up from underneath the halberd while extending a blade of light from its lower end. The same would have happened if his weapon was deflected to the side- he would spin the rear around to strike at his opponent. The only option was to dodge, but as he didn¡¯t have a heavy head on his weapon it was easy to shift his momentum. Knowing what he might do didn¡¯t help his opponent, they had to be better and faster to have a chance. The blade slashed the man¡¯s thigh, cutting through his armor and energy defenses. Then Zacharie danced away, content to leave the man to deal with his injuries. There were dozens of Righteous Flame League members present, and he wanted to ease the burden on Cuah¡¯arn as much as possible. Ultimately Asgeirr and the other Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators would have to be taken out, but he had to wait for the rest of the Golden Tomb Guardian¡¯s forces. He moved through their forces, taking out enemies one at a time- or distracting them so that Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s attacks would strike them. Golden feathers flew in all directions almost continuously, striking in both directions as they returned from wherever they impaled. Unlike the traps in the other sections, these were fully under her control and thus would never touch any member of the sect. ¡°Dammit! Why can¡¯t any of you even scratch this creature?¡± Asgeirr yelled in frustration. ¡°Now we have to deal with it and the cowards at the same time!¡± Monika Zeman arrived on the scene just then. ¡°Are we cowards for luring you into an obvious trap? And also, Cuah¡¯arn¡­¡± ¡°I am a woman, pathetic human-thing.¡± Cuah¡¯arn slapped forward with a wing. Asgeirr braced his spear to impale her wing, but the condensed spiritual energy held firm. He crashed against a wall, and Cuah¡¯arn leaned down to bite into another cultivator with her beak. With the forces of the Golden Tomb Guardians converging on the area, the Righteous Flame League cultivators that were already hard pressed against just Cuah¡¯arn began to fall in droves. Some were in the various trapped tunnels still, the reinforcements that had to split up to fit into the area. Others were in the central chambers, where they were subject to the majority of the Guardians¡¯ forces and Cuah¡¯arn herself. The light element that the Righteous Flame League cultivated wasn¡¯t enough to prevent them from being blinded, especially not in Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s lair. Massive windows gathered sunlight into the cathedral-like room, and Cuah¡¯arn had gathered plenty of her own light element. Those who could barely see were still quickly suppressed by martial might. One by one, the Righteous Flame League was cut down. Only the Golden Tomb Guardians were left, and with their enemies gone many couldn¡¯t help but fall prostrate before the glory of the spirit beast. ¡°He is not among the fallen,¡± Zacharie informed Monika and Cuah¡¯arn. ¡°That is not an issue,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said. ¡°I think it is time.¡± Monika nodded, ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Then from today onward,¡± Cuah¡¯arn stood proud and tall. ¡°Let the world know that the Tomb houses not the dying, but one restored to full life!¡± High in the Tomb was a window that opened to let through Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s significant size- she rarely left, Deirdre¡¯s death being an exception. But now, she was ready to take on the world. And though she still considered herself a guardian, she didn¡¯t have to limit herself to staying in the sect. Cuah¡¯arn flew after the retreating members of the Righteous Flame League- including one Asgeirr. ¡°Asgeirr the coward,¡± she called down after him. ¡°You flee from battle with your ¡®allies¡¯, and from battle with your own sect. Do you truly believe you will survive again?¡± He turned to face her, spear pointed to the sky. ¡°I am no coward!¡± ¡°Yet you only stand and fight when you think you have no other choice. Not that it will do you any good.¡± As it turned out, Cuah¡¯arn had the form of a bird. Obviously that came with the ability to fly- but if that was it, she would hardly be at an advantage except when traveling. In the Tomb, she was at an advantage because of her stored up power and the traps. Here, she was at an advantage because of her aerial superiority. She had already demonstrated her light feathers before- and once more they sprayed down from above on the retreating armies of the Righteous Flame League. But that was not her only ability. She was a creature of light, and over time she had gathered many abilities. Recently, she had been exposed to some members of the Combining Luster Sect, which reminded her to build up her old abilities for moments like this. She had been cooped up inside for far too long during her recovery, but she was capable of more than just pecking and clawing. Within her beak a brilliant light gathered, then fired in a concentrated beam towards the cultivators below. They were able to devote their maximum to defense given that they had no avenue to attack, but focusing on just Asgeirr with collateral damage being enough to take out the others, there was no reason an Ascending Soul Phase beast should fail to slay him. Only if he was able to run away from her could he hope to survive- but he was both slower and less maneuverable. And the lands weren¡¯t as friendly to his sect, either. The Golden Tomb Guardians were not without allies- they simply had not been ready for the brazen intrusion. But they would also not arrive before Cuah¡¯arn killed this particular individual. She was looking forward to telling her friends about this. The humans John and Odette in particular had been upset about him getting away and continuously causing trouble. Then of course there was the sect, who would be able to better enact their final retribution without someone of this power. Beam after beam of light tore into Asgeirr, but rather than defending him his allies soon realized that their best hope for survival was to split apart. Cuah¡¯arn let them. They were but ants in comparison. It was unfortunate that the humans could not see the revenge on their own, and that Ciaritzal would not see her display of power¡­ but then again, she was now free to travel more regularly. Not too often, of course. The sect would need her, and her home would still be the best place to cultivate. But she would no longer be cooped up. This was the mark of a great change in the Golden Tomb Guardians¡¯ legacy, and her continued cooperation with them. Chapter 248 Four figures stood together upon stone wrapped with massive seaweed. They maintained a position on one of the outermost spires, since ships could not safely enter the area. It might not have been strictly necessary to maintain such a position given the important maneuvering was happening below, but it gave them something to do. ¡°I have the feeling we¡¯re not going to see any battle,¡± Ursel said. ¡°So?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°I¡¯d rather not do anything than run into the kind of trouble we had in the Prismatic Chambers.¡± ¡°We¡¯re a lot stronger now¡­¡± Ursel began. ¡°But it¡¯s best we don¡¯t get split up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also not a huge fan of almost dying,¡± added Nik, the most recent members of their little group. He wasn¡¯t with them at all times, since they needed their own privacy¡­ but he wanted to continue developing bonds. ¡°We¡¯re well over our head, at least considering what¡¯s happening down there.¡± ¡°I know right?¡± Ursel sighed, ¡°We go and reach the Soul Expansion Phase and now even Consolidated Soul Phase isn¡¯t good enough. So we get to stand around on guard duty.¡± ¡°If we didn¡¯t come, the two of you would be sneaking off to cause trouble,¡± Tirto commented. Ursel grinned at him, ¡°Speaking of trouble, where¡¯s your fiancee?¡± ¡°At home, I presume,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Emilia wasn¡¯t born with cultivation like us, so it¡¯s already impressive that she¡¯s reached the Foundation Phase at her age. It¡¯s not strange that she¡¯d be kept away from the battlefield.¡± Tirto crossed his arms, ¡°And she¡¯s not trouble. She¡¯s very sweet and kind.¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± Ursel said. ¡°What? I thought you liked Verusha. Is there something about her that I should know?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. Verusha is nice,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I was just agreeing with you.¡± ¡°It really didn¡¯t sound like it.¡± Ursel waved him off, ¡°Come on, don¡¯t read anything into it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Melanthina supported her sister. ¡°She wasn¡¯t implying anything bad about anyone.¡± ¡°Then¡­?¡± Tirto frowned. Getting no response from his sisters, he turned to Nik. Nik shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. I know less than you do.¡± Tirto sighed, ¡°If she¡¯s secretly a psychopath you¡¯re obligated to tell me as my sisters.¡± ¡°Just go with your instincts,¡± Melanthina said unhelpfully, as his instincts were telling him his sisters were messing with him on purpose. Perhaps he should talk to their mother. ----- A heavy club shoved an amorphous blob against the wall, wrapping up its tendrils along with it. The crushing pressure would have ultimately done very little if there had not been another cultivator ready and waiting. A stone spike emerged from the edge of the tunnel impaling the jelly as it impacted the wall. ¡°It seems like there¡¯s just as many as before,¡± Deirdre complained from next to Renato. ¡°I know we¡¯ve moved into a different area, but it¡¯s almost like we didn¡¯t slaughter continuous waves of them on our last excursion.¡± ¡°Not quite as many, I think,¡± Renato said. ¡°Though that remains to be seen at the end of the day. I do wonder where they could be coming from. These tunnel complexes are quite extensive, but I¡¯m not certain how every group manages to face so much pressure.¡± ¡°To be fair,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°I think only the main two groups and us following them are actually delving deep into this thing. Others are mostly poking around the edges. But it¡¯s still¡­ a lot.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Come on, we should keep moving.¡± They now had Tenebach and Brandle clan cultivators with them, which helped with their attempts at stealth and general quality of life. Though using darkness to hide light was a difficult task, they mostly just wanted to prevent Sitora or the other Sky Islanders from spotting them far off. Or at least lessen their sense of being followed. The Order of the Amber Heart had more than half of their members ¡®walking¡¯ through the tunnels rather than swimming. Maintaining a connection to the surrounding stone allowed them to make attacks from more useful angles, and as many of them used blunt weapons that were rather weak underwater it gave them more options. The Golden Tomb Guardians were generally able to slice apart the various blobby creatures, and the main components of their weapons being made of light allowed them to maneuver fairly effectively underwater. But even the strongest of them had to devote more of their efforts to replenishing their air, and the Brandle cultivators were able to help improve their stamina in that regard. Both air and water cultivators were better at such a process, even if all sufficiently powerful cultivators could technically refresh their own breath. It still wasn¡¯t clear what Sitora was looking for- or if it was the same thing as Gesine was looking for. The two old women seemed to be in conflict, but that might have been more due to historical conflicts than the current situation. But allowing either of them to simply take something of value away from the region would be unacceptable. They weren¡¯t so untouchable that they should be allowed to do whatever they want at a cost to the locals. Though with that said, the two of them being at the Ascending Soul Phase was a problem. The cooperation of the longer and shorter term alliances would help, but it wasn¡¯t clear if it was enough. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ----- A spear quickly stabbed into a blobby form, then that same form turned rigid as it was frozen. Tirto withdrew his spear, preparing to stab again, but strong arms wrapped around the frozen section and squeezed, cracking it apart. ¡°Haha, you¡¯ll never pull ahead that way!¡± Ursel said. ¡°It¡¯s not a competition,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Says you! But I-¡± something crashed into Ursel, sending her flying. But Ursel was the most durable of any of them. With her new armor, she mostly just got embarrassed about being tossed around rather than injured by most attacks- unless something knocked her head too hard. ¡°Why do they always go for me?¡± Ursel complained. ¡°You were right there? Melanthina is at least hiding from them!¡± Tirto shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Nik was standing over on shore, firing beams of light at the stray and often half-dead creatures that were floating to the surface of the Kelp Spire Forest. His attacks bent upon striking the surface of the water, but his attacks still hit their mark. After all, the Combining Luster Sect was all about bending beams of light- he could easily account for even things like rolling waves. Though he did cheat a little bit by forcing certain angles of refraction where it was convenient. Melanthina remained on the same spire with him, taking care of anything that got too close. Except when, occasionally, they would combine their powers together. For that, they weaved their elements together, creating a quick bolt of energy rather than a sustained beam. Releasing their control would cause an explosion, but Nik was developing the skills to make it more effective than the random annihilation of light and darkness. It was quite effective, but if they were careless their attacks would fail before they reached the enemy. It was good practice, especially if they wanted to remain around each other. ----- The entire job of boats was to keep water out of them, so Verusha was quite annoyed at how damp the lower hold of the ship was. She didn¡¯t actually find any leaks or the like, but she constantly felt soaked. Why did she think this was a good idea, coming to a place that was literally just water? She thought it would be kind of fun like the beaches on Pualani, but it wasn¡¯t at all. And she didn¡¯t even have anywhere comfortable to sleep, because there was the slight problem that she wasn¡¯t supposed to be here. If her parents caught her¡­ she¡¯d probably be locked up and shipped away. Maybe she should let that happen. This whole thing was way bigger than she had anticipated, more like a war than a battle. And their were really weird fish floating to the surface. Or bits of them. Lots and lots of pieces of fish. It was kind of making the whole area smell awful. It was even permeating the hold of the ship. Despite the things being weird and gross, Verusha kind of wanted to see them with her own eyes. Which meant leaving the hold. And honestly, she barely cared if she got caught now. It was boring and uncomfortable. Why had she even wanted to come? ----- After a few days, it became clear that the general quantity of things roaming the inner tunnels was decreasing, if not as quickly as seemed sensible. Even counting the ones that found their way out and drifted up to the surface, it was clear that the numbers were decreasing. That led to improved exploration speeds, though the full extent of the deeper tunnels was unclear. The sped up exploration allowed them to get deeper and into stranger places. John had gotten used to a particular pattern of tunnels, even if it wasn¡¯t actually regular there were still expected shapes and vague distances he could expect to find more branches. But both that and tunnel width were becoming irregular, as well as the repeated waves of pressure trying to push people out. ¡°It feels like a larger tunnel up ahead,¡± John commented. ¡°Yes,¡± Matayal agreed. ¡°Though there was a greater struggle than normal.¡± ¡°I would say that it means it will be safer for us but¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°Sometimes they manage to leave behind dangers.¡± Either half-dead creatures or just built up toxins could prove to be trouble, and sometimes trailing behind the other group simply meant that John and Matayal¡¯s group simply ran into clusters of the weird local sea life chasing after Gesine¡¯s squad. As they continued forward, the tunnel sort of got wider. But in another way, it was also narrower, as weird fleshy protrusions were sticking out everywhere, vaguely akin to the tendrils of the jellies. ¡°This is actually part of the leviathan itself¡­¡± Matayal frowned, carefully prodding one with her spear. The tendril recoiled. ¡°Strange that it¡¯s so similar.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± John asked. ¡°These creatures seem to be symbiotic with the leviathan. Perhaps it would simply kill them if they didn¡¯t fit in. So it would make sense for them to be vaguely similar.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t like it,¡± Matayal said, shoving another tendril out of her way. They stretched almost to the middle of the area. John brushed aside another one, but instead of recoiling it grabbed onto his sword, rapidly winding its way up its length while pulling him closer to the wall. John cursed as it wrapped around his wrist- he hadn¡¯t wanted to lose his sword, but he disliked being caught even more. He gathered a burst of air energy to shock it before it could pull him into additional tendrils. Fortunately that electricity caused it to lose its grip, and he pulled back to the middle of the tunnel. ¡°Seems they¡¯re quite proactive,¡± Matayal said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be careful not to fight here. I doubt they¡¯ll try to eat the other things.¡± The earth cultivators with them had already pulled away from the walls, as it had become less stonelike. Their group swam quietly through the center of the tunnel, coming out into the previously perceived larger chamber. Shooting off of it in dozens of directions were rapidly narrowing tunnels with their own grasping tendrils. ¡°Well,¡± John said. ¡°Looks like I was somewhat wrong.¡± There were many corpses of the weird jellies and other blobs, and the tendrils were pulling them into the walls. It was a mix of fascinating and horrifying to watch in real time, because as the ¡®walls¡¯ folded in on themselves it sealed up, leaving no traces of it ever pulling something in except a slight thinning of the surrounding density of the tendrils. Fortunately it seemed that the particular area they were in had lower traffic, so they pushed onward after Gesine so they could hopefully run into their next fight somewhere less unpleasant. John couldn¡¯t help but wonder how many people were sealed behind those walls, and he made sure to pay careful attention that none of them got grabbed. Chapter 249 Tunnels alternated between wide and narrow, some with grasping tendrils and some larger chambers that seemed like they must have held some of the strange creatures, before they were defeated and then absorbed into the leviathan. Following after Sitora¡¯s group had that benefit, but also some drawbacks. Being unable to choose their own route, Renato and Deirdre had to follow a set path, or at least that was the intention. They tried not to be too close, and that meant sometimes they misread the exact route. In this case, they were stopped not because they were unaware of how Sitora had moved, but because she was still too close. ¡°What is she waiting for?¡± Renato asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Deidre admitted. ¡°She isn¡¯t fighting. Do you think she¡¯s noticed us?¡± ¡°I would be surprised if we had gone completely undetected,¡± Renato admitted. ¡°But I don¡¯t think so. I believe she is interested in something. Perhaps she has found something related to her goal?¡± Deirdre looked at the wriggling walls around them, ¡°What do they even want? A way deeper into this mess?¡± ¡°Seems likely,¡± Renato said. He also paid careful attention to their surroundings, in case something would approach them. For earth cultivators like him, these new and strange cultivators made things more difficult. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t have to wait too long for the group to move along. In less than ten minutes, they were able to move past the most narrow corridors with the grasping tendrils, back into the more familiar stony walls. They soon approached the area where Sitora had stopped, and found themselves doing so as well. The corridor they were following came to an abrupt end, though it was clear that Sitora¡¯s group had gone beyond it. Renato placed his hand on the wall. ¡°I can feel something behind it.¡± He pushed carefully. ¡°It might be flexible, but it would take quite a bit of power to force it open.¡± The generally round tunnel came to what wasn¡¯t exactly a flat cap. It had a small divot in the middle, pointing away from them. ¡°How thick is it? Should we break it apart?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Renato admitted. ¡°It¡¯s a curious feature.¡± ¡°Curious indeed,¡± came another voice. Their heads turned, as neither of them recognized the voice speaking through the water. Nor was it somewhere that it should have been possible for anyone to be. Out of the wall stretched a figure seemingly made of stone, and radiating a recognizable power. In the same moment they looked at the figure, Deirdre found herself shoved forward, letting the stone figure¡¯s fingers wrap around her neck. ¡°I tire of being followed.¡± Despite making the opening move, it did not seem as if Sitora actually wished to kill them. Or perhaps the stone-skinned woman simply didn¡¯t feel the need to rush. However, Renato held back his own attacks as Deirdre let her weapon dangle at her side. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Sitora countered, holding the woman at arm¡¯s length. ¡°It does to those of us from the region.¡± ¡°You are not from the Shimmering Islands. The Sunfields are nearly as far from here as the Sky Islands.¡± ¡°And yet, we¡¯re part of the same people,¡± Deirdre said. She focused her energy around her neck, but tried not to concentrate it so much as to leave the rest of her body open. ¡°But you rush in from afar and claim what you would please.¡± ¡°I have the power,¡± Sitora replied. ¡°So it is my right as a cultivator.¡± Renato was mentally inching closer. Everyone else watched as well, prepared to spring into action. Deirdre considered a risky maneuver. Feeling the power in front of her, it was quite overwhelming. She was in a compromising position as well. But Sitora was also missing something. They¡¯d felt her pass on ahead. This was not her. An Ascending Soul Phase cultivator was powerful, but against their group would she be enough? It was unclear, because this form was much weaker. So Deirdre was confident about fighting it. That wasn¡¯t the risky maneuver she was considering, however. Speech wasn¡¯t as clear as she would like underwater, but she did her best to enunciate clearly. The hand gripping her throat was kept away by her defensive energy, so at least that wasn¡¯t a problem. ¡°Why now? You have been here for some time¡­ Alva.¡± There was a flash of anger, the grip tightening¡­ then returning to something similar to the pressure from before. ¡°How did thou learn to speak?¡± She wasn¡¯t asking in general, of course. Because Deirdre was speaking English. ¡°English is my native language.¡± ¡°Tell me straight. How did thou learn I speak the same?¡± The precise way Alva spoke certainly came with a peculiar accent, but it was far more recognizable than the written language Deirdre had seen. ¡°We intercepted a few secret missives,¡± Deirdre admitted. ¡°Thou speak too freely to be false. And my own men do not speak as thee.¡± Alva shook her head. ¡°It matters not. Enemies we remain.¡± ¡°How did Gesine find out?¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Alva took a moment. Perhaps hesitating, or perhaps parsing Deirdre¡¯s speech. No doubt it sounded just as oddly formed to her. ¡°She knows not truly. Merely the name. Tell me, how did thou come to be here?¡± Deirdre shrugged, ¡°I died, and then I was here. Is it so strange? There are many records of reincarnation and transmigrators.¡± The latter words were in the current world¡¯s language. It was uncertain if Alva would have context for them in English. ¡°Of the former there are too many,¡± Alva replied. ¡°The latter has only us that I know.¡± ¡°Glad to make your acquaintance. Can you let me go?¡± ¡°I am not here to converse,¡± she said. ¡°Promise not to follow, and free shall thou be.¡± ¡°We could aid you against Gesine,¡± Deidre prodded the waters. It was already comforting that this woman hadn¡¯t gone directly for the kill. And there was a strange confidence to be had when one had already died. ¡°The greatest aid would be naught at all. But I find interest nonetheless. Speak to me above.¡± With that, the rocky form of Alva or Sitora crumbled away, dust settling into a sodden clump along the bottom of the tunnel. Deidre looked over at Renato. She had to explain, though there hadn¡¯t really been much to the conversation. Though they did learn something valuable in that Sitora could clearly make powerful clones. Deirdre just hoped she herself didn¡¯t seem like a threat or an interesting target now. ----- Bright blue hair dangled in front of a face in a dark room. It was good that it was blue, because that was the color of water. And that was where she was. Which, admittedly, might not have been her smartest move. And it also wasn¡¯t her choice that her hair was blue. Slowly, Verusha crept out from behind some crates. It had been a lot of work to sneak onto a ship without her parents noticing. Emilia was supposed to do it with her, but she chickened out. Obviously. She wasn¡¯t planning to fight in the war. She was just here to watch. But so far mostly it was boring. All of the actual stuff was happening below the water. Or most of it, anyway. She crept out onto the deck. This was the best time, as there was some sort of battle going on. Verusha had been able to sense fire and water mixing for a while now. As she came out, she knew that other Milanovic cultivators were attacking from up on the ship, targeting something below. Fish. Sea creatures in general, really. And weird blobs, apparently. ¡°Yeah, boil the stupid fish!¡± she shouted, before realizing she wasn¡¯t supposed to be giving away her position. She ducked around behind a mast, focusing on her inner fire. It was dim, but it shouldn¡¯t feel out of place. Except that she was probably the weakest Milanovic present by a good margin. Nobody seemed to have noticed her just yet. She crept over to the edge of the ship. Then she looked over towards the stone spires. Cool. They just stabbed out of the ocean and had giant plants curling around them. Some of the leaves were as big as a rug. It wouldn¡¯t burn well, but that was a plus in her book. It seemed like the best place to stand. The battle had died down. No more monsters. She dangled herself over the edge, dropping as silently as she could into the water and then flailing about for a second to get herself to the surface. She¡¯d learned how to swim on previous trips to the Shimmering Islands, but there was one difference. She¡¯d done that in shallow water. Like, maybe two meters deep on the far end. Instead of¡­ she tried really hard not to think about how deep the water was under her. Verusha began to swim towards the stone spire. It had her target, namely Emilia¡¯s fiancee. She had to assess whether he remained worthy. Sure, his cultivation was really high for his age, but that didn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t do anything with it. Swimming wasn¡¯t hard. People floated on their own so all she had to do was push herself forward against the waves. Which was harder than it seemed. Her spiritual energy also wasn¡¯t going to help a lot there. Fire was overcome by water. She¡¯d just waste it all. Was she getting closer to the spire? She had to be. It was just hard to get a good look at things with the bobbing waves. No, she was definitely closer. It was gonna be kind of a long swim though. She¡¯d slightly underestimated the distance. Everything was fine though. She kept breathing as she¡¯d been taught, moving her arms and legs as instructed. It was kinda difficult with everything soggy though. Was that why they had special clothes for swimming? Oh well, this wouldn¡¯t be a problem for long. Once she reached Foundation Phase, she could better augment herself even in the water. She would be way stronger. She even had a good totem for it, she was just too weak. Ah, finally. She was almost there. All she had to do was sneak up on the triplets and that one other guy. Which was¡­ actually a lot harder than it sounded like, now that she thought about it. Those stone spires weren¡¯t really good for concealing anything. Then she felt it. From above, its energy a mixture of water and air. She attempted to yell something. Maybe ¡°Help!¡± or something more eloquent, but what she actually got out was some screaming and coughing. Some sort of bird dove down towards her, and she couldn¡¯t think of anything to do but set everything around her on fire. Obviously it didn¡¯t do much for the water, but she made a nice defensive layer above her. It lasted long enough to drive the bird away, but she lost control of it as she madly began to scrabble towards the spire. It was still so far. Then it came back. She released her energy again, but the bird was more determined. She felt its focused energy. It was going to impale her and then bite of her head and- Around her, the water exploded into steam. Verusha definitely wanted to do that, but she didn¡¯t think she did it. And she definitely didn¡¯t shape it into a directed geyser that blasted away the bird that was several times her size. Nor did she create the wave that pushed her forwards and up, to where her arm was grabbed and she was pulled onto dry land. Or wet land. Or a wet plant, at least. But it was somewhere to put her feet. Standing above her was Tirto. ¡°H-hey,¡± she said lamely. ¡°I mean, uh. Hey! You could have killed me with that!¡± ¡°What are you doing here Verusha?¡± Tirto asked. To that, she had no good answer. She thought about throwing fire at him, but that would have looked bad in front of¡­ the other three. Who were also watching her dripping pathetically. Maybe she could at least dry her hair? Strange, it was red now. Or maybe pink, for some reason. Chapter 250 Flames coiled around Verusha as she dried herself off. Tirto just watched with his arms folded, but Ursel couldn¡¯t help but speak up. ¡°Why are you here?¡± she asked. It wasn¡¯t as combative as Verusha had expected, and she was slightly thrown off. ¡°Well you see I¡­ I came here because I needed to see. What was uh, happening.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Ursel said. ¡°But why are you over here instead of on a boat.¡± ¡°Because she didn¡¯t want her parents to find her,¡± Tirto said confidently. ¡°So she almost got herself killed swimming through monster infested waters.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t! I had everything¡­ under control¡­¡± Verusha claimed as she shifted her body so she didn¡¯t have to look directly at anyone. Nik and Melanthina remained silent, just watching. Ursel added her own opinion. ¡°You might have survived that,¡± Ursel said. ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t have gotten away unscathed. You have to know when you¡¯re going into danger. And why. Curiosity isn¡¯t good enough.¡± Verusha kept her head down. What could she say? ¡°We¡¯ll escort you back to your clan,¡± Tirto said, holding out his hand. ¡°Wait! Uh¡­ isn¡¯t swimming now dangerous?¡± Verusha looked at the water. Tirto shook his head. ¡°Not as dangerous as staying here.¡± He continued to extend his hand. ¡°I can swim on my own,¡± Verusha huffed. ¡°Emilia wouldn¡¯t be happy with me if I let you come to harm,¡± Tirto said, taking her by the wrist. ¡°Come on.¡± Verusha didn¡¯t see much point in resisting. She was weaker, and there was clearly no chance of convincing anyone not to bring her back to her parents. Her only chance had been to get out here undetected, which in hindsight seemed pretty much impossible. The swim back was much faster, as would be expected when one was with a water cultivator. Tirto¡¯s energy paved a smooth path for them, where the water helped them along rather than resisting their motion. The others followed along, but they were unnecessary. Tirto tossed his short spear at the only beast to get close, the waters carrying it back to him after it made a hole through the creature. As the group was by no means subtle about approaching the Milanovic ships, Verusha wasn¡¯t surprised when her mother showed up on the closest one. She leaned over the edge, looking down at the group. ¡°What do we have here?¡± ¡°Seems like you had a stowaway,¡± Tirto explained. He raised the group up on pillars of water so they could simply step onto the ship. He only let go of her wrist at the end, at which point it was far too late to escape her mother. ¡°... Hi,¡± Verusha grinned as innocently as possible. ¡°I, uh. Accidentally ended up on one of the ships and-¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to lie, you have to make it more believable,¡± Yustina shook her head. ¡°Now we have to have someone watch you. Honestly, young lady, it¡¯s almost as if you never thought this through.¡± She gestured, ¡°Come along then, there are sea creatures I need to defeat.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Verusha looked around. ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t want to hold you back. So maybe some less important people could watch over me. Like this group,¡± she gestured. ¡°Less important¡­?¡± Yustina raised a green eyebrow. ¡°Two of them are due to be clan heads within the next few years. We couldn¡¯t burden them with watching over you. Unless¡­ you agreed to act only in a support role.¡± A drawn out grumble that was certainly far from acknowledgement was the only sound Verusha made. ¡°Perhaps I could pick out targets for her to boil,¡± Tirto suggested. ¡°She could stay as long as she maintained sufficient combat effectiveness and teamwork.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Yustina frowned. ¡°Are you strong enough to protect Verusha?¡± ¡°Of course he is!¡± Verusha exclaimed. ¡°Err. You know. Emilia¡¯s always talking about how strong he is. And they¡¯re all in mid Soul Expansion.¡± ¡°In that case, do you accept the terms to stay with them?¡± Yustina asked. ¡°Decide quickly, because I am needed to likewise boil some creatures.¡± ¡°Between you and them? Definitely them,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Then make sure to listen to Tirto,¡± Yustina said, keeping the grin off her face until she turned around. ----- It was risky for Deidre to approach Sitora when they were on the surface. Terrifying as well. Not only would she be interacting with her full power, but she had to do it alone. She couldn¡¯t bring an army along with her, and she wasn¡¯t willing to compromise John. Steve was¡­ not a reasonable option either. Any other individual she might have to back her up would be unnecessary or die with her. She had to consult with the others first, however. ¡°I wish I could not go,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°Then don¡¯t,¡± Matayal said. ¡°I am afraid that she will take us as enemies if we don¡¯t go. And either of them are a danger to our alliance. At best, it would put Gesine and the Molten Sea at a significant advantage.¡± ¡°And if you do go, Gesine will take us as enemies,¡± Matayal shrugged. ¡°So if there is to be anything, I would prefer the option where you do not die before anything else. That said, do you trust her?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Deirdre shook her head, ¡°How should I know? But I think¡­ enough to say that she likely wouldn¡¯t kill me during a talk. Otherwise, she could have just as easily come after us herself in the depths. Perhaps even her earthen replica would have been sufficient.¡± Renato frowned, ¡°I believe we could have defeated it.¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± Deidre admitted. ¡°But if she only wished to kill one of us. Or me, specifically, then it was likely she could accomplish it. Especially considering her opening move.¡± Deirdre had been pulled into a compromised position- her defenses weren¡¯t breached, but that might have been more due to Sitora¡¯s caution and curiosity. Though that was another point in her favor- she chose to warn them away rather than simply attack. That had to mean something. Though perhaps just that she thought it was less work. ¡°The choice is yours,¡± Matayal said. ¡°The situation is what it is. We will support you regardless.¡± Deirdre nodded, ¡°I believe I must go. It is unlikely we can resolve this situation with just our alliance. Not facing these groups individually, and certainly not if they worked together. Any chance to work against another we should take. And between the two, we have practically no chance of allying with the Molten Sea.¡± ----- It wasn¡¯t difficult to reach Sitora. The separations of the different fleets were obvious, the Sky Islands taking up the southeast. People were waiting for Deirdre to escort her boat, and she boarded Sitora¡¯s ship and was brought to a private chamber with just the older woman. Deirdre nearly flinched as the room was coated with stone, but if it was an attack it was already too late. She didn¡¯t let her guard down, but she did her best to not seem nervous. ¡°Though we share a certain language in common,¡± Sitora spoke. ¡°I do believe we have more linguistic similarities using the local one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably true,¡± Deirdre admitted, taking a seat on an offered chair. It was so soft she sunk halfway into it. ¡°It¡¯s strange to think about. And that someone from your time would still be alive. It would not be possible without cultivation.¡± ¡°I doubt either of us could have anticipated this,¡± Sitora agreed. ¡°Tell me, how did you come to be here?¡± Deidre shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t really know. I¡­ died. And then I was here. In this body, the previous inhabitant having undergone an accident. A significant cultivation shock.¡± ¡°It was not much different with myself,¡± Sitora said. ¡°How did you perish? Was it a violent death?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡­ likely broke my neck. Or smashed in my head or something¡­¡± Deirdre shook her head. ¡°I quickly lost consciousness, thankfully.¡± ¡°I was killed,¡± Sitora said. ¡°Both bodies, in fact. Here, it was meant to appear as an accident. My cultivation was shattered, my body in shambles. But functional enough to continue living.¡± ¡°Only the core of my cultivation was destroyed,¡± Deidre admitted. ¡°My body was mostly healthy otherwise.¡± ¡°What of the others?¡± Sitora asked. Deidre tensed. ¡°The ones you read about?¡± She hoped not to give something away. ¡°The instances of transmigrators I found were similar. Destroyed cultivation, but otherwise healthy bodies. At least, enough to not immediately perish upon¡­ whatever it is. A new soul entering the body, I suppose. It makes me wonder if the former inhabitants should have died.¡± ¡°I do not think there is any relevance of should. Merely what came to be,¡± Sitora declared. ¡°Most likely they would have simply perished should our souls not have taken over their bodies.¡± ¡°... Or their souls might have returned, if the bodies were available.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Sitora shrugged. ¡°But that is no fault of our own. And they would simply return to the cycle of reincarnation. You know of this as well, correct?¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± Deidre said. ¡°I¡¯ve read of it, and heard rumors before.¡± The topic seemed to suddenly change as Sitora grew serious. ¡°I thought she was like me, you know?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Deidre asked. ¡°The old bag of bones. Gesine. We met each other in our relative youth, due to our rapid growth. We were both at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase before we hit seventy years old.¡± Deirdre nodded. ¡°So she was not¡­ like you?¡± ¡°Like us,¡± Sitora said. ¡°That deception would not have mattered by itself. It was the other incidents that built up.¡± ¡°So if she is not like us¡­ then she is a reincarnator?¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite right,¡± Sitora said. ¡°Would you like to guess how she died?¡± Deidre frowned. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be at your hand, would it? No, her body wouldn¡¯t end up older that way¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not so complicated as that. Think about why we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°But if you¡¯d like to tell me¡­¡± ¡°I think you have sufficient information. Obviously, we are interested in this leviathan.¡± ¡°... did she die here?¡± Deirdre asked. ¡°It killed her, yes.¡± ¡°So she¡¯s here for¡­ revenge?¡± ¡°Revenge, gaining power. Does it make a difference?¡± Sitora shrugged. ¡°I am here to stop the latter.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°Perhaps we could work together?¡± Sitora smiled, ¡°As I already said, I don¡¯t need you. But¡­ perhaps your numbers might be of help. I still intend to claim whatever prize exists here.¡± ¡°You¡­ shouldn¡¯t,¡± Deidre said. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°It belongs here,¡± she said. ¡°Why? Nobody here has obtained it in centuries. So they don¡¯t deserve it.¡± Deirdre didn¡¯t really have a good reason. Or at least, she was realizing that Sitora likely wouldn¡¯t understand. Merely speaking English didn¡¯t mean she would have a similar basis for morals, plus centuries in the world of cultivators it wasn¡¯t odd if she diverged further. ¡°We must at least work together to prevent the Molten Sea from obtaining what they want.¡± ¡°Must we?¡± Sitora smiled. ¡°But¡­ there is no harm in such an agreement. However, your current efforts are liable to get you killed. No doubt Gesine will tire of being followed as well. Your alliance would do well to rethink how you search.¡± ¡°What of the prize?¡± Deidre said. ¡°What of it?¡± ¡°If we get it first¡­¡± ¡°Then you had better be able to hold onto it,¡± Sitora said. ¡°If you can¡¯t, it would be better with me.¡± It didn¡¯t seem Deirdre would be able to receive a promise to let them keep it. Not that she was certain there was a physical thing anyway. But admitting her uncertainty wouldn¡¯t help. ¡°We will consider our options when the time comes. We would both be happier without Gesine and the Molten Sea obtaining what they want. Until then, we should at least stay out of each other¡¯s way. Can you commit to that?¡± ¡°Certainly. You don¡¯t follow me around anymore, and we won¡¯t have issues. And should you determine that Gesine has found it, you can contact us to intervene.¡± That seemed to be as good as she was going to get. She hoped she could trust it, but at least if they weren¡¯t close together it was harder for them to backstab the alliance. Chapter 251 Waves of light rolled over Monika and Zacharie in a manner that was slightly uncomfortable, even for light cultivators. Cuah¡¯arn wasn¡¯t attempting to intimidate them, but was simply riled up. ¡°Are you certain?¡± Monika asked. Brilliant feathers ruffled, ¡°You think I am not capable?¡± ¡°... I simply thought you would wish to rest after the attack,¡± Monika explained. ¡°Rest I have had enough of,¡± Cuah¡¯arn stated. ¡°And indeed, taking extra time would undermine the purpose. Our retaliation must be swift and decisive. Furthermore, our role in this war is to eradicate the supply lines of the Molten Sea. Now is the time when it is not only easily accomplished but the easiest to justify.¡± Zacharie had little to say, as he was still getting used to the fact that Cuah¡¯arn was actually completely recovered, and had been for some years. He¡¯d been aware of rumors of her flying about, but for a spirit beast that wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible while injured. He had suspected that the Tenebach clan was helping somehow, but he hadn¡¯t thought the goal had been accomplished upon his first visit. Then again, that also explained why the Tomb had been overflowing with light element as of late. He presumed it had been part of the efforts to complete her recovery, but it was actually an aftereffect. ----- The Golden Tomb Guardians marched forth, along with their allies in the region. The Righteous Flame League could not justify their attack, but had they been successful then the situation would have been difficult to predict. But the Golden Tomb Guardians didn¡¯t have to consider the loyalty of their allies in a situation where they were crippled, but instead they came out of the attack appearing stronger than before. That wasn¡¯t technically the case, as they had their own casualties, but Cuah¡¯arn being a public part of their power instead of unknown or merely a rumor was a great shift. No doubt other sects would now be envious of their power. To avoid anyone getting funny ideas, they had to properly show what would happen to their enemies while getting the most positive feelings possible from the Sunfields. The flying figure of Cuah¡¯arn was a good step. From a distance, she would inspire more awe than fear. During the day she was almost a second sun, and at night she more than rivaled the moon. As was her intention, they made a great show of her, having her fly close to the large cities on their route. They appeared to move without any sense of urgency. Though the Righteous Flame League might do their best to fortify their sect, information about their utter defeat would arrive not far ahead of the retaliatory armies. And though they might have Molten Sea members at their sect making them more dangerous, that would actually make the other goals easier. That would be fewer they needed to hunt down later. After one week of travel, they arrived outside the sect. Their presence was not unnoticed, but Cuah¡¯arn made certain that no one could miss them. She flew around the Righteous Flame League¡¯s lands in a wide circle, announcing them. ¡°Villainous Flame League! One weak past you attempted to enslave me, a being of pure light. Your tenets are false, less valuable than rubbish found in the bottom of a cesspool! You have no righteousness except that which you falsely proclaim. But more than just your attempts to rob the innocent and slay the pure, you openly work with outside invaders. Until today, of course, because after today your blight of false light and scorched impurity shall be removed from the world.¡± Zacharie looked over at Monika. ¡°So¡­ does that mean we¡¯re attacking immediately?¡± ¡°I would assume so,¡± Monika said. ¡°Come then, let us keep moving.¡± Nobody from the Golden Tomb Guardians hesitated, and their allies only faltered briefly. After all, they didn¡¯t want to disappoint a spirit beast at the Ascending Soul Phase and accidentally incur her wrath. Even as they began to approach the main gates of the sect, Cuah¡¯arn circled overhead. Then, she flew between the sect and the sun. Instead of a shadow in her place, the light only intensified. At first it seemed as if it was mere posturing and there would be no attack, but the front gates began to smoke, then catch on fire. A moment later, the metal girdings began to glow red hot before bubbling and melting away. The process was only slowed temporarily when panicked Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators forcefully took control of their formations, stopping the attack. They didn¡¯t have time to consider why the effects weren¡¯t blocked by the formation in the first place. They could only react. That was when the sounds of cracking and popping began. Along their walls, a trail of glowing red and scarred black stones began to shatter as the internal stresses became too great. The trail of the destruction could be seen as a spot of bright light, yet with few of the signs of supernatural light or heat. The barriers were shifted to block the beam of light, visible only on the surface the light was focused on. But the beam whipped over to the other side of the gate, and the opposite walls- and its defenders. Eventually, the barrier was fortified all across the front edge- and the top of the dome, since Cuah¡¯arn seemed to have no trouble focusing the beam behind the walls on their internal buildings. But eventually they finished the task, and the beams could no longer pierce through. It seemed that they had entered a stalemate. The approaching forces of the Golden Tomb Guardians and their allies would no doubt break it, but they were resisting Cuah¡¯arn. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. And that was when the skies went dark. Instead of merely channeling the light coming from behind her and around her, Cuah¡¯arn gathered all of the sunlight in the skies and focused it like a giant lens onto the front gates. And then when those fell apart, on the guardhouse above, melting away the stone, cutting a meter wide swath through the stone in less than a minute. No amount of focusing the formation barriers was sufficient to withstand the attack, and by the time the forces had arrived a clear line had been burnt all the way to the center of the sect. Then Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s power settled down. Still grand and overwhelming, but somewhat more subdued. Fatigued, the Righteous Flame League hoped. And they would be partially right. But she was still more than capable of striking at their strongest cultivators from the safety of the skies, creating focused beams of light of bombarding them with sharp feathers as she flew over the forces of her allies. Though the Righteous Flame League had the support of some Molten Sea cultivators, they had also lost a large number of their forces in the attack on the Golden Tomb Guardians, most notably Asgeirr who was primed to take over as their Sect Head. Had his mission been successful and returned them to the good graces of the Molten Sea after the debacle in Astrein, no doubt he would have held that position within the month. But instead, he was dead. And the same would happen to the current sect head, and the modest contingent of Molten Sea cultivators currently present. ----- A trembling feeling awoke John in the middle of the night. An earthquake? Those weren¡¯t much of an oddity, but for some reason it felt different than normal. Then he realized what the problem was. The rocking and rolling of the ship was gone. Or rather, that was what he was supposed to feel. Something akin to a quake¡­ He took Matayal¡¯s hand, as he could tell she was already sensing into the waters. It was hard to tell exactly what was happening as the two of them made their way onto the deck, but from there they could see what was happening. The crews of all the ships were reacting wildly, with good reason. To the east, the Kelp Spire Forest looked different, though why wasn¡¯t immediately obvious. However, motion made everything clear in a few moments, and how there was a massive bow in the water. Soon enough the waters had receded to make the spires twice the length that they usually stood above the waters. Three times. This ships remained a significant distance outside of the kelp spire forest, but many of them found themselves on sloping waters, slowly riding down a slope. Every cultivator contributed to moving the ships away from the expanding lip. Air and water cultivators were the best, creating wind in the sails or directly pushing the boats along, but nobody sat idly. If nothing else, they could naively use their spiritual energy to propel their ships to some extent, regardless of its efficiency. ¡°I thought we were well outside the area¡­¡± John looked at Matayal. ¡°Indeed. All of our information until now indicated that the breaths, if that is what they are, barely affected the sea level outside of the strict borders of the Kelp Spire Forest.¡± Even as they watched, the spires trembled and the waters continued to recede. And then¡­ everything happened in reverse. The seas rose and water flew upwards in the kelp spire forest. An immediate reversal also went counter to how they thought the leviathan worked, and every fleet was quite surprised. But each ship was already either outside of the area, or had already lost their chance. The explosion of water into the sky crashed ships, sea beasts, and spires alike into each other. The spires trembled¡­ and some cracked. Yet they all remained more or less standing, perhaps due to the way the massive kelp wrapped around them. But not all stood tall and vertical, often sagging at odd angles and dipping deeper into the sea. ¡°Seems like our timeline has moved up,¡± Matayal said. ¡°We will have to keep the fleets further¡­ but that might be of little pain given we are reaching the end of our dives.¡± ----- As the hour of the day didn¡¯t matter more than the wakefulness of cultivators, their alliance gathered together to discuss their next actions. Deirdre had already shared what she learned from Sitora, so they only had to choose how they wished to act. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can risk following her anymore,¡± Deirdre admitted. ¡°Regardless of whether or not we trust her.¡± ¡°Certainly not with just the two of us,¡± Renato admitted. ¡°So we must ask the question- does she believe she is close, so she is attempting to throw us off her trail?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it matters,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Given our options, we can only choose to focus on one or the other. Gesine is either aware of us and will likely act in a similar fashion, or she will soon. Split apart, we cannot hope to face either of them. But we are already at odds with the Molten Sea. And of the major threats, they seem like the worse option. We cannot ignore them. On the other hand¡­ given our knowledge of both paths and how things have been explored, it is most likely that we will end up in the same area regardless. As long as we do not follow after Sitora we have the chance to work together with them, at least for a few moments. So it should come down to whether we wish to manage the final explorations alone, or continue to follow Gesine.¡± ¡°I agree it would be a risk to follow Sitora,¡± John said. ¡°But the same is true for Gesine. Perhaps she would prefer to get all of us down below together before she attacks. In such a case, it would be better to go our own way. Should we ultimately encounter the others, we still have to deal with those risks. But the enmity between the two seems real. And if they are working together¡­¡± John shrugged, ¡°We don¡¯t stand a chance to begin with. I don¡¯t see why they would bother to hide it this long when their combined forces are more than enough to do as they please.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep the surface secure,¡± Steve promised. Harta Mulyani echoed the sentiment. ¡°We will be here to provide a safe haven from the storms. Or perhaps¡­ a bit further away, in case the seas are inclined to act up again.¡± ¡°Whatever they are looking for, if we are able to secure it first we will be at an advantage,¡± Matayal said. ¡°In the worst case, we use it as a bargaining chip with Sitora to help us defeat Gesine, and secure some promise that the Sky Islands will withdraw.¡± After some further discussion, it was agreed they would use their knowledge of the various explored areas to find their own route. They at least had a general idea which areas were unexplored, and where the others had been heading. They just had to be as prepared as possible before they descended. Chapter 252 At the forefront of the exploration group were John and Matayal. After all, their stealth abilities were greatest of the group, with John being able to conceal the two of them as one. Renato had the ability to be subtle, but light cultivators in water stuck out like a sore thumb. They had been fortunate so far to not run into too many enemies. Perhaps it was simply that the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators were drawing most of the attention, or that the numbers had been worn down over the preceding days of battle. Either way, nobody was going to complain. Especially when they were coming across new obstructions. In this case, it was a bunch of hair-thin filaments reaching across the tunnel. ¡°What do you think?¡± John asked. ¡°It¡¯s not directly dangerous, I don¡¯t think,¡± Matayal replied. ¡°I don¡¯t think it could be augmented to sufficient strength to be deadly. Most likely it is some sort of sensory feature.¡± ¡°So cutting through it¡­ would likely produce a large reaction,¡± John said. ¡°Perhaps worse than it finding us,¡± Matayal agreed. ¡°Shall we attempt to pass through?¡± He agreed. Finding it unlikely they could hide from tactile senses- and knowing that at least half of those following them would be unable- they simply continued onward, their spiritual energy ready for any sort of attack. Instead of what they might have expected, the filaments simply brushed out of their way with no reaction. ¡°Is it dead?¡± John asked. ¡°It certainly doesn¡¯t feel like it¡­¡± ¡°Perhaps the response is more subtle,¡± Matayal conjectured. A few moments later they had their answer, as the filaments rapidly recoiled from Renato. A pulse of spiritual energy flowed through the leviathan around them. ¡°Seems it doesn¡¯t like me,¡± Renato stated. ¡°Or crowds,¡± John suggested. Not that they had much way to discern either. Soon enough the result of their intrusion came to their attention, tubes opening up and flooding the tunnel with toxins. Of course, nobody was quite sure what they would do- only that they didn¡¯t want to find out. The Brandle clan cultivators sprang into action, catching the water flowing out of the walls and containing it along the outside. They kept it against the walls until it was past their group, where the natural flow continued to bring it away. The effect would have been swiftly fatal to any beasts with low intelligence, but with dozens of water element cultivators they were able to divert the flow around them, minimizing the impact. It seemed almost too easy- but perhaps it was meant to come with the assault of the various creatures at the same time. Instead, they met more of the creatures further ahead, where they had nothing to support them and were easily taken apart by the team of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators without needing to involve the majority of their army. They came across the same setup once more, but approached it differently. Avoiding battle if they could at all help it would be optimal, saving their energy for something more important. John and Matayal passed through¡­ then doubled back. There were no obvious effects from that, nor of waiting. Even when they moved back through there was nothing. But as soon as anyone else passed through, the leviathan reacted. Prepared for the response, John and Matayal were among the first to catch the flow as the walls opened, forcing the dark liquid away. This time it was closer to coinciding with the assault of the protectors, but the rest of the cultivators dealt with them as the water cultivators handled the toxins. ¡°I think it recognized you,¡± John said. ¡°Because of my attunement?¡± Matayal frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t get a feeling of conscious acceptance.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± John said. ¡°But it has to have some way to accept these defenders.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Matayal asked. John looked down to their intertwined hands. ¡°For something of this size, we¡¯re not exactly distinct beings. We are fairly constantly sharing energy flow, after all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Matayal shook her head. ¡°Because it means there isn¡¯t a way to get everyone through safely.¡± ¡°We can go a little further ahead, I think,¡± John said. ¡°At least we can pick the location of our battles.¡± Before they could test that theory, they came to a dead end. ¡°Same as what we ran into,¡± Renato said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s entirely solid though. And we don¡¯t have Sitora distracting us.¡± John and Matayal poked and prodded the wall, to little effect. Neither was there a response for Renato or Deirdre. That led them to increasing their boldness, which ultimately led to Renato pressing his club into the middle of it. It resisted, but somehow poked through. When he pulled his club back, they found there was a hole- not torn into the wall, but rather a natural part of the tunnel that quickly sealed itself. Simply knowing it was there was sufficient to interact with it, and soon enough they reached through again, pulling it open. Ultimately it pulled apart into two thinner sheets of stony flesh. ¡°A valve,¡± John said. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Before anyone could ask, a pulse of water came through the tunnel. Everyone was well prepared for the frequent events, moving together with their groups and pressing against the walls, controlling the pressure to flow over them instead of carry them away. It lasted only a few moments, during which the ¡®wall¡¯ was wide open. ¡°These are definitely some equivalent of blood vessels. Or veins or arteries,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything smaller, but the scale is already throwing me off.¡± Pulling open the valve allowed everyone to go through while Renato held it open. It was actually not terribly difficult, once they realized it could be done. Everyone¡¯s senses stayed alert for hidden passages behind the ¡®walls¡¯. There were many, though often times they were parallel tunnels. Their group continued to explore, heading towards new areas that seemed most likely to have something of note. ----- Suraj found himself quite nervous. He was only a small part of the armies marching against the Molten Sea, but he wondered if the Phoenix Forest could really stand against the Molten Sea. Then again, he knew they weren¡¯t invincible. The Tenebach clan head had fought against them¡­ and it was his allies that would be moving in on the Molten Sea from the other side. When they actually found enemies, it was rather underwhelming. It wasn¡¯t even a battle- they were smart enough to surrender once they realized what was going on. After all, the Molten Sea only had a small presence in any particular point of Astrein. The one exception would likely be Lunson, but even then Suraj was uncertain. Certainly, he alone had been in danger but they likely only had a handful of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators there. Combined with the news that they were already being driven out of the Sunfields, the main matter of concern were their forces in the Shimmering Islands. An Ascending Soul Phase cultivator¡­ but he didn¡¯t have to fight that, did he? And if he fought someone closer to his level, it would only be a reasonable repayment to the Tenebach head, and barely sufficient payback to the Molten Sea. They thought they could treat small sects however they pleased, and they were right. But only up to a point. ----- The flowing pulses of power inside the leviathan became more powerful, and potentially more frequent. Along with that, the presence of the leviathan was growing in power. It was fairly clear they were coming up on something. And while that something seemed to dwarf the power of everything else, they could still feel something else in the mix. Fire and water that mixed together to form Gesine. ¡°So she arrived ahead of us,¡± John sighed. ¡°Do you feel any traces of Sitora?¡± ¡°Not currently,¡± Matayal admitted. ¡°Though if she were on the far side of that, I imagine I would miss her.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope she¡¯s not far,¡± John said. ¡°Hold on.¡± He stopped before intersecting tunnels, holding Matayal with him. Not long later, a swarm of defenders swam past. Both the smaller and larger jellies, the poisoners, the impalers, and several more rare varieties. They didn¡¯t seem to notice the two, though it wasn¡¯t clear if that was due to John¡¯s darkness concealing them or the focus being elsewhere. Or possibly they were noticed and deemed to belong. The two of them had always fought with the rest, so the possibility that they were treated as allies by all parts of the leviathan was untested. ¡°I think we are on the last leg,¡± Matayal said. ¡°We should gather everyone else and move in together. And if possible, establish a foothold in a chamber so we don¡¯t get trapped in a tunnel with enemies on both sides.¡± John nodded, and they went to retrieve the rest of their army. Though the actual numbers weren¡¯t momentous, they had a good portion of the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators from their alliance¡¯s sects and clans. Those outside the inner circle were mainly still on the surface, but hopefully they would find the right timing to deal with the Molten Sea. They needed to hit hard and fast, though perhaps the surface would not recognize that these were the final moments. It would be more difficult to deal with Gesine if she returned to the surface and the waiting ships, especially with many onlookers that didn¡¯t seem to have picked sides. Though the majority of those who were less invested had already left, when the Kelp Spire Forest nearly collapsed. There was no point in dying for nothing, and if they were only interested in opportunistic moments then they would prefer to leave and be alive for future ones. ¡°Let us go over our plans,¡± John said. ¡°Matayal and I will be most effective against Gesine. The Brandle clan will likewise do well against the Molten Sea, at least matching them in element.¡± Renato nodded, ¡°And with the Order being Earth cultivators, we have a weakness against the Molten Sea¡¯s fire. So we are to focus on the leviathan¡¯s defenses.¡± Deirdre was next, ¡°We¡¯ll join wherever it makes sense. Mostly away from the Tenebach clan.¡± For all that they were allies, light and darkness still didn¡¯t mix. Though there would be some opportunities to launch attacks at the same enemies and hope that some annihilation happened, most of their cultivators were not trained to make optimal use of that. Of course, their group wasn¡¯t just waiting around talking- they were making their way towards their opponents as they spoke. As they did, John couldn¡¯t help but grip Matayal¡¯s hand more tightly. ¡°I thought I¡¯d experienced overwhelming power before. Ciaritzal and Cuah¡¯arn¡­ they seem so insignificant,¡± John sighed. ¡°And Faramund seems to have barely poked his head into the Ascending Soul Phase,¡± Matayal admitted. ¡°I thought we were somewhat close to that power, but the last two ranks are difficult to surmount. And not only that, but those two women aren¡¯t in the early phase.¡± ¡°Still not as overwhelming as the leviathan,¡± John said. Even though it lacked malice, it seemed ready to crush him at any moment. And they were only moving closer to that danger. ¡°Why are we the ones doing this again?¡± ¡°Do you see anyone else doing it?¡± Matayal shook her head. ¡°This will affect not just the Shimmering Islands but the whole region. But you already know that. It is for the region¡­ and for our alliance. The ¡®club¡¯. Our children. And ultimately, for each other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s oddly¡­ romantic and positive.¡± ¡°What can I say?¡± Matayal shrugged. ¡°When I feel powerful water element, it does not fill me with despair. Just a cautious respect and determination.¡± John nodded. ¡°Should we wait a little bit and hope Sitora shows up first? I¡¯d rather they took the brunt of the assaults.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we can wait,¡± Matayal said. ¡°But we can at least approach more stealthily.¡± John nodded. He could direct the concealment of most of their group with darkness, the exception being the Golden Tomb Guardians. That was why they had been separate to begin with. But Deirdre was already gathering her people together and channeling their energy into something less obvious. Not concealed in quite the same way, but hopefully still enough for distracted cultivators. Chapter 253 A great pulse of energy, producing a stronger wave of pressure than any before it, washed over the small army. They were able to withstand it well enough, but that was only after the power had fallen off somewhat. If they had been close to the epicenter¡­ they couldn¡¯t be certain what would have happened. But they hadn¡¯t come all this way just to give up now. Renato took the lead with the sturdy cultivators of the Order of the Amber Heart, with the Tenebach and Brandle clans following immediately behind. Deirdre and the Golden Tomb Guardians held back as they were more easily sensed. The plan was to get the group as close as possible before they were detected. But before they could reach their destination, they once more came upon something blocking their way. This time, it was more obvious, as the tunnels had widened and everything was exaggerated. Another valve blocking their way. Renato pulled it open, and John joined him across the way, letting a few people pass through side-by-side. ¡°... Powerful,¡± Matayal muttered as she pressed forward. John nodded. Gesine was ahead, and she was well established in the Ascending Soul Phase. As they were still passing through, John felt spiritual energy building to a crescendo. It was the leviathan, and most likely it would be blasting them away. That was the worst timing possible, with them on the threshold. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it,¡± Matayal said. She swam ahead, deeper into the chamber, followed by the Brandle Clan cultivators. John and Renato braced themselves, but it was almost unnecessary. As the pulse of energy began to burst in all directions, Matayal directed the energy of the Brandle clan cultivators, creating an opposing wave that reflected the effect. It was impressive, but¡­ ¡°Hurry through!¡± Matayal amplified her voice to reach everyone, ¡°We can¡¯t repeated that many times!¡± With that encouragement, the last of the Tenebach and Amber Heart cultivators pushed through, followed shortly by the Golden Tomb Guardians. Though it took them a burst of energy, it was necessary. John was glad to let the valve close. Even though it wasn¡¯t actively fighting him, it wasn¡¯t a trivial effort to keep it open even with Renato¡¯s help. They needed to get moving. If another pulse came and pushed them out, they would basically be swimming in place for no benefit. Ahead, John felt fire. It was the main distinction in elements, because of the leviathan¡¯s water and that being half of the Molten Sea¡­ but it was strangely dominant in the area. While it seemed like the flame should have been smothered by the water, Gesine¡¯s cultivation pushed past basic logic. A battle was in full swing up ahead between the Molten Sea and what John had come to see as the immune system of the leviathan. But while most of them engaged in combat with that, Gesine herself was directly assaulting the caverns around them. The core of the leviathan¡¯s power, and if John was not mistaken¡­ it¡¯s heart. Unlike what John had expected, there wasn¡¯t just one path through the heart. He felt the main paths, but there were smaller side tunnels, out of which poured more amorphous blobs and various sorts of killer beasts, some John had not seen before. While it seemed like the leviathan might eventually win the battle of attrition, it was unclear if irreparable damage could be caused before then. If that was all, it might not be the end of the world. But Gesine would not put in so much effort for no reason. If Sitora¡¯s words were to be trusted, she had lost her life to the leviathan far in the past, but revenge didn¡¯t seem sufficient. No, as a cultivator it could be expected that she stood to gain greater power from this. And the Molten Sea¡¯s cavalier attitude towards all of the local factions made it clear that power would be abused. Matayal lingered for John to catch up, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it. She began to reach out with her energy, and she didn¡¯t have to say anything for John to cooperate with her efforts. A soothing power spread out from her, and the flow split from the two of them to the Tenebach and Brandle clans. It was a clearly recognizable power, that of the leviathan- or at least resembling it. John gestured for Renato to wait, as he and the Order were en route to intercept the closest beasts. He swam forward with Matayal and their clans¡­ and through a combination of keeping their distance and blending in, the creatures didn¡¯t attack them as they approached the members of the Molten Sea. The chamber they were in was quite large, providing room for both groups to assault from any direction. Though if they were able to count the leviathan¡¯s defenses as allies or at least neutral parties, they might be able to focus on specific parts of the Molten Sea. ----- On the surface, battle was also breaking out. It seemed that the Molten Sea was not content to wait for matters below to be resolved. Whether because of Deirdre¡¯s visit with Sitora, John¡¯s conflict with them in Astrein, or some other excuse it did not matter. Their ships began to circle counterclockwise around the Kelp Spire Forest. Those who were merely present to observe were mostly gone, after the upheavals in the sea below. The rest of them scarpered away at the ominous approach. Some others chose to linger on the outskirts, wanting to join in but fearful of getting in the way of the Molten Sea. Harta recognized several enemies of the Mulyani and Brandle clans among them- but they had significant support along with them. Only a few grudges had not been settled, and as a whole the Shimmering Islands were closer to a state of unity than any time in the last century. Harta Mulyani looked over at Lucanus. ¡°Do you want to remain on the defensive?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Do I ever?¡± the man shook his head. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking about¡­ but it will actually be safer if I bring the fight to them, instead.¡± ¡°Anyone would be hard pressed to stop my husband from fighting as he pleases,¡± Yustina said with a smile. ¡°I shall support him, of course.¡± ¡°Then I suppose it falls to us to keep them away from the supply ships and the like,¡± Harta declared. That also included the triplets. It was a risk allowing them to be present- but given their cultivation, keeping them away from battle might cause even more harm. As two of them were future clan heads, they could show caution¡­ but not cowardice. And Harta had the feeling they would need every Soul Expansion Phase cultivator they could get. The Milanovic clan traveled on ships of the Brandle clan and other Shimmering Islands allies. But as they closed in, Lucanus and Yustina broke ahead of the rest, running atop the water and producing showers of mixed blue and green flames. A flash in the distance caught Harta¡¯s attention. Black storm clouds and lightning were headed their way- nothing unusual for the Shimmering Islands. The Mulyani clan could easily handle them¡­ and in fact, the sooner they arrived the better things would be for them. Perhaps their fire cultivator allies would be less pleased with the rain, but lightning storms would be especially detrimental to the Molten Sea. ----- ¡°Yeah, get ¡®em!¡± Verusha yelled. She grinned and turned to Tirto. ¡°Do you see that ship? My dad set it on fire!¡± ¡°I do see that,¡± Tirto said, scanning the battlefield. ¡°Oh come on! You should be impressed. That¡¯s your future father-in-law, you know?¡± ¡°I am aware your parents are powerful,¡± Tirto said. ¡°But we should not be distracted.¡± ¡°But the battle is way over there, and we haven¡¯t seen any goopy monsters for hours,¡± Verusha said. ¡°We¡¯re safe here. Don¡¯t be such a spoilsport! Honestly, what does Emilia even see in you?¡± ¡°Probably practicality,¡± Tirto said. Then he cleared his throat, projecting his voice to the rest of the ship. ¡°Get ready! Divers on their way!¡± At that, Ursel stomped forward, one foot up on the railing and preparing to leap in. Melanthina and Nik took positions as well. And of course, there was the rest of the crew along with Crystin and Yonit. With signs of active combat, they couldn¡¯t just leave the triplets unguarded. ¡°We¡¯ll head off the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators,¡± Yonit said, having sensed the same groups as Tirto. ¡°Make sure to take advantage of the ships defenses, and stay with the crew.¡± With that, the two guards and some of the crew leapt into the water. Meanwhile, Tirto watched for enemies, trying to predict where they would surface. ----- The forces marching upon Lunson from the Stone Conglomerate included many big players. The Supreme Slate Sect was especially interested in the impact of a country immediately to their north, and Heavy Gold Mountain was concerned about them as well. Renato and the Order of the Amber Heart were well respected, so he had been able to stir up significant support from across the country. That included no less than a dozen Quartz clans of various significance. By the time they had arrived, the Phoenix Forest had already laid siege to the city. The arrival of the Stone Conglomerate¡¯s forces caused the Molten Sea to hurriedly spread out their limited forces, but the scant defenders they placed on the southern walls were ultimately pointless. After all, Lunson was not a city meant to resist a siege. At most, the walls were there to be an inconvenience. The walls were little more than durable stone without formations to augment them, which for earth cultivators was akin to making walls with massive holes in them. Or even completely out of doors. They tore open the walls as they pleased, and while the Molten Sea had a half elemental advantage over them, their forces were simply insufficient. They were spread out not just in Lunson, but trailing along the main roads. They hadn¡¯t been ready for an actual coordinated effort like this. Once Lunson had been purged of them, the Stone Conglomerate planned to secure the harbors, with the Phoenix Forest sweeping east towards the Sunfields. The Molten Sea might be more powerful than any subset of the region individually, but they were overextended. ----- Renato had fought against the Molten Temple before, the sect from the Molten Sea with lava turtles at their command. Their ability to turn stone into lava was powerful, and it seemed they were not incapable of doing the same with the stone that lined the internals of the leviathan. The water surrounding it seemed to barely make a difference, though it did produce superheated steam where they met. He watched them launch attacks at Brandle clan cultivators, who deflected streams of lava with their control over the water. It reminded him of conversations with John. The transmigrated individual had interesting ideas about the elements. In fact, despite cultivating a cycle of elements, having four of them himself, John seemed to half be of the opinion that elements didn¡¯t exist. And maybe he was right. What was lava? Was it fire? Was it earth? Or perhaps it was even water. The Molten Sea seemed to consider it fire and water, but Renato knew it was also still earth. But regardless of what one called it, what ultimately mattered was what could be done with their spiritual energy. Despite his misconceptions, John ultimately agreed that the way elements were grouped did have practical merit for training. Renato was the first of the Amber Heart to reach the battle, and the first to face the flames. Lava wrapped about his arms and chest. And then¡­ the outer layer finished solidifying as the individuals responsible reached the limits of their control. What a shame. He¡¯d tried to reflect it, but he couldn¡¯t quite get a proper hold on it while it was liquid. But he did find that he was quite capable of launching the outer shells back at his enemies. Perhaps they were not terribly inconvenienced by a small boulder shattering next to them, but when it split apart to reveal the heat inside each created a burst of steam, using the energy of the enemy against them. Was it efficient? Renato was not certain. Even the momentary heat on his armor rapidly built up¡­ but he was ready to dissipate that into the ¡®ground¡¯. The leviathan might not like that, but if it had opinions on the topic it was welcome to share them with the fire cultivators. Chapter 254 Swirling water and darkness of the two clans clashed against fire and water of the Molten Sea. The way the fire and water were used was not consistent throughout their members, only their elements. Different sects would focus on liquified earth, while John saw some were quite at home here launching attacks of boiling water. John took careful note of every method, not just to defend himself but also as he planned his own growth. Fire was next, though he was still a full rank from the threshold of the Ascending Soul Phase. He¡¯d have to make it through this, first. The world trembled as Gesine struck the leviathan. In response, the heart pulsed, blasting energy in all directions. Matayal caught the wave of energy sweeping towards their army, deflecting as much of the water pressure around them as possible. John merely went along with her guidance, adding his own power to hers. ¡°Is she just planning to kill it?¡± John asked. ¡°Perhaps smash her way into some inner section of the heart and make off with a treasure as it dies?¡± ¡°That may be so,¡± Matayal answered even as she thrust her spear towards one of the approaching members of the Molten Sea. ¡°However, we cannot know what the side effects would be. Like this¡­ I can¡¯t see a desirable ending.¡± John nodded, channeling water energy to let his sword chop through the water at a nearby foe. They attempted a counter assault with a burst of superheated water, but Matayal reflected it back at them. ¡°If only Sitora were here¡­ she must have sensed this, but her route might have been longer.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t wait,¡± Matayal said. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John said. ¡°Why even ask?¡± ¡°Because normally my plans don¡¯t involve approaching Ascending Soul Phase cultivators.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± John replied. ----- On the surface, battle raged just as fiercely as below. Ships caught aflame, while others dipped into the water as holes were torn in their sides. Overhead, storm clouds gathered- providing an advantage for the Mulyani cultivators among them. Their current generation was slightly behind in cultivation compared to some of their allies, but Harta himself was at least in the Consolidated Soul Phase. As air cultivators, they possessed an advantage over the water element of the Molten Sea, with fire neither being at an advantage or disadvantage. In contrast, the Milanovic cultivators were disadvantaged with their fire element- though from the way Lucanus and Yustina were tearing through their ranks, one would assume it was the opposite. Harta wished he could do the same, but he understood his own limits. He was best served picking out key targets, after which he would concentrate on the storm clouds above. It was quite efficient for an air cultivator to simply create a path of low resistance towards a target. In many cases, lightning would strike on its own. Even if they had to prompt it with a greater amount of power, a storm gave them a great advantage. And they needed it, because the Molten Sea had far too many cultivators in both the Soul Expansion Phase and the Consolidated Soul Phase. Harta picked a particular individual slipping under the water. Whether they intended to approach him and take him out from up close, or if they intended to slip past the front lines and go for the weaker cultivators, he wasn¡¯t going to allow it. Being in the water would normally spread out the lightning, both an advantage and disadvantage. It would certainly have some effect on anyone around it, but the effect could be lessened. However, that was only true when lightning flowed without intention. With intention, Harta was able to connect the bolt to his target completely. Lightning struck between the water and the cloud, the actual strike so fast that it was impossible to avoid. It power flowed in both directions nearly simultaneously, and Harta¡¯s target could only forcefully resist the electricity. Over half of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator¡¯s spiritual energy taken out in a single strike, and Harta barely expended any of his own. But he wasn¡¯t going to count their victory yet. The man was not dead, and there were others to replace him. ----- Further into the defensive lines, a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator stood atop a pillar of water. A moment later, flames spewed from his hands towards a ship. An armored figure blocked the attack. ¡°Ursel!¡± Tirto called out. When the flames faded, trails of steam rose from her armor as rain fell upon it.. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. ¡°Might need to take a dip in the water though.¡± Twin beams of light and darkness flashed, meeting together around the figure in a display impossible to see with the eyes. A burst of energy came from the two energies mutual destruction, but it seemed the man had predicted the attack and thrown himself back at the last instant. Around the ship the triplet¡¯s guards were already locked in battle with other cultivators. ¡°Dammit, how did this guy get here?¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°Everyone¡¯s busy,¡± Nik said. ¡°And he appears to have at least some stealth ability.¡± ¡°Should we retreat?¡± Tirto asked, looking at the water below for their assailant. ¡°No,¡± Ursel said stubbornly. ¡°If we pull back, he¡¯ll just join one of the others. He¡¯ll take out Yonit or Crystin, and then from there¡­¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Tirto frowned. ¡°Can we even¡­?¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°It¡¯s not like last time,¡± Ursel said. ¡°We¡¯re stronger. Master Renato gave me this armor for a reason,¡± she knocked the metal with a sharp ringing sound. ¡°I¡¯ll block. You two get in any attack you can. And Tirto¡­¡± ¡°Freeze him!¡± Verusha called from where she was hiding behind a pile of crates. ¡°He¡¯s a fire cultivator!¡± Tirto retorted. ¡°He¡¯ll easily melt it!¡± ¡°Then boil him! I bet he doesn¡¯t know how to make things cold!¡± Tirto really didn¡¯t want advice from a novice right now, but she was only trying to help. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it in mind!¡± he said. They could theoretically hide below decks- but nothing said that their enemies couldn¡¯t break through the hull of the ship and get to them that way. So it was simply better to take a defensive position where they were. Especially since most of them wouldn¡¯t fight optimally underwater. Apparently emboldened by his previous actions, their assailant launched himself onto the deck instead of remaining out of reach. Ursel immediately took a swing with her stone club, but he leapt over it- stomping onto her head. His quick movements were made to avoid ranged attacks, like from Melanthina and Nik. However, he had underestimated their technique. If they had solely aimed at his initial position, they would have doubtless missed. But as he vaulted into the air over Ursel, beams of light and darkness split apart, then recombined in different trajectories. Because neither could be certain of their aim, they split once more in a cone, colliding with each other. They only managed to hit his legs, but the Consolidate Soul Phase cultivator was blasted to the side, awkwardly lobbing a fireball held in his hand. It flew towards the deck, only to be batted away by Verusha ducking out from her hiding place. Tirto was too busy pulling a wave onto the deck to chastise her immediately. Unfortunately, the wave didn¡¯t do what he wanted, instead providing the man a foothold to leap back over the edge. Ursel was angrily grabbing above her, but the man was far gone. Even so, she managed to be the one to warn Verusha. ¡°That was dangerous, you know?¡± ¡°My dad is way stronger than that guy and we play fireball catch all the time!¡± Verusha complained. ¡°I mean uh¡­ don¡¯t tell mom I told you that.¡± Nik and Melanthina just looked at each other from their flanking positions around the group. They nodded, silently praising each other for their efforts, and considering how to coordinate their next attacks. The boat trembled slightly, likely to try to tempt some of them into diving off the side after him. But of course no one would fall for that. With his location revealed, Nik and Melanthina shot beams off the edge of the ship, colliding with each other but not detonating. Instead, they twisted together, angling back down towards the waterline as their direction nearly reversed. The forceful redirection would weaken the attack, but water sprayed high and they knew they had caused some damage. And then Ursel leapt over the edge of the ship, leaving her club on deck. It wasn¡¯t as crazy as it first seemed, as she fell like a meteor atop the enemy. Gouts of flame poured over her, but they were deflected by her greaves. She fell into the water, creating a great cloud of steam from her heated armor- and forcing the Molten Sea attacker to launch himself up and back. Tirto ran over to the edge, creating a spout of water to push Ursel up. ¡°Why are you so heavy?!¡± he complained. ¡°It¡¯s the armor!¡± she shouted back. ¡°This sucks! I wanted to smash some roots into him!¡± As she was barely being lifted by the waterspout, she instead slapped her hand on the side of the ship. The dead wood suddenly grew branches- strong and stout, which she used to pull herself back up¡­ before they faded away, transient and immaterial. The group kept their senses locked on the attacker. So far, they¡¯d been lucky¡­ but he would doubtless try to target someone other than Ursel now. The rest would have a harder time defending. To prepare for whatever happened, Tirto raised a two meter sphere of water up in front of him. ¡°Hotter!¡± Verusha yelled. ¡°It should be boiling! No, hotter than that!¡± He really wanted to splash her with it, but this was his weapon for an actual battle. So instead, he just held it above them, ready to make use of it. Verusha seemed to take that as a sign of some sort and began blasting fire at it. Tirto found it difficult to hold onto as it was trying to burst apart into steam, but instead of directly resting he tried to work with Verusha¡¯s energy. Or perhaps he just let it work with him, since fire supported water. Either way, he was able to hold on. As expected, the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator chose a new target. This time, instead of getting anywhere close to the deck he rocketed himself out of the sea in an arc that took him over the ship. Held around his hands were two orbs of water, which he tossed downward with great force. His water elemental energy continued to propel them towards their target- Verusha. Tirto was already having trouble holding onto his boiling orb of water, and his unthinking reaction was to squeeze it tightly. His training managed to get something out of that, instead of just wasting his efforts. He directed the spray of water that turned into superheated steam towards the airborne cultivator, wiping out one of his attacks on the way. Light and darkness struck together, landing their most solid hit yet. Instead of continuing his arc over the ship, the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was launched almost straight vertically. Ursel leapt upwards, landing on the mast- spreading her impact with her energy so as to not crack it apart. Then she jumped once more onto the top, before causing a stalk of bamboo to launch her into the sky after the Molten Sea cultivator. As she rose up into the sky, lightning arced between her and the clouds. In the chaos of battle nobody could quite tell if it was natural or cultivator caused, but the path between the two went directly through the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. He began to fall as she continued to rise, and they met in the middle. Mountain steel gauntlets slammed into his torso, ultimately making the roots Ursel shoved into his body pointless, because her hand sunk deep enough to crack his spine from the front. On the deck, the second sphere of water impacted with a loud cracking sound. Verusha was far weaker than the triplets- and Nik- so even with the loss of control, the momentum of the water slammed her into the deck with the clear sound of cracking bones. Tirto rushed over, seeing her laying there stunned. Her eyes managed to drift towards him, but they were a bit unfocused. He bent down, feeling for the damage. Broken ribs, and her left upper arm as well. A cracked skull, and likely a concussion. He sighed. ¡°This is why you should have stayed at home.¡± She managed to grin lopsidedly. ¡°Think you could have¡­ won without me?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Tirto said. Though he had to admit he wouldn¡¯t have done it the same way. He rarely ever thought about the heated side of water. It certainly could build up to quite a bit of power. ¡°But thanks. Let¡¯s get you inside.¡± The others were already joining other battles, but Tirto wouldn¡¯t be able to fight while distracted worrying for the foolish young woman. Chapter 255 Nobody would just forget about two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, at least not without some help. But that was where John¡¯s most subtle darkness trickery came in. Along with hiding Matayal and himself, he distorted the minds of those around them. Could he just erase the memory of everyone in the Molten Sea? Of course not. Even blanking out their memory for the duration of a short battle would be impossible. But he could dull their sense of concern. He wasn¡¯t able to be specific, but ultimately he was aiming for something like the idea that just because any individual couldn¡¯t sense them anymore didn¡¯t mean some of the others couldn¡¯t. But even that would be impossible to maintain for so many powerful cultivators, and John knew he couldn¡¯t completely hide their approach from Gesine. Next to him, Matayal propelled the two through the water, angling around the battles between the Molten Sea, their alliance¡¯s members, and the internal defenses of the leviathan. Their movement unhindered for a short time, they were almost upon Gesine when another pulse of energy from the Leviathan rang out from its core. John entrusted their protection to Matayal, letting his energy flow along with hers. Instead of deflecting it around them, Matayal did something that let it pass through them. Though John still felt the tremors, he was not thrown back or bombarded by sudden pressure. Matayal¡¯s familiarity with the leviathan had clearly paid off. The rest of their army had to provide their own protection, but the members of the Molten Sea were affected at the same time so the consequences were shared. Then they were merely a few meters from Gesine, and John hoped Matayal¡¯s plan was good. Because while the old woman seemed intent on battering the leviathan with blades of lava, that was doing a good job of boiling the water around her. John focused on insulating the two of them from the heat, while also keeping them vaguely hidden. He didn¡¯t want Gesine¡¯s army to suddenly turn around on them. He was uncertain if the woman herself had noticed them, but if she had she didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°You have a small bit of fire, right?¡± Matayal confirmed with John. ¡°I need you to feed it to me at an even pace. Fire aids the transition of water between forms.¡± Was she planning to freeze Gesine? A bold plan, but if it worked they might buy enough time for Sitora to arrive. He had vaguely begun to feel her as they approached, and now she was likely no more than a minute away. But a minute could be a very long time in a pitched battle. John trusted Matayal, and if she had launched a direct attack or attempted to otherwise restrain Gesine, he would have been happy to support her. However, he was glad that her initial efforts were focused elsewhere. She reached out with her energy, towards the core of power Gesine was smashing her way towards. The pulsing of power was becoming more prominent as layers of rocky flesh cracked apart. John was surprised there was no blood, but perhaps he was correct about them being in the heart. In such a case, its blood was already all around them appearing as seawater. The limited fire element John kept within him was channeled into Matayal at a constant rate. The loose energy from Gesine was more than enough for John to capture and refine with Spiritual Energy Absorption. It ultimately took more energy than he gained, but supporting Matayal was more important at the moment. His energy flowed through her, and hers through him. Ultimately it then flowed into the heart of the leviathan¡­ then back to Matayal. Another pulse of power¡­ but this time, it was more directed. Focused. The energy itself wasn¡¯t any different, but focused as it was it blasted Gesine back dozens of meters. Unfortunately there was no wall to crash her into, and the water slowed her momentum rapidly. Fiery eyes settled on the two of them, but Matayal simply pulled them up against the leviathan, the central part of its heart. ¡°Get me deeper access!¡± Matayal insisted. John didn¡¯t hesitate, using his earth element to carefully pry apart the hardened flesh. Underneath the battering of Gesine¡¯s attacks, it quickly began to resemble familiar flesh and muscle, but he peeled away what stone he could- curving it around to create a shield in front of them. That was necessary, because Gesine wasn¡¯t just going to ignore them. A spear of boiling water stabbed towards them, shattering the stone. But Matayal reached out, negating the force and dispersing the heat with a pulse of energy. Energy that no longer felt like her at all. Or rather, energy that had completed a transformation she¡¯d begun in recent excursions. Because of her own curiosity and that of Tirto, she had gradually attuned her energy to that of the Leviathan. She could only go so far when remaining among the outer layers, but there had been small changes as they¡¯d explored, developing her further. Here, she had pushed herself the last steps. Her cultivation advanced to the 36th rank, the last step in the Consolidated Soul Phase. If this had been a year or two later, with her already at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase, she might have broken through to the Ascending Soul Phase. As it was, she could only rely on the power of the leviathan to protect them from Gesine¡¯s assault. Flames surrounded the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, defying the water¡¯s ability to quench her heat. John could only do his best to provide what water element he had to Matayal for her use. He did his very best to defend with earth, repeatedly blocking them with the local stone. That was never going to last, of course. Fire overcame earth- and in vast enough quantities, it overpowered water. John could feel the water around them nearly boiling, constantly eating away at his and Matayal¡¯s defensive energy. They would exhaust themselves before Gesine tired herself, even with Matayal making use of the leviathan¡¯s energy as much as she could. But he wasn¡¯t going to just give up. He didn¡¯t want to know what would happen to the Shimmering Islands if Gesine destroyed the leviathan- and being physically present would no doubt be worse for him personally. But more importantly, he couldn¡¯t stand to let her abuse her power within the region. Nobody required their alliance to take on the burden, but they were the ones willing to act. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. John squeezed Matayal¡¯s hand with his right. His sword was sheathed at his side, useless in their current situation. He felt his wife straining to control the energy of the leviathan, providing her all the support he could. At the same time, he wrapped air in darkness, sending it out to the side. He had a good reason to avoid a direct attack on Gesine. It would simply waste his efforts. Lightning crackled nearly invisibly. Even if Gesine noticed it, it wasn¡¯t anywhere near close enough to strike her, placed between herself and the rest of her combatants. Then the lightning released- but only partially at John¡¯s own bidding. A flash lit up the deep caverns of the leviathan¡¯s heart, a bolt of lightning striking directly through Gesine even though John hadn¡¯t directed his energy there¡­ directly. And the bolt was far beyond anything he could produce. Indeed, the vast majority of it was Sitora¡¯s energy- seeking out his own lightning between the two points. Gesine cursed loudly even as John was still recovering his vision- he had expected the flash, but he was still a darkness cultivator easily susceptible to such things. ¡°Warriors of the Molten Sea, to me!¡± They obeyed, disregarding the attacks of the alliance and the leviathan¡¯s defenses. Some charged directly towards Sitora and her own followers, but others came for John and Matayal. Another pulse, intentionally directed by Matayal. Dozens of Molten Sea cultivators went tumbling, pushed back into their enemies. Gesine and Sitora clashed. They seemed equally matched at first. Sitora continued her assault with lightning, but Gesine was ready to direct it around her. She was injured, a clear burn scar from the lightning on her stomach¡­ but her combat ability hadn¡¯t faltered at all. If she continued to fight so recklessly, John wasn¡¯t sure how she would live through the battle even if they won. Then he realized. Perhaps she didn¡¯t mean to. Whether she believed she would reincarnate once more or simply thought her grudge was worth dying for, he wasn¡¯t certain. Or perhaps she had made the choice upon Sitora¡¯s arrival. Either way, she countered lightning with bolts of fire unquenched by the sea. Though both were Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, John couldn¡¯t properly judge how closely matched they were. They should have been close in strength, and yet Gesine was managing to suppress Sitora even after the sneak attack. And the other Molten Sea cultivators continued to hold their own, at least for the moment. There was no way they would last long, but perhaps that didn¡¯t matter. John and Matayal couldn¡¯t leave their defensive position, and Matayal couldn¡¯t keep the assaults away forever. John himself was at less than a third of his spiritual energy remaining, and Matayal¡­ He looked at her face, painfully serene. He felt her energy, circulating within him and within her¡­ but only that small part. The rest had been replaced by the energy of the leviathan. An energy she was wielding with ever more precision. Perhaps she really could settle things. She just had to last until Gesine was defeated by Sitora. And yet¡­ he knew something wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Matayal-¡± ¡°Even the slightest opening may cause catastrophe,¡± she gestured to the slightest glimmer behind them. ¡°I will not allow my son to live in a Shimmering Islands ravaged by a disaster I could stop.¡± Gesine was somehow managing to keep an eye on the two of them and even launch attacks occasionally. John could see it now. The flames weren¡¯t just her spiritual energy, they were more than that. They were flickers of life, of rage and fury that had surpassed the rational. Whether it was Gesine¡¯s original intention or not, this was how things would be. A vortex of water around Gesine pushed gathered Sitora and many others, then flung them away. The flames that were Gesine rushed towards John and Matayal, and Matayal stretched out her hand. One last pulse of the leviathan¡¯s energy, except instead of rushing water, Matayal forced the nearly boiling water to disperse its heat. John felt it absorbed into the flesh of the leviathan while at the same time it great spiritual energy suppressed the temperature around Gesine even further. A humanoid figure of flames floated within a sphere of ice. John felt a chill, as the boiling waters became nearly arctic. He looked towards Matayal, who smiled and wrapped her arms around him. In the salty depths, tears were invisible- but he knew Matayal¡¯s tears as well as he could feel his own being whisked away by the flow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my love. You will have to take care of the triplets on your own.¡± ¡°... Why?¡± John couldn¡¯t form words beyond that. It was a foolish question, because he already knew the answer. It was to protect him. The triplets. Her homeland, and their clans- still embroiled in fighting. Thoughts flashed through his mind of things he could have done differently. From moments before, he might have dragged her away from the leviathan¡¯s core to protect them. Before the war, when he came into conflict with the Molten Sea for the sake of a simple cultivator selling wares. Before that, when they had first shown their heads in the region and he had been too intimidated to stand against them. And long before that. Before he was even Fortkran Tenebach, but instead the other him had that name. His negligence in properly cultivating, and even John¡¯s own pragmatic choices since then. One could only cultivate so quickly, but shouldn¡¯t he have pushed himself towards the Ascending Soul Phase with all of his might, knowing this conflict was on the horizon? He could only curse himself for being too weak. Too slow to act. For that, the region had suffered¡­ and only now had the damage truly reached him, the high and mighty clan head. He looked into Matayal¡¯s eyes. He reached out with his energy, feeling burst meridians she had been directing him away from during her short channeling of the leviathan. Her dantian was damaged- no, more than that her totems were cracked and broken. The waters inside of her were falling into an open void, a rift in the seas and islands she cultivated. She rested her head on his shoulder. ¡°I was looking forward to spending all year with you, after our obligations were settled.¡± John didn¡¯t lie and say they still could. ¡°We should have spent more of our time together. Everything is better with you around.¡± She clutched him tightly. ¡°Take care¡­ of them.¡± As her consciousness faded, John was already doing everything he could. He pulled out the best medicines they had on them for soothing damage cultivation and healing the body. But even as his energy guided the pills down her throat and began to dissolve them inside her, he knew it was pointless. Then the leviathan pulsed with a powerful energy, disturbing John from his despair. Chapter 256 The leviathan pulsed. Then again. And again. It was a tremendous roar in John¡¯s ears. He expected to be battered to pieces, along with Matayal in his arms. Maybe he deserved it, for failing to be stronger. But while it was deafening, it was somewhat comforting. Seeing what happened to the Molten Sea cultivators, however, he knew it had as much power as he expected. No, more. With each pulsed they were pushed around, their bodies crushed against the leviathan¡¯s walls and dragged along out of the heart. His eyes flashed towards their alliance. While they showed some discomfort, they were relatively intact. Sitora and the Sky Islanders were somewhere in the middle. They were knocked about, but not crushed against the leviathan. Not yet, at least. She looked towards John and Matayal- no, past them. A flash of greed in her eyes¡­ but she settled for grabbing Gesine¡¯s body. The sphere of ice that had held her was shattered into a million pieces by the leviathan¡¯s power, leaving only the burnt husk of a body- and great quantities of valuable equipment, durable beyond anything John had seen. John knew he was entitled to some of that¡­ but he didn¡¯t care. Wealth was a part of strength, but at the moment he just wanted the Sky Islands to leave. And it seemed they were happy to do so. Each beat of the leviathan¡¯s heart sent out a pulse. As John let it move him and Matayal, he found they were gradually being pushed along with a flow, towards the rest of their alliance. He let it carry them along and out. They passed remnants of the leviathan¡¯s ¡®immune system¡¯, but they were peaceably ignored. John tightly clutched Matayal as they fled the waking leviathan. Just because it declined to harm them at the moment did not mean it couldn¡¯t change its mind. His spiritual energy flowed between him and Matayal, but he found less and less effect from doing so. Her body was breaking down from the inside, her dantian and spiritual sea falling apart. But that was just her cultivation. He hoped that if her body could last through it, she could survive. He hoped¡­ ----- On the surface, not knowing of Gesine¡¯s defeat, the forces of the Molten Sea continued their assault. From the perspective of the triplets, it seemed their alliance was winning- but they couldn¡¯t know for certain. At least they had a moment to rest, no assaults reaching their ship within the last few minutes. Nik and Melanthina were snuggled together by the railing. Tirto was leaning back against his other sister, as sturdy of a support as anything else. The nervous form of Verusha was plopped down in the middle of the deck nearby. ¡°Is battle always like this?¡± Verusha asked. Tirto shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s usually not this much. This is a war, simply compressed into a smaller space and shorter time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as fun as I thought it would be,¡± Verusha commented. ¡°Dad seems to like fighting.¡± ¡°Maybe if you¡¯re stronger¡­¡± Tirto shrugged. ¡°But even now, I¡¯m not sure if he feels that.¡± Tirto vaguely gestured in the direction of Lucanus and Yustina, boiling seas in the midst of a thunderstorm. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of effort to put in. It would have to be for the purpose of protecting people. Like us, or you.¡± Ursel shifted, and Tirto nearly fell over. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I thought I¡­ felt something.¡± She stood up, her movements slightly rocking the ship. ¡°Maybe I- ooooh!¡± Excitement entered Ursel¡¯s voice. ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Who?¡± Tirto asked, standing up with her. Were their parents returning? That would be good news, at least. But he was well attuned to their spiritual energies, and he didn¡¯t feel them approaching. It wasn¡¯t too hard to pick out something approaching though. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± All Tirto could make out were some ships coming from the west. ¡°The Emerging Bamboo Sect!¡± Ursel said excitedly. ¡°And others from the Viridia Wildlands! I thought they weren¡¯t coming!¡± ¡°They¡¯re rather late,¡± Melanthina muttered from her position by the railing. ¡°Shush, you!¡± Ursel said. ¡°I¡¯m sure they had a reason.¡± As the small fleet began to circle around the battlefield to reach the Molten Sea¡¯s forces, whether they had arrived late or not hardly mattered. Perhaps they would have been a significant boon had they been around¡­ or perhaps they would have hardly swayed the battle. But arriving fresh at such a critical point, they quickly overran several ships, and it wasn¡¯t long before the Molten Sea began to withdraw. But the Sky Islands ships began to meet them as they drew away, leaving only a small portion to make their way back towards the shores of Astrein. Though they did not know it, their reception would not be warm. ----- The return to the surface was filled with remnants of sinking ships, though John vaguely noticed a general lack of sea beasts. They tended to avoid large groups, and the stirring leviathan spooked away most of those in the surroundings. Surfacing to find burning flotsam, John was at least relieved to find the triplets waiting. The battle seemed to have been resolved. That was unfortunate, because he could have used an outlet for his emotions. With Matayal in his arms, the waters raised him up onto the deck. He found himself bombarded with questions and worry, but he had no answers from them. He didn¡¯t even have answers for himself. When he had anything resembling thought, it was foolish ideas. Memories of fictional characters who had suffered something similar. He should find some way to preserve her. Freeze her in ice, until he could find a medicine to cure her. Cure her of what? He didn¡¯t know. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But the time for action had already come and gone. In the end, he did nothing. When thoughts returned to him, he found himself huddled together with the triplets, all of them wrapping their arms around him and the unresponsive Matayal. She was soaked from their time underwater, and the triplets were wet from the rain. Yet the skies had the audacity to clear away the clouds and reveal the sun, which only highlighted how Matayal was getting colder, not warmer. They might have remained there forever, but the world was not prepared to let them off just yet. The seas trembled. Orders spread for the fleets to retreat from the area, removing themselves even further from the Kelp Spire Forest. John watched with numb disinterest as the spires themselves trembled, rising and falling. The pulsing power of the leviathan was reaching a crescendo, despite whatever injuries it had suffered. As they continued to sail away, John got a small glimpse of a massive silhouette rising on the horizon- a strange conglomeration of spires, widespread fins in all directions, and more odd pieces. Yet John had the feeling that was only a small part of it. Next to him, Tirto clutched the railing with a look of determination on his face. ----- Flowers filled the waters around the central island of Pualani, and between each of its petals. Matayal was not the only one who died in the battle against the Molten Sea, the Brandle clan not the only one with losses. Many other islands were no doubt going through their own periods of mourning. Was it a victory to overcome the Molten Sea in such a scenario? The treasures recovered from the bodies of enemies could hardly begin to pay for the lives lost. And for what? To protect a creature of great power. Would Gesine even have been able to slay the creature if left alone? John shook his head. It was all speculation. He had known there would be costs for standing up to a region of great strength¡­ he had just expected them to be different. But of course, everyone expected the harms to fall upon others. Nobody could handle the true consequences. John wouldn¡¯t have been able to manage anything if he was always burdened with the true fear of what could happen. His partner of twenty-five years- only a small handful of which they were actually in each other¡¯s presence- gone just like that. ----- The club gathered together to meet, with two notable exceptions. The first was not even technically a member- Matayal was at most an accessory. The other was their founder, the one responsible for gathering them all together for a greater purpose, regardless of the initial casual intentions. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say,¡± Lucanus admitted. ¡°Cheer up, man, you¡¯ll find someone else like her? There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true,¡± he shook his head. ¡°Do you think¡­ she could become like us?¡± Deirdre asked awkwardly. She looked to Renato and Yustina in particular. ¡°Like you?¡± Renato folded his arms, frowning. ¡°We don¡¯t even know why we reincarnated. Certainly, it happens. It could happen again.¡± ¡°But the odds are against it,¡± Yustina shook her head. ¡°We can¡¯t offer him false hope. Most likely, she is gone forever. Or at least, without memories, she could not be said to be the same person.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the idea would comfort me,¡± Steve said. ¡°I mean, if I were in the same situation¡­¡± he looked at Yustina. ¡°I would likely find it unfair that people like Gesine reincarnated instead. Even if fairness has nothing to do with the situation.¡± Renato grimaced, ¡°We should speak to him about it. No doubt he will have these thoughts on his own. I do not wish to see my friend- our friend- obsess himself with what he cannot control. His current state will not last forever, with our support.¡± ----- Contrary to how he might appear to others, John was not unaware of what happened around him. As he sat in his office back in the Tenebach clan, he was aware of important papers being placed on his desk, just as he was aware of his father, grandfather, and Melanthina dividing them among each other. He was aware, but he didn¡¯t see the point in it. What did clan affairs matter, when people could die at any moment? It was of little consolation to him that he knew better. Because what he knew could only take a back seat to how he felt. His state did not hinder his cultivation. In fact, in some ways it amplified it. It was easier to just give up all his worldly thoughts and focus only on the flow of spiritual energy. More and more of his day was devoted to growing his cultivation and diving into the sea of spiritual totems. After all, he didn¡¯t have to think and remember when he was focused on something like that. In just a few years he reached the thirty-sixth rank, growing to the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. And he didn¡¯t care. It was just a number, a meaningless accomplishment. At any time, he could attempt to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase¡­ but he achieved a time of clarity. The chances of the attempt killing him were not trivial, especially with his mental state. He understood that, at least on some level. ----- There was a knock on his door. It was quiet, so as to not disturb him too much, but as a rare break in the silence it stood out all the more. ¡°Yes? Come in.¡± Into the room slipped his daughter. Neither of them had trouble with the darkness, but it was still an unusual meeting. ¡°Father¡­ the Clan Head is needed for some negotiations. If you are able-¡± ¡°You do it,¡± John said. His words were a bit harsher than intended, but given how little he spoke lately, he didn¡¯t expect much else from himself. Matayal frowned, ¡°As the young mistress of the clan, my word has some weight¡­ but there are some things I cannot do. And other responsibilities for the sect head have piled up.¡± ¡°Then you should manage it. As clan head,¡± John said firmly. Perhaps it was unfair to do this- but she had been prepared for this her whole life. And clearly, she couldn¡¯t do any worse than him. He stood up. ¡°I will prepare the official transfer of leadership.¡± ¡°But- I-¡± ¡°It is no different than what you are doing now, but you will actually have the authority. Do not worry, you are ready.¡± It wasn¡¯t fair to lie to his daughter- but in this case, at least, the words were meant with the best intentions. It was as true as it could be. Nobody was ever ready to take over responsibility that affected so many others. And if he wasn¡¯t going to be doing it, it was better to have someone take over the role. Chapter 257 Unlike the situation with the Tenebach clan, the situation in the Brandle clan had been official immediately. With the clan head deceased and Tirto of adult age, the role of clan head immediately transferred to him. Tirto couldn¡¯t claim that things weren¡¯t difficult, but in fact the responsibilities provided a nice distraction from¡­ everything. That included thinking about his mother. They¡¯d been close, of course. He was the heir to the Brandle clan, so she had been responsible for teaching him everything he needed to know from cultivation to clan affairs. But he would have liked a few more years. No, he had expected a few more decades. Even if he had taken over the official responsibilities, still having her around would have eased the burden. But at least he wasn¡¯t alone. Emilia remained around the Brandle clan, providing some level of emotional support. Whenever he needed it, she was available to just talk. It was something he couldn¡¯t do with just anyone. His sisters, at one point- but he didn¡¯t see them as often as he would like these days. Soon, perhaps, once things settled down. There was a lot of work to do after the incident with the Molten Sea, and that was not counting the leviathan itself. Then there was the other issue. The door to his office burst open, despite it being officially off limits. But nobody was going to stop the currently red haired bundle of anger. ¡°Hey! What¡¯s the news?¡± Tirto tilted his head looking at Verusha. Had he forgotten to tell her something important? She wasn¡¯t really entitled to anything, but still¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t believe there has been any news.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem!¡± Verusha flared up. Tirto encased the area in a cooling field so she didn¡¯t set any of his books on fire. ¡°Tell me, do you know when my sister¡¯s birthday was?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Tirto nodded, ¡°Emilia¡¯s birthday was seventy-one days ago, and we had a celebration. You were there.¡± ¡°And?¡± He was beginning to see where this was going. ¡°The situation is more complicated than you know.¡± ¡°What¡¯s complicated about it?¡± Verusha asked. ¡°It¡¯s really simple. She likes you. You say you like her. Our parents approve of things, and it would even be good for your cultivation!¡± ¡°Believe me when I say I want to do right by Emilia, but that¡¯s why I can¡¯t marry her right now.¡± ¡°Then just propose! Set a date. If she has to wait another two or three years¡­ at least she¡¯d know.¡± ¡°Three years?¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going to happen in one. In three years I might be dead.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Verusha asked. ¡°We¡¯re cultivators. We live, and then we die- just like everyone else.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Tirto¡¯s voice shook the room. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know about death well enough?¡± ¡°I-¡± Verusha¡¯s hair faded in intensity. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean-¡± ¡°Just go,¡± Tirto said. ¡°The matters between Emilia and me will be solved by the two of us. She does not need you to advocate on her behalf, even if she is less vocal about her concerns.¡± But¡­ he really should talk to her about it. He just didn¡¯t know what to say. ----- Dreams. Dreams of the sea, of ocean waves. Of swimming and diving, consuming everything in his path. Dreams of power. At first, such dreams had been distant, as if viewed from afar, distorted and twisted. All he had sensed was a great figure. But gradually, he had grown closer and closer. Along the way, he had many nights where he simply took in the form of the great leviathan as he watched it. But eventually, he was inside of it. Tirto woke from what should have probably been a nightmare. A thing of such great power acting as it pleased¡­ it could easily destroy any part of the Shimmering Islands. Since its waking, a great number of ships had already been sunk. And yet, Tirto didn¡¯t find it a cause for concern. He wasn¡¯t certain if the dreams he was having were real or not. Was there a true connection between them? Certainly, he¡¯d tried to forge one, some years before. He still wasn¡¯t sure if that was a mistake. The totem he¡¯d connected to was powerful¡­ but that was only the direct consequence. His mother had been with him and what he¡¯d felt at the end¡­ would she even have attempted that, had he not indirectly encouraged her to form such a connection? Logic would not save him here. The fact that she visited alone, without him meant nothing. His interactions might have pushed her over the limit. The possibility of worse happening if she couldn¡¯t make that connection likewise didn¡¯t sway his thoughts. It was still his fault. ----- The face that looked back at John from the pool of water wasn¡¯t exactly inspiring. Though Matayal had called him handsome, John imagined even she would have a hard time seeing him as such right now. Burning away the scraggly beard didn¡¯t do much to change that. This was not the face of someone who inspired others. Someone with drive. Someone worthy of her love. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Instead, he had failed at her one request. Or at least¡­ if it went well, it was hardly due to his own actions. The triplets were still the same people they had been before, just with the responsibilities of adulthood thrust upon them. Depending on the metrics used, he could pretend he¡¯d been successful. They were healthy, their cultivations continued to grow with the years, they were prosperous. But very little of that had anything to do with John. Not after Matayal¡¯s death. Three years. And he¡¯d done what, besides cultivating? No, in some ways cultivating was actually worse than not as it took him away from what truly mattered. What was power for? To John, at least, it was not meant to be the end goal. It was to be used for something. So increasing his personal power didn¡¯t matter, if he had no intention to do anything with it. Trying to remember his goals was difficult. Everything had involved Matayal, in one way or another. At the very least, in all of his plans she was there with him. No doubt they would have shifted as he came to understand what he truly wanted, and when he considered what she wanted. Somehow, his steps had brought him back to Lunson. It was slightly more prosperous than before, due to trade between the Stone Conglomerate and the Phoenix Forest- but it was still an area most considered lacking in spiritual energy. From a certain perspective they were correct, but from another they were completely wrong. The layout of the city had changed in the last decades. Even before the occupation by the Molten Sea and the subsequent retaking, shifts in the region also affected the city. So it wasn¡¯t quite the same city as John remembered. Even so, he could track the general direction he and Matayal fled after he provoked the Society of Midnight. That had nearly gotten them killed, but he was too proud to act in a reasonable fashion. Just because it was a flaw of most cultivators did not mean it should be excused. At that time, Matayal had just barely discovered her pregnancy. Then, many years later, John had supported Suraj against the Molten Sea and the Righteous Flame League. The situation was not quite the same- an innocent life would have been lost had he not acted. But that did not mean there weren¡¯t consequences, even if he had good intentions. Perhaps the Molten Sea would have manned a smaller force without the conflict, allowing for the defeat of Gesine without Matayal¡¯s sacrifice. To avoid getting trapped in a spiral of potential pasts that meant nothing, John focused on clearing his mind the way he best knew how. Cultivation, and the strain of diving into the Sea of Spiritual Totems. ----- Instead of some sort of enemy, John took the pressure of the Sea of Spiritual Totems for a boon, especially in recent years. In a way it was a warning. In another, it was a comfort. Being able to focus on that instead of worldly troubles was a wonderful release. The fifth layer. What John desired was fire. Fire and growth. But there were certain traits he had been avoiding that he no longer shied away from. The way a fire grew best was spreading flames, the very act of burning itself. Burning, growing, devouring. An unstoppable wildfire. At times, John had considered various volcanically slated totems, as they matched with earth- and in some ways growth. But the element at the core of his cultivation was darkness. It was the root from which everything else grew. Darkness had many functions. Concealment. Deception. These did not have to be negative features, though they were often taken as such. He almost missed a totem that met his criteria perfectly because of that very hidden nature. His thoughts were focused on consuming flames, but he failed to consider certain possibilities. Igniting his enemies was tempting¡­ but he hadn¡¯t considered the way to make that most effective. Dark flames. If one were to ask him what black flames meant, John might have considered a few options. Something akin to some sort of villainous hellfire. Perhaps flames with thick smoke to choke people out. Nothing pleasant, of course. Then again, nothing was intended to be pleasant when used against enemies. This totem¡­ its flames were barely visible. Nearly insubstantial. That was why he almost missed it. It felt far too weak to be among the fifth tier totems. But the Sea of Spiritual Totems wasn¡¯t arranged as it was by any sort of human categorization. And while there was always the matter of compatibility to consider, higher tier totems ultimately had more power or at least unique functionality. John considered the flames, once they finally caught his eye. What did they do? The answer he decided upon was nothing extraordinary. At least as far as spiritual energy was concerned, he could expect the flames to not stand out in any way. And rather than that being some sort of mistake, that was exactly their feature. The flames were dull not because they lacked intensity, but because they would not display intensity to the world. This was a hidden knife, an unknown danger. A poison, even, slowly killing someone without their knowledge. Of course, John doubted that most would completely ignore the flames despite their lackluster appearance. It was simply that he could expect people to underestimate the power they had. And at the current moment, that was rather appealing. It was that, or the Consuming Flames that used even spiritual energy as fuel. They were tempting, to be certain. Many days, John simply wished to turn the whole world to ash. But that was not what she would have wanted. ----- John returned to his body. He remembered one plan he had, even if the details had never been properly ironed out. Matayal supported it¡­ and ultimately it would help accomplish her request. No, it wasn¡¯t simply her request. The triplets were both of theirs, each parent loving them just as much as the other. John just didn¡¯t have an idea for how he was supposed to take care of them. But he¡¯d figured it out. The disaster of the Molten Sea and even the intrusion of the Sky Islands had shown weakness in the region. And that hadn¡¯t truly shown the limits of their power. Instead, it was simply factions directed by single powerful individuals among them. Something like that couldn¡¯t be allowed to happen again. For that, the region needed to stand united. To be stronger. And what better place to begin such a thing then right here where he was? A place that nobody valued, despite its great potential. John circulated four elements through himself, and small strands of a fifth. There was much to be gained in Astrein. And he knew all the right people to build it into something great, the focal point of the surrounding area where cultivators of all elements grew in strength. Enough to resist any enemies they might come across. And who was better situated to begin such a transformation except John himself? Chapter 258 The ground trembled as several tonnes of rhinoceros charged towards Ursel. They weren¡¯t a common creature, and she had to make her way to obscure corners of the Viridia Wildlands just to find this one. Her shoulders were set, her body braced for impact. In front of her was a figure of earth energy, unsuited to fooling even the most basic visual inspection. Even so, the rhino took her decoy to be a proper target, lowering its horn then snapping back its head to impale¡­ more or less nothing. Because of that, the rhino didn¡¯t lose momentum, and continued its forward charge. Ursel spun her heavy stone club into the side of its head before it could properly react to her presence, sending it careening off target. She sighed. ¡°This thing barely even has any spiritual energy and yet it¡¯s like this¡­¡± The rhino turned around, barely fazed by her attack. Of course, she hadn¡¯t been aiming for any sort of weak point. Instead, she was testing its strengths. That was what she was here for, after all. Its bones were like steel, but with each swing of her club Ursel increased her power. Once, twice, three times she struck the creature in the ribs, taking advantage of its poor eyesight to dodge around it. Eventually they cracked. ¡°Not enough,¡± she shook her head. Perhaps they would be of some use in developing her technique, or maybe some part of the legs or horn¡­ but she was going to have to find more impressive specimens. She even considered fighting them head-on, but decided that was just a little bit too much. She was out here to improve herself, not pick up a string of exciting new injuries. Though it did seem nice to not have to think about anything for a while and just brawl to her heart¡¯s content. ----- If comparing himself to his sisters, Tirto would no doubt hear many different descriptors of himself. Calm. Mature. Responsible. And perhaps by comparison he was those things. Melanthina was certainly leagues more mature than she had once been- time and her husband had changed her, as well as the dictates of her position. Ursel was¡­ still Ursel. Less intentionally mischievous, and instead generally less aware of how her interactions with the world would be perceived. Or perhaps at this point she didn¡¯t care. Tirto was still the responsible one, and he didn¡¯t generally begrudge the idea. That was who he was. Willing to have fun, yes, but ultimately focused on his responsibilities as the young master of the clan- now the clan head. Emilia took things seriously as well. She comforted him when he was down, and reminded him to take time to rest. She was warm and calming, like soaking in the sun on the beach. She took care of him, and he wanted to do the same in turn. On a nice day like this, she was bound to be outside, taking in the sun. That was the best source of fire element in the area, after all- except for training rooms which were ultimately stuffy and restricting. Good for times of storm, but Tirto knew Emilia would rather be outside anytime the weather was decent. Same with him, except he wasn¡¯t bothered by rain. Emilia was laying back on an outdoor couch next to one of the clan¡¯s ponds, her eyes closed, the sun soaking into her skin. ¡°Good afternoon. How are you doing today?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Mmn.¡± She shifted, opening her eyes to grin at him, ¡°Well, I was taking a nice nap.¡± She sat up. ¡°Do you need me for something?¡± ¡°Not exactly,¡± Tirto said, sitting next to her. ¡°I was just wondering if you¡¯re comfortable here. I know the training rooms are rather boring.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if they will suit my needs forever, but my cultivation is progressing well for now. And later¡­ dual cultivation will be beneficial. I doubt I will fall behind.¡± There was the topic. Though Tirto should have expected it, as it was an assumed part of their relationship. ¡°I¡¯m not really in a good state right now¡­¡± Tirto said. Emilia smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not intending to rush you. Don¡¯t listen to my sister too much, okay? Verusha might be impatient, but I can wait.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°Thank you. Seems a bit unfair to you, though. I mean, drawing you away from your family when we¡¯re married. And even during dual cultivation, I¡¯ll be the one to benefit more.¡± Emilia laughed, ¡°Is that all? More worrying? It¡¯s alright. You know, I already basically live here. You¡¯re not gonna lock me up if we get married are you?¡± ¡°W- of course not!¡± ¡°As for family, my parents are never at home with the clan regardless. They¡¯re roamers. Even when they¡¯re having more children¡­¡± Emilia shrugged. ¡°They come to visit occasionally, and Verusha will visit regularly I¡¯m sure. I am quite at home here in the Shimmering Islands¡­ or among any of our allies, really. As long as you don¡¯t plan to move the clan to somewhere cold, I doubt I¡¯ll have any complaints.¡± ¡°Move the clan?¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°No way. What would that even accomplish? The only thing I¡¯m interested in¡­¡± ¡°A certain leviathan, right?¡± Emilia asked. ¡°It¡¯s still roaming around.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a constant reminder of her,¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°But I can¡¯t help but hope that it is a good thing, ultimately.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Then perhaps it¡¯s your job to make it something beneficial, when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± Tirto nodded. Emilia was great. Which was why Tirto was beginning to be concerned that he was making a mistake. Everything was so simple, but his brain had to go and make things complicated. And the longer he waited, the worse things might be. ----- Within the Tenebach clan, there were several entrances that led underground. They were sealed, not for the sake of protecting what was below but rather for those who might choose to go below. Since he hadn¡¯t been able to find his wife elsewhere, Nik presumed that was where she would be. He stood outside the stairway near their quarters, presenting a token that unsealed the doorway. Then he descended, step by step, into the deeper darkness. It was like sinking into a pool of lava, except instead of being hot all over it was more individual bursts of pain and sharpness. The fact that he was strong enough to survive immersed in lava for a short time didn¡¯t make it any less of an effective metaphor. The dense power below was both a product of the clan and a boon to them. Along with a small number of other creatures, including another burgeoning generation of shadowhawks, this place was the dwelling of the Tenebach Clan¡¯s guardian beast. Shadows twisted and flowed. A creature darker than darkness with the silhouette of a quadrupedal beast flickered in Nik¡¯s vision. ¡°Cultivator of light. For what reason do you descent into my domain?¡± ¡°Mighty guardian beast Ciaritzal, I come seeking the head of the Tenebach clan. Finding her nowhere else, I surmised she might be within your territory.¡± ¡°Oh yes,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°Your wife is napping in a corner.¡± ¡°Is she at least on pillows this time?¡± Nik asked. ¡°She¡¯s fully got her head on the floor,¡± Ciaritzal grinned, the shape of his nothingness warping with the familiar action. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mean to pull her away from her rest.¡± ¡°No, I already had today¡¯s meetings without her,¡± Nik shrugged. ¡°Hmm, good.¡± Ciaritzal inched forward, until he was nearly touching Nik. ¡°Your resistance to darkness is commendable.¡± Nik smiled back nervously. ¡°Thank you. I wouldn¡¯t make it very far in day to day life if I couldn¡¯t handle a bit of darkness.¡± The spirit of darkness withdrew, leaving only the generally discomforting darkness in the area. That gave Nik more motivation to find his wife, and so he followed the flow of darkness that he imagined would lead him to her. Even as she slept, she subconsciously absorbed darkness. Just a small amount, but more than the shadow hawks in the area. Nik walked over next to her where she was sprawled out in the corner of a room. The Tenebach clan had carved out proper tunnels when they relocated Ciaritzal, if Nik¡¯s recollection of their history was correct. When his foot stepped next to Melanthina, her hand automatically reached out and grabbed him. Rather than her darkness element being uncomfortable for him, it was actually soothing compared to the surroundings. He let himself be pulled down towards her, sitting on the ground and then placing her head in his lap. She was still unconscious, but he felt her breathing soften nonetheless as he stroked her hair. He slowly circulated his spiritual energy, and hers automatically reacted. Light and darkness danced together in a dangerous tango. Yet it was one he had come to greatly enjoy- and as they continued to cultivate to higher phases, Nik didn¡¯t think it was particularly more risky than other forms of dual cultivation. Despite elements which were supposed to be completely incompatible, they made it work. Working with the wrong person would doubtless be a greater danger. He smiled down at the content face of his wife. It was amazing what could happen within a few years- or almost a decade now, really. About half that time they had been bitter rivals, then when they actually had to work together things changed significantly. And now Nik had gone from being a decently talented cultivator in a light element sect to helping manage the affairs of the Tenebach clan. There were many things he couldn¡¯t do for her, but he could take care of minor matters. During times of change like this, there was more to do. Though it wasn¡¯t like Nik knew what a normal amount of stuff for a clan head was. Then there was Melanthina¡¯s father. Nik knew him, and so he didn¡¯t necessarily blame him for what happened. But he was one of the contributing factors to Melanthina¡¯s current troubles, instead of supporting her. On the other hand, Nik couldn¡¯t say what was worse between losing a wife or mother. He¡¯d never had the latter, and definitely didn¡¯t want to experience the former. ¡°Mmm,¡± Melanthina¡¯s eyes flickered open. ¡°Morning.¡± ¡°Good evening,¡± Nik said in response. ¡°You do know we could have pillows brought down here, don¡¯t you? Or a proper bed?¡± ¡°Why do that when I can get a lap?¡± Nik rolled his eyes. ¡°Because then you wouldn¡¯t spend hours laying on the bare floor. It¡¯s probably not good for your neck or your back.¡± Melanthina stood up, stretching. Her joints popped and she put a hand over her mouth as she yawned. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re still young. And we¡¯re cultivators. So spending a few- did you say hours?-¡± Melanthina¡¯s eyes grew wide with panic. ¡°Relax, I took care of all the visiting delegations. They probably weren¡¯t important enough to meet with the clan head anyway, and if we decided to promote our relationships with them in the future, then directly working with you will be a step up for them.¡± ¡°What about the Darklands¡­?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°It was just some smaller sects, remember? Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Nik said. ¡°And it¡¯s also useful to remind people like that that I am here and can explode them if they do anything stupid.¡± ¡°They probably don¡¯t realize that,¡± Melanthina pointed out. Nik shrugged, ¡°Then I don¡¯t really care. If they¡¯re not even cognizant of basic elemental reactions, they¡¯ll just be absorbed by someone else eventually.¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s really done¡­?¡± ¡°Except dinner,¡± Nik grinned. ¡°We can have them get it started at any point.¡± ¡°Thank you, I¡­ I should be taking care of these things.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Nik shook his head. ¡°What am I going to do, sit around cultivating all day? It wasn¡¯t even that much work.¡± Though it was more responsibility than he was used to, he had always expected such burdens to increase as he improved his cultivation. He just thought he would be doing so as a disciple of the Combining Luster Sect instead of marrying into a clan of darkness cultivators. Chapter 259 More than anything else, John needed strength to accomplish his goals. Personal strength would make it easier to gain and keep support more widely. The next step was reaching the Ascending Soul Phase. Even up until the Consolidated Soul Phase, he had been able to ask others for guidance- but now he knew no one who had taken the step ahead of him. Sitora was an exception, but he wouldn¡¯t count himself as knowing her. Rather than being friendly, it was simply that she didn¡¯t find it worthwhile for them to be enemies. They certainly weren¡¯t close enough for him to just show up and ask for her most critical cultivation advice. Not that John could reach her anyway. It wasn¡¯t like he could just fly up to the sky islands. He¡¯d have to already have contacts to bring him there. Though he did find it worth considering. The contacts, perhaps, but most definitely the thought of flight. It was a significant expenditure of spiritual energy, but he might be able to accomplish it with a proper technique. If he actually reached the Ascending Soul Phase, he might even be able to do more. He had already exchanged thoughts with all members of the club. Deirdre and Steve obviously had no more experience than himself. Renato and Yustina, on the other hand, had both only made it to the Consolidated Soul Phase. Renato¡¯s recollection of his previous life was apparently less complete than Yustina¡¯s, but he had a strong core he¡¯d grown from. Which made John feel much luckier to become friends with him early, and for his cultivation to miraculously keep up. Without a clan, John doubted he would have gotten far at all. He also had to thank the support of his grandfather Luctus specifically. It would have been simple for the man to forbid him from attempting a full cycle of elements. Logical, even. At that point, Luctus had been the highest cultivation at merely the Soul Expansion Phase, so even assuming John reached that point¡­ he would have had an unbalanced cultivation that didn¡¯t fulfill any sort of cycle. In his case darkness, earth, and then air, with only air directly supporting another. But now, he was only a single step away from completing the cycle of core elements and reaching the Ascending Soul Phase. A difficult step, to be certain, but if he couldn¡¯t make it¡­ then his journey would simply end here. Better such an end than hanging around like a husk of his former self doing nothing but hoping his children didn¡¯t die. He wasn¡¯t going to take his advancement casually though. Currently, he was surveying the northern parts of Astrein for a good location. It had to be Astrein, because he wanted a balance of elements- but he also wanted to be closer to the Phoenix Forest, for the sake of tilting that balance towards fire. He was already collecting condensed spirit elements to help with his breakthrough, but skimping on any step would be foolish. He planned to spend several years making preparations, but he couldn¡¯t afford to wait too long or he would trap himself in a cycle of hesitation. ----- Tracking the leviathan was more of an excuse for Tirto to get away from clan affairs, as well as leaving behind certain individuals who preferred not to be at sea. But despite being an excuse, it was also an important duty. ¡°Keep the ship at this distance,¡± Tirto ordered. ¡°Yonit, you¡¯re coming with me.¡± ¡°Yes, clan head,¡± the older guard declared. Yonit was in the Consolidated Soul Phase, so he wasn¡¯t coming along merely to make up numbers or to provide appearances. Tirto understood he was still not strong enough to stand alone. The two of them dove into the water. It was a natural place for cultivators such as them, and also the only way to get a proper look at the leviathan. Though it occasionally approached the surface, it still generally stuck to the deeper areas of the Shimmering Islands. Tirto didn¡¯t bring them too close, instead circling at a distance. He was trying to understand its intent. It wasn¡¯t just going to talk to him, of course. He wasn¡¯t sure if it could- but if so, it certainly wasn¡¯t interested. In fact, as far as Tirto had been able to dredge up it wasn¡¯t really trying to do anything. It was just¡­ living. And while that was the most basic goal for all life, it was somewhat more concerning for a creature of its size. It would sweep through wide swaths of ocean, eating anything that strayed too close- close enough to get drawn into its maw, specifically. And yet, it also never completely drained an area of food. Nor did it consume absolutely everything. Along with the oddities living inside it, the leviathan still had various barnacles and shellfish that had lived on its ridges. More than that, there was a small ecosystem that traveled with it, dining on scraps left behind by the leviathan. Some fish directly attached to the leviathan to avoid being pulled in, others seemed to have developed instincts for when something was coming and positioning themselves in the right area. Tirto couldn¡¯t help but want to resonate his energy with the leviathan, learning from it. That had been true before his mother¡¯s death¡­ and afterwards, even though it had more or less been the cause¡­ he took it as a sort of challenge. Not that he was going to try to control even a fraction of its actual power anytime soon. But he could get by with a facsimile. And with the creature awake, Tirto almost thought it was fond of him. At least, it seemed to take note of his presence most visits. The rest might be his imagination, a fantasy to make himself feel special. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ----- A horn scraped against Ursel¡¯s armor, actually causing a visible scrape as she was pushed back. She could only thank her master for making something so durable for her, and regret over each little irreparable bit of damage. The horn in question was probably bigger than Ursel, but it came to a wicked point. The massive rhino continued forward as she was pushed back, intending to either impale or trample her. Ursel very much wanted to smash it head on, but she knew her own limits. Some day, perhaps. Until then, she needed to focus on what she could do. Her knees bent, and a moment later she was rocketed into the sky- the image of a great bamboo shooting up beneath her. The rhino¡¯s head flipped back as she vaulted just onto its neck, where she caught her balance. Then she stepped onto the rhino¡¯s head, swinging her club down at the ridge over one of its eyes. Even if she barely caused any damage with her swing, the rhino bucked, trying to throw her off. But while it was powerful, its actual mobility was limited, and her earth energy helped her cling onto it. She had put down roots, after all. Strike after strike, she continued to pummel the rhino¡¯s skull. It continued to charge forward, trampling trees and trying to scrape her off on anything. But its own bulk got in the way, its horn protecting her from pretty much anything in front. Her position was sturdy as she was a deeply rooted tree on its skull. Another swing and¡­ hard bone cracked apart. The rhino probably didn¡¯t quite understand what was happening, and its thick hide was still intact. But the damage left an avenue for Ursel to drive her energy deeper into the thing¡¯s brain, a brain which was¡­ somewhat smaller than her body. Which was to say, given the creature''s size, rather tiny. Either because of her attacks or as a desperate last ditch effort, the rhino fell on its side and rammed skull first into a two meter thick tree- avoiding its horn. Ursel hadn¡¯t been willing to give up her position, so she was shoved headfirst into that very same tree. However, it wasn¡¯t like she was an earth cultivator for nothing. She was not just a stranger to the Viridia Wildlands, but had trained to control plants as well. That worked for real ones, of course, especially if she was trying to avoid hurting them. She wasn¡¯t quite sure how plants knew, but some had spiritual energy that would resist her in certain cases. This one was quite happy to soften up as her body rammed into it, its core turning relatively soft as the wood pushed away from her. Only relatively soft of course. Enough to not break her neck, but the impact was still enough to make her dizzy. The rhino was worse off though. It was only twitching a little. Not wanting it to suffer, Ursel brought down her stone club once more, finishing it off. After she did so, she took a look at her weapon. Months of fighting without returning to civilization left her club in poor repair, missing chunks of material she simply couldn¡¯t replace. It was a shame to give up Master Renato¡¯s gifts, but on the other hand¡­ he wanted her to be the best equipped. She could probably make something out of the bones of this rhino. The ones that weren¡¯t being used for other things, of course. She took off her gauntlets, rapping her knuckles against the undamaged horn of the rhino. Even without putting in real force, she could tell the difference in hardness between them. She would probably never truly reach such durability¡­ but she could certainly work on it. The only questions was how to make use of this stuff, and whether it would hurt. At least she had enough knowledge to know she wasn¡¯t going to cause herself any permanent harm if she messed up. That would be bad, because she had so many things she wanted to do. And she knew people didn¡¯t want to see her hurt either. But as long as it was just a little pain reforging her bones, she didn¡¯t see the need for anyone to consider it their business. ----- Things had never been the same for the Golden Tomb Guardians, not after Cuah¡¯arn revealed herself so publicly. Thousands flocked to them intending to be disciples, but most were turned away. At the direction of Cuah¡¯arn herself, in fact. The spirit beast had been around for centuries, after all. She was well versed in the matters of humans, and the deception they could hold in their heart. That was why Deirdre was glad to know both her and John. The transmigrated individual was a good friend. And pretty reliable, until recently. Steve was¡­ well, reliable to be himself, at least. He was pretty straightforward. ¡°Do you think I should do something?¡± Deirdre consulted Cuah¡¯arn. ¡°He barely stays in contact with us anymore.¡± ¡°It has only been a few years,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said. ¡°For losing a mate, I think that is not a long time to mourn. Even for you humans.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it? Every year is precious.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Cuah¡¯arn agreed. ¡°But do not think as you would in your previous life. Even if John should hole himself up in a cave providing nothing more than basic sustenance to himself, he will live a full lifetime longer than in your previous world. A few years is an unfortunate loss, but not irrecoverable. Moreover, I imagine his recent travels are not for nothing. Better than locking himself up in that mutt¡¯s house.¡± ¡°... I thought you liked Ciaritzal?¡± A feathery wing tapped Deirdre on the head. ¡°I show him only the affection appropriate for a longtime rival. Do not think there is anything more.¡± ¡°Really? Because Melanthina and Nik made it work.¡± ¡°An interesting pair, to be sure. But spirit beasts aren¡¯t driven by the same desires as you humans regardless.¡± Deirdre nodded, ¡°I still wish there was something we could do. If Matayal was¡­ still around¡­ she always knew how to handle him. But he wouldn¡¯t be like this if she was.¡± ¡°Have patience. Cultivators are resilient. Perhaps you will be surprised.¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± Deirdre said. Chapter 260 He found it. The place was nothing amazing to most people, but it was what John needed. A thermal spring in the northwest corner of Astrein, as it started to lead into mountains. The area had only about half as much fire element as within the Phoenix Forest or Green Sands, but that was far greater than most of Astrein. Even so, it maintained the majority of the levels of other elements, each being their own small part of Astrein¡¯s amalgamated whole. John doubted that anyone else would find the area suitable for advancing to the Ascending Soul Phase. Even most Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators would find the spiritual energy lacking. But that was simply because of the mixed elements being difficult for most cultivators to untangle- and the fact that most only cultivated one or two elements. When he broke through, he would cultivate five out of six elements. There was no point in considering failure. He was aware it could happen. Perhaps he was underestimating the Ascending Soul Phase. But he was going to make his attempt as planned, regardless of other factors. He continued with his preparations, arraying around him a variety of objects. A fan of feathers nominally from a phoenix- though the Phoenix Forest had not had proper sightings of one in his lifetime. Most likely it was a lesser firebird, but the energy within it was sufficient. Adjacent to it was a length of wood from a dense tree, whose wood could burn for days in the right circumstances. Next to that was a bottled storm- lightning and condensed air. The lightning reached towards his hand from within the bottle as he placed, reminding him of a plasma ball. Next was a bowl of water produced by a sacred spring. It was visibly pure, but he knew there was more than just water within it to hold the density of spiritual energy. Then John had a black sludge, a sort of tar that would burn with a dense smoke that he obtained in the Darklands. Along with those he had a moderately sized pile of every spirit element in various containers, except light of course. Adding light into his cultivation would be the most difficult step, but he had to reach the Ascending Soul Phase before he could even dream of that. Without further ceremony, he began to circulate energy through and around himself, drawing it into his dantian. Waiting for him there were the totems he had already acquired. First, the Seed of Darkness that was now a vast tree growing in the center of his little world. Its roots spread deep into his source of earth. Compost, at its base level. It was fundamentally linked to the concept of soil as a whole, as the most useful soils for crops came from the breaking down of something else. Next was the atmosphere, air with all the impurities that came along with it. But what was waste product for one organism was life giving for another. Consider plants, many of which took in carbon dioxide and produced far more oxygen than they needed, which was then breathed in by animals and returned to its former state. Surrounding the central island he had formed was a proper sea, teeming with false life. However, John¡¯s totem was focused on the depths. Darkness and pressure, and survival in unlikely places. Above all of those, not a totem but merely a weak gathering of spiritual energy, was a facsimile of a sun. Fire element, to provide warmth, energy, and change. Without a totem it was barely worth the effort to maintain it, except for the experience it had given him. This is the element he was working with today. Elements flowed into each other, feeding each other. The only thing that stopped his spiritual energy from spiraling out of control was the relative weakness of fire, as the cycle had to pass through everything. While the allied cycle of earth, water, and darkness was quite effective, John knew that a cycle of the four core elements would be a step above. He just needed true control over fire. As his spiritual energy filled him, straining his dantian to its limits, he moved his consciousness into the sea of spiritual totems. He was now familiar with the fifth layer, easily seeking out the totems he was interested in. There were two. The first was consuming flames. Darkness that would devour anything it came across. It would mesh well with Spiritual Energy Absorption. He almost reached out to form a connection with it immediately, but he held back. Was this what she would want? He didn¡¯t think so. Power was something she understood. It was both necessary and desirable for cultivators. But even then, there were proper ways to go about things. Choosing totems was not merely about what a cultivator wanted, but it influenced what they would become. While it wasn¡¯t necessarily obvious as cultivators would choose totems they thought fit them, a totem was part of a cultivator and influenced their thoughts. Not with a consciousness of its own, but simply by what sort of person you became. John could take that power and make good use of it, but he held back. He searched for the unassuming totem, able to find it only because he¡¯d taken the time to memorize the aura about it. Dim flames¡­ or perhaps it should be said that their light was hidden. Flames that would go unnoticed. And while it seemed impossible, John could say with certainty that on Earth that had been the most dangerous kind of heat. Accidentally touching the side of a boiling pot, one might immediately recoil- or the pain might not register for a moment. In the latter case, injuries were always much worse. Was it right, to kill people in a subtle manner? If John had true qualms with that, he would have steered away from darkness long ago. If he was going to kill someone, the method mattered little to him, as long as he steered away from unnecessary pain and sadistic tendencies. And if he should not kill someone, that was its own issue. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. John returned his senses to the outside world. He needed more than just the gentle bubbling pressure inside of him. He continued drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy. Spirit darkness thinned into strands and disappeared, earth cracked, water boiled away, winds whirled into nothing, fire burned away. Soon enough he would have more spiritual energy than he could control. But it might not be enough. He needed more. The phoenix feather fan set alight the eternal wood, the bottled lightning created lichtenberg figures within the solid wood. The water spread the lightning around the log, widening the areas that were aflame. Finally, John ignited the tar, the smoke ballooning around him and even catching aflame itself. He continued to draw spiritual energy within himself, circulating it through his body until his meridians cracked and strained. Within his dantian, the elements fed and grew at his direction. His body heated as he continued to make use of flames without a totem, and when he finally thought he would explode he dove into the sea of spiritual totems. He raced toward his chosen totem, reaching out for the Consuming Flames¡­ and letting them pass by. He didn¡¯t know if he should or could control such a power. The Ethereal Flames were his choice, seeming to be almost nothing. An image of flames with the transparency heightened. While making the wrong choice of totem could spell disaster for him, he had to follow through with whatever choice he made. John hesitated no longer, sticking his hand within the flames. They were almost cool- but he knew that was an illusion. He drew them into him even as his image was consumed by flames crawling up his arms. Fire. The sun inside of him dimmed, yet its heat grew vastly. Seas boiled, forming storm clouds with raging lightning passing between them. The earth shook and trembled, cracking apart and revealing the roots of his tree. And then, a powerful bolt of lightning struck the tree of darkness within him. From the lighting flames grew and began to consume the tree. John was powerless to stop it. What could he do, as the elements fed into each other? The storms raged and grew, and the power within his dantian grew far beyond his ability to control. The world turned white and then¡­ his consciousness left him. ----- Waking up was good. That meant he wasn¡¯t dead. Waking up filled with aches and pains, especially within his dantian, that was not nearly so reassuring. The last time he¡¯d felt like this he¡¯d driven off the road and died, only to wind up in the body of Fortkran Tenebach having just shattered his cultivation. And this time¡­ he opened his eyes. They stung from smoke, but he was able to recognize the area around him. And his own body. Or at least¡­ the body of Fortkran Tenebach. Complete with damaged dantian. Blood dribbled out of his mouth, though it was barely noticeable in what remained of the thermal spring given all the other blood and mud and who knows what that now filled it. Was this it, then? John shook his head. He didn¡¯t even die properly. Pathetic. So much for thinking he was some sort of big shot. But perhaps he spoke too soon. He might still die, after all. He could feel the remnants of his cultivation draining away, like water out of a sieve. What a shame. Still, since he was conscious he might as well see it through to the end. He focused on his dantian, preparing to see the destruction within. It was¡­ about as bad as he anticipated. A devastated world where nothing stood tall. Small islands still poked their heads above the waves, but their surfaces were scoured by fire. Dim clouds blocked out the minimal glow of an already blurry sun. Within the depths, there were only rotting corpses and cracked sea floors. The air and water were filled with noxious substances. What could survive in such a place? John let out a deep sigh as he returned to his external senses. It hurt to breathe, as he was scalded inside and out. The otherwise pleasant heat of the thermal spring reminded him of his wounds every time his blood pulsed within his body. With his spiritual energy nearly gone, he almost didn¡¯t notice someone watching. He just happened to catch a glimpse of a figure hiding behind a nearby boulder. A woman. He sensed no hostility from her, merely curiosity. ¡°This is what happens when you overestimate yourself and try to push yourself to a Phase you aren¡¯t ready for,¡± he said. Speaking also hurt. So did standing up and reaching into his storage bag. It was¡­ horrendously unorganized. Normally he would use a strand of spiritual energy to pull whatever he wanted into his hand, but he had to rifle through until he felt a box. Hopefully it was the right one. He pulled it out and found it did indeed contain his healing pills. He popped one into his mouth, letting it begin dissolving on his tongue before he swallowed it. It tasted¡­ like nothing, really. Not with his burns. It didn¡¯t even leave a soothing feeling behind, as he continued to feel only pain or numbness. John wondered why he was bothering to try to stay alive. He couldn¡¯t be of any use without cultivation. At best, he was a hopefully above average administrator. But without cultivation, anyone could kill him. The fog cleared slightly as the woman turned to sneak away, black hair briefly swirling about. That reminded him of Melanthina and the rest. He was supposed to support them. Unfortunately, he¡¯d failed at that pretty badly since Matayal¡¯s death. And now he didn¡¯t even have the spiritual energy to circulate the medicinal power within him, having to leave it up to his aching body. Inside of him, the process of decay continued. The bodies of sea life broke down, and the ash that was once a great tree coated the remnants of the land. But perhaps if he had been in the right state of mind, John would have remembered that rot and decay came in large part to microscopic life¡­ and that ashes could be perfect to promote new growth. Chapter 261 Attempting to travel at the pace he was used to proved rather difficult for John without access to spiritual energy. That he had gone to Astrein alone was simply another foolish decision in a long chain of them. Avoiding distraction and publicity was the goal, but people would ultimately learn the details of what happened given time. Neither success nor failure would stay secret for long. Indeed, a random person in the wilderness had already stumbled across him- or more likely been drawn by his attempt to break through. He should have considered that. But if John was in a state where he was making good decisions, he would not be where he was now. The last few years would be quite different, he imagined. Instead, here he was dragging his injured body one step at a time towards Lunson. The fact that he could walk was testament to the quality of pills he brought with him, but he still ached with every step. Internal and external burns covered most of his body. He wondered if it would have been better perish quickly, instead of experiencing his cultivation leaking away. But, as the skies darkened that same evening he approached a small village. It wasn¡¯t much, but making it that far meant he was still alive. And even if he was basically useless as far as this world was concerned, there were still things he could and should do. Like apologize to people for how he had been in recent years. To his family and friends. He¡¯d hoped to return to them with an Ascending Soul Phase cultivation, something to show he was not just a waste of space. But considering it, was cultivation really important? Of course it was. But at the same time, it wasn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t become friends with anyone because of their cultivation- though he wasn¡¯t so naive to think that it didn¡¯t help promote positive feelings. Likewise, John¡¯s cultivation could not comfort his children at the loss of their mother. He¡¯d failed at that all on his own. As he approached the houses of the village looking for a place to stay, John¡¯s thoughts and feelings actually began to settle down. He wasn¡¯t important or powerful anymore¡­ and he actually found himself relieved. Exchanging a few coins for a roof over his head was somehow more satisfying than tirelessly marching on into the night to reach Astrein and somewhere actually meant to receive guests. He awoke in the morning, still experiencing aches and pains. He ate a simple cold breakfast and carried on. The thought that running into danger on the road might actually kill him passed through his mind. A single violent cultivator or beasts of any note, and that would be the end for him. He should have been afraid, probably. Instead, he was able to put it out of his mind. He didn¡¯t have to watch for threats if it wouldn¡¯t make any difference. The countryside was nice. Astrein was a good place to live. Rolling fields, both farmland and natural plants, filled his vision from end to end. Normally he would pass it by so quickly, taking little note of anything that didn¡¯t display a high density of spiritual energy. He politely greeted everyone he passed on the road, simply because he was in a good mood and not because he wanted to make some good impression on them for the sake of the clan. He was aware he received odd looks. Of course it was strange to see someone in fine equipment- or at least equipment that had once been high quality, retaining valuable properties even after it had been aflame- yet find that someone had little to offer in the way of cultivation. John felt only the slightest wisps of spiritual energy inside of him, dancing around pleasantly. As he traveled, he didn¡¯t actively seek out spiritual energy. If he did, his meridians would ache and his dantian would throb. So he stopped thinking about it, simply letting it be. Lunson felt so much larger when he arrived, despite not changing at all in the days since he had last passed through the capital. He arrived midday, but the call of a proper bed had him stay in the city and wander about. He visited the markets and the residential district- for those who lived in the city year round, not just when tournaments were taking place. He inspected the arenas as he could, though that meant simply observing from the outside. That night he slept in a soft bed, though it was merely a room meant for servants or disciples. He could have paid more for a proper suite, though there were few inns that ran such quality at this time. But he found a simple bed perfectly comfortable, certainly adequate to deal with the constant exhaustion he had due to travel and wounds. In the morning when he awoke, John considered whether it was safe to consume more medicinal pills. Without the ability to circulate his energy, various toxins might build up. Side effects that were easily managed as a cultivator could be quite dangerous for a mundane individual. He still had a small amount of cultivation, but his meridians weren¡¯t in any state to do anything but gently circulate his energy a few times. He did so, mostly just to remind himself that he could. John decided that simple salves would have to do. Removing bandages, he found his skin cracked and peeling, leaving behind reddish skin in small parts underneath. He slowly applied the salves to his whole body and reapplied bandages. He doubtless looked like a mummy. Or someone with a terrible skin condition, perhaps. That might be why people seemed to avoid him. As he walked around the road, John found some minor medicinal leaves alongside the road. They were extremely limited in potency, but had a nice minty flavor, which also served to cool the burning sensation in John¡¯s throat. He¡¯d be avoiding hot food for a while, though anything that took serious effort to swallow was also unpleasant. But he took it as a minor annoyance for his new perspective. He had many apologies to make to Melanthina still. As for Nik, he had to thank the young man for taking care of his daughter. John¡¯s judgment hadn¡¯t gone wrong there. There were others in the Tenebach clan he¡¯d have to seek out as well. His grandfather especially, who had entrusted the clan to him. At least it hadn¡¯t been run into the ground, though that had nothing to do with John. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Then he needed to find others. Renato and Ursel, if she was around. Then Tirto. He had some idea what his son had been up to, but he hadn¡¯t properly visited. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t want to see John, but he had to at least try. Then¡­ if he thought he could survive the Green Sands, he should see Steve and Yustina. Maybe he¡¯d stop by the Sunfields first. It should be significantly more tolerable with lower cultivation, funnily enough. Astrein was good. Peaceful. The Stone Conglomerate was also in a pleasant state. Walking along the solid roads made John feel confident. Seeing people pass by for everyday tasks filled John with confidence. Cultivators, meanwhile, rushed by and took in much less than they thought they did. It took a couple weeks to make his way back to the Tenebach clan. Part of that was his casual pace, and part of it was his inability to actually go faster. He could probably run for a few minutes or power walk for part of the day, but he preferred to go at a pace that would leave him nicely fatigued come evening. Then he would sleep. It was nice. He dreamed of islands within sparkling seas, and for the first time in years the thoughts of Matayal that dredged up didn¡¯t hurt quite so much. He hoped whatever afterlife she was experiencing was peaceful. Or at least the lack of one, if that was how things were. Or maybe a new life as a new person, reincarnated with a blank slate. He finally made it to the front entrance of the clan. He approached at a measured pace, a serene smile on his face. Funny how almost dying made you appreciate being alive. He just hoped he wouldn¡¯t need a third reminder later. ¡°Halt!¡± came a call from in front. ¡°Who goes there?¡± John¡¯s eyes settled on the guard there. ¡°I¡¯ve not been gone that long, have I?¡± John raised an eyebrow. Another guard appeared to have recognized him, and whispered to the other. ¡°Ah. F-former head. It is good to see you return.¡± He swallowed. ¡°I have not the perception to discern your true cultivation, hidden as it is.¡± Hidden, was it? Certainly, it was easier to hide smaller things. ¡°Do not worry,¡± John said as he drew close. ¡°You were simply performing your duty.¡± The gates were not even closed, as traffic flowed in and out of the clan regularly. John continued his approach, ¡°Besides, I didn¡¯t even have my token out,¡± he grinned as he produced it from his storage bag. It took a surprising effort to grab that from his bag, but if John was stuck with spiritual energy that functioned only on the level of mild telekinesis¡­ his former life wouldn¡¯t actually be able to complain. How many times had he tried something like that to have no response? ----- John did not immediately go see Melanthina, though it was not for lack of desire. He didn¡¯t want to disrupt her day. Instead he waited until just before dinner, when she would be done with work. Or at least, technically done for the day. John knew how things tended to drag on. He wrestled with how he should approach her, and ultimately settled for the most straightforward. ¡°Good evening,¡± he said as he knocked on the open door to her office and stepped inside. ¡°... Father?¡± she looked up, and then her spiritual energy swept over him. She leapt towards him, stopping just short of embracing him. ¡°You¡¯re injured!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had worse,¡± John said. Though he¡¯d also recovered from worse wounds more quickly. Despite the physical pain, he still reached out and wrapped one arm around her. ¡°It is good to see you again.¡± She gently returned his embrace. ¡°You were gone for so long. What were you doing?¡± She pulled back slightly. His current state of cultivation should have made that pretty clear. Cultivation damage didn¡¯t happen casually. ¡°Wasting my time on unimportant things,¡± John shook his head. ¡°Instead of being with my family. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He almost wished she would have asked ¡®for what¡¯, but there were so many things for him to be sorry for she must have been spoiled for choice. ¡°You¡­ your cultivation feels weird. I couldn¡¯t sense you.¡± John shrugged, ¡°This is how it is now. And I think¡­ that¡¯s fine.¡± John wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°How have you been?¡± ¡°... Running the clan is difficult,¡± Melanthina sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± John said. ¡°It¡¯s not-¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s my fault,¡± John cut her off. ¡°I could have made the transition so much better in many ways. At least I could have been there for you. So I¡¯m sorry for that. And for everything I missed.¡± Despite what he thought he deserved, Melanthina didn¡¯t yell at him. She just looked at him with concern. ¡°Are you alright¡­?¡± ¡°Despite what it may look like, I think this is the best I have been since Matayal died.¡± John took a deep breath. ¡°Though perhaps that doesn¡¯t mean much. At least you¡­ haven¡¯t been wasting your time.¡± Melanthina had sat down in a chair, with John across from her. ¡°What were you doing?¡¯ ¡°Up until recently¡­ very little of merit. And then I was attempting to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°... Did you succeed?¡± John frowned. ¡°Do you really need to ask?¡± It didn¡¯t really bother him to speak of it. ¡°Just look at my cultivation.¡± Melanthina bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying.¡± ¡°Is it not obvious?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ not,¡± Melanthina shook her head. How could it not be obvious that he failed? John decided to stop skirting around the subject. Might as well say it directly. ¡°I failed, basically destroying my dantian and ruining my cultivation.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It should not come as a surprise,¡± John said. ¡°The Ascending Soul Phase is a nearly insurmountable barrier. And it should be obvious by now that I am imperfect.¡± ¡°So your cultivation dropped?¡± ¡°You say that as if you can¡¯t tell. But here I sit, empty of spiritual energy.¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I¡¯ve felt people who were empty. And those who don¡¯t cultivate. You¡¯re like¡­ a blank canvas?¡± For the first time in weeks, John took a good long look at himself. His dantian and meridians still showed clear signs of damage. Sinking deeper into his dantian, he still saw the decay in the seas, the sundered islands, and the ash coating everything. But despite all that, he also felt a steady rhythm of spiritual energy¡­ and all five of his totems, seemingly in good repair. Chapter 262 At Melanthina¡¯s prompting, John took a more thorough look at his current cultivation. Something about this time was different. John wasn¡¯t sure what, but when Fortkran Tenebach had perished- scattering his cultivation- his attuned totem had gone with him. But John wasn¡¯t dead, and his totems remained. That could explain why it was difficult for people to feel his cultivation. It was like the spiritual energy in Astrein- most cultivators would say it lacked density, but in fact it was simply the various elements mixed together felt like almost nothing. So John probably felt like a weak darkness cultivator with little else. John kept his eyes on Melanthina. He didn¡¯t want to get anyone¡¯s hopes up. ¡°I am uncertain if my cultivation is ruined forever. But my attempt to break through resulted in significant damage.¡± ¡°We can get you medicines,¡± Melanthina said quickly. ¡°The clan has resources to help!¡± ¡°I appreciate the thought. But I think I would waste them to use them in my current state. And I have done very little for the clan in recent years for them to spend so much on me.¡± ¡°But you were clan head for decades!¡± Melanthina protested. ¡°You brought so much prosperity.¡± ¡°And so much danger,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I nearly squandered it all. I don¡¯t know if the clan owes me much of anything. You don¡¯t, at least. I¡¯ve been a terrible father.¡± ¡°No!¡± Melanthina protested. ¡°I mean¡­ the last few years, maybe. But before that, you were everything I needed. Even if I didn¡¯t always like it.¡± ¡°A lifetime of good can be easily balanced by a little bad,¡± John shook his head. ¡°But I suppose that family should not keep track of what they owe others. If I think of a way you can help me, I will let you know. And if I can do anything for you¡­¡± John sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can. Though my power is limited. I think¡­ I already missed the important things.¡± Like her wedding. ¡°Not¡­ everything,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°For now, can you just stay here?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John said. ¡°Though I have other people I need to apologize too.¡± ¡°They can wait,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Though¡­ Ursel and Tirto should be the first.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± John agreed. ----- Though it was tempting to head off immediately to see the other triplets, John knew that would ruin what little progress he had made with Melanthina. Sure, she was quite accepting of his apology, but if he went and screwed things up again immediately the fallout would be much worse. Since he was around, he needed to make sure he at least found Nik. Not that the man was difficult to track down, as the only source of light element in the whole clan. Though he wasn¡¯t necessarily free at any given time, given how he was assisting Melanthina with her duties. With a little bit of patience, John found an opening where Nik was carrying a few stacks of papers around the clan. ¡°Let me help you with that,¡± John said. The young man- though nowhere near as young as he had once been- simply nodded, handing over part of a pile. In truth, it wasn¡¯t difficult for any cultivator to carry, even when stack sizes should have become unwieldy. They walked along in silence for a few minutes before John finally managed to get the words out. ¡°Thank you for taking care of my daughter when I failed her. I owe you more than you can imagine.¡± ¡°How could I not?¡± Nik shook his head. ¡°Melanthina being who she is, I wouldn¡¯t just give up on what we had been through. Besides, a good man entrusted me with her once upon a time.¡± John sighed. ¡°Wish I could have met someone like that. Maybe I would have kept my head on straight.¡± He didn¡¯t have much else to say. ¡°Sorry about these last few years.¡± It was one thing to mourn, and another to allow your mourning to make things more difficult for others who were also facing the same troubles. He was quite fortunate that he didn¡¯t seem to have caused a larger rift with his family that could not be forgiven. Though returning to a state of closeness would take a long time¡­ and it was possible things would never be quite the same. ----- In this world, John had never been terribly close with his own father. Fortkran had simply been too much for the man to handle, and his mediocre cultivation meant John hadn¡¯t been able to rely on him for advice in that area. To Luctus, Gerben had been a disappointment, but Fortkran had been even more so. Luctus had been more than glad to accept John, or basically any replacement. John knew he had more than met expectations for most of his time. But now, it had been some time since they had seen each other. Luctus was much like the image of a typical cultivator, generally withdrawn and impersonal. He cared deeply for the clan, but he showed little emotion most of the time. The man spent much of his time cultivating, not that that was abnormal in any way. It simply meant John had to wait for a break to speak to him. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry about refusal. When he sensed the darkness element settle down, John knocked on Luctus¡¯ door. ¡°Come in,¡± came the aged voice. The door creaked open. The servants would have been mortified to find out anything in the manor could creak. As it swung, the door revealed the shadowy form of Luctus. Some darkness cultivators still preferred light to aid their vision, but Luctus seemed to prefer having no light sources available. At least John could still see in the dark, though he couldn¡¯t quite pick out all the details of his grandfather. His form was thin, his skin wrinkled. It was difficult for John to say if it was more or less than he had been at any other point. He had already seemed to be at the end of his life when John transmigrated, but who could say if two decades would have brought about his end. His cultivation had since improved to the Consolidated Soul Phase, but depending on specific circumstances that didn¡¯t always come with the same increase in lifespan. ¡°Hello, grandfather,¡± John inclined his head politely. ¡°How goes your cultivation?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°How should I say it¡­¡± Luctus tilted his head. ¡°I have advanced further than I ever expected, but I sincerely doubt I will ever reach the late Consolidated Soul Phase. But I have no complaints. And yourself? Why do you seek me out?¡± ¡°I need your wisdom,¡± John admitted. ¡°I am certain you can tell my cultivation has hit a rough patch. You have the most experience.¡± While he wasn¡¯t the one with the highest cultivation- that would be either other members of the ¡®club¡¯ or Johannes Dalen- he did have the longest history. Which would also include the most mistakes that he might be able to advise John about. Thin wisps of darkness sought out John as his grandfather¡¯s senses took him in. John didn¡¯t hide anything¡­ but nor did he make particular effort to reveal anything. ¡°Perhaps you should explain what happened.¡± John nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think you will be surprised to learn that I attempted to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°I clearly made some mistakes.¡± Even the thought of mobilizing a significant amount of spiritual energy made John feel queasy. ¡°But I survived. My meridians and dantian suffered severe trauma¡­ and yet I seem to have successfully attuned to my fifth totem.¡± ¡°If that is what you believe,¡± the old man said, ¡°Then I would trust your judgment is accurate.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if I have caused myself irreparable injuries, or if I will recover.¡± John explained the situation- including the situation inside his dantian. ¡°It was so vibrant, once. Now it seems irrecoverable.¡± Luctus nodded slowly, closing his eyes for a moment. ¡°Such is always the case after a disaster. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think I can provide much advice. Just one thing. I can say for certain if you do not devote time to recovery after a disaster that it will indeed leave a permanent scar. Putting in the effort may or may not produce fruit, but accepting defeat is always a loss.¡± John nodded, ¡°Just let me ask, do I feel like someone who has ruined his cultivation?¡± ¡°Though I am confident I could wipe you out with a sweep of my arm¡­ No, I couldn¡¯t say with confidence anything about your current state. It is¡­ like a fog.¡± ¡°Melanthina thought much the same,¡± John admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of hogging resources to myself to attempt to force a recovery.¡± ¡°Then you should not,¡± Luctus declared. ¡°You know as well as I do that resources alone are insufficient to make a powerful cultivator. They are an aid, not meant as a crutch.¡± John nodded, thinking of his preparations for advancement. Attempting to break through without the resources would have been foolish, but they also weren¡¯t enough. ¡°I suppose no matter how things are, I owe it to myself to do my best for recovery. This is my current state, and whether it is better or worse than starting over from a blank slate¡­¡± John shrugged. ¡°It is where I am.¡± He still felt uncomfortable any time he looked deep within his dantian instead of simply circulating his energy. ¡°Thank you for your time.¡± As he stood to leave, Luctus called after him. ¡°Do not forget¡­ I still have no regrets about accepting you.¡± Not exactly a touching and emotional statement, but encouraging nonetheless. ----- John sat in meditation. Proper meditation, instead of simple exploration like he had performed in Melanthina¡¯s presence. He had dealt with damaged meridians once before. That time, they had been like burst pipes. This time, it was like a fiery explosion wracked him from the inside. He was burned and scorched, inside and out. He took things very slowly, passing a small strand of the abundant darkness energy through his meridians. As he slowly nudged it along, bits and pieces of it were absorbed into his meridians, soothing them. He should have focused on this sooner, but he¡¯d been completely drained of spiritual energy¡­ and he still felt that trying to apologize was more important in some ways. Though so was staying alive and healthy to actually do something to make up for the last few years. There was a clear limit to how much spiritual energy his meridians would absorb. Trying to force more would simply cause more damage, even if he was only circulating a tiny fraction of what he would normally cultivate with. Once he circulated a strand of spiritual energy through every path of his meridians in the prescribed manner, it settled in his dantian. He had gone with a pure element, and the one with which he was most experienced, to minimize the chances of screwing up. He felt like any sudden movements could tear him apart. But while his spiritual energy had slightly helped, he still felt the dull pain. Perhaps some water element would help? Though his meridians seemed saturated with spiritual energy already. Then again, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try as long as he didn¡¯t force anything. Slowly he gathered a small strand of water element from the surroundings. There was always at least a small amount of any element, especially those allied with the dominant one in an area. It was even easier than separating it from the mix of elements in Astrein. A small strand of water flowing through his cracked meridians. He thought they would absorb nothing, or at least very little, but instead it drank the water element like it had previously not been filled with darkness. Bit by bit, John gathered more strands of spiritual energy, guiding them through his meridians until they were devoured. Eventually, he reached the end of the path, adding the water element to the vague pool of spiritual energy within him. He was reluctant to draw any energy directly from his dantian, given the damage and how empty it felt. He had a serious choice to make next. He could move to the other allied element- earth. Or he could continue a cycle, going from water to air or fire. Though fire was instantly rejected by him, given that it was the cause of the damage to begin with. He chose air, though he was cautious with it. A cool breeze through his meridians, which happily absorbed small amounts of it. A laborious few hours later, and he moved onto earth. Each element seemed to fit alongside all the others. He wasn¡¯t particularly surprised, but still pleased. John couldn¡¯t help but reminisce about first coming to this world, and how much more he knew. How different he was, even. All of the memories he¡¯d made for himself, not just the ones Fortkran had. Though some of the new memories were painful. Distracting himself with this cultivation was quite useful, even after it had been years. The only element he had left to try was fire and light. Light was the one thing that would be most lacking¡­ and he didn¡¯t have a totem. But John was aware he had attuned to a fire element totem. He could feel the Ethereal Flames deep inside him. He was simply uncertain whether or not the connection was flawed. But he had to find out eventually. If using fire element in the future would cause him endless trouble, it would be good to know now. But he didn¡¯t find it particularly more difficult than anything else. Which was actually better than he had expected. It seemed his connection was good enough for small strands of fire element, at least. He remained cautious as he circulated energy through his meridians, but they even absorbed the fire element without pain. It was like a warm cozy fire. John breathed a sigh of relief. He had spent most of his day performing a task he should have honestly been able to accomplish in half an hour, if he was healthy. Much less, if the goal was merely to gather spiritual energy into his dantian. But in his current state, he found it more than acceptable. There was some question of what his cultivation would be like if his meridians and dantian recovered. He still had his totems, but he might still need to work his way up through the Phases of cultivation. He might still run into something worse, but for the moment he no longer believed his cultivation was forever ruined. And if he took another twenty-eight years to return to where he was? He could only consider himself lucky to have the chance. Chapter 263 Pulsing spiritual energy inevitably led Tirto to the leviathan, though its location was also closely tracked by a coalition of clans in the Shimmering Islands. Tirto wasn¡¯t quite sure why he was here, except that he had the feeling the leviathan was important. Beyond its obvious destructive capabilities, that is. He kept a careful distance from it. Despite the affinity he¡¯d developed, it would only take a single moment of the creature deciding he was food for everything to be over. There wasn¡¯t a clan or sect in the whole of the Shimmering Islands that could stop this thing now that it was active once more. It ate what it wanted, and nobody could stop it. Fortunately, it held short of ecological devastation. At least, usually. Recently, the creature¡¯s already vast appetites had increased. There was serious concern that it would affect the ability of the northern islands to fish, one of the main forms of sustenance throughout all of the Shimmering Islands. Tirto wondered- very briefly- if it was worth his mother¡¯s life to save this thing. The thought quickly passed because it had to. He couldn¡¯t accept that she died for nothing. That their family was wounded like this for no purpose at all. And he had logical reasons to disregard it as well. Anything that empowered their enemies was a detriment to the region, and the Molten Sea had proven themselves more than simply unpleasant neighbors. At least those under the banner of Gesine caused more than their fair share of trouble in a few short years. Thoughts like that swam through Tirto¡¯s head as he observed the leviathan. He focused on his eyes to pierce the gloom of the waters, struggling to take in the vast size of the creature. What could be causing the change in its behavior? Or perhaps this was how it was supposed to be, and it was simply sluggish upon first waking up. But if it continued to eat as it was, it might consume everything in the whole of the Shimmering Islands. Though it was not as rapidly approaching a threat as it might seem. ----- For the last month, Tirto had been dealing with clan affairs while out at sea. In some ways it was more work. Despite having access to the best cabin on the ship, his office was still smaller and harder to work in. For social engagements it often required meeting groups on deck, though for the people of the Shimmering Islands they didn¡¯t necessarily mind such a thing. And since a good part of the business involved the leviathan they were tracking, some things were actually easier. It also allowed Tirto to ignore other distractions, and while he knew he would have to deal with such matters eventually he was going to take advantage of his time to think. The leviathan¡¯s power was growing slowly. That much was clear, and led directly into talks of hunting down the creature. Of course, defeating it from the outside would be massively difficult¡­ and with it conscious, attacking internally would be little better. But if it was necessary for the sake of the Shimmering Islands, it would have to be done. But nobody was going to rush into that option. After all, the first to sign onto the plan would also have to be among the first to fight and risk themselves. It wasn¡¯t quite to the point where Tirto thought people were ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away. They were still balancing risk versus reward. Because while the leviathan did eat large swaths of fish as it traveled- it didn¡¯t have just a single mouth but instead could draw in water all along its ¡®front¡¯- it also improved the quality of spiritual energy in the areas it passed through. So while food was less available, beasts could survive in part off of the increased water element available. It wasn¡¯t enough to just accept it and move on, and they still had to monitor it for disaster. It swept around the northern end of the Shimmering Islands from east to west, and was currently headed south. If it reached the southern third of the sea, it would have more open water to swim through. Though it had already covered most of the sea, so it should be aware of such details. ----- The leviathan had approached shallow waters near a series of islands. Instead of swimming around them, it was dragging itself along, barely half submerged in water. It was most likely wreaking havoc on the local tides, overwhelming them with waves and higher water from its sheer bulk. More than that, it was creating a deep gouge in the sand. It was almost as if it had beached itself, but it continued to move along at a consistent pace, propelling itself mostly through the power of its spiritual energy. Curious as to what could cause its behavior, Tirto resolved to take a closer look. Comparing it to other sea creatures, it shared only some similarities with beached whales. Whales beaching was almost always unintentional due to sickness or injury, with the waves pushing a creature ashore. For a creature the size of the leviathan, ocean waves were less relevant- but it could be sick and off track. It wasn¡¯t exactly nimble, so if it had misjudged the depths of the waters ahead of it, there might be no choice but to push through until it reached somewhere deeper. Diving behind the leviathan was generally the safest, as long as he didn¡¯t get too close. For the moment he was staying a good kilometer back, focusing his attention on the detritus it left behind. Local fishes that had been fortunate not to be sucked into its maws were also quite interested in the partially digested remains of fish and plant matter. By now, Tirto was quite familiar with what it left behind, and it didn¡¯t look any different. If it was sick, it didn¡¯t have any effect there. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. As he followed along the gouge deep into the sand of the ocean floor, he saw churned up hunks of rock, along with something else he almost missed because it didn¡¯t stand out against the overwhelming aura of the leviathan. It was like a single leaf in a forest. But in the same manner as that analogy, it was also something he latched onto because it was like a leaf floating down a river. Sand soon covered it, but he dove down and used waves of water to uncover it. It was a chunk of the shell of the leviathan, a wide shard several meters across and a single meter thick.. Was it so fragile that it was falling apart? No, it shouldn¡¯t even be able to break itself on solid rock. Strangely, he felt a pulse of life within it- though it shouldn¡¯t have any. His energy sunk into the hunk of rock and¡­ he was pretty quickly able to puzzle out what was going on. This was an egg, though it didn¡¯t look like any egg he¡¯d ever encountered. Carefully, he returned the sand to the top of it. If this was an egg, it certainly deserved its own chance to live. He was cautious about the idea of multiple leviathans running around, but the egg was multiple orders of magnitude smaller than the current creature. Comparing an island sized mass to a modest boulder was quite different. And he had to admit some curiosity. If the thing hatched, he could see what it would look like all at once instead of in pieces. The adult leviathan didn¡¯t really fit the logic of any animal forms he knew of. ----- Over the course of the next few months, several things became clear. As the leviathan circled around to the west and back to the south its physical state became visible for everyone to see. With each egg it left behind, there was a permanent chunk of its outer shell missing. The creature gradually lost some of its size, though it remained massive. Along with that, however, its overall health was clearly in decline. Its spiritual energy weakened even as it continued to consume vast quantities of food. It also became clear that it intentionally sought out ¡®shallow¡¯ water, scraping hunks off of itself as it did so. Tirto had hoped that it would approach Pualani, as the connected islands might benefit from its passage. Then again, he was glad when it showed no intent to move towards the center of the sea, as it could instead cause significant damage. Perhaps the last three and a half years had been planned out in advance. Tirto was uncertain about that, but the leviathan returned to its former home¡­ where it dove into the depths. Over the course of several weeks, Tirto watched it die, its spiritual energy pouring out from it like blood from an open wound. This spiritual energy attracted countless beasts, all of which were happy to begin devouring the flesh of the leviathan as it slowly died. The outer layers gone, something more akin to normal flesh was revealed beneath the built up armor of stone. As soon as it was clear what was happening and he deemed it survivable, Tirto took with him the best among the Brandle clan, venturing inside the creature once more. While he had not been inside during the conflict with the Molten Sea, Livna and Yonit knew the route to its heart. It was clear the structure of the beast was collapsing, but without the strange creature living inside of it- either wiped out in the war or because of the beast being close to death- it was easier to traverse. Rather than a slog of battle, it was more of a race with other clans to see who could find something of value. The entirety of the leviathan was valuable in some manner, but Tirto was focused on the heart. In some places, they found crystallized water element. They did not leave it behind, but they wouldn¡¯t go far out of their way searching for it. The most important part was its heart, and they reached it first. At least, Tirto saw no signs of others. All that was left was a very weak pulse of energy, but with the guidance of the clan he found the location of the final battle. There, they tore into the already damaged stony flesh of the creature to reveal an orb some two meters in diameter. It was pure water element, with the outside being a crystallized frozen shell. Then there was liquid water¡­ and if Tirto¡¯s eyes did not deceive him, a core of steam bouncing around in a sphere inside. The outer shell had some visible cracks, but it was still generally intact. It just barely fit into Tirto¡¯s storage bag, the best the clan had. As it was, he had to hand off some of what he had stored and shift things around. Then there was the matter of fitting it in the mouth of the bag, intended to expand and stretch- but with limits. Having secured something of clear value without conflict, Tirto led his clan back out of the creature. It was well and truly dead, now. Perhaps it would once more serve as a home for corals and barnacles to live on, before eventually truly becoming part of the deep sea. He had already assigned some people to watch over some of the eggs- Tirto didn¡¯t want to risk damage to them if they were moved. With that, the saga of the leviathan was finished¡­ at least for this generation. Tirto was relieved that things had turned out as they did. The ecosystem would recover from its wide range devouring. Its offspring might have the potential to reach such a massive size, but if so that would be centuries away and they would have plenty of time to respond to such growth. And ultimately, its power returned to the sea- with a good chunk of it going to the Brandle clan. When Tirto returned home, he was almost ready to deal with the other matters awaiting him. Though he wasn¡¯t expecting to see his father there. That was a bit of a surprise, though he had received word from Melanthina that he was returning to something like his old self. Tirto hoped that was true. Chapter 264 Silence reigned over the room as Tirto went to visit his father, who had been placed in his mother¡¯s room. Tirto didn¡¯t know what to say as his father looked him over. His father was the one to break the silence first. ¡°She did well preparing you for your responsibilities. I apologize for not being of any help.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t need you,¡± Tirto said more harshly than he intended. ¡°We managed just fine.¡± His father nodded slowly. ¡°It was not my business before I married your mother, but once she passed I should have still been available to provide any support you needed. And I don¡¯t mean just combat power¡­¡± That was what it was. Why Tirto was finding it difficult to believe the man was here in front of him, despite seeing him with his own eyes. ¡°What happened to your cultivation?¡± ¡°A good question,¡± Fortkran Tenebach replied. ¡°I might have ruined it,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Mother died to protect you.¡± ¡°She died to protect all of us. I was not strong enough, and so I attempted to become stronger. It¡¯s not like I was providing any value as I was.¡± Tirto grimaced, not because of his father¡¯s self-deprecation, but because he felt like that sometimes. ¡°How long do you plan to be here?¡± he said to change the topic. ¡°As long as necessary,¡± Fortkran said. ¡°A few months at least. Though I¡¯m not sure about here in particular,¡± he gestured to the room. ¡°It reminds me of her.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°It should be your room, you know. You¡¯re clan head, after all. I hope you at least use the training room.¡± ¡°I¡­ am doing fine without,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Certainly. But that does not mean you could not do better for yourself.¡± His father stood. ¡°I think I shall tour the island for a while. If you need me for anything, don¡¯t hesitate to ask. I can provide advice for breaking through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, as well. That, at least, I know well enough. And if there are any other matters¡­¡± The man gave him a look. One that Tirto used to understand as him knowing everything. And even now with more experience, he couldn¡¯t help but be convinced that solutions were there, just waiting for him. All he had to do was know how to ask. Or what to ask. ----- The nearly impossible beauty of Pualani was barely of interest to John at the current moment. How could he enjoy natural splendor if he was alone in a place he should not be? Everywhere he looked he recalled visions of Matayal. The matters of Tirto were also a trouble he might be unable to solve. Even when he had acted like a father, Tirto still had a strong preference for his mother. That might have been because of their elemental inclinations, or perhaps it came about in the opposite manner. They simply spent more time together, so they grew closer. Either way, John had a chance when they had still been close. And now he was just a stranger staying in his son¡¯s home. But he didn¡¯t intend to be down on himself, nor to let things stay that way. He had intent to change that. Which was why he sought out Emilia, Tirto¡¯s betrothed. At least he hadn¡¯t missed two weddings, though he had really expected the two of them to be properly married by now. He knew they got along well, so that shouldn¡¯t have been an issue. He found her around one of the many pools the clan maintained. No one was ever far from a source of water, and even as a fire element cultivator there was something to be said for relaxation by the water. Though Emilia didn¡¯t particularly feel relaxed. That was certainly the image she was trying to portray, but she was still but a young woman with little experience in deception. That was ultimately a good thing. ¡°Thank you for taking care of my son,¡± John said as he approached. Emilia had the green hair of the Milanovic clan, just like her mother. It draped across her face as she turned to behold John. ¡°I¡¯ve done nothing to be thanked for, sir.¡± It wasn¡¯t just mere politeness. She actually seemed to think little of her actions. ¡°Nonsense,¡± John said, sitting down nearby. ¡°I have heard of how you supported him silently all this time. Even men need a shoulder to cry on.¡± ¡°He may be stronger than you think,¡± Emilia replied. ¡°I know how strong he is,¡± John replied. ¡°Though if he has not cried this whole time, I might need to reevaluate that. Of course, you don¡¯t need to speak of it.¡± There was a time of silence, but Emilia eventually replied. ¡°It was every day, at first. He could have used you around as well.¡± John wanted to give the excuse that he couldn¡¯t be in two places at once- but in truth, he hadn¡¯t been there for Melanthina or Ursel either. And he was beyond the point to provide those excuses. ¡°Unfortunately, I have no power to turn back time. But at least you helped him through.¡± There was something about the way she talked, the way she looked. ¡°Would you be happy, if you were married?¡± It was probably a question he should not have asked, but it came out anyway. ¡°Do you love him?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Her answer there was clear, at least. ¡°I do. He is a wonderful man. He is kind, unafraid to show emotions to those he loves, and also a talented cultivator. He would certainly make me happy if we were married.¡± But not so much if he delayed, it seemed. Though they were still young and had no reason to rush into things, there also didn¡¯t seem any reason to continue to delay. ¡°Hey.¡± John heard a new voice. ¡°Hey you!¡± He looked up to see a red haired young woman. No, it hadn¡¯t been entirely red. There was a bit of blue that faded away as her hair took on the colors of typical flames. ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡¯ John was going to tell Verusha he was talking to her sister. Or visiting his son. He hadn¡¯t decided on a sarcastic response or not when she launched herself at him. It was an unexpected explosion of power. The young woman was already in the Foundation Phase, which was a surprise. John was aware that all cultivators in the region were growing more quickly, but even Matayal and Renato had been at least half a decade older. He let the fireball containing the young woman destroy the chair he had been in while he dodged out of the way into the pool. John considered the situation. He wasn¡¯t sure why he was being attacked, but as for how Verusha came to be this way¡­ there were plenty of reasons. Even if she wasn¡¯t born attuned to an element like the triplets, she was born of two parents with talent- and if John recalled correctly, she had been hanging around the triplets along with Emilia. That could easily push her to grow stronger. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can hide in the pool!¡± Verusha yelled as she swiveled towards him. John frowned. What an awkward situation. He wasn¡¯t even certain how strong he was at the moment. He didn¡¯t want to be injured, nor did he want to hurt this young woman. Swirling winds blew around him, air adding to water as he lifted up the pool. The brilliant orange flames around Verusha met with the water and instantly began to evaporate it into steam. It had been only a few moments, but John could sense some of the clan guards approaching, along with Crystin lingering in the distance. He caught the eye of one, holding up a hand to have them hold back. The guards were responsible for trouble within the Brandle clan and Crystin for John in particular, but John wanted to handle his own matters. Besides, he doubted Verusha would take interference well. ¡°Would you like to explain to me why you are angry?¡± John asked as he stood in half a pool of water. ¡°You know why!¡± Verusha yelled. John had some ideas, but he didn¡¯t know why she was so upset about it. The young woman inhaled, then screamed at him, flames bursting from her mouth. That seemed like something her father would have taught her- intentionally or not. Rather than rely solely on water to defend, John called upon his new totem. It wasn¡¯t meant for defense, but it was a fifth tier fire totem. It should make a vast difference in his ability to control fire compared to having none. He reached out, spreading the flames to either side of him and directing the streams into the remaining water. That was going to be a pain, as he really didn¡¯t want to stand in boiling water. He diverted some of the heat into the surrounding earth, especially under Verusha. Rather than let Verusha continue her assault unimpeded, John went on the counteroffensive. Though he didn¡¯t want to hurt her, he summoned invisible flames. Perhaps they were merely waves of heat, given his current level of spiritual energy, but they would serve the same purpose. Verusha¡¯s face grew red¡­ and then she wobbled on her feet. John dispersed the heat around her as Emilia ran over to catch her sister. Emilia was the first to sigh. ¡°Little sister, do you think about anything you do?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Verusha dangled by where Emilia held her shoulder, her eyes slowly opening. ¡°Did I get him?¡± ¡°Sorry. You didn¡¯t ¡®get¡¯ anyone.¡± ¡°Bleh¡­¡± Verusha¡¯s mouth dangled open, a gout of flame coming from her mouth as she exhaled. ¡°Hey¡­ you. Stupid father.¡± ¡°I believe the proper form of address is either senior or elder stupid father,¡± John smiled. Verusha¡¯s footing became more steady. ¡°Yeah you¡¯re not even a uh¡­ clan head anymore,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Unlike Tirto who has been doing all of the clan heading here.¡± The chair John had been sitting on was currently a smoldering pile of ash, so he took a seat on the opposite side of the pool, gesturing for Emilia to drag her sister over. ¡°You¡¯re right. He¡¯s done a fine job.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re stupid for not being there when he needed you.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± John nodded. ¡°You know, I could see why Tirto would do this, but I don¡¯t see why you care so much.¡± ¡°Well, uh¡­¡± Verusha¡¯s overheating seemed to be resolving itself. ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s too timid to stand up to you himself!¡± ¡°He may be less obvious about it, but I think he has the strength to assert himself,¡± John said. ¡°Pff. I guess he¡¯s getting there, yeah,¡± Verusha shrugged. ¡°But you still deserved to be punched in the face.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suggest that,¡± John said. ¡°It would probably hurt his fist. And that¡¯s not an excuse to do it for him.¡± Verusha crossed her arms as she looked at John more closely. ¡°Whoa, how did you get so weak?¡± ¡°Cultivation accident,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Did you just notice? Because I still defeated you. Did you seriously think you could take me on?¡± Emilia laughed, ¡°She doesn¡¯t think.¡± ¡°Shut up! I do!¡± Verusha retorted. ¡°I think lots of things!¡± ¡°Alright, alright,¡± John waved to calm her down. ¡°I get it. So¡­ why are you here? Besides trying to beat me up.¡± ¡°Well, uh, I came to see Emilia.¡± John smiled, ¡°I meant in general. Why are you hanging around the Brandle clan?¡± ¡°Well, I just¡­ want to make sure Tirto keeps his promise to marry Emilia.¡± A fluctuation of energy caught John¡¯s attention in time to see Tirto slinking away. Was he disappointed to see that John didn¡¯t get beat up? Perhaps. But it was clear that there was more that Tirto thought the situation was awkward to get involved in for more reasons than that. Perhaps this was something John could help with¡­ if he could get his son to open up enough to admit anything he was thinking. Chapter 265 After the incident with Verusha, John considered tracking down his son. The general situation was certainly something worth asking about, though he might not immediately be interested in talking about it. In the end, he decided to find him and make a judgment on the spot. It wasn¡¯t terribly difficult to follow Tirto¡¯s trail, as he was less than half as sneaky as his sister Melanthina. John found him in gardens on the other side of the manor. ¡°It seems like you shouldn¡¯t get bored around here,¡± John began the conversation in a friendly manner. Tirto sighed, ¡°I was worried she might cause more trouble than this. Are you alright?¡± John sat on a bench across from Tirto. ¡°I was until my own son had to worry about me after a fight with someone only in the Foundation Phase.¡± John grinned slightly, ¡°But I¡¯ll be fine, as long as I don¡¯t do that too frequently.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Tirto said. Silence hung between them for a solid minute. Finally, John spoke once more. ¡°You need to figure out what you want for yourself. And if that would be a good thing.¡± Tirto frowned, ¡°What do you mean?¡± John shrugged, ¡°Just what I said. Moments of indecisiveness can damage things that are good in our life, or stop us from obtaining something good. I am not saying that you should rush to make decisions. Take, for example, cultivation. You attain an insight into your element. There is reason to have caution and study the insight for truth before attempting to make use of it, but once you determine it is a valid insight not making use of it only causes you harm. Either directly by stubbornly continuing with faulty techniques, or indirectly by causing your cultivation to languish when it could have grown.¡± ¡°I do know these things,¡± Tirto said cautiously. ¡°It applies to more than just cultivation, of course. I heard you took the initiative, observing the leviathan. You were part of those who were developing plans to defeat it, should it be necessary. Yet your appropriate caution resulted in something of great interest. Spawn of the leviathan, which can no doubt turn into a great boon for the Brandle clan, and the whole region. At least if properly nurtured.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Tirto said. ¡°But I believe there is something specific you aren¡¯t saying.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± John considered for a few moments. ¡°I could let you figure that out for yourself. The context was sufficient. But on the other hand, I have the feeling that a bit of directness might be good for you.¡± ¡°I can handle directness,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Especially with Verusha around.¡± ¡°Good. Because that is exactly the topic I wish to discuss. Let me say this clearly, I intend for you to make your own decisions. I want you to reach the best solution for all, and I have no intention to shame you for whatever choice you might make.¡± John folded his hands. ¡°Do you love Emilia?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Tirto said clearly. ¡°I do.¡± John nodded. ¡°And the same is true in turn. Yet you delay in marrying her. Why?¡± ¡°Well I¡­ it¡¯s better not to rush into things, right?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Indeed,¡± John said. ¡°And if you truly thought it better to wait, you could set a date some time in the future. For example, one year or five years hence. But you hesitate, because you don¡¯t want to hurt her.¡± ¡°Well, yeah,¡± Tirto acknowledged. ¡°What if something changes?¡± ¡°If it is something unanticipated?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°Then I trust you will handle it as mature adults, even though you are young. And if you don¡¯t know how, ask for advice. I know I have not been available, but there are others around you with wisdom.¡± ¡°It is difficult to speak to them.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to seem weak as clan head,¡± John said. ¡°Or as a person. I understand. But it is worse to be weak, physically or emotionally. And if you act on your own and slip up, it is even worse. But there is another situation here to consider.¡± John made sure he had Tirto¡¯s full attention. ¡°That of an anticipated problem. Do you want to say what it is?¡± ¡°Well, I¡­ might not know quite what you mean.¡± John smiled. ¡°So be it. I¡¯ll tell you, then. The problem you anticipate is that you will break off the marriage because of someone else. Or perhaps you are afraid of doing something even more foolish than that.¡± ¡°I¡­ why would I?¡± ¡°Because humans are imperfect,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Look at me, for example. It didn¡¯t seem like I would fail to be there when you needed it. And when everything was going well, I would have been. But that¡¯s not the state we found ourselves in. Now then, I intend to be even more clear. But I will allow you another chance to say it.¡± ¡°... I¡¯d be happy, I think,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Marrying Emilia. She¡¯s wonderful and caring. She would nurture me in more than just cultivation.¡± John waited. ¡°But I would always think¡­ what about Verusha? She¡¯s infuriating more often than not. Simply being around her is challenging. But I can¡¯t help but think¡­ maybe that¡¯s better?¡± ¡°That is the question, isn¡¯t it?¡± John nodded. ¡°Would it be better? For you, for her, for Emilia? At this point, I don¡¯t know if there is a perfect solution. However, I will say this. You need to be honest. With yourself, with them. And you need to make the best long term decision. At this point, I don¡¯t believe you have made any unbreakable commitments. There may be some political fallout, some damaged feelings. But would that damage be worse than the alternative?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to know,¡± John agreed. ¡°But that is why it is important to do your best. Don¡¯t believe you have to settle this all at once, but I would not want to wait too long either.¡± ----- John was relieved when Tirto sought him out several times over the next few days. Even if they didn¡¯t make any concrete progress, the fact that Tirto was willing to do so was a good sign. John had been worried he might lose family forever, but that was the thing. They were still family and just like Melanthina, Tirto was waiting for him to be part of that again. It was certainly possible to cause a permanent rift that couldn¡¯t be repaired, but he hadn¡¯t let things get quite that far. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°She¡¯ll be upset,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Yes,¡± John nodded. ¡°She will.¡± ¡°And then after that, how can I even face her sister?¡± ¡°I would anticipate a heated response.¡± ¡°Okay but what if¡­¡± Tirto bit his lip. ¡°You have to hear me out for this, okay?¡± John nodded. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°So I know it¡¯s not the tradition around here. But I¡¯m clan head, and in some places it¡¯s not so unusual¡­¡± ¡°Go on,¡± John said, fully anticipating what was to come. ¡°I could just¡­ marry them both? What do you think?¡± Tirto looked at his father sheepishly. ¡°Tirto,¡± John said seriously. ¡°You know I love you. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to hold myself back and go over this patiently. First, do you believe it could actually happen?¡± ¡°I could¡­ probably convince them.¡± ¡°And if not?¡± ¡°... I might destroy my relationships. Even worse than the other option.¡± ¡°Let us say you convinced them. Would that be better for everyone? For anyone?¡± ¡°It could be!¡± Tirto said. ¡°That way neither of them would have to leave, and I know Verusha cares about me too. We would all continue to be together and¡­¡± Tirto trailed off. ¡°Do you think you could truly love them both as much as they deserve? Because let me tell you this. I loved your mother very much. Obviously. But I don¡¯t think I could have devoted enough to her to truly express that even if we had been together at all times.¡± And sadly, he¡¯d never get to find out. ¡°What do you do when both of them want time alone with you? Without even the other one present? What if their ambitions lead them in different directions? Everything somehow goes well until you pass on the position of clan head. Verusha is tired of sitting around in one place. Emilia wants to return to her family. What do you do?¡± ¡°I¡­could make a clone technique?¡± John fully burst out laughing. ¡°Ambitious. I hadn¡¯t considered that option. But you don¡¯t happen to have one now, do you?¡± ¡°No,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°Let¡¯s say you start now. How many years would you have to devote to it? Would either of them wait that long?¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t know,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°I¡¯ll never accept it unless you can prove to me that such a technique fully duplicates your consciousness, so you can focus on them as they deserve,¡± John said. Even with everything he¡¯s seen and heard, anything approaching true clone techniques never really advanced past controlling a mass of spiritual energy in a vaguely remote location- while taxing the primary consciousness more than simply double. But even so, he was seriously speaking with his son about it. ¡°I get it,¡± Tirto sighed. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to lose either of them.¡± ¡°Who says you will?¡± John asked. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve failed as a father, but let me say this clearly. You don¡¯t have to have sex with a woman to have a close relationship with her. And if you trust them to make good choices, any future partner of theirs will be mature enough to trust you to draw proper boundaries.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Tirto smiled, ¡°Though I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d trust Verusha to make good choices.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± John shrugged. ¡°She fell in love with you, after all.¡± ¡°Hah.¡± Tirto¡¯s laugh of acknowledgement led to a longer moment of silence between them. ¡°I¡¯d rather go fight the leviathan alone than make this decision.¡± ¡°Too bad,¡± John said. ¡°It¡¯s dead now, so this is your only option.¡± ¡°Uuuugh. What do I do?¡± ¡°Pick one. Or¡­ perhaps neither of them,¡± John noted. ¡°That thought is so much worse.¡± ----- After another week of agonizing, Tirto was fairly certain his father would do something horrible to him if he continued to do nothing. He¡¯d already gone over all of the options, and he¡¯d come to the unfortunate conclusion that he thought would cause the least damage. He couldn¡¯t even say that it would be the best for everyone involved, because it sure didn¡¯t feel like it. Though logically he knew that trying to hold onto things as they were would be worse. Tirto arrived outside a particular door. He hesitated. If he went through with this, he expected things to truly be over. He couldn¡¯t just take things back. That would hurt everyone involved even more. As it was, Verusha was going to try to kill him. He knocked on the door. ¡°Tirto?¡± came the voice from inside. ¡°Come in.¡± He opened the door to see Emilia. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°Did you receive ill news?¡± She held out her arms. While he would have normally liked to snuggle up against her to make himself feel better, that was exactly the sort of thing he shouldn¡¯t be doing here. ¡°I have to tell you something,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Something that will hurt you. But I think it will hurt even more if I don¡¯t say it.¡± Emilia waited in silence. She trusted him. Tirto knew that, which was why it would hurt to break his promise. Even implicit as it was, it was well known and practically universally accepted. ¡°I intend to formally break off our marriage.¡± Tirto tried to continue speaking, but it was difficult. ¡°I believe that going through with it would only hurt both of us.¡± It would be so much easier to leave it at that, then turn around and leave. He wouldn¡¯t have to see her face any longer. But this wasn¡¯t something he could just decide on his own. After all, it didn¡¯t involve just himself. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to explain. To say it to you, at least. I¡¯ve thought about it so much that the words almost don¡¯t mean anything.¡± Emilia sat in silence. In a way, she was supportive even in that moment. ¡°I love you. You mean so much to me. I could list so many wonderful things about you. I want to have you in my life forever. But¡­ slowly, I¡¯ve come to realize something. It¡¯s not quite¡­ the kind of love it should be. Because I¡¯ve developed that kind of love for someone else without even realizing it at first.¡± She knew. It was clear from her face. Her face couldn¡¯t help but express how she felt¡­ yet Tirto could feel wisps of spiritual energy around her face. Evaporation away her tears, so he didn¡¯t even have to see them. ¡°I love you. I¡¯ll always appreciate your support. You never pushed me too far. But at the same time¡­ you also didn¡¯t really push me to become better. And I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what I need. Furthermore¡­ you don¡¯t need someone who simply relies on you and provides a mediocre level of affection in return. We might be happy together. We would have, if I didn¡¯t have to think about her.¡± Emilia sat in front of him silently. ¡°Please say something,¡± Tirto¡¯s throat tightened. ¡°I cannot refute any of your words. Or deny the truth of how you feel. I know.¡± ¡°... I wish you could tell me I was wrong.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Am I a terrible person for needing to ask for your support now?¡± ¡°You could never be terrible,¡± Emilia said. ¡°I could have been.¡± She shook her head. ¡°That would have been someone else. You would have made the right decision eventually. And yes, I will support you. But I honestly can¡¯t predict how she will react.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t decide if I should wait.¡± ¡°Wait for what?¡± Emilia asked. ¡°She will attempt to kill you immediately after you tell her we are not getting married. That is also the best time to tell her why. Or perhaps immediately thereafter when you¡¯ve subdued her.¡± Tirto snorted. ¡°So, what, you think I should beat up your sister and then propose to her? How romantic.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work for me,¡± Emilia shrugged. ¡°But we¡¯re more than a little bit different.¡± Chapter 266 The location where Verusha was currently glaring at Tirto had been carefully chosen to not be around anything especially flammable. Her hair color undulated between blue and green as heat waves radiated off of her. ¡°... Could you repeat what you said? I¡¯m sure I didn¡¯t hear it right.¡± Her voice sounded almost patient as she said that. Tirto nodded. ¡°Of course. I said that the engagement between myself and Emilia has been officially called off.¡± The response was more or less what Tirto expected. Her hair locked into a bright crimson color to match the flames radiating off of her. ¡°You¡­¡± condensed flames surrounded her fist as she punched directly towards his chest, ¡°... idiot!¡± Tirto caught her fist with his palm. Despite knowing it was coming and the gaps between their cultivations, he barely managed to stop her attack. A protective sphere of water grew around him, instantly evaporating into steam where it touched Verusha¡¯s spiritual energy. ¡°I can¡¯t-¡± Verusha lashed out with a kick, flames spewing around her as she twisted, ¡°-believe-¡± She continued to spin, sweeping low as Tirto ducked under her attack, ¡°-you would do-¡± Her hands turned into slashing claws of flame as she flailed at him, ¡°-exactly the opposite of what I said!¡± Her final words were a roar, which came along with a cone of flames spewed from her mouth that flash boiled away nearly half of Tirto¡¯s defenses. Even if he was just defending, his elemental advantage should have been sufficient to block everything she could throw at him. But Tirto was beginning to feel the strain of her attacks. He didn¡¯t know how much longer she could keep up her barrage. Tirto wanted to say more, but he was busy resisting her attacks- and diverting their battle away from the nearby buildings and the gardens towards one of the clan¡¯s many pools of water. He didn¡¯t think he had the capacity to speak much, nor did he think she would listen in her current state. Tirto knew he had to fight back, but he didn¡¯t want to hurt her either. Fortunately, water was perfect for that. He began to extend his aura of water to cover her, effectively trying to cool her down. Though he did have to leave gaps for steam to explode out of as their spiritual energy interacted. That was something he¡¯d noticed with her before¡­ her particular flames were extremely well suited for shifting the state of water. Water to steam was obvious, but if she was willing to work with him it could have also helped him transition water to ice. But obviously this wouldn¡¯t be one of those times. He was beginning to wonder if she was inexhaustible, but then he saw her eyes behind the crimson flames. She was wearing herself out, but she also wasn¡¯t going to stop when she hit her limit. How foolish, she would only hurt herself that way. But that was exactly the kind of person she was. He couldn¡¯t allow that, of course. He didn¡¯t want to hurt her, physically or emotionally, but some of the latter had been inevitable. Now he had to stop her from causing lasting harm to her cultivation. The pulse of the leviathan¡¯s energy flowed through Tirto, an indomitable power of a creature of the deep. Channeling its power and converting his energy into ice, Tirto reached out to grab Verusha with his left arm. The flames surrounding her arms scorched his hand as he held onto her but, he didn¡¯t loosen his grip. As he tried to pull her closer she threw a punch to his gut that he forcefully endured. He still pulled her close and placed a gentle hand on her head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you let your sister and I explain things?¡± He didn¡¯t directly tell her to calm down because that sort of thing never worked. Tirto shifted them so that Verusha could see Emilia standing over to the side. He felt her scorching heat slowly shrink, and then she began to try to wriggle out of his grasp. ¡°L-let go, you stupid¡­ dumb¡­ ugh!¡± Verusha pulled away, her hair drained of color. ¡°Why¡­ why aren¡¯t you angry? All this time¡­¡± Emilia shrugged. ¡°Being angry wouldn¡¯t change anything. And Tirto explained his honest feelings. We¡¯re not as compatible as we should be.¡± Verusha had staggered over to her sister. ¡°But the two of you looked so¡­ happy. And you never argue at all.¡± ¡°That is true,¡± Emilia admitted. ¡°We have enjoyed being around each other. But you should also be aware that I wouldn¡¯t really fight with anyone.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that good, though? You¡¯re like mom. Calm and supportive. And the fire element can support water¡­¡± ¡°And who is our mother supporting?¡± ¡°Dad, of course.¡± ¡°And how is he like Tirto?¡± ¡°Well, uh. They¡¯re both strong. Talented cultivators. And umm¡­¡± Verusha cut herself off as she looked over towards Tirto. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else,¡± she said, snapping her eyes back to her sister. Emilia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. They are quite different in all of the ways that actually make a person. And thus, the two of us just aren¡¯t as compatible as we could be. I¡¯d rather him be with someone who fits better. And the same for myself.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Verusha frowned and straightened herself, but her hair remained without luster. ¡°And who is more compatible with Tirto than you, sis? I¡¯ll beat her up and show her how compatible she really is!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°You¡¯ve already done that plenty,¡± Emilia smiled lightly. ¡°Now will you listen to Tirto for a few moments?¡± Verusha sighed. ¡°If I have to.¡± She swiveled towards him, but nearly lost her balance. Emilia had to hold onto her. ¡°So, who is this mystery woman? There¡¯s no way you know her that well. I¡¯ve been watching you and you never spend time with any woman but us! Don¡¯t tell me you broke it off with Emilia for some unknown hussy.¡± Tirto stepped forward. ¡°You know, Emilia predicted it would go like this. But then again, who would know you better than your sister?¡± ¡°Stop delaying! Spit it out!¡± Verusha said with what energy she had left. ¡°It¡¯s you,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Yuu?¡± Verusha tilted her head. ¡°What clan is she from? It had better be an important one at least!¡± ¡°Not that,¡± Tirto laughed. ¡°It¡¯s you, Verusha. Perhaps you don¡¯t feel the same way about me in turn, but I believe you are at least somewhat fond of me. I know it might seem crazy. Especially to say it like this, and now. But I couldn¡¯t just stay engaged to your sister as a backup plan. That wouldn¡¯t be fair to her either.¡± ¡°I- what?¡± Verusha¡¯s eyes were filled with utter shock. ¡°I- uh-¡± with that she turned on her heel and sprinted away. Or at least tried to do that, when her body would only let her perform a quick jog. Tirto watched her go. ¡°That went about as well as expected.¡± ¡°Should you go after her?¡± ¡°I doubt it,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I think I¡¯ll remain somewhere where I can be approached without an audience. What do you think?¡± Emilia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best.¡± He took a step, then turned back towards her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t a different person.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to be. This is just the way things are.¡± Despite her words, Emilia couldn¡¯t help but watch him walk away with a hint of sadness in her eyes reflecting her deeper thoughts. Because even if he spoke the truth, it still hurt. ----- Seeing the situation temporarily resolved, John wondered if he could have prevented these issues if he had been around for the last three years. Though he tried not to dwell on it too long, ultimately he came to the conclusion that those involved were still barely cognizant of their own feelings. As something of an outsider, it would have been difficult for him to do much. But he could at least have been there to support Tirto, limiting his reliance on Emilia. That would have ultimately hurt her less, when it came to this. But while things might look bad now, had things continued on without any change then the results would have been much worse. Though he¡¯d been fortunate with his own longest relationship up until the very end, John had seen how strained relationships and divorces could damage not only the people directly involved but those around them. Having indirectly pushed his son into a relationship where there would be conflict was a complicated result, but some types of conflict weren¡¯t necessarily bad. What mattered was whether those involved could work it out. Or if they would simply let it sit in the background, issues piling upon issues with nobody truly resolving them. Emilia was a fine young woman, but John could see how two passive personalities might not work out together. On the other hand, perhaps things would have ultimately been fine between them. He might have pushed Tirto too much to find a solution, but most of the ideas had already been in Tirto¡¯s mind. They had to be resolved in some manner. This one might be the messiest, but hopefully that was only in the short term. As for John¡¯s son getting into a situation where Verusha seemed angry enough to actually try to kill him, that didn¡¯t actually seem that bad. Perhaps it was that he¡¯d now spent the majority of his life in this world, but he felt that physical conflict wasn¡¯t always as negative as it might seem. He also had the feeling that Verusha acted as she did specifically because she didn¡¯t believe she could hurt Tirto. If not, it was a serious problem. Someone striking another in anger was a serious problem for relationships, and John didn¡¯t want to simply accept that. But he had the feeling that the situations were quite different. Now they could only wait for the results. There was a significant chance that Verusha didn¡¯t share Tirto¡¯s feelings in quite the same way, despite what Tirto and Emilia thought. That was why it was such a hard choice for Tirto to make. It would have been so much easier for Tirto to try to hang onto Emilia as the second best option, but that would create a permanent scar on their relationship. John wondered if perhaps the world would be better off without love. But only for a moment. Because as much as it had hurt to lose Matayal, he still considered her the greatest fortune that had ever happened to him in two lives. The pain of loss was something he didn¡¯t expect to ever be free of, but he was coming to realize such pain could only be so real because of how good things had been. He just wished they spent more time together rather than managing clan affairs. His children seemed to be doing better in that regard, for those who wanted a partner. All extraneous thoughts were pushed away as John settled himself with meditation. He had done what he thought was best, and that had to be better than continuing to do nothing. Even quantities of five elements swirled within him, feeding into each other. Every day, he felt himself recovering, if only slowly. He was lucky, to only have such a setback instead of completely destroyed cultivation or death. Inside his dantian, John finally recognized the signs of life returning. A vast number of tiny sprouts were popping their heads out of the ashy fields that covered the now-numerous islands within him, split apart only to find their own room to grow. He smiled. If only he had done all of it on purpose, he knew it would have been so much more effective. But he could appreciate the little bits of life that came from death. He just hoped that could apply to other situations. It might take a very long time, but he was willing to wait and see. And while he did, he would do his best to avoid causing further harm to himself or others. Or maybe he could even become a positive influence again. Chapter 267 Looking at the near wasteland inside of his dantian, John couldn¡¯t help but wonder once more what sort of results he could have achieved had he intentionally caused this sort of death and rebirth cycle. He was fortunate that having achieved the cycle of the four core elements that they naturally fed into each other, healing the damage he had done. But now, that natural healing was slowing. John did not find that a cause for concern, however. He would simply have to take a more active role in the process, especially as his cultivation began to grown in scale once more. In terms of sheer quantity of spiritual energy, his elements combined seemed to place him at the limits of the Spiritual Collection Phase. But the actual power within him was far greater than could be expected. Each totem, and the fact that they were all fifth tier now, improved the results of any spiritual energy usage before even considering how the elements augmented each other. He also had more combat experience than others who would be at that stage, and his mixed elements were deceptive to people¡¯s senses, making him seem weaker than he was. Just like the mixed elements in Astrein. Inside his dantian, John focused on the cycle of elements, expending spiritual energy to help his inner world to grow. The core of everything was still darkness. The one tree that had seeded in the great fire now covering the greater number of islands, the roots beginning to grow deep into their soil as young saplings reared their heads above. It was air that ultimately provided most of the structure for growing plants, and though an inner world didn¡¯t strictly follow the physical processes John was used to on earth, the air element certainly augmented the growth of plants and the quality of the soil. The newly developed sun in the sky, nearly invisible due to the totem that formed it except for it being a source of heat, evaporated some of the water from the seas into the atmosphere, to rain upon the earth. And John knew that at some point, that earth would support the fire¡¯s growth. John made certain all these processes flowed smoothly, adding more spiritual energy where it seemed to need it while trying not to overdo anything in a single part of the cycle. He wasn¡¯t sure what he would have to do for his spiritual energy to return to the levels of higher Phases, whether it would require just time or some greater effort, but he wanted to be as prepared as possible when the opportunity came. ----- The Brandle clan was quiet, the main source of much of their noise in recent years currently locked up in her room. Verusha only accepted visits from her sister, and even then Emilia reported that they didn¡¯t often talk much. And what they did talk about, she would not say. This made Tirto quite nervous about the whole situation, but ultimately things were out of his hands. He had done his part- whether it was done perfectly was another question. As for whether it was the right choice he made, he found himself coming to peace with whatever happened. It was better to not let things continue as they were, because while Emilia¡¯s presence was a comfort to him, ultimately it wouldn¡¯t have produced the best results for either of them if they went forward with marriage. Even if Verusha had never been around to influence him, it would have simply meant that years into their marriage he would have felt something lacking. Through no fault of Emilia, of course. She was supportive in the way she best knew how. ¡°Anything?¡± Tirto asked as he spotted her down the hallway, presumably having visited her sister. ¡°Not today,¡± Emilia said. Tirto nodded. ¡°I¡¯m still sorry for the way things turned out. I never intended to deceive you, I just didn¡¯t really know what I wanted or needed for myself.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Emilia replied. ¡°I also get that my offer of reciprocation isn¡¯t much good at the moment. My shoulder isn¡¯t much good to cry on if I¡¯m the cause of what you¡¯re feeling. But hopefully eventually I can pay you back.¡± She smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t think those who care about each other should keep track of specific debts¡­ but I will still keep it in mind.¡± ----- It was strange for Emilia to be around her sister and for the latter to be quieter. She was always saying something. This time, however, Verusha surprised Emilia with what she said out of the blue. ¡°How do you know if you like someone?¡± ¡°The easiest way is to consider how much you think about someone.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t that, like, what happens if you hate someone? Always thinking about the things that annoy you?¡± ¡°It can be that way,¡± Emilia admitted. ¡°I think the ultimate result is whether or not you feel happy after thinking about or spending time with someone. At least, that is the surface level of things. Humans are more complicated than just that, but if you aren¡¯t happy or otherwise fulfilled¡­ it¡¯s a problem. Of course, it¡¯s still possible to love someone and not always be happy with them.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Verusha asked. ¡°Absolutely, dear sister. Because if I always had to enjoy someone¡¯s company, then I could not say I love my own sister.¡± ¡°Mmm. But what about, like, with a man? Isn¡¯t that love supposed to be different?¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°In some ways, perhaps. But it should still involve caring about someone. Wanting to nurture them or at least¡­ take care of them in whatever way you can. Even during times when you don¡¯t feel as close. If feelings are entirely different from other sorts of love, it may just be lust. And that is unlikely to be good as the sole basis for a longer term relationship.¡± ¡°... Tirto is an idiot.¡± ¡°Well, obviously,¡± Emilia replied. ----- ¡°Hey! You! The uh¡­ stupid-looking one!¡± Tirto slightly raised an eyebrow, though his expression was more neutral by the time he turned around. He hadn¡¯t actually interacted with Verusha in nearly a week, and he wasn¡¯t sure how long he expected it to take. But at least she seemed more like her normal self right now. Though Tirto turned towards her, he didn¡¯t say anything. That left her standing there awkwardly for a few moments, her hair shifting colors before settling on a light magenta. ¡°I thought about that thing you said. And my answer is that¡­ I don¡¯t have an answer.¡± Verusha folded her arms in front of her. ¡°But if you don¡¯t mind¡­ I¡¯ll hang around until I figure it out?¡± The last line was half a question, half a statement. ¡°I personally think you¡¯re an idiot though. I mean, Emilia¡¯s great. I don¡¯t know how anyone would choose someone else over her.¡± Tirto smiled, ¡°I think we agree on that. But that is how things are,¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°But maybe I can convince you it¡¯s not as crazy as it sounds. You do have likable qualities yourself, after all. Like being full of energy, most of the time.¡± Tirto had more, but he didn¡¯t want to collapse the delicate situation that had fallen into place. Verusha scratched her head. ¡°Yeah. I suppose. On that topic¡­ want to spar? I¡¯m apparently not very good against pure water cultivators. Or darkness and¡­ whatever else your dad is.¡± Tirto raised an eyebrow prominently this time. ¡°You want me to teach you how to defeat me?¡± ¡°Who else will be better at it?¡± ¡°A fair point,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I suppose we can do our best.¡± Though her mother might actually be the best option there, given her experience with both water and fire. ----- John nodded to himself. He had grown somewhat concerned that his son was going to become a womanizer. Even if he didn¡¯t seek them out, John had to admit that Tirto inherited many attractive qualities. Good looks, status, and talent. Though it did make John somewhat relieved to find that the only individuals Tirto was seriously considering were probably not interested in two of those. But physical attraction never hurt. Disaster had been averted, but only by causing a smaller crisis instead. John wasn¡¯t sure if he could have come up with better advice had he been around more, but it was already too late for that. He could accept the results he¡¯d achieved just now. But soon it would be time to move on. Not because he didn¡¯t want to catch up with Tirto more, but because he had another daughter he needed to check on. Ursel was currently off in the Viridia wildlands somewhere, stomping around. Training was the word some would use, but the news that had made it back to John¡¯s ears told him that it was a little reckless, even by her usual confident standards. And while he didn¡¯t expect to convince her to give up on her training, he could hopefully convince her to bring someone with her. If not himself, than some disciples of a friendly sect. Or perhaps Crystin could watch over her, though it would probably take some convincing for her to let John return alone. His cousin had latched onto him after he returned to the Tenebach clan after his little adventure. She was thinking about the good of the clan, of course. It wouldn¡¯t do for the clan head- or former clan head- to die in battle. Especially not to someone weak, which by John¡¯s standards for power was uncomfortably possible at the current moment. So she¡¯d come along, but she naturally stayed out of the way most of the time. ----- The trip from the Brandle Clan to the Viridia Wildlands left John with a lot of free time. Cultivating was part of that, of course, but he also had to expand the scope of his efforts. He wasn¡¯t ready to go back to crazy plans of taking control of the region just yet, but he realized there were interpersonal bridges that might still require some work. He always did his best to show his appreciation for the guards he had, but like everything else that had fallen by the wayside in the last few years. Even so, Crystin had continued to follow along with him without complaint, and without even being asked. ¡°How does it feel, spending all that effort keeping the clan head alive only to see him basically ruin everything after a single setback?¡± She watched him for a few moments before responding. ¡°The death of your wife may have been a single setback, but nobody could say it was insignificant at any level. It is perfectly understandable. Besides, it was the duty of us guards as the strongest members of the alliance to keep her safe as well. We failed.¡± ¡°It was a war. A war against a well established Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. It was our responsibility to lead the alliance into battles it needed to participate in and could win. And she¡­ knew what she was doing. Nobody could have stopped her when things came to that.¡± John shook his head. ¡°Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you were the clan head instead? If you had been born into the main branch?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to wonder,¡± Crystin said. ¡°I know perfectly well. The clan would have collapsed. I have seen the burden of leadership you carried, and I am aware of my own limitations. Besides, I can¡¯t be disappointed in what you managed for the clan. In a single generation, the clan went from having no Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators to having multiple.¡± ¡°The whole region grew stronger,¡± John pointed out. ¡°But it is the alliances you forged that grew the most out of any. It was that core that faced the Molten Sea head on, and the cultivator Gesine. Not only that, but you emerged victorious.¡± ¡°It still doesn¡¯t feel like it,¡± John admitted. ¡°Not with what we lost.¡± ¡°Then we shall simply have to make sure that nothing is lost again.¡± ¡°You think we can?¡± ¡°I know you intend to try. I can tell you haven¡¯t given up. You are not quite the same as you were before, but I recognize the quiet confidence in you. And I am used to feeling your abnormal cultivation. Your cultivation is not permanently damaged, I don¡¯t think.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re right,¡± John admitted. ¡°But even if it was, I wouldn¡¯t give up on doing the best thing for those I care about. It would just be a whole lot harder.¡± Chapter 268 Going off of nothing but a particular region of the Viridia Wildlands, finding Ursel wasn¡¯t going to be easy. It would be the same as searching for a single individual in a small country where everything was trying to kill him. Though John knew that wouldn¡¯t be quite true, it also wasn¡¯t an incorrect way to look at things. Anything that was willing to approach was probably a danger, and everything that wasn¡¯t had the instincts to stay away from those with cultivation, be they beast or man. With all of that said, most of the time he wasn¡¯t actually engaging in combat. So John had a lot of time to think. Crystin continued to escort him, and he was glad to have loyalty even if he hadn¡¯t done much to deserve it recently. He knew that a single conversation with her or anyone else wouldn¡¯t make up for the last few years, but he didn¡¯t have much else to say at the moment. So his thoughts drifted ahead, to Ursel, and also back to Tirto. With the limited information about Ursel, it was difficult to say how she was doing. It was a strange situation to find himself in, where his daughter running off into the wilderness to fight beasts endlessly wasn¡¯t automatically a warning sign. But that was this world, and also Ursel. But John found it quite unlikely that all would be well. Hopefully she would be uninjured, or at least maintaining her overall health. The fact that she hadn¡¯t returned to visit her siblings in some time was where it began to be a cause of concern. She wasn¡¯t old enough yet that years in isolation was normal. The triplets were only in their early twenties, with most cultivators only a short way into their cultivation journey and just becoming adults. John might have expected a few years of intense isolation training from a cultivator of fifty trying to break through to the next Phase, but she was neither so old nor near such a threshold. Or at least, she hadn¡¯t been when she headed off. It was entirely possible in the time he had lost track of her that she had grown to the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase. But usually a cultivator was at such a threshold before beginning intense training- unless there was a critical event coming up. But the major threats had all passed before that time, a fact for which John was eternally grateful. ¡°What do you think we¡¯ll find Ursel doing?¡± John asked Crystin. ¡°Probably standing atop a mountain of corpses. Or fighting the biggest thing in the region.¡± John nodded. Not that they could really say much else. She wasn¡¯t going to be gardening¡­ probably. He supposed she did have a plant totem, at least. He also was unwilling to entertain the idea that they wouldn¡¯t find her. As for John¡¯s reflections on Tirto, he still believed things couldn¡¯t have ended up much better given the situation he found things in. Even though it wasn¡¯t fully resolved at the moment, and there was emotional pain and heartbreak for at least a couple of those involved if not all three, he still stuck by his advice. With that, Tirto had made his choice. John hoped he hadn¡¯t pushed him towards the difficult and risky choice by accident, but the fact that it was even an option meant something. John had to admit that Verusha definitely had things that Emilia didn¡¯t. Hopefully, her fiery attitude would be just what Tirto needed. Though he was only assuming a favorable resolution. Perhaps the sisters would drift apart from each other or Tirto. It would be an unfortunate loss of friendship and perhaps several different sorts of love, but it would be better than entering into a marriage that would be unfulfilling. At least, that was John¡¯s hope. ¡°I can barely believe it was Tirto that ended up like that,¡± John said. ¡°Though if he had personally engineered the situation, that would have been what was truly unbelievable.¡± ¡°If he was a playboy,¡± Crystin said. ¡°I think we would have found more than just the sisters around. I imagine his future will be interesting if Verusha and him get together.¡± ¡°It might be what he needs,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Not all support is the way I might imagine. I can see some pitfalls with her, but hopefully Nik and Melanthina can provide them some advice about a conflictive relationship. A shame that things ended up for Emilia how they did. Hopefully, her life can develop in a better direction for her.¡± The thing about the situation is that nobody was really at fault. No one set out to hurt anyone, but some amount of pain was inevitable in relationships over the course of time. Hopefully he could help things mend on the way back. Maybe with Ursel in toe, depending on whether she actually had a purpose to being out here. ----- A spear glinted in the sunlight as Crystin danced between several great cats, swiping at her with their claws, snapping with their jaws, and trying to direct her towards members waiting to pounce. ¡°Why do they-¡± Crystin thrust her spear into the side of one of them. ¡°Always choose to-¡± she spun around, ducking under a sudden leap. ¡°Attack me? I¡¯m a full darkness cultivator concealing my presence!¡± ¡°Because,¡± John explained simply. ¡°I am little more than a rock or shrub. When they pick you out, you are something hiding. When they see me, they wonder at an oddly shaped piece of the landscape.¡± John ducked as one of them roared and swiped at him, undermining his point slightly. Though he would stick by it, and he would simply argue that once they could get a good sniff of him they would realize he was still made of meat. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. His sword slashed, cutting at the paws of one cat and the snout of another. He still found his power to be within the Spiritual Collection Phase, but his ability to augment his elements in a cycle meant that he gained momentum in combat, and was able to take advantage of any elemental weakness. The Viridia Wildlands was earth dominant, with a strong influx of water as well. These cats were mainly filled with the earth element, giving them sturdy bodies that made them more willing to engage in direct combat instead of strictly relying on ambushes- or only going after weak prey. Energy coursed through him, the fire element feeding off of earth as it wrapped around his sword. Those with keen spiritual energy senses would immediately recognize the power of the fire element, but the only visual indication of the Ethereal Flames were the heat waves emanating from the weapon into the air. The first great cat to be struck was quite surprised when his blade bit into its side, and even more so when it caught alight. The areas of formerly durable hide around the burn were quickly weakened, and John stabbed his blade through the creature. After the conclusion of the battle, John quelled the smoldering flames. The area was wet enough that a wildfire likely wouldn¡¯t spread too far, but it was best not to cause unnecessary damage or draw attention they didn¡¯t want. Beasts were a significant danger, but John also had some reservations about people. While there were sects in the Viridia Wildlands with which he had a good relationship, they weren¡¯t close to this area. Some might not be so friendly, and those from outside of the region might also wish to take advantage of a pair of lone cultivators. John wondered what he was missing, to regain the rest of his power. In theory he should be an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator with his five totems, but his spiritual energy simply didn¡¯t build up as it should. Did he merely need to wait for the world inside his dantian to recover? His meridians had suffered damage as well, but he couldn¡¯t quite determine if letting them rest or making gentle use of them would be better. His brief stints to the sea of spiritual totems were uncomfortable, which was not unexpected as he had been looking at light element totems. He couldn¡¯t dive into the deeper layers at the moment, but the experience also revealed to him that his soul wasn¡¯t ready to accept another totem for quite some time. Not that he expected that to be possible. He didn¡¯t want to have to replace the totems he had with something else, and if it was possible to gain another set¡­ well, that would result in the most powerful cultivator the world had ever seen, most likely. For the moment, John simply accepted that his cultivation was where it was, as waiting almost certainly wouldn¡¯t hurt, but pushing himself too far too quickly could have major consequences. He had to at least resolve some things with his children before engaging in any more risky behavior. ----- A month of wandering around, and only in the last week had they seen consistent signs of other people. Even then, it was difficult to say it might be Ursel. No, the intentionally dismantled bodies could be nearly any cultivator hunting beasts. Whoever it was seemed to be mainly interested in the bones of the largest creatures. Rhinos, hippos, and the occasional elephant depending on the exact location. John was concerned about the size of everything, because while the creatures were all large and with great destructive potential back on Earth, most were larger and had the advantage of spiritual energy here. Though of the three, at least elephants tended to not be too aggressive. It was still best to stay out of their territory just in case. Seeing the leftover remains of the creatures, John could say he was at least glad that whoever it was didn¡¯t simply have the intention of collecting ivory and horns. Much more of them was made use of, and there was actual practical value to both instead of mere ornamentation or easily disproven medicinal properties. Though there was also some chance that in this world with spiritual energy that rhino horn could in fact improve people¡¯s health. Whoever killed them didn¡¯t leave behind a large amount of spiritual energy. Still, over the course of a few days John and Crystin were slowly catching up to whoever it was, finding fresher remains every time. Then John felt it. Most prominent was the aura of a gigantic creature, perhaps larger than the great lizard the clan had defeated in the Southeastern Stone Forest through the combined might of several Soul Expansion Phase cultivators and many others. The exact power of this creature in relation wasn¡¯t so easy to determine, but John wasn¡¯t focused on it anyway. He was more interested in the smaller and more familiar presence he felt running ahead of the beast. John and Crystin moved to intercept, where they did indeed find Ursel scurrying along. John would recognize her aura anywhere, and he also recognized what remained of her armor. Renato had made it out of Mountain Steel, but the entire set was bent and scratched. The helmet was so twisted John wondered if Ursel could see out of it. ¡°Hey you probably want to run!¡± she called towards them and waved. ¡°This thing will get tired eventually but I¡¯m not really planning to fight it like this!¡± She continued running towards them before she actually recognized them. ¡°Crystin?¡± she tilted her head as she was just about to pass them. Then her eyes widened, and she tripped over her own feet, tumbling over and over until she came to a stop. She just stared at John. ¡°I do believe you were the one who gave us the advice to keep running,¡± John said, scurrying over and attempting to pull her to her upright. Fortunately she worked with him, because he couldn¡¯t have managed it with his current strength. She was even heavier than before- and that was without counting her club into the mix, which seemed to be made from some massive bone. As the several story tall rhinoceros came into better view, crushing the surrounding plants and trees underfoot, John worked with Crystin to create a fake trail of spiritual energy. Hopefully that would distract the thing for a few moments while they got up to speed at a slightly different angle. Meanwhile, Ursel¡¯s body moved, but only automatically. She kept staring. ¡°... Dad?¡± she asked hesitantly. ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t come see you? I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve been a little bit slow about everything lately¡­ but it¡¯s not like I¡­ was actually gone.¡± Even if it was possibly worse. ¡°We¡¯ll have to have this conversation later.¡± John took stock of his spiritual energy. At least he could manage a consistent output for a while, enough to keep himself away from the rhino. And while they could split up, if it went after him and he was a bit too slow, it would be highly inconvenient for his future plans- all of which involved remaining three dimensional. Chapter 269 Very few beasts were known for their long term running endurance, and in fact if there was anything that was famous for it back on Earth it would be humans. So while it was likely true that the multi story rhino would tire before him, that didn¡¯t matter if it simply caught up to him before that point. While its steps seemed slow and ponderous, they were large enough to cover vast amounts of ground with each. To slow it down, John used every trick he could think of. Sinking in the Mire created a meter deep pit that it stepped into- but unfortunately that barely covered its toes. Using earth techniques to lash its other legs with vines did little good as it either snapped the vines or tore them out of the ground. But John wasn¡¯t alone in his efforts. Ursel formed projections of various plants and trees. Giant bamboo, a tree covered in spines, some sort of barrel cactus. All looked quite sturdy to John¡¯s eyes, but they were crushed almost instantly. Crystin¡¯s attempts were perhaps a bit more effective, as distracting the creature with false trails of spiritual energy caused it to rush onwards several steps in one direction while they turned. It took several steps for the beast to round on them once more, giving them some space. John looked at the rhinoceros¡¯ eyes and wished he had the only element not at his disposal. A nice beam of light would do wonders to hinder the creature¡¯s already poor eyesight. Though considering what he¡¯d seen from his other daughter, he supposed darkness could work almost as well, though from a different angle. A bit of earth ignited fire to grow, the fire wrapping around darkness to pierce through the creature¡¯s energy defenses. If it were a human cultivator, John had no doubt it would shift its spiritual energy to block his attack. Some beasts grew more intelligent with power, but he was hoping that this one hadn¡¯t, or at least not to the same degree. From certain perspectives, it might not look like John¡¯s attack was anything at all. Ethereal flames wrapping around darkness itself, though even the latter was but a quick flash. Flames burned through the creature¡¯s earth element defenses, puncturing a hole to the creature¡¯s eye. Given the creature¡¯s size, even such a vulnerable spot would likely be durable- and the spiritual energy hole he had punctured immediately filled up. But the darkness lingered, covering the eye in a thin film. It wasn¡¯t as good as a burst of light causing damage to the retina and throwing off the brain¡¯s processing, because the spiritual energy would wear out especially without a sustained connection, but it should do something. And what it did was make the beast grunt and charge forward with even greater intensity, putting on a frightening burst of speed. If he was watching a movie, he would tell the characters to just run to the side instead of away from the oncoming threat. And to that what he had to say was it was a lot harder to accomplish practically, especially when the thing chasing you was particularly wide. Even so, the three cultivators split to the sides while maintaining a forward angle as they felt the burst of spiritual energy from the creature. Ursel and John went to one side, and Crystin to the other. Tearing away from the creature¡¯s midline was the longest six meters John ever ran, even though it only took a fraction of a second. Of course, the rhino wasn¡¯t locked into a direct charge, or more specifically it was able to sweep its horn down as they ducked out of the way, sending a huge shower of dirt and rock spraying towards himself and Ursel. But the two of them withstood the assault, despite the impact of the soil combined with the earth element propulsion. It was a clumsy technique to extend beyond the reach of the horn when it couldn¡¯t quite reach with the devastating spike. Ursel took the hit directly, but John had to use her for cover and deflect the spray with an extended bubble of water and wind. Before John could decide on how to react next, Ursel charged forward towards the approaching rear leg of the rhino. John followed just behind, and as the house sized foot stomped down next to them Ursel leapt onto the craggy surface. John followed behind. If the rhino had not been a living creature, it would have been one of the easiest climbs John ever experienced. Wide ledges that he could place his entire foot upon, jutting bits and pieces sticking out everywhere. But it was alive, so it was not only moving and trembling about but also trying to push them away with its spiritual energy. It was clear the thing wasn¡¯t proficient in the latter as it clumsily tried to extend the earthen barrier around it to shove them away. But it did manage to at least reduce the ease with which they could actually reach the uneven folds of the creature¡¯s skin. Ursel climbed with one free hand, her bone weapon tightly gripped in the other. Her fingers squeezed tight, forcing whatever she held onto to fit her grip. Then she would occasionally throw herself higher, gaining a meter or two each time. John wasn¡¯t weighed down by so much mass, both personal and armor based. He also wasn¡¯t restricted only to the earth element. He couldn¡¯t fly, but the air element did allow him to lighten himself further, requiring only a slight pull to raise himself higher. He had sheathed his sword in anticipation of the climb, so he had two hands free to briefly catch onto the shifting edges of the rhino¡¯s spiritual energy defenses, his legs propelling himself upward. Even if he accidentally pushed himself away, the winds could carry him back to the creature. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. But soon enough he was on top of the creature¡¯s hindquarters. For a moment he thought he would be safe, until he felt the gathering of spiritual energy on the rhino¡¯s tail. It wasn¡¯t particularly long in proportion to the creature¡¯s body, but it was long enough as it whipped around towards him. He threw himself deeper onto the creature¡¯s back as there was a thunderous impact of the tail. Hopefully it clashed with its own defenses to tire it out slightly. The rhino was wheeling around, not just to try to throw John and Ursel off but also to charge towards the one individual remaining on the ground- Crystin. But as a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator John was confident in her ability to simply run ahead of it. He was more concerned about himself and Ursel¡­ but mostly himself, given his current state of cultivation. He dodged and weaved his way forward along the creature¡¯s back to escape the reach of its tail, but he didn¡¯t stop there. He kept his speed for a bit more, and wasn¡¯t disappointed when the creature slammed its tail towards him, a great mass of earth element extending beyond the tip of its tail, causing the creature¡¯s back to tremble even more. Ursel had reached the top and was still in its range, but instead of trying to escape the tail she ran towards it, swinging her heavy bone club at the base of its tail while sidestepping the incoming attacks. It seemed crazy at first, but the rhinoceros¡¯ tail wasn¡¯t quite agile enough to perfectly bend over itself, so the glancing blows it achieved were dulled. It was still crazy, though. John continued to make his way forward towards the head, as he couldn¡¯t imagine breaking through its hide anywhere with his current level of power, cycle of elements or not. But he might be able to do something around its head. The rhino came to a sudden halt as he was nearing its neck, almost throwing him off- but he caught himself behind the horn. He was surprised, but looking down he saw it had stepped into a watering hole, sinking its legs deep into the mud there due to its massive weight. As the creature slowly extricated its limbs, Crystin attacked from below having led the creature into the mire. A straightforward attack where she tossed her spear towards the thing¡¯s eye. It twisted its neck, John recalling his training on the stormy islands to keep his balance, and the darkness charged weapon merely scraped against its cheek before twisting around to return to Crystin. The creature¡¯s head stopped whipping back and forth for a moment and John readied himself to attack its eye, but he suddenly found himself being raised up and tossed into the air. It was an unexpected maneuver, but as he took in the situation he realized it wasn¡¯t really targeted at him. The rhino had simply lowered its rear end to try to stop the harassment of Ursel. John maneuvered his short fall to land on top of one of the eyes- or rather, the ridge around the eye as they were set into the side. He drew his sword as he fell, twirling it as he gathered as much spiritual energy as he could. He drove the weapon as deep as he could into the creature. A half meter of blade might not have even made it through the thing¡¯s hide, let alone punctured the eye- but it did its job. When the rhino shook its head again, the sword allowed him to hold himself in place. The creature was shaking itself back and forth, but John sensed the fatigue. It had been running for quite a while, and it used spiritual energy to increase its speed as well. Now it had been defending against their attacks, and using its energy in ways that damaged itself. So even though John wasn¡¯t able to hurt it at the moment, the fact that he was making it waste more of its spiritual energy and stamina still meant he was doing fine. Somehow during all of that Ursel managed to run up the creature¡¯s spine, its sitting tacting not being sufficient to crush her. She roared as she reached its head and swung her heavy club down on the one place John absolutely wouldn¡¯t have bothered attacking, the very middle of its skull. It was doubtless extremely sturdy there, but the rhino couldn¡¯t shake that position very far so she was able to maintain her footing. And with each strike, John felt something make its way into the rhino. Tiny, almost indiscernible roots grew there way into it, through its spiritual energy, its thick hide, and the small pores in its skull. There was more than a few meters of that before it reached the brain, but even as the roots reached there it didn¡¯t seem to show any ill effects. Until Ursel slammed down once more and the roots began to expand in width and not length. Soon enough John heard the cracking of bone, and the rhino made an awful noise¡­ but the roots continued to expand, and the small brain was quickly torn apart. Then the thing collapsed, nearly sending John off the edge from the unexpected angle of falling. As he dangled off the side of the rhino¡¯s head, he resolved to break past his current cultivation roadblock sooner rather than later. He was little more than a distraction, and while that could be a valuable part of any battle he wanted to represent a more real threat. ¡°Wow,¡± Ursel said as she looked at the rhino. ¡°This thing is going to take forever to eat. We¡¯re going to have to get started as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll get a fire going,¡± John said. ¡°Also I know you¡¯re a big eater but¡­ I honestly don¡¯t know if you can accomplish this task.¡± ¡°It¡¯s faster if you crush up the bone into a powder and then pulverize it with your spiritual energy,¡± she explained. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the technique! Also uh¡­ what are you doing here? What happened to you? Why do you feel all weird?¡± ¡°Well you see-¡± ¡°Did something happen to Melanthina? What about Tirto? Are they alright? Do they need me?¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± John waved her off. ¡°Of course your siblings would love to see you. You¡¯ve been gone for quite a while and they miss you. But they¡¯re¡­ as good as they can be for the moment. We can catch up over¡­ dinner¡­¡± John said, looking at the massive creature beneath them. Chapter 270 John watched in fascination as Ursel pulled out a large cauldron and began to break chunks of bone from the foot of the giant rhinoceros. These were then tossed into the cauldron and pulverized into a powder, using her club like a pestle. When the cauldron was nearly full, Ursel carried it over to the body of the rhino and began to catch some of the blood oozing out of where she¡¯d torn it apart. ¡°You have to use the blood while it¡¯s fresh,¡± she said by way of explanation. ¡°Otherwise it simply isn¡¯t any good.¡± John ultimately had to agree with that, but he couldn¡¯t help but wonder. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m making bone broth, obviously.¡± No. No she was not. ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to having my guts torn up by powdered bone¡­¡± John commented. ¡°Well obviously we don¡¯t just drink it. There¡¯s a circulation path to dissolve it into spiritual energy to temper your body. I came up with the technique myself!¡± Ursel beamed. John pondered for a few moments. He knew his daughter¡¯s talent, and so he was quite certain that her technique worked for her. But he hadn¡¯t seen her create a new technique that was supposed to be usable by others. ¡°Well, I look forward to seeing it,¡± he said. ¡°Sure thing! It¡¯ll make our bones super tough and fill us up. All thr-¡± Ursel looked at Crystin who was definitely not an earth cultivator. ¡°Both of us! I can also¡­ roast some of the meat¡­?¡± she tilted her head. ¡°It¡¯s full of¡­ proteins?¡± ¡°While I am sure it would be delicious,¡± Crystin said. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it would be the best dish for me to consume.¡± ¡°That makes sense,¡± Ursel said as she began to tear down a nearby tree, creating a ring of stones and placing everything in a single fire pit. She held a flint in hand, glaring at the extremely wet wood before her. ¡°I can start the fire,¡± John said. ¡°That would be great, thanks!¡± Ursel said. He wondered if she¡¯d ever cooked this ¡®bone broth¡¯ before, or usually drank it as it was. Ultimately, John decided he didn¡¯t need to know that answer. He first drew the water out of the wood, after which it was simple to light it with a little bit of fire element. It came so much more naturally now than ever before, so even in his current state his fire element was more powerful than it had been before. The massive cauldron took a long time to heat up, and John began to direct the heat through it to speed up the process. He made sure to not let it concentrate in any one area, and once it began to boil he let the natural flames keep the process going. The concoction of powdered bone and blood smelled about like he would expect. Very much like iron, and not very much at all like food. But Ursel seemed happy, at least, eagerly waiting next to the fire. ¡°How do we know when it¡¯s done?¡± John asked. ¡°Uh, it should be soon. The fire will help break it down into a more usable form¡­?¡± Ursel said uncertainly, cementing the fact that she¡¯d never accomplished this part of her plan. She waited for a while then looked at the cauldron. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s about time to eat it,¡± she stepped forward. She reached for the cauldron, seemingly unsure about where to place her hands. ¡°Bowls?¡± John said, gesturing to the ladle, bowls, and individual spoons he¡¯d pulled out. He was beginning to feel brief visions he¡¯d had of his daughter actually learning to cook a little bit crumble apart. ¡°Yes. Of course. Obviously that¡¯s how it¡¯s done.¡± She was definitely going to drink directly from the cauldron. Ursel looked at the bowl that John had produced. ¡°That¡¯s about big enough, I guess,¡± she said as she ladeled it full. Considering the size of the cauldron, John had brought out his biggest bowls. How much did she really intend to consume at once? ¡°Okay, so,¡± Ursel said. ¡°First you take a drink of- Ack!¡± Ursel recoiled as she touched the moments before boiling concoction to her lips. ¡°First you prepare yourself for the technique. I¡¯ll show you the circulation pattern. Break down everything and make sure to fortify all your bones!¡± Ursel demonstrated quickly, then went back to the boiling concoction. ¡°So then we just¡­ drink this.¡± Fire was the weakness of earth. Though John really doubted Ursel would get hurt, it might still be unpleasant to drink something that hot. But she looked at him, then downed the bowl. She rapidly turned around. ¡°Make sure to immediately begin the technique!¡± she said with a panic while trying to hide her reaction to the heat. John watched her perform the technique, and could feel the time and effort that had gone into developing it. Even with her practice it seemed to take a while to dissolve the bones- but this particular creature wasn¡¯t the average specimen. Once he was satisfied with it in action, John tilted his own bowl into his mouth. It was slightly cooler, but he likely could have managed without discomfort in its boiling state. Not that he¡¯d always been like that, but with both water and fire elements he was quite well insulated from heat. The concoction was heavy. Dense. He¡¯d tasted blood before, and while it wasn¡¯t too bad on its own this was more bone powder than liquid. It poured slowly, like he was trying to consume sand. It was most definitely not something he intended to digest. But that was a good reason to dump it all into himself at once, so he could begin to get to the next step of things. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He used his spiritual energy to begin breaking down the concoction. He was tempted to add more than just earth to the mix, but he wanted to get experience with Ursel¡¯s practiced method before changing anything. It did seem that it was possible to break down with the boiling involved, but if not John would have been a bit hard pressed with the amount of earth element he could bring to bear at once. Though once the process was started, he was filled with overflowing energy that he was quite eager to use up quickly. The energy focused mostly on his bones, though he thought it could have managed to temper other parts of him. Diamond Defense focused more on the skin and the outside of the body, so it seemed a sensible addition to the other technique. After he was done breaking down the whole bowl, John saw that Ursel had finished at least another one or two, performing the process much more quickly. But it wasn¡¯t a race, and it wasn¡¯t like they were going to run out of materials. Before immediately starting on a second bowl, John took stock of himself. His stomach wasn¡¯t quite empty, but the material was broken down in a way he thought he could properly digest instead of the sandy mixture. As for his bones, there was no sudden change. But the process was unlikely to have instantaneous results. He felt the energy settling into his bones, and decided he could handle at least a couple more bowls full. Somehow they got through the massive cauldron, with John having used only a quarter or less of the total volume. ¡°Oof,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty full now. It¡¯s going to take forever to eat this whole thing,¡± she looked up at the massive creature, of which they had used a small portion of the bones in its foot. ¡°I think perhaps we should break it down for the choicest parts,¡± John said. ¡°Even with our storage bags, we won¡¯t be able to bring most of it with us or use it all.¡± ¡°Fine, but we need to at least make use of more of it while it¡¯s fresh. And we¡¯ll take the horn with us!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way that fits anywhere,¡± John pointed out. It was the size of a small house. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I¡¯ll drag it!¡± Well, if she was confident in that, he wasn¡¯t going to try to stop her. ----- Understandably, the beasts of the wildlands were quite eager to get their jaws on the massive feast. Not only was it a great quantity of food, but the quality was also a huge factor. For beasts that would grow primarily based off of the natural energy in what they ate, it was the best way to advance. Ultimately that meant fending off beasts at all hours of the day as they slowly began to dismantle the beast, though some were placated with the offcasts. Optimally they would have brought a whole clan to return with every piece of such an impressive thing, but as it was they had to cast away most of its hide, and the vast majority of muscles, tendons, and organs. They worked up quite an appetite constantly dealing with the beasts, and John did his best to actually cook some of the massive thing, producing ground meat that was at least edible. Most of the energy he absorbed from the creature went into his body rather than advancing his cultivation, as it was a unique opportunity and he was also uncertain if it was safe to push past his current limitations that way. He planned to try it soon, but not like this. John couldn¡¯t say he had any deep and engaging conversations with his daughter. However, her response to his arrival had been mostly positive. Clearly she wanted him to be around, even if half the reason she was out here was likely due to his lack of support during times of trouble. They talked, a little, about Matayal. ¡°Remember when she tried to teach me to swim?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°I sank to the bottom of the pool immediately. Instead of pulling me out you dove down with me and brought me air.¡± Ursel frowned, ¡°Swimming will be harder again after this.¡± John nodded. ¡°I can show you some techniques she taught me, where you widen an area of spiritual energy around you to displace water. It¡¯s meant to increase buoyancy to return to the surface quickly, but it should be useful for you in general.¡± John sat in silence with her for a few moments. ¡°Did you hear that the leviathan broke apart into smaller pieces? I wonder if anyone tried to eat it.¡± ¡°Someone must have,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Are you telling me Tirto didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I suppose I didn¡¯t ask,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I think most of it was left for the other sea life to consume. Anything that didn¡¯t become one of its babies.¡± ¡°Sea creatures are weird,¡± Ursel said. John nodded, ¡°Agreed.¡± ----- It was a long process to break down the rhino, even when they were being quite selective. But a week later, they had what they could carry. ¡°We should go see your siblings,¡± John said. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine you¡¯ll get much more effect out of your bone tempering here in the near future anyway.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s basically complete. Or at its limit for my cultivation, at least,¡± Ursel said. She fulfilled her promised intent to drag the massive horn behind her, leaving a wide furrow. ¡°I do want to see them,¡± she admitted. ¡°Especially to find out what happened with Verusha and Emilia. It¡¯s hard to believe my idiot brother actually did it¡­¡± ¡°Did you expect that outcome?¡± John asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if anyone could have expected anything where that trio is concerned. Nothing but brewing trouble, I mean. It was clear that there was something different between Verusha and Tirto compared to Emilia and him. But it wasn¡¯t clear if it was better or worse.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I still don¡¯t know. And we might not know for a while.¡± He at least hoped things hadn¡¯t immediately fallen apart after he left. But if they did, at least they could begin the process of repairing what friendship they¡¯d had. It was better than waiting until things were committed and wanting something different. Though John wondered if he should have pushed his son towards the stability that Emilia would have offered. But stability was something Tirto had on his own, so he could see why things didn¡¯t quite fit. John did his best to smooth the path of the horn as Ursel dragged it. She could shift the earth, but there was always a little something other elements could do. A little air and water to make it slide more easily, for example. He wondered what they would do with it. Because even as much as Ursel liked oversized weapons, she couldn¡¯t even really grip it at the thinnest point. And if she was able to swing it, the dangerous part would be her and not a barely moving horn. It could probably be sold for any number of things, though. Chapter 271 The deep gouge along which Ursel was dragging the horn painted a clear path for anyone or anything that wanted to follow behind. But it also provided a reason not to do so. Even simply dragging the horn was a massive feat of strength, powered by both muscle and spiritual energy. John did his best to help, mostly amounting to making her path easier. Though he felt his biggest aid was not when they were actually moving, but when they were taking their rests. There had been a brief time when he thought Ursel had learned to cook, but instead she had simply learned to make horrifying but effective concoctions. John wasn¡¯t a five star chef, but he did know how to make things more edible. For example, the copious amounts of rhino meat they had were rather tough and benefited greatly from being ground up. At that point he almost wanted to make them into burgers, but he didn¡¯t have buns or anything appropriate to serve them on. So he flavored the ground meat with what spices he¡¯d brought along, which helped to cut through the strong flavor of the beast. Looking at his diet lately, John saw he was consuming inhuman amounts of protein, and while his body was able to process it with the help of his spiritual energy he felt he was wasting much of the potential. Part of it was that he could only absorb so much while his energy was effectively in the Spiritual Collection Phase. He was trying to take the step beyond, to where he was more reminiscent of the Foundation Phase. He had the totems, but his dantian would only hold so much spiritual energy. By this point, John had realized it wasn¡¯t simply a problem of waiting, but that something else was required. He just didn¡¯t know what. The group dealt with attacks by beasts as they traveled, but with Crystin they were never in any real danger. Ursel was capable of handling all of the threats herself, though maybe less so when she was fatigued from dragging the horn about. As for John, he wasn¡¯t weak given his ability to use his cycle of elements to enhance anything he wished to do, but he was still far below what he was used to. Along the way, there were a few incidents with other cultivators. Though John couldn¡¯t really say they were noteworthy encounters, based on how they tended to go. First, a group would show up- clearly eyeing the rhino¡¯s horn and perhaps their storage bags. Then, they would take a better look at Ursel, and then they would run away without saying anything. It seemed she had a bit of a reputation in the area. ¡°You seem to be quite famous,¡± John commented. ¡°Did you run into a lot of trouble?¡± Ursel shook her head. ¡°Only a few times. Then one guy got away.¡± ¡°Just one, huh?¡± John grinned. Well, they all deserved whatever came to them. It was an unfortunate reality that cultivators as a whole tended to do whatever they thought they could get away with outside of ¡®civilized¡¯ areas. Even if the majority of individuals didn¡¯t act like bandits, conflicts could also arise out of valid reasons. And it was always simplest to use strength as a determining factor. There might not have been much conversation between them as they traveled, but personally John thought that suited Ursel just fine. She did show enthusiasm about cultivation in the past, but he¡¯d already seen all of the new things she was up to. Besides, things being a bit awkward after several years apart wasn¡¯t unexpected. He actually thought things were going rather well with repairing broken relationships. ----- Ursel dragged the horn back with them all the way to Great Ring City, which was built inside and now around the hollowed out trunk of an impossibly large tree. Then she continued to drag it into town, only able to fit down the main road and still causing quite a disturbance. ¡°Do you know what you want to get for that?¡± John asked. ¡°It¡¯s best to already have some figure in mind.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ursel said, continuing her single minded purpose. John was somewhat curious as to what she intended to get. They were approaching the market, but they took a turn before they reached the main area, squeezing down a crossing boulevard. Ursel knocked on the door of a building labeled Gerebor Trading Company. A slight figure poked her head out the door. ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± ¡°I want the black diamond.¡± ¡°Master Gerebor has already said that it is not for sale.¡± Ursel took a step to the side, dragging another meter length of the horn into easy view. ¡°He¡¯ll want this,¡± Ursel said. The woman opened the door wider, taking in the full view of the prize. ¡°I¡¯ll go speak to him.¡± A minute or two later, a rotund man flung open the door and stomped outside. ¡°-don¡¯t know why you are so insistent that I see-¡± he caught sight of Ursel, then followed the many ropes wrapped around her to the bundled horn. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think I could explain it properly without showing you,¡± the woman said as she followed him out. ¡°Hmm. Yes,¡± he nodded, his mouth hanging open slightly. He looked to Ursel, and to the woman. ¡°What did you say she wanted again?¡± ¡°The black diamond,¡± Ursel said. For a moment, the man seemed like he was going to haggle. Instead, he took his time walking along the length of the horn, squeezing around it at the base. ¡°Very well,¡± the man said. ¡°We will make the exchange here.¡± He clapped his hands, and the handful of Soul Expansion Phase cultivators John had sensed lingering inside the door filed out. ¡°Keep this secure.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He went back inside the building without further comment, finally coming out with a fist sized hunk of rock. It was unpolished, without any real form. John could feel the spiritual energy contained in it, strongly condensed earth element. It certainly felt special, but it looked like a lump of coal. Though there was some level of overlap between coal and diamonds, so perhaps it shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise. ¡°I am impressed,¡± the man said as he held it out. ¡°You really meant it when you said you¡¯d find something I couldn¡¯t refuse. Ursa, was it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ursel,¡± she said as he dropped the diamond into her hand. From there, it went into her storage bag. Then she began to untie all the ropes from around her. The man- presumably Gerebor- was already focused on the horn once more. ¡°Good luck transporting that.¡± Their group was already at the end of the street by her words sunk in. John thought he saw the man holding out a hand to try to stop them, but the heavyset man dropped it a moment later, looking a bit dejected. But ultimately, he¡¯d find some way to get it wherever he needed it. ¡°Now we head back to Verdant Landing,¡± Ursel said. ¡°And get out of here.¡± ¡°Others want that, I assume?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah and they¡¯ll make it annoying to consume it,¡± Ursel said. John wondered if his daughter was going to directly chew a rock. And he decided he didn¡¯t need to know the answer. She was a cultivator who knew what she could handle and what she couldn¡¯t. And maybe absorbing the spiritual energy bit by bit wouldn¡¯t achieve her goals. ----- Unburdened by the horn the size of a small house, they quickly made their way out of Great Ring City and were on their way to the harbor. Just in case there was anyone truly dangerous after them, John and Crystin created a veil of darkness to hide their passage, not trying to make themselves invisible but instead unremarkable. This was relevant both when going out of the city and also on the road where they were passed by various carriages and some rushing individuals on foot. It was hard to say if any were looking for them, in particular, but they managed to make their way to the harbor unmolested. From there, hiring a ship was easy enough. They managed to find one going directly to Pualani, which was easier than making two stops and cheaper than dealing with a special commission. ----- When they arrived at the Brandle clan, John spotted Verusha talking with Tirto in the back gardens. That was a good start, at least. ¡°But what am I supposed to do?¡± Verusha said. ¡°I don¡¯t really get it.¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to do anything in particular. The whole point was being who you are. And-¡± Tirto turned his head. ¡°Ursel! Father! You¡¯ve returned.¡± Ursel¡¯s feet thudded against the ground as she scrambled forward, nearly tackling her brother. She lifted him off his feet as she hugged him- though she wasn¡¯t any taller than him. ¡°Wait until you hear about the huge things I fought!¡± She saw Verusha looking at her, then grinned. Her arm snapped out and dragged Verusha into the hug as well. ¡°I heard some things about my stupid brother as well. Who thought he¡¯d pick you, huh?¡± Flames rose up around Verusha as she tried to pull away, but the gap between their cultivations was too great for her to affect Ursel. Ursel did slightly loosen her grip, though, letting the younger woman wriggle away. Verusha cleared her throat. ¡°Well. Tirto may have expressed his opinion. But I don¡¯t even know if I like him at all.¡± She did. That was something John was certain about. ¡°So we¡¯ll be trying things out,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Spending time together with just the two of us. Not that I mean to drive you away right now, of course. It¡¯s going to be a longer term thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you catch up,¡± John said to Ursel and the others. He had sensed Emilia¡¯s presence as well, and wanted to make sure to check up on her. She was still a kind young woman and he didn¡¯t want to see her forgotten. Her face looked peaceful, but it was difficult not to be in such a state out in the gardens. ¡°Good day, Emilia. Just wanted to check in on how you¡¯re doing as well.¡± She smiled slightly as she looked over to him. ¡°Not so poorly that I need my dad¡¯s friend to comfort me.¡± John shrugged. ¡°There aren¡¯t many others here taking up the call.¡± ¡°Well, thanks,¡± she said. ¡°But we¡¯ve worked things out. Tirto and Verusha and myself, I mean. And Verusha even lets me cry on her shoulder since it¡¯s too embarrassing to do that with Tirto.¡± ¡°I doubt it will help you actually feel better to say this, but the pain will fade with time.¡± ¡°So I¡¯ve heard,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°Time isn¡¯t something I have that much experience with yet.¡± ¡°I should probably apologize for my part in this,¡± John said. ¡°Both pushing Tirto, and before that. I was lucky with my arranged marriage, but I said I¡¯d never force the same upon my children. But perhaps the expectations of your parents and us made things difficult for you.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say so,¡± Emilia shook her head. ¡°If I didn¡¯t like Tirto, it wouldn''t have come to this, would it? I would have still been with the Milanovic clan.¡± ¡°Are you planning to return there now?¡± John asked. ¡°Yes, but not immediately. And I¡¯ll still visit here. I do have to keep my sister from screwing up too badly. Even if Tirto likes some of that about her, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a limit.¡± ¡°Probably,¡± John agreed. What else should he say? ¡°I¡¯m sure you can find someone just as compatible with you, if you keep looking. Not that you have to,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Because even though she¡¯s still young, the chances of Ursel looking for any sort of romantic partner seem to be nonexistent. And that¡¯s fine, if she doesn¡¯t want it.¡± ¡°That might be nice,¡± Emilia said. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the type.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯d ask for your mother¡¯s advice,¡± John said. ¡°She seems like a wise woman.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Emilia said. ¡°But she also married dad. So I don¡¯t know if I can trust her to align with my tastes.¡± That was quite true. It was hard for Steve and Tirto to be any more different. ¡°What about you?¡± The question threw John off guard. ¡°Are you going to be looking for someone new as well? I know that barely being engaged and decades of marriage aren¡¯t the same, but¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t be looking for anyone. Matayal was all I could have ever hoped for.¡± Somehow, just that short exchange made John walk away feeling empty inside. No, he already felt that- he just recognized it again. It was certainly less- just like he said- but he doubted he could ever fully return to normal. Whatever normal was. Chapter 272 Being physically and emotionally available for his children was a good thing, but John also knew there was a point where being around all the time would be an annoyance. So with a reminder to Tirto that he could be contacted swiftly via the shadowhawks the Tenebach clan was breeding as messenger birds, he set off to return Ursel to the Amber Heart and himself to the Tenebach clan. Because even if he wasn¡¯t the clan head, there were still valuable things for him to do. The journey from the Shimmering Islands to the Stone Conglomerate was swift and relatively uneventful, if one did not consider the storms to be of relevance. And most captains weren¡¯t willing to sail directly through the storms, so they barely even got shaken up. Nobody was foolish enough to attack the waiting Tenebach clan carriage as they made their way through the Stone Conglomerate, so the travel was peaceful. John spent most of the time in peaceful meditation, where he felt he was still on the verge of breaking past a barrier to return his cultivation to a better state. Something was missing though, and he couldn¡¯t quite pick out what. When they arrived, Johannes Dalen came out himself to meet them. The head of the Order of the Amber Heart, Renato¡¯s master, and the first individual in the Consolidated Soul Phase that John had met. For some reason Ursel tried to hide behind John as he approached. And while her height might allow that, her width and spiritual energy weren¡¯t doing her any favors. Johannes Dalen grinned widely. ¡°Young Fortkran, good to see you! And you as well, Crystin.¡± John didn¡¯t really consider himself young still, but even if he counted his previous life then his total lifespan as a cultivator wasn¡¯t exactly old either. He was almost fifty in this body, which put him a bit past seventy total. He could easily live to two hundred at this point, so maybe he was young. ¡°Good to see you as well, Sect Head,¡± John bowed. ¡°It is good to see you out and about. Unfortunately my disciple isn¡¯t here at the moment. He went off looking for his disciple, if you hadn¡¯t heard. Say, you wouldn¡¯t happen to have seen her anywhere, would you?¡± ¡°Well, unfortunately I haven¡¯t been spending as much time with family as I should have lately,¡± John said. ¡°But¡­¡± he stepped to the side. Not that it was actually required for anyone involved. Johannes looked over Ursel. ¡°You actually managed to get scratches and dents in that mountain steel armor. Impressive, in its own way.¡± ¡°... Hello, Sect Head,¡± Ursel said sheepishly. ¡°And hello to you as well.¡± he looked around the group. ¡°I expect Renato to return shortly enough, as his leads obviously won¡¯t be panning out.¡± ¡°Do you think he can fix it?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°The whole point of mountain steel is to be immutable, or as close as we can come. So I somewhat doubt he can fix it. Perhaps you should strive to make your own.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not strong enough for that.¡± ¡°Perhaps not yet,¡± Johannes shook his head. ¡°But I am sure it won¡¯t be terribly long either, with you already in the Soul Expansion Phase at the age most are just beginning to seriously cultivate.¡± ----- Wanting to see Renato, John decided to stay with the Order for some time. While he was doing so, he sought a private audience with the sect head. The Order of the Amber Heart were trusted allies, after all. ¡°What do you think of my cultivation?¡± he said bluntly. No doubt Johannes already suspected the few things he wouldn¡¯t want to be common knowledge. ¡°It is¡­ odd,¡± the man admitted. ¡°Not just your choice to cultivate a cycle of elements, I mean. If I put in the effort I can sense the auras of¡­ five totems. But I presume something went wrong with your advancement, as you don¡¯t feel as strong as you should. Or as strong as you were previously.¡± ¡°I was hoping you might have new insights into the Ascending Soul Phase,¡± John said. ¡°Or perhaps I might serve as a guide for you. About what to do, and what not to.¡± John began to explain his experiences. How he burned his dantian, and even spoke of the regrowth. ¡°But I don¡¯t seem to be able to gather more spiritual energy than an individual at the Spiritual Collection Phase.¡± ¡°That is quite interesting,¡± Johannes said. ¡°Perhaps you are subconsciously limiting yourself to avoid further injuries?¡± ¡°I had considered that, but I don¡¯t really know how to stop a subconscious process.¡± ¡°And you have been trying to let your power build up normally?¡± Johannes clarified. ¡°That¡¯s right. But I can¡¯t seem to figure out how I might break through to the next stage. The thing I¡¯m most certain of is that I can¡¯t attune to another totem.¡± ¡°I will admit that the Ascending Soul Phase still eludes my grasp,¡± Johannes said. ¡°So even your troubles are beyond my current experience. Attempting to push myself would certainly result in my destruction. But if your spiritual energy and dantian aren¡¯t what is holding you back, I would focus on other areas.¡± ¡°In a way I have been,¡± John admitted. ¡°Though more out of a lack of any progress rather than intention.¡± ¡°Perhaps you should cease any conscious cultivation for a time,¡± Johannes said. ¡°At worst, you lose a few months. I can¡¯t say that it will certainly help, but if it¡¯s not working¡­¡± John nodded. ¡°It makes as much sense as anything else,¡± he admitted. ----- There were plenty of things in this world to do besides cultivation, but usually they only occupied a small portion of John¡¯s time. He had sufficient wealth to see plays and hear music, to engage in reading- though most reading inevitably connected back to cultivation- and to socialize to the limits of his tolerance. He watched others cultivate, mainly when they were sparring, but didn¡¯t really see anything that would change things for himself. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. So he waited for Renato to return, and fortunately his friend arrived within the month. Otherwise John would have had to return to the clan and help out, as it had been too long. The silence between them spoke of the strain in all John¡¯s relationships over the last several years. It was Renato who broke the silence first. ¡°We had been quite worried about you. We haven¡¯t had a chance to meet recently, however.¡± ¡°I would be quite pleased to meet with the club once more,¡± John admitted. ¡°I hope we all remained friends.¡± ¡°A few bad years ending our friendship would mean it wasn¡¯t much to begin with,¡± Renato said. ¡°Tell me about how things have been.¡± It was a story John had repeated many times now. His devastation after Matayal¡¯s death, more or less hiding himself away from the world. And his motivation to still do something. But his attempt to advance his cultivation had taken a sour turn. ¡°I may have rushed into it,¡± John said. ¡°But I felt like I was prepared as I could be. Perhaps I didn¡¯t have it in me.¡± Renato shook his head. ¡°If you were someone else, I might agree. But I know you. And with your mistake not killing you, I am confident you will recover. I must also say I am quite pleased to see my friend again, instead of¡­ whoever you were the last few years.¡± ¡°Still me, unfortunately,¡± John admitted. ¡°I can¡¯t blame that on someone else. Just a worse version of myself.¡± ¡°So you said Master Johannes suggested you don¡¯t cultivate. But I think that making use of your energy should still be beneficial. Perhaps in a spar?¡± ¡°Only if you go easy on me,¡± John grinned. ¡°I promise nothing more than limiting my power to the same level as yourself,¡± Renato said. ----- In the few years they had been apart, Renato had picked up a few new tricks. But John also had a new advantage over his friend, that of fire. It allowed his own style to be even more adaptable than before, avoiding the man¡¯s use of raw power and surprising agility. Even as an earth cultivator, Renato could be quite quick. It was truly troublesome to deal with someone powerful and enduring that he couldn¡¯t simply run circles around. As they practiced, memories flooded back into John of earlier sparring sessions. He had the feeling he was approaching something important. But he wasn¡¯t quite able to grasp it. Still, he had the feeling Renato was key- and his friend was willing to give him whatever time he needed. ¡°There¡¯s something here,¡± John explained. ¡°But it always remains out of reach. Perhaps a memory I am forgetting?¡± ¡°How far back?¡± Renato asked. ¡°Very near the beginning,¡± John admitted. ¡°But sparring is revealing nothing.¡± ¡°Then perhaps we should fight over something,¡± Renato said. ¡°A real prize, like our actual first meeting.¡± Memories returned to John. The Crystal Caverns, and an urn. One that took on a spiritual presence, still living inside of him. One that separated earth elemental spiritual energy from bones. If he was able to advance his cultivation, it would have been quite useful in the Viridia Wildlands where they had more bones than they knew what to do with. But he had recognized that danger, and knew that wasn¡¯t what he wanted. John considered the battle. ¡°I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt. What should the prize be, then?¡± ¡°If you win, I make a new set of mountain steel armor for Ursel,¡± Renato declared. ¡°And if I win¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t forge any materials of note,¡± John admitted. ¡°Then you give me that urn,¡± Renato said. ¡°I suppose that depends on if I can even separate it from myself.¡± Renato nodded, ¡°At the time, I doubt you could have done so. But now, it¡¯s likely possible.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± John said. ¡°I agree to the terms. But I suppose we will have to see if I can actually accomplish that.¡± ----- The urn was a relatively low level spiritual object. While it would be more useful for Renato because of his pure earth element cultivation, John was uncertain if it would be comparable in value. Then again, the bet was lopsided to begin with. Even if Renato tried to restrain himself, the truth was that his spiritual energy was still stronger and more plentiful. Either way, John didn¡¯t mind. If he considered it a payment for Renato¡¯s recent instruction, it was honestly worthwhile. He sunk deep into himself, looking for the other layers of himself. When he found the urn, he realized it had hairline cracks- most likely they had been worse not long ago. He could easily imagine what would have broken it. Actualizing the spiritual object was simple enough. He had to be able to place things in it to begin with, so it only took some effort to materialize it in front of him. But that was one thing. Severing its connection to his soul was¡­ also not that difficult. It only took a simple manifestation of his will. In truth, his lack of use had likely weakened his connection with it over the years. ----- With his bet viable, John and Renato began their battle. Many disciples of the Amber Heart were there to watch, and Ursel of course. John¡¯s sword whistled as it cut through the air, his daggers hiding in shadows as they attacked Renato from all angles. In turn, the heavy swings of Renato¡¯s club forced John to pull his blows and dodge away with great frequency. John truly was reminded of their first meeting. And just like then, Renato had the advantage. However, he didn¡¯t have to worry about wearing himself out this time. Simply winning the battle would be sufficient, he didn¡¯t have to fight his way back out of the Crystal Caverns- or worry about petty cultivators. That meant John ultimately lost¡­ and he didn¡¯t mind it at all. He couldn¡¯t say that Renato hadn¡¯t held back his spiritual energy enough, nor did he have any other complaints. And he felt he was getting closer to something. ¡°A solid victory. Here is your prize,¡± John said, extending the urn. ¡°A worthy prize indeed,¡± Renato said. Then he turned to Ursel and tossed the urn to her. ¡°Take this and stop eating that horrible sludge, please,¡± Renato said. ¡°This is going to be so much better.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ursel frowned. ¡°But will it empower my body¡­?¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one way to find out,¡± John said. Afterwards, he took Renato aside. ¡°You could have said it was for her.¡± ¡°Then you wouldn¡¯t have been as motivated,¡± Renato grinned. ¡°And that was the main point. So, how do you feel?¡± ¡°Closer,¡± John admitted. ¡°But not quite there.¡± ¡°I suppose we have to go into the danger zone of the Crystal Caverns then,¡± Renato said. ¡°And break through to the next stage together.¡± Ah, that was it. The true beginning of their friendship, forged in desperation. ¡°I have the feeling that would be a poor idea for you,¡± John said. ¡°And maybe worse for me. But I do have some insights to work out.¡± Chapter 273 Returning to the Crystal Caverns to complete John¡¯s recollection turned out to be unnecessary. After all, it was one of the most important events in his life, a defining point in him surpassing the former resident of his body. That wasn¡¯t the sort of thing anyone would forget¡­ but memories faded with time, and triggering them was not always easy. But now everything came flooding back, the dangers of the forbidden zone and the desperate desire to survive, to make something out of his new life. And right along with him had been his first good friend in this world- or rather, the individual who would become that. Because mere moments before he had been fighting Renato for a prize. The whole reason they were down in the pit was inconsequential. Just some fools with a grudge. The Roldan and Boyce clans wanted to be more than they were, but they wouldn¡¯t have gotten far acting against the Order of the Amber Heart even if John and Renato hadn¡¯t survived. Though obviously it made a huge difference to the two of them personally. John recalled the less friendly interactions with Renato and the shift to working together, including during their breakthroughs to the Foundation Phase. Then, as if he had opened a faucet inside of himself, he felt the nearly stagnant spiritual energy inside of him surge forward. He returned to the equivalent of the tenth rank in a few moments. The process continued for several hours with the eleventh and twelfth ranks returning to him as the cycle of elements inside of him continuously augmented the energy inside of him. Then he felt everything slow, running up against another barrier. However, he felt this one was smaller. The step to return to mid Foundation Phase wasn¡¯t so important as between the phases. In fact, John felt he could push through if he really wanted¡­ but his subconscious prevented him for a reason. Indeed, looking inside his dantian he was fairly certain he needed more time for everything to grow. Pushing too fast might lead to an imbalance, and John was already quite pleased to achieve practical proof that his cultivation was not eternally damaged. He hadn¡¯t thought so, but remaining in the same state for months hadn¡¯t exactly been encouraging. ----- After his breakthrough- or perhaps it was more of a partial recovery- John went to find Renato. The changes were of course obvious to his friend. ¡°Looking better,¡± Renato said. ¡°Thanks to you, obviously,¡± John said. ¡°Interestingly enough, the most important part seemed to be remembering the part where we were not friends. It makes what followed that much more valuable. And the struggles were an important part of that.¡± ¡°Glad to hear you could benefit from those same trials again,¡± Renato said. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t really want to see how the Crystal Caverns might react to us now. Though I suppose we might be strong enough to overcome any unfortunate resonance that might occur.¡± John nodded. That particular style of danger zone might be more dangerous for those with higher cultivation, but that could only be true up to a certain point. At some point, absolute power and precise control would win out. Though it was best to not test such things pointlessly. ¡°I appreciate your help,¡± John repeated. ¡°Especially after I¡¯ve been less than a great friend the past few years.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be much of a friend if I gave up on you when you were down. The same¡¯s true of the rest of us. We were just trying to figure out how to make this happen.¡± ¡°I guess I just needed time,¡± John said. ¡°But I probably should have managed with less.¡± ¡°Too late now,¡± Renato shrugged. ¡°Can only move on from here.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, can we meet up with everyone? I need to hear how everyone¡¯s doing. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not the only one with problems.¡± ¡°Indeed. Different than your own, of course, but the world doesn¡¯t tend to just stop and wait.¡± ----- Though the traditional methods by which cultivators solved problems were mostly out of John¡¯s grasp for the moment- which was to say use of force- he found that actually quite freeing. There were some things he could do, and some he couldn¡¯t. And that was fine. ¡°Some of the clans don¡¯t like the Milanovic clan¡¯s growth,¡± Steve said. ¡°And they keep causing trouble. Which usually means getting us involved.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re quite good at causing and resolving trouble, dear,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Yeah, apparently,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Personally I think I¡¯m better with things on the personal scale. Though people don¡¯t attack me in particular much anymore.¡± ¡°I would hope not,¡± John said. ¡°He¡¯s famous enough for people to know better.¡± ¡°Still happens, though,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Seems like the clan is holding up well at least?¡± John asked. Yustin nodded, ¡°We¡¯re doing well, in general. Although I heard something involving your son¡­¡± John shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what to say. We thought Emilia was a good match, but perhaps they were too similar.¡± Steve chuckled, ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to worry about Verusha anymore. We thought she¡¯d be continually causing trouble for our clan.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°And now she gets to cause trouble for an entirely different clan,¡± Yustina finished. ¡°It¡¯s not like anything is set in stone,¡± John said. ¡°They¡¯re just testing out the waters.¡± ¡°That may be the case,¡± Yustina said. ¡°But for Verusha to even admit that she might like Tirto means she¡¯s pretty much infatuated. And since he made the first actual move¡­ it seems quite likely.¡± John nodded, looking around. He¡¯d already caught up with Renato, which left only Deirdre in their club. This particular group of people felt almost empty without Matayal, which was another reason he¡¯d been avoiding his friends for the last few years. He wondered if they should be looking for more¡­ but this really wasn¡¯t the sort of thing that they wanted to fill up slots just to say they did. Even if they found reincarnators or transmigrators that might fill in their missing elements, it was more important that they trust them compared to any other qualifications. Though they still might want to expand their circles of influence in general. Deirdre spoke her piece next. ¡°We¡¯ve been working on expanding the communication network, but it¡¯s slow. Nobody wants to pay someone to pass along messages through their communities.¡± John nodded. ¡°It¡¯s been slow to take off in the Stone Conglomerate as well. The large sects that would want to use it don¡¯t want to pay the majority of the cost. And we were also having trouble with getting the right kind of cultivators¡­¡± Passing along signals between towers was fairly simple in a land of light and fire cultivators, but in places dominated by earth, water, or darkness it became more complicated. Obviously it wasn¡¯t practical to use a blast of spiritual energy that would be felt at a long distance, as the whole point was to be conservative. There was something to be said for more mundane setups involving mirrors, but that would take longer to develop and was more dependent on the time of day. ¡°The Tenebach clan is personally doing well with shadowhawks as messengers, but it¡¯s still slow.¡± ¡°Seriously,¡± Steve said. ¡°I miss calling people up anywhere at any time. Sending a message and waiting days or weeks for a response is awful.¡± ¡°On that note,¡± Yustina said. ¡°We are developing a similar system for the Green Sands as well. Though it will likely only be functional along the more populated routes unless it becomes valuable enough to station people out in the middle of the desert.¡± ¡°At least they¡¯d have plenty of free spiritual energy to train,¡± John said. ¡°But it would be rather difficult to construct a viable tower.¡± ¡°That part¡¯s easy here,¡± Renato said. ¡°Solid ground and solid materials, plus vast engineering experience. Even the mountains aren¡¯t that much of an issue as you just have to have a single tower at the highest peaks.¡± John nodded. The main problem was transmitting a pattern of signals, and in only the right direction. Though even that was relatively easily solved. Just being willing to accept hiring cultivators from outside the country would be a big step, as they could hire a few dozens to hundreds of light cultivators for a menial job without issue. The difficult part was being able to trust them- and some of that was due to the natural divide set up between elements. That did give him an idea. ¡°We should focus on Astrein first. Land there is¡­ cheap. And it¡¯s easy to hire cultivators of all types. Passing messages from the Phoenix Forest or the Sunfields to the coast should be worth the expense.¡± ¡°Are you volunteering?¡± Renato asked. To go to Astrein? With his current setup of elements, that was always true for John. ¡°It would be something I could do, at least,¡± he said. ¡°And I like it there.¡± Yustina shook her head. ¡°I still don¡¯t get how you can function there. My experience lets me draw out water element as well as fire, but I still feel starved there.¡± ¡°With five elements, it¡¯s one of the highest densities of spiritual energy I¡¯ve come across,¡± John said. ¡°Partially because nobody¡¯s using it, and partially because more is able to saturate an area with a mixture that is more even.¡± ¡°Well, if you need some people we can send some disciples your way,¡± Deirdre offered. ¡°You¡¯d have to teach them to separate out light, though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s either the one thing I don¡¯t do¡­ or everything I do,¡± John said. ¡°Don¡¯t you need your disciples around, though? I heard not everyone¡¯s fond of Cuah¡¯arn¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯d only send the weaker ones. Good enough to make a flash of light and little more. They could learn something and move on. As for our enemies,¡± Deidre shrugged. ¡°Detractors of Cuah¡¯arn don¡¯t dare to do anything to her face. And since she isn¡¯t hiding anymore, her face can be anywhere in the country in a relatively short time. Would be good if we had an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, though.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be you?¡± John asked. ¡°As the most likely candidate, at least.¡± ¡°Maybe. Could be Zacharie, or Sect Head Lambert,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°I suppose,¡± John said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if any of them have gotten advice on breaking through to the Ascending Soul Phase from a reliable source.¡± ¡°And we have one here?¡± Deirdre raised an eyebrow, smirking. ¡°Of course. I know exactly what not to do. Or at least¡­ we can work that out together.¡± In truth, he must have been pretty close to the right thing, or his cultivation wouldn¡¯t have survived the process. He only wished that if he was going to undergo a splitting and rebirth that it would have been on purpose so that he was prepared. That could have definitely gone better. ----- Before moving on to Astrein, John made sure to spend time with Melanthina at the Tenebach clan. One brief stint together of him being a decent father wasn¡¯t going to make up for several lost years, and he wanted to assure her of his continued support. She and Nik made a great team that didn¡¯t really need him for the most part, but he still had experience. And some people still thought of John as the true clan head, so him attending issues they had himself made things easier on her. And he had decades of valuable cultivation insights to provide, not as much time as his grandfather Luctus but he¡¯d reached a greater height. Though there was much to gain from Luctus¡¯ experience as a pure darkness cultivator as well, and the man had some potential to reach the Ascending Soul Phase. Crystin was the most likely after John, and Aydan would have been a good candidate as well before his injuries and death. John had great hope for Melanthina and Nik as well, but of course they had to surpass the Soul Expansion Phase and reach the Consolidated Soul Phase before they could even think about it. It might only be a matter of time, but it was hard to say what could happen in a decade or two. John had seen so much change in just his time in this world. Stability might have been the norm, but these were times of upheaval, even if there weren¡¯t crazy events every day. John and Melanthina also interacted in less practical but just as important ways, joking about the trouble Ursel and Tirto had gotten themselves into. The former was ultimately expected, but Tirto¡¯s was somewhat novel. With a promise that he would not be far, John then made plans for his trip to Astrein. If he just wanted to visit it would be simple, but he had actual tasks to accomplish. Chapter 274 Looking at the current Melanthina, busy with handling clan affairs, John would hardly recognize the mischievous young woman she had once been. And while he expected some amount of change to come with maturity, John wasn¡¯t quite sure he liked the exact way things had turned out. Nik, meanwhile, John was used to seeing haggard. But that exhaustion was supposed to come from dealing with Melanthina, not other things. This wasn¡¯t even a problem of him not contributing anymore. The business of Melanthina hadn¡¯t dropped since he returned, perhaps even increasing slightly. And frankly, John didn¡¯t even see the point. Oh, he understood that the clan had affairs that needed to be managed, but the way things were being handled showed a lack of experience. Not that he should expect any different, but that meant it was his responsibility to provide some advice. John caught his daughter as she hurried down a corridor to her office. ¡°I need to meet with you and Nik,¡± he said straightforwardly. ¡°Of course,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°We could do¡­ tomorrow evening? No, maybe in two days.¡± ¡°It will have to be sooner than that,¡± John said. ¡°This evening.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me drop into whatever meeting you are participating in and drag you kicking and screaming out of there. Because I will,¡± John said with a wry smile. Melanthina frowned. ¡°Can you even¡­?¡± John just began to circulate his cultivation, elements building upon each other. ¡°Shall we find out?¡± ¡°Ugh, fine,¡± Melanthina shook her head. ¡°We can shuffle some things around.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John said. ¡°And don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t be burdening you with more work.¡± ----- The meeting was in Melanthina¡¯s office, but at least when John approached the two inside weren¡¯t sitting in formal positions around the desk. Instead, Melanthina and Nik were sitting on a couch inside, Nik nearly passed out with his head on Melanthina¡¯s lap. When he entered, Nik immediately sat up and faced him. ¡°No need to put on a show for me,¡± John said. ¡°Honestly, that¡¯s half of what I¡¯m here to talk about.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°Look, I understand your transition into the duties of the clan head wasn¡¯t as good as it should have been,¡± John said. ¡°But I remember you being a smart little girl.¡± Nik frowned, ¡°Are you saying she is being foolish now, somehow?¡± John didn¡¯t either affirm nor deny that. ¡°Have you heard the turn of phrase ¡®work smarter, not harder?¡¯¡± John looked at the two of them. Now that he thought about it, it was entirely possible they hadn¡¯t. This was not the same world, after all, and he certainly didn¡¯t remember it being common. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I have,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°But it¡¯s easy to understand the point. It doesn¡¯t immediately lead to any practical uses, though.¡± John nodded. ¡°Remember when you were a little girl, performing the bare minimum amount of your responsibilities to not get in trouble? Or convincing others to do things for you.¡± Melanthina¡¯s eyes flicked away at the second part. Perhaps she thought she¡¯d been more subtle about it. ¡°I am not a child anymore. I understand my responsibility to the clan, and how important my position is.¡± ¡°I appreciate that,¡± John said. ¡°But I must ask which is more important¡­ our clan, or others?¡± ¡°The Tenebach clan, of course. Family. Then our allies, then others.¡± ¡°A decent hierarchy,¡± John said. ¡°But it could be a bit more granular. Regardless, the point of what I am saying is to improve efficiency perhaps you should be cutting a few corners.¡± ¡°... What?¡± ¡°How many people did you meet with today?¡± John asked. ¡°It was supposed to be a dozen. But eight¡­ or nine counting you,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°How many of those could have been one meeting, or just not happened?¡± John asked. ¡°It is important to maintain our relations,¡± Melanthina argued. ¡°Putting things off or not providing sufficient attention can lead to troubles down the road.¡± ¡°That is true,¡± John admitted. ¡°But not everyone is equally important. And in a way, you need to let people know that while making them feel good for being acknowledged at all. This is what councils and grand balls are for. To make people feel included and represented, but only as much as they need to be. How many Quartz Clans have you met with this week?¡± ¡°Three,¡± Nik helpfully provided. ¡°And none of them were the important ones,¡± John continued. ¡°You need to pare down what is actually important and what is not. And you,¡± John turned to Nik, ¡°Need to follow suit. You¡¯ve done well taking on duties to support Melanthina, but ultimately that led to you trying to do more individually rather than managing the same level of duties. You need to free up some time, and then you need to spend it together.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Of course we want to,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°But it¡¯s just so busy this year. Next year we can-¡± ¡°You can what?¡± John interrupted. ¡°Finally spend the time together you¡¯ve been meaning to? The two of you spent more time together as rivals than you have as married individuals. You may live in the same manor, but are you actually together more than Matayal and I were, living in two different clans? Don¡¯t assume that next year will be less busy. Or that it will even happen at all,¡± John wanted to make that point very clear. Nik and Melanthina looked at each other, with Nik making the move to slide closer to her on the couch and take her hand. ¡°But what can we actually do?¡± Nik asked. ¡°We¡¯re trying to expand the influence of the Tenebach clan.¡± ¡°There are none in the Stone Conglomerate who do not respect us and the Order of the Amber Heart. The rest of our alliance is also well regarded. The most important factor is time, and you should give it that while taking some for yourselves. And don¡¯t forget how that will benefit the clan, too. It won¡¯t do anyone any good if you overload yourselves and damage your cultivations. Especially for the two of you, that is a serious concern. In the other direction, keeping a clear mind and letting your cultivations develop will allow other things to naturally fall into place.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°But we can¡¯t just break off the commitments we¡¯ve already made without causing bigger problems.¡± ¡°No. But you can hoist a few duties onto your grandfather over the next month or two. People shouldn¡¯t feel scoffed to not meet the clan head, but rather lucky to meet a powerful Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. I¡¯ll remain around here to help guide you until things settle down a bit as well.¡± This was probably partially his fault, even though he intended to simply encourage them. ¡°And don¡¯t think I will be disappointed if a few people walk away with less than a perfect appraisal of how they were treated. Many other clans of lesser import won¡¯t deign to meet with some of these people at all. And of course, everyone should still be treated with respect¡­ it just doesn¡¯t have to all happen on an individual level. I¡¯m sure you can figure out how to manage the expectations of those who are truly important,¡± John said. ¡°And don¡¯t be ashamed to shirk your responsibilities a little. You may be the clan head, but you are still young. And you, Nik, will be responsible for keeping her- and yourself- less busy in the future. Just threaten to drag her out into the gardens.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I can consistently fulfill that threat¡­¡± Nik pursed his lips. ¡°Then you¡¯ll simply have to find some time to train yourself without her. I doubt Melanthina would let herself fall behind, so she¡¯ll have to steal back some time. Remember, the most important thing the two of you can be doing is spending time with each other. Beyond that, making sure the clan doesn¡¯t fall apart is the only truly necessary result.¡± With that, John left them behind, hopefully to retire early together. These things had to be dealt with a little bit at a time, and he had to watch to make sure his advice wasn¡¯t causing things to get worse after a temporary reprieve like this time. ----- On the front of his own cultivation, John was thinking about Ursel¡¯s recent focus on body tempering. He¡¯d certainly found Diamond Defense to be quite valuable in the past, tipping the scales where other things were approximately equal. John knew he wasn¡¯t focused enough on the earth element to replicate the full effects of her more recent training, augmenting her bones and probably a little bit of everything else. But that wasn¡¯t his style anyway. He began to think about how he might achieve useful results for other elements, though the Tenebach clan¡¯s records were limited for things that weren¡¯t earth or darkness. And as for darkness, he found no body tempering guides¡­ but he couldn¡¯t say he hadn¡¯t experienced anything. After all, the blessing ceremony came with an enhanced ability to see in the dark. An affinity with the darkness element would tend to do that, but John had the feeling there was more to it than just that. Ciaritzal was easily found in the constructed tunnels beneath the Tenebach clan. The guardian beast was no longer concealed in a distant cave, but immediately present with the clan at all times. Not everyone could or should go see him on a whim, but John was one of those that had the status and personal connection with Ciaritzal. ¡°It is good to see you visiting more frequently. There was a short time where you seemed lost to me,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°It was three years, more or less,¡± John said. ¡°Far too long.¡± ¡°The blink of an eye,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°But still uncomfortable to have no contact.¡± He paced around John, his body inexact in definition even with John¡¯s ability to see in the darkness. ¡°I sense you come to me for a reason, this time.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always a reason,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Sometimes seeing you is the reason, but this time it is to rely on your wisdom. I have the feeling that the Tenebach clan¡¯s ability to see in the darkness isn¡¯t just a result of the enhanced darkness affinity of the ceremony. Or rather, that there is another layer to it.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°Perhaps not.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to be mysterious, you know,¡± John said. Ciaritzal¡¯s form shrugged. ¡°The mystery is more a feature of my own memory. Things have been done a certain way for a very long time. I am certain all of the reasons were explained from my own experience and the expertise of the early Tenebach clan that snatched me away from the Society of Midnight. What is it you truly want?¡± Ciaritzal asked. ¡°I am interested in tempering my body with each element. The ability to see in the darkness is quite useful, but I wonder if there is something more. Could I pierce the veil of true darkness like your own?¡± ¡°Certainly you could,¡± Ciaritzal said, moving behind John and speaking with his head just over his shoulder. ¡°But would that be your most desired result?¡± ¡°Is there something wrong with it? I am certain we will clash with other darkness cultivators once more.¡± ¡°Indeed. But it is merely a small weakness to have the partial concealment of your foes. Is it not worse to be unable to see at all? Most commonly due to the harshness of the light.¡± ¡°Do you know a way to accomplish that?¡± ¡°Do I?¡± Ciaritzal asked. ¡°Who do you take me for? Some sort of floofy light element bird? Of course not. But I am certain it could be done, and I would not mind hearing of your methods should you manage it.¡± John laughed. ¡°So I have to do it myself, then. Though perhaps that wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing. I have quite a bit to learn about attuning myself to the light element, if I am to ever reach the Exalted Soul Phase.¡± ¡°And here you were not long ago concerned about reaching the Ascending Soul Phase. Or perhaps having permanently crippled yourself.¡± John shrugged, ¡°What can I say? It¡¯s better to have a goal in mind.¡± ¡°I am glad to hear it. I also have one small piece of advice. It is not something I can accomplish personally, but I would suspect that having your eyes resist the light would be best accomplished with as little active darkness element as possible. Or you might get¡­ a strong reaction.¡± John could imagine it now, filling his eyes with darkness element only to have a flash of light spark an annihilating reaction. ¡°A wise point. A more passive result is preferable anyway.¡± John¡¯s mind was filled with ideas. He knew the vast majority of them wouldn¡¯t pan out, if any of them did at all at his current point. But simply having paths to test, progress to be made either through success or elimination of failures, that was the joy of cultivation. Chapter 275 Though it was tiresome to always be accompanied by a guard, John had grown used to it over the years. Furthermore, he understood that he had sufficient quantities of enemies that might wish to harm him- especially now if they learned he was weakened. He wasn¡¯t exactly advertising that to the general public, but there was always a chance of information leaking- intentionally or accidentally. Crystin wasn¡¯t a poor guard, nor an unpleasant companion. But her presence tended to remind John of who was no longer with him. Mostly Aydan, and thoughts of one loss tended to lead to Matayal eventually. From what he understood, such thoughts would never fully go away. The pain would simply continue to dull, and he would learn to handle it better. Already he was much more functional than he had been in the immediate time following her death. ¡°You¡¯ll be pleased to know we¡¯re going to stay at an inn with elemental gathering formations,¡± John explained to Crystin. ¡°So you can properly cultivate here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something, at least,¡± she shrugged. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll ever fully understand your love of Astrein.¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. To you, it feels like a desert. To me, it is a lush jungle.¡± John shrugged, ¡°And for my current purposes, the fact that most people will find it lacking is quite valuable.¡± ¡°What are your purposes anyway?¡± ¡°I¡¯m setting up a¡­ guild? Embassy? Headquarters? Establishment of some kind where I intend to create a centralized location for people from the whole region to meet together and engage in mutually beneficial negotiations.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Crystin said. ¡°That¡¯ll be simple.¡± ¡°It¡¯s much easier than you might think,¡± John replied. ¡°After all, some people are already in the habit of sending some disciples to Lunson for the tournaments. And it¡¯s centrally located, with direct access to every element- except darkness, but they can still come via sea if they don¡¯t want to travel through the Stone Conglomerate. Either way, it¡¯s about time we set up some sort of longer term alliance instead of scrambling to join together too late to stop the intrusion of the Molten Sea and the Sky Islands. And while some might think that only the Shimmering Islands or a few other places were affected, the fact that the Molten Sea so easily cut their way through the Sunfields and Astrein while the Sky Islands passed through the Wuthering Steppes and the Darklands¡­ it doesn¡¯t sit well. Our particular alliance is only so powerful. We need a guiding force for everyone to stand up to further similar intrusions.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t disagree,¡± Crystin admitted. ¡°But I doubt it will be simple. Where will you even start? Simply inviting our typical allies out here instead won¡¯t change anything.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well, I thought I¡¯d start with money. There are some exchanging goods in the markets here, but they won¡¯t necessarily put in the extra legwork to get them to other hands.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to become a merchant? Really?¡± John made a face, ¡°Absolutely not. I¡¯m going to sponsor some. I¡¯m not crazy. Regardless, there are a lot of goods that might want to go from the Phoenix Forest on a more direct route to the Green Sands, or from the Blustering Peaks all the way down to the Wuthering Steppes, which is a direct route through Astrein. That already happens, but many people only manage one leg of the journey. Trading isn¡¯t everything I¡¯m interested in, of course,¡± John said. ¡°I want to gain more influence for this idea, disconnected from being the former head of the Tenebach Clan.¡± ¡°Might as well found a sect, then,¡± Crystin said. ¡°Oh, good idea,¡± John said. ¡°I- nevermind. Go ahead and do whatever you want.¡± ¡°I think I will.¡± John pondered, ¡°If I¡¯m not too busy I might even open a restaurant.¡± ¡°You could certainly draw in some people to eat rare delicacies¡­ but I don¡¯t know if that would provide any sort of longer lasting relationship.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t really thinking about rare foods. I kind of just want to have a burger.¡± ¡°A what now?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°And you know our chefs could have made you anything, right? Or you could just cook for yourself.¡± ¡°Sure. But I want to share them with the world. It¡¯s basically¡­ a sandwich with ground meat, cheese melted over it, and various toppings.¡± ¡°Sounds¡­ fine.¡± John shook his head. In both worlds, ground meat often carried a reputation for being cheap. The leftover bits that weren¡¯t any good for anything else, and the castoff that were often made into sausage. Though personally he thought the craft that went into making the ¡®bad¡¯ parts edible was worth much more than a good cut of steak prepared lazily. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I haven¡¯t made one for you yet.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where you heard about this ¡®burger¡¯ thing. Was it Viridia?¡± ¡°It was from before,¡± John said. His transmigration system wasn¡¯t public or widely spread within the clan, but it was difficult to spend so long with someone and continually keep such a secret. Crystin was one of those who knew. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Might that not advertise your status, then?¡± Crystin asked. John pondered that. Indeed, burgers were easily recognizable. Especially if he called them that. But only people transmigrated from Earth- which apparently wasn¡¯t all that rare- would recognize it. And while he didn¡¯t necessarily trust people from Earth, they couldn¡¯t really reveal his status without indirectly revealing their own even if they did have some nefarious purpose. And it might even get others to introduce themselves to him, perhaps. ¡°I¡¯ll have to consider the pros and cons,¡± John said. ----- Land in Astrein was cheap, even in the capital of Lunson. After all, many of the buildings went unused most of the time, having value only for the short seasons where tournaments took place. There, the value wasn¡¯t so much in the land but in the energy gathering formations and the other amenities that a place could offer to attract customers. Without cutting too much into his prepared funds, John was able to secure a small building to serve as an office or storehouse or whatever else he needed. Then he went out into the city to check the current state of the markets. He¡¯d seen what things were like when he came through on his way to attempt breaking through to the Ascending Soul Phase, and it seemed like things had been recovering from the upheaval related to the Molten Sea. As he moved throughout the city, he noticed the general state of things. Lots of individuals without cultivation, or lower in cultivation. Those who were stronger tended just to be passing through. It made sense, of course, because filtering a single element out required either the expense of a gathering formation- which was too much for an independent cultivator without any prominence- or special training that most people didn¡¯t have. Even John only managed to get to his level because he had the freedom to explore an odd cultivation path and plentiful resources to study. It was something he couldn¡¯t have done without the support of the Tenebach clan. Crystin certainly hadn¡¯t been seriously suggesting he start a sect, and even his response had been at best half serious. But there could be a lot of untapped potential in such a place. He doubted that everyone would end up as strong as him, but perhaps he was wrong and his talent wasn¡¯t much. It might be that the path of a cycle of elements was particularly beneficial. That said, he knew that any aspiring talents would have to struggle through a somewhat weaker Foundation Phase, and the Soul Expansion Phase might not necessarily be terribly strong either. At the Consolidated Soul Phase, there would always be at least a minor cycle of elements. And if a cultivator started with one of the four core elements, they could complete that cycle. John just didn¡¯t know how they would branch out from there into light and darkness- and doubling up on any other element might throw off their balance. Suppose that he was able to reach an untapped group of individuals. Even if they ended up above average due to the lack of competition in Astrein, what was he going to do with a sect? It wasn¡¯t a casual question, brushing it off. It was a serious consideration. What would he do with it? Support his allies, of course. The club and his family, to start with. But he would want to become strong enough to deal with greater powers like the Molten Sea. That said, any potential sect would likely only be part of such a thing. The main goal was to unify the region, to add strength to strength so they could stand against outside threats. One crisis in several decades might not seem like much, but according to what he understood times of volatility led to even more down the road where cultivators were concerned. And perhaps humans in general, but he hadn¡¯t been personally involved with anything on a grander scale back on Earth. He could only go with what he remembered from history lessons, which was honestly less and less these days. Not that his memory was particularly bad, but the particular names and places involved in Earth history were less relevant than the overarching ideas. ¡°So, what¡¯s your assessment?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°Huge untapped market potential?¡± John shrugged, as he looked at the various things for display. ¡°I¡¯m not planning to have things explode overnight. It¡¯s good to think of the long term.¡± John approached a stall where an old woman was selling fresh herbs. Most were¡­ well, the normal kind. No spiritual energy to speak of. ¡°What are these?¡± he asked, gesturing to a plain looking white flower, or rather a cluster of smaller flowers on a single stalk. ¡°What special properties do they have?¡± ¡°Well those are¡­ uh¡­ wildflowers, sir. They don¡¯t really do anything,¡± she held out her hands. ¡°I think these are the nicest ones so I pick them out with the herbs.¡± ¡°Nicest, are they?¡± John asked. ¡°They look rather plain to me. Why choose them?¡± ¡°Hmm. They just feel good,¡± she said. ¡°And they last longer than others.¡± ¡°I would imagine so,¡± John said. ¡°With the amount of spiritual energy in them.¡± ¡°Spiritual energy, sir? I believe you are mistaken. They do have a modicum of water element in them, but nothing else.¡± ¡°That is simply because you practice the water element yourself,¡± John said. ¡°You are most sensitive to it. I¡¯m not going to lie to you, they¡¯re nothing exceptional¡­ but they¡¯re at least valuable for those up to the Foundation Phase. I can pay you an appropriate amount for any you bring to me,¡± John said, displaying some coins. ¡°Sir, that is¡­ far too much for my whole stock. They¡¯re only a penny or two.¡± ¡°This much is for one,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to cheat you out of reasonable payment, nor do I have interest in coming back later to complain about what I got. Also if anyone does that¡­¡± John extended his hand. ¡°Look me up. I¡¯m John.¡± He unintentionally used his old name there, but decided not to correct himself. After all, right now he didn¡¯t necessarily feel like a Tenebach. ¡°An odd fellow, to be sure,¡± the old woman took his hand. ¡°Filimena is my name. I suppose I won¡¯t stop you from paying whatever you please, but I also won¡¯t be expecting the same thing to happen again.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± John said. ¡°I might be absolutely lousy at getting practical value out of these, so that might be the best bet.¡± John could see that the woman was at the peak of the Spiritual Collection Phase¡­ which was to say she hadn¡¯t made it very far in cultivation at all. Those without a clan might take longer to reach the Foundation Phase, but most of those with decent access to information and any resources should have made it by her age. Then again, perhaps she had tried her hand at cultivating and feared the dangers of a breakthrough. That was quite reasonable, since John knew well the pitfalls of such a thing, and he¡¯d had more knowledge to work from. He didn¡¯t quite know what he could do with the flowers, besides absorbing their spiritual energy. That was a bit too direct and seemed like it might be a waste, but then again letting them sit around and fade away would also be a waste. He wasn¡¯t much of an alchemist or anything, though. Perhaps he should see if anyone good with concoctions was in Lunson. Chapter 276 It wasn¡¯t really a surprise that there weren¡¯t an abundance of alchemists in Lunson to choose from. The whole country was underdeveloped, given that it wasn¡¯t a suitable location for the vast majority of people to cultivate. Even those who practiced two elements might find themselves more suited to a location strong in any of their single elements. However, when a cultivator practiced three or more elements¡­ that was where the clear advantages came about. Unfortunately, that required reaching the Soul Expansion Phase to properly pull off- though limited use of additional elements was possible without a totem. With cultivators of all sorts lacking, the support structures were as well. Thus, John had the choice of three alchemists in the whole city, and it took some effort just to track down those few names and locations. The most prominent was Alchemist Oden. By the standards of Lunson he was rather picky about his customers, but it was difficult for him to refuse to meet someone who came along with a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. His shop was neatly organized with everything behind nice glass displays and clearly labeled. ¡°What do you want, sir? I have concoctions for every possible situation.¡± ¡°Actually, I was hoping you could make something to order,¡± John said. ¡°Certainly,¡± the man replied. ¡°What do you want?¡± John pulled out one of the flower stalks. ¡°I was hoping you could make something with this her. Some sort of condensed potion or a pill.¡± Oden took the flower John presented him and looked it over. ¡°This is just a weed,¡± he said, summoning a small bit of fire element and burning it to ash. ¡°Next time don¡¯t let anyone fool you into thinking something has value.¡± John very nearly let his spiritual energy flare up, but ultimately it was just one stalk of a common plant, despite him paying a more reasonable price for it. ¡°If we are offering advice, then I shall give you some as well. Next time, don¡¯t destroy things that belong to potential customers. And learn to sense spiritual energy.¡± He swiveled on his heels and left the shop behind. He could force the man to pay for it, but what was the point? The few coins wouldn¡¯t be worth the sort of reputation he would gain. Of course, there was a delicate balance there- if it had been something that people in general perceived as having value, not seeking revenge might lower his position in the eyes of others. But John was still establishing his position in Lunson, and there was no need to menace one of its more well respected members. Besides, Oden would be more than paying for that in the future, since he would never be getting any business from John and any of his ventures. Oden made no attempt to apologize as John made his way, so even if he realized his mistakes in the future it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Crystin also had a comment. ¡°That man has far too elevated a view of his own position. I wonder if he was brave enough to act like that around the Molten Sea cultivators.¡± ¡°Likely not. But I doubt they brought him anything novel. It would have been things either familiar or matching his elemental abilities.¡± ¡°... Should alchemists be pure fire cultivators?¡± Crystin asked. John shrugged. ¡°I hear that precise control of flames and temperature can be important. Though one would think they could simply have a functional furnace or stove. The Tenebach clan seems to produce reasonable enough results refining elements of darkness into usable forms.¡± Second on the list was an up-and-coming alchemist by the name of Durga. Her shop was similarly nicely organized, though with significantly less glass. Just poultices and potions of condensed spiritual energy laid out on the shelves. Her personal appearance was less well maintained, with messy hair and stained robes. She looked surprised as John and Crystin entered. ¡°Don¡¯t often get people like you here.¡± ¡°What sort of people?¡± John asked. ¡°Stronger cultivators,¡± she said, clearly referring to Crystin. But she also picked up the fact that John was the one doing the talking. ¡°Is it some sort of emergency? Oden burn down his place?¡± ¡°Oh, he burned some things. But he won¡¯t recognize the consequences for a while.¡± John pulled out another stalk with a bundle of flowers atop it. ¡°Can you make something with this?¡± ¡°... Isn¡¯t this white alyssum? I¡¯m not aware of any recipes this could be used in.¡± She was already one step up on Oden, though admitting she didn¡¯t know what to do with it didn¡¯t bode well for actually getting anything. ¡°I was hoping the spiritual energy within could be refined into a condensed form.¡± ¡°I mean¡­¡± Durga shrugged. ¡°I could. But it¡¯s not going to be very potent. Seems like a waste of time. I could sell you whatever element or elements you want for a price similar to what I¡¯d have to charge you for the labor of extraction,¡± She gestured to her shelves. ¡°I¡¯ll consider my options,¡± John said as she handed him back the stalk. She might be able to do what he wanted, but he couldn¡¯t be certain she wouldn¡¯t lose more potency during the process. He might return and explain what he wanted in better detail, but he might as well check to see if there was a better option. Even if that option happened to be the least renowned and hardly recommended individual in the city that bothered to call themself an alchemist. John had to double check the sign above the door as he found the place, because although it did say Raul¡¯s Alchemy, it looked more like a grocery. Bundles of garlic and onion hung down from the rafters, but that could at least be vaguely related to alchemy. The bin stuffed full of lettuce and the haphazardly placed jugs of milk were another thing. A young man that didn¡¯t really look old enough to run his own shop stood up from behind the counter. ¡°Welcome! We just got some fresh eggs in, if you want.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°... Maybe,¡± John said. If he did any cooking for himself, it would be useful. ¡°But I came here because it was said you are an alchemist. You are Raul, correct?¡± There wasn¡¯t anyone else in the shop, nor nearby. ¡°Oh, yeah. That¡¯s me. I do alchemy.¡± His face brightened slightly. ¡°What do you need?¡± John produced the stalk of flowers, and Raul carefully examined it. ¡°What element do you want?¡± A surprisingly promising response. ¡°All of them,¡± John said. ¡°Oh, yeah. That¡¯s probably way more efficient,¡± Raul said. His senses lingered on John for a moment. ¡°You want all of them? I could also pull out the light element if you want. What¡¯s better depends on what you want to do with it.¡± John didn¡¯t think he was up to attempting to train with light at his current point. ¡°Everything but the light would be best, if it doesn¡¯t lower the potency of the rest.¡± ¡°Uh, it shouldn¡¯t,¡± Raul pondered for a moment, resting his hand on a pile of nearby potatoes. ¡°Might shorten the shelf life, though.¡± ¡°How long would it stay potent?¡± ¡°Not sure exactly. At least a few months, though. Without special containers or anything, and depending on the environment. Planning to export it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m planning to use it here.¡± ¡°You should be good, then,¡± Raul said, sweeping with his hand. ¡°No problems.¡± John began to pull out the couple dozen stalks Filimena had sold him. ¡°How long would it take to process all of this? And how much would it cost?¡± ¡°Cost? Oh yeah that¡¯s a¡­ good question¡­¡± John could see the young man rapidly wracking his brain. John named a price. ¡°Twice that if the quality meets my standards.¡± It wasn¡¯t that much, similar in price to what he¡¯d paid for the flowers to begin with. It was something he could afford to lose, if Raul turned out to be incompetent as an alchemist. He was only at the seventh rank of the Spiritual Collection Phase which didn¡¯t say much for his cultivation, but he was also young. As for evidence of alchemical skills¡­ John saw none around them. ¡°Yes. Great. I can do that in three, no, two days.¡± ¡°Three would be fine,¡± John said. ¡°No need to rush.¡± ¡°Great, uh. Could I¡­¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a down payment. For processing costs and the like.¡± John had the feeling he might be missing some equipment. At least he knew the young man wouldn¡¯t starve with a shop full of food. Worst case scenario, he had Filimena gather some more or went out and got it himself, then gave Durga a try. ----- John spent the next few days familiarizing himself with more parts of the city. He¡¯d been to Lunson more than a few times, but he didn¡¯t really come for goods and services. He was either passing through or participating in the tournament. Every aspect was lacking. But not because of the people, for the most part. Instead, John judged it to be a matter of poor spiritual energy and no way to draw in those with wealth or knowledge. At least, the area seemed poor in spiritual energy. If one was using only a single element, that was definitely true. Though if you could convert the allied elements at a decent rate, it was at least able to match any general countryside. John could personally buy and sell some amount of the goods in the market to make a profit, but he would have to get enough matching the right element to bring to another country. And ultimately, he didn¡¯t intend to serve that role himself. The opportunities were there, but he didn¡¯t know if it would be enough. Ultimately, he had to take advantage of the natural resources of Astrein that seemed useless to others if he wanted to see anything significant happen in a short time. On the third day, John got a knock on the door of the inn he was currently staying at. The offices weren¡¯t set up for that, and he appreciated having meals prepared. It was early morning, but John was used to waking up as needed. He opened the door to see¡­ well, an urchin was about the nicest description he could give. ¡°Hello, sir,¡± the youth said. ¡°Are you¡­ John? Raul sent me.¡± Once more John had given his old name. He wasn¡¯t quite sure why. Maybe it was just time for a change. And a sign he wasn¡¯t afraid of people knowing he was a Transmigrator. The biggest threat he was aware of, Sitora, was already in the know. And ultimately, it was just a slightly abnormal name. ¡°Your goods are finished, sir.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± John said as the urchin stood there¡­ expectantly. ¡°You have a name, kid?¡± ¡°Ayhan, sir.¡± John flipped the kid a coin. ¡°Good work. Now you should probably get out of here before the proprietor catches you.¡± John very much doubted that the owner of the inn let a dirty kid in. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with being a dirty kid, but many people with wealth cared about a certain kind of perception. Back at Raul¡¯s shop, John was presented with a small bottle, maybe the size of a shot glass in volume. ¡°Here is the extract,¡± Raul said. He was smiling in a hopeful fashion. ¡°There¡¯s not a lot of it,¡± John said. Raul shrugged, ¡°There wasn¡¯t a lot of material either. I didn¡¯t want to dilute the product with something so¡­ this is what you get.¡± John had the feeling that Raul might have also lost a small amount. Perhaps due to shoddy technique. But the spiritual energy he felt within was strong, and a nearly uniform mixture of five elements. Perhaps the barest trace of light, but John wouldn¡¯t find a small amount too troublesome to deal with. As far as such things went, John was satisfied with the product, paying Raul the greater amount. ¡°I¡¯m going to make use of this,¡± John said. ¡°Perhaps in the future I¡¯ll have more work for you.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to commit to anything just from looking at a vial of clear liquid, after all. ¡°Thank you sir,¡± Raul said. ¡°Happy to have your business.¡± ----- At various points in his life, John had learned that liquids could be burnt. Or at least have remnants of such things within them. This was also the case with the liquid Raul produced, even if it was slight. Still, a few drops was filled with enough spiritual energy for John to spend half an hour cultivating. He wasn¡¯t disappointed with the quality, even if he knew it could be better. He couldn¡¯t exactly expect Raul to have as much experience as those he was used to working with, especially since the young man was probably less than twenty years old. He would have had to be five times that age to match the century or more of experience some people had. Though not all experience was equal. John, for example, had a greater cultivation- or used to have a greater cultivation- than most people a century of age or more. And he would return there soon enough, in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, Raul had still been successful. And it might be better this way, because John could see if he would actually improve or if he simply lacked the talent to get any further. Or maybe it would be a matter of knowledge, since people didn¡¯t necessarily share what they had learned, leaving aspiring individuals to retread the same paths. But John hoped Raul would do well, since he would doubtless find more than simple flowers to work with and he wanted someone that could properly sense mixed elements. Chapter 277 There was a great relief to be felt when one managed to pass a long time barrier. Even if the actual duration of time spent recovering his cultivation through Spiritual Collection Phase wasn¡¯t more than a year, a good majority of that time he had just been sitting at the peak. It was the uncertainty that had been the problem, not knowing if he could recover his cultivation or if he was effectively crippled forever. He was fortunate enough to find that the block had been more of a mental one than a matter of his spiritual limits. There was no guarantee of further stages being possible, but he was still filled with confidence. And simply being able to progress was a delight. Even if the work was slightly subpar, the essence of hoary alyssum refined by Raul was just potent enough in terms of spiritual energy to be a good match for John at his current level. It felt like every other day he was advancing in rank- though that wasn¡¯t actually true. It took about a month for him to progress from the tenth rank to the thirteenth, which placed him properly in the mid Foundation Phase once more. It was a somewhat uninspiring level, but his totems made a significant difference. Even compared to a genius cultivator, they would most likely have a pair of third tier totems, or one of them might be a fourth tier totem. John¡¯s totems were all fifth tier, which put him somewhere around half again as strong as he might have been. And in practice, he could call on over double the power that he¡¯d been able to when he first properly experienced the Foundation Phase. All of this was before considering the benefits he was reaping from his decades of experience and having a nearly complete cycle of elements. His strengths were many and his weaknesses few, so if he pitied himself for his current state he would seem rather out of touch. Aside from cultivating, he spent most of his time looking for others in Lunson that he felt had potential. Filimena wasn¡¯t anything amazing- but John wasn¡¯t quite sure that she¡¯d picked the hoary alyssum just because they looked pretty. Often, there was something guiding cultivators that was subconscious. But even if she turned out to be of ordinary talent, he still liked the woman. And he¡¯d rather involve decent people in his plans than¡­ well, people like Alchemist Oden. It was one thing to think certain tasks were beneath you. In a cultivation world, it was quite possible for that to be true in practice. It was another thing to be rude to potential customers. And to destroy their ingredients. Oden could have been the greatest genius alchemist the world had ever known, but joining up with him would only bring John consternation and trouble in the future. And he likely wasn¡¯t all that he was puffed up to be, given how he was unable to discern the mixed spiritual energy in the flowers. Specialization wasn¡¯t always a negative, but one had to know their limitations. John had gotten a second batch of extract from Raul, and found it was slightly better refined. But ultimately, two attempts didn¡¯t tell John anything. He could project almost any graph from so little information. Raul might have learned, or gotten unlucky with his refinement the first time, or lucky the second. Though when John caught a glance at his equipment¡­ he was rather surprised he had any success at all. Cracked vials and a grimy furnace could be the result of poor care¡­ or poor resources. John hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to stumble upon anything else like the Hoary Alyssum, but gatherers with a greater cultivation and thus able to roam further would likely not be spending much time in Astrein. But he¡¯d asked Raul to keep his eye out for any multi-elemental ingredients, just in case. ¡°Find anything good?¡± John asked, as he entered the shop once more. Raul shook his head. ¡°Not yet. But the better suppliers don¡¯t really talk to me, so that doesn¡¯t really mean much.¡± ¡°A shame,¡± John said. ¡°But that¡¯s how things are, sometimes.¡± With no particular business, John planned to leave. But Raul called out after him. ¡°Sir. If you would¡­ I¡¯ve been meaning to ask¡­¡± ¡°About what?¡± John turned back to him. ¡°Your cultivation. I know it¡¯s not polite to pry but I¡¯m having a hard time telling¡­ what element you cultivate. Among other things.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s fairly easy to answer,¡± John said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you pick it out when we first met? Everything but light,¡± John declared. ¡°But I assume you are confused about my cultivation rank as well. And that¡­ shall stay a mystery.¡± ¡°Of course, sir,¡± Raul inclined his head. ¡°But I was hoping you might have¡­ a cultivation method you could share? I don¡¯t mean your personal method, of course. Such a thing¡­ would be far beyond one such as myself. But a simple lower tier method of cultivating multiple elements¡­ or perhaps a compendium of lower tier totems?¡± Internally, John sighed. Not because he was disappointed in Raul, but rather the state of things in Astrein. He was aware he had been significantly advantaged by his connection to a clan, but compilations of totems were hardly rare. The Tenebach clan had a good collection of such things even as they were focused on darkness. ¡°What is your plan?¡± John asked. ¡°Do you wish to support your flames with an earth element totem?¡± Raul nodded. ¡°Yes. Though that would be just the first step. Ultimately I would want to manage a cycle of elements to improve my refinement abilities. Though I don¡¯t know if I could manage the core elements. It seems a bit ambitious to reach for the Consolidated Soul Phase, don¡¯t you think? Perhaps I should find a good air totem, and if I ever make it to the Soul Expansion Phase I can finish things off with a light totem and a minor cycle.¡± ¡°You could certainly do that,¡± John said. ¡°And I¡¯m not going to be so careless as to say that you should reach for the stars. But I will say¡­ cultivating that way will at best result in specialization, and at worst with mediocrity. And I imagine it would dull your current senses which were able to pick out mixed elements quite easily. It closes down a path.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I suppose so,¡± Raul nodded. ¡°But for any of this to matter, I¡¯d have to reach the Foundation Phase anyway¡­¡± ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be too difficult,¡± John said. ¡°You are young, and already in the late Spiritual Collection Phase. And I do believe you have sufficient time¡­¡± John looked around, noting the continued lack of other customers. ¡°Personally, I would recommend striving for an earth totem. Something like Charcoal. It feels like this,¡± John said, using his earth element to emulate the totem. ¡°But I will admit to being quite biased towards a grander cycle of elements.¡± Raul sighed. ¡°I must confess that I would wish to make the attempt. But I don¡¯t have the guidance of a master, or manuals for techniques or cultivation methods¡­¡± he shook his head. ¡°You believe you could manage it if you had those?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Raul said firmly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll hold you to that,¡± John said. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring many manuals with me, so you¡¯ll have to be patient as I extract my own insights.¡± ¡°... huh?¡± Raul tilted his head, not quite able to understand what was happening. ¡°I¡¯ll take you on as a disciple,¡± John said more clearly. ¡°You just have to promise to complete a cycle of core elements, at least.¡± ¡°I- yes, of course!¡± Raul said. ¡°I accept. I will. You can count on me. Uh¡­ I¡¯ll do my best.¡± John smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll start tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°But the shop¡­ isn¡¯t going to have any customers anyway,¡± Raul sighed. ¡°Of course, Master¡­ Miller?¡± The ¡®mister Miller was my father¡¯ joke didn¡¯t really exist in this world. ¡°John is fine,¡± he said. ¡°Of course, Master John,¡± Raul bowed. ¡°I look forward to whatever training you wish to provide.¡± ----- Raul furrowed his brow, sweat beading down his forehead. John watched as he slowly extracted strands of earth element from the surroundings. Then, as he began to circulate it, it mingled with his earth element and¡­ ignited. It seemed like a fairly efficient way to convert the energy but¡­ ¡°I doubt I have to tell you this,¡± John said. ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t ignite it. The purpose is to control it as earth element. It doesn¡¯t have to be much, either. The fact that you can control it will be most important for attuning to your totem. It will be extremely difficult otherwise. Now then, on that topic, your next task is to dive into the sea of spiritual totems and spend as long there as you can. Whichever is the deepest layer you can manage, specifically.¡± Refining energy and descending to the sea of spiritual totems were both mentally draining¡­ but in different ways. A time of focused training would be good for Raul. And though he lasted only a few minutes in the sea of spiritual totems, it allowed the spiritual energy in the room to return to its natural state. Which would actually be more difficult for him to extract earth element from, as it was mixed back in with everything else. John had considered renting a room that extracted the earth element, but for Raul in particular he would need to be practiced with separating the elements anyway. The biggest problem John found was that Raul only had one technique, and that involved burning things. On the other hand, he¡¯d been working from a few scraps of paper that barely constituted a fire element method, so John was actually impressed he¡¯d managed to make it as far as he had. But he had some bad habits to unlearn. That was why the extract was a bit off as well- he didn¡¯t separate the light element, but instead scoured it away. A negligible difference if he had perfect control, but obviously that wasn¡¯t the case yet. Raul collapsed at the end of the day. As he¡¯d done several times throughout the day, in fact. But to John, that was just a sign that he¡¯d put in proper effort. ¡°I¡­ am never going to be able to do it¡­ am I?¡± Raul said. ¡°And why do you think that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a genius. And things are supposed to come easily. Not with such a struggle.¡± ¡°Preposterous,¡± John cut him off. ¡°If that was the case, there would only be non-cultivators and Exalted Soul Phase cultivators and nothing in between. Talent and effort are intertwined. I¡¯m not going to lie and say your natural self has no bearing on your success, but nobody grows strong without work. Even those who make it look effortless are just faking for the sake of their public image.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Raul asked. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ve met enough of those types. The real test is whether or not people keep working day after day. That said¡­ I know you do have some orders to fulfill. But four days of cultivation and three manning your shop should be sufficient for a week. And we will continue that pace until I am satisfied with your results. Once you are comfortable with earth control, we will focus on improving your cultivation rank. I want you at the peak of the Spiritual Collection Phase within the next few months.¡± One month would be better¡­ but John couldn¡¯t really say that was appropriate unless he spent more resources on Raul. And he would, but he wanted to see him working hard first. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Raul saluted. ¡°I mean, Master John.¡± ----- Unlike Raul, Filimena was old. The fact that she was still in the Spiritual Collection Phase wasn¡¯t a symptom of insufficient duration of training. So John didn¡¯t have great hopes for her future. But he still liked her, and if she was able to advance to the Foundation Phase she could make a better living, if nothing else. The question was what was stopping her. The answer was surprisingly simple. ¡°I don¡¯t really have time for training, sir,¡± Filimena explained. ¡°Most of the time¡­ well, I¡¯m out collecting. Keeping up with rent isn¡¯t that easy, even in a place like this. I don¡¯t cover much ground, and most of the things I sell are low value. I don¡¯t really have any extra money, most months. Except this last one, thanks to your generosity.¡± ¡°I will remind you that I was not truly generous,¡± John said. ¡°I simply paid the value I saw in your goods. But since you have a little more now¡­ I¡¯m certain you could take a few days off.¡± ¡°Perhaps. But I wouldn¡¯t want to bet on your continued business at the risk of my limited savings. Begging your pardon, sir, but you could leave at any time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± John said. ¡°Though I do intend to remain here for a while. And if you find the motivation¡­ I don¡¯t mind providing some insights into reaching the Foundation Phase.¡± He had memories of doing it somewhere around two and a half times, now. Depending on how his initial failed attempt and his recent reclamation counted, maybe two times total. ¡°I have quite a bit of knowledge about the water element in particular.¡± ¡°How kind of you to offer,¡± Filimena said in a way that was polite but clearly didn¡¯t sound like she expected him to follow through. So he would just have to spend more time convincing her. Chapter 278 The merchant stood out to John before he saw the man¡¯s goods or heard his pitch. Actually, the latter two didn¡¯t help much. ¡°Fantastic goods from the world over, all at unbeatable prices!¡± the man called out. His selection wasn¡¯t much to look at, with barely even any quality spirit elements on display plus a few pieces of basic equipment. But the man himself drew John closer. His cultivation was¡­ not terribly impressive. Being in the Foundation Phase at fifty or more wasn¡¯t much to speak of, though in Astrein in particular cultivators were simply less prominent. But the elements the man cultivated¡­ were confusing. Because he had exactly two. Light¡­ and darkness. And while John had seen the possibility of mutual promotion between the two elements in Nik and his daughter, the more likely result was destruction. And if he had the talent to pull off the pairing with just himself, why was his cultivation still in its current place? John at first wondered if he was hiding something, but he at least couldn¡¯t feel any hidden layers or deeper cultivation. ¡°What purity are your spirit elements?¡± John asked the man who had various containers on display. The somewhat portly man¡¯s eyes lit up at seeing a potential customer in front of him. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m glad you ask. These were all extracted by foremost experts. I have top purity elements, with a potency suitable for the Spiritual Collection Phase. Then for those interested in greater potency, I have a selection suitable for those at the Foundation Phase with a high purity. And if you need some suitable for the Soul Expansion Phase or later¡­ just give me some time to speak to my contacts.¡± Despite the initial puffery, the man ultimately told the truth of his products. His selection was nothing amazing, but the quality was still decent. But if there were any foremost experts extracting these spirit elements, then these were probably the castoffs they didn¡¯t deem worthy of spending their own time selling. John carefully picked up a few containers, perusing the wares. ¡°Interesting. A decent quality. Do you have any mixed elements? Fire and water, earth and air¡­?¡± ¡°Alas, such combinations are unstable at best,¡± the man spread his arms. ¡°A mixture of allied elements may remain in concert, but anything else would be inherently unstable. Unless you had a balance of the four core elements, or the whole six. But in that case,¡± he gestured around himself. ¡°What is there to benefit, when such is freely present all around us?¡± ¡°What about light and darkness, then?¡± John asked. Clearly understanding the question was about his own cultivation, the man shrugged. ¡°Ah, something like this happens only with quite a bit of luck and youthful rashness. It is not as impressive as it might seem, because from here I have nowhere to advance. The life of a merchant suits me more than fodder for some sect, so here I am.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John nodded. ¡°Who extracted these?¡± John asked. At first they all appeared equal, but he noticed a certain discrepancy among them. ¡°The majority of those with the potency of the Foundation Phase are the work of Alchemist Oden, and the others are his apprentices,¡± the merchant said. John was surprised. The fire element wasn¡¯t much higher purity than anything else. But in a way, that made sense. If this merchant picked out the better quality samples of the elements Oden was worse at, then he could make a set that matched fairly well. ¡°I¡¯ll take these,¡± John said, putting a small sample of everything in a pile. He wasn¡¯t certain if he would use them since he had a decent flow of hoary alyssum extract, and using individual elements wasn¡¯t particularly of value to him. But he wanted to get to know this merchant better. ¡°If I¡¯m looking for you again, who should I ask for?¡± ¡°I am Viriato Magro, sir,¡± the merchant smiled as he accepted payment. ¡°Are you interested in anything in particular?¡± ¡°Well, I am interested in those mixed elements,¡± John said. His spiritual energy wasn¡¯t exactly concealed, but it blended into the background of Astrein fairly well. Not perfectly, but he would feel more like a darkness cultivator to casual observations. ¡°If you happen to find anyone who produces anything like that, I¡¯d be interested in hearing from you.¡± John almost wanted to directly recommend Raul, but ultimately that would just mean spending more for buying things indirectly. If some day he had an actual stake in Viriato¡¯s merchandise, then things would be different. John did wonder if Oden¡¯s apprentices would be any good, but from what he knew their identities were secret. For his ultimate plans he would find out eventually, but for the moment he would continue his more casual survey of the wider situation. ----- Based on the regularity with which Filimena collected the hoary alyssum- and the quantities she¡¯d had simply lying around when he¡¯d first arrived- it really did appear to grow much like a weed. So as a single individual, he wasn¡¯t worried about depleting the area too much. Every time he purchased them from the old woman, she was somewhat doubtful about his willingness to pay, but she didn¡¯t seem to be going out of her way to collect excessive amounts of the flower stalks either. ¡°If you find yourself with some free time,¡± John said. ¡°I might go visit the lake to the northeast. Though it seems that all of Astrein has perfectly balanced elements, there are still little pockets of variation. Or if you can, you could visit the coast. Plenty of inspiration for what sort of totem you would want.¡± This was all part of John¡¯s continued efforts to convince her of his sincerity in providing cultivation advice. The old woman had the potential to break through to the Foundation Phase, at least. No matter what she did after that, her life would be easier with the increase in cultivation. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Personally, John was hoping she would roam a bit further and find something even more useful to him than the white flowers. She seemed to have an unconscious sense for them, if nothing else. ¡°I find myself quite busy with my normal gathering and customers¡­¡± Filimena said. ¡°But I suppose I do have a bit of freedom to take time off. I do have some regular customers who would be disappointed, however.¡± ¡°You could gather a bit more to sell through a reputable vendor while you¡¯re gone. Or grab some kid to take over the business,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Most of what you sell isn¡¯t of particularly high value, and nobody could really dump everything you have somewhere and make off with a pile of money. Perhaps you lose a week or two¡¯s sales on top of what you are already, but they¡¯d at least find it easiest to sell it to your regular customers if that¡¯s what you care about.¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± Filimena snorted. ¡°Trust a street kid?¡± ¡°Are they any worse than any random adults?¡± John shrugged. ¡°Of course, there is still the risk of losing everything you keep with them. Or if you find a good one, you can have someone managing sales so you don¡¯t have to gather and sell your goods both.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not really enough money to be made to allow for a decent split¡­¡± Filimena pondered, ¡°But I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°And don¡¯t forget,¡± John said. ¡°If your cultivation improves, you can go a bit further or dig deeper to find things that are somewhat more lucrative. Or just do everything the same but a little faster.¡± ----- The utter devastation that had once been the state inside John¡¯s dantian was now a much more cheery place. It didn¡¯t exactly have the towering tree of darkness that had been a dominant feature, but instead he had a little forest. If he was being generous, anyway. Regardless, John found it quite satisfying to see the changes that were taking place. The balance of elements within him fed into each other with little prompting on his part, to the point he could almost cultivate in his sleep. Perhaps he could, but it would be a very long road if he didn¡¯t actively participate. John returned his thoughts to his physical body, pondering the possibilities that Ursel had sparked in his mind. But at the moment, he didn¡¯t really have much direction besides possibly refining his eyes further with darkness, specifically with the intent to deflect light rather than directly react to it. As for his general cultivation, the potency of the alyssum extract was beginning to lose its shine, but that was at least in part because John simply needed more energy. He was now at the proper midpoint of the Foundation Phase, the fourteenth rank of cultivation. His own cultivation rank was improving more quickly than Raul, though he expected his disciple to reach the peak of the Spiritual Collection Phase within the next month. He was in the eighth rank now, but simply reaching the ninth rank wasn¡¯t enough. One had to build up enough extra energy to bind a totem and of course have the fortitude to brave the sea of spiritual totems. But Raul¡¯s efforts on that end were promising as well. No doubt he would have managed the task himself within a year without John¡¯s guidance, but John hoped he would not only prove more speedy this way but also secure a higher tier totem. Or one more fitting, since an unsuited totem of higher tier was of little value. Raul seemed to have settled on an earth totem, and John was teaching him to better control that element before he had a totem. Raul had some skill at drawing whatever elements he needed from Astreins conglomeration of them, but his personal experience was limited by his age. ----- John had no intention to forget those closest to him while he worked on his current plans. He was keeping in contact with his family and friends, though there had been very little of relevance to say so far. But there was one person quite close he maintained constant contact with. That was Crystin, of course, in the role of his bodyguard. She was nearing the late Consolidated Soul Phase, and John felt she had the potential to reach the Ascending Soul Phase eventually. It might only be a handful of years or it might take decades. But even if it took a century¡­ it would be a significant accomplishment for her personally and the Tenebach clan as a whole. ¡°Unfortunately I can¡¯t give you advice on how to be fully successful with a breakthrough to the Ascending Soul Phase,¡± John said. ¡°But I think a survivor¡¯s advice on what not to do is still valuable.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t plan to burn apart my own cultivation, don¡¯t worry,¡± Crystin grinned. ¡°I would hope not,¡± John said. ¡°But you could accidentally end up hiding it away from yourself, unable to be accessed. If you survive the process, I mean. Unfortunately we don¡¯t have any elders to guide us to this stage, so we have to be the ones making the big mistakes.¡± ¡°Maybe we should seek out Sitora,¡± Crystin suggested. ¡°She was¡­ tolerable enough.¡± ¡°Can you fly?¡± John asked. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± Though he thought he might be able to manage it for a bit if he had the power of the Consolidated Soul Phase¡­ and likely a proper technique. Otherwise it sounded like a good way to hit your head on things or fall from a great height without any natural energy to protect yourself. ¡°It might be worth visiting the Wuthering Steppes to see if they have any contact with the Sky Islands, but I can¡¯t imagine the price for a conversation with Sitora would be small, either. And we were never really friends, just allies because of a mutual enemy.¡± Then there was the fact that she was a fellow transmigrator. That wouldn¡¯t necessarily make her more favorably disposed towards him, however. It was just a point to consider. ¡°So what part would you say was the actual mistake?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I was necessarily too early,¡± John said. ¡°Or even too forceful. Perhaps I was actually too slow to attune to my totem and gain control over it? Or alternatively, I should have foreseen the possible effects and laid the groundwork for them myself.¡± If he had intentionally split the island and spread the seeds of his tree, it would have hurt a lot less. And he could have done it in pieces so he didn¡¯t lose a major portion of his power all at once. But that was a lesson he was lucky to survive to make use of, and he appreciated that fact at least. Chapter 279 Like everything of value, putting together a merchant group or a sect or whatever John ultimately settled into would take time. At some point, John knew he would have to start bringing in money somehow. He couldn¡¯t just draw upon the wealth of the Tenebach clan, especially if he wasn¡¯t going to bring them any direct benefit. His own personal wealth had to last long enough. Though finding some sort of work might benefit him. Money, contacts, information, everything could mesh together if he found the right sorts of missions. Did Astrein even have anything that needed cultivators to solve it? Dangerous beasts, perilous terrain¡­ bandits? Realistically some of the latter could crop up anywhere, but Astrein wasn¡¯t prosperous enough for any notable bandits to arise. By mundane standards it was wealthy enough, and the fields produced sufficient food to feed everyone cheaply. But the fact that little of value to cultivators came out of the area made it effectively poor, despite people being able to live comfortably. Going from person to person asking his questions was the only way to get started, and John began right away with Filimena. ¡°Dangers?¡± she asked in response to his own inquiries. ¡°Nothing that I would really call that. Not near Lunson, at least. There¡¯s a few poisonous plants, but they¡¯re pretty easy to spot and they won¡¯t hurt you if you just touch them. I wouldn¡¯t go around eating brightly colored flowers unless you knew what you were doing, though.¡± ¡°I try not to,¡± John said. At most, he would absorb some spiritual energy from them on his own, everything else tended to require some processing. John hadn¡¯t expected Filimena to be particularly aware of greater dangers, if they existed. She would have remained local and safe regardless, as she didn¡¯t seem the type to take much risk. Next was Raul, the alchemist. ¡°Dangers and the like¡­? There are certainly some valuable alchemical ingredients that are guarded by certain creatures, or extracted from them. Even here in Astrein, though nobody much thinks of the dangers. If you stick to the main roads- and nobody has any reason to do anything else just passing through- you don¡¯t run into any trouble. Not that I would expect to find a Soul Expansion equivalent beast anywhere in this country, so with Crystin there¡­ I doubt you¡¯d encounter any risk.¡± Actually, if the opponents were only a similar strength to the Foundation Phase, John imagined he would have no trouble as long as he wasn¡¯t swarmed by them. Despite being technically in the mid Foundation Phase himself, he had fifth tier totems and a cycle of elements. Or two, though the allied cycle was sufficiently less powerful than the core cycle. But it was also much easier to achieve. ¡°Anything you need?¡± John asked. ¡°Not that I can afford to hire anyone for,¡± Raul shook his head. ¡°Business hasn¡¯t really changed that much. I sell a few things to you, and to Viriato. But there¡¯s barely enough business for two alchemists in this city, and Oden takes more than half of it.¡± ¡°Did you ever try to become his apprentice?¡± ¡°I did, actually,¡± Raul shrugged. ¡°Thought it would be nice to get some proper training.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± John asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t pass. Wasn¡¯t motivated to give it another go.¡± Raul shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll just leave it at that for now. Anyway, the only things I would want are just for experiments. Nothing I¡¯d get paid for so¡­ I can¡¯t afford to commission anything.¡± ¡°Perhaps you can get them yourself, once you reach the Foundation Phase. You¡¯re not too far off now.¡± ¡°Still a bit nervous about attempting my breakthrough,¡± Raul admitted. ¡°One thing I can say¡­ don¡¯t skimp on your preparations. It¡¯s not too much to rent an elemental separation room right now, if you think that would be beneficial. Or you could travel somewhere more suited for what you want. Perhaps the border between the Stone Conglomerate and the Green Sands?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if cultivating in the middle of the wilderness is for me, though,¡± Raul grinned. ¡°Perhaps not. And there is little along the border but watchtowers, so you couldn¡¯t expect to shelter in a settlement.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, master. I¡¯ll figure something out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget you can ask for my help as well. Within reason.¡± ¡°Of course. Once I decide what I actually need, I¡¯ll let you know.¡± Finally was Viriato. ¡°Bandits? Sure,¡± the plump man jiggled slightly as he waved his arms about. ¡°And a few beasts in the wilderness, feeding off its preferred choice of cultivators. But I¡¯d say the greatest dangers are here in the city.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± John asked. ¡°It¡¯s all people, after all. But as long as you pay the right folks, there¡¯s not really any trouble.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John said. There wasn¡¯t really any legal authority, but the city wasn¡¯t uncontrolled either. ¡°And I assume they fulfilled their duties and protected people while the Molten Sea was occupying the city?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Viriato shrugged. ¡°Figures. Everyone wants to be the lord of the land until there¡¯s responsibility attached.¡± John was trying to remember the particular group involved. The tournament was organized in part by the surrounding countries, since nobody trusted any individual group, but there was some local group that remained. ¡°I can¡¯t recall the name of the group,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I assume it¡¯s the same fellows who run the tournament?¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Viriato said. ¡°They currently go by the Platinum Tower. Sometime with Society tacked on there at the end. They tend to relax after tournament years, but before the end of the decade they¡¯ll likely be starving for money again. That¡¯s what happens when you only get very infrequent income,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Though they get a steady trickle as landlords the rest of the time. Plus their ¡®taxes¡¯. They don¡¯t tend to drain people dry, though, because then they¡¯d have to maintain the land and buildings themselves¡­ for a whole decade of emptiness. Wouldn¡¯t make them look good come tournament time, and that means people spending less money.¡± ¡°I do remember the name now,¡± John admitted. ¡°You know how it is though. Outside of Astrein, people tend to think this place is less important.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not wrong,¡± Viriato pointed out. ¡°These fellows can¡¯t be important anywhere but here, so they preferred to act as kings here rather than be nobodies elsewhere. And there¡¯s not really much else to join up with, if local cultivators are looking for a faction.¡± ¡°I would expect people to go anywhere else,¡± John admitted. ¡°What makes people stay?¡± Viriato shook his head. ¡°I was born here. It¡¯s comfortable. And it¡¯s not so easy to get welcomed elsewhere long term when your cultivation is mediocre. Expensive, too. Other than that, I don¡¯t really know. What draws you here?¡± ¡°The spiritual energy. And I don¡¯t mean that sarcastically,¡± John grinned. ¡°I¡¯m a cultivator of multiple elements. When taking them all into consideration, the spiritual energy here is denser than most places.¡± ¡°I see. No wonder you were interested in odd things. I had the feeling you weren¡¯t quite what you looked like but your cultivation is¡­ difficult to parse,¡± Viriato admitted. ¡°I will admit to not having the guts to combine light and darkness.¡± Yet. ¡°However, given my experience I might suggest some possibilities for you to continue without unbalancing your cultivation. A second light or darkness totem would likely prove¡­ unhelpful, I imagine.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t imagine surviving that,¡± the merchant admitted. ¡°Something stabilizing might be useful. Obviously you have considered that, but I can say that one of the core elements should be able to match without necessarily unbalancing you. Something to keep your light and darkness separate while still permeable for when it needs to be.¡± ¡°I had considered a few options,¡± Viriato replied. ¡°There was a mirror totem, but it was strongly light element. I¡¯m afraid if I attune to fire or air, light will dominate and¡­ annihilate part of me. The same with water or earth.¡± John nodded, ¡°The wrong totem, certainly. But I have some techniques for seeking out what you desire. In fact, almost anything you can conceive of is possible. Sticking with common totems carries little risk, but with how you already are¡­ you¡¯d need something special.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right about that,¡± Viriato admitted. ¡°I¡¯ll consider my options. Returning to the original topic, however, I have heard of a few potential locations of value. Obviously rife with beasts of course, or whoever found it would have carried off anything worthwhile. Perhaps we could join together on a venture, if I learn of something good.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind that,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ll stay in touch.¡± ----- There was only so much cultivation advice one could give in casual conversation. It was a matter of understanding that went in both directions- John needed to understand who he was teaching, and they needed to trust he had their best interests at heart and the experience to help. Doubt was the easiest way to screw up cultivation, right up there with trying something that simply couldn¡¯t work. There were no insights to be gained into how to accomplish the impossible. The improbable was another matter entirely. The time spent with Raul had strengthened the bond between him and John, and the simple yet practical advice on dissecting elements from the greater slurry of Astrein¡¯s spiritual energy and his advice on handling earth had increased Raul¡¯s confidence. He had not insisted that any totem would be the best one for Raul, but instead helped him seek out what would fit best. Some earth totem akin to charcoal was only the initial thought, but Raul wanted precision in his flames. Chalky powders had properties which with just the right conditions could quickly ignite even though they were considered stone. But he didn¡¯t want explosions of power either. The earth element also included plant matter, but dried logs were too volatile even if they didn¡¯t seem that way in the short term. Step by step they narrowed down what Raul would accept for his totem. They even considered a few water totems with the thought of controlling temperature, but he wanted to enhance his fire. Ultimately, they swayed away from direct enhancement into the area of materials. Specifically, clear glass. Attuning to such a totem wouldn¡¯t involve creating glass, or at least not directly out of spiritual energy, but it represented a highly purified and refined earth element. And as he worked with glass containers among other things in his alchemy, the totem could help him recognize flaws in the structure of his equipment as well as moderating the flow of his own power as it indirectly affected some portion of his work. There were, of course, more direct applications of flame. But Raul wasn¡¯t focused on getting the perfect totem. He wanted one that was sufficient. He wanted to be better, without restricting himself. Thus, a simple but functional totem should be suited for that purpose. After having chosen that, Raul had to make the choice about location and preparations. Even with John¡¯s offer to protect him, he had no interest in cultivating out in a field. Instead, he planned to settle for a simple room of the earth element. He was attuning to something new, so having a balance of fire and earth was less important for him. And so, John was waiting. Though he didn¡¯t expect anything to go wrong, he was waiting outside Raul¡¯s chosen room. If there was a potential interruption, he would intercept it. And if something happened to the cultivator inside, he could quickly enter to try to assist him. Hopefully neither would be necessary, and if Raul¡¯s preparations were sufficient he could reach the Foundation Phase. But even though John had passed several Phases beyond that point, he still understood that even the Foundation Phase was not a trivial step forward. After all, Fortkran Tenebach hadn¡¯t been completely useless as a cultivator. He had attuned to a third tier totem as his very first one, simply meeting with failure as he overreached for his second. That had ultimately been good for John and most likely the rest of the Tenebach clan, but Fortkran in particular had lost everything. John had taken every advancement seriously because of that¡­ and still nearly killed himself attempting to reach the Ascending Soul Phase. Then again, he was fortunate to even have the chance. And then survive the aftermath. He waited, minimizing his presence to not disturb his first disciple outside of the clan or their allies. Even within the Tenebach clan, he wasn¡¯t the exclusive instructor of anyone- he gave generalized advice based on his own experiences and past leaders of the Tenebach clan. And his children had developed their own cultivations rapidly and often out of his presence, so he hadn¡¯t often experienced the stress of waiting for another¡¯s cultivation¡­ success or failure, he wanted to be there for Raul. But success was many times preferred. Chapter 280 Through the door, John could feel the fluctuations of spiritual energy as Raul began his attempt to break through to the Foundation Phase. It was at the same time both a major step in the journey of cultivation- the first major advancement- but also minor as it was the first of many, if the cultivator had sufficient potential. The formations funneled relatively pure earth element to Raul, which would hopefully make his delving into the sea of spiritual totems go more smoothly. Of course, finding his totem was the easy part of it. Forming the connection and stabilizing it was more important. John kept his senses open, both for events within the room and potential hindrances from the outside. He didn¡¯t believe Raul had any enemies¡­ but even someone acting carelessly could cause some sort of interruption. Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t yet found anything of concern. He felt the moment of Raul¡¯s connection with his totem, as a flood of earth element entered him. John felt the aura of the totem building within him, nothing monumental in power but instead simply the most suited for Raul¡¯s particular purpose. While he might require combat prowess throughout his life, more often he would desire the utility the right kinds of totems could bring. The form of the totem grew more stable, and John could sense the earth element. If he didn¡¯t know what it was he might not guess its exact nature, but anyone who probed deep enough would find it to be a second tier totem. That was the same as John, but with different intentions. While it was possible for any totem to grow with enough nurturing, Raul hadn¡¯t chosen his totems for such a purpose. Thus, it might be a slow process. But since he obtained what he wanted, John knew the young man should be satisfied. It was another ten or fifteen minutes for Raul to completely finish his advancement, as well as filling his increased capacity with more earth element spiritual energy. At this point he was technically in the same Phase as John. If one only looked at it from the perspective of tangible rank, at least. Then again, there would be a significant difference between the two of them with John¡¯s cultivation in the mid Foundation Phase even if he was constrained to the proper number of totems. ¡°Congratulations,¡± John said as Raul came out of the room. He looked a little taller, but most like it was that he just stood more confidently. ¡°Thank you, master. For the guidance, as well as your other support. I hope I can repay you some day.¡± ¡°You can do so by improving your alchemical abilities,¡± John grinned. ¡°Perhaps you could make hoary alyssum extract of even higher quality now.¡± ¡°That might be possible,¡± Raul frowned. ¡°But if I make any changes to how I am doing things, there might be some losses.¡± ¡°I would rather you develop your abilities and have higher quality results than have more. Especially as my cultivation grows.¡± Raul had some knowledge about John¡¯s current state. Not all of the exact details, but they spent enough time together for him to figure some of it out on his own, and John hadn¡¯t tried to keep everything secret anyway. There weren¡¯t terribly many people who would wish John harm in his weakened state that had survive previous conflicts, but it was better that John¡¯s cultivation rank remained mysterious for the sake of the general public. ----- After a week of experimentation, Raul did manage to produce results. A better extract, missing that slight burnt quality it had previously possessed. Whether it was simply a matter of control or an issue of elemental balance, Raul¡¯s advancement and the freedom to make mistakes in the process of learning had borne fruit. It was indeed better for John to make use of a smaller but purer form of the extract as well- the light element more cleanly removed from the even mix. Tiny impurities could build up within his spiritual sea if he relied too much on particular sources of spiritual energy, and while they could be purified with time and effort the whole point was to save time. Thus, there was a particular balance to things. ¡°Very good,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to find some higher quality ingredients for you to work with soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really sure if I could¡­¡± Raul frowned. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m near the limits of my knowledge.¡± ¡°Then you will need the practice even more,¡± John said. ¡°Some failures are part of the process of growth. Even expensive failures, sometimes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many expensive failures I can afford,¡± Raul admitted. ¡°Then I might suggest raising your prices.¡± ¡°But the little business I have-¡± John shook his head. ¡°If there are particular customers you care about, you can give them whatever rates they can afford. But I will say there is an interesting thing about business¡­ sometimes raising your prices results in more purchases. Because if the price is greater, so must be the quality of goods. At least that is how many consumers will see it, consciously or not. Though that is only true to a certain extent¡­ and for repeat customers, the quality must be sufficient.¡± Even burgers that were too cheap were sometimes passed over. ----- If he wanted to, John could have asked Raul to begin paying him back for his aid. It would be possible to extract wealth from his disciple¡¯s future success, but for the moment he supposed it would be better to let him keep everything and bolster his own growth more. It wouldn¡¯t be worth as much to John as it was to him. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. That said, John still did need to work on his own income. And all of the various ideas he had bouncing around in his head. ¡°I have too many ideas,¡± John said to Crystin. ¡°Too many in what way?¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t implement them all. I want to work on growing a mercantile business. I have ideas about starting a sect of some sort. There¡¯s the matters of Raul and even Filimena. My furthest goal is to somehow turn Astrein into something that can stand on its own, making full use of their resources instead of squandering them. And¡­¡± ¡°And¡­?¡± Crystin asked. ¡°Nothing important. Just the stupid burger shop idea, which is irrelevant compared to the rest of the stuff.¡± ¡°It does sound like quite a few things,¡± Crystin admitted. ¡°But in truth, isn¡¯t it more like a single goal?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really see how founding a cultivation sect and serving food are related.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t necessarily mean that,¡± she admitted. ¡°But on the other hand, sects often own restaurants. And employ alchemists. And of course they have merchants buying and selling for them. So ultimately, it could all be one thing. And even if it has many complicated parts, that is what having competent subordinates is for. No different than the affairs of the Tenebach clan.¡± John sighed. ¡°There¡¯s that as well. Going off on my own like this¡­ almost feels like a betrayal of the clan that got me to where I am now.¡± ¡°As a member of the Tenebach clan, I can only disagree. There may have been various hiccups along the way, but ultimately you have made certain that an appropriately qualified leader is in place. While I imagine Melanthina will still need further support at some points, the Tenebach clan will hardly benefit from you sitting around languishing. Or even just cultivating. Besides, this isn¡¯t really striking out on your own so much as it is securing the remaining part of the region. Everywhere else, we have allies. But here, you have seen opportunity. And I can¡¯t imagine you would ever stop looking out for the alliance.¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± John was offended at the very idea. ¡°Many of those involved are friends and family. And our other allies deserved my support just as much.¡± Crystin nodded slowly. ¡°And so¡­ I think you should pursue whatever makes sense to you. I have trusted your judgment with clan affairs, and I will do so here.¡± John pondered for a few moments. ¡°I guess everything is easier when it just involves combat. I don¡¯t have to think about it so much, and I can just act.¡± ¡°You just need to find those you can trust. You¡¯ve already started upon that path.¡± ¡°I also don¡¯t want to keep you away from the clan for too long.¡± ¡°If there is sufficient trouble to be a cause for concern, we will be able to react. It is easy travel between Lunson and the Tenebach clan.¡± John had to admit that was true. And there was never a question of her leaving him behind to go help- it was obvious that they would both participate. He was glad to be able to consult his cousin on the issues that bothered him¡­ but John still missed Matayal more. Even if she hadn¡¯t always been physically present, just knowing that she was waiting for him somewhere was a comfort. Without her, everything was more difficult. But at least he was finally doing something again. ----- In order of priority, John supposed that establishing a proper business as a merchant- either through Viriato or someone else John found- was the first on the list. Next would be his individual disciples or those he wanted to take as disciples, which ultimately fed into the formation of a cultivation sect. And so, he found himself out in the plains east of Lunson. What was he looking for? Some valuable herbs? A source of spiritual energy? Was he perhaps planning to cut down some bandits to make one of Viriato¡¯s trips easier? No. None of that. Instead, he¡¯d heard rumors of a large herd of bison. Or at least some close equivalent. He wasn¡¯t aware of the fine details of what made species precisely, but they shared similar traits. Horned and beefy. The latter was both in the matters of size, and the fact that people ate them. There were closer equivalents to cows available in the world, but Astrein didn¡¯t have a thriving ranching community. And if he could snag just a few of these bison, his curiosity would be sated. The work had already been done. Crystin hid with him as the herd wandered along at a moderate pace, grazing on the long grasses. They stayed well out of the way, because at the very least John would be at some risk if the whole herd was spooked and tried to trample him. These beasts had a bit of spiritual energy within them, but mostly it would be the hundreds upon hundreds crashing into him or stomping over him. He could potentially dance over the top of them, leaping from back to back, but ultimately the smart move was to stay out of the way. He wasn¡¯t here for training. Instead, they watched as the creatures moved along a bit at a time, getting ever close to the traps he had set up. From what John recalled, bison tended to be hunted either by coordinated groups or by chasing after them on horses- once those were brought to the americas. Cultivation might allow John and Crystin to employ certain tactics with fewer people, but ultimately he wasn¡¯t hunting for a large group of people. He only wanted to kill a few. And thus, he had dug out a few simple pit traps. No, less than that even. They weren¡¯t even large enough for the bison to fully fall into. They were closer to potholes, covered over with a tenuous layer of dirt. John watched as the herd vaguely wandered closer to the area he prepared, and then the first one fell. That spooked the others, which ultimately caused more to run into the same area. Three bison ultimately fell, their legs twisted, while the herd ran away until they thought themselves clear of whatever danger existed. John quickly went to finish off the three injured ones- no point in letting them suffer. The meat would doubtless be a little gamey but¡­ well, he would have hundreds of kilograms of it. As long as he kept it preserved, he could find the best way to make it tasty. Specifically, the best ratios to make it suitable as ground meat for burger patties. Everything else might have been higher priority, but in a way that also meant it was higher risk. And right now, what John wanted was to see if he could start with something easy. Sure, all of the meat he¡¯d ordered before had been delivered in precise quantities, but since coming to this world he was at least moderately familiar with butchering. From the perspective of gathering valuable materials from slain beasts, if nothing else. The process didn¡¯t disgust him too much, and he didn¡¯t need as many specialized tools with the help of spiritual energy. Ultimately, some conjured ice went into storage bags with everything. Then it would be separated into different sorts of usable parts so that it wouldn¡¯t be wasted. He just had to find a baker making buns of a size close enough to what he wanted¡­ or willing to do some special orders. Perhaps he should have done that first, but in the worst case he could shape things differently and treat it like a normal sandwich. And if he failed to do even that, he¡¯d at least make a few coins from hides and meat so that he stopped the steady drain on his finances. Chapter 281 A clear survey of his inventory was important. Meat by the ton? Check. No need to worry about it being Bison. Buns? Certainly, something that resembled them at least. John found a decent baker who was quite happy to sell him a large quantity all at once. Cheese? He looked at the wheels he had purchased. It was certainly cheese. Though that was another thing he should have planned ahead for. As it turned out, not all cheese was equivalent. He knew that. He also knew it was pretty much impossible to get familiar cheeses in this world, since even small variations in bacteria and the ingredients vastly changed the results. So he had a few kinds of cheeses that at least tasted good on their own. Finally, he had vegetables. The difference between good lettuce and bad lettuce was huge, so he made sure to buy something tolerable. And the good thing about being in a place like this was that everything that was available would be fresh. Sure, he didn¡¯t have anything that was quite a tomato. Or onions. And he really needed to find something to replace pickles. But not every burger had all of that, and he was able to buy some local sauces to replace things like mayo and ketchup. So all John was missing was a proper kitchen, workers, clear options, a steady supply chain¡­ oh, and customers. But at least he had a stall and a grill. He used his own spiritual energy to heat the grill. What was the point of all that cultivation effort learning to use fire and attune to a totem if he didn¡¯t use it? Sure, it had come up in combat¡­ but in truth he was still least practiced with flames. So if he wanted to, he could use the excuse that this whole thing was training. But mostly it was self indulgence. The meat sizzled on the grill, providing a vaguely familiar smell. He controlled the flames while he sliced the bun and the various components. A slab of cheese went directly on the grill. He realized he should get a proper spatula only after everything was in place. Ah well, what was spiritual energy for if not this? The meat changed color properly and he flipped it. The cheese was placed on top, and he had the control to keep it from oozing everywhere too early. The rest of the ingredients were placed to maintain the structural integrity of the bun. If John was walking by, the smell would have drawn him over. He looked around the market and¡­ found himself pretty much ignored. Well, that could be solved later. He handed the first burger to Crystin, while taking the second for himself. It was¡­ certainly a burger. It wasn¡¯t bad or anything. Rather, it was quite tasty. But the match of flavors wasn¡¯t quite as he¡¯d been imagining. It needed more work to hit his memories. Still, nobody but him would know what it was supposed to taste like. Bison was certainly more gamey, so he would have to take that into account with future cooking. Which ultimately meant asking someone who did cooking not just from a few set recipes. Crystin watched John devour his food, using one hand to hold her own burger and take cautious bites. ¡°So, what do you think?¡± John asked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s good, but¡­¡± ¡°But what? You can be honest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing about the flavor,¡± she said. ¡°I just don¡¯t see the point in eating it.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the point of eating food that it¡¯s tasty?¡± John asked. Crystin shook her head. ¡°Not primarily. Or rather, that is just one factor. You don¡¯t think all the food at the clan was made just to be tasty, right?¡± Well, John certainly remembered some of it was. But he understood the point. The main meals were made with a certain intention. To promote cultivation, which included both nutrition and spiritual energy content. Taste was a luxury that the Tenebach clan never lacked, but the practical side leaned towards some of the other factors occasionally. ¡°Hmm,¡± John frowned. There were plenty of people who weren¡¯t cultivators. Wouldn¡¯t they want some? Perhaps his prices were too high for that. Certainly, a few people were wandering past and curious, but nobody had taken the bait yet. ¡°What else am I missing?¡± John asked himself. He thought back to Brad¡¯s Burgers. What did they have? Well, first was familiarity with the food. And being part of a chain, albeit small. So John had never really had to seek out new customers, or at least not starting from the ground up. But more importantly¡­ ¡°Flashy pictures,¡± John clapped his hands together. Now, he could spend a good portion of his spiritual energy to maintain a poor illusion of a burger all day¡­ or he could just make one and have it sitting visible. He¡¯d still have to call out to customers though. And while it didn¡¯t really matter if this whole thing failed, he kind of wanted success. He tried something with the next patty. And a handful after that. The results were¡­ Terrible. Completely ruined. But he also didn¡¯t have any customers that he had to serve, so experimentation was just fine. One more attempt. He already had a greater appreciation for Raul¡¯s work, but he was certain he could do this on his own. He reached out for the patty with his abilities and began to slowly extract the element from it. All five that he possessed. This time, the results were what he wanted. Though being left with a light element burger was¡­ suboptimal, for him personally. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Still, at least he could do it. And he was glad to find that most local ingredients had a good mix of elements. So even if they were less dense than the hoary alyssum, everything had some spiritual energy within it. The bison was probably the best example of that. Once he got his new methods down, he modified the sign, slightly lowering the prices for a ¡®standard¡¯ burger and adding a higher price for ¡®elementally attuned¡¯ options. He also began calling out to potential customers. He explained himself over and over with few results. Several people eventually bought a burger out of curiosity. They seemed to like it, but he wasn¡¯t getting rave reviews or anything. He hadn¡¯t sold any elementally attuned ones yet. Then John caught Viriato walking by. The plump merchant sniffed the air, his nose and head turning towards John¡¯s stand. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this? I didn¡¯t take you for running a food stand.¡± ¡°Well,¡± John shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s hardly a business. More of a hobby I wanted to try. Especially considering the results so far.¡± ¡°Not exactly overflowing with customers,¡± Viriato agreed. ¡°What¡¯s ¡®elementally attuned¡¯ mean?¡± John gestured to a half dozen patties serving as examples. He was using his spiritual energy to keep them warm while trying not to make them overcooked, or letting too much heat spread to other ingredients. He could manage that since he didn¡¯t really have that much else he had to focus on. ¡°Oh, interesting,¡± Viriato said. ¡°Hmm, light or darkness¡­ maybe I should get one of each?¡± He muttered to himself about imbalance. ¡°Well, you¡¯d want one with a mix of light and darkness inside it, right?¡± John asked. ¡°Can you do that?¡± ¡°Can I?¡± John grinned. Actually, it wasn¡¯t as hard as it sounded. He had some experience with dealing with the two elements- both in regards to the Golden Tomb Guardians and Cuah¡¯arn as well as observing his daughter and son-in-law. In some ways, it was one of the easier options for him since he just had to remove the four core elements while keeping darkness from annihilating itself with light. Anything that didn¡¯t involve light meant removing it, so in a way it was actually most difficult for him to get pure darkness at the moment since darkness was his best vessel for drawing out the final element he had no totem for. Still, it took a bit to fulfill Viriato¡¯s order. The patties were rather thick, so they didn¡¯t cook that quickly. Perhaps he should do something to cook them more quickly? He could spread his spiritual energy through them, after all. Not something he should experiment with right now, but later certainly. ¡°Here you go,¡± John said, placing the burger down in front of the man. He didn¡¯t really have plates¡­ but he didn¡¯t have to touch things with his hands so it wasn¡¯t really a big issue. Though some people might not want to carry them directly so¡­ another thing he had to deal with eventually. ¡°This is eaten out of hand, correct?¡± Viriato asked. He picked it up with both hands and looked suspiciously at the vegetables. He then took a tentative bite. Then he took another bite. The third was even more rapid. Less than a minute later, and he was licking his fingers. ¡°That is quite pleasing. And the balance of spiritual energy¡­ could certainly be useful for my training. Could I bother you for another?¡± John made him a second, which disappeared just as quickly. Viriato seemed tempted to go for a third, but stopped himself. ¡°You¡¯ll be here tomorrow, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to give up after just one day,¡± John said. ¡°But business is just as you see.¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°It will likely pick up at lunchtime.¡± John felt like an idiot. He was so eager to get started¡­ he hadn¡¯t really thought about that much. And the merchant was right. At lunchtime a lot more customers came to him. Not really enough for him to be busy- it seemed that many people had their favorites or preferred food from a proper restaurant- but it didn¡¯t feel like a complete waste of time. He got another small crowd at dinner, trying out something new. John looked at what remained. He¡¯d been a bit optimistic about his cooking. He had probably a dozen rather large burgers assembled, some of various elements and some ¡®plain¡¯- which was to say with the full mix of spiritual energy that most people got nothing from. Well, only the meat would have been good the next day anyway so John wasn¡¯t too bothered. The buns were good, but they were already starting to stale. Maybe he should get a second order midday. As he was beginning to pack up, John spotted a figure in a nearby alley. The kid shrunk away at his gaze, but John gestured him over. ¡°Ayhan, come here.¡± The urchin had delivered a message for Raul once. The young man sheepishly walked over. ¡°Sorry, sir. I wasn¡¯t going to try to nick anything, honest. I was just hoping you might¡­ throw that out somewhere I could get it.¡± ¡°That would be a waste,¡± John said. ¡°You have any friends?¡± ¡°Uh, some,¡± Ayhan said. John grabbed a cloth out of his storage bag and cut it into smaller pieces. Then he began to bundle burgers together. ¡°Take this to them. It won¡¯t be any good in the morning. Obviously you should have one yourself.¡± Ayhan nodded, taking the small pile into his arms. ¡°What about those,¡± he said looking at what remained. Left behind were the elementally attuned burgers. ¡°Those are a bit dangerous. Unless you know anyone with some control over spiritual energy, the pure elements in these can make you sick.¡± They weren¡¯t charged enough to be truly dangerous, but it still wasn¡¯t good to let elements into the body without intent behind it. ¡°Oh,¡± Ayhan said. ¡°Actually¡­¡± he stretched out the word. ¡°I know a few people who are beginning to practice cultivation. So they could handle it.¡± That was a lie. Or at least half a lie. John shook his head. ¡°I mean it. It¡¯s not safe. And no offense, but if you knew a handful of people equipped to handle this you¡¯d probably not be as you are.¡± John thought for a moment. ¡°But I don¡¯t want them to be wasted. So either you bring these people to me, or bring me to them. I need to make sure nothing unpleasant happens.¡± Packing up the stall only took a moment- storage bags were amazing- and Crystin was already blending into the shadows, since she didn¡¯t like standing around visible in public anyway. ¡°Well¡­¡± Ayhan frowned. ¡°I suppose I could show you where some of us hang out. As long as you don¡¯t tell the guards.¡± ¡°What guards?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°The Society ones¡­¡± John nodded. ¡°Ah. My lips are sealed.¡± He made a zipper gesture¡­ which might not have meant anything to the kid. But ultimately the point got across. Chapter 282 There were far more urchins in Ayhan¡¯s particular little gang than John had expected. There were quickly a couple dozen gathered in the back alleys. John hadn¡¯t been so far off on his estimations of what he would serve that each of them could have a full burger¡­ but Ayhan had already anticipated that. The kid was already dividing the food into equal portions, and given the generous size of the patties and buns and the lack of size of the kids- some as old as their late teens- it was probably still a pretty decent meal by their standards. The exception were the few ¡®cultivators¡¯, if they could be called that. Certainly, John felt they had some spiritual energy within them, but most were only in the first rank, with one in the third. Early Spiritual Collection Phase might not be bad at their age, but there were still risks with eating spiritual energy infused food. John held the attuned food in front of him as he addressed them. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to need all of you to listen to me very carefully. I know you are hungry¡­ for both food and spiritual energy. But you need to handle this carefully. I¡¯ll be going over some basic instructions you¡¯ll need to follow to tame the elements, which you¡¯ll have to put in practice while you eat. Which means each of you go one at a time.¡± John wasn¡¯t sure if it was intentional or random chance, but each of them had chosen a different element. The strongest was the air element cultivator at the third rank, who introduced himself as Barakat. He had a sort of protective aura about him, and volunteered to go first. That could have been selfishness, of course, but John chose to interpret it as accepting risks first. With a simple demonstration of him circulating his own energy and an explanation, John let the kid eat. He watched to make sure nothing was going wrong, but the bison meat wasn¡¯t that potent. It was simply that nobody here could afford to end up with any internal injuries. Next was another young man. Water element, but he felt more like crashing waves during a storm than the calm sort like Tirto. And a good bit younger, now, though it felt just like yesterday when the triplets had been that age. Third was the lone female among the budding cultivators. She had some fire element within her, but it wasn¡¯t much just yet. Finally, there was a darkness cultivator. The young man seemed to have chosen it more out of a desire to be hidden than any actual affinity. After they finished, John was thinking about the situation. None of them had chosen totems yet¡­ and they could easily change their elements still, if they found a particular affinity. But for that, someone would have to properly guide them. And that person would be¡­ well, it wasn¡¯t going to be someone else. Or that would have happened already. The older one known as Barakat stepped forward. ¡°Senior. Do you expect to have extras again tomorrow?¡± John shrugged. ¡°Well, it is leftovers. So I can¡¯t guarantee anything.¡± ¡°I understand. So, what do you want?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that something you should ask before eating the food?¡± He shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not something we can afford.¡± ¡°Well, one thing I want is to not toss out perfectly good food. As for the rest, don¡¯t worry about it for now. It won¡¯t be anything crazy.¡± Barakat didn¡¯t look like he fully believed John about that¡­ but as he had said, they couldn¡¯t afford to turn down food. Which was exactly why John planned to have plenty of leftovers the next day. And every day thereafter. ----- ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Crystin asked when they were alone. ¡°Do you intend to feed urchins every day?¡± ¡°Do you think I shouldn¡¯t?¡± John raised an eyebrow. Crystin frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy to pretend it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± John said. ¡°That they don¡¯t matter. Obviously the Tenebach clan takes care of all of our members and servants. But that doesn¡¯t make the rest of the world perfect. Having seen this, however, I can¡¯t just forget what they looked like. And ultimately¡­ this might feed into the other plans.¡± ¡°You¡¯re planning to have urchins be part of your merchant guild, or your cultivation sect?¡± John shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m planning to make use of youth with currently undeveloped skillsets. And if things don¡¯t pan out, I can still feel good about what I¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°It will be a lot of work, to mold them into something worthwhile.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± John admitted. ¡°But that¡¯s the case with everybody. Sometimes the work just starts sooner.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ----- John made certain to buy plenty of ingredients and buns for his stall. He wanted to make sure he had enough to feed his customers¡­ with a sufficient amount left over. The morning was just about as expected. Very few people out and about looking for food, especially not the sort of food he was selling. That gave John time to think, both about the future in general and about burgers in specific- things like finding other sorts of cheeses and alternate toppings and condiments. And potentially different meat. Not that the bison wasn¡¯t good in its own way, but options might be good. Lunchtime came, and business began to pick up. Viriato dropped by with a couple people. John found himself fairly busy. Then a few burly dudes walked up. A couple of them sniffed, and the other grinned. ¡°See? I told you. Hey, we want two dozen of these uh¡­ hot sandwiches.¡± ¡°Cheeseburgers,¡± John provided. He accelerated his cooking, tossing down patty after patty on the grill as he bolstered the power of his flames. Something like that was simple even if he had been a normal Foundation Phase cultivator. Even if his skill with fire was less than his others, that just meant he could improve faster. He handed over a big pile of burgers to the group. They began to step away, and John felt a chill behind him. But before anything could come of that, the one who had placed the order turned around. ¡°Oh. Almost forgot to pay.¡± John smiled. ¡°That would have been a problem.¡± ¡°Yeah we need people like you around. They¡¯ve got a ton of us working on one of those new towers, it¡¯s hard to get something in quantity besides tasteless slop.¡± Ah. Construction. That would explain their defined muscles when combined with only mediocre cultivation. John wasn¡¯t concerned about not getting paid, of course. Either he or Crystin could have handled it¡­ but it would have been a pain to have to force it. But the construction workers weren¡¯t the only large order to come in around lunchtime. It seemed word had spread significantly in just one day of business. John wasn¡¯t sure if his food was all that good¡­ but it was different and affordable enough. Enough for people who didn¡¯t cook for themselves or have chefs making all their meals to give it a try. Near the end of the lunch rush, John was almost out of buns and veggies and the like. He probably didn¡¯t have enough to last until dinner time. Certainly not through it¡­ and then there would be no leftovers. Plenty of bison meat, given the mass of each, but he wasn¡¯t in the business of serving plain patties. ¡°See if you can snag Ayhan or someone, would you?¡± John asked Crystin as he continued to fulfill orders. ¡°You won¡¯t have to go far.¡± Indeed, she found them just a short distance away. And John sent them out shopping for him, since he needed to man the stall. The task ultimately involved a half dozen of them given there was a limit to what they could carry. John didn¡¯t worry about the money he gave them, because ultimately if they thought it was worth running off with that amount then he didn¡¯t want to see them again anyway. They returned quickly enough, and John made certain to let them keep a few coins for their work. He didn¡¯t want them to get in the habit of being ordered around without getting paid. The food was an entirely separate thing. Dinner rush came, and John actually had to push himself. It wasn¡¯t as intense as a proper battle, but he still had to push his spiritual energy a little to properly keep up with the cooking and serving. His hands moved with great speed, using the quickness of air, while the stability of earth kept him from knocking things over as he stacked burgers. Pushing himself a little bit outside of meditative training or actual combat was a rather pleasant feeling, and getting practical use out of fire was a good feeling. The second day ended, and John had to work hard to make sure he had more leftovers than the day before. Which was good, because there were more kids that showed up in the area. There had to be some limit to how many urchins the city housed- or at least that got along with Barakat and Ayhan¡¯s group- but there were more than thirty this time. John had some questions about where they all slept¡­ but those were not things he wanted to ask them directly. Instead, he would make use of his own senses, and Crystin¡¯s expertise. A bit of spying might be rude, but it would also let them get a grasp on what the kids acted like with others. ----- The third day, John was already tired of doing the shopping himself and had plans to somewhat permanently assign some of the kids to the task. But beyond that, he also wanted some help with the cooking and serving, and there was also the fact that he would have to go gather more meat¡­ or get a reliable hunter to go out for him. There was some bison available in the markets, but he wanted it fresh. For the moment, the best option was himself. John noticed how closely everyone paid attention when he was instructing people in basic cultivation. And he knew that sooner or later he would have to make things more formal. And maybe running a food stall and small cultivation group would be enough, but he still had his eyes on potential trading. Working with Viriato there seemed like a good bet. Then there was Raul and to some extent Filimena to consider. John was also aware he couldn¡¯t remain in Lunson forever. He had other responsibilities that would at least draw him away for some period of time¡­ so he wanted to make things as stable as possible before such a day came. He could invite allies to meet with him in Lunson, of course, but a random inn was a few significant steps short of a proper sect or clan. Busy busy busy. That was John¡¯s life¡­ and he liked it. Unlike the period immediately after Matayal¡¯s death, he wasn¡¯t just distracting himself with frenzied cultivation. He was doing something. And even if some of it seemed pointless, anything constructive that ended up in the world had real meaning. He also intended to make sure he stayed in communication with his family. Tirto and Melanthina were rather busy with clan stuff, but Ursel could get away with going wherever she pleased since she still maintained her value to the Order. It was strange how much doing something on a whim could lead to getting other things done he¡¯d been holding back on. John was just about ready to actually tell people about his greater ambitions, instead of just wandering around Lunson taking in the city. Though to be fair, all of that exploration had been valuable in its own way. He¡¯d learned a lot, though he did realize he¡¯d missed some things given the preponderance of urchins about. Then again, he couldn¡¯t expect to know a whole city in just a few weeks. He was likely missing a good bit of the upper echelon politics as well, something he wasn¡¯t looking forward to getting involved with. But ultimately, he knew he would bump into it if his ambitions got anywhere close to taking their final form. Chapter 283 Fire was the newest element John had full control over, and he knew he needed more practice to catch up with everything else. HIs training while in the Consolidated Soul Phase merely provided him enough control to bind with his totem- and he might have been lacking in that area even still. Certainly, it was one contributing factor to the results he got. In front of himself, he held his sword. He could feel the flames, both their actual heat and the warmth of the spiritual energy, but he could not see them except through the distortions to objects behind them. The ethereal flames were certainly quite real, capable of burning whatever he pleased- and also things he didn¡¯t wish to burn. However, that was where proper control came in. Standard flames were easier to create, even with the affinity his totem provided, but they were even more difficult to keep from affecting everything around them. On a smaller scale- like with cooking- he could at least spread the heat evenly through things. That wouldn¡¯t work with a cultivator, because they would have some defenses, and it wasn¡¯t helpful regardless. If he was fighting something, the last thing he wanted was to heat them evenly. Instead, he wanted to burn something important. But at the same time, he didn¡¯t want to set everything around him on fire. He was quite aware that every fire cultivator learned to control the spread of their flames- or learned about the consequences. Personally he didn¡¯t want to set the fields outside of Lunson aflame, nor did he wish to burn down the city. Both places were quite alright in their current state, and he would prefer to keep them that way. So he practiced his control in safety, experimenting with what would and would not set something alight. ----- ¡°You really should attempt to advance soon,¡± John advised the merchant Viriato. ¡°That is, if you have any ambition left in you.¡± The plump man sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not so easy, you know? Or perhaps you don¡¯t. But I¡¯d given up on further progress a while ago.¡± ¡°Why attempt such radical first totems, then?¡± John asked. ¡°It¡¯s not simple to combine light and darkness.¡± ¡°I was young and foolish,¡± Viriato shrugged. John raised an eyebrow. ¡°Fools don¡¯t survive such a thing. Though I will admit that without knowing where to go next, you left yourself in quite a predicament. Have you considered the totems I spoke about?¡± ¡°Some. Managing a balance of sorts with water seems possible but¡­ difficult.¡± ¡°Most things worthwhile are,¡± John agreed. ¡°Well, you¡¯d better get on that soon enough. Don¡¯t want to get passed up by street kids.¡± ¡°... What?¡± Viriato tilted his head. ----- In truth, it was quite unlikely for any of the urchins to surpass Viriato any time soon. Mostly because they were still in the Spiritual Collection Phase, and it would take more than a few months for them to reach the Foundation Phase. They didn¡¯t have a good basis for their cultivation after all. Their bodies were weak and they hadn¡¯t taken steps to prepare themselves for absorbing spiritual energy. None of that was their fault, of course. Nobody had been teaching them, and they didn¡¯t have a clan or sect to empower them. But now they could finally begin learning, and they absorbed everything John taught them like sponges. In a world such as this, every child would have some ambition to be something great, and no matter what path they took to greatness it required being a cultivator. They were quite enthusiastic to learn from him, though reasonably a bit cautious as well. It was rather suspicious for someone to randomly help them, and in truth John did want something from them. That said, future loyalty in exchange for them having some level of control over their own lives seemed like a fair trade from his perspective. Ultimately, this was just roundabout sect recruitment. Next was combat training. ¡°Remember, if you are able it¡¯s usually better to flee from combat, especially if you don¡¯t have any support. Even if you defeat one or two people¡­ they might be part of some larger group that might seek revenge.¡± John expected they knew this already- but he wanted to remind them so that their heads didn¡¯t inflate with the idea that they might be able to solve their problems through violence. That would be true eventually, but for the moment it was a greater risk than before. With developing cultivation, people might begin to take them as a serious threat. That was something they couldn¡¯t yet afford. John was also looking around the city to solve another problem. For the moment, they were still in whatever ¡®housing¡¯ they could find. As their cultivations developed, they would technically be more able to handle sleeping on the streets¡­ but they would also be less willing to. In short, since he intended to start a sect anyway, he needed more property. At the moment outside the city seemed best, to give them room to grow. But that meant construction, and there were other connotations to consider. Setting themselves apart from the city might seem like they were against it, which wasn¡¯t true. John certainly imagined that they would have conflict with various groups within Lunson, but he ultimately wanted what was best for the city, and most of the people involved. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ----- The business of serving food to both cultivators and mundanes came with a decent profit. Nothing exceptional, especially considering that John was using not only his own time but also monopolizing Crystin¡¯s. A Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator standing around as a guard was an expensive proposition. A business such as this could never hope to cover those costs, but it was just one step in a greater plan. There had been a flood of new customers in the early days, but now he maintained a consistent and rather busy schedule during lunch and dinner. Viriato was one of the most consistent, often coming for himself and sometimes a few business associates. John was managing to perfect his recipes, providing variety and more carefully tailored choices of cheese and vegetables, as well as various condiments. It was food, after all, so the point was for it to taste good even if it also happened to contain a decent amount of spiritual energy like everything from Astrein. Most of it just didn¡¯t come in a form usable to most cultivators. John found it to be a waste to reduce things to single elements, as that meant losing more than eighty percent of the spiritual energy within the ingredients. But few trained in more than one element, and a minor boost in spiritual energy was better for most than none at all. There were other restaurants that served spiritually aligned food, but most were more expensive as they had to import from elsewhere. Very few would or could extract the unnecessary elements from the balanced mix that Astrein achieved. Repeat customers were common now, but John still saw new faces frequently. Lunson wasn¡¯t at its busiest except during tournament years, but it was still the largest city in the country, with a good portion of the traffic passing through it. John felt a few auras he vaguely recognized, but he couldn¡¯t remember from where. Perhaps the Green Sands or the Phoenix Forest? The small handful of individuals were all fire cultivators, after all. It was only after the group walked away that he clocked the origin. They had a similar feel to the alchemist Oden. Most likely, they were his apprentices. Though John might not like the fellow, his apprentices were not him- and either way, he was willing to serve food to customers willing to pay. They didn¡¯t cause any trouble, so he didn¡¯t mind their presence. A few days later, he got a visit from the other alchemist in town. Not Raul- though Raul did visit often enough. Durga, the woman in the secondary rank. She ordered a fire aligned burger, and John provided it. She stood there chewing it, a thoughtful expression on her face. ¡°Not your style?¡± John asked. ¡°It tastes good,¡± she said. ¡°But I¡¯m a little underwhelmed by the spiritual energy within it. No wonder it was so cheap.¡± John shrugged, ¡°For better spiritual energy, I have to slay stronger beasts¡­ and find ones that taste good. The other ingredients would have to match as well, and that¡¯s difficult around here.¡± There should be stronger bison around. Not too many people hunted them, despite their numbers. After all, without processing the spiritual energy it appeared just like normal meat. There weren¡¯t exactly a large number of five element cultivators around- or even three element, which would be about the minimum to properly handle every element to some extent. And even if there were, most Soul Expansion Phase cultivators wouldn¡¯t find it worth their time to do what John was. There had been some intention that the burger stand was just to occupy his time, but John found himself growing attached. If nothing else, the practice of providing food for every element would be important for a growing sect, and if he could train a half dozen apprentices to balance the elements he wouldn¡¯t have to personally involve himself all the time. That was one goal, at least. ----- As one might expect from a mostly random selection of street kids, most of them were nothing special as far as cultivation went. There were a few exceptions, mainly the handful that had somehow managed to begin their cultivations without access to any proper training methods. There was also Ayhan, who took to cultivation with great enthusiasm. Ayhan¡¯s choice of cultivating the earth element first meant that John had one decent cultivator of each element he practiced. Was it a random coincidence? Only Barakat was much ahead of the others, now in the mid Spiritual Collection Phase. The air cultivator was also a bit older than the others, however. None of the urchins were locked into an element just yet, though Barakat was in the process of searching for the air element totem that suited him the most. It certainly wouldn¡¯t be unlikely to end up with a wide variety of elements cultivated, either. That said, John was also fairly certain that Ayhan¡¯s choice wasn¡¯t exactly random. He could easily pick anything except the light element to begin with, knowing John could help, but Ayhan had been asking questions about elemental affinities while doing his best to not look like he was glancing at Lir. In short, John was fairly certain he chose earth to support the fire cultivator. Whether or not that would come to anything was unclear, but John was going to have to speak of the dangers of dual cultivation sooner rather than later. It was something people might hear about, and attempting it without properly understanding it was a risk. Adapting to a new partner took time, and the benefits didn¡¯t show up immediately. Meanwhile, there was always the risk of one or both partners damaging their cultivations if someone slipped up. Though from what John had seen, Lir still seemed oblivious to Ayhan¡¯s infatuation. Maybe she would realize eventually, or he might actually say something. Either way, there should be some time before anyone tried anything stupid. The last of the group to arrive were Sthitulf and Fulton, the water and darkness cultivators. Once everyone was ready, John began to address them. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering why I¡¯ve gathered you here. The answer is simple. I can see the desire for combat building up within all of you¡­ and I am going to provide it.¡± John withdrew a number of simple spears from his storage bag. They were sturdy enough, but otherwise unremarkable. ¡°We will begin training with these. Each of you one at a time against myself or Crystin. It¡¯s too dangerous against each other. And then¡­ when I have determined you are ready, you will hunt bison. You will be paid for the task, of course.¡± The excited looks made John glad he was choosing to do this now. A few more days, and perhaps the energy filled youths might have chosen to make some poor choices. And he would be keeping the spears with him outside of training or hunting, at least for the near future. That should hopefully remind them not to fight, though they would have their own daggers and whatever else they managed to scavenge for protection. Rather than leaving them unprotected without the weapons, John chose to see it as forcing them to have caution. Chapter 284 Hunting bison was a fairly decent training method. Cultivators tended to fight both humans and beasts, and they were a fine example of the latter. Too large to beat with physical strength, too numerous to simply overwhelm with numbers. Some amount of spiritual energy, but not enough to directly overwhelm assaults by trained cultivators. Seeing a herd of them coming to trample you would certainly provoke some amount of fear, and see who was ready and who was not. The initial moments seemed reasonable. Specifically, the disciples were wise enough to have stayed at the fringes of the herd rather than aiming for the middle. Barakat stood out front, standing tall with his spear held ready. The others flanked him in pairs on either side. That held precisely until the initial clash. An explosion of wind burst around Barakat as he thrust his spear into the leading bison. His effort was sufficient to drive the spear into its body¡­ but that didn¡¯t stop it. It would certainly die in a few moments, but its momentum overcame his force. He flew backwards, and that nearly caused the others to break apart. As it was, they had to step aside, splitting them into their respective pairs. Ayhan and Fulton ended up on one side, with Stithulf and Lir on the other. The first two settled into a defensive position, Ayhan providing the stability of earth while Fulton created a field of darkness around them meant to drive the bison away. That left Stithulf¡¯s water and Lir¡¯s fire. They didn¡¯t coordinate well, with his bubble of water blocking her cone of fire. Still, John held back and watched as the shielding allowed Sthithulf to be knocked to the side, deflecting the charging bison enough to let Lir dodge- though not entirely on purpose. John only stepped in because Ayhan and Fulton were deeper into the wave, with no way to get out. The bison really just wanted to get away- which sometimes meant going through them when spooked- which was another reason they were a good opponent. Rather than completely shielding the two, John deflected some of the approaching wave. Barakat had picked himself up, and joined them with the three fighting their way out of the rest in their way, preferring lighter thrusts to prod the creatures away rather than committing to full attacks. Ultimately they brought down a few- the one Barakat had speared and several more injured in the charge that fell behind. There were sufficient injuries to make them understand the seriousness of the situation as well. Hopefully, that would temper their desire for battle. While they would have to rest their injuries, John would be paying them well enough that they could afford to do so. Overall, he thought their performance was fine, though he would certainly have some constructive criticism and suggestions for future training. ----- John was impressed by Raul¡¯s growth, though he was no longer limited so much by his cultivation as his knowledge as an alchemist. And while he might learn something by endless experimentation, that would require both time and a vast quantity of materials¡­ along with a little bit of luck so that nothing went terribly wrong like producing a potent poison that he didn¡¯t anticipate. ¡°I¡¯ve sent Viriato off to find you some recipe tomes,¡± John explained. Raul pursed his lips. ¡°I am grateful, but that seems¡­ unnecessary.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more to alchemy than simply extracting and purifying spiritual essences,¡± John shrugged. ¡°You won¡¯t do much business if you can¡¯t provide what your customers need. And if you expect them to stagnate in one place, then you can only expect their business to last so long. People will want healing salves. Temporary boosts in power. Cures for exotic diseases. You need to be able to provide those¡­ or at least have a starting point to work from.¡± Raul nodded. ¡°Not too long ago, I had simply been resigned to barely keeping my shop open. It does seem like a waste to do a special trip for me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t waste Viriato¡¯s time,¡± John assured him. ¡°I¡¯ve sponsored him to pick out a variety of goods as he travels. It should be profitable for both of us.¡± There was only so much a single merchant could do, of course. John intended to gain the services of others as well, filling whatever needs were required. There was a purpose for specialists along with those that had broader varieties of goods. Though John didn¡¯t specialize in trading, he hadn¡¯t managed a clan for over two decades without picking up a wide variety of related things. It wasn¡¯t his job to purchase individual things, but managing overall finances let him know the balance of what they needed. There were always differences between various clans and sects, but there was significant overlap. ¡°What are your plans, sir?¡± Raul asked. ¡°With Viriato, as well as Ayhan and the others?¡± John shrugged. ¡°Same as with you. I plan to establish myself here to take advantage of the unique properties of Astrein.¡± ¡°What if I leave?¡± ¡°You would have already,¡± John pointed out. ¡°As for the street kids, most of them will have a stronger bond to each other. And if they have the ambition to leave, I can direct them to allies who can help them. If they want nothing to do with me instead, then I¡¯ve made a mistake in picking them or how I acted,¡± John shrugged. ¡°At some point a more formal arrangement will be required, but I can afford to lose everything I¡¯ve invested so far if it doesn¡¯t work out.¡± Ultimately, John would be here cultivating regardless. If he did nothing else, he would mostly be wasting time. There were only so many hours a day one could effectively cultivate. John in particular was trying to be gentle on his dantian, letting his spiritual energy return to its former strength at a modest speed. Though how modest that speed was could be debated, given his previous experience and available resources. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ----- Food wasn¡¯t something that anyone could have a monopoly on. Just because John was the one to popularize burgers didn¡¯t mean he was the only one who could sell them in Astrein, and he wasn¡¯t interested in forcing a monopoly anyhow. A few others, seeing his success, added cheeseburgers or similar hot sandwiches to their menus. Personally, John didn¡¯t mind that. He even visited some stalls and was planning to eat at some restaurants that were trying their hand at the food. His bison burgers were good, but not enough that he wanted to eat them every meal. At the very least he wanted some sort of variety. He could also take the best bits of the various iterations others made for himself, turning it into a virtuous cycle of tasty food. Ultimately, John¡¯s business didn¡¯t suffer much for no longer being unique. He had a number of loyal customers, and he offered a service many others didn¡¯t- customized spiritual energy types for cheap. While some tried it, there weren¡¯t exactly a lot of multi-element cultivators around to make perfect replicas. Some might settle for an inferior, but that was perfectly alright in John¡¯s eyes. And if his own product wasn¡¯t up to standards, he¡¯d have to improve it. It was still viable as training for his spiritual energy as well. Soon, he¡¯d have some of the street kids helping¡­ in decent uniforms. Most of his days were passing smoothly, but John could smell trouble when it approached. Or specifically the stench of burning and sulfur. John spotted Oden walking down the street, along with two others at his side. One was a man not quite so old as Oden himself, and the other a significantly younger woman. From a surface level scan of their energy, John determined that the man and the woman were most likely dual cultivation partners¡­ though perhaps partners wasn¡¯t the right word. They were three ranks apart- with the man at the 24th and her at the 21st. That was a significant gap, but there were several possible explanations. It could be malice or lack of care on the stronger partner¡¯s part, lack of skill, or simply a more recent development. When they stopped in front of John¡¯s stall, he remained unfazed. ¡°What do you want to eat? We have a variety of options, and we can provide a balance of your preferred spiritual energy.¡± It was the job of those in the service industry to be polite to customers, even if they didn¡¯t like them. That was a lesson Oden seemed to have missed, but he seemed to think himself above it. Oden spoke firmly in response. ¡°Two fire and one earth. Quickly. Our time is valuable. But make sure they¡¯re fresh.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John said, his hands already moving. Flames flowed from him to the grill, a small part going into the meat itself to balance the cooking exactly as he wished. His eyes never left the customers in front of him, and he maintained his pleasant smile. Less than a minute passed before he had three burgers stacked to their specifications, finishing at the same time. They took the food and turned to leave. As they were several steps away, John coughed. ¡°Sir. You forgot to pay.¡± Oden turned back to him, disdain in his eyes. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but ultimately tossed a coin to John. Clearly intentionally just out of range for him to catch it. John made no move to extend his spiritual energy, letting the coin hit the ground. It was sufficient value, so he simply watched them walk away. John pulled the fingers in his left sleeve away from his hidden throwing daggers. Once they were out of sensory range, he gestured Ayhan over, the youth watching from a nearby alley. ¡°You can have that. I don¡¯t actually want his money.¡± ¡°Then why¡­?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want him to have it,¡± John said. ¡°I see,¡± Ayhan said, not at all bothered by bending down to pick up money off the ground. And John wouldn¡¯t be either, in most cases. ¡°I feel like that almost turned into a battle.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± John said. ¡°What would you have done if it had?¡± ¡°I would have stood by your side, of course,¡± Ayhan said. John grinned, ¡°Admirable, but foolish. You¡¯re far too weak for that.¡± ¡°Well I couldn¡¯t leave you alone. Besides, your guard is here somewhere¡­ isn¡¯t she¡­?¡± Ayhan looked around. John shrugged. ¡°Who knows?¡± Of course, he was quite aware of Crystin¡¯s location. He was quite confident in his battle prowess, but three Soul Expansion Phase cultivators in his current state would be more than iffy, even if their totems were nothing special. ¡°You¡¯ll learn what fights you can join eventually. For now, I will say I appreciate the thought but you absolutely shouldn¡¯t attempt to participate in a battle where I am in any sort of peril. You¡¯d be more of a liability than an asset.¡± ¡°I suppose so,¡± Ayhan sighed. ¡°Kids like us will never be able to match people like you and them.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that,¡± John corrected him. He was also slightly offended to end up in the same category as Oden. ¡°Do you happen to know who those other two were?¡± ¡°Not much more than their names,¡± Ayhan said. ¡°They¡¯re from the Platinum Tower Society, but so are most of those Alchemist Oden associates with. The man is Aghi. We all avoid him. The woman¡­ Katerina, I think.¡± Ayhan tilted his head. ¡°A Katerina? Maybe there were others? She doesn¡¯t really bother us, but we still stay out of her way.¡± ¡°Best to keep that practice up in general,¡± John said. ¡°You can avoid a lot of unnecessary conflict. And make people think themselves important, which can easily make them sloppy.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ does that apply to¡­?¡± Ayhan didn¡¯t seem willing to finish that. ¡°I get a big head sometimes too,¡± John shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s why I have people to correct me if I mess up.¡± ¡°That battle wouldn¡¯t have been the problem,¡± Crystin suddenly said from next to Ayhan, causing the young man to startle. ¡°But the ones after¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± John shrugged. ¡°But I also couldn¡¯t let him get away with it.¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Crystin agreed. ¡°Though if you wanted, I could settle the matter privately.¡± ¡°No way,¡± John said. ¡°When something happens, the whole city will be aware of it. They¡¯ll lose a lot more status that way.¡± John smiled at Ayhan, then held up a finger. ¡°Don¡¯t be blabbing about any of this to too many people, okay?¡± Their conversation would be shielded by Crystin and himself, so random passersby wouldn¡¯t overhear. Ayhan nodded. ¡°Also, it¡¯s lunch rush so start grabbing people to help,¡± John said, looking into the crowd. Chapter 285 No matter how much it might feel like it, time never truly stood still. Along with Raul¡¯s advancement to the Foundation Phase, there were many other steps taken both big and small. Over the course of several months, Viriato had prepared himself to take the leap from the Foundation Phase to the Soul Expansion Phase, with John¡¯s guidance. His totem would be carefully selected to avoid unbalancing his light and darkness pair, and he would be stepping into a Phase that nobody would be ashamed of. Filimena was older and had less resources of her own, but John was still supporting her to reach the Foundation Phase. It would bring a significant improvement to the stability of her life. With his employment, the various street urchins he was raising as disciples were able to pay for shelter- or endure the streets with their improved spiritual energy, if they chose to. John wasn¡¯t quite prepared to formally put together a sect where they would stay just yet, though he had already picked out land and planned construction. Rushing too much would be more of a problem in the long run, as he could make some critical mistake. He needed a steady flow of resources for proper disciples, but he also needed to balance his potential income. Obviously there would be some up front expenses, but he wanted to get on a trajectory of growth as soon as possible. He didn¡¯t want to have to ask for assistance that would be outside of his personal funds. He knew he could, but it would be basically admitting he couldn¡¯t do anything on his own. Which would be quite unpleasant, considering he was monopolizing Crystin¡¯s time as well. Back to the topic of growth, however, Raul was more than simply advancing his cultivation. His alchemical techniques- with the assistance of tomes of knowledge purchased by Viriato on his trips- were growing more refined. His business was picking up, and while he was still solidly ranked as the third best alchemist in the city, he could guarantee he was better than Oden¡¯s apprentices. Before, he¡¯d simply been an alternative that wouldn¡¯t price-gouge via relation to a big name. John also had his own cultivation to consider. He had steady growth within the Foundation Phase, advancing to the late phase without issue. His cultivation had vastly improved compared to his arrival in Lunson, where he¡¯d only just returned to the Foundation Phase. The Soul Expansion Phase¡­ was still out of his reach. He had one more rank- currently he was at the seventeenth- but beyond that he was aware there would most likely be another roadblock. He didn¡¯t have to seek out and bond with a totem, but he had no expectations that his advancement would be smooth. ----- Unlike with Raul, there were no tense moments of waiting for Viriato¡¯s advancement. It wasn¡¯t that John wouldn¡¯t have been concerned about him- the man simply took matters into his own hands, once the plan was in place. John wasn¡¯t even aware he was actually making his breakthrough until everything was over. Ultimately, he had gone with something similar to what John casually picked out. A totem of water- allied with darkness, but this one shared attributes of both. Totems could be basically anything. In fact, John wasn¡¯t quite certain that they weren¡¯t practically infinite. There were still limitations, as there were balances between totems that started at higher tier and those with better growth rates, but there were totems that suited nearly every situation. Viriato chose a totem that represented a still surface of water. To picture what that actually meant, it was like sitting with eyes just at water level. There, it was possible to see above and below the water with clarity. Above, the light flourished¡­ but below, it inevitably ended in darkness. John studied the man who had just secured his third totem. He nodded, ¡°Good, you¡¯ve properly maintained your balance. It doesn¡¯t seem you rushed into things.¡± ¡°If I was the type to do that¡­¡± Viriato shrugged, ¡°Well, perhaps I once was. Which is what got me in that situation to begin with. Balancing light and darkness was perhaps a bit too ambitious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not simple,¡± John agreed, thinking about the work that was ahead of him. Not only would he have to secure a sixth totem in a legendary realm, it would be a final one most in conflict with his cultivation along the way. The balanced cycle of core elements might help, but they ultimately leaned towards darkness. Then again, he was quite aware that light and darkness weren¡¯t strictly incompatible, as he had a foolish daughter and son-in-law to compare along with his merchant friend. ¡°So, how are the benefits?¡± ¡°I have to say¡­ I really don¡¯t know how much my combat prowess has changed. That wasn¡¯t my area of expertise to begin with though. But my senses¡­ I definitely feel an improvement in that area. I¡¯ll be able to more accurately pick out valuable goods, which is what I most want.¡± ¡°But it also won¡¯t hurt to be in a higher Phase. You will garner well-deserved respect.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°Though I can hardly say I did this myself.¡± John shook his head, ¡°Anyone who says so is a liar. Even my most talented friend would have likely stagnated eventually. Everyone else has the backing of clans and sects, which is their very purpose. Truly independent cultivators are likely impossible to find.¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°Indeed. Though now I can¡¯t help but wonder what you will ask of me.¡± ¡°I thought that was pretty clear,¡± John said. ¡°I chose you because of what you were doing. It wouldn¡¯t benefit either of us if I suddenly asked you to fight as a warrior. Of course, I am not without enemies so if they come after me you might also have to defend yourself¡­ but I wouldn¡¯t anticipate anything else. You already know my plans beyond the stall.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Good. I quite like my life as it is¡­ though it is certainly pleasing to have stepped past that long time threshold.¡± Viriato couldn¡¯t help but grin, which was quite normal for any cultivator who just made a significant advancement. ----- John¡¯s new sect couldn¡¯t only have street urchins as members. Okay, that wasn¡¯t technically true. It could but he didn¡¯t want it to only have them. Obviously he didn¡¯t mind them, but if he wanted to grow and expand he didn¡¯t want his disciples to only be urchins from Lunson. He only cared about how it looked to outsiders as far as it affected recruitment- if they thought his disciples were inferior because of their origins, he would happily show them what they could do. But if people were hesitant to join, that would be something else. So he added to his always growing list of activities recruiting other sorts of individuals. Disciples¡­ and support staff as well. Fortunately for that expanding list, he was able to delegate many parts of it. Otherwise he would swamp himself with work and waste everything from whatever he established to his own cultivation training. Along with that, he really needed a name. Initial ideas were easily rejected. The Rainbow Sect just didn¡¯t fit. The colors didn¡¯t match the elements at all- at best, he could include the four core elements but there would be much missing. Anything related to Lunson and Astrein was also out of the question. Aside from having a weak national identity, he also didn¡¯t want people to think it was something that would only be relevant on a local scale. ¡°How do sects even pick names?¡± John complained to Crystin. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Since we came from a clan and all that, it was just our name.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m sure not calling it the Tenebach sect. Or the Miller sect,¡± John shook his head. ¡°And the Six Elements Sect is¡­ a bit basic.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be incorrect, though,¡± Crystin pointed out. ¡°Yeah. But about that, maybe I need to get some assistance. Because uh, with me as sectmaster it would basically just be the Five Elements Sect. Unless people are willing to wait twenty years to a century,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Viriato would be an acceptable master for those practicing the light element,¡± Crystin said. ¡°But I suppose he can¡¯t always be present.¡± ¡°Right?¡± John said. ¡°And we can¡¯t just always rely on outsiders for help. Even if it¡¯s someone like Nik or anyone from the Golden Tomb Guardians. We really need instructors for other elements as well. At least someone in the Foundation Phase, or it will be embarrassing.¡± ¡°I would tell you to wait until the next tournament, but that is¡­ nearly the worst possible timing. I believe on the schedule of a decade, you came right on its heels.¡± ¡°Right? And I can¡¯t just grab random people off the streets, regardless of their cultivation level. I need people that are trustworthy. But also of sufficient cultivation.¡± ¡°The best thing you can do is to meet as many people as possible then. It would also be best if you saw them in action.¡± ¡°Shame that the tournament is so far away,¡± John frowned. ¡°But there are a number of permanent residents here to pick from. Then again, half of them work for the Platinum Tower Society.¡± ¡°Then there is only one thing you can do,¡± Crystin said. ¡°Give up?¡± John grinned. ¡°Offer better benefits.¡± John¡¯s mouth hung open. ¡°You know, that¡¯s extremely obvious in retrospect. Poaching people from clans is¡­ a rather difficult task. But Sects also do quite a bit of work to instill loyalty.¡± ¡°If they have, then there is little you can do,¡± Crystin shrugged. ¡°But not everyone will be satisfied with their position in life. And we¡¯ve seen how the city is divided.¡± John nodded. People like Oden and other Soul Expansion Phase cultivators walked around like they owned the place- which was only partially true. But Foundation Phase cultivators, while not without status, were basically just waiting until they advanced. But that required resources that might not be available to them, or a long period of time training in energy separating chambers. ¡°I¡¯d like to organize a miniature tournament,¡± John said. ¡°But for that, I need rewards. Is it alright to invite my own disciples? Is it fair not to allow them?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell me that you think judges are ever truly impartial, are you?¡± Crystin said. ¡°But in proper circumstances, a legitimate victor is discernible enough.¡± John nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can wait to establish the sect until after that. Maybe it should be related to a celebration of its founding? People will probably be more willing to join a new sect than a not-yet-established one.¡± ¡°That all sounds reasonable.¡± So. Prizes. They couldn¡¯t be extremely lavish, considering his budget. But it was also about the relative significance of the tournament. If it was just local- Lunson, or perhaps anyone from Astrein- the actual pool of participants would be small. Arranging to use the arena should be simple enough, given it was literally doing nothing most of the time. That would cost something, but he could handle it. It did mean he¡¯d need to participate in some serious exploration or other money-making endeavors. The profitability of his food stand wasn¡¯t insignificant, but it wasn¡¯t something that could prop up a sect or even a small tournament on its own. John could either hunt and sell things to purchase the prizes or secure everything himself. Ultimately, he wanted a prize from every element available. This was the start of his sect, whatever it was going to be called. He didn¡¯t want to show favoritism to any particular element. Which meant he would at minimum have to consult with some light element cultivators he knew to judge whatever he acquired. And perhaps he could invite some of his allies as judges. While it was still extremely biased to have people he knew in all of the judging roles, having a wider cast would at least appear somewhat more balanced. And as long as they tried to be fair, that would be good enough. Chapter 286 Filimena finally made her advancement to the Foundation Phase. With her age, she wouldn¡¯t get much further than that. But a few small ranks could make a significant difference in the life of a gatherer. Her choice of totem was conservative and safe. Another water element totem, instead of something that would bring her on the path of a cycle of the elements. Such a path was ambitious, but in Astrein specifically John thought it was actually advantageous to split elements early on. There was no more water element for Filimena to gather just because she improved her cultivation- she might improve her extraction efficiency, but at most it would be half again as much. Adding another element would result in between double and triple ability to extract spiritual energy from the surroundings, depending on affinity and the like. But sometimes, common knowledge was the victor in these things¡­ and it was better for her to advance in any form rather than lingering at her former cultivation. In short, it was a poor move for those with nearly any ambition- but Filimena would prefer a comfortable life. And John was content to let her, if she was happy with that. At the very least, she would be better off now than she had been when they first met. Even so, he¡¯d hoped to get more from her potential to pick out things of value. At least he¡¯d managed to convince her to give up a location she had found. She said it was beyond her abilities to enter the area, so it wasn¡¯t worth much for her to hold onto the information. Even with her advancement into the Foundation Phase, she didn¡¯t want to go there alone. But she also wanted to know if she¡¯d actually come across something of value. John didn¡¯t mind indulging her own curiosity while at the same time taking the opportunity to profit for himself. And he wasn¡¯t going to be unreasonable, as she would receive a fair split for her information and participation. Part of the value was the information of the place, but any resources had to be found and properly secured. As for the location, it was a week¡¯s travel outside of Lunson at Filimena¡¯s slightly improved pace. There were no roads for most of the journey, as they basically only crossed through Lunson with a few smaller roads leading to towns and villages that mostly had mundane individuals. There were a few groups of cultivators established in Astrein outside of the capital itself, but they were a rarity. After all, they could easily get much more of their preferred spiritual energy elsewhere- merely a single country away, except for darkness which was two, though they¡¯d only have to travel through the Stone Conglomerate in the narrow direction. While non-cultivators might find travel difficult, cultivators generally went far out of their way to find the best conditions they could get- which sometimes meant compromises based on strength. There were a few places within Astrein where spiritual energy peaked for certain elements, and those tended to be occupied by some small sect or clan- but it was rarely more plentiful than the countryside of any aligned area. They traveled vaguely northwest, where they would eventually reach the Blustering Peaks if they continued. Instead, their destination was far short in some foothills that might not even be connected to the further mountains. ¡°There are some rougher parts ahead,¡± Filimena explained. ¡°You can see there are some modest peaks up ahead. On the far side, they are nearly unnavigable. Some of what I gather is on the far side so I hoped to find a shorter route¡­¡± She looked over at John, perhaps slightly nervous about giving up her secrets- but she should also be aware that they were relatively less valuable to him. Somewhat less than a year wasn¡¯t enough to know anyone in detail, but John thought he¡¯d proved himself to be a decent person. ¡°That¡¯s when I stumbled upon an isolated valley. It would be rather difficult to reach, if you didn¡¯t know the route. And finding it by accident¡­ well, I can only say it was a matter of fortune. I don¡¯t know if it could be easily stumbled across.¡± ¡°You say we¡¯re getting close?¡± John asked. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± she nodded. ¡°Curious. I can¡¯t sense anything of note from here.¡± Normally, a place of high spiritual energy would stand out, but large quantities of earth and stone could quite easily block such feelings. ¡°The passage is narrow. Little spiritual energy flows out. I didn¡¯t even notice until I was right upon it. And then¡­¡± Filimena shrugged. ¡°I almost immediately left. I¡¯ve been to the entrance several times, but I sensed beasts in the Foundation Phase and¡­ some beyond.¡± John nodded. If her words were accurate, such a place was of great value in Astrein- and would not be overlooked elsewhere, as even if other countries had Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators that would find such a place less enticing personally, they still had less senior members and disciples that needed training and resources of a certain quality. They made their way through what was essentially a cave- except for that overhead a small crack led to the sky along their route. He still didn¡¯t feel anything of note, but he expected Filimena to be telling the truth to the best of her ability. And then there it was. As sudden of a transition as she had declared, though John supposed he was a bit further than she had been. She spoke of being just at the mouth of a hidden valley, while he could simply feel a higher density of spiritual energy compressed within the passage in front of them- and only barely if he stretched a wider opening. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. A couple hundred meters later, and they stepped out into something quite dazzling. In front of John, the spiritual energy split into discrete zones, different elements dominating instead of the nearly unreactive mix that Astrein usually had. Though John did note that much like the wider world, there was an area in the center of the valley that was mainly neutral in elemental balance. Such a thing wasn¡¯t a common sight- more likely a single or a few elements would become dominant and wipe out the rest- but just the same as extreme quantities of single elements would occasionally crop up, so would other rarities such as this. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± John declared. ¡°If it weren¡¯t so far from any and all people, I¡¯d want to take it over and establish my sect here.¡± ¡°I might suggest a secondary grounds¡­?¡± Crystin said. ¡°You¡¯ll want to keep it secure, regardless.¡± The angle they were entering from put them nearly along the dividing line between water and darkness elements- everything was divided into allied elements, or the whole arrangement would have likely broken down rapidly. ¡°A good location for training,¡± John agreed. ¡°But we¡¯ll have to keep it secret.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t speak of it to anyone else,¡± Filimena quickly said. No matter how kind John had been to her already, greed could blind people. It was reasonable for her to be nervous. If she was going to be removed, now would be the time- as they were far away from civilization and had confirmed the location, there wasn¡¯t much she could do if she was betrayed by either of the other two given her relative cultivation. ¡°I believed you when you said it before,¡± John said. ¡°But if you run into trouble and need to¡­ please at least inform me that it¡¯s happened.¡± ¡°There¡¯s very little trouble for people like me. I try not to stand out¡­¡± ¡°Unfortunately, our association will still be noticed to some extent. We¡¯re not so close I would expect my enemies to come after you, but it never hurts to be careful.¡± For the sake of secrecy, they had met up outside the city- going on a longer journey together John was leading the group down the divide between elements. Water and darkness abounded on either side of them, though John had certainly encountered higher concentrations of both. But the valley¡¯s elements were greater than the training rooms available in Lunson, without relying on gathering formations. Though there was a catch to that- this place was untouched, and John didn¡¯t know if it would easily deplenish once used. It would require proper management, at the very least. Above him, instead of opening wide to the sky, approximately half of the valley was under the surface of a larger dome or shell. John couldn¡¯t quite tell if this had once been a large cavern where half of the roof collapsed, or exactly how it might have come about. But the exact arrangement had produced very interesting results. Regardless of what it might have once been, beneath his feet now was a layer of healthy soil out of which grew a variety of plants attuned to the elements. There were a few pools on the water side with waterborne plants as well, but there were also bushes with juicy berries and general foliage. And of course, there were beasts within that would eat the plants- and the other beasts that ate them. The dividing line between the elements didn¡¯t seem to be in the territory of any particular beast, so they were able to make their way towards the neutral center unbothered. There was little in the way of obvious threats in the mixed area, but John kept himself alert. Especially when he noticed the signs of humans. Nothing recent, but a fallen pillar here or there showed that it had once been occupied. And in the very center of the area, an overgrown foundation. There might have once been greater function to things, but for the moment it was merely vaguely reminiscent of what had once been around. There seemed to be no traps, either on the mundane side or through the use of formations. It was difficult to tell if there had been anything, with the current state of decay. The former presence of humans didn¡¯t tell John much about the origins of the valley, either. It could have been intentional, or simply found that way by the previous inhabitants. As for why it was empty, they could have been killed off by rivals or abandoned it when it was depleted for a time. Over the course of many centuries, it was easy for individual locations to fall by the wayside. Perhaps the sect that made their home here simply grew too powerful to care about a place of this quality. From the center, John could more or less feel the whole valley or whatever he should call it. He could tell the vague levels of most of the inhabitants, and while he wasn¡¯t completely certain about defeating all of them himself, he knew he would at least be able to flee. ¡°Why don¡¯t we take advantage of what is available to us?¡± John asked. ¡°Crystin, surely there must be something of interest for you back there. Meanwhile, I will bring Filimena to find her portion in the water element section. We¡¯ll want to maintain the balance, of course, so we should be conservative for now.¡± To fairly give Filimena a portion of the rewards here- even a tenth or twentieth part- would take more than a few days or even weeks. Then again, suddenly being burdened with too much wealth would not be good for Filimena. John intended to take control of the place in the longer term, so slower methods would be better for him as well. If she had not been known to John, the exchange for the information would likely have been a flat rate. And while she would have little hand in securing the value for herself, their connection still meant he would wish to reward her properly. Among other things, that meant keeping her safe- both here, and back in Lunson. Or perhaps it would be better for her to retire and live somewhere else. How she chose to live would be up to her, but the most important part was not revealing more wealth than was reasonable for her cultivation, lest others try to take it. There was less recognition of valuable resources within Astrein, so what the locals had was valued higher, especially with their relative weakness. Chapter 287 The isolated valley was quite abundant in resources. Most likely, there wasn¡¯t much competition for the beasts that lived there, but John couldn¡¯t be entirely sure. They might be weakened by luxury, compared to their level of spiritual energy, but John was still going to take them seriously. The amount of power he had at his disposal was still limited, and he didn¡¯t want to have to retreat for Crystin¡¯s help. After all, he was the one who promised Filimena he would guide her. It wasn¡¯t that John was afraid of asking for help, but it would be rather embarrassing. He had an image to maintain. ¡°Feel free to take anything that¡¯s ripe,¡± John said as they made their way further into the water element section of the isolated ecosystem. He picked a few berries for himself, but he intended to preserve most of what he had for later use. Among other things, focusing too much on a single element wouldn¡¯t benefit him. He had a destination in mind. The area of highest density of spiritual energy, and with the strongest individual source. Not simply free spiritual energy, but some sort of entity. It would be the most trouble, but also in control of the best resources. John was certain of that. Filimena was conservative with what she took along the way. In truth, not everything overflowing with the water element would be beneficial to her- there were water element poisons after all. And there was a limit to what she could keep on her person, even with a storage bag. There was some amount she might be able to sell, but she also wouldn¡¯t be able to keep a great amount of wealth or resources secure. John intended to make sure she got her fair share for providing the information, but that didn¡¯t mean showering her with wealth all at once. She was barely in the Foundation Phase, after all. They passed many pools along the way, concentrations of spiritual energy, but John was aiming for something bigger. The closest thing to a lake in the small valley, though it could also be considered a large pond. ¡°Be careful,¡± John warned. Filimena nodded, also having sensed what was ahead. They arrived at a crystal clear lake, with visibility to the bottom even in the shaded light from the overhang above. Of course, a complete lack of light wouldn¡¯t have stopped John¡¯s sight, but the point was that it didn¡¯t take enhanced vision. Though the lake appeared empty, that was not so. For John could sense something within it, just as it sensed him. John approached with caution, watching for what sort of move it would make. It seemed the caution upon meeting something new didn¡¯t extend to the water spirit, as the waters moved and rippled. Soon enough, crashing waves were charging towards the shore. John countered with a gust of wind, amplifying the air element with some of his internal water element. Lightning might be of use, but without a clear body to target it would lose some of its potency. After a few more exchanges, John finally determined the extent of the spirit itself. It controlled the water element around it, but it had a particular amount of denser liquid around it. John could consider that it¡¯s body, with the most dense spiritual energy within it being its source of power. It was akin to spiritual energy given life, much like some earthen creatures he¡¯d dealt with before. ¡°... Can I help?¡± Filimena asked. ¡°You most certainly can,¡± John said. ¡°We¡¯ve only been testing each other. It¡¯s about to get serious. What I want you to do is help with tearing away the denser layer of water. You can feel it?¡± Filimena nodded. ¡°Good. Wait until my signal, when it is occupied with me.¡± John stepped out onto the small lake, the necessary control to support himself almost miniscule compared to when he¡¯d first tried something similar. He was quite confident in his ability to overcome the spirit with a dominant element, but he needed to test himself. The next wave he split with a gout of flames. It wasn¡¯t enough to negate the attack, but he slipped forward as the waves crashed back together, trying to grapple him. He moved closer to the spirit¡¯s body, tracking it more by its feel than sight. If he was going to use fire to combat it, he needed to amplify it as much as possible. Water to air to earth, adding darkness for the minor cycle, then finally to fire. But power alone wasn¡¯t enough. He needed control, concentrated flames. The next wave he stabbed a spear of flames into its core, tearing it apart as steam exploded from its midst. Though John wanted to test himself, sometimes he just needed the most power he could leverage. The spirit tried to dive into the shallow lake as he approached, but a burst of air flowed from him, snatching it up and preventing it from retreating. The winds blew both the creature and himself towards the shore, though the spirit resisted the motion, dragging itself through the water and creating a powerful wake. He knew it wouldn¡¯t let itself fully reach shore, but John had brought it close enough for Filimena to join him. No doubt she could swim, but she was not such a powerful water cultivator that she didn¡¯t function better with her feet on land. But her own control over water wrestling against the spirit was helpful. Meanwhile, John began to attack its main body, driving lances of fire through its shields and into the creature, boiling away some of its actual self. He didn¡¯t neglect using his control over water, either. Fire augmented water¡¯s ability to transform states- including freezing, something the spirit was obviously unfamiliar with. Though it only took it a few moments to learn to melt ice, it was much less efficient than John. He swept his sword through the creature, lightning coursing off of it and cutting some of it away- instantly losing its form and returning to simple water. With Filimena¡¯s aid, the two of them tore it apart, leaving only the core of power. It might eventually form a similar active spirit around it if left alone, but it was a high level spirit water as it was. John gestured to Filimena, who took half of it, storing it in a flask. ¡°It is your reward, you know,¡± he said. ¡°Even so, I couldn¡¯t take more than this¡­¡± John nodded. ¡°Very well.¡± He took the other half of the creature¡¯s core. He could certainly use it to help his cultivation, but he thought he would do something better with it. It was unlikely removing a single creature would greatly destabilize the valley, even one around Soul Expansion, but he could still make certain of that. He began to spread bits of the spiritual water throughout the area, intending it to promote growth over the wider area. He would be harvesting more things, of course, but he didn¡¯t want to focus too much on one area. Especially as this was just an initial exploration, an assessment of the area as a whole. Which meant he would also have to go into the light element area¡­ but it wasn¡¯t as if that was impossible for him. It would just be uncomfortable, and he would be avoiding any of the stronger forces within. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ----- Upon returning to Lunson, John was almost immediately beset by Ayhan. ¡°Sir, you finally returned. You should come with me with haste.¡± ¡°Did something happen with the stall?¡± He had the disciples running the food stall while he was away. They were capable enough, and there was sufficient material for the time. He was also confident about entrusting them with the funds, after having spent more time together. Ayhan shook his head. ¡°No. It¡¯s Raul.¡± John frowned. ¡°Something happened to him?¡± ¡°His shop,¡± Ayhan clarified. ¡°Raul himself is unharmed.¡± John exchanged looks with Crystin, who nodded. ¡°Just give the word.¡± John smiled in return. ¡°I¡¯ll decide after we assess the situation.¡± Filimena came along with them as they hurried towards Raul¡¯s shop. Once they arrived, it was pretty easy to see what happened. Shattered vials and crushed herbs. Raul was sitting in the center of things, just looking at it all. ¡°How long has it been?¡± John whispered to Ayhan. ¡°About a day¡­ it happened while he was out.¡± John clicked his tongue. If they had just come back earlier¡­ things would be different. They could have prevented it, or more easily tracked down whoever was responsible. ¡°You two stay with him,¡± John said to Filimena and Ayhan. ¡°Crystin, with me.¡± There was a faint lingering trace of spiritual energy. Fire, but it wasn¡¯t clear enough to say for certain it was Oden, or even if it was Aghi, one of Oden¡¯s apprentices, or some hired fire cultivator. Following the trail through the city, it got lost in the hustle and bustle of people. ¡°That¡¯s the end of it, then,¡± John sighed. ¡°But we know who¡¯s responsible,¡± Crystin pointed out. ¡°We do. But it will be inconvenient to act without proper proof. I don¡¯t imagine we can get anyone to admit to seeing anything, but we might as well ask around.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want revenge?¡± Crystin asked. John smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already thought of a dozen ways. But I don¡¯t want a war right now. If they were open about what they did it would be one thing. If they accept any prestige for this incident, we¡¯ll tear them apart. But as long as they are afraid to act openly, it only hurts them more. That said, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to do nothing. We work with the darkness, after all.¡± ¡°Which means¡­?¡± ¡°Just like I said. They were afraid to act openly. But how many alchemists are there in this city? This wasn¡¯t a robbery, they trashed everything. Because they knew we could track down his products if they took them.¡± ¡°Technically, there¡¯s still Durga.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not this stupid. Though perhaps I¡¯m wrong,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Should we go see her?¡± ----- Durga¡¯s reaction told John everything he needed to know. Fear. Fear of him, and fear of others. And from her sparse shelves and the loaded trunks he could feel in the back of the shop, he really didn¡¯t care whether or not she had been the one to trash the shop. If she did, it wasn¡¯t by choice. Ultimate responsibility rested with Oden and nobody else. ¡°Your stock is a bit light,¡± John commented. ¡°That is true,¡± she replied. ¡°But I don¡¯t think you actually care. You never buy anything from me.¡± ¡°Why would I purchase from the second best alchemist in the city?¡± John asked. Durga shook her head. ¡°You never buy from Oden either.¡± ¡°I stand by my words,¡± John grinned. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m not planning to stay for long. I¡¯ve received a good offer on the store, and I plan to move elsewhere.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John nodded. ¡°I wish you luck. Perhaps you should talk to Viriato, he might know of opportunities outside of the country.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she inclined her head. ¡°And¡­ I¡¯m sorry to hear about Raul¡¯s shop. I wouldn¡¯t-¡± she didn¡¯t seem to have the words, or didn¡¯t want to say them. ¡°It¡¯s just stuff,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Someone will pay for it eventually. Every single herb.¡± Including the one Oden had burned up in his own shop. John didn¡¯t want to appear to be a pushover, but it wasn¡¯t time for war just yet. Maybe in a few years, when they thought they had gotten away with everything. Though no doubt they would cause further trouble first. At least they weren¡¯t stupid enough to act against his people directly. Raul was still technically an independent alchemist. Though John planned to change that officially. ----- ¡°Someone came by with an offer to buy the building¡­¡± Raul chuckled as John returned. ¡°Can you believe it?¡± ¡°Just now or¡­?¡± ¡°Yesterday,¡± Raul growled. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°Absolutely. Because that¡¯s the difference between an accessory member and someone who¡¯s going to die when the time comes.¡± Raul drew back slightly. ¡°The papers are over there. I don¡¯t quite remember her name.¡± John nodded. ¡°Join my sect officially. I wasn¡¯t planning on it yet, but we might as well start moving people in. We can still have the grand opening later.¡± The property on the edge of Lunson wasn¡¯t anything amazing, but it continued for a significant distance beyond the city¡¯s borders leaving plenty of room for expansion without having to worry about purchasing any more for a while. It was more or less livable already. And if Raul was going to move in, they could also start moving in the others. And Viriato could start making use of some of the warehouses there, if they had a proper presence. ----- John looked down at the letter he got and chuckled. Fortune and misfortune had to be taken in stride. He had already made some assumptions about receiving this letter, but he thought it would be later. After all, Tirto and Verusha had only been officially considering their potential relationship for a little over a year. John thought it would take them closer to the whole two and a half. But here it was, the official announcement of marriage, to take place shortly after Verusha¡¯s majority. Hopefully things had settled down there. The whole situation left Emilia in an uncomfortable place, but John still believed it was much better for things to be called off before marriage, instead of letting insecurities fester. Though he fully believed that Tirto and Emilia could have made things work, it was better not to force things and tempt fate. John supposed the biggest surprise was actually on Verusha¡¯s side of things, actually admitting to having real feelings. And so relatively ¡®soon¡¯. But then again, young folk tended to deal with everything faster. Hopefully, John could help them minimize the number of mistakes along their path. Chapter 288 It took some time, but John finally had a reliable method for his single element disciples to take advantage of Astrein¡¯s particular situation. And it didn¡¯t involve expensive formations separating the various types of spiritual energy. Indeed, they still had to struggle through the process of separating the spiritual energy alone. John thought that was a valuable skill, whether or not they were going to use multiple elements themselves. And the solution was ultimately very simple. Group training, preferably with one cultivator of each element. It was much safer for unrelated individuals to perform than dual cultivation, because at most they were working with energy outside of themselves simultaneously. The worst they could do was waste spiritual energy and deplete the area for a while. There weren¡¯t always perfect groups of six, but the more there were the easier it was to separate all of the mixed elements. Some of his disciples, the majority of which were former street urchins, were choosing to go down the path of multiple elements. That meant they were generally more effective in pairs, or occasionally trios where they had a perfect match of all the elements. Only the foremost among John¡¯s disciples were actually in the Foundation Phase, but others were approaching that point and thus practicing a second element to make the connection to their second totem easier. Of the urchins, only Barakat was at the Foundation Phase, but most of the initial bunch were at the ninth rank, close to breaking through. Barakat had intentions to perform a cycle of core elements- leaving out light and darkness, he would still be a dominating force if and when he reached the Consolidated Soul Phase. Since John was the only exception in the region to reaching the Ascending Soul Phase- and only technically given what happened to his cultivation- it was quite rational to assume that the Consolidated Soul Phase was the limit, and even then it required some decent talent. ----- Beyond the disciples themselves, the newly formed Six Elements Crossroads had numerous business dealings within Astrein and sometimes going into neighboring countries. The most local was the food business. It was part training and part searching for profits. There weren¡¯t just burgers, but other sorts of elementally aligned foods for those who wanted such, at relatively affordable prices. There was little so pure or high in spiritual energy to tempt those at the Soul Expansion or Consolidated Soul Phase levels, but perhaps they might expand to such if they could find a reliable source. The secret valley was a possibility, but keeping it a secret was going to take some work if they were too brazen with it. Raul¡¯s alchemy business was mostly monopolized by the sect alone, and while the work was not extremely varied as it consisted mostly of healing ointments and extracted elements, Raul did have the flexibility to procure ingredients for his studies. Being officially financed by the sect meant he couldn¡¯t necessarily do whatever he wanted, but he had a steady budget not limited by monthly or weekly profits. Viriato was in charge of most of the business involving sales, both within Astrein and in neighboring areas. It wasn¡¯t just the stout merchant, of course. It would take more than a couple years to establish the sect as a trading powerhouse, but they did more than a nominal amount of business. Along with the actual disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads, various cultivators who found themselves in Astrein for the long term were hired on as guards, where they also engaged in hunting and harvesting work. The difference between them and proper disciples was they didn¡¯t have long term commitments, and their access to resources both in terms of training techniques and actual rewards was more limited. Some would eventually be offered positions as disciples, though it was important to determine if they could be trusted first. It wasn¡¯t just about following orders, but also about acting within the code of ethics. John didn¡¯t want to be the head of a sect of bullies. Though he also recognized that conflicts between cultivators were inevitable¡­ especially in Astrein where the Platinum Tower Society felt threatened by anyone trying to establish themselves. So far, everything had been going relatively smoothly. There still hadn¡¯t been an opportunity for revenge for Raul¡¯s shop, but on the other hand further conflict had been kept to a minimum. Occasional scuffles on the street without deaths or serious injuries. John wasn¡¯t certain how long that would continue, but he hoped for it to last as long as possible. He wanted his position to be a bit more secure, at least. ----- Only the most trusted disciples were taken to the secret valley- but even they didn¡¯t know how to get there. Not precisely, at least. That was because John and Crystin used darkness to conceal their path. It was better that the disciples couldn¡¯t accidentally reveal it, and they were also protected against anyone following them. That would have to do until they were large enough to establish a permanent presence in the secret valley. ¡°There were a few herbs I had my eye on last time,¡± Raul said. ¡°They should be ready to pick now¡­ assuming they haven¡¯t been eaten, of course. It¡¯s hard to tell what beasts will do. Though at least a few of them are entirely unappetizing and dangerous unless handled properly.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John said. ¡°My goal for this outing is to end up with at least another one or two Foundation Phase cultivators.¡± The sect needed more mid tier cultivators. And high tier as well, but Crystin was at least filling that gap for the moment. John was close to returning to the Soul Expansion Phase himself, though he had the feeling he would need more than just the last bit of spiritual energy to make that advancement. And while he might be wrong about the specifics, he would have an opportunity at the upcoming wedding to test his theory so he wasn¡¯t in a rush. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The pair John was watching with the most interest- actually a pair now- was Ayhan and Lir. In their relative youth, love had bloomed strong and bright, though not without some effort from Ayhan. But now, they were already planning future cultivation together. Both intended a cycle of core elements- that was the preferred path for disciples, if they thought they could handle it. But as they were planning to manage it together, Ayhan was going to add the air element to his earth. Meanwhile, Lir was going to add water to her fire element. They could have stayed with allied elements for themselves, but making the step across that divide earlier would be beneficial if they could manage it. John had to admit it was a bit of a risk, since if either of them fell behind they might both be shackled. On the other hand, the opposite was true- one could pull the other ahead. With their elemental choices, they would both be supporting each other instead of Ayhan one-sidedly supporting Lir. Not that she had ever taken advantage of that in a negative way- Ayhan was the one who chose his element to support her, and dual cultivation with a supporting element didn¡¯t have to simply be one-sided. It was just a possibility. John knew the path ahead of them would still be difficult, but he intended to support them as much as he could. Both with encouragement and advice for cultivation and their relationship. There was no guarantee that their relationship would hold together, which would ultimately cause a significant drawback for their future cultivation if they split up. But John wasn¡¯t going to forbid anyone from trying. He¡¯d given his proper cautions about dual cultivation early on, and from there people were responsible for their own choices. ----- Lir was sitting in peaceful meditation, and Ayhan intended to let her maintain that state. His own condition was much¡­ sweatier. He had been fending off aggressive creatures as she meditated, and while they had chosen a fairly modest location it was perhaps slightly more popular than they had intended. This particular stream had all sorts of biting fish- which weren¡¯t an issue as long as they stayed on land- and some lizard-like creatures that crawled out from the water. Those had been relatively easy to deal with, as Ayhan was an earth cultivator. Sharp teeth were something he could block easily enough. The shambling fungus blobs that were currently causing trouble were another matter. He specialized in the more stone-oriented portions of earth, not plant or plantlike creatures. He very much did not want to figure out what their spores did, which was why he was glad for his limited control over the air element. He couldn¡¯t really use it offensively, but he was at least able to mitigate the spores- and keep them away from Lir. Unfortunately, he discovered that stomping one of the fungus blobs flat resulted in his heel sticking into one of the creatures- not only leaving himself open, but also providing a chance for two to slip by towards Lir. Ayhan ripped his foot free, ignoring the boot and chunk of spiritual energy he left behind as he charged forward. He stomped on the ground, sending a wave of earth that pushed two of the masses apart. Along the way, he picked up a fallen branch that was vaguely sharp. Infusing it with earth energy, he tossed it like a spear towards the one on the left. His focus left him open to the one following after him which spewed a cloud of spores towards him. He kicked it away, sending it crashing against a tree, but his coughing slowed him. And the second one around Lir was about to reach her. Ayhan reached out his hand, trying desperately to do something. Even if she wouldn¡¯t die to a single attack, having her concentration disrupted in the middle of cultivation could be very dangerous. And he¡¯d promised to protect her. But he could only watch as it closed the remaining distance before he did. Until¡­ a bolt of lightning pierced into the creature. An explosion of spores burst out in the direction the lightning came from, though only for a moment before they ignited and the mass of fungus deflated. Ayhan looked towards the source, and saw the sect head. ¡°Thank-¡± he barely began to speak, when the sect head put a finger to his lips, gesturing to Lir. Then he made another gesture, miming deep breaths. Ayhan coughed. Right! He had to expel the spores from his lungs. He didn¡¯t want to find out what happened if he let them linger. He kept his senses alert as he inelegantly dragged the foreign contaminants from his lungs, having clumped them together like mud. It made an awful looking goop when he spit it out, but his lungs only hurt a little bit. Just as he was wrapping up, he felt the spiritual energy around Lir pick up. He watched her as her power pulsed. And then her eyes flickered open. She took in the surroundings, and Ayhan¡¯s current state. She smiled, ¡°Thank you. It seems we underestimated the danger here. But if you¡¯re up for it, after a short recovery I can return the favor for your own breakthrough.¡± Ayhan nodded. ¡°Thank you. And congratulations.¡± ¡°Soon enough that will be true for both of us, I¡¯m certain.¡± ----- It took Ayhan until nearly the end of the excursion to achieve his breakthrough- and admittedly John might have delayed a bit to make certain that it would happen. But he couldn¡¯t help but have a bit of favoritism to some individual disciples. Besides, nobody else was going to complain about extra time in the secret valley, where they could find resources of every element. And it was best for the sect that the actual disciples¡¯ power was ever increasing. John was going on a trip, after all. He couldn¡¯t miss his son¡¯s wedding. He also couldn¡¯t leave Crystin behind, since she was family as well. John did plan to hire a bit of extra protection for the sect while he was gone, just in case. He also didn¡¯t announce the exact duration he would be gone- the fact that he could return at any time would hopefully make anyone looking to act against him cautious. And since he had to eventually trust his sect to last on its own without him, at least for a few weeks, there wasn¡¯t much else he could do except take proper precautions. John would have to be back soon enough anyway. Not long after the wedding was the scheduled official opening of the sect. Specifically, a big ceremony they had been preparing for. The next month would be busy¡­ but John knew it would all be worth it. Chapter 289 Pearl Landing was the main port in Astrein, relevant mainly for its position between Dolomite Harbor and the Blustering Peaks. Some amount of trade flowed through it simply because it was a shorter distance than entering the Stone Conglomerate and easier than carting something through the Peaks. Mainly, these were goods from the Phoenix Forest or the Sunfields. But as far as ports went, it was relatively lacking. It wasn¡¯t particularly defensible, though at least it wasn¡¯t subject to frequent storms. The issue was that Astrein was still treated as a lackluster country with little of value. Some day, John could imagine the port expanding to many times its current size. For the moment, however, it was what it was. The only reason the Wavecutter was in port was that John had scheduled far ahead of time, and was willing to pay enough for the convenience of what was still the fastest ship in the Shimmering Islands. Or at least, the one that took the least amount of time to travel from point to point. John didn¡¯t want to leave his budding sect for long, so every bit of time he could save was worth the expense. Besides, Captain Sohan was an old friend. John grinned as he saw the man. A clear increase in spiritual energy, and four totems. Now, he was an even balance of earth and water instead of being lopsided towards the former. He could fortify the ship to resist storms, or speed its passage through the water. ¡°Congratulations on your advancement to the Consolidated Soul Phase,¡± John said. ¡°Thank you, young master Fortkran¡± the larger man smiled back. ¡°It¡¯s about time, really. If I couldn¡¯t reach the Consolidated Soul Phase these days, I¡¯d fall behind my competition. There¡¯s been a great surge. As for yourself¡­¡± he seemed to not know what to say when he took a closer look at John. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Word must have spread by now that I damaged my cultivation trying to break through. And I¡¯m hardly young anymore.¡± Even by the standards of a cultivation world, he was certainly not a youth. Fifty wasn¡¯t considered old, however. ¡°Even so¡­¡± Sohan leaned closer, keeping his voice low. ¡°It feels like you were successful in some ways?¡± John nodded. ¡°It could have been much worse.¡± They didn¡¯t chat for long. While they weren¡¯t exactly in a rush, the sooner they departed the sooner John could see his son, and anyone else coming to the wedding. Which was probably a good portion of the people he knew. John found himself just as impressed by the Wavecutter as before, the masts carefully constructed to allow lightning to flow through them and into the sea. He had the feeling there had been some upgrades to the structure of the ship, though it could be faulty memory. The first storm they encountered turned the ship nearly upside down, but Captain Sohan stood firm, making sure the ship continued at its greatest speed. Meanwhile, John went down a trip of memory of previous storms, and the connections he had to them. He had returned to the eighteenth rank, the peak of the Foundation Phase. Air was the next element in his cycle, and if things were going to be like his previous totem he needed to recapture certain feelings related to his previous advancements. Feeling the lightning coursing through the center of the ship, and watching it from above deck, he recalled some portion of those prior experiences. But he knew there was more to be recaptured still. ----- It was the responsibility of the bride and groom to meet their guests personally as they arrived, though that was little different from the traditional responsibilities as clan head. The difference, of course, was that now Verusha had to be directly involved. That would continue to be the case going into the future, as she would likely take on official responsibilities. But for the moment, she stood together with Tirto, the pair of them looking an appropriate mix of happy and nervous. John and Crystin approached, and Tirto bowed his head. ¡°Father, aunt Crystin. Welcome to our wedding.¡± ¡°W-welcome,¡± Verusha added. ¡°Nervous? That¡¯s to be expected for something so important,¡± John replied. ¡°T-this is your fault, you know!¡± Verusha retorted. John could only shrug. ¡°I¡¯d hope that you and Tirto are both heavily involved in your own wedding. It¡¯s not like I made anyone do anything.¡± He just pushed Tirto to make a choice to avoid future regret. And given how the two of them looked, he thought it turned out well. Though that would somewhat depend on what happened with Emilia when everything was resolved. ¡°Congratulations,¡± Crystin added. They exchanged some more smalltalk before moving on. While the guests were arriving over the course of a few days- it wasn¡¯t like everyone could fly in- the bride and groom would still be quite busy, so John didn¡¯t want to monopolize too much of their time. And there were other people he wanted to see. One of those was one of the louder people he knew. ¡°Heeey!¡± Steve called out to him when they got vaguely within speaking range- the two of them having picked each other out from a larger distance with their energy senses. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. How¡¯s the sect going?¡± ¡°Quite well, I think,¡± John replied. ¡°The official opening is at the end of the month.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± Steve nodded. ¡°I plan to be there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to have you,¡± John smiled. While Steve¡¯s presence seemed to increase the probability of trouble, he¡¯d rather have his friend around and some extra trouble compared to not having him and either being bored¡­ or encountering trouble he wasn¡¯t prepared for. And a big event was exactly the sort of place that people liked to cause trouble. ¡°Lot of stuff all together,¡± Steve commented. ¡°Makes things rather busy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I scheduled my event long before,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Partially because the controllers of the arena required it¡­ for no good reason. They barely use the thing in off years.¡± Along with Steve, known to most others here as Lucanus, John also met the rest of the club, along with Harta Mulyani who was kind of an honorary member since they didn¡¯t have an air element cultivator. Nor water, with Matayal gone. John had both elements, of course, but his foundation had been darkness. Either way, Harta might not know all of the details about their reincarnations and transmigrations, but the Mulyani clan was an important part of the wider alliance just as the Brandle clan was. Ursel, Melanthina, and Nik were also present, of course. John was on the later end of arrivals without actually being late. After seeing most of the rest who would be arriving, John sought out one person he hadn¡¯t seen around. ----- John found Emilia in the back gardens, sitting on a bench surrounded by hedges and flowery trellises. ¡°How are you?¡± he asked, taking a seat opposite of her in the section. ¡°How do you feel about things?¡± Emilia¡¯s expression was complicated. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying not to think about it. But it doesn¡¯t really help,¡± she said. Instead of prompting her further, John waited. ¡°I feel¡­ jealous. Like I could be as happy as they look. Like I should have fought for his affection. But then¡­ I know it wouldn¡¯t be like this with Tirto and me.¡± ¡°You would both be happy,¡± John said. ¡°But it certainly wouldn¡¯t be the same.¡± They sat in silence for a time. ¡°If you¡¯re interested, I could introduce you to a number of eligible young bachelors.¡± Emilia chuckled. ¡°Is that so? Would they be as good as Tirto?¡± ¡°As a biased father, I can only say that they would not be. But as a person of many years of experience, I can say that there aren¡¯t really better people. And in terms of a relationship, it¡¯s important to find someone that meshes with you in particular. I know a talented alchemist around your age with fire and earth totems. If you¡¯re fine with a bit younger and lacking in background, there are some water cultivators. Or you can be like Ursel.¡± ¡°Which is¡­?¡± ¡°Not caring about making yourself part of a relationship. Or maybe waiting around to see if she stumbles across someone of interest,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I doubt you would be the type to gain much from being in a relationship with the wrong person, so perhaps avoiding it entirely would suit you. But there¡¯s no rush, you have a lifetime.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Emilia said. ¡°And in truth, I¡¯ve come to terms with it. It¡¯s just the wedding¡­¡± she shrugged. ¡°There are too many people around as well. Hence being here.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I understand,¡± John nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt your solitude.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can handle one or two, but too many¡­ maybe I wouldn¡¯t have been very good helping run a clan.¡± ¡°Plenty of introverts do fine in similar positions,¡± John shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re competent enough it would have worked out.¡± ----- The ceremony itself was quite similar to John and Matayal¡¯s. It took place on the beach, with bride and groom out on the water where they could be seen by everyone. The whole time was emotional, but the tears were by and large tears of joy. Everything went smoothly, without interruption. Though to actually interrupt, it would require an army and likely a few Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. After all, there were a good number of mid to peak Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators present from the alliance. With the conclusion of the ceremony, the role of the bride and groom only involved a short duration of participating in a feast and talking to guests. During that time, Verusha¡¯s hair rapidly changed with her emotions¡­ finally ending on a reddish pink as Tirto and Verusha left to retire to their chamber. ----- After the conclusion of festivities, John moved on to his next task in the area. Recovering the next step of his cultivation. For that¡­ he needed to visit the Mulyani clan. ¡°You could go back directly,¡± John said to Crystin. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come along. I¡¯ll be safe with them.¡± ¡°That, I believe. However, back in Astrein, along the road alone¡­ you would be at your most vulnerable. It is impossible to say who might still bear a grudge with you.¡± ¡°If all goes well, I¡¯ll solve much of my weakness,¡± John pointed out. ¡°And if not¡­? I¡¯m not expecting you to fail, but it could easily take longer than anticipated. You have to return for the ceremony, so you could rush back more or less as you are.¡± ¡°A fair point,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just tired of monopolizing your time. Remind me to get you something nice when all this is done.¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± Crystin grinned. ¡°I won¡¯t forget.¡± ----- John had previously discussed his intention to visit the Mulyani clan with Harta, but even though it wasn¡¯t a formal visit but one related to training he found there was too much ceremony involved. He wasn¡¯t going to try to circumvent it, however. He was still an important individual, and it was good for the Mulyani clan¡¯s prestige for their neighbors to be reminded of the connection to him. And such things were relatively quick, leaving John with something like a week and a half to train. ¡°So you are here to recapture the feeling of training with Kusuma¡­?¡± Harta asked. ¡°I am,¡± John nodded. ¡°... I¡¯m so sorry,¡± the younger man bowed his head. John tilted his head in confusion. Kusuma¡¯s death was many years past, and if anything he should be the one apologizing. And then John realized. ¡°Actually, to get the full effects of that, I might need your help.¡± Harta nodded. ¡°I would be glad to assist. And this is the perfect season for Cyclone Island¡­¡± Harta said. ¡°Though I doubt I can quite replicate the experience.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± John shrugged. ¡°Just make sure it¡¯s challenging enough.¡± At least with his current cultivation, that wouldn¡¯t be impossible- though his totems made him stronger than a mere Foundation Phase cultivator. Chapter 290 With John¡¯s greater control- both his time of training and the fact that he currently had a fifth tier air totem- Cyclone Island was no longer a challenge all on its own. And that meant that it didn¡¯t evoke quite the right feeling. The training with Kusuma had been pretty brutal¡­ not cruel, but something that stretched his limits. So even if he only had a similar quantity of spiritual energy, it wasn¡¯t sufficient. Fortunately, Harta was there to help. And with the greater prosperity of the region in general and the Mulyani clan in particular, he was stronger than Kusuma had been. So while his training methods might not be as wild, he could at least amplify the gusting winds, as well as coating the limited footing with slippery water. Every once in a while, John was catapulted into the water. During a storm there was some danger of him being dashed against the rocks¡­ but he had control over water as well. Combined with Harta not augmenting the power of the storms after he was knocked away, and John wasn¡¯t particularly worried. But he was finding some of that feeling. After his dozenth or so time of being tossed head over heels in a single afternoon, John landed in the water and found himself face to face with something. Describing the creature wasn¡¯t a trivial task. It seemed to have two heads, and a random assortment of fins around its body. Something like a turtle shell covered part of it, while the rest of its surface simply seemed like solid rock. John knew he¡¯d never seen this thing before¡­ but it did feel familiar. It evoked memories of the leviathan¡­ most of which weren¡¯t good. Anger boiled inside John¡­ but he quickly calmed himself. This creature didn¡¯t seem aggressive at the moment¡­ and the leviathan itself hadn¡¯t been responsible for Matayal¡¯s death. Carefully, John pushed a small amount of water element towards the creature. He didn¡¯t want to provoke it, as even at its current size it seemed rather dangerous. One of its mouths snapped closed on the spiritual energy, and the creature sprang forward. John thought he¡¯d made a mistake, but it simply seemed to sniff him from up close. He was ready to blast its insides with lightning if it tried to swallow him, but it truly seemed curious. After a little while, it swam away. When John climbed out of the water, Harta commented, ¡°A child of the leviathan. How interesting.¡± ¡°Were you not attempting to raise one?¡± ¡°So far, they have all been¡­ quite different in their anatomy,¡± Harta explained. ¡°And as air cultivators, the Mulyani clan has only had limited success with ours.¡± ¡°Understandable,¡± John said. ¡°Let¡¯s take a short break before we continue.¡± ----- Storms and waves brought back many memories for John, but eventually he reached a limit. It wasn¡¯t quite enough, but he¡¯d definitely made progress. ¡°I think that¡¯s all we can accomplish here for now,¡± he informed Harta. ¡°And we should get you back to the clan. I¡¯ve already monopolized your time for too long.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite alright,¡± Harta said. ¡°The Mulyani clan owes you more than a week or two.¡± ¡°You mean the Tenebach clan,¡± John said. ¡°Them too, but you in particular. You¡¯ve been a good ally.¡± Harta was a bit more conservative with both ship size- slightly larger and sturdier than what Kusuma had used- as well as the speed he propelled them at. Ultimately, that meant they had a bit more than a day, and plenty of time to talk. Though there wasn¡¯t necessarily much to say. John spoke about the sect he was founding, and Harta agreed it was something worth trying. If Astrein was really an untapped resource, someone should take advantage of it. Eventually, the topic of their conversation returned to the wedding. ¡°Your son and new daughter-in-law seem happy,¡± Harta said. ¡°And I¡¯m saying that knowing full well that many are only going through the motions to support their clans.¡± John nodded. ¡°Yes. I think things turned out well¡­ though there was a bit of a bumpy road along the way.¡± ¡°Emilia¡­ she was engaged to Tirto, wasn¡¯t she?¡± John frowned. ¡°Well¡­ yes and no. It was kind of assumed that she would be. They got along well, but that might just have been that they both have pleasant personalities. I don¡¯t think they would have been bad together but¡­ there was conflicting interest.¡± ¡°Verusha,¡± Harta said. ¡°She pushes Tirto more, and ultimately he decided that was what he needed. I agree, though I will admit to having pushed him on the topic.¡± ¡°I think you were right, for the record,¡± Harta said. ¡°A shame about Emilia though. She deserves someone suitable as well.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± John admitted. Then he grinned slightly. ¡°Who were you thinking? Some other clan head?¡± ¡°Well, I-¡± ¡°Perhaps one with the air element? There¡¯s no directly dominant element between them, but instead equal support.¡± Harta sighed, the winds around them echoing his reaction. ¡°She¡¯s nice, but I¡¯m too old for her.¡± ¡°Maybe right now,¡± John shrugged. ¡°But in five years, that may not be the case. In ten or twenty, nobody will even notice. And it¡¯s not like you aren¡¯t young. You¡¯re a cultivator. I expect you to be in your prime for quite some time. Though¡­ she might not be ready to attempt another relationship soon.¡± Or maybe she would be. After all, she¡¯d had a couple years since Tirto officially called off their not-quite-engagement. She was still staying with the Brandle clan, and Harta wasn¡¯t that far away, as such things went. ¡°You don¡¯t need to rush anything,¡± John continued. ¡°But you could at least talk to her. Get to know her as a friend. I¡¯m sure you could use more, and the alliance could use more diverse friendships. Too many connections flow through the Tenebach clan, and myself.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I suppose I¡¯ll be in the area often enough anyhow,¡± Harta said. ¡°I¡¯ll certainly seek her out.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯d prefer someone I know and like to be one of her suitors. She is my friend¡¯s daughter, after all.¡± This time at least, nobody would be making any assumptions about how things would work out. ----- Upon returning to the Mulyani clan, John found himself drawn in a certain direction. It wasn¡¯t somewhere he had wanted to go, but he knew he should. During his time training, he had been remembering some things about Kusuma and his time with her, but it was more focused on himself. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. As he found himself in front of her grave, at the very peak of the island, John remembered more about the person and less about himself. Kusuma was like an extra grandmother. A weird one, sure, but what was a family without a few colorful characters? She was a powerful woman in more than just her cultivation, and she had given of herself freely to defend those she cared about. That included John¡¯s and his family, with some of the related conflicts ultimately leading to injuries that she wasn¡¯t able to recover from with her age. His memories of her were predominantly positive, which was exactly why he couldn¡¯t stop tears from rolling down his face. And why would he? Sometimes, you just had to remember even if it hurt. But stirring inside of him weren¡¯t simply emotions and memories, but his cultivation. Once again, it was a combination of the training and the people involved that had been a block on his advancement. Renato was still alive, so that had been a much more pleasant process¡­ but John absolutely wasn¡¯t looking forward to his return to the Consolidated Soul Phase. After an hour or two- perhaps longer as it was beginning to grow dark- John¡¯s cultivation settled into the nineteenth rank, the beginning of the Soul Expansion Phase. His recovery was proceeding relatively quickly, though obviously he would have preferred not to spend multiple years to get back to his former power. And no doubt he had more years to come just to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase, though he would be more powerful than the first time. The same was true for his current state, as he was most likely stronger than he was at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase. With totems a rank higher and an extra one completing the cycle of core elements, he might even beat himself in the early Consolidated Soul Phase. Though that was something quite difficult to test. ----- John thanked Harta and the Mulyani clan. He hadn¡¯t been certain he would accomplish his next step in the time they had, but ultimately he had pulled through. He was quite glad for that as it saved him another trip at a later date¡­ but he wouldn¡¯t have spent more than a couple weeks there as he wanted to return to his new sect. Or rather, he needed to given the upcoming event. ----- The Wavecutter had continued to ferry John to the Mulyani clan, and Captain Sohan ultimately brought him and Crystin back to Pearl Landing. From there they had some days on the road within Astrein. John very much appreciated being back in the country, especially as they got deeper towards the core. As he was able to use the majority of the spiritual energy, he could feel a significant difference between Astrein and the Shimmering Islands. He was relieved when they finally reached the sect grounds, finding everything just as he left it. But just because everyone was alive and well didn¡¯t mean nothing had gone wrong in his absence. The news was¡­ unfortunate. Not expected, but not really a terrible surprise either. It did, however, make John glad his cultivation had advanced. He would need every bit of strength he could manage. ----- Steve stretched as he entered the city of Lunson. Even after discussions with John, he didn¡¯t really find much value in the local spiritual energy. Yustina was a bit better at separating out the spiritual energy given her former time as a water element cultivator, but Steve wasn¡¯t much good at any of that. Not that it really mattered, since he wasn¡¯t here for cultivation. Instead, he was here for a celebration. And he wasn¡¯t even late. Technically. If Yustina had come along, she would have gotten them there with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, she had some business to deal with back in the Milanovic clan. She couldn¡¯t be away for their daughter¡¯s wedding and this, and Steve served as a representative of the clan just as well. So here he was, walking into the city on the morning of the big event. Well, late morning. Early afternoon, maybe. It was quite possible the ceremony in the big arena had already started. There were certainly enough people around. ¡°Has it already started?¡± Steve asked some of those in the crowd as he passed through. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s unlikely you will be able to get inside.¡± ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry,¡± Steve waved off the random person¡¯s concern. ¡°I¡¯m a VIP, it won¡¯t be an issue.¡± Taking a quick glance at his cultivation, they nodded. ¡°Oh, of course. I¡¯m certain you will get in without trouble, unlike the rest of us.¡± There sure were a lot of people. Steve was pushing his way through for a bit, but ultimately he found it easier to just jump up onto a roof. He wasn¡¯t going to break anything, so even if it was a bit impolite it hardly mattered. He didn¡¯t want to be late¡­ or later for the founding of his best buddy¡¯s new sect. Some people in a uniform he didn¡¯t recognize stopped him at the entrance of the arena. ¡°Nobody in without an invitation.¡± Their uniforms were weird. He¡¯d have to talk to John about the ostentation. Seriously, he didn¡¯t even know reflective cloth was a thing in this world. Steve didn¡¯t know how this represented all six elements. ¡°I¡¯m on the list, of course. I¡¯m S- Lucanus, of the Milanovic clan.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not on the list,¡± the man declared. ¡°You didn¡¯t even look,¡± Steve said, beginning to get annoyed. ¡°I have it memorized.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯m here for the event and I¡¯m invited.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry senior,¡± the guard said. ¡°But I can¡¯t allow you to pass. The ascension ceremony is limited to specific guests. If you have an issue, you should take it up with Oden. But if he left you off the list¡­ I rather doubt he forgot.¡± The guard bit his lip, perhaps thinking he shouldn¡¯t have said that. But Steve wasn¡¯t quite sure why. ¡°Who the hell is Oden? Isn¡¯t that some kind of soup?¡± ¡°... This is alchemist Oden¡¯s ascension ceremony. The event.¡± Steve narrowed his eyes. Did he get the day wrong? He pulled out the invitation. No, it was right. ¡°It¡¯s not. This is the day for the founding of the, uh¡­ the Elemental Roads sect. Or whatever.¡± ¡°I can assure you it is not.¡± Steve heard clapping and cheering from inside. ¡°I¡¯m missing the important part. Let me past.¡± ¡°Senior, I am afraid I can¡¯t-¡± Blue flames coiled around Steve. ¡°You can¡¯t what?¡± The man¡¯s sweat was evaporating as quickly as it beaded up on his forehead- and everywhere else. He and the other guards had no choice but to step to the side as Steve strode forward. They didn¡¯t even consider trying to attack him. What were a few Foundation Phase cultivators supposed to do against that? Steve pushed past everyone, finding that the direct route led him directly into the lower area where the actual ceremony was happening. Well, John wouldn¡¯t mind him showing up there. But when he stepped out, there was only an old guy and a few bozos Steve didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± The old man turned to him, eyes aflame. Though the flames were rather¡­ mediocre. ¡°I am Alchemist Oden. And who are you, to interrupt my ascension to the head of the Platinum Tower Society?¡± ¡°Lucanus of the Mulyani clan. I¡¯ve never heard of the Platinum Tower thing so you must not be important. Where¡¯s my friend? His thing is supposed to be happening now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care who-¡± Oden began. Then he paused. ¡°The Mulyani clan?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. So where¡¯s Fortkran? No wait, he¡¯s just using John here.¡± ¡°John?¡± There was a definite recognition from the old guy. But before Steve could get anything, they were interrupted by someone running up. ¡°Lord Oden! The¡­ uh¡­ the main tower¡­ it¡¯s under attack! By the¡­ uh¡­ Six Elements Crossroads.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Steve said. ¡°I guess John moved the location of the ceremony. Well, see ya.¡± ¡°Stop right there!¡± Oden shouted. ¡°You think you can just come in here? And you¡¯re a friend of that fool?¡± Eh. Steve was already late. He could spare a couple more minutes beating down this old dude in front of an audience. For some reason the guy seemed to think the early Consolidated Soul Phase meant something. Chapter 291 Oden choosing to hold his ceremony on the exact day that the Six Elements Crossroads was planning their official announcement was a direct slap in the face to John. Perhaps if someone had come and groveled at his feet saying they had no choice, he might have been willing to let it go. But probably not, because he couldn¡¯t afford to let the sect appear weak upon its official founding. He had a plan, or at least something resembling a plan. In truth, it was half baked, but it was time to show the Platinum Tower Society that they weren¡¯t as big of a deal as they thought. John¡¯s sect was only a couple years old, so the majority of his disciples were in the early Foundation Phase- or still in the Spiritual Collection Phase. Comparing to the Platinum Tower Society, it appeared like they were at a disadvantage. After all, he as the sect head was only in the early Soul Expansion Phase, and Oden had stepped into the Consolidated Soul Phase. And if John were acting fully on his own, he might indeed have been more hesitant. But he had Crystin at his side, and he could call upon others for aid. Just so that he was certain nothing was going to happen to the sect grounds and weaker disciples there, he asked for a delegation from the Golden Tomb Guardians. They happily obliged, though none of John¡¯s friends from the sect were able to attend- they had unfortunately timed conflicts that required their personal presence elsewhere. But he had many more friends and allies. Ursel and Melanthina had both come- Tirto was newly married so John had told him not to attend. Even so, there were a number of Brandle Clan members sent to attend the ceremony. Even if it was just the founding of a small sect in a currently irrelevant country, because John was involved it wasn¡¯t a small deal. John addressed his gathered guests as they set out. ¡°I know the invitations said that the ceremony would be taking place at the arena, but unfortunately it seems the venue was double booked.¡± His tone of voice made it very clear that was not what happened. ¡°So we will be going to another prominent location, the Platinum Tower. That unfortunately means you won¡¯t have anywhere to sit, so I¡¯ll be certain to make the ceremony short.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re going to stomp into this place, then?¡± Ursel asked straightforwardly. ¡°No.¡± John¡¯s answer was direct and concise. ¡°We are not. You¡¯re a guest. You¡¯re here to attend the ceremony, so I would not ask anything of you except to stand outside and watch.¡± ¡°What if someone starts trouble with us?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Act as you deem appropriate,¡± John smiled. They set out towards the Platinum Tower- the main headquarters of the Platinum Tower Society, though they occupied more than the single structure. John intended to arrive just about the time the other ceremony was starting, and indeed they passed by some of the crowds on the streets. ¡°Halt!¡± called one of the guards outside the building as they approached. ¡°What is the meaning of this crowd?¡± John stepped forward, shadowed by Crystin. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s quite simple. The Platinum Tower Society took my preferred event venue for themselves, so I¡¯m just going to borrow that balcony up there for a few minutes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not to step a foot closer!¡± the man shouted, his air element swirling around him, small sparks of electricity making his hair rise. ¡°And you¡¯re going to stop me?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m impressed. Soul Expansion Phase isn¡¯t bad for the Platinum Tower Society. But unfortunately, it seems you aren¡¯t important enough to attend Alchemist Oden¡¯s ascension.¡± ¡°Guarding the tower is an important duty¡­¡± the man said. ¡°You tell yourself that,¡± John said. ¡°So let me say this very clearly, to you and everyone else listening. Step out of my way or suffer the consequences.¡± ¡°Not on my life,¡± the man said. ¡°It¡¯s your choice, of course,¡± John shrugged. Then he stepped forward into the man¡¯s striking range. The man chopped towards John with his axe, forming a bolt of lightning. John caught it just beneath the head. He likely could have grabbed the blade directly, but on the small chance he made a mistake it was an unnecessary risk. The sudden stop of his momentum caused the man to stagger while an electrical surge ran down the outside of John¡¯s body into the ground. Earth dominated air. And augmented fire. The cycle of elements flowed within John, missing only a single component to achieve perfection. He had no way to know how much that single step meant, but as it was he stood far above this man of ¡®equivalent¡¯ cultivation due to the cycle of elements and his totems being multiple tiers higher. John¡¯s sword slashed across the man¡¯s chest, earth cutting apart his defensive energy before igniting. The man barely had time to scream before John followed up with a reverse cut, slicing off his head. Perhaps the man¡¯s steadfastness and bravery could be commended, but his inability to read the situation meant he wasn¡¯t worth much. Even if he had been able to defeat John, the crowd behind him was rather obvious. Stolen story; please report. The other three guards- two in the Foundation Phase and one still in the Spiritual Collection Phase- had barely begun to move before the battle was over. John looked at them. They looked back. ¡°Are you going to be in my way?¡± The two Foundation Phase cultivators looked at each other, then hastily stepped to the side. And further. The Spiritual Collection Phase cultivator stood there trembling, his weapon drawn. John¡­ wasn¡¯t certain if the man could hear him. He waved his hand, but the man¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t follow. So he stepped closer, at which point the man passed out. That was a bit of an extreme reaction, but perhaps his light element reacted poorly to the situation. Johns stepped forward to the doors and found them locked. A quick search of the older cultivator found nothing. Before being more thorough, John just slapped the door with an open palm. ¡°Hey! You¡¯re under attack!¡± This was the part where they should have made use of those balconies up above, but John had the feeling those were only accessible through the rooms of important people, and that they weren¡¯t exactly functional. So instead of doing the right thing which was probably nothing, the guards inside opened the door and began to charge out. John grabbed the first one through by the throat and used him as a shield while he repeated his warning. The already subdued guard nodded and dropped his weapon, and most of the rest of the people made the right decision. A few minutes later, John was done winding his way through the opulent tower towards the upper floors, and he only had a single door left in his way. It was protected by a light element barrier. Personally, John thought that was one of the worst choices they could have made. Then again, it direct counter should make directly assaulting it dangerous for the user. But only if they were unfamiliar with the interaction. John took a few steps back with Crystin, then tossed a dagger charged with darkness around the corner. It took more than a casual effort to make the element mutually annihilate, but he was plenty experienced with light, having trained with both the Combining Luster Sect, and the Golden Tomb Guardians. Though most of the time they tried to avoid such reactions. John walked past the debris of the door with splinters impaled into the stone of the tower, directly along the blast marks out onto the balcony that once had an expensive set of glass doors. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen!¡± John projected his voice with his spiritual energy, so that not only his guests but the residents of Lunson could hear him. ¡°Today is the official opening of the Six Crossroads Sect. I know many of you are wondering why we are here in particular, instead of at the arena as was announced years in advance. It¡¯s simple, the Platinum Tower Society decided to screw with me, so I¡¯m going to return the favor in kind. When they come to demand an explanation for my actions, I will do so in return. I¡¯m certain a few moments from now-¡± At that moment, he saw a pillar of blue flame in the arena, stretching dozens of meters into the sky. Ah. Of course he didn¡¯t get the message. John did some internal calculations on whether Steve could successfully retreat if he began to get overwhelmed. In addition to Oden, there would be other notable members of the society. Oden at early Consolidated Soul. Aghi in mid Soul Expansion. The two of them were fire element, so not an issue. Ekaterina was early Soul Expansion and earth element, so she wasn¡¯t even a relevant calculation. But there should be the majority of the Platinum Tower Society¡¯s people there, and they might eventually wear Steve down. And maybe if others from Lunson got involved things could get dicey, but ultimately John would bet on Steve¡¯s survival ten times out of ten. But that didn¡¯t mean that he was just going to leave his friend. ¡°Sorry to do this, ladies and gentlemen, but it appears we will be heading to the arena after all.¡± He wanted to do something more clever than directly assaulting the event, but apparently that wasn¡¯t how things were meant to turn out. He leapt down from the balcony, followed by Crystin. The stone streets bent under their weight, with a little manipulation to help absorb the impact. ¡°Ursel, could I trouble you to clear the way of the crowds? You¡¯re so much better at these things than I am.¡± Ursel grinned. ¡°Sure thing dad. Just straight down that road?¡± John nodded. Ursel began stomping forward. ¡°Everyone out of the way! Important people coming through!¡± The crowds of people weren¡¯t something that was easy to split apart¡­ but they would do so for a charging Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. There were plenty of side alleys for people to rush into, and beyond not being able to get into the event to begin with it wasn¡¯t worth risking their lives to see. The crowd that followed behind was a good deterrent to keep to the sides of the road as well. There were guards at the entrance of the arena who had been doing a pretty good job of keeping people out, with one exception until Ursel showed up. ¡°I thought you all were attacking the tower¡­?¡± one of them who seemed to be the leader muttered. Ursel looked at him, and pointed to the side. John was fairly certain that would have worked well enough if she were alone, but with all of the others beside her¡­ the guard just stepped to the side. John patted the forlorn guard on his shoulder. ¡°With that attitude, you might actually make it in this city.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be unemployed¡­¡± the man muttered. ¡°Way better than dead,¡± John said. There was a group of people gathering around the arena gates- though whether they were intending to interfere with what was happening inside or preparing to charge out and assault the tower John couldn¡¯t quite tell. Perhaps it was something halfway in between. A voice came from inside the arena. ¡°Oh! There he is!¡± It was Steve, of course. ¡°John! You¡¯re late to your own ceremony and there¡¯s some jerks here!¡± John smiled and nodded. ¡°I know!¡± he called back. One of those in the gathering group blocking the way was Aghi of the Platinum Tower Society. John had a plan, but now he was shifting to this plan. Which meant he didn¡¯t have good lines prepared, but he could improvise. ¡°We didn¡¯t invite you to our event. Get out.¡± ¡°The Platinum Tower Society-¡± ¡°Reneged on our deal that was multiple years in the making at the last moment on purpose,¡± John said. ¡°Now move or be prepared to turn into a mediocre ice sculpture.¡± Chapter 292 With a thunk and a clink, John set down an icy sculpture. Well, it was actually a person but it was basically the same at the moment. The important part was that for the moment Aghi would be doing nothing- and that was John¡¯s decision. Otherwise he could have frozen more than the outer layer of his body. As it was, a cultivator like him would probably only lose the outer few layers of his skin if he was careful. It could be much worse if he was too hasty with his use of fire element, however. ¡°How dare you come here!¡± Oden was trying to sound imperious, but it was difficult in his current position. ¡°Trespassing during an event such as this is a crime against all of Lunson!¡± John was going to say something, but the reason Oden was having trouble sounding imperious slapped him upside the head. ¡°You idiot, you¡¯re the one trespassing. My buddy here is the one who is supposed to be here and he definitely didn¡¯t invite you.¡± Steve frowned, then pulled back for a second. ¡°You didn¡¯t invite this prick, right?¡± ¡°I certainly did not,¡± John said. He looked around at the gathered crowd which included most of the local sects and of course cronies and sycophants. He would have to slightly alter his plans for swaying the crowd, since he hadn¡¯t intended to come here at all. But he could definitely handle things. ¡°You¡­ idiot¡­¡± Oden squeaked out through his shirt that was bundled tight around his neck. ¡°The schedule¡­ was changed.¡± ¡°What?¡± Steve looked at him. ¡°When?¡± ¡°This¡­ month.¡± Steve slapped the man again. ¡°That¡¯s way too late idiot! This thing¡¯s been scheduled for years! Hey, are you listening?¡± Steve began to shake him. Then he looked over at John. ¡°Dude. This guy passed out.¡± John blinked. He wasn¡¯t that surprised, given the intensity of heat Steve had been radiating- while forcing all of the negative effects towards Oden. They were both fire cultivators, but one had stepped into the Consolidated Soul Phase within the last month, and the other was at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. John¡¯s plans shifted once more as he couldn¡¯t do much else to publicly humiliate the guy or turn the city against him. He was going to bring up previous incidents, from the destruction of his hoary alyssum to the attack on Raul¡¯s shop to the Platinum Tower Society¡¯s abuse of urchins at various points, blaming them for crimes they didn¡¯t commit. And perhaps some they had, but John hadn¡¯t intended to bring that up. The stands were beginning to fill up with his guests, so he just moved on. ¡°If someone could secure these two?¡± John kept Steve away from Aghi because he might accidentally cause something to shatter. His friend was pretty heated up at the moment, literally spouting flames from his nostrils. John saw that other members of the Platinum Tower Society wanted to do something, but with Ursel having helped him plough through their contingent of guards and with their new sect head down for the count there wasn¡¯t much they could really do. Especially if one considered the quality of other guests he brought along. ¡°Well, sorry for the changes of venue. But here we are. The founding of the Six Elements Crossroads.¡± John knew there was some amount of spectacle required for a fancy announcement, but he didn¡¯t waste sect resources on expensive accouterments. Instead, most of the spectacle would be provided by the disciples, demonstrating their own growth¡­ and the actual level of spiritual energy present. Of course, Viriato wouldn¡¯t let such an event pass by without the sect displaying wealth in some fashion, so they paraded around with equipment augmented with elemental resources in the secret valley. Each disciple had something of note, and the equipment wasn¡¯t just for show. Those disciples would own that piece of equipment- usually a weapon or armor- to help them prosper in the future. Overall, things had been somewhat more chaotic than John had anticipated¡­ but he¡¯d forgotten to compensate for Steve¡¯s presence. The man knew how to find trouble like nothing else. ----- ¡°We would be quite pleased if you would occasionally spend time here as an instructor,¡± John said to Nik. ¡°We¡¯ll be calling upon the Golden Tomb Guardians as well, but we¡¯re lacking in light element cultivators. We can pay, of course.¡± Nik waved his hand. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to charge you, you¡¯re family.¡± ¡°Accept the payment,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°This is him speaking as sect head. It¡¯s only appropriate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John said. ¡°If I need to call in a favor to help out a particular disciple or something it would be a different matter, but the Six Elements Crossroads is what needs your aid. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t want to call you away for a long time. At most a month out of every year, I suppose.¡± John recalled his arrangement with Matayal, spending only half the year together. Only ¡®until things calmed down¡¯ of course, but trying to run two clans at such a distance was difficult. Lunson was closer to the Tenebach clan than Pualani, and an easier journey, but it was still not close. John had no intention of taking his daughter¡¯s husband away from her too often. ¡°You can come along as well, of course,¡± he said to Melanthina. ¡°I¡¯ll always be happy to see you, and you¡¯ll have a different perspective on the darkness element that the disciples will no doubt benefit from.¡± John would be relying significantly on guest instructors until they had elders of their own within the sect to cover every element. He could only do so much by himself, and he would best make use of his time training those who wished to perform a cycle of elements rather than those focused on a pure element. John didn¡¯t want to force people into attempting his own path, because it was difficult and didn¡¯t pay off quickly. For those disciples that didn¡¯t ever reach the Consolidated Soul Phase or at least the Soul Expansion Phase if they focused on the core elements, a cycle of elements was almost strictly worse except in terms of versatility. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Oh, and thank you for the loan of Crystin this whole time,¡± he said. ¡°But I will be returning her to your care soon enough.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Melanthina asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be in danger.¡± John smirked and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you implying that I¡¯m weak?¡± She sighed. ¡°No. But you still have enemies. And things aren¡¯t exactly resolved with the Platinum Tower Society.¡± ¡°They will be, though,¡± John said. ¡°Soon enough.¡± ----- The Platinum Tower Society had very little they could do to fight back against the results of what was supposed to be their grand day of ascension. A Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator would make them a sect recognized internationally. And yet, they had crumbled before the ceremony even completed. John had to admit some of his actions were on shaky legal ground- but as the Platinum Tower Society had operated mainly through the practice of might makes right, this was mainly the consequences of their own actions. There was something like a trial, but as the one who was both presenting the evidence and making the judgment, it felt rather hollow. Still, John had more than enough to arrive at the conclusions he did. It was something to think about, though, if he wanted Astrein to prosper in the future. There needed to be a proper system of justice that was at least mostly fair. Some way to arbitrate disputes between sects. Because while John intended the Six Elements Crossroads to be the biggest sect in the country, that didn¡¯t mean he intended to stomp out everyone else. As long as they didn¡¯t cause trouble, people could do whatever they wanted. Ultimately, the consequences for the Platinum Tower Society weren¡¯t as bad as they could have been. Which is to say, John could have dismantled them and taken everything they owned. He just didn¡¯t want to be a tyrant. He did have specific grievances he could settle with Aghi and Oden, taking their personal assets and exiling them from the city. ¡°Do you swear to leave Lunson and never return, nor to seek revenge?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Oden replied, though clearly unwillingly. John got the same forced response from Aghi before they were sent out of the city with nothing but the clothes on their backs and their own cultivation. Which was actually quite lenient, in John¡¯s opinions. Someone like Oden could find quite a decent position somewhere else¡­ if he were willing to work under someone else. As they were exiled, John brought aside Crystin. ¡°I have one last favor I need of you. Make certain they keep their vows. Especially Oden.¡± She nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll keep a close eye on them.¡± ----- John understood that he might have consigned Oden and Aghi to death, but his guts tightened not because of that but because of the duplicity of the situation. Despite practicing the darkness element, the Tenebach clan was basically honorable. As much as anyone could be in a world of cultivators and martial power. Deception in combat was only good sense, and elsewhere it was basically just politics. But some small part of him told John that killing people in cold blood was not right. And another part of him reminded him that someone he cared about could be hurt if these people didn¡¯t die- and the circumstances of their deaths weren¡¯t that important. There was also the fact that he didn¡¯t believe their declarations. He had seen the fire in their eyes, more or less literally. They were already planning revenge, and would act upon it as soon as they thought they had an opportunity. John just hadn¡¯t expected how soon that would be. News returned to him two days later in the form of a report- not from Crystin, but the sect. Specifically, those watching over the herds of bison. Reading through the report, he just shook his head. Perhaps he should have been more ruthless. Wounded disciples were one thing, but a tenth of the herd wounded or dead, some of the bodies unusable charred corpses- and the grass catching aflame, spreading until the disciples managed to tame the fire. It appeared to be the work of Oden himself, with Crystin stopping him shortly after he began his rampage. John didn¡¯t know what happened with Aghi- the report didn¡¯t mention him, so presumably he was wise enough to not take part. Though John might not know until the next time he saw Crystin. Were fire cultivators more prone to fits of rage? John didn¡¯t think that was necessarily the case. Taking as examples Yustina and Emilia. Both were fire cultivators, and among the calmest individuals that John had seen. Yustina had violence and wrath within her, but it wasn¡¯t wild and untamed. Instead, John thought it was more of a matter of what elements a cultivator sought out. The influence of the element itself, if any, was of small import compared to the personality of the cultivator themselves. Or perhaps the environment in which they were raised. Likely both, since John believed that the argument of nature vs nurture was best answered by a single word. ¡®Yes¡¯. People were influenced by things both inherent and things from outside. The exact proportions might never be known, and he really didn¡¯t care. ----- Administrative work was only part of running a sect, and John made certain not too much of it ended up on his desk. He had people for finances and disputes between disciples and even for most public interactions. As sect head, it was important he had time to cultivate- it wasn¡¯t just for his personal image, but a strong sect head was important. And early Soul Expansion appeared a bit weak, even if that wasn¡¯t true. Anyone who saw him in person would quickly learn better, but simply being talked about elsewhere was a different matter. Still, there were always things that required his attention throughout the day. His input was needed, and sometimes it was difficult to resolve issues without him. In this case, there was a request from two of alchemist Oden¡¯s apprentices. He recognized them as frequent visitors of his food stand- a food stand he made certain to stay involved with. The man was Amar, and the woman went by Amine. ¡°I¡¯ve heard there is a request you have that only I can grant.¡± ¡°Well, yes, um¡­¡± Amar stumbled over his words. ¡°We want license to practice alchemy in the city,¡± Amine said in a practiced manner. John was going to say they didn¡¯t have to come to him for that. He wasn¡¯t responsible. But¡­ someone should be. ¡°You¡¯ll want to go to Raul for that. He can determine if you are sufficiently experienced to practice safely.¡± Probably. John would send him a message before they came looking so he would be prepared. The two looked at each other awkwardly. ¡°What is it?¡± John asked. ¡°He¡­ probably doesn¡¯t like us much,¡± Amar said. ¡°Then I would suggest working to rectify that,¡± John smiled lightly. He wasn¡¯t quite sure of the history, but as Oden¡¯s apprentices it made sense they would share in a portion of the resentment towards their master. Either way, it wasn¡¯t John¡¯s job to tell Raul to forgive them or not. Chapter 293 It took time to get used to being someone of status, and for Raul that status had changed too much for him to get used to anything. His previous status of third best alchemist in the city really meant worst alchemist, since it didn¡¯t count Oden¡¯s apprentices. Whether or not he was actually better than them at that point he hadn¡¯t been certain. His self esteem would have told him he was worse. John told him he was better. He had learned much, his cultivation growing rapidly under John¡¯s tutelage. An improved understanding of the local spiritual energy structure had helped immensely. It was known that spiritual energy of all sorts could be extracted from the local environment, but the general difficulty of it made people think that the area was low in spiritual energy when in fact that was only true in the most remote sense. Specifically, the individual levels of a specific element were lower than the single element areas- but if one could make use of two elements with any efficiency, they would usually come out ahead. So now that he was in the Foundation Phase with two totems, his cultivation speed was most likely higher in Astrein than elsewhere. Perhaps the border between the Stone Conglomerate and the Green Sands might be more effective, but that wasn¡¯t really a comfortable living zone. Beyond his personal strength, he was also the head alchemist for the Six Elements Crossroads. Not that they had other alchemists, but Raul understood the honor. Even before the recent events with the Platinum Tower Society, he had felt somewhat important. Now, Oden was gone and Raul might be the highest ranking alchemist in the city. Though he wasn¡¯t certain he was the best. Durga still existed, after all, a fact he was reminded of when she came to visit him in his office. He had an office now- separate from his lab. His nicely outfitted lab¡­ that currently had mostly stuff from Oden¡¯s lab. ¡°To what do I owe the honor of this visit?¡± Raul asked. Durga shook her head. ¡°Pretty sure these days I¡¯m the one who should be honored you let me in. I know we¡¯re not on particularly friendly terms but¡­ I was hoping you would allow me to study Alchemist Oden¡¯s notes. I am willing to pay, of course.¡± Raul thought about that. Truth be told, he didn¡¯t really have any objections. Durga hadn¡¯t been helpful to him, but neither had she been antagonistic. She hadn¡¯t been willing to go against Oden to take him in as an apprentice, but who would in such an environment? ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Raul began. ¡°Please,¡± Durga interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ work as an apprentice, if that¡¯s what needs to be done. But I can¡¯t¡­ the information he knew is too valuable to pass up. You can pick and choose what you show me, if necessary. Keep watch on me as I study. But this might be my best opportunity to advance my abilities.¡± Before she could go on, Raul held up a hand. He just needed a moment to think. It wasn¡¯t really that difficult of a decision at the moment, though. ¡°I can sell you a copy. Of his notes or books or whatever you want.¡± He didn¡¯t really know what he would do with an apprentice, especially an older one. Not that Durga was old, but there were a few years between them. And he also doubted he could actually teach her much. Maybe something related to mixed elements, but she certainly had more experience with other things. ¡°You¡¯ll just¡­ sell me a copy?¡± ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Raul shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t lose anything from that transaction.¡± ¡°But the secrets-¡± ¡°Will have been paid for. Honestly, are you trying to advocate for me not doing this?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t understand your reasoning,¡± she admitted. Then she frowned, ¡°Am I not even a threat as a rival?¡± ¡°John chose me when my skills were still pretty garbage,¡± Raul said. ¡°And now I¡¯m officially the alchemist for his sect. I¡¯m not worried about losing business to you, since you¡¯ve always been an option. Worst case scenario, you gain some insights into a new sort of elixir or something and either sell those or the technique to the sect. I¡¯m not afraid of a little competition, unlike Oden.¡± ¡°... Oh.¡± ¡°Also, I think you¡¯ll be more interested in the manuals he¡¯d manage to accumulate than his notes specifically. As an alchemist his notes are¡­ uninspired.¡± Raul wasn¡¯t sure why he was being nice about the wording there. ¡°Kinda bad, even. I don¡¯t think he came up with anything original. He just had the resources and a captive market.¡± ¡°The latter I can definitely confirm,¡± Durga said. ¡°So, uh¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take some time to get copies made,¡± Raul said. ¡°Let¡¯s negotiate a fair price.¡± ----- John had taken some time to reflect on his efforts with the Six Elements Crossroads. In retrospect, things with the Platinum Tower Society could have gone much worse than they had. They were too much of an opponent for the budding sect while at the same time he¡¯d seen them as beneath him. He had taken them seriously enough to hire extra protection while he was away, but things could have still gone wrong. Obviously nowhere was ever perfectly safe, neither in this world with cultivators nor a world without. Even so, he wanted things to be more secure. The best method to achieve that at the current moment¡­ was simply time. Two years of groundwork and a founding ceremony weren¡¯t nothing, but they were hardly comparable to the decades or occasionally centuries of history that relevant sects and clans had. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The Platinum Tower Society had been around for quite some time in some form or other- though in truth it was mostly the dominant groups taking on the same name as they took control of various things in Lunson. Their sect had little going for it except being somewhat in control of the arena. Though that was a matter that now fell to the Six Elements Crossroads. What remained of the Platinum Tower Society would be allowed to continue to operate as long as they didn¡¯t cause trouble, but they had lost their leadership all at once, along with a good portion of their wealth as retribution. John didn¡¯t want to just wipe them out, though he was aware they could potentially develop into a threat. On the other hand, that gave something for the sect¡¯s disciples to involve themselves with- specifically threat assessment. They were assigned to watch for dangers in the city, and of course specifically those they¡¯d previously had conflict with. There was one awkward aspect of controlling the arena now. He would have to figure out some way for his disciples to participate while keeping the appearance of fairness- and actually being fair, of course, but the public cared more about the first one. Fortunately, he had more than a few years to figure that out. Until then, they had to maintain the arena¡­ and maybe find some way to profit off of it more than once a decade. It seemed pretty inefficient. Perhaps that required a change in the city as a whole. Even in the current day, with the Six Elements Crossroads being founded, most people still thought of it as a place between instead of a destination. And while that might always be true for certain people, he hoped the city could develop into something of its own. Speaking of the city¡­ they really needed something like an orphanage. While he¡¯d recruited a good number of street kids into his sect, he didn¡¯t want that to be the most straightforward method of joining¡­ nor did he want everyone in the Six Elements Crossroads. He had standards- standards of effort and character and to a lesser degree talent. Though he also understood that basically everyone could develop their cultivation further with the right methods. The Six Elements Crossroads would strive to not just match each element, but the finer details of what people needed. Though at the moment they mostly had to learn from John, the older disciples, or guest elders from John¡¯s friends and allies as they didn¡¯t have an established history. Overall, John was quite pleased. The sect was up and running¡­ and he didn¡¯t forget about the food stall. Or stalls, as they were expanding throughout the city now. While most cultivators could travel a bit further to visit a place they wanted to without issue, non-cultivators might find it cumbersome to walk halfway across the city for a quick meal. It also allowed more training opportunities for disciples, both those who would be on the martial path and those who would focus on the side of business and the like. Because as it turned out, money was an important part of any organization. Viriato was a great help in that regard. Not only was he one of the rare Soul Expansion Phase cultivators associated with the sect, but he managed the finances¡­ with oversight from John. John didn¡¯t currently have any reason to doubt the man, either in terms of abilities or character. But it was better to dissuade intrusive thoughts that nobody would know if Viriato skimmed something off the top. Setting up methods of oversight would be important in the long term, so that people would be used to it. John wanted this sect to last, not just as a pet project to spend a few years fooling around. He still saw great potential for Astrein- and the secret valley was only part of it. There were many natural resources that, if properly managed, could provide for the sect long into the future. That included the bison, and though John still preferred actual cow for burgers¡­ he didn¡¯t want to be responsible for something going extinct. The conservationist inside of him wasn¡¯t just because he came from a different world, but was a natural result of thinking about what he was doing. Even other cultivators understood to some extent- perhaps on Earth people might not care what happened in fifty or a hundred years, since they might not be around to see the consequences of their actions. But here¡­ any decent cultivator could live past a hundred easily. Two hundred wasn¡¯t unreasonable for Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. Not that everyone took that to heart. There would always be people thinking only about the near future, those who were greedy or who didn¡¯t intend to occupy a place and thus didn¡¯t mind stripping it of resources. But a good number of people at least thought about long term prospects, for their own self interest. ----- Darkness was the core of everything- ebony trees scattered across the landscape, roots buried in soil that came from previous cycles of life. The landscape wasn¡¯t a thing of purity, but instead impurity leveraged to the greatest advantage. The trees of darkness absorbed the atmosphere around them, releasing something that could be used by the other ¡®life¡¯ to ¡®breathe¡¯. Water filled the seas and evaporated into the skies, feeding into the plants. And the fire of a false sun burned above, more heat than light. If he didn¡¯t have vivid memories of the great tree of darkness, John would hardly be able to find any signs that his dantian had been damaged. Now, it seemed as if things had almost always been this way. Except¡­ there were occasional signs of death. Some of the seeds didn¡¯t make it, or died as young saplings. That might have seemed like a flaw in John¡¯s cultivation- but even before, the leaves of the tree of darkness had fallen to the ground to become part of the soil. John thought the cycle was working as intended, even more so as time went on. His cultivation continued to grow, though not so rapidly as before. He could easily see himself spending several years moving through the Soul Expansion Phase. He was not looking forward to the roadblock at the end of that road. He already knew what it would be. But knowing ahead of time meant he might actually be able to grow strong enough to face it. If only it was something he could defeat in combat, he would have nothing that could stop him. But his biggest opponent at the current moment was himself. He¡¯d returned to being a functional human, and he thought he was managing to interact with his friends and family sufficiently¡­ but there were still lingering thoughts he doubted would ever go away. And he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted them to, because along with the sad memories were the good. Choosing only the memories of Matayal as she lived would build a false picture, and certainly hurt him more in the long run. The difficult part was that John knew he could probably come up with a technique to alter his memories. Sometimes, he thought it wouldn¡¯t be so bad¡­ until he thought about all the things that could go wrong. Besides, sidestepping emotional instability would leave him vulnerable to the future. He kind of wished there were therapists, though. Or that he had someone close he could talk to. He had friends, but there was only so much he was willing to burden them with the same thoughts, over and over. Nor were they trained to help. Ultimately, everything returned to cultivation. John was highly motivated to become strong, so nothing like that could happen ever again. Not to him, or those he knew. Death was a part of life¡­ but he intended to make certain that no lives he cared about were cut short. For that, he would continue to grow. Chapter 294 Being sect head made John realize how much he had relied on the longstanding structures of the Tenebach clan during his time running it. People with decades of experience in general operations were able to pass that knowledge on to others to maintain the efficiency of the whole system. Of course, they could propagate errors as well, but in that case an organization wouldn¡¯t tend to last through multiple generations. It was always possible, but it became ever more unlikely if they were careless with such things. There was the potential for internal corruption as well- people with positions of power who wanted more. Internal power struggles could rip apart a group more easily than troubles from the outside. Though conversely, external enemies could often be a way for groups to stand united. In the world of cultivators it took more than a few years for people to grow unsettled, and the concept of strong leadership was not so nebulous as opinions on various successes. Obviously benefitting whatever clan or sect they were in charge of was important, but there was a rather clear measurement of actual strength. Two cultivators of great power could struggle against each other for control¡­ or work together to the benefit of all. In truth, John was thinking further ahead than was actually practical. At the current moment the Six Elements Crossroads was entirely reliant on himself, and the alliance as a whole was stable. But John knew that the world never remained the same forever. Eventually, the leadership of the various clans and sects involved might change, and they might have their own opinions about the value of the alliance. While he might hope to always have friends in positions of leadership, that wasn¡¯t necessarily practical. He¡¯d lucked out so far with the mix of personalities and talents of individuals, but ultimately he might find people he didn¡¯t naturally get along with as the strongest. And even if all of the current people survived, John¡¯s ambitions weren¡¯t limited to the current region the alliance spanned. Thinking about the intrusion of the Sky Islands and the Molten Sea, they couldn¡¯t simply be content with where things were at. That was why he had attempted to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase¡­ though his pioneering actions had clearly been a bit off. ----- Cultivation in Lunson was difficult for most cultivators, as they had access to less spiritual energy of their element and it required effort to extract it. Thus, there were many formations to gather and separate out those elements. However, most were not active at all times- those in the inns, for example, would be expensive to maintain during the off years where few people stayed in the city. Even now, with slightly greater numbers moving through, only a small portion of the inns were full. The Six Elements Crossroads also relied on energy gathering formations, though their approach was more granular. After all, a good portion of their training involved separating the energy with training groups of appropriate elements. Thus, gathering was the primary function, and splitting the elements came secondarily. As the sect head, John had the best position, a portion of the main flow of spiritual energy channeled to a training room exclusively for himself. He had gone back and forth on the idea, because while it was useful it seemed too selfish. On the other hand, a sect head not having such luxuries could be dangerous. If he fell behind in training, he might overestimate his own ability. Beyond that, there was a certain level of luxury that had to be displayed as a sect, and Viriato almost insisted that he have something. In the end, John had it installed with the idea that he could always choose to allow that channel of energy to flow to the rest of the sect. Not that a lack of spiritual energy seemed to be the largest issue his disciples faced. What they needed was guidance in their cultivation. His personal efforts were part of that, and guest elders were valuable as well. But the disciples needed to be able to study on their own, which meant reliable manuals to study from. Which meant acquiring and vetting such things. It was a tedious process, but not without its value. After all, John practiced every element except light- and he was aware he needed to study that sole remaining element if he wanted to have a chance at a full cycle. Having only half screwed up his advancement to the Ascending Soul Phase, he at least couldn¡¯t say that the Exalted Soul Phase was impossible. Going over every level of understanding of every element was quite valuable, despite the time investment required. Each element had many ways to make use of it. Earth could be about dirt and stone, but it could also focus on the growth of plants without going outside of its own domain. Though in truth, John understood that the borders of elements weren¡¯t quite as rigid as they first appeared. Air involved wind and gasses as well as lightning. There was a lot more that could be done besides simply battering people around with winds or shocking them. Slight changes in the composition of air could bolster or diminish the fighting ability of others in an almost imperceptible manner. Going a bit further, it was possible to make air useless for breathing in a way that human bodies wouldn¡¯t recognize. Spiritual perception might understand that something had been tampered with, but as long as a person had no carbon dioxide build up in their lungs they would not physically sense the lack of air. Fire was fire. Heat and burning and all of that. Yet that wasn¡¯t all. It was a progenitor of change. It could consume earth, but it could also help mold it. Likewise, it was part of water¡¯s change from solid to liquid to gas. Everything, really, but it was most notable for that pure element as all of water¡¯s changes were within a relatively small range. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Water had the aforementioned different states, and could likewise influence the surroundings. John made use of that in one of his formal techniques, Sinking in the Mire. Of the four core elements, it was perhaps the most flexible. Then there were darkness and light. Concealment and revealing, though that was only the minimal form of both. Like all elements they could directly bolster offense and defense, but they excelled in speed. Light was light, after all- and darkness had the capacity to move at the same speed. Then again, as a tangible thing it wasn¡¯t simply a lack of light. Dark fogs hindering the senses took on aspects of other elements. Likewise, when used offensively light touched on heat and fire. Using logic from his time on Earth, John would have decided that the elemental distinctions were flawed- but he was aware things didn¡¯t work the same in this world. The elements simply were, and parsing their mysteries was the main task of a cultivator. The last few years rebuilding his cultivation from lower levels had taught him much about the elements, and he was glad for the perspective it provided. Though he really would have preferred if it didn¡¯t come with almost dying and a drop in cultivation. Perhaps he should schedule a comprehensive review of his understanding for every decade or so and skip the mess in the future. ----- Mid Soul Expansion Phase. That was what defined his quantity of spiritual energy, though obviously having five spiritual totems was abnormal for such a Phase. And their quality as well. Fifth tier totems that were still growing stronger¡­ though perhaps not as quickly as he would like. The landscape within his dantian was becoming vibrant and healthy, but it still took time to grow and contained only so much spiritual energy at once. On the topic of cultivation Phases, a letter from Steve put things into perspective. Not simply himself, but for those around him. The world beyond the Six Elements Crossroads wasn¡¯t simply standing still. ¡°Hey buddy. Gonna be out of town for a while. See you in the next Phase!¡± A decidedly incomplete letter. John was grateful that Yustina had appended more helpful information on the end. ¡°As my husband said, our responsibilities having been handled for the moment, we are planning to journey to the Molten Sea in an attempt to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase. My husband and I are thankful for your insights into the Ascending Soul Phase, as you have helped us avoid some potential missteps. We understand the risks, of course. The Molten Sea may not be a single force, but we will indeed be at risk. We decided together that it was a necessary course, however. Remaining here in comfort and safety is not sufficient for either of us.¡± Well, that explained things at least. John kind of wished they dropped by to speak with him, but perhaps that was the point of the letter. They were determined and didn¡¯t wish to be dissuaded from their path. John couldn¡¯t really say that their choices were wrong, either. Cultivation was a dangerous path, but sometimes that danger was exactly the necessary ingredient to advancement. Or sometimes it meant death. John was just the first among them to have made the attempt. He knew he wasn¡¯t alone. Had Matayal still been alive¡­ well, things might have gone differently. If nothing else they would have had each other to rely on as they attempted to advance. Renato was also at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase, and he¡¯d pretty much always matched John in that regard. Or sometimes surpassed him. Johannes Dalen, the first in the region to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase, was also not far behind. The Sect Head of the Order of the Amber Heart had fallen behind his disciple mainly due to age, but among those of the older generation he was the one John was most confident had a real chance of advancement. Luctus would almost certainly not reach the Ascending Soul Phase, though John¡¯s grandfather wasn¡¯t disappointed by that. He was already close to an entire Phase ahead of where he thought he would end his life. Kusuma¡¯s wild energy might have pushed her to attempt a breakthrough, if she¡¯d lived long enough. John could have certainly seen her reaching the Ascending Soul Phase or going out in a blaze of glory. Deirdre and Zacharie of the Golden Tomb Guardians certainly had the potential, but they simply needed more time for their cultivations to reach the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Then, of course, they would need proper insights. Time was on their side, however, as they were still quite young. As for others besides Steve and Yustina in the Milanovic clan, the main candidate was Alina. There were some rumors that she might have been able to reach the Ascending Soul Phase already if not for her choice in partner. Tempkeit was certainly not the most talented cultivator, but John was of the opinion that Alina not following her heart would have ultimately resulted in less efficient cultivation. Either way, the Milanovic clan might end up with three Ascending Soul Phase cultivators within the next decade. Then there were his own children, who would all be in the Consolidated Soul Phase in their twenties. Perhaps even before they were twenty-five, which would put them up to a handful of years faster than John himself. Ursel could break through at any time, or perhaps she had already and word simply hadn¡¯t reached John. As for the other two, their responsibilities from managing their clans would slow them down slightly, but John knew they were still advancing properly. It was an astounding change. Cultivators within a single generation might be among the first in the region to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase and the Ascending Soul Phase. Not actually the first, of course, with Johannes Dalen leading the pack, but so much had changed in John¡¯s thirty years. Of course, that very change was something to be concerned about, because not only those John cared about would be growing strong. Tales were told of such times, great shifts in the world¡¯s balance, and John absolutely believed they were in the midst of one. In short, they couldn¡¯t assume they were the strongest or that they would remain that way. Aside from the clear examples of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators from previous generations in other regions, their region might not be the only one growing in such a way. It was simply the limited news from around the world that made things uncertain. Hopefully, Steve and Yustina could return with some of that. By which John meant Yustina, obviously. At best, Steve would mention fighting ¡®some pretty strong dudes from somewhere¡¯. He was a reliable friend, but his utility as an informant was quite limited. As for his absolute confidence that they would return¡­ John simply couldn¡¯t allow himself to think otherwise. Otherwise he would cause trouble for both his new sect and them if he ran off to go ¡®save¡¯ them. Chapter 295 The history of the area and successful sects¡¯ relationship to places of power would serve as a guide for how John managed the Six Elements Crossroads. First were areas like the Kelp Spire Forest or pretty much the entirety of the Phoenix Forest- large areas with valuable resources that couldn¡¯t feasibly be controlled by a single sect. Groups would tend to carve out their own sections of such a place, except for ones that were inhospitable. Astrein didn¡¯t quite have anything like those. There were bison, certainly, and other forms of plants and animals and the like that were valuable enough to those who could use multiple elements. Even so, there weren¡¯t others clamoring to take anything. Even the bison were only ever sold to those curious to try something different, and the Six Elements Crossroads offered cheap enough prices that nobody bothered to look for further herds or debate their claim over the ones near Lunson. Wide scale areas might have focused concentrations of specific elements, but there were even more dense areas, often sealed away. Things like the Crystal Caverns and the Prismatic Chambers. These were more easily defensible if they had limited entrances, and more highly coveted because of that. A sect or clan could dominate one and grow strong from its resources over time¡­ but attempts to monopolize them often went awry. That was why the Order of the Amber Heart opened up the Crystal Caverns to others, and the same was the case with the Supreme Slate Sect and the Prismatic Chambers. That was the very same thing John wanted to do with the hidden valley- because while it was a font of resources for the burgeoning sect, it could also become a liability if it was known. Sects in surrounding countries might covet the resources there, even if they could at most use one-third of them. While John had plenty of allies that would come to his aid if there was an open assault, it wouldn¡¯t prevent people trying more secretive methods of stealing what they had. But if there were other avenues available with less risk, people would likely be less foolish about things. And if the resources were potentially available to the wider world, they would also be inclined to stop others from attempting to steal them. The hidden valley was only so big, however. Not only did that mean it couldn¡¯t accommodate too many people, but also that poor management could easily cause permanent depletion of resources. If people were allowed to go around taking anything they pleased and draining the spiritual energy dry, it would be gone within a few weeks. If that was going to happen, then it would be best for the Six Elements Crossroads to just do it now- but John was more interested in the long term. They did happen to have big arenas that were just sitting there unused most of the time. In addition to the once a decade tournament that was mainly for bragging rights, they could have more frequent ones specifically to give opportunities to those of lower cultivation. Sects couldn¡¯t complain about free resources for their disciples. John had also thought about increasing the frequency of the larger tournament, but that was more of an eventual idea than something he planned to implement immediately. He didn¡¯t want to shake things up too much in the next few years. Before they could manage any of that, however, they had to actually be in control of the hidden valley. That meant more than just being the only people who knew about it, but having a more permanent establishment that could watch over it¡­ and to some degree, partake in the bounty within. Thus, it would be a combination of a duty and reward for certain disciples. John took a deep breath, reveling in the freshness of the air and the mixed spiritual energy. The half-covered valley was a wonderful boon, but John couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there wasn¡¯t something more. Without being greedy, he thought of the Prismatic Chambers. From what he could tell, they generally fit underneath Astrein, and he was surprised there weren¡¯t any other entrances that had been discovered. Or perhaps they could create one, though that would be somewhat risky. Simply discovering other entrances would be something the Supreme Slate Sect would have to accept, but they might not be so willing if the Six Elements Crossroads formed one themselves. Then again, it could require tunneling through a vast amount of dirt and stone to reach them, and the sect couldn¡¯t afford that sort of expenditure. Perhaps later when they were better established and could handle the responsibility of something like that it could be considered. Though John also had to consider what another entrance might do to the balance of elements. If he opened up a hole in the Prismatic Chambers and they destabilized, everyone would lose out. The Six Elements Crossroads was no longer made up of a majority of street urchins- not because there were any less of them, but because more people of all sorts were joining. They weren¡¯t a large sect yet by any means, with most of their few hundred disciples being in the Spiritual Collection Phase with less than a third in the Foundation Phase, but they were a new sect. More experienced disciples weren¡¯t really interested in signing up with them, even if they would have taken them. There were often good reasons people would be expelled from other sects, after all, so they couldn¡¯t carelessly accept just anyone. ----- John looked down on the valley from a watchtower they had constructed in the center. Instead of watching for outside threats, this one was to monitor the condition of disciples within the valley- and eventually their future guests. They didn¡¯t want anyone to die¡­ but they also didn¡¯t want people carelessly messing up their resources. The valley was not terribly large, so with the benefit of height and a bit of spiritual energy they could look out for all sorts of trouble. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. For John, it was also a good place to cultivate, smack dab in the middle of all of the spiritual energy. That would be true for others eventually, but for the moment the disciples only had two elements maximum. His vision focused on Ayhan, the first of the urchins to catch his attention. He was a devoted young lad, and John was glad that Lir had returned his affections. She didn¡¯t have to, despite him choosing his elements for her sake. Between the two of them, they had the four core elements and their bond was strong enough that they were able to cultivate together. As a pair if they were limited to a single location they would perform best in the mixed center of the valley, but they were quite capable of moving around to focus on whatever element suited them the most at the time. John could see that they were in the earthen section, with Lir fending off any dangerous spirits with her fire while Ayhan worked to reach the last step of his next rank in the mid Foundation Phase. The other three were around as well, with Barakat barely maintaining his cultivation lead over the others. He had a head start before, but the others shared similar levels of talent and motivation, or surpassed him in one of the areas. Stithulf and Fulton were also among the leading ranks of the disciples, given their seniority. Soon John hoped for some of the disciples to step into the late Foundation Phase, because he wanted to see how they fared with a third element if they chose to continue that path. The first phase of a cycle was basically like all others, with some time devoted to attuning to another element. The second phase, however, was generally weaker- or at least somewhat unbalanced. The third phase, the Soul Expansion Phase, was either the point where they would complete an allied cycle of elements- not a poor option- or step further along the path to be one short of a four elements cycle. The third element in such a case would either dominate or support the second, which really made it the most tenuous point as it required fortifying elements in sequence instead of one of a pair supporting the other. The Soul Expansion Phase was already difficult enough for many to surpass¡­ and John hoped that his experience and teachings could help his disciples move past some of the problems. He hadn¡¯t been at too much of a disadvantage, but that was in part because he relied on allies to work with him and the luxury of time to experiment. John next settled his perception on Taurai, a young woman from the Soulrot Bogs. He didn¡¯t know exactly the circumstances that brought her to the Six Elements Crossroads, but he could imagine any excuse to leave that horrid place would be sufficient. He didn¡¯t even know how non-cultivators would survive there long enough to learn anything. When she¡¯d arrived she was still in the Spiritual Collection Phase. She had felt particularly weak, but it wasn¡¯t as if the Six Elements Crossroads would only accept those who were already strong. What was the point of a sect if they couldn¡¯t train people? Character and loyalty were the important things, and taking in someone when they had no other options could enhance the latter. Nowadays, Taurai was one of the more promising prospects focusing on the elements of water and darkness that were native to her homeland, such as it was. She was been debating between finishing an allied cycle by including earth or simply focusing on the two elements she already had. Both were options the Six Elements Crossroads would support. They¡¯d accept any path, really, though they might advise their disciples against ones that seemed unsuited for them in particular. One of the few cultivation paths John truly believed was wrong would be any combination of the three core elements with no intention to complete the cycle. Having two totems of each element in the astronomically unlikely scenario they reached the Exalted Soul Phase would hardly be viable- a single element or most combinations of two would be more practical. Having seen Viriato¡¯s success with combining light and darkness as his first two elements, John couldn''t even say that was incorrect. Just excessively difficult and risky. He would advocate against pairs with light or darkness and one of the opposite core elements, however. Darkness with air or fire, light with water or earth. Perhaps there might be routes where such combinations were viable as the endpoints, but he knew they would be nearly as difficult as strictly combining light and darkness with less payoff. In the near future, John would be having others take his position in the center of the valley, serving as guardians. But for the moment, the disciples were too vulnerable. He trusted them to watch the outside, but those positions were mainly for practice at the moment. Disciples would rotate between training and guarding with everyone taking an equal number of shifts during their time in the valley. Perhaps later there might be more permanent guard positions, but the current setup would do for the moment. ----- As it turned out, the local factions were quite happy for John to organize more tournaments in Lunson. After all, many of the inns basically lay empty year round, and while some of the owners simply chose to live in the city during the brief time of the tournament and get all their profits then, they could simply hire management for other times- or stay closed if they thought it wasn¡¯t going to be profitable enough. John intended to make the latter option unattractive, however. He wanted Lunson to act like a proper city instead of a ghost town people occupied for a few months each decade. It wasn¡¯t quite that bad, but the many empty buildings were bad for the city. They were either a simple waste of space or a draw for criminals who would want to pick the buildings apart for easy money. As the sect most in charge of keeping the city safe, that meant either ignoring the inactive buildings and having to deal with angry owners who would blame him for their buildings being broken into or spending unavailable resources protecting everything. Though he supposed there was also another option- simply charge taxes on the buildings. It wouldn¡¯t go over well, of course, but it was still more polite than seizing the land to stop it from wasting space. Viriato was working with John on a nuanced response to the situation. Ultimately, the plan was to be patient and only change policies after the next major tournament, which was still quite a way off. At least the patrols would give the disciples some sense of responsibility, and more importantly remind the city who was in control. Chapter 296 The fewer communications that came to the Six Elements Crossroads and ended up on John¡¯s desk, the better. He¡¯d managed to achieve quite a good success rate so far, which meant when he did see anything he knew it was important or time sensitive or both. This one came with the aura of comforting cracking flames. It was sealed with the symbol of Firepine Palace, evoking a number of positive memories. As it was still sealed, there was some chance it wasn¡¯t important, but John still looked it over seriously. ¡°Greetings, John Miller. I regret not being able to congratulate you on the formation of your sect in person, but recent events have filled more and more of my time. You will recall that to the north of the Phoenix Forest are the Rolling Dunes, the particular spirituality of which lends itself to only a small population of cultivators. For us, it has served as a valuable buffer zone against northern regions, but in recent years there have been an increasing number of skirmishes with certain factions from the Muted Crags. The threat has grown such that I must call upon the aid of allies, and I hope that you would consider yourself among them. We are calling upon the Six Elements Crossroads, the Golden Tomb Guardians, and our local allies to combat the increasing frequency of attacks. I hope this letter finds you at a time you are able to provide aid to your recent allies. Sincerely, Charlotte Cardoso of the Firepine Palace.¡± Recent? He¡¯d gone to train with the Firepine Palace more than a decade prior. They had participated in the campaign to expel the Molten Sea from Astrein as well. It wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t allies, but her words made it seem as if it had only been a short time. Then again¡­ perhaps from her perspective it was quite a short time. It honestly didn¡¯t feel like that long ago for John, with over seventy years of lived experience, and Charlotte should be quite a bit older. Past a hundred, perhaps a hundred and fifty or older depending on when she had made her advancements in cultivation. She used his current name- his old name- though when they first interacted she had known him as a Tenebach. Cultivators often changed names, though rarely to something so plain as he had. John hadn¡¯t particularly hidden the connection between his new and old selves- especially for those he invited to the founding of the Six Elements Crossroads. The use of John was simply respect for his choices in naming. The contents of the letter bothered John. Something that Firepine Palace could not handle on its own, or with local allies? Charlotte herself was in the late Consolidated Soul Phase, perhaps even the peak now. That meant this was more than a casual border struggle. And remembering what had happened last time they downplayed threats from afar for too long¡­ John was quite willing to take the matter seriously. He would need to include the most experienced disciples. Raul was an option as well, because the alchemist might be able to push for the Soul Expansion Phase. Real world experience could be good for them all. Viriato was one of the few in the sect already in the Soul Expansion Phase, but he was best suited to managing things. John would leave him in Luson to keep things secure for whatever duration they had to manage. When determining which disciples to bring, he had to consider various things. Who would they be fighting, and where? It could be earth cultivators from the Rolling Dunes, but Charlotte had mentioned the Muted Crags. John knew only enough about the area to recall that it was a darkness element region, though of quite a different type from the Darklands or the Soulrot Bogs. Calling upon the Golden Tomb Guardians made sense, and John was a darkness cultivator along with¡­ pretty much everything else now. He understood how to fight them. He could have also been chosen because he was not terribly far and was likely to respond, and it was most likely a combination of everything. John didn¡¯t spend long considering if he would go. Just who he would bring. Drawing away a significant portion of their current population meant rearranging many schedules. While the situation didn¡¯t sound urgent, he also didn¡¯t want to delay too much. He also wondered if he should pass along the message to anyone else. The Stone Conglomerate was just on the other side of Astrein, after all, but John supposed he should understand the situation better before calling upon other allies- though it wouldn¡¯t hurt to inform them, at least. ----- Ultimately, John was prepared to move out after another exchange of letters, two weeks later. It was possible to move cultivators more quickly than that, but managing supplies and other logistics for such a journey was better with prep time. Towns along the main roads in Astrein were growing larger with John¡¯s push for trade, but so far it was only to the extent of the occasional inn popping up where there were large empty stretches of road. Lunson was still the only city over a thousand people besides Pearl Landing. John had talked with Raul, who had ultimately decided the experience should be worthwhile. Simply remaining in his lab working with materials did allow him to practice his cultivation, but with his fire and earth elements visiting the Phoenix Forest would be a boon. His step into the Soul Expansion Phase would involve securing an air totem, so it wasn¡¯t the perfect opportunity, but he could always go on a future excursion. Aside from Raul, Ayhan, Lir, Fulton, and Taurai would be some of those going. Fire and earth cultivators for the terrain, darkness cultivators for their opponents. They would of course bring light element cultivators as well, and in the Six Elements Crossroads they could be properly trained to fight against darkness without risking mutual destruction. Viriato would be valuable for that, but he was staying behind. The next most talented in the field of light was Toma, and while his overall cultivation was unimpressive for his age he was actually newer to cultivation. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. While John knew that a bunch of Foundation Phase cultivators wasn¡¯t exactly an exciting addition, it still helped with one of the problems Firepine Palace was facing, which was fighting on multiple fronts. John intended to join up with some other Soul Expansion Phase cultivators from the Phoenix Forest to balance out their forces. Not that his own fighting ability was limited to the Soul Expansion Phase. ----- All of the disciples were suitably impressed by the Phoenix Forest, a place that burned yet did not turn to ash. Only a small portion was actually aflame at any moment, but many of the disciples of the sect had been born and raised in Astrein, away from purer elements. Of course, the whole of the Phoenix Forest was less impressive than the secret valley, but even the disciples who had been there still found something to marvel at in the new terrain. John supposed he had frequently missed out on admiring the beauty of the world, thinking of it more in practical aspects. The Phoenix Forest was a place of fire and earth, and he had mainly been there to train. He certainly learned much, especially about how fire could result in life rather than simply destruction. Seeing leaves that shook showers of sparks to the grown and recognizing it as pretty was something he hadn¡¯t done often enough. Of course, he also couldn¡¯t spend all his time amazed at the supernatural, or he would never get anywhere. This was just how the world was- but it was nice to be reminded that it wasn''t all fighting and death. Watching Ayhan and Lir walk along hand in hand, the former absorbing the earth element and letting it feed the latter¡¯s fire was kind of adorable. Also, commendable. While they certainly wouldn¡¯t benefit as much from cultivating in that manner since they had to be moving, it was still useful for them to remain active. When they arrived at Firepine Palace, they were greeted at the southern entrance by someone John recognized. Lileas, specifically, who was now a late Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. She had participated in the same tournament as the triplets¡¯ first. ¡°Sect head Miller of the Six Elements Crossroads,¡± she inclined her head. ¡°Sect head Charlotte is eagerly awaiting your arrival.¡± The stone gates of the sect were opened- an expensive material to import, but they couldn¡¯t exactly get away with enchanted wood. There was the same constant ash as before, but while it made breathing slightly unpleasant, it did wonders for the growth of everything in the area. While John couldn¡¯t tell any difference in the older firepines filling the large courtyards, he thought he remembered one or two that had barely been saplings and now stood proud and tall. Tall by the standards of mundane plants, at least, but still insignificant compared to the largest tree in the center of the sect. His disciples were taken to their accommodations, though John didn¡¯t yet know if they were to be based out of this location or if they would be going elsewhere. The whole time they were walking, John felt Lileas trying to not seem like she was appraising his cultivation. But she was clearly too curious to fully restrain herself, and not quite able to pick out what she wished with active senses. ¡°You must be wondering how I have five totems,¡± John said. ¡°Even though I feel lower rank than yourself.¡± ¡°Pardon me,¡± Lileas said. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t mean to intrude.¡± John decided to satisfy at least some of her curiosity. ¡°It was either fortune or misfortune, depending upon how you look at it. I attempted to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase, and I wasn¡¯t quite successful.¡± ¡°I see. So you attuned to a totem, but dropped to the previous Phase¡­?¡± Lileas questioned. ¡°Not at all,¡± John said. ¡°I dropped my cultivation all the way down to the Spiritual Collection Phase and have been recovering over the last few years.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be passed by another¡­?¡± she muttered, clearly not intending to be heard. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± John said. ¡°Considering your current age, you are still ahead of Johannes Dalen. And he was the first in the Stone Conglomerate to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase. You have made clear progress over the last decade, and you shouldn¡¯t forget that.¡± ¡°You¡­ know me?¡± ¡°You fought against Ursel,¡± John said. That made her wince. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that. Everyone loses to Ursel. There¡¯s no point in comparing yourself to an anomaly.¡± She seemed slightly comforted by that, but she didn¡¯t say much else as they approached the sect head. ¡°It has been too long,¡± Charlotte said, the old woman standing beneath the shifting flames of a firepine. ¡°I am pleased to see you again.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± John said. ¡°Perhaps I should have spent more time in your counsel. A slightly better understanding of fire and life might have been able to change the trajectory of my cultivation.¡± Charlotte turned, making no attempt to hide her probing. For his own part, John didn¡¯t bother to hide anything either. ¡°I am uncertain if it would have been better. I don¡¯t think we¡¯re quite ready for Ascending Soul Phase cultivators among us.¡± ¡°Perhaps not, but we had better become ready. Quite a few people are at the threshold¡­ you among them, if I am not mistaken.¡± Charlotte shook her head. ¡°Despite my cultivation, I don¡¯t believe I shall ever do more than look at that threshold.¡± ¡°It is possible,¡± John said. ¡°But others will not take long. Perhaps a single stimulus might be enough for each.¡± ¡°And for you?¡± Charlotte asked. ¡°I need more time. More than a few years, and more besides,¡± John said. ¡°But I don¡¯t believe you brought me here to talk about my cultivation, especially if you have given up on advancement. Tell me more about these conflicts.¡± Chapter 297 Ash fluttered down upon the courtyard while Sect Head Charlotte explained the situation. Despite the general lack of smoke, John was still glad he didn¡¯t live in this place. The Phoenix Forest was amazing, but he liked his air quality in Astrein. The fact that he could filter his breathing didn¡¯t matter, he¡¯d rather not have to. ¡°The first incident was somewhere around six months ago,¡± she said. ¡°A small skirmish with a group from the Muted Crags. Such things are bound to happen occasionally, when you have neighbors you don¡¯t get along with. Normally, we are far enough for it to not matter. We had very few stakes beyond the midpoint of the Rolling Dunes, and the few native inhabitants usually don¡¯t cause trouble. But since then, they¡¯ve been pushing further and further, to the point we¡¯ve lost about half our stakes in the Rolling Dunes.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John said. ¡°And do you know what they were after?¡± ¡°Presumably the same things as us. There are certain medicinal herbs that grow freely in that environment. More than a few things prefer growing in the sand. Not everything, of course, but anything that likes good drainage but still frequent enough rain. I can¡¯t expect they would be there for the spiritual energy, given that they are darkness cultivators. They might be interested in different things growing in the area, but that¡¯s about all there is and they haven¡¯t exactly been communicative.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve been having this trouble. What about other sects? I might expect the Phoenix Forest to move against them as a whole.¡± Charlotte shook her head. ¡°Many of the sects don¡¯t care about what grows in that particular environment, or at least not enough to farm the area themselves. A good portion of sects here don¡¯t focus on growth, after all. So it¡¯s less that we are the sole targets, and more than we are some of the primary landholders there. I have heard that there was some trouble further west where some from the Blustering Peaks met the Rolling Dunes, however I have not managed to contact the right people. Either way, Firepine Palace may not have support of the Phoenix Forest as a whole, but we do have our local allies. And you, of course.¡± John nodded. ¡°I was just wondering, since you had indicated it to be something like a unified action of the Muted Crags.¡± ¡°Unified? That is still unclear,¡± Charlotte admitted. ¡°But it is certainly simultaneous. They want something, and are unwilling to wait.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John said. ¡°I assume you haven¡¯t managed to retake any territory to figure out what they want?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Charlotte confirmed. ¡°Our few attempts have failed. It¡¯s quite difficult to deal with darkness cultivators who would rather dissuade your approach. The lack of direct conflict after driving us out might mean they don¡¯t have sufficient forces to fight back, or perhaps they see that as more efficient. That¡¯s much of the reason we wanted you and the Golden Tomb Guardians. You and your sect should at least be trained to handle their misdirection, I assume?¡± ¡°Everyone I brought along is at least prepared to do so,¡± John said. ¡°Though of course few have experience against real opponents. Members of the Tenebach clan would be more effective given their higher cultivations, but Melanthina is doing such a good job running things and she doesn¡¯t need me ruining things by dragging away a bunch of clan members.¡± ¡°Indeed, things haven¡¯t escalated so far just yet,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°The Golden Tomb Guardians should provide sufficient force, should we need it.¡± ----- As it turned out, in a world without instantaneous communication and swift worldwide travel, it took time for people to respond and arrive. The Golden Tomb Guardians were indeed sending a group, but it would be somewhere around a week later than the Six Elements Crossroads¡¯ arrival time. John didn¡¯t intend to let that time be wasted of course. Here they had access to a different balance of elements than normal- which wasn¡¯t great for most of them, but was a good learning experience. They also had the opportunity to spar with Firepine Palace cultivators instead of just each other. ¡°Take a look,¡± John said gesturing to the firepine in the middle of the courtyard of the guest house they were occupying. ¡°A visible example of a positive interaction of elements. I have previously gone over such things, of course, but with the elemental balance of Astrein it is not possible to maintain something like this. Here, however, the dominating fire and earth elements can work together to empower life instead of the fire simply consuming the earth. This requires unique plants or specialized understanding to replicate with your spiritual energy, but it might be something you hadn¡¯t even considered.¡± This was something they needed, he realized. The balance of elements in Astrein was useful for bringing together diverse styles, but they had to actually see those things instead of reading about them on paper. However, having been a sect head for just a few years he thought he was doing quite well. It wasn¡¯t an urgent situation, just something to keep in mind for future growth. Obviously he already knew that experiences were the best way to grow, but not all of them could be found within the confines of Astrein, regardless of special places like the secret valley. ¡°Now then,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m sure many of you have found it difficult to fight here. Those from outside Astrein will understand the difficulty already, but with a different balance you have to rely mostly on your internal energy stores.¡± John scanned his disciples. ¡°Now then, who can tell me what elements are available here in the Phoenix Forest?¡± Everyone looked rather confused at the question. ¡°How about you, Toma?¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The man looked startled to be called upon. ¡°Well, uh¡­ the Phoenix Forest is earth and fire dominant. So mainly earth and fire.¡± ¡°Mainly?¡± ¡°Well, it is possible to convert elements so a cultivator here can replenish themselves still,¡± Toma said, confident in his answer. This was one of the core teachings of the Six Elements Crossroads, after all. ¡°It is too inefficient for use in combat, but the other elements are still available.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± John nodded, ¡°But not the full picture. Does anyone know what he left out?¡± Nobody seemed keen on answering, even though he wasn¡¯t the sort to punish people for being wrong. They simply didn¡¯t want to look foolish if they were. ¡°Taurai?¡± The young woman looked just as uncertain as the older Toma. ¡°Well, uh¡­ with this elemental balance¡­ there¡¯s probably some of the allied elements?¡± ¡°And those would be?¡± John asked. ¡°Air for fire, water for earth.¡± John nodded. ¡°That¡¯s also correct,¡± John said. ¡°But¡­¡± he shrugged. ¡°What do you think comes after that?¡± ¡°Still incomplete?¡± Taurai asked. ¡°Maybe. Is your answer incomplete?¡± he threw it back on her. ¡°Umm, well¡­ could I have a moment?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John said. Taurai furrowed her brow, clearly seeking around her. She drew a small amount of water element out of the surroundings. And then¡­ a speck of darkness. ¡°There¡¯s darkness here too,¡± Taurai said. ¡°Which means?¡± ¡°There should be light as well. So all six elements.¡± ¡°Very good,¡± John said. ¡°Even if the quantities are diminutive, all six elements make their homes here to some extent. They are not evenly balanced like in Astrein, so extracting them is more of a matter of seeking them out than separating them from the mix. How many of you have been to the Stone Conglomerate?¡± John asked. A few hands were raised, reluctantly. But it was better than before, at least. John picked out one student. ¡°What elements were available in the Stone Conglomerate?¡± ¡°Primarily earth,¡± the man answered. ¡°Though there should have been water and darkness as well. Outside of intentional gatherings like the Tenebach clan, I mean.¡± John looked at him, and the man looked back. ¡°What about the Darklands?¡± John prompted. ¡°I haven¡¯t been there, but I would presume the same,¡± he said. He frowned. ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m missing.¡± John waited. He at least recognized he was missing something. ¡°I could assume¡­ that the other elements are available as well? Except perhaps light?¡± ¡°They are all present without exception,¡± John confirmed. ¡°Though of course in the Darklands free light elemental spiritual energy will be extremely minute in quantity. It would have to be, to avoid reacting with the darkness element. But it would be there nonetheless. Ultimately, the point is this. While there may not be practically usable amounts of elements everywhere, there is always some amount. Pure elements are nearly myths in nature. Even spirit water contains traces of other elements, the same with everything else. Perhaps manmade concoctions might achieve perfect purity¡­ or perhaps that might only be possible to the tolerances of what we can perceive. Now, why does this matter?¡± John asked. Ayhan was willing to answer that one. ¡°Because the elements are connected. The cycles and¡­ everything,¡± he said vaguely. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± John said. ¡°From a practical standpoint, if you can convert elements into others you may never need to draw upon practically nonexistent amounts of elements available in particular environments. But it is still important to know they are there, even if potentially a thousand times less. And sometimes, it matters.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked one of the other students. ¡°If it¡¯s one part in a thousand, can¡¯t we ignore it?¡± ¡°You might be able to,¡± John admitted. ¡°But let¡¯s say I made you a sandwich. Everything is as expected, except it¡¯s one part in a thousand deathroot extract. Would you eat it?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± the disciple frowned, clearly trying to remember how potent deathroot was. ¡°No?¡± ¡°What about one part in a million?¡± John asked. ¡°I think that might be fine.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d be dead,¡± John said. ¡°I picked that one in particular because of the extract¡¯s great potency, but you¡¯d be surprised at how much one part in a thousand actually is. And while one part in a thousand isn¡¯t much, if you¡¯re a single element cultivator, the higher Phase you reach the more pure you¡¯re likely to want- or need- your element to get. A tiny amount of impurity is unlikely to prove fatal, except perhaps during a breakthrough to the Ascending Soul Phase or something like that, but one in a thousand is a tenth of a percent. That can throw off your abilities by another order of magnitude. A single percent might not matter, until it does. One percent of a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator¡¯s power is more than enough to pierce through the body of another cultivator.¡± Except perhaps Ursel. But he was going to save information about advanced body tempering abilities until he was certain they were relevant. As for the single percent of power being sufficient, it was true- though it was unlikely a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator would use more than a tenth of their power in a single attack from practical limitations in control, in which case it was more of an iffy statement. ----- Verbal lessons, practical cultivation with disciples converting elements for themselves and others, and finally sparring with Firepine Palace disciples filled the rest of the week. John wanted to spar with Charlotte once more, but he wasn¡¯t certain he was stronger than last time. His cultivation was lower, but he might actually be close to matching. Even so, they couldn¡¯t afford to engage in such activities that might tire them out for days, or result in accidental injuries. And if they weren¡¯t able to be serious, it just wouldn''t be worth it. That could come later. For now, Deirdre had arrived with disciples from the Golden Tomb Guardians, and that meant they would be heading out in a day or two. They did need some rest from their travels, after all. No point in making them head out immediately and lose that few percent of efficiency John had been harping on, and some of the Phoenix Forest sects that were aiding them had likewise just arrived. Chapter 298 Something about the particular elemental balance of the Rolling Dunes caused the earth to be sandy while not being particularly dry, nor extremely hot or cold. At least during the current season, it was quite a pleasant place to walk through, though perhaps in the summer the lack of shade from trees would make it uncomfortable. The area was not lacking in plant life, it was simply not those that fit within a ¡®typical¡¯ landscape, if such a thing even existed. John made certain everyone got some practice moving around atop the sand in combat scenarios when they stopped to rest for the evening. Along with members of the Six Elements Crossroads, there were members of Firepine Palace as well as Golden Tomb Guardians Deirdre had sent with them. She was leading the rest of their forces to a different location, with John taking the command of those around him. The goal was to find members of the Muted Crags and gather information that would help stop their encroachment. Any encounters would likely result in combat, but it wasn¡¯t required. There was no need to go to war if they could help it. Though given the state of things, perhaps it was already too late to call it something else. Their route was guided by one of the senior disciples of Firepine Palace, Helen. She was senior by virtue of cultivation and perhaps contributions, but not so much in terms of age. Helen was no more than a few years older than the triplets and still had a cultivation in the mid Soul Expansion Phase. On some technical level, she was even higher rank than John currently- though her three totems included two third rank and one fourth rank, which while decent for her cultivation were one of the limiting factors. ¡°We have almost arrived,¡± Helen indicated. ¡°Though much of the dunes seem the same, there are important variations in slopes and¡­ well, some things grow better in certain places. A good variety of medicinal herbs grew here. It used to be marked with signs of the Firepine Palace.¡± A few minutes later, they crested a rise and could see the area she spoke about. There were some damaged buildings, partially buried in the sands, as well as a small number of plants scattered about among some broken fences. John approached one of the plants. Comparing to others, there were only a few varieties around- and all vaguely fit within intentional placement. ¡°They seem to have harvested most of the fields, only leaving a small number of plants.¡± Why would that be? ¡°Perhaps they weren¡¯t ready to harvest?¡± Helen shook her head. ¡°Most of the fields wouldn¡¯t have been ready to harvest, or we would have done it ourselves. Of course, it is still possible to get some value for things plucked early, it¡¯s just not optimal. I¡¯m not sure why they¡¯d leave some. These are actually closer to harvestable, now.¡± ¡°To let them grow back,¡± John surmised. ¡°Without doing the work themselves. Otherwise they would have simply captured this location and farmed it properly.¡± It did mean they were betting they could remain in control of the area- or perhaps they intended to raid it, later. ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s much else here to see,¡± John said. ¡°On to the next one, then,¡± Helen commented. ¡°Yes. But¡­¡± John crouched low to the ground, feeling for lingering traces of spiritual energy. If he could pick something up, he might be able to recognize it later. As darkness cultivators they had covered their tracks fairly well- metaphorically, of course, since actual tracks faded quickly wherever there weren¡¯t rooted plants and the sands could shift more easily. ¡°Found something. It¡¯s faint, but I¡¯d say someone passed through not more than a day ago.¡± He approached the building in the best condition, finding more lingering traces there. Neither were enough to follow, but he tried to pick out the weaves of darkness. He might be able to unravel them later, with some forewarning. ----- John was fairly certain he was the first to notice. Even if it was small, he was highly sensitive to differences in the natural elements. The only question is when he should react. They were currently traveling in a small valley between two larger sand dunes, an easier route than trekking up and down slopes. That left the dunes as natural barriers between them and those lying in wait. He didn¡¯t want to lead them into a disadvantageous position, but he also wanted to test the capabilities of those with him. He decided upon a point where he would stop them, not so far that the enemy could surround them. Several of the disciples displayed signs of unease. Perhaps they hadn¡¯t made the conscious connection yet, but they noticed something was off. Maybe they were realizing, but doubted because they expected him to make a remark. Fortunately, one of them made her way forward and spoke to him. ¡°Sect head,¡± the young cultivator from the Soulrot Bogs, Taurai, spoke up. ¡°There are concealed energies on either side of us.¡± She kept her voice to a minimum, but the ambushing cultivators were likely sensitive to any changes in their structure. Before he saw their reaction, John spouted orders. ¡°Advance up the dune to our right! Earth cultivators, secure our footing in the front and rear!¡± John himself moved with the front of their lines as the subdued energy began to react. Instead of gathering earth energy, however, he mainly gathered air. Their opponents reached the top of the dune before them, though even John could only barely make that out. They weren¡¯t covered in a simple shroud of darkness, but a miragelike haze that blended together their figures. A decent tactic, given the surroundings. Even so, John had a plan ready for them. He charged a few steps forward ahead of the group then dropped to one knee, placing his free hand in the ground and injecting his air element into the sand. It was only for a moment, but he liquified the sand beneath their feet. There were two general results. One was to leap away from the area, scattering some of those in the middle third of the enemy lines, and the other was a lack of reaction at all. About half of those in the area were surprised as sand suddenly gave away beneath their feet in an unexpected manner, only to resolidify a moment later when they were sunk halfway into the ground. It would only take them a few moments to extricate themselves, but that was a few moments for at least a half dozen individuals that they wouldn¡¯t be spending attacking John¡¯s forces. And the others who had scattered were out of position, either grouped up with those on their sides or behind their own lines. Except for a couple unlucky individuals who were out front of the rest, and outside of the combined distorting field. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With discrete targets, a few beams of light struck one of the targets simultaneously, provoking a very familiar reaction of light and darkness. While the Golden Tomb Guardians were not even close to the Combining Luster Sect when it came to ranged light element attacks, they¡¯d still at least picked up the basics. It was quite effective against an unprepared opponent. One of the others was bombarded with flames launched by Helen, fire that instantly melted the sand beneath the target woman¡¯s feet. However, there was little time for her to be concerned about sinking into molten glass as the immediate consequences to her body were nearly as great. Her defensive energy helped the darkness cultivator maintain her form, but she was severely injured from just that. John took in the battlefield. He couldn¡¯t quite determine the cultivations of the other group, making their way down the opposite dune, but there were several Soul Expansion Phase cultivators among the ones they were already engaged with. It was best to push through one group so they didn¡¯t have to fight on two sides. To that end, he launched himself forward with several others, swirling earth and darkness around them in a sort of replica of the enemy¡¯s concealment technique. A moment later, John was toe to toe with a cultivator at the twenty-fourth rank, two higher than himself. There were two or three others nearby, weaker but still near the peak of the Foundation Phase. Their main danger was how their figures overlapped with the actual target John wanted to fight. He couldn¡¯t swing his sword as precisely as he would like, instead having to opt for wide sweeping attacks- and even those could be ducked under as his perception of his foes¡¯ positions were off. Dodging their attacks in turn was also difficult. He took more than a few cuts as he got used to their attack timing, though his defensive energy prevented anything fatal. His elements cycled within him, feeding into each other. His swings seemed to become more wild, horizontal slices and chops moving up and down at various angles into the mass of enemies. However, the speed of his attacks made it impossible to truly avoid everything, not and continue engaging him together. When they tossed daggers at him, he blasted them away with swirling tornado of wind, picking up the sand around himself. John infused some more of a particular form of the earth element into the sandy tornado and pressed forward. One enemy fell back, and then another. Soon, the forms resolved into three figures still engaged, meaning John had underestimated their numbers even on the top end. Their positions were still inexact, but he could feel that he¡¯d damaged some of the weaker ones that remained as well. His wild slashes hadn¡¯t just been for the sake of small cuts, but instead the petrification that would spread from those wounds. A muscle or two forced into stiffness could compromise an entire limb. He could feel the rest of the battle, many of his disciples fighting humans for their first time in actual combat. However, they were mixed in with more experienced Golden Tomb Guardians and Firepine Palace disciples. The Golden Tomb Guardians spun their short staves, using them as glaives when it benefited them, cutting into the darkness cultivators to great effect. They were also weak to counterattacks, but with their own training their defensive energy wouldn¡¯t react so explosively- and they had allies of other element to cover them as well. Down the hill, instead of directly engaging the portion of earth element disciples holding their ground were simply shoving sections of the dune at the approaching group, wave after wave. They would retreat further up the dune as they did so, while other disciples made use of whatever ranged abilities they had. They would run out of room soon if the battle at the top of the dune didn¡¯t resolve, but John wasn¡¯t worried about that. His elements combined, air augmenting earth to force the patches of sand he and his opponent stood upon closer. Fire and water created a burst of scading steam that forced the man to block with his arm, while darkness element surrounded John¡¯s sword, slicing a gouge into the man¡¯s arm. But that wasn¡¯t all. Spiritual Energy Absorption drew the man¡¯s energy out of the gash, and with darkness being John¡¯s most familiar element he siphoned his opponent¡¯s energy at little cost to himself. He couldn¡¯t actually replenish his own stores of spiritual energy in such a scenario, but John¡¯s own net expenditure was light in comparison. He didn¡¯t need to keep up the attack for long, either, as he cut down one of the others- fully revealing his opponent. A moment later, a head rolled on the sands, blood soaking into the dune along with that of many others. Darkness cultivators began to flee, and John threw a dagger towards the back of the knee of one. ¡°Don¡¯t pursue! Join forces to take down any who remain!¡± He hoped his attack would make it clear they also weren¡¯t letting them go if they had a good shot. He simply didn¡¯t have time to give chase, instead vaulting down the dunes towards the enemies below. He landed in a great crash, having gone over the heads of all of his disciples. It was¡­ fun. Not the fighting, but the simple act of using his spiritual energy to do what he wanted. John filtered fire element through his totem as more waves of sand were launched at the enemy lines, but this time invisible flames clung to them, causing more than just a bit of pushback from the wave of sand. The battle involved every element- though slightly less water and air than the other elements. It was kind of a chaotic mess¡­ but John thought he felt a greater flow to things. Whether or not it really meant anything, he found an opening to pursue. His disciples charged towards the second line of enemy cultivators with him, and soon enough they were fleeing as well- there was no point in staying to fight if it was obvious they wouldn¡¯t be winning. Perhaps if they had been after someone in particular it would be different, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Instead, they¡¯d simply thought to take advantage of an approaching group of foes trying to reclaim their territory. John watched as attacks flew towards the fleeing darkness cultivators. Most of his disciples listened to his orders not to pursue. One of those who didn¡¯t was too hasty, getting ahead of the group where three opponents turned on him at once. He fell to the ground full of holes. Another had been on that same trajectory, but she passed by John and found herself mired in the sand. The final arrows, beams of light, and the rest settled down as their opponents faded from view further away in the sands. John looked around, seeing the results of the battle. They weren¡¯t without their own casualties, but they¡¯d clearly come out ahead. Especially with the generally young and inexperienced disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads, their losses were acceptable. But he wasn¡¯t going to tell them that. Instead, they would honor their fallen comrades, and John would encourage them to continue to train hard so that they would not end up among them too early. Further conflict was inevitable, at least with the world as it was. Chapter 299 Though he understood that casualties were inevitable, especially for inexperienced cultivators, John didn¡¯t have to be willing to accept each and every one. Even though none of his favored disciples perished, that didn¡¯t make things more acceptable. If everyone had been stronger, John included, they might have kept their lives. That didn¡¯t mean John regretted his decision to join Firepine Palace in pushing back these cultivators. He had brought along only those he deemed ready for combat, and they hadn¡¯t faced foes that were unacceptably powerful either. Coming away with his forces unscathed would have been an exception, rather than the norm. Still, he could learn from this and hopefully do better in the future. And the disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads, of course. They could grow from this. John consulted with Helen of the Firepine Palace and Presley, the representative of the Golden Tomb Guardians. ¡°What should our next move be? We¡¯ve driven away this group, but there might be more in the area. Alternatively, we can track them down and try to catch them off guard. Though they might notice us pursuing them and set another ambush in a location we¡¯re less equipped to handle.¡± ¡°Is there somewhere like that?¡± Helen asked. ¡°With the variety of disciples you have, it seems we are equipped to handle every situation.¡± John shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s only one way to find out. Which is to stumble into such a situation and determine that some training is lacking. And I¡¯d prefer not to find out that way.¡± ¡°I do think we should pursue them,¡± Presley said. His eyes sparkled as he spoke. ¡°They are outside of their territory here, which makes this the best chance to take them down.¡± ¡°Except for our wounded,¡± Helen added. ¡°Those who escaped are in relative health, but we were able to stabilize ours as the victor. They will either slow us down, or we risk their lives sending them back alone.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Presley nodded. ¡°We are also outside of safe territory. Then it would be better to return to a safe zone. There are others to deal with as well.¡± John considered following after them, but none of the disciples were stealthy enough to give the task. He could go himself but¡­ then he would be leaving them all behind. He was quite confident in his ability to not get spotted by the enemy- or to escape if he was- but it would be irresponsible to leave this group behind. He could leave his disciples under the care of Deirdre or Charlotte, but neither Helen nor Presley were strong or experienced enough for him to be comfortable. ¡°Then we will return,¡± John said. ¡°With a victory, spoils of war, and more importantly some information. These people bear the insignia of the Darkrock Clan in the Muted Crags, which provides another point of information on exactly who is involved.¡± It seemed a bit of a stretch to assume that all of the Muted Crags would work together. Even during the intrusion of the Sky Islands and the Molten Sea it took concerted effort to get a sizable portion of those around to act. ----- Just because they were retracing their steps didn¡¯t mean they could be careless. There could be other groups roaming around that might have picked up their trail, intending to drive them away. There wasn¡¯t much danger from local beasts, mainly because of their numbers, but it was possible someone would disturb a venomous snake in some scrub brush. At least they didn¡¯t have to worry about supplies. They had brought plenty of rations with them, and they were able to sustain their stores of water rather easily. Despite being sandy, the Rolling Dunes still had sufficient water for cultivators to extract from the ground with little effort, if they didn¡¯t come across any pools or occasional streams. Indeed, the majority of the water was underground, since the sandy soil allowed the water to sink easily beneath the surface. Finding good places to camp took some work. With the lack of taller foliage, hiding themselves from view meant placing their camp in shallow dips in the dunes- enough to conceal them without placing them in a terribly advantageous position. Their night watchers could look over the surrounding dunes without being too obvious. John¡¯s steps carried him across the sand, yet he left no traces. Instead, with each step he solidified the ground slightly, connecting the grains. It was perhaps a useless exercise given that the majority of their traversal would be obvious, despite the efforts of their earth cultivators to smooth things out. They were still inexperienced, so even if they made the sands perfectly smooth they would either be too perfect, or the lingering spiritual energy would leave a trail of its own. Darkness wasn¡¯t a problem for John. It hadn¡¯t been since he came to this world, except for a short time when his cultivation had been low, before he¡¯d received Ciaritzal¡¯s blessing. In the three decades since then, he¡¯d spent more time as himself with such abilities than he had spent on Earth. Counting Fortkran¡¯s memories it was even more. He didn¡¯t see anything except gently rolling dunes, sands shifting slightly where they were not held in place by the roots of various plants. No enemies tonight, either. Crunching sand drew his attention towards the camp. ¡°You need to sleep,¡± Presley said. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°The cycle of elements fills me with vigor,¡± John said. ¡°Besides, who will replace me? You? I imagine a light cultivator might only make us more obvious.¡± Presley tapped the side of his head, right next to his eye. John saw something. His eyes almost reflected light like a cat¡¯s- but not quite that. Either way, they were brighter than the surroundings. ¡°I don¡¯t have to create external light. Instead, I can amplify what there already is as it enters my eyes. Much more subtle. It may not be an automatic process like your sight, but it works well enough.¡± John nodded. ¡°You can take over this side, then. I¡¯ll get some rest.¡± The last part was basically a lie. It was true that it matched John¡¯s intentions, but he also knew he would by lying awake. Responsibility over others made things like that sometimes. And here they were, somewhere unsafe- and not in their best state. He had fewer worries on their way out, because everyone was healthy¡­ and they hadn¡¯t experienced casualties yet. He knew it would happen, but it was easier to ignore as a mere future event. He might not actually sleep, but meditating properly in a relaxed position with his eyes closed was restful. Five elements working together in harmony¡­ and tiny fragments of a sixth being woven into the greater whole, a little bit at a time. Controlling light was difficult, as not only was it the antithesis of darkness, the core of his cultivation, but also the last piece of the puzzle. One would assume fitting the last piece in with only one place for it to go would be simple, but life wasn¡¯t a simple two dimensional puzzle. It was much more complex, and rather than being a single piece it was more like filling in the last sixth of a puzzle, except the pieces were magnetic. Everything he did pushed or pulled on other pieces. He¡¯d achieved a fairly stable balance as things were, but maybe the configuration wasn¡¯t even correct for adding light. He¡¯d barely managed fire, and nearly died for the effort. He was still recovering from that. Eventually the morning light came, and ironically enough brought an end to his efforts to control the light. Even that much was more than he was comfortable controlling for a long time. ----- Returning all the way into the Phoenix Forest and the Firepine Palace¡¯s sect grounds would have been a long and impractical journey. Instead, they had a camp within the borders of the Rolling Dunes where they could coordinate actions. It was unfortunate that there weren¡¯t many ways to communicate from a distance, but that was the way the world was. Many countries were gaining infrastructure that would allow for rapid long distance communication, the techniques originated by the Sunfields, but that wasn¡¯t the case with the Rolling Dunes. Even if they had it, the communications might not be secure enough to use during a war. Upon returning, John found the fortifications rather¡­ lacking. Or should he say nonexistent. While he was usually for leaving natural environments as they were, this place was of little use defensively. In fact, the only thing it had going for it was the quantity of cultivators present. After entering the camp, he found Deirdre had returned ahead of him. Charlotte, meanwhile, was out on a patrol. She was expected back in a few days, and so John could wait to consult her while letting people rest and recover from wounds. Some might need to remain behind longer term, depending on how their healing went in the next few days. ¡°How did your patrol go?¡± John asked Deirdre. She shrugged. ¡°It was simple enough. We ran into an enemy group, but without any Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators they weren¡¯t much of a threat.¡± ¡°Same thing for us,¡± John said. ¡°Thanks for the disciples, by the way. We really needed more people with decent cultivations.¡± ¡°For founding a new sect, I¡¯m fairly impressed with your progress already. Speaking of which, how are you personally?¡± ¡°Much more confident,¡± John said. ¡°As you can see my cultivation is recovering well.¡± ¡°Only if I¡¯m actively looking. Otherwise you feel¡­ lacking?¡± Deirdre frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not quite certain that is the right word to use, but you don¡¯t exactly feel weak but more like you¡¯re not there at all. Or if you are, you¡¯re missing something. I would assume that it¡¯s the light element, but I usually don¡¯t feel the absence of just one element.¡± John nodded. ¡°I suppose that makes sense. Speaking of which, I¡¯d like your help with personal training. I know it¡¯s quite a while before I have to bond to a light totem, but I¡¯d rather get used to working with the element as soon as possible. Might as well start when I¡¯m like this. It might even be necessary, since if I was stronger I might quash the light element if I tried to draw it in.¡± ¡°Oh? The teachers I sent to the Crossroads not good enough for you?¡± Deirdre grinned. ¡°You know you¡¯re better. And while they¡¯re quite capable of teaching new cultivators, they couldn¡¯t really help me with my particular issues. I¡¯m quite certain starting from a blank slate I could control light just fine. But I have some difficulties like this.¡± Deirdre nodded. ¡°I get it. I¡¯ll gladly provide some time for you. And maybe I¡¯ll even learn something myself, since I¡¯ve mainly been training with those who have my same perspective. Both the Combining Luster Sect, when we get them up to us, and Cuah¡¯arn herself, are also pure light cultivators. So no matter how valuable they are to our growth, there¡¯s a limit to the sorts of things they can help with.¡± ¡°Well, if I have any insights I¡¯ll let you know. But right now I¡¯m mainly working on not exploding myself. I have consulted with Viriato who was one of the most reckless cultivators I know- went straight for light and darkness. I think¡­ he might be a genius who doesn¡¯t really care about cultivation all that much. I¡¯d say it was a shame, but he¡¯s quite good at managing business ventures so it¡¯s not like he¡¯s doing nothing. I¡¯d rather have him than a dozen others who can only fight.¡± ¡°Interesting. Do you think you¡¯ll be up for training while we¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± John said. ¡°Obviously we can¡¯t do too much, since we have to stay ready for action, but it would be a great time to test things in a practical setting. What¡¯s the best way to disrupt a darkness cultivator with just a tiny amount of light?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t already know?¡± Deidre raised an eyebrow. ¡°Or are you just trying to get me to give up all of my secrets?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± John said, answering both questions at once in the most unhelpful manner. Chapter 300 Light was not John¡¯s friend. He knew that, of course, but he was reminded every time he experienced going up against it. Even with his other elements to balance things out, John often defaulted to using darkness when he had little reason to use anything specific. It was mainly for when he expected back and forth exchanges, or he tended to build up his power by making use of the elemental cycles. It was a bad habit he was only picking up on now. It was true that all of his totems had some sort of affinity with darkness, but just because it was easy didn¡¯t make it the right move. Deirdre made it quite obvious as she sparred against him. Darkness wreathed his sword as he went in for an attack. He expected her to dodge or block, but instead her eye merely flicked to his weapon for a single instant. Focused beams of light struck his blade, using only a tiny amount of energy. If it was any more, he would have had time to react to its buildup, to anticipate and to counter. Instead, he was only able to react, locking down his darkness energy to prevent an explosive reaction between the two conflicting elements. His sword continued to swing towards Deirdre, but she didn¡¯t even bother blocking. Her staff thrust towards him, a blade extending from its tip and resting against his throat after punching through his spiritual energy. His own attack merely bounced off of her defenses. ¡°You know¡­¡± John said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed to lose if you beat me because of your higher cultivation, but you¡¯re basically matching me in energy level.¡± John looked at his sword. He¡¯d gathered a significant amount of energy for that attack. Why hadn¡¯t it worked? ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that¡¯s quite true,¡± Deirdre admitted. ¡°I¡¯m more aiming for the peak of Soul Expansion. If I used only as much energy as you at the twenty-second rank, I would have much more trouble.¡± ¡°Still¡­ how do you keep countering me so easily? Ah, I don¡¯t actually want you to answer that. I need to figure it out myself. Though if I act like a buffoon for a while, you can let me know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter both simple and complex,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°Oh, very helpful,¡± John rolled his eyes. ¡°Glad to be of assistance,¡± she grinned. They returned to something akin to starting positions, and began again. Their sparring was relatively light, given that they might have to move out at any time, but they still took it as seriously as possible. John was familiar with the fighting style of the Golden Tomb Guardians, and she was familiar with him. There weren¡¯t necessarily any advantages for either of them. So had she picked out a weakness in darkness specifically, or was it him? Was there a difference between a cultivator¡¯s weakness and that of their elements? Such questions were hard to go over in detail when glaive-like blades of light kept slicing in front of his face. He knew he had to block Deirdre¡¯s short staff if he was going to block at all, but it was difficult. John began to pick out what was wrong. A weakness in his darkness. Given that light and darkness were mutually opposed, he felt like he should have been able to exploit some advantage in her, but he didn¡¯t find himself able to. While against some light cultivators, a grazing blow with his sword wrapped in darkness might blast apart their energy defenses, she was trained to prevent that reaction just as much as he was. Perhaps more, since he didn¡¯t only have darkness to rely on. And yet¡­ he did tend to use it quite frequently, didn¡¯t he? That was the catch. Whenever he used darkness unthinkingly, she would respond with a burst of light. John had the experience to keep it from reacting explosively with his own darkness, but he still produced an opening- while he was locking down the elements, he was barely able to focus elsewhere. It happened almost every time, meaning his attempts to take advantage of her weakness actually worked against him. But he couldn¡¯t ignore darkness as an element. It was twenty percent of his power, after all, and leaving out any component actually weakened him by more than that amount. He just had to be intentional about things. John gathered darkness on his blade as he sliced towards Deirdre, but he wasn¡¯t using it as his actual power behind the attack. Earth and water paired together, hiding under the darkness. When Deirdre flicked her sleeve, releasing a wave of light in front of her, John pushed his darkness towards her. Their energies were quite small, so when they mutually annihilated in the middle it resulted in more noise than actual danger. But John¡¯s attack was still on its way. Deidre still deflected his sword, but she had to put a bit more effort into it. Just because she was exploiting his bad habit didn¡¯t mean that she was going to crumple when he recognized it properly for once. Against an opponent closer to his own power, John might not have encountered that particular flaw. He was strong enough to overcome the difficulty, and it wasn¡¯t as easily exploited as Deirdre made it look. But it was something that needed fixing nonetheless. The more John preferred a particular element, the weaker he would be in the long run. He imagined that also included the direction he cycled his elements. Obviously there were some limitations on that since he had to build up a dominant element in the end, but there were still options. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He could begin with fire and feed it into water, or start with water and augment it afterwards. Thus, he could make different chains depending on what he started with. There was also the possibility to cycle through darkness from either earth or water¡­ and when he eventually began to incorporate light into his actual fighting abilities, he would open up more routes with fire and air too. The only issue was if he expected to end on a certain element and was interrupted before he got there. He would have to remain flexible. If he went from air to earth and anticipated reaching fire, he might fail to properly clash against a foe with an imperfect form of earth only intended for empowering his next element. How quickly he could cycle elements was another matter as well. ¡°You know,¡± John said. ¡°I appreciate your help greatly. But I don¡¯t think I learned anything about actually controlling light myself.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°That was kind of the point. It might not be very helpful, but the best thing I can say is you should focus on rapid and unexpected applications. Especially with your inability to control it in quantity. I expect you can find the openings yourself.¡± That was true. He was going to push for some amount of instruction on light control, however. He had mostly approached it from the position of an antagonist, but if he was to eventually reach the legendary realm of the Exalted Soul Phase he¡¯d need to do better than that. ----- Charlotte addressed the various cultivators present in the command tent. ¡°The Muted Crags are clearly unwilling to fight on our terms. It should not surprised us that they would be willing to give up the territory they stole to keep their lives, since they didn¡¯t invest anything into it. But they should still be fearful of further retaliation. Why would they be willing to provoke us? That was the question we needed to answer, and ultimately we don¡¯t know anything for certain. However, we have at least determined one thing. It is the cultivators of the Black Peaks that are ultimately responsible.¡± She looked around the room. ¡°For those unfamiliar, the Black Peaks could be called something like a city-state. An association of various cultivators with geographical proximity working more or less towards common goals.¡± ¡°Do we know of any clans or sects leading this aggression among them?¡± Deidre asked. ¡°Not yet,¡± Charlotte shook her head. ¡°But it is unlikely that they would begin to push so aggressively without a backer or someone taking the helm. A sect, a clan, a few powerful individuals. Unfortunately, we haven¡¯t yet gotten any concrete information. But there are a few people who might still talk.¡± Alister of the Crimson Juniper sect spoke up next. ¡°How do we intend to respond?¡± ¡°A siege on the Black Peaks,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°If they have nothing to lose, seeking them out will only result in them fleeing. And their current losses will do little to dissuade future attacks. If we appear weak, we will only lose more.¡± That was an unfortunate truth in the world of cultivation. It wasn¡¯t possible to bring the full force of any sect or clan to protect each and every one of their assets. Rather than defending their sources of income- though they still did need some guards- it was more important to dissuade people with the threat of greater retaliation. Resources could be used, destroyed, or sold away before meaningful retaliations could happen, meaning that even if they wiped out an attacking group, it didn¡¯t always bring them back to the place they were before. And the losses of manpower weren¡¯t that easy to overcome either. Trained cultivators were required as defenders, but too many would be both expensive and limit the diversity of locations that could be covered, and too few would simply perish to determined attackers. ¡°What will we do about hidden pockets in the Rolling Dunes?¡± John asked. ¡°If we pass them by, we might leave the Phoenix Forest open.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°We will sweep the Rolling Dunes with several more patrols before beginning our combined march. That¡¯s not just to drive them out, but to let them think we are uncertain about approaching the Muted Crags. In actuality, we will have people scouting there to find an optimal route. It has been ages since the last conflict with the Muted Crags, so our maps might be out of date.¡± If he was leading a squad from the Tenebach Clan, John would doubtless be involved in scouting. As it was, his group would be too noticeable. No matter how much they attempted to dilute their presence, there were too many people with no stealth skills of their own. They were also too weak and inexperienced to achieve the level of quality required. John might be able to scout on his own. There were certain dangers to that, however. And without inflating his ego, John knew he was too important for that risk. Or put another way, he knew too many people who would be upset he took on such a task alone. At least in his current state. If he was back at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase he could reliably flee from pretty much any threat, but he was just a little bit too limited at the current moment. The discussion continued with plans for particular patrols, determining how they would cover the most of the dunes and potential hiding places. There would still be forces available in the Phoenix Forest to protect the various sects there in case anyone slipped past, and it could only be small forces, but it was still something that had to be considered. Especially if they were intending to engage in any sort of siege. Cultivator sieges tended to move faster, since some of the strongest siege weapons were the people themselves. There were also the worries about reinforcements- or conversely, a group was weak enough to be known to not have any reinforcements so there was little risk in forcing a battle swiftly. Even so, with travel in both directions and somewhere between days and weeks of potential skirmishes along the way and time for a siege, they couldn¡¯t afford to send too many people ahead. Thus the reason to call upon other sects as well as people outside the Phoenix Forest. Chapter 301 Making their way north, there were a few skirmishes with Muted Crags cultivators. They always attempted stealth, but John¡¯s connection to darkness continued to deny them the critical moments of ambush at the beginning of a battle. Conversely, the mixed elemental nature of John¡¯s disciples, their inexperience, and their relative weakness meant that they were never able to secure a proper ambush of their own. Thus, each conflict tended to be a short exchange with the enemy quickly disengaging once they realized they were outmatched. John never let his disciples chase them far- though he also wasn¡¯t going to waste the opportunity to thin the enemy¡¯s forces somewhat. If their forces were overwhelming it wouldn¡¯t matter if they were led into a further ambush, but there was no way to know what the enemy had prepared, especially as they drew closer to the Muted Crags themselves. Because their earlier travel had been efficient, John lowered their pace. The others sweeping through the Rolling Dunes were on a particular schedule, and he didn¡¯t want to enter actual enemy territory far ahead of the rest of the army. Thus, they proceeded with caution, John doing his best to allow people to experience scouting for their enemies. He couldn¡¯t delay long after noticing the enemy or he might allow them to be on the back foot, but he knew he had some leeway where one of their others cultivators might also have a chance to spot the enemy. Taurai was one of those who was capable in that regard, with her own darkness cultivation. When they actually began to enter the proper Muted Crags, the terrain rapidly shifted. Dunes rapidly gave way to a stone forest, though the actual stone itself wasn¡¯t as important as its arrangement and shape. Every step they took faded rapidly, rather than echoing between the rocks. The darkness element in the region did not function merely as a lack of light- indeed, the region was at worst a hazy twilight rather than truly dark- but instead dulled every sense. The rough vertical stones scattered and dampened sound rather than reflecting it, to the point that John mostly heard his own breathing and his heart within his chest. Boots on solid ground were more like slippers on carpet. Scents seemed to be dulled as well, though it was never something that had been precise for most humans. Despite the lack of regular patterns in the structures around them, John still constantly felt like they were passing back through the same points. It would be easy to get disoriented, should his attention wane for too long. Among all that, picking out hiding cultivators seemed like it would be almost impossible. They would certainly have some difficulty picking out details among the advancing group as well, but the natives would no doubt have a significant advantage. John couldn¡¯t be certain if they were being watched even now, since while he couldn¡¯t pick anyone out he also couldn¡¯t say for certain they were alone. There were occasional pockets of respite, where there were wider areas between the rock faces, diminishing the dulling effects somewhat. These were also encouraging as it would place any ambushers further away. While ranged combatants did exists among cultivators, a significant distance could allow the defenders an opportunity to rally together and resist attacks. But so far, they hadn¡¯t run into any enemies within the Muted Crags themselves. Part of that was that they had been avoiding the main roads- those would provide a much clearer path, but would also make their approach more obvious. The main forces of the Firepine Palace would be utilizing the main roads because their approach would be obvious regardless, so an easier path would be best for them. But for a relatively smaller group like John¡¯s, he had deemed this to be better. And since they had no trouble so far, he had to say it was going fairly well. ¡°We need to find somewhere to rest for the night,¡± John said, mainly to Helen and Presley who were leading the Firepine Palace and Golden Tomb Guardians attached to the Six Elements Crossroads. ¡°Should we look for a town?¡± Helen asked. ¡°It would be too likely for them to be under the thumb of the Black Peaks,¡± John shook his head. ¡°Caves, then?¡± Presley asked. ¡°We might rest atop some of these crags, but we would hardly be concealed.¡± ¡°Caves might do well for us,¡± John said. ¡°Or an appropriate nook where we can limit the areas of approach. Of course, there are troubles with being too focused on limiting them, since we also need to use them to retreat. A nice, disused alley of sorts might be best.¡± Ultimately they found an area with three or four approaches, depending on how they wanted to count one that split a dozen meters from the edge of the camp. John set some of their number to fortifying the area while he and some others climbed for better vantage points, hoping to pick out any immediate threats. But they still saw no cultivators, and local wildlife had been sparse as well. Not that the area was without some life, but clearly their chosen route was about as empty as things could get. ----- Daylight had been rather dull, but nighttime in the Muted Crags was like peering through a dense fog. And that was for John, who was attuned to darkness. Others might not be able to see their hands in front of their faces. At least they didn¡¯t have to worry too much about someone stumbling across their camp accidentally. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. It didn¡¯t make John less nervous about possible attacks, of course. However, the only things he found approaching their camp were slithering things that wouldn¡¯t find anything of an edible size¡­ except perhaps the rodents that seemed interested in their supplies. Such things could hardly be called an attack, of course. Being careless with their supplies and running out of food in enemy territory would be problematic, but there didn¡¯t seem to be anything of direct danger to their squads. Thus, John assigned a few disciples to drive the rodents away, letting them get snatched up by waiting serpents. The rodents weren¡¯t mere animals, instead imbued with some amount of darkness element, but they were only strong enough to be trouble for individuals without cultivation of their own. A common pest, as far as the world was concerned. John took an extra shift on guard, because he wouldn¡¯t have been able to sleep regardless. They should meet up with allied forces soon, assuming all went well for the others, but they were still several days out from their true destination. ----- An unnatural pulse within the local darkness element informed John of the presence of enemy cultivators. Such darkness was pervasive, and normally such subtle shifts wouldn¡¯t be of note. But compared to what he was sensing normally, it stood out like a sore thumb. John focused on the single grain of light element stored within himself. Fire and air wrapped around it to insulate it from its surroundings, and he kept that structure in place as he drew forth the small amount of power. A burst of spiritual energy sent it forward into the area ahead. It exploded like a firework, leaving a momentary impression of silhouettes. Except, instead of being lingering images on John¡¯s retina, they were silhouettes of spiritual energy. Words weren¡¯t strictly necessary after such an opening, but John still called out orders. ¡°Combat formations! Take care, enemy numbers still unknown!¡± He¡¯d only directly sensed a few, but since they hadn¡¯t immediately run upon being discovered that meant there should be a decent quantity of enemies. Helen immediately led the Firepine Palace in their opening move, entrapping two of the possible approaches with explosively condensed fire element. In the shape of a Firepine cone, the spiritual energy would detonate when sufficiently disturbed. That didn¡¯t meant that intentionally setting them off was a viable strategy, however, as one group immediately learned. A simple dart of energy destabilized one of the explosive elements, but before it detonated it propelled itself in the direction of the attack. Rocks crashed to the ground and cultivators cried out in pain as it rocked the surroundings. From a surrounding cliffside came a hail of arrows. Even with the watchful eyes of the Golden Tomb Guardians, Muted Crags forces had managed to take over one of the surrounding high points. Six Element Crossroads cultivators surrounded themselves in various barriers, coming together to resist the assault. John made his way through the body of cultivators. ¡°Lend me control!¡± His disciples were used to allowing him to direct the flow of their energy. The first thing he did was create a single vortex of air above them, deflecting the second volley of arrows. It wouldn¡¯t last forever, but long enough for him to reach his proper destination. The base of where the archers stood. Earth flowed through and around him, empowered by dozens of disciples. John kicked forward, striking the base of the cliff. Perhaps Renato or Johannes could crumble such a cliff in a single blow, but even with the spiritual energy of other cultivators John wasn¡¯t in a state to perform such an action at the moment. However, as his energy struck the cliff it sunk into it with no immediate visual effect. Until the top of the crag began to sway, first wobbling back then snapping forward. About half of the cultivators were either flung off or had to desperately grab onto a companion or otherwise anchor themselves. Many of the Golden Tomb Guardians had a vantage point on another crag, and began to take out what enemies they could find. Some had slipped past the second fiery explosive without triggering it, while others were climbing over the rubble from the first. So far no enemies came from the far end of their formation, but they had people watching their rear just in case. Even aware of the presence of the enemy, it was hard to pick out individual enemies as they approached. Their attacks were swift as they darted forward and back, never engaging the front lines. But wherever more than a few gathered, they were caught up in a crossfire of elements- and attacks were directed by those with the best senses. John himself cut down over a dozen opponents within the next minute of the battle, while directing needed spiritual energies to the weakest parts of their defense. He only controlled a portion of everyone¡¯s energy- he couldn¡¯t actually keep the entire battlefield in mind all by himself. Not currently, at least. Besides, it was rarely beneficial for a single individual to control everything regardless. Rather than being efficient, it would most probably result in huge wastes of energy whether attacks landed or missed. Smaller groups of disciples fought side by side, earth cultivators taking hits while air cultivators counterattacked swiftly. Water cultivators slowed the enemy, and fire cultivators focused on wide area tracks. Light cultivators created disruptive bursts, stunning enemy cultivators momentarily as well as revealing their locations in better detail. The enemy had misjudged their strength- perhaps they hadn¡¯t come for anyone in particular. John¡¯s personal power was greater than it appeared, of course, and very few cultivators were used to fighting against all of the elements together at once- conversely, they had been victorious against Muted Crags cultivators several times already, so they had experience with these tactics. It might have even been easy if it weren¡¯t for the terrain advantage they had, allowing the ambush to happen at all and for them to maintain some level of concealment during the battle. Darkness cultivators moved around, slicing and stabbing, only half seen. But their momentum was waning. This was a battle they couldn¡¯t win- and John wasn¡¯t leading the only group coming for their territory. No doubt other battles had happened or would happen soon, as they marched on the city known as the Black Peaks. John cut down the few closest enemies as they began to retreat, but he made certain his people didn¡¯t go too far. They had to take care of their wounded and finish what rest they could manage within enemy territory. Hopefully they could force their enemies into a straightforward fight when they reached the city. Or better, force a surrender of some sort without battle. However unlikely that was, it was still the best option. Chapter 302 The approach to the Black Peaks themselves had few straight paths, with many layers of tall spires and larger crags overlapping. What that ultimately meant was attacks could come from any direction at any point, and combined with potential traps it would make things hell for an approaching army. John wasn¡¯t stupid enough to approach alone, instead waiting for more of their army to begin the approach. Though the plan had been to meet up and directly siege the city, John intercepted Charlotte and explained what he had seen. ¡°Approaching without all of us would be tantamount to suicide,¡± John said. ¡°Unless they¡¯re significantly weaker than we anticipated, but we can¡¯t really bet on that, can we?¡± ¡°No,¡± Charlotte agreed. ¡°How troublesome. This approach will take longer than anticipated. We were hoping to reach the city before they could gather reinforcements. Do you think we could push through?¡± ¡°Depends on what sort of traps they might have set. And their total forces. But unfortunately, we don¡¯t have that information. All we know is that they don¡¯t have overwhelming forces or it shouldn¡¯t have gotten to this point. They would have easily kept their positions in the Rolling Dunes. And if they truly didn¡¯t want them, it would have been better for them to retreat without fighting.¡± ¡°What about the main road?¡± Charlotte asked. ¡°I would expect it to have the most troublesome traps and the like. Or maybe there would be nothing at all. But I doubt we¡¯d be so lucky.¡± ¡°Too bad. The road, at least, would be less affected by the numbing effect of the terrain.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, it seems we will have to deal with it,¡± John shook his head. ¡°I came with the main body of the army,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°With you, perhaps a third of our forces are here. We should at least begin pushing our way forward to see what dangers lie ahead. It¡¯s unlikely they can cause us serious damage without bringing all of their forces out of the city together.¡± John nodded. It was only a dozen kilometers or so. Such a journey would have taken an hour or two of marching at a normal pace, but it would be a bit more complicated now. Waiting for more of their forces was an option, but beginning to figure things out would also be beneficial. John only had vague feelings of danger so far, nothing concrete. Though now that he thought about it, vague feelings of danger might be the best traps if it was possible to set that up consistently. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead with a small group.¡± Specifically, John intended to bring cultivators of every element with him to make use of their perceptions. He chose Ayhan, Lir, Taura, and Toma from the Six Elements Crossroads which already covered everything, then he added Helen and Presley from Firepine Palace and the Golden Tomb Guardians respectively. It was still a relatively small and compact group, and they would have different perspectives for picking out potential threats. Their numbers would also be small enough to actually sneak around. ¡°We¡¯re going to scout ahead,¡± John explained. ¡°Point out anything at all that stands out. I mean it. If we have to spend an hour to take a single step, it¡¯s better than running into some sort of trap that makes certain we never move forward again.¡± With that, they formed up and began walking forward slowly. ¡°Do we start now?¡± Ayhan asked. ¡°Umm, I mean. That rock seems out of place, sect head Miller.¡± John stopped, and so did everyone else. He looked at the rock. Then he extended a facsimile of energy ahead, brushing against the ground. Nothing. But he still reached out for the boulder that was indeed somewhat unnaturally placed in one of the rock faces. With a small tug, it tumbled out of the wall, a burst of spiritual energy as it rolled with speed only to crash into another wall and crumble to pieces. John folded his arms. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if that was an actual trap or not. There might have been a way to trigger it¡­ or there might not have and it was just a rock. But still worth pointing out.¡± They had barely taken a few more steps when Taurai called out. ¡°Senior! Sir. Sect Head. Um, there¡¯s some sort of¡­ vortex¡­?¡± ¡°Where?¡± John asked, and she pointed to the ground. So it was the one he had sensed. This one, at least, seemed more like an intentional effort on the part of the Muted Crags. It was darkness element, after all. An earth element trap might or might not be within their purview, but this one certainly was. John chucked a rock at it. It sank into the ground, but unfortunately it didn¡¯t drain the spiritual energy from the trap. It could consume quite a bit more. ¡°Come close, Taurai,¡± John said. ¡°We¡¯re going to siphon away the darkness element. If you can, you want to absorb the energy you retrieve. If it¡¯s too dangerous to absorb or you become overfull, just let it disperse anywhere vaguely in that direction,¡± John said. He reached out to begin doing as he had said. As far as he could tell, there was no counterforce this trap would produce. It was what it was- an annoying sinking trap that might cause more than just discomfort to anyone entrapped, but it wasn¡¯t going to blast explosions as they tried to pull it apart. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Then there was another trap, a few steps further and to the side. That one was just a bundle of darkness energy set to explode upon being touched or otherwise interacted with, and a tossed rock did resolve that one. ¡°Wait!¡± Ayhan called out once more. ¡°Uh, this time it¡¯s¡­ all of that?¡± he gestured to one of the spires. ¡°Good,¡± John said. ¡°Try to disarm it.¡± ¡°But I uh¡­ hmm¡­¡± Ayhan furrowed his brow. ¡°What if¡­?¡± instead of actually asking, he was planning something. John could feel him drawing upon his air element, charging up for something. Then, an arc of lightning shot from his hand to the spire. It crackled, but that was it. ¡°Not quite enough,¡± Ayhan said. ¡°Once more!¡± The second time, the whole spire exploded. Needless to say, John had anticipated that possibility. Even Ayhan seemed to have known- but he perhaps didn¡¯t think about it in the right way. John yanked the disciple back, tossing him into the middle of the others as he raised earthen barriers to deflect the flying rocks around their group. ¡°Ayhan,¡± John said, when the pillar was little more than shards of stone on the ground. ¡°While that was a fairly energy efficient method of dismantling the trap, you seem to have forgotten about certain consequences for overcharging it.¡± ¡°I- uh- yeah,¡± Ayhan hung his head. ¡°So do better next time,¡± John said. ¡°Anyway, we have our route forward,¡± John gestured. Suddenly, there was no longer anything blocking their path for a few dozen meters. ¡°We can guarantee there are no traps along there.¡± At this point, they were still within sight of Charlotte and her group, and they¡¯d barely seemed to have done anything at all. Personally, John was happy with their progress. And thinking about how much effort must have gone into setting up so many traps, as long as they defeated them with any amount of efficiency he didn¡¯t mind it. Lir caught the next one. ¡°There. At the top of that large cliff,¡± she said. Truthfully, it had been a toss up between her and Taurai for who would most likely sense it first, as both were partial water cultivators. Though someone else might have sensed it first. ¡°It looks like¡­ an entire lake would wash over this narrow path?¡± John nodded. The terrain of the Muted Crags made it more difficult to sense anything- otherwise, these traps would be extremely obvious as they were mostly charged spiritual energy barely restrained in a single spot. Not that he would expect anything different when they had to cover a large area all at once. They certainly couldn¡¯t have set these traps up for the long term, because then it would be impossible for them to move about in their own territory. John continued to look at the trap for a while. ¡°An entire lake, huh¡­¡± it really was there, barely restrained by rock walls that appeared to have been weakened just for this purpose. He had the feeling it would have been a beautiful thing- a lake that found a home in rocky crags- but now it was a weapon. Trying to discern exactly what it would do was difficult. Obviously simply dumping water on cultivators would be a bit underwhelming. Even if they were shoved into rocks it would be¡­ barely harmful. The water element imbued into the lake, however, might cause it to freeze over them? That would certainly be much more dangerous. And give any hidden attackers a good opening. John didn¡¯t feel anyone, but then again they weren¡¯t far from the main body of the army. It would be a bit risky to come after them right now. That said, it was that sense of security that would make an ambush even more effective if it happened. So, how to disable that thing? If he climbed up the crags and made a channel out the far side¡­ well, that would only work if he didn¡¯t cause a disturbance to the lake. And it might not react so predictably if he did. Vaulting a rock into the middle of the water didn¡¯t do much, unfortunately. They were far enough back that a catastrophic failure of the trap would have been fine, but the rock basically just fell into the lake and maybe caused some fluctuations in the water element charged in it. He could also feel the various tendrils of connected spiritual energy going down towards ground level, ready to catch anyone walking past and trigger. If they had a horse or something they were willing to sacrifice, it might be worthwhile. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do,¡± John said finally. ¡°Lir and Taurai, prepare to hold the water in liquid form, and channel it away from us if it comes down to that. Ayhan, if it begins to spill over I want you to deepen the channel so that it can¡¯t spray far towards us. Helen, I think it is intended to suddenly freeze, so if it makes its way towards us I would prefer if you help force it into whatever the best form for us is.¡± The whole wall was intended to fall out together, but John had a plan. If he reinforced the close part with earth, then the wall should burst away from them. And they were standing out of the way as much as possible to begin with. ¡°Everyone ready?¡± John confirmed, then began his work. As he¡¯d feared, as soon as he actually began tampering with the trap it reacted. He was only able to solidify a small portion of the rock¡­ and everything spiraled into disaster from there. Water began to rush over the edge of the cliff as parts of the rock face crumbled. If it was entirely random in its flow they would have been fine, but it was clearly directed to seek out sources of spiritual energy. John was glad for Helen and Presley, as their relatively higher cultivations allowed them to fight back directly against the trap. John also did his best to stem the tide of water rushing towards them, deflecting it, turning some into steam, and trying to ¡®trick¡¯ it into going somewhere else with some darkness element. The danger only lasted a few moments, and ultimately they got out of there with no injuries- but John had expended quite a bit of his spiritual energy, along with the others. Looking at the area they had covered, it was a rather pitiful distance. It also wasn¡¯t nearly wide enough to properly guide an army through, so they would need more squads working at this same thing if they wanted to arrive in a reasonable time. But no offense to most of their allies, it would be difficult for them to find and deal with the traps. They mostly had fire and light cultivators, after all. John would consult Charlotte about it. But whatever they actually did would have to happen in the morning, because he was taking the rest of the day off. It was simply too risky to continue and exhaust himself. How pathetic would it be to die to a simple trap? They might have to push harder once the whole army was around, but for the moment this would have to do. Chapter 303 Progress dealing with the various traps left along the route to the Black Peaks had been slow. John wasn¡¯t quite certain which options they should pursue for further advancement. Obviously their progress wasn¡¯t enough. More people would be better to some extent, but that also brought with it more chances for a slip up. Trying a different route might be better- there was no guarantee that they equally trapped all directions, given that they knew people would generally be coming from the south. These were the things John was thinking about as he drifted off to sleep. With Charlotte and Deirdre both present, he was comfortable enough to properly do so. And that comfort lasted for all of a few hours. He awoke to a piercing shard of light element jabbing into his head. Not actually, of course. None of the light element cultivators would have any reason to do so. Still, it was like he¡¯d gone from sleeping in total darkness to opening his eyes and looking directly at the sun. Which woke him up rather quickly, and alerted him to the many smaller and more subtle flickers of energy. It was crazy that he hadn¡¯t immediately felt Charlotte, at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase, but that was how the Muted Crags functioned. Even camping in the area reduced their ability to sense their own allies. So incoming attackers were even more difficult- though not unexpected. John slept in his armor- it was light and comfortable, enchanted cloth and some heavier pieces to cover important vitals. Like his chest and neck. His sword was in his hand in an instant, and he stepped into the chaos outside. That was the part that needed fixing immediately. At a glance, John didn¡¯t feel that the enemy forces were too overwhelming. It was just that their side was reacting poorly to the attack. Five elements flowed through him, amplifying each other. That would draw the attention of their enemies, but he could amplify that to pierce through the haze around them, being a beacon for allies as well. ¡°Six Elements! Form up!¡± he called. His first target was Charlotte. She was the backbone of this operation, and thus a priority for both sides. John cut his way through a few Black Peaks cultivators along the way to her, diverting his path to pick up groups of cultivators. With some of the enemies driven from their midst, they were able to fight properly. John focused his energy on cutting through the veil of darkness that permeated the area. The more their side could sense, the better they would do. Then he felt something. A being of darkness so pure, even his enhanced senses wouldn¡¯t have been able to pick him out if not for intimate familiarity with Ciaritzal, a spirit of darkness. John had no time to think. He simply gathered every speck of light element he stored within him- which was admittedly not much- focusing it towards the man in an extremely short burst, like a laser pulse. Only the most incompetent darkness cultivator would fall to a level of power so far below their own, even if it was light element that was mutually destructive. And the man John sensed was far from incompetent. He was powerful. Ascending Soul Phase, almost certainly. The man shrugged off John¡¯s attack, but the conflicting spark drew the attention of the one who mattered most. Charlotte spun around, the forest of flames she carried with her spinning around. Violent explosions filled the area where the man had appeared, one after the other. That didn¡¯t stop the man, but it certainly slowed him. Not quite enough, however. His figure appeared, a sharp dagger stabbing forward. Charlotte had no recourse except to block with her own forearm, the blade piercing through her. There was a moment when a cloaked figure, hazy in form so that even the darkness of his form wasn¡¯t clear cut, lingered in John¡¯s vision. Then dozens of tendrils from conjured fire lotus began to wrap around him, and a few dozen attacks blanketed the area, coming from other Firepine Palace cultivators. The man disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared- but they had at least caused him some trouble. And Charlotte was not in as poor of a state as she might have been. She was alive, at least. Her arm, however¡­ she instantly cauterized the wound, leaving a visible hole in her arm. A decisive move, meant to prevent both bleeding and eradicate any poison. John admired her willpower. A large number of darkness cultivators were still attacking from the periphery of the camp, their presences hidden by the natural terrain, but the army was setting up a proper perimeter. Only having to fight those on the outside greatly increased their efficiency. Of course, the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator wasn¡¯t going to be satisfied with a single attack. He appeared across the battlefield, taking out the representative of one of the Phoenix Forest sects. An early Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, taken out in an instant. The next attack came for Deirdre, a dagger of darkness that pierced through the night sky and towards her side. However, the destructive reaction that was expected from powerful light and darkness clashing didn¡¯t happen- or rather not immediately. Her light element wrapped around the thrown weapon, redirecting it out away from the camp where it then exploded quite violently, causing a nearby cliff face to crumble. John tried to keep his focus on the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator as much as he could. He was unfortunately under informed about the strongest cultivators in the Muted Crags, so he could hardly guess the man¡¯s name. Maybe there were a few he¡¯d heard of who had the potential to break through to such a level, but even then he could be making things up. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. A dagger came flying towards his neck. John dodged¡­ but knew that there was more to it. It took as much energy as he could redirect in that instant to just barely deflect the second dagger hidden in the shadow of the first, and even then it scraped across his ribs, cutting through his armor. There was some pain, but John was uncertain if it tore through his skin. Diamond Defense might have just saved him- plus the extra training with Ursel. The four core elements flooded the potential wound, as John wanted to deal with poison even less than Charlotte. He didn¡¯t have any specific technique, but instead merely tried to pull away anything that didn¡¯t belong there. The battlefield trembled as one of the nearby crags shook and then crumbled to pieces, a victim of collateral damage. As it crashed to the ground, the haze of confusion slightly cleared up- the strange material unable to maintain its effects without proper form. John took note of that as the battle continued to shift. It was a long battle where they slowly beat back the attackers, but ultimately their forces were superior. Once they organized, the enemy couldn¡¯t directly face them. Even with the addition of an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, they weren¡¯t able to win a straightforward battle. Or at least not willing to commit to it yet- which made perfect sense. After all, they could repeat these attacks every night, causing as much damage as possible while trying to minimize their own losses. Or they could attack while they were on the move, trying to deal with the traps. They¡¯d already taken their best shot, but even knowing they were roaming about didn¡¯t mean that future attacks would be ineffective. Things began to settle down, but John didn¡¯t relax. Instead, he began to gather cultivators. Every element, though aside from fire and light the rest were mostly disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads. ¡°Before we attempt to rest once more¡­ I suggest altering the terrain slightly.¡± John gestured towards one of the mid sized crags nearby. ¡°Based on the flow of energy, I think that one will be the most effective. Send it crashing down, and our zone of safety will expand significantly.¡± With dozens of cultivators working together, it wasn¡¯t that difficult to bring down some simple rocks. Earth could weaken the stone, fire and water heated and cooled the area in turn, causing stress fractures, and air was able to strike with the force of lightning¡­ or build up pressure inside small cracks. When those small cracks expanded, water freezing into ice provided the force to pop things apart. Soon enough, it crumbled. John nodded. Things felt slightly clearer. But with that many people, it had taken too much effort. It was achievable, of course, but there were hundreds if not thousands of rocky spires of varying sizes along even the most direct path to the Black Peaks. It would be difficult to destroy even a portion of them. And yet¡­ that was exactly what John thought they should do. He didn¡¯t even care if they devastated the countryside enough that they had to change the name of the country. The Muted Crags started this, after all. If they weren¡¯t prepared for the consequences, that was on them. Besides, it would really only be the immediate area around the Black Peaks. Some interrogations of captured enemy soldiers revealed the name of the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. It wasn¡¯t exactly a secret, after all. Rezso was his name. If John recalled correctly, he hadn¡¯t really stood out. But perhaps that just meant the information he¡¯d been receiving from further areas like this was incomplete. ¡°How is it?¡± John asked Charlotte. The bandages wrapped around her arm visually concealed the hole, but he could still feel it. ¡°Better than it could have been,¡± the old woman admitted. ¡°Good thing you drew my attention to him.¡± John nodded. ¡°He¡¯s pretty solidly in the Ascending Soul Phase. If I knew that¡­ I would have pushed for bringing more people.¡± Deirdre walked up to their conversation, having heard what John said. ¡°Indeed. I might have asked Cuah¡¯arn to come along.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that would have been appropriate,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°Times are changing. Perhaps we need to be able to deal with Ascending Soul Phase cultivators with more modest means. Though I will admit to wishing we had a greater army even so.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± Deirdre asked. ¡°More of that,¡± John said, gesturing to the two piles of rock. ¡°And no, I¡¯m not joking. Sending those spires crashing down will deal with any traps they might have laid, while at the same time carving a path where they cannot easily lay in ambush. Some rubble might hide them, but not as well as the crags conceal them with their presence.¡± ¡°That is a significant undertaking,¡± Charlotte commented. ¡°It¡¯s that or we should retreat,¡± John said. ¡°But I¡¯m not happy with that option. We can¡¯t let the Black Peaks think they can walk all over people just because they brought along a somewhat strong cultivator. It would be the Molten Sea all over again. Except it wouldn¡¯t be so ¡®easy¡¯ to get the entire region riled up about this. And even then, it took far too many years for people to actually react. In short, I¡¯m saying we should make a proper show of force so that nobody thinks we can be bullied.¡± ¡°As long as you think it¡¯s a task we can accomplish,¡± Charlotte commented. ¡°I doubt most of our cultivators can do that more than a few times in a day, however.¡± ¡°Precision was sacrificed for speed. It will be much more difficult for them to attack again tonight,¡± John said. ¡°But if we properly scope out the weaknesses in the rock faces, we can be more efficient tomorrow. And we¡¯ll save energy not having to deal with traps as much.¡± ----- Saying John went back to sleep would be somewhat of an exaggeration. He rested, certainly, but he had the feeling he wouldn¡¯t be getting proper sleep until this war was over. Even if their new tactics worked, hindering night attacks, it wouldn¡¯t stop the enemy from trying. And he had so many disciples to worry about. They weren¡¯t strong enough. That was his fault, allowing them to participate when the sect simply hadn¡¯t had enough time to grow. And yet, the experience would be good for them. The survivors, at least. John didn¡¯t want to think about the casualties, but he knew he needed to do so. Disregarding the deaths of his own people would never lead down a good path. When the sun came up, it was time. Traps were still an issue, but as it turned out a few hundred tons of tumbling stone would trigger anything. So as long as they could stay away from them as they moved, the traps would barely be an issue. Chapter 304 With the current balance of cultivators present, they couldn¡¯t equally distribute the load between different elements to gain that sort of efficiency. They were very heavy on fire cultivators, with the Phoenix Forest having secondary ties to earth. The Golden Tomb Guardians were all light element without exception. In short, while John guided many of his disciples to vaguely efficient methods of dismantling the terrain, to not just have a majority of their army standing around doing nothing they had to focus on their own methods. It wasn¡¯t beyond the ability of Charlotte to melt stone, and focusing on the base of each crag and spire of stone allowed them to topple things with relative ease. At least, the ones with smaller bases. Some crags were particularly wide and deep, and they took longer and more concerted efforts. Even so, it was a necessary task to continue advancing towards the Black Peaks. Fighting the locals in their favored terrain was simply a mistake. They¡¯d only done so because their experiences told them it was necessary. But¡­ it wasn¡¯t. From the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase to the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase in the lifespans of single cultivators, the region had changed rapidly- people simply weren¡¯t used to making use of the limits of their power. Completely changing the terrain might not have been as effective in other locations. For example, anywhere in the Stone Conglomerate, the only value of destroying stone spires would be to remove them as cover. Useful, perhaps, but it wouldn¡¯t really change the advantage of earth cultivators. They would still have plenty of material to work with, and crumbled stone might even be more advantageous for them. Here, however, while the area would remain infused with darkness, it was the arrangement of stone itself that was special. If John were to describe the effects of the Muted Crags¡­ it was that they didn¡¯t reflect spiritual energy. That wasn¡¯t quite a correct description, as they also limited sensing around them. But he could vaguely compare it to the sound dampening surfaces in a recording studio. Once the stone was brought down, the effect diminished greatly. It wasn¡¯t completely gone, but the effect was less uniform- and it allowed visual confirmation of the location of approaching enemies. Not that they¡¯d encountered any enemies so far during this day. Most likely, the enemy was trying to figure out how to respond. John watched as Deirdre gathered light in one hand, the power increasing but the light staying contained in her fist. Until she thrust her hand forward towards one cliff. The destructive reaction of light and darkness happened easily with natural terrain, and chunks of stone exploded apart in sequence as a beam of light burrowed into a cliff face until it was structurally unstable enough to collapse. Looking at the path behind them, it was a wasteland of rubble. John thought the terrain had actually been rather nice, but if it was a choice between stone and the lives of people he knew, he would choose to preserve the people every time. The first attack came around evening. The one place that still had cover was of course the edge of their path, on the sides and front. Here, the attack came upon one of the groups on the side. The setting sun was an excellent cover for the assault, and the timing was nearly optimal to catch people at their utmost fatigue. The first assault saw a number of their army fall- with a smaller number of the enemy being taken down in retaliation. But instead of engaging, Charlotte gave the orders for them to withdraw. The enemy could shoot at them with bows to some extent, but they had enough space to get out of optimal range. Defending against the attacks was easier than before, since there were fewer things interfering with their senses. Thus, they could coordinate defensive maneuvers more easily. The Ascending Soul Phase cultivator from the previous night- Rezso- didn¡¯t show himself. He was most likely lurking somewhere, watching. But he was cautious enough to not engage in battle just yet. That was good. Cautious could be troubling to deal with, but ultimately it meant that they were not getting the use of his strength, which was their main advantage besides the terrain. It didn¡¯t take long for the rain of arrows to slow and then stop, once it was clear that they weren¡¯t causing any relevant damage. Better to not waste the energy of the Black Peaks forces, John supposed. And maybe the arrows as well. They only had a hundred or so archers total, so it was quite possible for them to have vast stores of arrows for each, but there was some question of whether each and every one would have a storage bag- and how easily they could withdraw arrows from said storage. John resolved himself to watch that process next time. Perhaps later this same night. It was quite likely that the enemy would attack again, taking advantage where they could. ¡°We should make some fortifications,¡± John said to Charlotte. ¡°Any earth cultivators you have would be useful. Or anyone, really, since we can pile this rubble to our advantage and people should at least be able to move a little.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t exhaust them, or ourselves.¡± ¡°I was just thinking basic cover,¡± John said. ¡°Especially in the direction of their best vantage points. Perhaps they might still be able to fire from atop the cliffs, but we can have people watching for them.¡± Deirdre grinned. ¡°First one to show his head up there is losing it,¡± she said as she had light sparkle around her fingers. Even if the Golden Tomb Guardians were more focused on melee combat, they had trained with the Combining Luster Sect and she was capable of ranged attacks. With her late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivation, she really could take out most of the individual opponents they had. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Good idea,¡± John said. ¡°Let them be the ones looking for shelter rather than us. Now then, what do we think about our progress for today?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s see,¡± Charlotte frowned. ¡°We only managed to move around a kilometer towards our destination. So I would expect three to five more days until we reach the Black Peaks. And once there¡­¡± ¡°Clearing a perimeter will be our priority, I think,¡± John said. ¡°Unless we plan to directly assault the city. The more we clear, the easier our siege will be¡­ now or in the future.¡± ¡°The problem is if we can sustain this pace,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°My people might not be able to.¡± John nodded. ¡°I wish I could say we had the expertise to efficiently convert darkness element to light, but even the Six Elements Crossroads is limited there. There are some traces of light aligned elements, however,¡± John said. ¡°I would suggest you coordinate with my disciples. They can help.¡± John, of course, was feeling just fine. Converting darkness into his other elements wasn¡¯t terribly difficult for him, and the Muted Crags had plenty of spiritual energy to go around. ¡°I suppose we have to choose between continuing with this pace and risking the fatigue, or facing the threat of potential reinforcements.¡± ¡°Any reinforcements that will be coming will arrive within our most optimal time frame, I think,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°We hadn¡¯t anticipated it taking this long to reach the city, but perhaps we should have.¡± ¡°Having never fought in the Muted Crags before, and having only old information to go off of,¡± Deirdre said, ¡°I think we¡¯re doing just fine.¡± ¡°We might need to risk sending out scouts tomorrow,¡± John said. ¡°Which will probably mean myself or my disciples, as they¡¯re the ones who stand the best chance of going unnoticed. If we can anticipate attacks, we can cut our losses. Or perhaps even perform counterattacks.¡± ¡°Oh? What would make that viable?¡± Charlotte asked. ¡°Their archers like standing on the peaks,¡± John said. ¡°And while they¡¯re usually quite sturdy¡­ if some of them happen to be half destroyed when the enemy shows up in a way that¡¯s not visible from their angle of approach¡­¡± ¡°We can bring them down,¡± Charlotte nodded. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect many to die in a fall, but that might throw them off enough for us to rush in and take some out.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± John said. ¡°And we have to bring down most of this stone anyway, so it¡¯s not too much more effort.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll look for opportunities,¡± Charlotte agreed. ¡°It might even be beneficial for us to slow our pace for that exact thing. And to keep people sufficiently rested.¡± ----- The next attack came in the night. John was ready for it, waking easily at the first signs. Or perhaps he¡¯d never quite gotten to sleep. It was difficult, in a place such as this. He didn¡¯t feel secure even with their changes to the terrain. John wanted to immediately join the battle, but he restrained himself. Just as the Black Peaks cultivators could conceal themselves, so could he. And the element of surprise would be valuable for him. Besides, he couldn¡¯t afford to get into a head-on conflict with Rezso. John was no longer weak after his semi-failed advancement, but he wasn¡¯t quite as strong as he had been. Facing an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator without Matayal by his side or a boost from Ciaritzal was foolish. He slipped out under the back of his tent, just in case someone had determined which tent was his. The commanders were in conservatively sized tents to not stand out too much, but they were mostly centrally located and their own army had to know where they were so it couldn¡¯t be entirely secret. John took out a cultivator creeping around the corner, a quick slash of his sword along the woman¡¯s neck. His stealth skills were just as good as normal, since he didn¡¯t rely on the local terrain- meanwhile, he could at least feel the majority of the pockets of conflict around them, which was a significant improvement from the former night. Moving stealthily towards the second most intense battle, John crouched in between some of the stony rubble. He very carefully circulated his spiritual energy, awakening it with the intent to use it in a sudden burst. Keeping the energy inside of him, he would be slightly delayed compared to wearing the spiritual energy openly- but of course the other way he would lose his concealment. It hurt to just watch the battle, especially as he saw Golden Tomb Guardians being taken down. All of their training against darkness might have given them an advantage, but they weren¡¯t flawless- any mistakes would lead to their own deaths just as much as the enemy. Then John saw him. Rezso, the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, creeping up behind Deirdre. His instincts told him to leap out, or to warn her. But his bonds of trust told him to watch and wait. Deirdre still had her back to the man when he got within range, lunging forward with his dagger enshrouded in darkness. Deirdre had just thrust her weapon forward, the blade of her glaive stabbing into the chest of a Black Peaks cultivator. She gave no indication of having noticed Rezso, and John wondered if he had made a mistake. The dagger went directly for her spine. Then Deirdre yanked her weapon back, the blade of light disappearing from the front end of her short staff, the spiritual energy immediately transferring along the shaft to create the blade behind her. Even from the awkward angle she had a slightly greater reach, and her confident attack forced Rezso to make a choice. Could he slip past her attack? Blocking it with his defensive energy was out of the question. Even with special training, it would be a disaster for him. John was well aware of that. Rezso made the safe decision, which was to reverse his motion, skittering back and to the side. It was logical, of course, and while John knew a few people who would have taken the chance to immediately remove Deirdre from the war¡­ it took quite a bit of skill to survive such tactics frequently. After her attack, Deirdre turned to face the cultivator. She was lower in cultivation, by a small but important step across the threshold into the Ascending Soul Phase. But she should still be able to put up a good fight for a period of time. John¡­ simply waited, and watched. Only time would tell if he was making the correct decision. Chapter 305 Light and darkness clashed as Rezso pressed the attack on Deirdre. The shorter reach of his dagger compared to her staff-glaive was a disadvantage in some respects, but with his greater cultivation all he had to do was slip past her guard once and he could potentially take her down. Her advantage of reach kept him at bay to some extent, but he was still the one driving their movement around the camp. Deirdre was being driven away from the others, most likely because while anyone who interfered would swiftly fall to Rezso, it would still give Deirdre a moment of opening. Even as Deirdre began to show signs of fatigue, John waited in the rubble of one of the fallen spires. Its energy muting ability was significantly lessened in its crumbled state, but it was still functional as perfectly normal low cover. He clutched his sword tightly in one hand, a dagger in his other. If he were going to join the battle, doing so while Deirdre was fresh might have been the best opportunity, but John felt vindicated as the battle slowly drifted towards him. Not that he remained completely stationary- there was enough rubble to shift around towards the most likely position for them to approach. Deirdre was a whirling image of light, her weapon spinning to keep Rezso at bay, attempting to cut into his spiritual energy and force a detonation between light and darkness. Rezso seemed unconcerned, as he would most likely be able to wear down Deirdre- and if she fell, it would be a significant loss to their army and the Golden Tomb Guardians. The spiritual energy inside John was tightly coiled, ready to spring out at any moment. Each element ready. Focused. Fire and water were prepared to charge his sword with a devastating attack. Air was ready to augment his legs, boosting him forward. And darkness kept him hidden¡­ and the earth element around his dagger. The moment came. Deirdre swept her weapon towards Rezso¡¯s chest, forcing him to step back. His footing was disrupted just slightly by stepping onto the rubble. And that coincided with drawing just close enough for John to spring upon the man. Fire supported water by aiding with transitions to other states. It wasn¡¯t necessarily easier to turn water to steam than to ice, but for John¡¯s purposes a traditional heat was quite welcome. His blade slashed forward, coated in spiritual energy and steam. It didn¡¯t look like much- basically nothing at all, but that was also true of John¡¯s flames after attuning to the Ethereal Flames. But those who could feel spiritual energy would know the attack was dangerous. And those who had been burned by steam likely wouldn¡¯t forget the hidden potential it carried. Water contained much more heat than air, after all. Rezso twisted, his dagger coming up to block John¡¯s sword. Even though John tried to angle his weapon around the block, the man expertly caught his weapon, even at a backwards angle. The smaller blade barely trembled as their weapons connected, and John was reminded of his previous clashes with Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. He¡¯d had Ciaritzal and several companions against Faramund, and he had only just performed a shaky advancement. Against Gesine of the Molten Sea, the Leviathan played a large role- and Matayal lost her life. Now he was in some ways weaker. Even so, John could see the path to that level of power. He just needed more time. And until then- no, even after that point- he just had to fight cleverly. His left hand was concealed with the power of darkness. Moreover, there was significantly less spiritual energy on his dagger in the first place. Even with Rezso focusing his spiritual energy on his dagger to block, John barely pierced the defensive layers around his elbow, a few drops of spiritual energy reaching through. John had to admit, Rezso had an astounding survival instinct. At the first sign of actual danger, he suddenly pulled away, angling between Deirdre and John. Deirdre continued the momentum of her previous attack, spinning her weapon to slash at the man¡¯s waist as he moved away- John thought he saw a trickle of blood. But Rezso was quick, and decisive. A moment later he had rushed around some of the clashing cultivators in the camp, and he used the energy of the battle to cover up his own retreat. But John made certain it was a retreat, following him with his senses as much as possible. At the very least, the man left the camp. The battle was already mostly in the favor of the defenders- they had mitigated the enemy¡¯s ambushing ability, and were able to fight them on even ground. Furthermore, while there were a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among their numbers they were in the early to mid stages, easily matched by the supporting sects from the Phoenix Forest- and outmatched by Charlotte and Deirdre. The battle was cleaned up fairly quickly, and John wondered if Rezso had realized the true danger of the wound he left. He¡¯d certainly felt the man rallying his spiritual energy to drive out John¡¯s intruding attack, but without properly knowing how to combat it, he might have been too slow. Bite of the Gorgon was something he¡¯d developed long before, but it was still quite effective in certain scenarios. Cultivators knew how to react to a mass of spiritual energy that attempted to explode their body from the inside, but they were generally less trained in it seeping into their muscles and bones, freezing them. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Of course, John had only been able to inject so much spiritual energy into the attack. If Rezso had not defended at all, he might have turned the whole arm to stone. As it was, John would be glad if he locked up the entire elbow. But even just solidifying a bit of muscle in that location would severely hamper Rezso in future battles. It was possible to reverse the effect, but it would take time and potentially medicines that might not be specifically on hand. And reminding the man of his own fragility was worthwhile. ¡°Did you know I was hiding there?¡± John asked Deirdre as they were dealing with the post-battle cleanup. ¡°Not at all,¡± Deirdre admitted. ¡°I was much too focused on Rezso. However, I was aware that you hadn¡¯t appeared anywhere else on the battlefield. So I expected you to be hiding somewhere, ready to shift the tides of the battle. I¡¯m glad it was there.¡± ¡°Rezso is the biggest threat in their army,¡± John said. ¡°Though I suppose I could have also been picking off a large number of weaker cultivators.¡± ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll attack again, tonight?¡± ¡°I doubt it,¡± John said. ¡°Too many casualties on their side.¡± Many were simply injured, able to retreat, but those who were injured and could not escape on their own had been finished off. There was no way to easily use cultivators as hostages, and none of them had been worth the expensive restraints they possessed. ¡°Plus, Rezso would be making a terrible choice if he returned.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Deirdre said. ¡°My attack probably wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, but I couldn¡¯t feel yours.¡± ¡°Bite of the Gorgon,¡± John said. Deirdre was one of those who he didn¡¯t mind sharing details about his techniques with, so she was already aware of it by name. ¡°Not that any damage to the elbow is easily ignored, but I think I got a decent injection of energy.¡± Deirdre looked down at herself. ¡°My own wounds are mostly superficial. They¡¯ll go away with a bit of rest.¡± She sighed. ¡°If only we could guarantee actually getting some.¡± He nodded. ¡°War is tiring. I¡¯m going to try to get what sleep I can,¡± John said. Miraculously, he did. Whether it was the massive fatigue he¡¯d been building up, the victory making him feel secure, or perhaps his own confidence being bolstered he was able to rest. At least a little. ----- In the morning, nobody was in a huge rush to get moving. Ultimately, they couldn¡¯t spend all day toppling stone spires and wider crags. At least, not any individual. Thus, they had to work in shifts. If it weren¡¯t a war zone they could have shifts all day and through the night, but working at night would disrupt others trying to sleep and be far too risky, with groups isolated. Instead, they had those working at the outer ring of their army, with some fresh individuals just behind them ready to fight against any enemies that appeared. In the middle of their mobile group were those who were resting, a mass of people converting spiritual energy for their own uses. If they were entirely stationary, they might have drained the local area of spiritual energy, but fortunately the Muted Crags were abundant to begin with, and while they weren¡¯t moving quickly they covered some ground which helped supplement the natural flow of energy back into the area. That might not have been enough, except for the darkness element released upon destroying the terrain. Something about the formation of the local rocky spires had built up darkness element within them, giving them their energy muting properties. Some portion of that was released as they toppled, allowing the darkness aligned cultivators to replenish themselves or otherwise convert elements for the other half of the spectrum to use. That was what John found many of the Six Elements Crossroads disciples doing, simply making sure that an ample supply of energy was available for all. And while it certainly didn¡¯t appear like the most glorious job, it was important. And they were good at it, too. It hadn¡¯t been entirely intentional, but given the state of Astrein and the diversity of spiritual energy types, the Six Elements Crossroads had stumbled into specializing in that area. Their disciples were used to cultivating together in groups, drawing out the portions of spiritual energy that suited them and making the rest available for others. Along with that came conversion, when there wasn¡¯t a near perfect balance like in Astrein. It was certainly harder for them to convert what was mainly darkness element to all six, with light taking several steps of conversion, but they were capable of doing it. And it was good training for the future. The combat experience would be valuable as well, but John already knew there was only so much they could learn remaining in one place. He still wished they¡¯d had a bit more time to grow to higher cultivation levels before the war, but his disciples were performing well. And more than a few had grown a rank or two over the course of the war so far. In fact, John had missed Ayhan stepping into the late Foundation Phase. It wasn¡¯t an astounding level of cultivation, but for the amount of time he¡¯d been training properly and given his complete lack of background, John was quite happy with the results so far. He had a whole generation that he expected to at least reach the Soul Expansion Phase- and in not too long. A few years, maybe a decade or two for those who were slower. At that point, the Six Elements Crossroads could hardly be considered a new sect in terms of overall power. Part of that was the lack of competition- nobody else in Astrein was making efficient use of the countries particular quirks. John watched another spire topple, and he simply hoped that not too many people would die for this. It wasn¡¯t just an opportunity for experience. He wouldn¡¯t have gone to war just for that- fighting wild beasts or something more reasonable would be acceptable in that case. No, Charlotte truly needed the support and he couldn¡¯t accept the way the Black Peaks had acted. Just because they got a cultivator that was a bit strong, they thought they could do whatever they wanted. Just because that was something he¡¯d seen before didn¡¯t mean it was something John was willing to accept. He wanted to change that, and with the support of his friends and their power, he could. Chapter 306 The ambushes by the Black Peaks forces increased in frequency and intensity as they approached the city itself, but that was to be expected as they grew more desperate. One thing of note in the attacks was that Rezso focused on taking down their weakest members. Hopefully the wound John had left him would stay forever, but it was likely that someone like him could find some way to unpetrify his elbow. The question was whether such things were available in the Black Peaks and whether or not they would work in just a few days. He never got close enough for John to see, and while Rezso was still causing problems for them, the fact that he was not fighting against Charlotte or Deirdre- or John- meant that they were more free to take out other members of the Black Peaks. Overall, enemy casualties were higher than their own at the moment. They just needed to keep their momentum for when they reached the city itself. Even from a few hundred meters away, it was difficult to clearly make out the city. Numerous stone spires and larger rocky crags rose up throughout the area, blocking off the city itself. However, there was one prominent feature that could easily be picked out, the Black Peaks themselves at the rear of the city. Sharp angles of black rock stretching into the sky in three distinct sections, John could feel the darkness practically radiating from the area. That power overwhelmed other spiritual energy in the area, to the point that even without surrounding spires the local cultivator¡¯s concealment techniques would likely become more effective. John took a long look at them, and pondered what they should do. The last stretch of distance would be the hardest to overcome, but the most critical. Obviously. Because now they had reached a place that the local forces had to protect. While they doubtless were not pleased with the spires that had been destroyed along the way, they would be much more concerned about their sects being ransacked and their wealth taken away. Finding Charlotte among the army, John struck up some idle talk. ¡°What do you think the chances are we can force some kind of surrender or force them to pay reparations?¡± She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s truly difficult to say. Obviously they don¡¯t seem in any mood to surrender just yet. We have to show them how much their actions were a mistake.¡± ¡°And kill Rezso,¡± John added. ¡°We can¡¯t let people believe that just because they have someone a little strong, they can do whatever they want.¡± Charlotte snorted. ¡°That¡¯s the way of cultivators, though.¡± John shook his head. ¡°It only works if nobody has allies. He¡¯d have to be at least mid stage or higher to avoid being taken out by a small group.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not without subordinates, though. And from what I can see of the wall of the city, they¡¯re high and sturdy.¡± John shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with that after we attempt negotiations. I doubt they¡¯ll accept anything at this point, but we should at least try before moving onto the next step.¡± ¡°And what do you think that next step is?¡± ¡°We have to clear out the area for a proper siege. Remove all the cover around their city. The process itself will encourage them to think twice about what they¡¯ve done.¡± Charlotte frowned, looking at John. ¡°What do you intend?¡± ¡°If the Black Peaks intend to cause trouble like this, then they shall do without their namesake.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Charlotte asked. ¡°It¡¯s not so easy to accomplish such a thing. And it¡¯s a bit¡­ extreme.¡± ¡°They will be allowed to offer Rezso¡¯s head at any point along the way,¡± John shrugged. ¡°It will be their choice if it actually happens.¡± ----- Now that they had a more permanent position, the besieging army began to carve out a larger place for themselves. From a hundred meters to two hundred or more in every direction, they toppled the natural stone that muted energy sensing and began to reshape the terrain into proper fortifications. Earth cultivators were assigned for the last steps only, fusing stone into other stone or at least carving the shapes so pieces would approximately balance. Everyone else could carry or at least push around boulders of various sizes, creating walls that would at least slow approaching enemies slightly. About half of the army was assigned to the fortifications, while the other half remained mobile, carving out a path around the city. ----- Negotiations were a bit difficult to establish, but ultimately yelling at the city walls, while inelegant, proved fruitful. At the very least they got a response after some time of waiting. John wasn¡¯t sure if it was to annoy them¡­ or because nobody of sufficient rank was actually in the city. They could all be sneaking around, and there simply had to be a large number of secret entrances and exits from such a place. Rezso himself came to speak, standing behind the walls¡¯ fortifications. A perfectly reasonable place to stand, but in that sense John thought it showed vulnerability. ¡°So you come with your armies to the Black Peaks. What makes you think your siege will be successful?¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°I could ask the very same of you,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°What made you think your violation of our property would result in anything beyond your total annihilation?¡± ¡°We may not have been able to fight you near your territory,¡± Rezso commented. ¡°But here, we have the advantage.¡± ¡°Is that so? That must be why you are hiding behind your walls. How¡¯s your arm, by the way?¡± Charlotte asked. ¡°It¡¯s recovering nicely, thank you,¡± Rezso said, raising his arm above the merlons he was standing behind and flexing his elbow. ¡°In a day or so, I will be driving a knife through your neck.¡± Charlotte glanced over at John, who gave a noncommittal shrug. With the distances involved, he couldn¡¯t sense whether any earth element remained within Rezso¡¯s elbow. It was possible to force it to move in various ways, though some of them would cause serious damage. He kind of hoped Rezso did that, injuring himself for a bluff, but the man seemed a bit more cautious than that. Most likely he temporarily weakened the solidifying effect, or was actually on the road to recovery. ¡°You are welcome to try killing me¡­ yet again,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°But enough of that nonsense. We are here for only one thing. Demanding your surrender. Reparations will come in two forms. First, your head. Second, three times the resources you stole from our sites in the Rolling Dunes, plus prices for every disciple killed there.¡± ¡°Laughable demands,¡± Rezso said. ¡°You don¡¯t even dare approach our walls.¡± ¡°Nor do you dare to step a toe beyond them, now that we are here,¡± Charlotte said. Then she amplified her voice even more. ¡°People of the Black Peaks, heed my words. At any point in the coming days you may deliver Rezso¡¯s head to us. If you choose not to, untold calamity will befall your city.¡± With that, she turned away, and John followed after her before Rezso could come up with a proper response. ----- For his plan to work, John had to actually scope out the Black Peaks themselves. They stood anywhere from hundreds of meters to a few kilometers above the surrounding terrain, an amplification of the already extreme terrain. Their greater power meant that anywhere on that side of the city sensing anything but the peaks themselves was nearly impossible. Which was why John was confident enough to sneak around the back side of the city and approach alone. He¡¯d more or less declared his ambition to topple the peaks to Charlotte, but whether or not it was actually a feasible option had yet to be determined. Cultivators could accomplish amazing feats of power, but even they would have difficulties toppling mountains¡­ in a short time. But the Black Peaks weren¡¯t really proper mountains, were they? No, they were more like towers. Somewhat greater than the tallest skyscrapers on Earth, and they certainly had wider bases. But even so, it was at least conceivable that they might be toppled. John made sure to focus on what his eyes and ears might pick up as he approached. The rear of the city was built right up against the peaks, but John supposed that there were likely watchers atop them. That¡¯s what he would do, at least. Especially with the surrounding terrain, seeing a far distance off with just their walls was nearly impossible. But here, the peaks would work against the locals. Enshrouded in darkness, John also made certain to take cover along his route to avoid more mundane methods of spotting him. He glanced up towards the peaks, unable to make out any figures or even structures above, but not comfortable declaring conclusively that they were empty. The rear sides of the peaks seemed to be naturally smooth, but they were not perfectly so, and though they rose sharply to their points, they still had sufficient slope that a cultivator of some skill could climb them. John was careful with his use of spiritual energy as he began his trek, but he expected that nobody would be able to notice unless they were paying attention to his exact position- in which case he was likely compromised regardless. He took his time, going from ledge to ledge, some wide enough to sit down and some so small that he was barely balancing on a single foot. Even so, that was sufficient for him to return to his peak efficiency. The first one that he inspected was the easternmost one, on the right side from the perspective of the army. It was unsurprisingly quite sturdy. Natural formations wouldn¡¯t grow and remain so tall if they were not. John inspected it around the base, its midsection, and near its peak. From there, he was able to make out a single small outpost atop the middle peak, with five or six guards gathered scanning the area. Or at least, that was theoretically what they were doing. For the most part, one or two of them were casually looking, while the others sat and played cards or dice or something involving a table and gambling. They seemed quite unconcerned about anyone who might be sneaking about. Maybe that was a trap, and there were hidden guards doing a better job. Or perhaps there was a serious flaw in the city¡¯s security. Not that he could bring even a large squad along without serious risk of being spotted, and climbing an army through the lowest sections of the peaks was still quite impractical. Going over the city walls would be easier¡­ for the most part. The time it took to explore a single peak was not negligible, and by the time John was finished looking for weaknesses it was almost nighttime. He briefly considered going back, but he knew he wouldn¡¯t sleep well anyway. In that case, he might as well take advantage of the night. He probably should have waited for nightfall to begin with, but he had wanted to start scouting to begin with. Even so, he was cautious of the guards and resolved to make his way over to the far side of the western peak so that he could not be spotted by the inefficient guards. Even a casually roaming pair of eyes might accidentally pick him out. If that happened, John would both be embarrassed and in serious danger, around the city from the armies. The slope on the western peak was¡­ too gradual. It was possibly even sturdier than the first one. Easier to climb, though, but once again still more difficult than city walls- except for the lack of defensive formations, which he supposed was an important factor. Still, he couldn¡¯t imagine taking any significant portion of the army over with him. If he took an elite squad, people would notice Charlotte and Deirdre missing, and then they would simply be in the middle of enemy territory alone. While John believed that the three of them could kill Rezso regardless of whether or not his elbow was still injured, it might not be quick. Which would mean the forces of the Black Peak collapsing on them over the course of a few minutes. And then they would be dead. If they had an advantage in cultivation it would be different. If John was the one in the Ascending Soul Phase with Rezso somewhere in the Consolidated Soul Phase, the man would likely be dead in his private rooms right now. John looked at the middle peak. He would save that for the following night, because he would need to be more cautious with more proximity to the guards he¡¯d seen. And he would have to look out for more on the side peaks, because it was strange he hadn¡¯t spotted any. If they¡¯d had none at all, John would have been extremely suspicious, but as it was¡­ he was going to maintain caution, and hoped they simply didn¡¯t believe more guards were necessary. The middle peak was the tallest, so it made some sort of sense. Chapter 307 Returning to the camp, John waited until Charlotte woke for the morning- which was still quite early, so not a terribly long time- and then explained his observations so far. ¡°So far, I¡¯ve only spotted guards on the middle peak. Just a handful, in a single location. Perhaps they have others hidden elsewhere, but I wasn¡¯t able to pick them out. I¡¯d have to spot them directly, after all. Spiritual energy senses are basically worthless there. It does make it easier to move around, though.¡± Charlotte nodded. ¡°I see. So your actual plan¡­?¡± ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll check the middle peak to see if it is at all feasible. There are some¡­ logistical issues I had not considered.¡± ¡°Like how big the peaks are?¡± ¡°They¡¯re quite small compared to real mountains!¡± John protested. ¡°But there¡¯s a slight issue of distances and practicality.¡± ¡°By which you mean¡­?¡± ¡°How do you topple a mountain without being on it?¡± Charlotte crossed her arms. ¡°That is indeed a problem you must resolve, if it¡¯s to be attempted at all.¡± ¡°At least I¡¯ll only have wasted a couple nights on this,¡± John said. ¡°And it might still prove to be a viable alternative path into the city.¡± ¡°You¡¯d best find out,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°And sleep.¡± ¡°Of course I will,¡± John said. And he did sleep. Just not as much as he might like. How was he supposed to do that with so many people in danger? ----- John surveyed the Black Peaks from the army camp. He¡¯d taken some time to learn about the fancy palaces nestled up against the base of the peaks. The big one in the center was not, as he expected, under the control of Rezso¡¯s sect. No, the Swirling Shadow Sect was next to it, closer to the western wall. The most prominent one belonged to the Black Blood Cult, previously the most influential group in the city. Until Rezso managed to gain influence, and ultimately advanced to the Ascending Soul Phase. That was the information they¡¯d managed to gain from their prisoners, at least. There was no reason to distrust it, as it didn¡¯t involve anything particularly secret. And it wasn¡¯t difficult to test, as being anywhere close to the sect grounds in question would allow people to sense the particular style involved. Considering the particular arrangement of things, John had some options to consider- but first, he had to see what was actually possible. That meant slinking around the perimeter of the city once more. That involved moving away from the city for a time, as they¡¯d destroyed all of the best cover close to it. It wasn¡¯t a short process, despite the city not being terribly large. After all, he wanted to move stealthily. That meant making sure he didn¡¯t run into any enemies skulking about while also watching the walls. But they were generally not going to be looking for an individual, and John was the most stealthy individual among their own army. Eventually, he came upon the rear side of the peaks once more, and began his climb. He clung to the rocks with earth element, just a small amount to augment his body. He couldn¡¯t say his natural climbing abilities were that of a trained professional, but he¡¯d had to climb difficult surfaces more than a few times in his current life. Some supernatural augmentation was more than enough. He just had to make sure to keep his eyes on the surface, instead of trusting his senses. So far, he hadn¡¯t spotted any additional guards on either peak to the side. Hopefully, that meant they were not there. He thought it likely, since there was only one ¡®path¡¯ up any of the peaks, a series of rope ladders and the like on the inside edge that had to be how the guards arrived, but he kept in mind that it could also be a ploy. Better than making assumptions. The guards were on the one part of the peak that had somewhat flat ground to walk around on. It was something like a ring, with the final quarter or so of the peak being a narrower section that continued above it. John was very careful as he got close to the actual guards and surveyed the area. He didn¡¯t find anything about their positioning- or their alertness- that he had missed before. Perhaps they felt safe, as they were on the far side of the city from the army. Sensing their cultivations, mostly in the mid to late Foundation Phase, with one in the mid Soul Expansion Phase, John estimated he could take them out himself. Not that he planned to- that would just alert people to his presence for no reason. He was quite pleased at what he found. The final section of the peak was only twenty or thirty meters wide, which was much less compared to the hundred to two hundred at its base. Considering they would have to deal with a cross sectional area, that was vastly less work required. It was likely only a few times as much as some of the larger crags they had already toppled. And the angles involved¡­ well, nothing would be exact, but it was certainly something he could work with. At most, their aim would be a little bit off, and the only targets in the area were acceptable. John had time to spend on the small details. After all, he needed to see when they changed shifts. He¡¯d noticed one change the previous day, but wanted more information. Deciding it was necessary, he found the two guards who were least alert and slipped between them. Without actively sensing he could barely feel his own limbs, so with his concealment techniques in place he was confident walking between the two with at least a handful of meters on each side. Besides, they¡¯d have to pay attention to him instead of who was winning the latest game of dice. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He walked right up to the base of the final quarter of the peak, feeling it directly with his hands. The local rock was hard but brittle, chipping away under sufficient pressure. Thus, over time it had built up an amount of cracks and gullies. It was nothing relevant to the city on a natural timescale, but each detail he picked up was one more thing he could use later. Eventually, after confirming everything he reasonably could, John slipped back past the guards, climbing down the far side once more, then slipping back to the camp. ----- The next morning, a siege of the main gates of the Black Peaks began. It was a difficult proposition, as being close enough to attack the gates meant those on the walls could theoretically retaliate. The one advantage that was had by the attackers was that the walls were completely immobile. Thus, building up powerful attacks over a period of seconds or even minutes didn¡¯t mean it was somehow easily avoided. Large boulders were launched- usually part of the very terrain the region was famous for. Fire cultivators added their own boosts to it, and light cultivators launched simultaneous attacks to weaken the darkness energy around the gates, just enough so that they could cause some actual damage. It would be a slow process to destroy anything, but they didn¡¯t need to win quickly. In fact¡­ that wasn¡¯t even their intent to begin with. After all, they were simply the distraction. ----- The number of people they could secretly convey to the final location was not terribly many- however, they had enough time for a forward group to go ahead and take out the guards, meaning they could manage some thirty total people before their combined energies would draw the attention of the city. John was one of the forward group, of course. Taurai and a few darkness element cultivators of the Six Elements Crossroads were also part of it. Then, finally, Helen of the Firepine palace. They needed to take out the guards quickly, and she was a strong enough cultivator to help. Golden Tomb Guardians might strictly be more capable of quickly taking down these enemies, but a conflict of light and darkness would draw much more attention. Hopefully, it would only be a series of small energy exchanges, inconsequential compared to the numbing effect of the peaks themselves. They had to be more careful than John alone, which was the reason for the distraction. As for why they were moving during midday instead of the middle of the night¡­ it simply was when something like this would be expected. The time around noon would provide them with natural shadow from the peaks, which should be good enough with their cultivators coordinating to hide their spiritual energy. The first hiccup came in the form of a scout on the east side of the city. It might be that they had caught onto something, or simply bad timing. They were able to notice them and take them out, but it was unclear when they were supposed to report back. It could be in an hour, or at the end of the day¡­ or merely a few minutes. They kept moving, John and his strike team pulling away from the others as they neared their target. They had to keep ahead, to avoid delaying things. John led the group along the easiest route up- besides the one on the same side as the city, where casual passersby might accidentally spot them. Even so, he found he had to smooth out the route by molding the rock for easier handholds and footholds. There were people both lower in cultivation and less trained in climbing, after all. It would also be best for assuring their secondary group could reach them swiftly. The intention was to move in on as many guards at once as possible. For the sake of the task, John intended to take out one to create a foothold. That would give them only a short amount of time to act from there- they might not feel the change in spiritual energy immediately, but it would be a matter of seconds. And at least two or three guards could simply glance over at the area at any moment. John crept over the edge, nearly in the vision of his target. A swirl of darkness concealed him for long enough to place a hand over the man¡¯s mouth, and then his sword impaled him. From there, the rest quickly scurried up. John made his way to his second target. Another down, silently- and several more at the same time. But things never went perfectly. With everything happening, someone had to notice something. There was a scream- and a shuffling sound, then much more screaming. John reached the edge in time to see a cultivator crash between the middle and western peak. ¡°... Sorry,¡± Taurai said. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ he didn¡¯t die like I wanted, and then he went over the edge¡­¡± ¡°He was the one most likely to notice, as the far one,¡± John said as he walked to the rear. ¡°We just have to keep moving.¡± If they gave up now, they wouldn¡¯t get this chance again. He gathered a ball of darkness, launching it down towards the ground below. It created a ¡®flash¡¯, though one that would easily blend in with the peaks. Certainly less obvious than the scream. In return, there was another small burst of darkness from below, indicating that the signal had been received. ¡°Should we burn the ladders?¡± Helen asked. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea,¡± John said. ¡°But it gives me a better one. We will weaken their attachment points. We want them to only hold for two or three people.¡± John had some disciples begin that task- though they could likely only reach the last tier of ladders without climbing down some and exposing themselves. ¡°I think we should start here,¡± John said, creating a clear marking by pulling out a chunk of stone. ¡°As well as here. The slope¡­ should hopefully allow for it to tumble this way. We want to work higher on the back side to guarantee that result.¡± He would have to repeat some of this, but at least the marking would be good. ----- ¡°Why bother with this siege?¡± Rezso appeared at the front gates of the Black Peaks. ¡°You know it will do you no good. Tonight, when you are tired out¡­ I will come for your head personally, Charlotte.¡± The woman held her head high as she responded. ¡°I would be more inclined to believe you if you had been brave enough to do so the last two nights. Instead, you sent your men to their death for no cause at all.¡± ¡°Even so¡­ I can¡¯t see how this move benefits you. And I don¡¯t notice that one¡­ of the Tenebach clan.¡± At that point, Rezso¡¯s head swiveled around. Even Charlotte could feel something, without being so accustomed to the limited senses. Though she knew where to look. ¡°What is-¡± Rezso began. Then a cracking sound could be heard- all the way across the city. It reached them after a visible shifting in the top quarter of the middle peak toppled towards the rear of the city, crushing a portion of it. Flying rock fragments reached almost all the way to the front gates. ¡°People of the Black Peaks,¡± Charlotte said. ¡°You have made your choice. By this time tomorrow, you will have nothing to name your city after. The fault, of course, lies squarely on the head of your new leader, thieving resources for a petty advancement.¡± Of course, they weren''t actually going to completely topple all three peaks. That would take an extraordinary amount of effort, and obviously they weren¡¯t going to be unimpeded again. But it would serve excellently for forcing them out of the city in a foolish attack. Or causing internal strife, which would also be fine. Chapter 308 Though John wasn¡¯t fully able to hear Charlotte¡¯s words, he would have agreed that they were the right ones. Even though they were already scrambling down the remaining portion of the middle peak and definitely wouldn¡¯t be toppling all of the Black Peaks, it was likely to provoke the most extreme reactions from the city. Which was why they needed to move quickly. There were already people gathering at the bottom of the rear of the peak- guards who had leapt from the walls and run around the back of the city, as far as John could pick out. Since there had been a distraction at the front gates, there weren¡¯t that many just yet. Maybe a couple dozen? However, they could still be a problem for people climbing down a wall. So John jumped down. Even a Soul Expansion or Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was likely to take some damage from a fall at terminal velocity- but that was only if they did little more than shield themselves from impact. For his sake, John had the benefit of the air element to push against him, slowing his fall. It also allowed him to direct his motion to land behind the bulk of the cultivators waiting. Obviously they didn¡¯t just let him drop down unimpeded, but the strongest warriors were not present. A large number of arrows were shot towards him, but he swept them up in a cyclone before launching them back at the group, not even bothering to aim at any particular individual. Even before his feet touched the ground, he was throwing out daggers wrapped in earth and darkness. Even a small cut would cause significant damage, feeding on their darkness energy with Spiritual Energy Absorption until its efficacy ran out. Against those weaker than him, that might be enough to take them out of the fight if they couldn¡¯t figure out how to handle it. When he landed, John sprinted off towards the spires behind the city, glancing over his shoulder to make certain he was being followed by sufficient numbers. And also to help guide his ability to dodge. They were still around huge quantities of the muted crags, after all. Relying only on his spiritual senses was a good way to get shot in the back. Though now that he was at ground level most people were running after him with swords and spears. He managed to draw away about half of their numbers- he was a priority target, after all. Soon he found himself weaving through the cover of the spires playing a deadly game of chase- but who was being chased was in question. Both sides tried to conceal themselves from the other, with John often circling around to catch people from the back or the sides. A single swing of his sword or a couple thrown daggers, and he would be darting away once more. Bringing down the top of the spire hadn¡¯t exactly been easy. Because of that, John was at about half of his maximum capacity for spiritual energy. He was of course drawing in and converting the surrounding energy as rapidly as he could, but there was only so much he could do in a limited time with the pressures of combat. His quarries soon became more cautious, moving with their backs to each other to watch more directions. He could still strike out with throwing daggers, curving them through the air to strike his foes, but with them more focused on defense they were half as effective. John led them a bit further into the stone forest, then fully cut off his presence and moved as quickly as he could back towards the base of the peaks. Obviously they would notice after a minute or two, but until then they might presume he was waiting for them to drop their guards. He wanted to get back to his people, especially to help protect those who were climbing. A number of others had made it to the bottom, including Helen from Firepine Palace. Her cultivation in the mid Soul Expansion Phase helped suppress the enemy¡­ and with John suddenly coming in from behind, he was able to cut down several of the remaining foes. The state of the battle quickly shifted as they were able to get a proper foothold, but the remnants of those chasing John would return soon- and he would bet that more were coming. Once everyone had their feet on the ground, John gave his orders. ¡°Get moving! We¡¯re not stopping to engage from here on out!¡± With a great stomp, he created a wave of earth that separated most of the remaining enemies, making space for everyone to run along with him. ¡°Air cultivators, take care of the rear defenses!¡± John ordered. Ranged attacks could be most easily deflected by air at a greater distance, and thus they could cover for more people. John led them around to the west. That was the same side of the city as the greatest impact from the toppled peak, but hopefully it would provide sufficient distraction. John was glad their efforts to bring down the muted spires hadn¡¯t reached that far, as they were able to reach cover more quickly. John directed the darkness cultivators in his sect, hiding their own movements while creating false trails of spiritual energy that would at least force people to take a few wrong steps. Slowing their enemy by ten or twenty percent might be enough for them to gain a proper lead where they might be truly hidden. John had seen the devastation from above, and while that gave him a good overview of the damage he hadn¡¯t been able to look for long. There were only a few moments he could even glimpse the walls, but he could see a section of toppled wall where chunks of the peak had cracked off and plowed through the surroundings. John knew that just beyond that was the grounds of the Swirling Shadow Sect, many of their buildings crushed. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Good. They deserved it. They were too secure in their walled city, thinking one fellow with a bit of cultivation made it alright to reach their grubby hands towards his allies, and his region. The Black Peaks were already lucky that they¡¯d only provoked the response they did- there could have been far more forces marching upon them. And perhaps there should have been. He had to admit they¡¯d somewhat underestimated the threat, which forced them to use tactics like this. So far, they were managing to stay ahead of most of their pursuit. More might rally, but they were already halfway around the city. The only thing they had to watch out for were groups peeling away from the main army to cut them off. But in that direction, the muted nature of spiritual energy senses was significantly lessened. He could feel the conflict, and so far there weren¡¯t any groups breaking away. Perhaps word of their presence hadn¡¯t even reached that far yet- it would have taken determined runners or proper ranged signaling, but there were no towers like what originated in the Sunfields and were now spreading throughout the Stone Conglomerate and even the Green Sands. Their path wasn¡¯t entirely unimpeded, however. John managed to pick out a group lying in wait just before they would breach the last layer of stone and be able to move directly to meet up with the core of the army. They could go around them- potentially being chased by fresh enemies- or try to take them out, removing a potential thorn in the side of the army. John wasn¡¯t sure which choice was actually better, but he knew he had to make one, and quickly. He¡¯d found himself in an audacious mood lately, and directed himself and his disciples directly towards the back of the enemy squad. It was clear they hadn¡¯t been expecting any foes from that direction. John led his group directly into them, taking out a half dozen before anyone even began to turn around. The concealing nature of the spires coming back to bite them. John swept aside foe after foe, not relying on his own strength but on a fighting formation with his sect. He directed the flow of five elements- handling light was still a bit too difficult at the moment- focusing their strike team¡¯s strength towards the front. They were doubtless still being pursued, which was why they had to break through quickly. Somehow, they managed to make it through with minimal casualties. John didn¡¯t like to accept any, of course, as they were all disciples he¡¯d been working hard to raise, the efforts of his recent years. But it could have been much worse. The enemy scattered, and they rushed out onto more open terrain where their own side¡¯s ranged attackers could cover for them. And it wasn¡¯t a moment too soon, because pursuers were hot on their heels. Those pursuers went just beyond the line of stone before turning back. They had missed their chance. Just making it back felt like a victory, but the battle was not over. No, John could feel Charlotte and Deirdre clashing with Rezso. John had to admit that the power of the Ascending Soul Phase was significant, but it wasn¡¯t enough to make a single cultivator control the whole battlefield. Beyond that, the Black Peaks weren¡¯t suited for combat on an open battlefield. Yet their forces had made a sortie, striking out at the armies from the Phoenix Forest and beyond. Provoking such a mistake had been the whole point of what he had set out for, so John was vindicated. But they had to capitalize on it. Specifically, Rezso had to die. John knew him to be a cautious man, and while he was clashing with Charlotte and Deirdre, he made certain he always had squads around him at all times, concealing himself among their numbers. It wasn¡¯t perfect, of course, but each fraction of a second their reactions were delayed to a new attack was an advantage for him. John focused his senses- glad that this area allowed that, to some extent. The man certainly appeared to have recovered from the injury to his elbow. He was swinging his right arm without restriction. He left his strike team to rest at the rear of the battle while he alone approached the conflict, slinking between Phoenix Forest cultivators. It felt healed. But somewhere in there, John felt just the smallest grain of his own earth elemental spiritual energy. With perhaps a third of his energy left, he knew he wouldn¡¯t have a huge impact on the larger battle himself¡­ but if he could tip the course of the fight with Rezso at just the right moment, he could help assure their victory. Fire. It was John¡¯s newest element, and the least familiar to him. Mostly, he used it to bolster water. There weren¡¯t many earth cultivators here, so it wasn¡¯t necessarily more efficient for attacking than anything else. What he needed it for right now was to blend into the others. To tell the world that he was a fire cultivator. For a moment, he was part of a squad launching mortars of fire towards the enemy lines. Then those making more focused attacks into the group around Rezso. In both, Jon launched his own attacks. He doubted they made much difference, but it could make all the difference to some individual warrior. Then he found himself just a dozen meters away from the conflict, mingling with those comfortable beyond close range that were focused on Rezso. John knew what he needed to do. Fire fed into water, then air, then earth, completing the cycle. Darkness concealed his true intentions while bolstering its allied elements. Rezso would feel him coming. But even so, John waited for a moment when he drifted near the edge of his cover. Charlotte was the man¡¯s target, his daggers enshrouded in darkness. She was flanked by two others from the Black Peaks, not easily able to retreat. Thus, Rezso made his move. And along with that when John sprang forward, ready to strike. A great mass of earth energy on his sword, the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator moved to block him with his left hand while still striking towards Charlotte with his other. Chapter 309 The gauntleted left hand of the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator Rezso caught John¡¯s sword. Earth clashed with darkness, the clash in momentum greatly favoring the more powerful cultivator. Only small ripples of power actually affected the man himself. Those ripple spread throughout his body, from his arm to his shoulder, then his torso, then his head and remaining limbs. John would have liked to say that was the point that his body crumbled, his bones shaking to dust or something like that. But it truly wasn¡¯t very much power. It was only just enough to resonate with the small portion of John¡¯s spiritual energy that already remained within Rezso¡¯s body. His right arm stretched out towards Charlotte, the dagger clutched tightly in his fist wreathed in powerful spiritual energy. A dozen tendrils of fire grew out of the ground, wrapping around his arm to try to stop it. The moment he was about to reach full extension of his arm, something cracked in his elbow. The power of his spiritual energy didn¡¯t suddenly go away, and his attack still pierced into the side of the Firepine Palace sect head. The counterforce of John¡¯s attack sent him flying backwards, but he gladly accepted that. He slid back among allies, while Rezso was held in place surrounded by his foes. It would likely only take him a short moment to slip away, but a half dozen cultivators attacked simultaneously. Having just split his spiritual energy for offense and defense, he was left to defend with only what he could summon in that moment. Flames wrapped his body, some bursting from inside him. And yet, the man was at least worthy of the power he had achieved. He survived, tearing himself away enshrouding himself among the darkness of his companions. Then he turned and ran. John was the one best equipped to notice, so he pointed it out at the highest volume possible. ¡°There goes your fearless leader Rezso, fleeing into the city in hopes that you will save him.¡± The man¡¯s glare of darkness over his shoulder could have actually killed John, if the man were at full power and John in his current battered state. ¡°Remember. For the low price of his head, the rest of you can live.¡± It took a moment for any sort of comprehensible response to permeate through the enemy ranks. First, they sought out their leader with their spiritual energy. There wasn¡¯t too much of the inhibiting natural spires around them, so they were able to pick out the man¡¯s movements as he hid among them. Rezso¡¯s motion stopped for an instant, perhaps attempting to hide his flight. All it took was one brave soul turning on him to begin the avalanche of assaults. Members of the Swirling Shadow Sect jumped to his aid, but the vice-head of the Black Blood Cult was watching, and perhaps waiting for such an opportunity. She flicked a wicked whip covered along its length in thorns towards him. She barely pierced his spiritual energy, but that was enough for her to make contact with one of his many wounds. From there, his blood began to flow along the whip. One small portion. And then another, as she twisted the whip around his already bad arm. At that point, Rezso was already dead. He just refused to accept it. ¡°You fools! You¡¯ll hand our city over to-¡± ¡°Our city was already doomed when you chose to provoke a war instead of being patient a few more years while we finished pooling our resources,¡± the woman said. Each of her attacks grew sharper, while at the same time Reszo¡¯s spiritual energy was dwindling. Then finally, her whip wrapped around his neck, squeezing tight¡­ until it met in the middle. She took his head and tossed it towards Charlotte. ¡°Call back your forces. We will settle the rest ourselves.¡± John was glad that he¡¯d cultivated friendships around himself more than rivalries. He knew there were still likely some number of people who would like to take his head, but at least there were none that shared walls with him. ----- Nobody was happy at the conclusion of the battle, which was unfortunately how things went all too often. Actually, John could hardly recall a single battle after which he had been happy. Defeating the Society of Midnight was a relief, but they¡¯d never wanted to have to go there to begin with. Charlotte handled all of the remaining negotiations, which resulted in a number of storage bags being tossed at them from the walls. The contents of the Swirling Shadow Sect¡¯s cracked vaults, such as they were. Well, whatever wasn¡¯t still buried. It was nowhere near enough to pay back the Phoenix Forest for the damage in the Rolling Dunes, and certainly not enough to make up for their losses in sieging the city. But that was never the point to begin with. The point was that was most of the wealth the Black Peaks had left, and that they paid the price. Though the true price was the trail of toppled spires along the final part of the route to their city. And most importantly, the clearly mangled peak that sat in the middle of their three. John didn¡¯t feel good about any of that, but he felt it had been necessary. They didn¡¯t have the power with them to simply crush the enemy. They had to destroy the spires and crags outside the city to protect themselves from ambush. And the peak itself¡­ John didn¡¯t know if it was truly necessary. But it had certainly hastened the end of the war. No further worries about incoming reinforcements. The lessons learned¡­? John wasn¡¯t quite certain. That they should respond with overwhelming force wasn¡¯t necessarily a good lesson to learn. Perhaps a more moderate version of that, that they simply needed to be stronger. The Six Elements Crossroads, and all the allies of them and John and the various clans now entangled together in all directions. More importantly, they needed a wider reaching defensive pact. If the Phoenix Forest had been able to rely on the entire Stone Conglomerate or the Shimmering Islands, rather than just a few sects from outside their borders, then there likely wouldn¡¯t have been any attacks on their assets in the Rolling Dunes to begin with. It was something worth considering. John wondered how they would incorporate various adjacent territories. But that was something for himself and various allies to think about later. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. For the moment, the Phoenix Forest and their allies had a long trek back home. Their losses hadn¡¯t been as terrible as they could have been, but each death still hurt. ----- John held a ceremony to honor the deaths of each member of the Six Elements Crossroads in battle. Of course, they were not there to see it, so it didn¡¯t mean anything to them. It was the living who needed it. And it was also the living who received financial assistance, family and those who were close to family. Many of them had been supporting others with their stipends. None of them had needed to die. It wasn¡¯t just about the war in general, but his disciples specifically weren¡¯t needed. He should have sought out someone else to take their place. Battle experience? What good was it to those who were dead? Except¡­ John knew that coddling his disciples also wouldn¡¯t be good for them. He just needed to find a better balance. It was true that those who had come with him and returned home would likely find great gains in terms of cultivation because of their practical experience, but that was also possible with lower risk activities. Not aiding Charlotte in the war, however, was also unacceptable. Firepine Palace had been good to John, and they hadn¡¯t provoked the attacks. Instead, John felt they¡¯d simply overestimated their own capabilities. And yet they won- where the enemy had a proper Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. So they had not been entirely wrong, either. ----- Far to the east, and a little bit south, two cultivators stood atop the peak of Zolvolj, looking down into its caldera. Yustina wasn¡¯t entirely certain why they were there, but her husband had requested her presence. There were gains to be had from cultivating upon the volcano, of course, but as their cultivations advanced they were less and less during times where the volcano rested. Lucanus just looked down into the caldera, at the bubbling lava below. ¡°What is it that you seek, my love?¡± Yustina asked. ¡°My cultivation has reached a plateau,¡± he commented. ¡°I came here to get some insights.¡± ¡°At a time like this?¡± Yustina shook her head. ¡°Better to wait a few years.¡± ¡°I really think there¡¯s something to learn,¡± he said, looking pointedly downward. Yustina frowned. ¡°You should really think carefully about-¡± and then he jumped into the caldera. Yustina sighed. ¡°Again?¡± Then she jumped after him. She knew what she¡¯d signed up for when she married the man. And so even if she wasn¡¯t necessarily going to be able to stabilize Zolvolj, she was at least going to be with him. At least Zolvolj wasn¡¯t at its peak. That thought comforted her, until she realized that the same power resided within it at all points- it just wasn¡¯t always releasing that power to the outside world. ----- Upon hearing that one of his best friends in the whole world was missing for over a month along with his wife who was also a dear friend, John¡­ did exactly nothing. He didn¡¯t see what he could or should do. If they could not handle whatever trouble had befallen them, then his presence would likely be of little use. It would be something else entirely if they asked for his help, but as far as he could tell they had left the Milanovic clan one day and simply never come back- without informing anyone. Which would be typical for Steve, but not for Yustina. Still, he had to assume they would manage whatever was happening. Obviously it worried him, but the time frame was not yet enough for him to be truly concerned. What he needed more was to figure out what to do with himself, now that he had settled back into life at the Six Elements Crossroads. He wished to grow stronger. Obviously that meant cultivating, but simply sitting in one place and absorbing spiritual energy was insufficient. Certainly, he would grow with time, but there was something more he needed. He intended to take a page out of his foolish daughter¡¯s playbook. No, not the one who went off and got attached to a cultivator of a completely opposite element, forming one of the most dangerous dual cultivation relationships possible. His other foolish daughter. The one who sought out monsters the size of a small city and bashed them in the head so that she could empower her body beyond all sensible limits. Obviously John wasn¡¯t going to incorporate all of Ursel¡¯s body cultivations methods into himself. It was both unnecessary¡­ and too focused. John had two things he could reasonably consider fit into the same category. First was Diamond Defense, the very technique that had gotten Ursel interested in the subject so long before. And the second was the blessing of Ciaritzal. Though it didn¡¯t make his body tougher or more agile, it did increase his physical affinity for darkness and altered his eyesight permanently. So he could consider himself as having something from Darkness and Earth both. If he was to continue along that line, something related to air would be next. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t transform his body into air. Not permanently, at least. There might be some possibility of a decent defensive technique where he somehow allowed attack to pass through him, but that wasn¡¯t possible as a foundational increase. So what could he accomplish? He didn¡¯t have the answer for that. He wasn¡¯t sure if anyone did. But there were some who were most likely to possess that knowledge if available, and it would serve a double purpose if he were to visit. The Blustering Peaks had never really been an enemy or friend of the greater alliance, not as a whole entity. There were some moderate conflicts with the Kartal clan, but the others were uninvolved. As it stood, they were on passable terms with the surrounding areas but still quite disconnected. John was aware of one group rising to prominence in the area, and thought it reasonable to visit them. Obviously he would have to arrange for that ahead of time, because even if they accepted his presence should he suddenly show up that wouldn¡¯t actually mean they were willing to have him. It was just difficult to refuse someone with influence. Rising Storm Palace seemed to be a decent place, by his understanding. At the bare minimum, they had joined the efforts to repel the Molten Sea from the region. And he¡¯d been at a few social events where they had members present. So not exactly a close connection, but that was part of the point. And if he ultimately didn¡¯t find them worthwhile, he could at least make use of his time to pick another clan or sect in the area. Chapter 310 The Blustering Peaks were a place John had only visited a few times in the past, and he came with an entirely new perspective. Once had been for war, once for training and a certain special event. But now, he was present for the peaks themselves, the sharp winds that flowed over them. He took everything in as he made his way up the winding paths leading towards where most sects dwelled. Each occupied their own positions, often the higher the better. There were exceptions, of course. For example, Rising Storm Palace didn¡¯t try to occupy the highest peaks even though they had the power and influence to do so. At least, they had no permanent establishments. Instead, they kept their core at a level manageable by disciples of all levels, except perhaps those just taking their first steps in the Spiritual Collection Phase. The winds threatened to carry John off the side of the trails he was walking and climbing, and he was almost tempted to let them. Not because he had some sort of deathwish, not now. No, because it would be almost akin to flight. Who wouldn¡¯t want to fly? And the more of his cultivation returned, the closer John was to actually achieving that. With the four core elements he might actually be able to manage sustained flight in the mid to late Consolidated Soul Phase. Or perhaps he would have to wait until he actually stepped into the Ascending Soul Phase, whenever that would be. Behind John, a number of disciples were buffeted by the wind. Air element cultivators, like Ayhan- though he was only half focused on the air element. This was an official sect exchange, after all, and it would be a shame to train only himself and not help his disciples. There were a few disciples who did not have air totems as well- mainly those who intended to attune to air as they stepped into the Foundation Phase or more than a few years down the line the Soul Expansion Phase. Then there were a few who simply wanted to practice against pure air cultivators. John didn¡¯t intend to deny them the opportunity. Inhaling deeply, John could feel the spiritual energy flowing into him strongly even as the air seemed to thin. Even so, he wondered how he could achieve more lasting benefits. How could his body be affected by the air element long term, if trained properly? For the current John, expenses similar to cultivating Diamond Defense were of little consequence. It was only when he¡¯d been on shaky ground after transmigration that it had been out of the question. He imagined some materials would be necessary to help transform his body. Otherwise, if such body transformations could be done with a simple technique they would be highly coveted. So perhaps they already existed, but were simply kept secret. Yet John doubted that there were any true powers who had such, for all their abilities were carefully monitored by surrounding factions. Someone would have figured something out. So either it was impossible, very rare, or yet to be discovered. Sometimes along their path they walked up slopes, sometimes stairs, and sometimes they climbed. There were easier routes, but it would diminish the prestige of the Six Elements Crossroads to not take the challenging path. And it was not like his disciples couldn¡¯t handle it. There would be greater tests beyond simply approaching the sect. Soon enough they came to an area with wide stairs, leading to large gates that covered the most tolerable access to the sect¡¯s grounds. The gates were open- either because they had no need to keep them closed during the day, or perhaps because they knew who was coming. They could have been watched for most of the day, after all. ¡°Greetings, Six Elements Crossroads!¡± a voice echoed from ahead of them, sweeping down the stairs. It almost felt like it had the power to knock them over. No, as John laid eyes and senses on the man, he knew that he could send most of them tumbling down with his voice if he wished to. The old man had long silver hair, fluttering around him in the constant wind. ¡°I am Grand Elder Bahadur, and I will be responsible for taking care of you and your disciples during your stay,¡± the man said as John reached a more comfortable speaking range. ¡°The sect head will wish to meet with you as well, when he finishes his current cycle of cultivation.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John said. ¡°The Six Elements Crossroads looks forward to mutual development between our two sects.¡± John knew that even in a training exchange, many people would want to ¡®win¡¯. It was like sports, where the elders were coaches and the disciples were the players. Even during the off season, nobody liked to lose. John just hoped nobody took things too far. Proper arenas would usually prevent permanent injuries, but in a way that sometimes made cultivators fighting in them careless. Grand Elder Bahadur was just over the threshold of the Consolidated Soul Phase, the twenty-eighth rank. It wasn¡¯t a bad cultivation. Indeed, twenty years ago it would have been close to the peak. But much had changed, with a rapid surge of growth seen nearly everywhere. But to John, that just meant they needed to work harder to stay ahead of people like the Molten Sea and the Black Peaks. ----- When John brought up the idea of body tempering with Bahadur, he was pleased the man took his inquiry seriously instead of being dismissive. He could understand the latter attitude to some extent- why put so much effort into something small when increasing cultivation rank was so effective? But even so, incremental bits of power seemed even more important to John with his recent experiences. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Obviously we would not harden our body like an earth cultivator,¡± Bahadur said. ¡°And yet, enhancing flexibility beyond what we already train would tend to be unnecessary. Perhaps it might not even be quite appropriate to our element,¡± the man stroked his long beard. ¡°Something involving swiftness, then. The responsiveness of muscle, or possibly reflexes. Though I am intrigued by the thought, it is far too late for me to consider such things.¡± John nodded. An older cultivator would find it more difficult to train their spiritual energy, but it would be a step further to train their body any more. While John imagined the old man could likely match most people on Earth with regards to just his body, that was more or less the baseline for a cultivator. More importantly, most of that type of training was common to every element. John was searching for something that meshed with a particular element. ¡°Reflexes, huh?¡± John muttered. He flickered a bit of air down his arm, feeling its motion as he considered the idea. Certainly, it was a logical conclusion. But how would it work? There were actual reflexes- automatic responses of the body. That might be useful, but was also something that could be exploited. Then there was the idea of response time, and reacting to events. That would most likely require some amount of mental processing¡­ but the brain was part of the body, he supposed. The real issue was that cultivators already enhanced these sorts of things. Spiritual energy provided all sorts of benefits, even in a passive manner. Going a step further could be quite difficult. And John had to carefully consider his path so as to not foolishly cause himself further damage. Though he could forgive himself for failing his step towards the Ascending Soul Phase, it was still a sign to be cautious in the future. Within reason. Risks were still required for cultivators unless they had limitless time. And with limitless time they had no enemies to worry about, so perhaps they were not even part of the world. John had a small back and forth with Bahadur about how one theoretically might manage that, bringing up the concepts of Diamond Body. The elder had a few ideas, but they were just that. Neither of them really knew what would work, and what would not. John would have to dwell on the thoughts and see if he could gain some supernatural insights before attempting anything. After all, it would be his body that he was changing. ----- Ayhan had a serious advantage over most Rising Storm Palace cultivators. He cultivated both earth and air, so he had a dominating element and a matching one. He understood how air worked, and he could exploit their weaknesses. Because of that, he ultimately ended up facing higher rank opponents. Currently, he was facing off against a somewhat older disciples at the peak of the Foundation Phase, while he was two ranks below in the sixteenth rank. John watched as many matches as he could, though he had to consider his own training sometimes. Multiple matches would happen at once as well- there were more than just one or two people who wanted a match. But with the battles being in the Foundation Phase or lower, John could catch the details of a handful of matches at once easily enough. The Six Elements Crossroads encouraged disciples to try out different weapons- especially whenever they unlocked new elements. Ayhan had started with the sword, but now wielded a chain with spikes along its length. He manipulated its motion with his spiritual energy, ready to entangle opponents or strike them with sudden rigid force. It was pretty good. Too bad he still lost out against greater spiritual energy. John would have some guidance for him and the others. Because he wanted them to be better. And yes, he did want them to win the matches. Though with Ayhan going against a higher rank cultivator, he was already kind of winning. ----- John had seen storms in the Shimmering Islands, where the seas and the skies twisted and turned. Lightning rained from the skies, and ships were in constant danger if they did not avoid the core of the storms- unless they had special construction like the Wavecutter. The storms in the Blustering Peaks didn¡¯t have crashing waves, but the winds made John feel as if he could truly be hurtled off the mountain if he stepped carelessly, even with his cultivation. And the lightning was amplified by the thunder echoing off of the surroundings. It was quite a bit easier to watch the storms as well, as he wasn¡¯t being dunked under the waves every second or two- or safe on an island where the storms tended to be milder. Watching lightning strike the surrounding area, John realized that was the best solution to his queries. Wind might not be able to enhance his body, but lightning¡­ Well obviously there was some risk involved- but the pathways to benefit were obvious. The body already sent signals via electricity, so thoughts and reflexes being enhanced by that made so much sense. The question was how to do so safely, without frying himself. John had absorbed lightning, but only as a power source and basically just for training. Taking it into his body on a deeper level was foolish unless he was fully confident. But it was a path to look into, and John couldn¡¯t help but anticipate the possibilities, tiny electrical sparks dancing between his fingers. Then again, he didn¡¯t necessarily have to be restricted to one possibility per element. Over the past week or so, he¡¯d had several other ideas as well. The best of which was involving his lungs- the main way bodies normally interacted with air. He wasn¡¯t planning to become a big bad wolf who could blow down houses- that was best reserved for spiritual energy techniques. But he could think of more than a few times where his concentration was split, filtering the air in his own lungs. If that happened automatically, he could be more effective underwater or when dealing with airborne poisons or the like. John smiled. None of these things were set in stone, nor guaranteed to work. But simply having the ideas and retracing his path through the elements was quite pleasing to him. Chapter 311 In and out, in and out, John watched the flow of air between the outside world and his lungs as he took slow and careful breaths. His spiritual energy very carefully searched for impurities. At some point, he had to make a decision about what was and wasn¡¯t ¡®impure¡¯. It took a relatively large amount of carbon dioxide in the lungs before it was problematic for the body- and more because it could not filter it out of the blood rather than because it directly harmed the lungs. Yet John was aware that some gasses could be dangerous in the parts per million range, just the tiniest fraction of the whole. Obviously there were none of those just drifting around the Blustering Peaks, but he hadn¡¯t yet reached a point where he was actually testing his body yet. He just needed to be acutely aware of how it worked normally so that he could guide any potential changes. In the past he had consciously filtered the air in his lungs, either replenishing the stock of breathable air by breaking down carbon dioxide or removing poisons with his spiritual energy. Turning that into an automatic process wasn¡¯t so simple. Ultimately, John had to make some decisions. Carbon dioxide handled itself through normal breathing, so it didn¡¯t need to be a major consideration for a technique that resulted in purity of the lungs. If he was fully cut off from any breathable air he would need to be manually refreshing himself anyway. Having that process continue if he was unconscious was a luxury that he might consider if he found it viable. The major problem with a number of toxic gasses was that they fit into the lung¡¯s natural processes, being absorbed in the same manner and moving from high concentrations to lower concentrations. And from there, they caused damage. Very few things would be directly damaging the lungs. The inhalation of smoke was a problem in that category. So there were really two separate goals. First, strengthening the durability of his lungs against direct assault. Most of the time that would be managed by spiritual energy defenses, but not relying on them would overall improve John¡¯s safety. Second, figuring out a way to alter the filtering of different gasses without preventing the normal flow. As this was a new area of study, he was going to have to be very careful. Altering the body was dangerous, especially where it concerned vital organs. He¡¯d have to start with a very small part and see what the results were. Which meant getting access to toxic gasses at some point. At some point, he¡¯d have to look for materials to support the process- working entirely with his own spiritual energy might work to a point, but it was unlikely to reach maximum effectiveness. At some point, he needed to consider time efficiency, and expending resources for such a purpose was reasonable. He just hoped he could find something a bit more efficient than Diamond Defense so he could share the technique more widely. ----- Despite the chill air of the high mountains, sweat dripped down Ayhan¡¯s forehead. If that wasn¡¯t the case, he would have been failing in his training. He had to push himself to grow stronger. If that meant defeating people two ranks above himself? He would have to manage it. And if they were three ranks above him, in the beginning of the Soul Expansion Phase? He had to manage that as well. Perhaps it was unreasonable to compare himself to the sect head. According to what he had heard, the man had nearly reached the Ascending Soul Phase, and was not re-cultivating through the ranks. Some said it was intentional, some said it was a failure on his part. Ayhan didn¡¯t know, but he certainly couldn¡¯t say that someone able to defeat Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators with only a Soul Expansion Phase cultivation was anything but strong. That was the kind of strength he would need- no, they would need to survive. Both he and Lir had been part of the war with the Black Peaks, and one thing they agreed upon was that they were not strong enough yet. She was working just as hard, though her effectiveness in the sparring matches was not in her favor. Then again, she was moving next towards an air totem, so she was still benefiting greatly. It was just less pleasant of a training process. Their cultivations were about to cross paths. In the Foundation Phase, the two of them together had the four core elements, and their dual cultivation augmented both of their growth. In the Soul Expansion Phase, there would be a period of imbalance. Regarding the four core elements, it was inevitable that the next step would result in doubling up on elements. Since they already had the four core elements, one new totem each meant they had to double up on two elements. There was no way about it, unless they swiveled towards a six element cycle¡­ but that was a little bit overly ambitious. As two street kids, presuming that they would reach the peak of the world was quite arrogant. Even with an excellent sect head, the cycle of four core elements already seemed overambitious. And then there was a matter they hadn¡¯t been concerned about until the war¡­ the possibility of cultivating alone. Either of them could have died. In which case, what would become of them at the Soul Expansion Phase? An earth-air-light cultivator or a fire-water-darkness cultivator would both be lacking, not even having a proper minor cycle. They were aware the sect head had basically done the reverse of one of those with darkness-earth-air, but he admitted that had been one of his weakest periods. The winds whipped around him, and Ayhan swung his chain around, focusing on how its trajectory shifted. He couldn¡¯t always go along with the wind, but if he minimized how much he fought it his movements would be more effective. Likewise, Lir trained without an air totem, her spinning glaive surrounded by flames that Ayhan knew could easily turn to ice or blast away an opponent with waves. She, too, studied the flow of the wind. That was one thing both of them could improve here, a concept of flow as they moved towards their respective water and air totems. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ----- Despite fanciful images he had seen, John found that the inside of his brain was nothing close to an electrical storm. Certainly, compared to the rest of his body the brain outpaced the electrical currents in the muscles by a large margin, but except as a vague whole it was extremely difficult to feel electrical activity in the brain. That was why it required huge machines that cost millions of dollars. But even so, John knew spiritual energy senses were not so easily outpaced by great technology. Especially as it came to his own body, what John could sense was amazing. So while it took a great amount of effort to sense anything close to the scale of individual neurons, John could feel the effect of clusters. As for what he was going to do with that information¡­ well, he certainly wasn¡¯t going to start with his brain. And perhaps the whole idea would be scrapped before he even started. The idea was to smooth the pathways in his body to improve the flow of electricity. That could make his reactions faster. Or¡­ he could upset a delicate balance of the body, throwing everything off in a way he could never fix. He knew that timing was important. What if he threw off the rhythm of his heart? He might be able to reverse the process and fix it. Or he might not. The inspiration of the lightning storm was certainly a great one, but not every idea that popped into his head was meant to be. If he¡¯d actually tried every single one¡­ well, he¡¯d probably have ruined his cultivation a hundred times over. Not everything that was possible was good. But¡­ his mind still stuck on the topic, unwilling to let it go. That didn¡¯t mean it was a good idea- it was easy for a cultivator to be driven off sensible paths if they let themselves- but a short term obsession could at least provide him with a variety of insights to use if he was careful about things. In addition to relying on his own thoughts, John would bring up the topic with Bahadur, the grand elder. Or perhaps if the sect head was interested whenever he was available. He¡¯d been isolated in cultivation for several weeks already, which hopefully meant good things for the man. ----- Winds were a constant in the Blustering Peaks. That was a given. Any local wildlife was well adapted, because the rest of them had no doubt died out. So it was strange for John to see a bird high in the sky being buffeted around wildly. Perhaps it was injured? As he focused his senses on it, he found something familiar. It was a shadowhawk- and emblazoned with the sigil of the Tenebach clan. It had to be carrying something important, to be sent to find him here. Something that couldn¡¯t wait until he returned to Astrein. John gathered the spiritual energy within him, reaching out towards the skies. He formed a bubble of less turbulent air around the Shadowhawk, along with a corridor it could fly along as it approached. At the current distance it was difficult, but fortunately as he grew more fatigued it was closer and his job was easier. He held his arm up for it to land on, stroking it on the head. ¡°You alright fellow? This is a difficult job.¡± With his other hand and a bit of spiritual energy he took and opened the missive. It was from his daughter, Melanthina herself. Though he wouldn¡¯t really have expected any different, as she would be the one to decide if something was important. As for the actual contents of the message¡­ they were quite short. It was an update on the status of Lucanus and Yustina. His mind jumped to the worst possibilities as he glimpsed the names. But it wasn¡¯t anything awful. In fact, it was good news. They were alive and well. Better than well, since they had both reached the Ascending Soul Phase. John should have perhaps been ecstatic, but instead he simply took it in. Was he happy for them? Absolutely. But he didn¡¯t find himself surprised or otherwise particularly emotional. It almost felt like an inevitability. Not that he thought his friends were above everything else, but rather¡­ the world was surging with cultivation, and they had been some of the highest in the region. The main result was that John was filled with determination. He needed to continue regrowing his cultivation. He had to at least return to the Consolidated Soul Phase within the next few years. No, he could be faster. Retreading his old steps, he found it much easier. Insights already gained, experiences already absorbed. The only issue would be the boundary between phases itself. John had found himself delayed on several of those. Except¡­ this time, he was already well aware of what the connection was. That wasn¡¯t necessarily going to make the process easier, but at least it would be more expedient. Though John didn¡¯t really intend to rush either. The totem he¡¯d gained upon originally reaching the Consolidated Soul Phase was that of the Deep Sea, a water totem. Water and darkness, of course, but all of his totems were similarly situated. There was no doubt in his mind that his guiding light there had been Matayal. He could never shake his memories of her, even for a moment. Nor did he want to- not now. The memories of her life were good memories. He just wished there could have been more. And of course, he remembered where his advancement had taken place. It was here, in the Blustering Peaks. It was the Great Waterfall Reversal, the two of them advancing together. A wonderful moment. John felt he was ready to return to the Consolidated Soul Phase¡­ except for the minor detail of his gathered spiritual energy being insufficient. He was still vaguely in the twenty-fifth rank, only one step into the late Soul Expansion Phase in terms of raw spiritual energy. But improving that would only be a matter of time. John scratched the shadowhawk. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here with me for a while? No need to try to fly home through all that. We¡¯ll be going back down the mountain in a week or two anyway.¡± The bird cried out, seeming to agree with him. Perhaps it was. They were smart creatures. Not quite humanlike intelligence in the category of Ciaritzal or Cuah¡¯arn, but not terribly far either. ¡°Come on,¡± John said, ¡°I can condense some darkness element for you.¡± He said that while at the same time displaying the effects, and the shadowhawk looked quite pleased. He would also find some meat to fill its belly. The message it carried¡­ John agreed it was of great importance, but to him the actual message was more of an afterthought. This was only what he expected. Others would soon follow¡­ and hopefully more would be friends than foes. Chapter 312 The purpose of visiting the Rising Storm Palace was not just to draw closer to them and for their disciples to get training. Those were important factors, but it wasn¡¯t just Rising Storm Palace that John was interested in. He wanted to draw in others from the Blustering Peaks. Ultimately, the plan was to include everyone from the Phoenix Forest to the north, the Green Sands to the east, as far south as the Prism Underfields, and all the way west to the Viridia Wildlands. Perhaps they might even include the Glass Hills and Wuthering Steppes, or the Rolling Dunes. He only intended to stop there because that was more than enough work to be done for a lifetime. If the region was successfully unified, reducing conflict between and within various countries, they could stand strong against outside threats. That would include things like the Black Peaks, but also the Molten Sea and Sky Islands. And surely there were more who would seek trouble with any borders they had. He just wanted to be able to stop all of that. But for the moment, there was still plenty of trouble to be had within the region. The alliance he¡¯d helped grow only properly included some factions within a handful of countries, and there was so much more that could be done to make the whole region secure. Of course, John hadn¡¯t forgotten his own personal strength. He had plans for tempering his body with air, and in a few years he would return to the Consolidated Soul Phase and see how he might do something similar with water. Each piece might be small on its own, but if he balanced them well he would be greatly strengthened overall. ----- When John returned to Lunson from the Blustering Peaks, he found Steve waiting for him. It wasn¡¯t hard to sense his friend, as he usually stood out even among others of similar cultivation. Now he was a step above anyone else- and in Astrein in particular where the cultivations were lower for the moment, he was quite a sight. John strode back into the sect with his disciples weary from the training and travel. They dispersed as John sought out Steve directly. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you well, Lucanus,¡± he said. Steve grinned. ¡°Never better, in fact. But I was thinking, John. With you being called that now¡­ should I really stick to this name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you have quite the same excuse I do for taking on a new name. And obviously you¡¯d want to consult Yustina before making such a decision.¡± John was already using his spiritual energy to block the area around them from anyone who might be eavesdropping. ¡°I more intended to subtly hint at my transmigrated status. If more people take the same path, I don¡¯t know what the results will be.¡± ¡°Hopefully, we¡¯d find some lost and confused folk and help them along,¡± Steve said. ¡°The kids already know about myself and Yustina, of course.¡± ¡°Would she be keeping her new name?¡± John asked. ¡°She isn¡¯t interested in her old life. For the reincarnated, they don¡¯t have all their memories all at once. They often shift personality somewhat before they grow old enough- though certainly influenced by who they were before. For us¡­¡± Steve shrugged. ¡°We never stopped being ourselves, we just had some other memories piled on the side.¡¯ John nodded, ¡°Well, whatever you decide you should consult your wife seriously. She¡¯ll help you make a good decision.¡± ¡°Not something I¡¯m going to forget, buddy. I understand the wisdom of my better half. Speaking of wisdom, thanks for the tips on the Ascending Soul Phase. Probably would have gotten myself killed without.¡± ¡°What happened with you anyway?¡± John asked. ¡°You just¡­ disappeared.¡± Steve shrugged. ¡°You know how it is. Giant volcano right next door filled with fire element. At some point, you¡¯ve gotta toss yourself deep in there to know it better. And then you have to do it again but swim deeper into some molten rock.¡± John looked him over. ¡°You certainly don¡¯t seem to have picked up any earth element from such a journey.¡± ¡°We were just there because it was the hottest place we could find. The fact that it was rocks that were melted was coincidental.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d be surprised if you strayed away from single element cultivation at your current point. I can¡¯t imagine that going well.¡± ¡°As the resident expert on six element cultivation, I¡¯d definitely take your advice on that,¡± Steve grinned. ¡°I¡¯m still pretty terrible at light, though. I should find a chance to work with Deirdre and the Golden Tomb Guardians.¡± ¡°And your son-in-law,¡± Steve pointed out. ¡°Good point,¡± John said. ¡°I suppose Melanthina would have some more useful advice by now as well.¡± John wished he could roam about as he pleased. He wanted to check on his children more frequently, but he had responsibilities. And his children weren¡¯t kids anymore. That didn¡¯t mean they wouldn¡¯t want or need his presence ever, but they were adults running their own clans. Or in the case of Ursel, focusing on herself and then the Order of the Amber Heart. There were so many things to do. The Six Elements Crossroads needed constant attention still, as the disciples were still relatively weak compared to the rest of the region. Time would solve that, but that was what John was worried about most. Soon they would start reaching the Soul Expansion Phase, however, and he would feel more comfortable. But along with them, he had to consider the upcoming tournament. It was still more than a handful of years away, but he needed the first time the Six Elements Crossroad was running the Lunson tournament to go smoothly. He was still working out how to include their own disciples without appearing biased. He also needed to settle how tournament prizes were going to be paid for. Obviously the Six Elements Crossroads wasn¡¯t wealthy enough to foot the whole bill, nor would it be a good precedent to set for the future. He had to start thinking about such things now, so they would actually be settled when the time finally came. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ----- Considering his upcoming delve into the light element- eventually- John wanted to consult everyone possible on the light element. And he had one option directly in Lunson¡­ occasionally. That was of course Viriato the trader and resource management elder of the Six Elements Crossroads. Even if he was significantly lower in cultivation, his insights could still be useful. And even though his most recent totem was the water element- a particular one chosen to not disrupt the balance of the two conflicting elements- as his cultivation grew his understanding of that balance between light and darkness would as well. ¡°How is business going?¡± John opened with, after one of the man¡¯s return trips. ¡°Quite well, actually. I¡¯m not able to go everywhere myself, so I¡¯ve been training some of the disciples to take on the less volatile opportunities.¡± John nodded. That was good to hear. No matter how valuable one person was in a role, if there wasn¡¯t anyone who could pick up the slack for them when they got overwhelmed things would fall apart. Which was why John was hoping to raise some more individuals worthy of the position of elder into the Six Elements Crossroads sooner rather than later. Personally, John felt that properly choosing individuals was better than how clans worked, producing heirs. Though clans gained some stability from the process, if they did it right, they might also be restricted in growth. To John, the important thing was that ambitious and capable- but not troublesome- people should be placed in a position where they could excel. And not, as was so often the case with sects and old world companies alike, being raised one step further than they could actually manage. It was tempting to place only those most loyal to himself in positions of power rather than those competent¡­ which is why John had plans to try to keep those the same thing. ¡°How is your cultivation advancing? I see you¡¯ve properly reached the mid Soul Expansion phase,¡± John continued the conversation with Viriato. The man nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good, to be able to consistently advance again. I might not have the fastest growth, but I was at something like a dead end when you first found me.¡± After discussing the necessary business side of things- John didn¡¯t need to know all the details of their ventures, but he figured he should be informed about the general markets they were dipping into- they moved onto cultivation insights. John had some advice for Viriato as he grew stronger in cultivation, and he asked for guidance with light. Obviously he¡¯d only reach a certain level of competence without a totem, but he knew he would need every bit of practice he could get to allow the totem to settle into him properly. Assuming he could actually step into the Ascending Soul Phase properly when his cultivation reached that point, and then advance beyond it. But he¡¯d rather prepare for success than failure, and it would never hurt for him to have a better understanding of light. Indeed, if he skimped on the understanding it would become his one glaring weakness. ----- John found Raul in his lab, as he so often was. The young alchemist had advanced to the Soul Expansion Phase as well, improving rapidly once he had proper resources and guidance. He had selected an air totem for his third, placing him just one step short of the cycle of core elements. John had high hopes for him to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase not too many years down the line. It would probably be after the tournament, but Raul wouldn¡¯t be competing in the competition anyway. Instead, he would be among the panel of judges for their alchemy portion. The tournament normally only included direct combat, but John was planning to change that up. He wanted to promote the various supporting skills that were necessary for functioning societies of cultivators, not just battle. Alchemy, equipment crafting, and enchantments were all important. ¡°How are things going here?¡± John asked. ¡°Quite well. Viriato has brought quite a variety of textbooks. From extremely valuable to¡­ well, trash really. But I can still learn something from the mistakes of others. And warn any disciples to stay away from certain historical authors. Too many alchemists focus on the element of fire above all else. And while refining pills does require excellent control of flame¡­¡± Raul shrugged. ¡°Obviously that leaves them a bit lacking in other areas. But you already know that.¡± ¡°Indeed I do,¡± John agreed. ¡°That was what drew me to you to begin with. Your ability and willingness to make what I actually needed, instead of only traditional concoctions. Though I suppose most people are single element cultivators, and they would find the results acceptable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Raul said. ¡°They would think they¡¯re getting high quality products, but most would be tainted with other elements that neither they nor the alchemist noticed. And while there¡¯s nothing wrong with mixed elements if that¡¯s your intention, if it isn¡¯t you lose quite a bit of potency.¡± Raul reached for something on his shelf. ¡°Come look at this. This was made using a technique from the Glass Hills. Spiritual energy was separated into different components using those processes. It¡¯s not entirely pure,¡± he admitted. ¡°But that¡¯s without exerting special control over the extract. If you could get furnaces at very predictable temperatures, you wouldn¡¯t even need spiritual energy to produce something half decent.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± John said. ¡°How is it accomplished?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s actually rather simple. You just have to incorporate something that each element prefers to inhabit, then the heating process separates them. You can pour the liquids off in layers, if you¡¯re precise.¡± Raul demonstrated, and John saw it was getting close to actual chemistry. It would be easier with a plastic pipette. At least Raul had good glass to work with. John supposed they could make some sorts of plastics if they knew how. But with the way spiritual energy worked, the process might be different. Or they might not hold up to certain things. ¡°Your third totem is air, right?¡± John asked. ¡°If you create a small vacuum in a tube, you might be able to suck up a layer of liquid precisely. And then your spiritual energy isn¡¯t directly touching the extract.¡± ¡°Oh, good idea,¡± Raul said. ¡°That¡¯s the problem with pouring, using my spiritual energy to keep it in line can taint it.¡± ¡°Just remember that you might shatter the glass if your vacuum is too strong.¡± ¡°You sure know a lot of weird tricks,¡± Raul said. John shrugged. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯ve experienced a wide diversity of things.¡± While he might be able to help with that knowledge, Raul¡¯s actual understanding of extracts and pills was now far beyond anywhere he would ever reach. All he knew is that some amount of balance was important. Enough substance to hold spiritual energy together and release it at the right speed into the body¡­ and of course, avoiding toxins of various sorts. Though all extracts could be hard on the body, in certain quantities. John was letting his cultivation progress more ¡®naturally¡¯ after re-reaching the Soul Expansion Phase. Chapter 313 When John thought of visiting home- or rather, the Tenebach clan- his first thought was to go alone, or at least nearly so. As a sect head it might not be appropriate for him to truly travel alone, just in case there was some sort of danger. He didn¡¯t want to make a formal thing out of it but¡­ if he was serious about the Six Elements Crossroads, then he knew he should make it a formal visit. An exchange of knowledge should be valuable for both sides- though there was little that the Six Elements Crossroads knew about darkness that had not come from the Tenebach clan to begin with. But they still had their other elements, and just like the visit to the Rising Storm Palace, John wanted to open the opportunity to everyone who wished to learn more about darkness from any angle. The members of the Tenebach clan should have practiced against all elements already, but they were still limited by their surroundings. Most of their experience would be centered around earth and darkness. Yes, though it was more effort to set up a formal visit would be better. And there could still be informal time with his daughter and son-in-law. It was either that, or keep second guessing how he was spending his time and if he was devoting enough to the sect. He still couldn¡¯t be constantly gone, but if each trip away he was accompanied by disciples it would be more efficient. He wasn¡¯t going to just show up, of course. Better to give Melanthina some warning. He didn¡¯t want to conflict with some other political visit. And if there was a group visiting they should be there at the same time as, that would require coordination as well. ----- Travel between the capital of Lunson and the Stone Conglomerate along the main road was extremely safe, even for small groups. There were very few beasts in Astrein, and they tended to stay away from the populated areas. Bandits were swiftly taken care of anywhere near the Stone Conglomerate, and none would dwell deeper in Astrein as it was still seen to have weak spiritual energy. With a large group, both beasts and men would stay away. Unless they were specifically targeting something or someone. John was quite glad nobody was so foolish on this trip. He didn¡¯t have many enemies who had survived, but it was always possible that people with grudges might band together. Even if they would inevitably be hunted down, if they killed him first John wouldn¡¯t care. Not that he was in a truly weak state anymore. He was a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator who could directly match those in the Consolidated Soul Phase. At least ¡®typical¡¯ individuals, if there was such a thing at that level of cultivation. He could think of at least a few people he wouldn''t want to tangle with until he properly returned to that level, but two of them had also just moved on. Lucanus and Yustina both would be challenging opponents even after he stepped into the Consolidated Soul Phase. No, more than challenging. He would doubtless lose, but he was still going to find an opportunity to spar with each of them once he could put on a more worthwhile showing. Of the disciples coming along to the Tenebach clan, John took note of Taurai, Fulton, and Toma. The first two were at least partially darkness cultivators, but Toma was a light cultivator. He would have a tough time, but that was also why it would be beneficial for him. John hoped all the others would learn as well, but he couldn¡¯t pretend not to be biased towards those who were more talented. Which was a bit of a problem he had to admit, since better treatment of them would often result in them pulling ahead at double speed. But the world needed the best cultivators they could get, and he at least tried to give everyone opportunities. He certainly wasn¡¯t perfect. Not yet. So he could only do what he saw as best for the world. ----- Though he already knew that Melanthina had been at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase for some time, John could really feel it when he saw her in person. As if at any moment she could explode into the next stage¡­ and she probably could. Nik behind her had a similar feeling, and John expected they intended to advance together when they felt the time was optimal. ¡°The Tenebach clan greets the Six Elements Crossroads,¡± Melanthina said, bowing her head in acknowledgement. ¡°And the Six Elements Crossroads thanks you for your hospitality,¡± John replied. ¡°We hope to both grow stronger from our exchange.¡± Formal words lasted about as long as they were in the ¡®public¡¯ eye. That was already more that most people would expect- at least for family that weren¡¯t estranged. Melanthina quickly took John inside- and down towards the constructed tunnels where Ciaritzal dwelled. ¡°He has been very eager to see you again. You don¡¯t visit that often, father.¡± ¡°Well, I am sorry about that,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ve been quite busy with various responsibilities. And the sect is in an unbalanced state.¡± The darkness moved. The only shadows John could not pierce with his sight, leaping out of the corner. ¡°Then I might suggest picking up a guardian beast.¡± John laughed, reaching out towards Ciaritzal. He wasn¡¯t a pet that liked to be scratched, but a simple touch reminded John of their connection. ¡°If only it were so easy. And unfortunately, we would need six.¡± John grinned, ¡°Say, you wouldn¡¯t be interested in changing positions?¡± Melanthina smacked John on the back of his head. ¡°No poaching our guardian beast!¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. John just shrugged. ¡°I imagine you¡¯d upset our delicate balance anyway. You¡¯re far too strong for the current sect.¡± John turned towards Nik. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to leave you out of the conversation. How have things been here?¡± Nik shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re making things work. As you know, light and darkness don¡¯t automatically get along.¡± John nodded, ¡°But I¡¯ve found it quite impressive when they do. ¡° ¡°We¡¯re thinking of having a child,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Or rather, we are going to. But we don¡¯t know when would be best.¡± Nik nodded. ¡°That is why we¡¯ve not yet advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase,¡± Nik explained. We are concerned about the¡­ viability, if we were stronger.¡± ¡°I wish I could help you there,¡± John said honestly. ¡°But a peaceful balance between light and darkness is the one area where I am not well versed. I imagine it will take me quite some time to reach that stage. You two should already know more. And as for pregnancies,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I really only saw one from start to end. The only thing I can say¡­ in terms of stability, I don¡¯t think it would be wise to be holding back and avancement. Though in your particular case, you¡¯re worried about getting pregnant to begin with, correct?¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°A small fluctuation spiritual energy during early development could happen quite easily. And while most children are separated from the mother¡¯s spiritual energy, what happened with you and mother¡­¡± John nodded. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t necessarily bet that you¡¯ll have an easier time. Our spiritual energies were a balanced match at the time. I suppose the only thing left to say is¡­ don¡¯t be in a rush. I¡¯m not concerned about being a grandfather as soon as possible. Though I¡¯m kind of surprised that Tirto and Verusha haven¡¯t had any yet.¡± Nik twitched. Ah. John decided not to go any further on that topic. ----- ¡°Did Lucanus pass through here on his way?¡± John asked sometime later, when they were relaxing in the lounge of the guest suite. ¡°On his way back, I believe,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°He seems to have gone directly to the Six Elements Crossroads on the way over. I must admit his visit was somewhat of a surprise.¡± ¡°We knew he was likely to advance eventually, of course,¡± Nik said. ¡°But seeing it in person¡­¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°I¡¯d only seen others from afar. Though you were involved in yet another battle with an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator recently, weren¡¯t you? Even in your¡­ current state?¡± ¡°That would be the fourth, by some counts. Though I suppose Sitora was vaguely on our side for some of that war.¡± ¡°Who else was there?¡± Nik asked. ¡°He might not have fully counted, as he was sort of forcing himself over the threshold, but Faramund of the Society of Midnight,¡± John explained. ¡°Ah, right,¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°I was young then, so I barely remembered that.¡± ¡°It does seem as if they are going to become more and more common,¡± John said. ¡°Either from inside or outside our region. So we can¡¯t neglect our own strength. I have no idea if the Six Elements Crossroads will be strong enough for the next major event. I was a bit overzealous with the Black Peaks¡­¡± he shook his head. ¡°But if not my sect, there are many others sufficient for a while.¡± ¡°You anticipate more war?¡± Nik asked. ¡°It is inevitable, among cultivators. Either we squabble over petty things, or unify enough to be a threat to some other group. Or draw attention because of available resources that can¡¯t be defended,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d like for that not to be the case, but for that we need to be the strong ones. And while we can act as reasonably as possible¡­ sometimes people don¡¯t take subtle hints not to mess with us.¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°I heard about you dropping the peak.¡± ¡°I was there, certainly,¡± John said. ¡°But the majority of the effort wasn¡¯t mine. Fortunately, the city was arranged in such a way that we could expect little or no collateral damage. ¡° ¡°I¡¯ll make sure we don¡¯t have anything that can topple over onto our clan in the future,¡± Melanthina grinned. ¡°Lest someone use it against us.¡± John nodded. ¡°I think Rezso didn¡¯t realize the true extent of the Ascending Soul Phase. He wanted to throw his weight around, but he wasn¡¯t the right type of cultivator for that and didn¡¯t think about the consequences being greater along with that. Hopefully, people will take notice and not make any foolish moves in the near future.¡± ¡°That would be best,¡± Melanthina agreed. ----- While John himself had nothing new to learn from the cultivators of the Tenebach clan, having already taken the fullest advantage of such things, the disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads were exposed to many things he had not yet gotten around to teaching. And conversely, some of his disciples knew a few things that the Tenebach clan¡¯s younger members didn¡¯t. Fulton had learned almost exclusively from John, so it was more of an opportunity for him to train with different peers near his age or cultivation. Taurai, however, had come from the Soulrot Bogs, and knew at least the basics of some interesting techniques. Of course, many of them weren¡¯t much good outside the bogs, and others were simply water techniques. She was quite surprised when Melanthina, who was overseeing some of the training, asked her about her experience with controlling the deadly mosquitoes. Of course, there weren¡¯t anything on nearly the same level for Melanthina to demonstrate with, but she had picked up a few things on their trip through the area, quite long before. Shortly before she met Nik, John supposed. He grinned. Those were good times. No, the current times were good as well. It was just hard for John to acknowledge that without Matayal around. The first few years he hadn¡¯t responded well at all, and adding another handful on top of that didn¡¯t suddenly mean part of him wasn¡¯t missing. But he knew the pain would dull with time, as long as he properly took care of it. Which meant acknowledging it a proper amount, but not letting it control him. If only she were around, to see her children growing into proper adults. She would be quite happy with how they turned out, despite John¡¯s failures after Matayal¡¯s death. Chapter 314 In this second life of his, one of the people John had the most respect for was Luctus Tenebach, his grandfather. Without him, nothing would have been possible. Certainly, John might have tried to hide his Transmigrated status and chosen to stick to an orthodox path, and perhaps that would have gone well for him. But that was not how things had worked out, and John didn¡¯t actually think it would have been better, lying to people for decades- and into perpetuity. ¡°I have no cultivation advice to give you,¡± Luctus said when John came to him. ¡°Sometimes I just want to talk to people,¡± John said. ¡°Bah, nobody wants to just talk to an old fellow like me except for advice.¡± John shrugged. ¡°I might. And there are things that are useful to know besides cultivation.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Politics. The state of the world you remember from over a century ago,¡± John said. ¡°Hmm,¡± Luctus nodded slowly. ¡°I wish I could help you with that, but I must admit my focus was too narrow to consider the world. Not even the whole of the Stone Conglomerate at all points.¡± ¡°Then I suppose it somewhat comes back to cultivation. Were there any Consolidated Soul or Ascending Soul Phase cultivators around? Anywhere you were aware of?¡± ¡°A few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators traveled through the area,¡± Luctus said. ¡°But we had no residents at that level until just recently. And now,¡± he chuckled. ¡°There are Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. I¡¯ve been left far behind. Though not as far behind as I would have thought.¡± He took a deep breath, nodding. ¡°Still, it¡¯s clear my time is almost up.¡± ¡°The Tenebach clan still needs you,¡± John said. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t plan on going out in the next year or two,¡± Luctus said. ¡°I¡¯m old, but these improvements to my cultivation should keep me going at least another decade or two. Or I could go out fighting. If I get injured like Netanel¡­¡± he shrugged. ¡°Well, I¡¯d rather do the most for the clan possible.¡± John sighed, ¡°And here I am, having left the clan behind. Despite all you did for me.¡± Luctus raised an eyebrow. ¡°So you¡¯re saying if the Tenebach clan was in trouble, you wouldn''t come to our aid?¡± ¡°Well, obviously that¡¯s not the case. You¡¯re still family.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why I was not concerned. You made certain there was leadership here before moving on to your next step. I might have done the same, but I didn¡¯t have the opportunity or ambition. As long as you don¡¯t forget old ties, what difference does it make if you¡¯re living here or somewhere else? Especially since our scope must expand.¡± ¡°I was thinking about that,¡± John said. ¡°I keep thinking we don¡¯t know enough about the places further away¡­ yet they¡¯re more and more capable of causing us trouble. And our strength, in a way, makes us more of a target.¡± ¡°So it does,¡± Luctus agreed. ¡°So what is your plan?¡± ¡°We need a greater alliance. Not just the Stone Conglomerate, or a handful of clans and sects. The whole region should be united.¡± Luctus nodded. ¡°This is where I would tell you it was impossible, if I had not seen what you had done. And the others you are connected to. If you can convince them all¡­ well, I don¡¯t think people will be able to refuse.¡± ¡°That sounds problematic,¡± John said. ¡°Better than letting the Molten Sea walk over us. Or someone worse.¡± John was going to say that it might not happen, but he didn¡¯t really believe that. It was more of a matter of time, rather than an if. Seizing power through martial strength was the way of the world, and he didn¡¯t know if he could actually do anything about that. But he wasn¡¯t going to let himself just go power mad. He was working on diplomatic solutions, after all. He hadn¡¯t gone around crushing people just because they got in his way or anything. It was only when they chose to try to take what he¡¯d helped grow- or things of his allies. Yes, this was simply what was required in this world. People with ill intentions would always take control of any power structure. If he didn¡¯t want that, he had to be in that place. ----- Air flowed into John¡¯s lungs, and air flowed out. At his current stage, he was able to prevent many contaminants entering his body through his lungs- but it was by no means all of them. Perhaps with time those numbers would rise, but he doubted it could ever be perfect. And why should it be? The lungs were only one part of the body. There were other parts for the filtration and removal of all sorts of toxins. But that wasn¡¯t the domain of air. His technique might continue to improve, but it would never become something more all on its own. For that, he would need other elements. Determining which was the best was a question that might not have a true answer. He could only work with insights he or others had gained to try to find what was best for him. He wasn¡¯t done with air, however. There was more he could try, and some ideas were just too tempting. Fiddling with the contents of a human body was risky, but there were different levels of risk. A middling level of understanding might cause more harm than a complete lack of knowledge. If he didn¡¯t know about his body, he wouldn¡¯t even know why he would change it. But even in this world, bodies weren¡¯t perfect. No, human bodies worked about as well as could be expected given the circumstances, but they had their limitations. Scar tissue built up instead of perfectly replicating what the body could produce. It even ¡®knew¡¯ how, as the body still had stem cells. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The problem was the body was cautious. And it didn¡¯t actually know what was going on. Cells were just meant to replicate and fill the space between them. If he got a cut on his finger, the skin cells that were connecting to each other didn¡¯t know if there was a patch missing or they were meeting up with prior neighbors. Spiritual energy could prompt the body to heal scars, or actively send more resources to speed up natural healing. That was just the basic level, promoting what the body was already trying to do and perhaps going a step beyond. But John knew there was still more. And as he felt his fingers twitch, he knew he was going to try more. He could barely sense them, the minute electrical signals he produced when giving his muscles commands. But he could sense the signals, and he was getting better at it. And slowly, he was getting ideas how to improve it. They weren¡¯t all logical, human thoughts. He couldn¡¯t say exactly why he thought something would work. How he would be changing nerve cells to speed up transition. There was something about using rarer materials and changing the composition of his body, but he couldn¡¯t list the exact chemical composition of his cells. Even individual cells were quite small, and they were made of countless molecules. But he could slowly pick out what he needed for the process, and sense it in food and drink found in the markets. Sometimes it was regional foods, or specific types of herbs that grew in very particular soil. Whatever they were, there was more than just the physical components to be concerned about. They all carried spiritual energy that could help or harm him. What John needed was a sustainable change to his body, not a short term boost. But the more he tested his Body Tempering idea, the more insights he had. He knew he was on a viable path. And while there were still risks, that was true of all cultivation. He was quite aware of how mistakes could end a cultivation career. But if he didn¡¯t take any he would never have gotten where he was. ----- The ¡®club¡¯ was once more gathered together. This time, they had two standout individuals among them. John felt almost out of place, as his cultivation was lower than the rest- except in a way, it was in between the Consolidated Soul Phase and the Ascending Soul Phase. It was difficult for John to propose his idea. They¡¯d spoken on similar topics, of course, but it was basically just about expanding the alliance. John¡¯s current plans were more. ¡°We need to bring the entire region under our banner,¡± John said. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to have squabbling sects and clans. Or at least, not to the extent of civil wars.¡± ¡°The conflicts make our disciples stronger,¡± Renato said. ¡°Those who survive, yes,¡± John said. ¡°And I am not saying we should avoid conflicts. But I think there are already plenty of battles in the world, looking for us. Wild beasts will always exist. Untamable natural phenomena. And even if our alliance grows, human foes will still exist. Perhaps ones more important for us to spend our efforts against, like the Molten Sea. And perhaps the Sky Islands, if they decide to make a move. Besides, if we combined all of our knowledge we could certainly train our disciples better even without killing.¡± Renato nodded. ¡°I suppose your words make sense.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Lucanus asked. ¡°Just go around and say ¡®hey, join us?¡¯¡± ¡°It can be more than that,¡± John said. ¡°But at base¡­ yes. The Tenebach Clan and the Order of the Amber Heart are a good example within the Stone Conglomerate. Actual control extends to multiple counties, and their effective influence is significantly further. And the Milanovic clan is a dominant force in the Green Sands. Most would already listen to them. But it would be better to have formal agreements¡­ and cooperation.¡± ¡°What if people didn¡¯t want to join this alliance?¡± Deidre asked. ¡°Could they just refuse?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± John frowned. ¡°At that point, they¡¯re kind of setting themselves up to be enemies.¡± ¡°Perhaps. But they might just want to be left alone. I¡¯m not saying that¡­ I don¡¯t understand some of this. But it¡¯s too close to us becoming tyrants.¡± Renato shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s already the way of things. And I think so far we have managed in much more humane manners than those before us. I understand your otherworld sensibilities are different but¡­ people are already quite surprised that we haven¡¯t been throwing our weight around.¡± ¡°So they expect us to be terrible?¡± Deirdre asked. ¡°They expect us to act in a traditional manner. And I think Yustina and I can agree that we would probably have done so, without the rest of you. But¡­ this is still the world we were first born into, as far as we are aware. There are certain ways that are not so easily changed.¡± Yustina nodded. ¡°The rule of power in your world might not have been so visible, but it was still true nonetheless. And we would not be working together if we did not think each other reasonable. I am in favor of expanding. And if those outside our borders refuse, we don¡¯t necessarily need to keep pushing. If they attack us, that will be their own choice. As for internal groups¡­ once enough join, everyone else will follow. And they¡¯ll likely be pleased not to have excessive taxes. We could easily do that, and I understand the draw.¡± She shrugged, ¡°Of course, I¡¯d prefer a more stable approach that would last more than a generation or two. Stockpiling wealth doesn¡¯t really work as well as one might think, if you have to spend it all to fend off enemies- or revolts.¡± Deirdre frowned before responding. ¡°Speak softly and carry a big stick¡­¡± Deirdre grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s not actually the most well looked upon policy, but in this world¡­¡± she shook her head. ¡°We need to keep ourselves in check. Power corrupts, and all that.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, the world is hopeless,¡± John said. ¡°I prefer to think that the corrupt seek out power to reveal their true selves. But¡­ I also don¡¯t mind you keeping us on track. No, we should all keep each other on track. We can¡¯t be afraid to speak honestly among each other.¡± ¡°Then can I say,¡± Deirdre commented. ¡°... You probably shouldn''t have toppled part of a mountain onto a city.¡± John frowned. ¡°We didn¡¯t have the forces to defeat them in another manner without more losses.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t nuke a city, would you?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± John said. ¡°Then just be careful to remember that as we draw closer to the power of a nuclear weapon on an individual level.¡± John almost wanted to rescind the speaking honestly policy. But then he really would be going the wrong way. ¡°... If it makes it better it only landed on big sects.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t said much before,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°But it would only take a small mistake to make that a thousand times worse.¡± Chapter 315 Rather than waiting for an expected invitation, John reached out to Tirto and the Brandle clan to indicate he would be visiting soon. He would have taken the chance to visit Ursel as well, if she had a predictable location- but aside from occasionally returning to the Order of the Amber Heart, there was often little chance of finding her in any specific place. The stormy seas of the Shivering Islands once more reminded John of Matayal. Everything did, and while sometimes he wished that was not the case¡­ it was also better than forgetting her. That was a thought more terrifying than his own death, that he would someday forget his love. And while he had no reason to believe it might happen, such thoughts still troubled him. Without the love for his wife and children, he felt he might fully slip into the ruthlessness of the world. He was already a step closer than before. ----- John himself was already quite used to travel through the Shimmering Islands. Most ships were nowhere near as extreme with their passage as the Wavecutter, and that ship simply did not have the room for the disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads, even if there had been a break in the captain¡¯s schedule. Thus, they were traveling on more conservative ships that skirted the edges of the storms instead of driving straight through. Even then, powerful waves and lightning were a constant companion on their journey. John watched over his disciples, letting them take risks¡­ under his supervision, though they didn¡¯t fully understand the difference he made. A few were rather foolish with their positioning, and others careless with lightning- but only those who had not been part of the trip to the Blustering Peaks. Those who were toppled overboard or almost fried received a proper lecture on knowing their limits, but John was the one who rescued them from their foolishness. As for the lightning, he took a small portion into himself, continuing his long term project of changing his body. He could convince himself that some of his movements felt smoother now, but there was nothing concrete yet. Eventually, he was going to have to move onto his spinal cord and brain, if he truly wished to empower his reflexes and reaction time. And he would, once he had a reasonable certainty he wouldn¡¯t screw things up. ----- When John arrived, Verusha was visibly pregnant. It made sense, of course. If Melanthina and Nik had known for any amount of time before he visited them, with travel times and the like it wasn¡¯t surprising. If timing had been different John might have heard first, but he wasn¡¯t always easy to lock down despite having a sect he had to maintain. ¡°Greetings, father,¡± Tirto said. ¡°When you contacted us we were about to address you about¡­ well, I suppose it¡¯s pretty obvious now. Verusha is pregnant.¡± Verusha¡¯s hair turned pink as she awkwardly covered her stomach. It was only a small bump just yet, but unmistakable for anything else. ¡°Congratulations,¡± John said. ¡°The child is healthy, I imagine?¡± ¡°We believe so,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Though too young to be active. And otherwise within¡­ normal expectations.¡± ¡°She means not infused with spiritual energy,¡± Tirto explained. ¡°Good,¡± John said. ¡°It¡¯s a pain in the ass to raise kids like that,¡± he grinned. Verusha sighed, ¡°I had somewhat hoped for it, however. I wanted his child to be¡­ special.¡± ¡°Of course the child will be special,¡± John said. ¡°Being infused with spiritual energy before birth is something else entirely. The triplets were an extreme rarity. If it was something related to parentage, then you and your sister should have ended up just the same.¡± That didn¡¯t sound quite right, so John rapidly continued. ¡°Of course, the two of you are still quite special. You simply weren¡¯t infused with spiritual energy in the womb. Which again, might have just been trouble.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°Given the mother, our child will certainly be something great. Hopefully, a fine clan head. Though¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not intending to retire young,¡± John nodded. ¡°No need to push for them to take over. You could easily maintain your position for another half century.¡± Probably more, given that Tirto would reach the Consolidated Soul Phase soon enough. Luctus, Netanel, and Kusuma had been active until a similar age, but they hadn¡¯t reached such a cultivation level while young. Had it not been for Matayal¡¯s unfortunate death, Tirto might not even be clan head yet. Instead he had taken over for more than half a decade. The same with Melanthina. Though John had been intending to pass the position onto her relatively soon, he certainly hadn¡¯t intended it to happen the way it did. ----- Every location in the Brandle clan reminded John of Matayal even more than the rest of the places he visited. The only exception was his bedroom, since he was set up in guest quarters. The best of the guest quarters, of course, but he no longer resided in the master suite. He wanted to hide from the memories, even though he¡¯d had several chances to experience them, but he pushed through and spent most of his time outside his rooms. Out in the garden, sitting among the flowers. Resting besides their pools and upon the beaches. With the Pualani¡¯s natural protection from the worst of the storms, the island was a tropical paradise. It still rained, of course, but the rain still had some warmth to it most of the time. Stolen novel; please report. John had already come to terms with how his connections to people affected his restoration to higher levels of cultivation, and there was no doubt in his mind that Matayal was his important connection to his fourth totem. It was water, after all, and they¡¯d advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase together. He wasn¡¯t certain if there was some additional realization he would have to make. And it wouldn¡¯t hurt to continue seeking regardless. He had time until his cultivation properly reached the correct rank to advance, and even if he didn¡¯t need to gain any more insights into that prior connection, it could always be useful. Along with his continued growth in the other elements, John did his best to focus on light as much as he could. He found it significantly more difficult than working with fire when he only had his second totem, attuned to earth. He had a certain balance of elements that would be difficult to shift to reach the last step. But reaching the Exalted Soul Phase was a far off goal. He first had to actually reach the Ascending Soul Phase, and there was no guarantee that would happen. He might even get stuck somewhere in the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. He couldn''t say for certain. ----- While he was present at the Brandle clan, John made certain to find opportunities to guide Tirto and Verusha in their cultivation. He had decades of experience with dual cultivation, and higher level insights into the interplay of fire and water. Though they were going easy on their cultivation because of the baby, it was still worthwhile to learn. Meanwhile, John and the disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads took advantage of the area to train their water and air elements- or train themselves against those elements. He was going to have to arrange a trip to visit the Golden Tomb Guardians and perhaps the Green Sands as well, to cover all the elements. The trip to the Tenebach clan had taken them to the Stone Conglomerate, so that covered earth and darkness. But of course, only training against one style was incomplete. Eventually, he wanted his disciples to wander as far as the Prism Underfields or to the Glass Hills. He was searching for those who could lead such excursions aside from himself, either from among the young disciples or older individuals who were joining. The Six Elements Crossroads was attracting a good number of those who had been independent cultivators, and John was glad to have them- as long as he could be reasonably certain they would remain loyal. That was the biggest thing that limited their recruitment rates, rather than lacking people actually wanting to join. ----- Years continued to pass, and the time of the tournament in Lunson approached at what felt like an ever increasing rate. But the flow of time remained the same. It was simply the pressure of needing to succeed. This would be the first large event the Six Elements Crossroads was involved in since their foundation. Taking over control of the tournament meant it had to be just as good as before- no, it had to be better. He was quite fortunate to have Viriato to help plan the prizes, but that wasn¡¯t enough. They needed it to be bigger than any time before. Prizes would attract some, but people still needed to be reached out to. Sects and clans contacted, or sometimes visited in person. Then there were problems of infrastructure. In truth, most of Lunson had been barely occupied when John moved in and laid the groundwork for the sect. Much of the land was owned by outsiders, though some of the claims were quite tentative. Rather than claim it for the city or the sect, John instead formalized the majority of the claims. But there wouldn¡¯t be enough space for all of the people anticipated to visit. Nor would there be sufficient food, not without preparations. The population of the city was actually growing steadily with the development of the Six Elements Crossroads, but it wasn¡¯t fast enough. Thus, they needed to build additional places for people to stay, and arrange for food storage and delivery ahead of time. Those who wished to would still be able to book inns with specific training rooms, but many more buildings being constructed on one side of the sect, which was still just outside of the expanding border of the city. Stone imported from the Stone Conglomerate made up some of the buildings, while much of the wood was sourced from the Phoenix Forest. John didn¡¯t want the city to burn down, either intentionally or accidentally. And while cheap construction would certainly strain the budget less, it might not last until the next round of tournaments and ultimately be more expensive. Ultimately he hoped that the sect would be able to recover their expenses, and unless something was terribly wrong they should get at least a solid portion back. Viriato¡¯s projections were from minor losses to significant profits, but nothing was certain. And some of Viriato¡¯s projections relied on later trade deals rather than immediate cash inflow. Fortunately, the finances of the Six Elements Crossroads were well managed, and the hidden valley was profitable enough to bolster that. During the last few years John allowed somewhat more harvesting than he was otherwise comfortable with, while making sure that the special location indeed stayed balanced and vibrant. Additional trips risked revealing the location, but ultimately John didn¡¯t expect it to stay secret forever. And if the tournament went well, the prestige of the Six Elements Crossroads would help keep it safe. And the intention was to expand the reach of the sect beyond just the main city. They were sticking to a measured pace, as many sects could collapse from overreaching. Which was why the tournament had to go well. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry about prominent guests. He was friends with enough of those, other members of the alliance. The Golden Tomb Guardians had an Ascending Soul Phase guardian beast, and the Tenebach clan might not be far behind in that regard. Meanwhile, the Milanovic clan had two actual Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. Many people would attend just to be able to glimpse Lucanus and Yustina. John just wished he could have stepped back into the Consolidated Soul Phase properly before the tournament came about, but the timing just didn¡¯t work out. With his business he lost some time to cultivate, and his mind wasn¡¯t as clear. He wasn¡¯t in a good state to attempt something so important. Thus, he would wait. After the tournament would be a prime opportunity- and he would actually have free time to travel where he needed to. Well, as close to free time as a sect head could ever have. Chapter 316 Visits to various sects doubled as valuable training excursions for the upcoming tournament in Astrein. By the time the end of the decade rolled around, the Six Elements Crossroads had a decent complement of Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, including many of the former street kids. That also meant that many of the disciples were at the most difficult step of their cultivation career so far. Obviously advancements became more difficult with each phase, but for cultivators who wanted a cycle of core elements, three totems was a state of imbalance. And yet, reaching that step also indicated a form of hope. Then there were those who were angling towards a great cycle. The Soul Expansion Phase was the first time they would be stepping beyond an allied element, but they didn¡¯t have enough elements to form a loop. The one thing that John could say was good for them was that Astrein had plenty of any type of spiritual energy. Most disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads could draw spiritual energy from the surroundings pertaining to multiple elements at once for training or battle. There were still some mono-elemental disciples within the sect. In fact, John did his best to not bias people against the option. It was a path that worked for a great many people, with fewer pitfalls and a vast wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon. But even they would train with people of other elements- both in sparring, and in groups that extracted different elements of spiritual energy from the surroundings. John himself was at the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase. He could likely have returned to the Consolidated Soul Phase already, but the timing wasn¡¯t good. Even going off for a month or two was a bit too much with the tournament rapidly approaching. So he had chosen to delay that particular step. He didn¡¯t feel like he was in a particular rush. If trouble popped up¡­ well, he happened to be good friend with all of the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators in the region, and they would be attending the tournament. Specifically, that would be Lucanus, Yustina, and Renato. The latter had stepped across the threshold just recently. Then there were all of those who were close. Johannes Dalen, the one who had been on the cutting edge of the rise of Consolidated Soul Cultivators in the region, was a bit behind his reincarnated disciple¡­ but he was fully expected to advance soon enough. Crystin was close to that threshold for the Tenebach clan, and some others were in the late Consolidated Soul Phase. The Brandle Clan had Livna and Yonit, powerful guardians of the clan who were also expected to advance at some point in the near future. Charlotte of Firepine Palace was older like Johannes, but also an anticipated individual. Deirdre was just short of that step in the Golden Tomb Guardians, though Cuah¡¯arn their guardian beast had reached that level of power. Then there was Ciaritzal, who John was actually surprised hadn¡¯t made that advancement. Or perhaps he had, and it was kept hidden from everyone- potentially even Melanthina and Nik. John could believe that, though even another decade or two would seem like near simultaneous advancement with Cuah¡¯arn, given the length of their history. Outside of those in the alliance, John only knew about a few handfuls of late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators- but that was a vast change from four decades prior when the region hadn¡¯t even had a single individual in the Consolidated Soul Phase. ----- John had a fancy speech prepared to welcome everyone, but as he saw people gathered in the stands of the grand arena- encompassing many individual fighting rings- his desire to use a prepared speech left him. ¡°Welcome, everyone, from near and far! Today we come together to¡­ punch each other in the face.¡± People were clearly uncertain how they should react to his words. Should they laugh? John didn¡¯t pause too long, or things would get more awkward. He should have gone with what he prepared. But he didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Contests of martial strength are a long time tradition, and I think they have some value. But we must remember what that strength is for.¡± He let those words linger for a time. Some of his prepared speech would still inevitably find its way into what he was saying, but this was much more freeform. ¡°Somewhere around a decade and a half ago, this city was occupied by cultivators of the Molten Sea¡­ with barely a shred of resistance from any of us. Astrein hasn¡¯t traditionally been seen as important, but that¡¯s not the point. The Sky Islands still moved unimpeded through the Wuthering Steppes and then the northern Darklands.¡± John looked around for reactions once more. He¡¯d done his best to mix up the seating of various groups, instead of having them arranged geographically or by element. Hopefully, that would work out alright. People would still be moving around as the time came to watch individual matches, but he hoped that people would mingle and not butt heads. Too much, at least. ¡°Our strength¡­ is to protect those we care about. And we can¡¯t do it alone. Nor can we expect a single sect or clan would be enough. The combined efforts of many of us¡­ barely sufficed. And even then they only withdrew because they didn¡¯t see the value in staying. We need to do better¡­ for the sake of all of us. So we don¡¯t lose people we care about. I know that some of us have grudges with each other¡­ but I hope we can deal with them in more productive ways here. Though of course, you can still punch each other in the face.¡± It was a rather chaotic speech, followed by neither cheering nor clapping. John just hoped the general silence was people thinking about his words rather than put off. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ----- Regardless of how the speech went, John thought the tournament started off rather well. They had quite a number of matches going at once. Otherwise, the tournament would last forever. The first day, most participants would fight three times, with several hours between each match. There was only so long they could draw so many people away from their homes, especially the various sect heads John had convinced to attend. This tournament was bigger than the last by far, and John hoped it was grander. The tournament was not without hitches, of course. John was just glad he was not the only one dealing with the various issues that cropped up. The management abilities of Viriato were important in keeping things organized. Steve¡¯s strength was also quite useful, as he mostly had to stand around and give meaningful looks to diffuse conflicts. John was aware how tournaments could go. Even back on Earth, there could be riots and chaos after normal sports. Here, people could do a little more than smash windows. That was where part of the arrangements he had made would come in. First, there were the consequences- sports riots mainly had the threat of arrest as a deterrent, which wasn¡¯t always enough to stop drunk fans who were either happy or upset. That was where having a few cultivators at a clearly higher level of power would help keep people reasonable. Second, there was the structure of the tournament. This wasn¡¯t a yearlong event, though people had been building up anticipation. There also wouldn¡¯t be just a single winner. Many individual matches would raise and lower the spirits of different groups, and there were different categories beyond just cultivation levels. Single cultivator matches were still the mainstay, but there was a section for group battles- either two teams facing off against each other, or occasionally more. That would change things up enough¡­ and John hoped most people would be exhausted at the end of the tournament. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want the tournament to end on a high emotional point, since he wanted people to remember it fondly, but there were reasonable places to stop. ----- John would remember the first tournament for the rest of his life¡­ but it wasn¡¯t what he ended up most focused on. As soon as he found the opportunity, he went to visit his children, which included Tirto and Verusha, plus their daughter. He¡¯d seen Nitza a couple times in the last handful of years, but she was more adorable every time¡­ and much more active now. Though she showed some clear shyness at the crowds. ¡°Hello, Nitza.¡± ¡°Hi, grandpa!¡± she said, hugging his leg. Truly, this was a magical world. He wasn¡¯t ready to be a grandfather. Sure, he was technically sixty years old in this body, with another couple decades of memory to go with it from his previous world¡­ but he still felt young. No, he was young. His cultivation put him barely past his prime, or perhaps not even. If he didn¡¯t live past a hundred and fifty, he most likely met a violent death or some other unfortunate end. That thought was sobering¡­ and he of course wished he had someone to share that time with. His children were something, of course, but he couldn¡¯t constantly be around them even if he didn¡¯t have responsibilities- because they did, and that meant being in geographically different locations. His little granddaughter was now four years old, and he didn¡¯t detect even a spark of spiritual energy within her. And that was great. She had sufficient protection to be safe- both her parents, plus Livna and Yonit. And of course her other grandparents, two of the strongest people around. And since Renato was an earth cultivator and the two fire cultivators were a pair, John could just say they were the strongest force in the area. It was a bit odd to share a grandchild with his best friend, but it made a certain sort of sense- though it had certainly happened in an unexpected manner. It wasn¡¯t odd for the world, either- his own marriage to Matayal had been arranged by his grandfather, after all. The generations had just been stretched out a bit further. Melanthina came to see her brother and niece as well. John looked at her, smiled¡­ and then his eyes betrayed him. He never had any intention to pry, but as a cultivator he couldn¡¯t help but look out for odd pockets of spiritual energy. She¡¯d hid it well behind an interplay of light and darkness¡­ but there was something there. She saw his look, and John did his best to just maintain his smile as she narrowed her eyes at him. So he was going to be a double grandfather¡­ unless something went wrong. He knew that there could easily be complications for Nik and Melanthina, far beyond what normal people had to deal with. And if John¡¯s glance had been correct, the spiritual energy wasn¡¯t just Melanthina concealing things. He hoped nothing went wrong¡­ but at least she would have access to the notes that he and Matayal took when she was pregnant with the triplets. Speaking of triplets, Ursel was probably around somewhere. And most likely, not pregnant. John didn¡¯t expect anything from her in that regard. Even his other two he¡¯d expected to make their own choices in that regard- though obviously there would be the pressures of the clans behind them. Ursel seemed uninterested in having her own child, though that could always change. Though first she¡¯d have to find an appropriate person. John wasn¡¯t going to tell her what she could do¡­ but he would reserve the right to threaten the existence of a potential partner if they turned out to be a terrible individual. Though he couldn¡¯t imagine Ursel standing for anything problematic. She¡¯d be the first to smash someone into a paste. Ultimately, the tournament went off without a hitch. John was glad. That was great for the sect. But he was even more glad to see family and friends. He supposed it didn¡¯t hurt that there was wider cooperation or at least tolerance between those that attended the tournament. That was probably more important for the world overall, but it was hard to think about the world when a little kid felt like they meant as much as a world ever could. Chapter 317 All of the work preparing for the tournament had paid off with it going as smoothly as they could ever hope for and yet, it was years of work for just a few weeks. Now that they had some experience, however, the Six Elements Crossroads would most likely be able to run things more efficiently. They couldn¡¯t afford to spend half of their time preparing for the tournament, or they would neglect themselves and their own people. Speaking of personal neglect, John¡¯s cultivation was at its current limits. The normal path was to attune to a totem, but he already had totems. He couldn¡¯t just pick up more- he knew that trying would be a mistake he wouldn¡¯t survive. So far he had a pretty clear path to regaining his cultivation, which was recognizing important figures who he associated with certain elements. There was no doubt in his mind that Matayal was his anchor for the Consolidated Soul Phase and the water element. However, he also felt he would need to be in a proper location. There, the memories would be strongest. Hopefully, only good ones. He had been to the Brandle clan recently enough, but while he had many memories of her there, that wasn¡¯t what he needed. Instead he had to return to where they advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase together- so it was back to the Blustering Peaks once more. Except this time, instead of visiting a relatively hospitable sect, he was off into a barely inhabited region at the origin of the Grandcliff River. Rather than a wide variety of disciples, he only brought with him those who were in the Soul Expansion Phase. Perhaps others might benefit from the trip, but it was not an easy road and he didn¡¯t intend to take it slowly. Though of course ¡®road¡¯ was not the right word. The Grandcliff River originated at one of the highest peaks in the region, so rather than a road it was a more used hiking trail and then frequently scaled cliffs. There were no permanent climbing trails, as the frosty winds imbued with spiritual energy tended to wear pitons away quickly. However, there were caves carved out along the way where cultivators could rest and get a bit of shelter from the winds. The path was easier than it had once been, but the trials of the climb were not the true goal of the climb. Instead, the point was to reach the headwaters, where they could see the extremely odd waterfall that was the origin of everything. There, those with the water element could experience enlightenment¡­ especially during the time of the Great Waterfall Reversal. The only issue was that it only happened every few years¡­ and this was not one of those times. Even so, John was confident that the trip would provide the results he was after, and that the disciples with him would benefit from the visit. Being a sect head was not so different from being in a clan. Those positioned below him would give their lives on his behalf, and yet he felt a sense of responsibility for their safety. The only difference was that he was not born into this ¡®family¡¯, but instead had some input into who joined it. Joining and leaving a sect were both easier, but still not something to be done with great frequency. Loyalty was a highly desired trait. Many of the best among the Six Elements Crossroads disciples were still those who had been street kids in Lunson. Now they were growing up into proper adults. John thought they had gained valuable worldly knowledge from experiencing the lows of their earlier life- not that he would wish for such struggles upon anyone. But since they¡¯d seen how bad things could get, they were very appreciative of what they had now- and they worked hard. That was the most important part. He could spend his entire life putting together a ¡®perfect¡¯ cultivation method, but it wouldn¡¯t be much good for even the most talented if the effort wasn¡¯t there. Ayhan, Lir, and Sthithulf were those among the first handful John had recruited that had water element totems. And the first two also had air element totems, making it easier for them to recover their spiritual energy during the climb. But even in other areas, John and the other disciples could help convert air element spiritual energy for those who needed it. Bit by bit they climbed up the windy cliffs, with John watching over the disciples. It took quite some time for them to reach the top, where they found a kilometer tall waterfall, at the base of which sat¡­ only a handful of other cultivators training at the falls. After all, the area was only popular during the time around the Great Waterfall Reversal. At the current time, it was just a particularly impressive waterfall. Noticing unexpected arrivals, the regular cultivators took a good look, sensing with their spiritual energy. Among them was one more powerful individual, and older man who looked familiar. The look on his face seemed to be calling John closer. Though there was no official sect in control of this place, it was always best to be ingratiated to the locals. John approached the old man, trying to recall why he seemed familiar. Ultimately, the answer was quite simple- he had been in much the same place last time John visited, decades prior. Perhaps a sectless cultivator focused on a single source for his insights. It was not an unreasonable path in life, and John could think of far worse places to live than a waterfall, especially one so majestic. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Greetings, senior.¡± The man smiled slightly at John¡¯s courtesy. ¡°Old I am indeed,¡± the man said. ¡°But it is unclear to me if your cultivation is greater or lesser since we last met. So perhaps I should be the one calling you senior.¡± ¡°It is a bit of both,¡± John admitted. He took in the man¡¯s cultivation. Mid Consolidated Soul Phase. The thirty-third rank, just short of the late Consolidated Soul Phase. ¡°I am here to hopefully recreate my previous advancement.¡± ¡°I wish you fortune,¡± the old man said. ¡°But I fear your timing may have failed you. The Great Waterfall Reversal is not for some time yet.¡± ¡°Waiting for it to reoccur was not in the cards for my availability,¡± John said. He and the other settled into the area- there was plenty of room for them to fit in among the others without disturbing their cultivation. And as all were focusing on the waterfall, there was a bit of resonant harmony to be felt among them. John focused on the waterfall, and how his disciples and the others reacted to it. He remembered, nearly three decades before, how he had trained with Matayal. Passive meditation was valuable to some extent, but John wanted more. And the only way to get closer to the waterfall was to be in it. Not just standing at the base beneath the spray, but actually within the flow was best. Swimming up a waterfall was not a feat possible with only the body- in fact, it was a pointless effort. But spiritual energy allowed such a task to be possible, even with the waterfall flowing downward. It required catching the water as it flowed past him, pushing off of it to propel himself upward. At the same time, he made the water above flow around him so that the force of it wouldn¡¯t push him down. Swimming a kilometer would normally only take John a minute or so with the amount of spiritual energy he was putting into the task, but obviously it was a bit more difficult to do so vertically. He had to constantly cycle the elements within him to keep himself replenished as much as possible while he struggled upwards over the course of an hour. Once he reached the peak, he briefly gazed into the opening from which the waterfall sprang. Then he let himself fall. Down was easy, but he left behind traces of spiritual energy along the way. Hooks that held their place against the stone behind the waterfall and deeper within the towering spire of rock, waiting for him to activate them to achieve their purpose. The water pushed him downward at an accelerating rate, until he was almost in a freefall- the water in front of him actually buffering his motion instead of propelling him from behind. He slowed himself as he reached the bottom, earth to anchor himself to the wall and air to lift him up. As he reached the bottom, he activated the lingering spiritual energy. Water and fire twisted together. If there was not going to be a Great Waterfall reversal, then he would simply have to make one. That had been his plan all along. Of course, he didn¡¯t have the power to truly create a Great Waterfall Reversal. But he recalled the atmospheric conditions from his experience, and he knew he could recreate that for a few moments at least. Water froze, both in the waterfall and the column of water rising within the stone. Fire elemental spiritual energy supported water in shifting between states, even though one would normally only think of it as useful for heating things. As the phenomenon wasn¡¯t natural, things didn¡¯t happen quite as smoothly. But the rapid changes in volume within the flowing water briefly disturbed the column of water rising up within the stone, causing it to drop. With that, it began to pull in from the top. John had already connected the water in a sort of chain, tenuous as it was. He felt it already, as it was happening. The rush of advancing cultivation, as he went from one rank to the next. His spiritual energy was overflowing even as he was expending it at a rapid pace. He swam upward, avoiding spikes of ice in the flow of water that sat just on the threshold of freezing. He soon felt the drain, but he kept going. Up and up. Instead of a lengthy process, with the water working alongside him it was closer to a minute- he still had to tangle with gravity, after all. And just as he reached the peak, the effect fell apart, the pressure inside the pillar of stone that birthed the waterfalls once more pushing outward as it was accustomed to. Nearly drained, John let himself fall back down, drawing into himself water element as he did so. He allowed himself to splash into the pool at the bottom, adjusting the properties of the water to arrest his momentum gradually instead of impacting it as a solid force. He floated a short way on the currents before climbing out. All of his disciples were looking suitably impressed, but the old man was looking not at him but up at the waterfall with determination. While John thought it unlikely that such an elderly gentleman would manage to grow much further, given he hadn¡¯t yet reached the late Consolidated Soul Phase, he also wasn¡¯t going to tell him to give up. The fellow seemed to be resolved to something, and John saw that the efforts of all of the others were redoubled during his time as well. Even if none of these fellows was officially allied with him, they all lived together in the greater region around them. If they could be at peace, he wished them well. And any with sufficient cultivation would help to limit the greedy hands of outsiders. That was the hope, at least. John was glad that everyone was covered in water. While he found nothing wrong with men crying, it was still undignified to do so in front of his disciples. He could almost feel Matayal beside him still. Not actually, of course, but the memories were strong, especially for this particular step of his journey to regrow his cultivation. She should be here, beside him. They should have been wandering the world together, though they would of course have returned to check on their children¡­ occasionally. But that time had never come. Chapter 318 Deep inside his spiritual sea, John took in the growth. The core of everything was still the Tree of Darkness, but it was no longer just a single tree. Instead there were many, each about half the size his first tree had been at its peak. Those trees were rooted in nutritious soil, the compost of fallen leaves. This earth was now split into numerous islands scattered throughout his spiritual sea. His air totem wasn¡¯t anything special in terms of conjuring powerful winds or lightning, but it was tied to air itself, and the various components within that were required for plants to grow. Proper photosynthesis needed a bit of oxygen to kickstart things along with carbon dioxide which the plants then turned into carbon that built them up, and sufficient oxygen to sustain their other needs without relying on outside contribution. Obviously things in his spiritual sea did not follow the exact same rules, but the important part was that what humans considered an impurity they had to expel was the main thing that trees took in. Those rules it followed, even if there wasn¡¯t a particular set of chemical elements that were interacting in a place without physical components. Water filled the space in between the islands, the messy and impure sort of water that made up the ocean. And yet it was those very impurities that allowed all sorts of ocean life to thrive. Within the water there was a semblance of life. More the idea of fish than actual creatures. The same was true elsewhere. Those things not part of his actual totems were more like vague representations- birds that flew through the skies and animals that lived on the ground and in the trees as well as insects and bacteria that broke down the fallen leaves of the trees. The final and most recent component was a sun, nearly invisible and insubstantial except for the ¡®heat¡¯ it provided, promoting the various processes below. Given the rules of the spiritual sea, it didn¡¯t truly create light though one would expect that of flames. Instead, they were ethereal, leaving the world in a sort of shadow that the trees of darkness found sufficient to perform their own ¡®photosynthesis¡¯ without much in the way of real light. All the actual light there was only involved a very small and carefully contained packet of the light element. Without a totem and with how it would naturally react with his darkness infused spiritual energy, John was very careful with how much he took in. He was working on his control so he could eventually bind to a proper totem from the deepest layers of the sea of spiritual totems. John¡¯s totems were fifth rank, as they had all advanced before his breakthrough attempt except for the Ethereal Flames which had been what he bound to which started at that level. They were growing stronger, though he imagined he¡¯d need to properly be in the Ascending Soul Phase for them to see rapid growth. After which¡­ was there nowhere further for him to grow? Certainly, there were no deeper layers of the sea of spiritual totems, as they vaguely matched up with the Phases of cultivation. Unless there was something beyond the Exalted Soul Phase, and people had simply not been able to delve beyond the sixth layer. But John didn¡¯t think that it mattered whether there was another layer. If it existed, he would reach it¡­ or not. But if it didn¡¯t, there were still differences between totems of the same level. It wasn¡¯t as if his totems suddenly improved all at once upon reaching a new tier. So he could still advance them to the peak of the sixth tier if nothing else. Even as he was still stabilizing his cultivation in the early Consolidated Soul Phase he felt his total amount of stored spiritual energy was nearly equivalent to his previous peak, though his output of spiritual energy of any one element was lower. But considering he had full use of a fifth element now, he wasn¡¯t far behind his previous strongest point. And all it had taken was decades of recovery. This was certainly not the most optimal step forward, but at least now he was confident he would become stronger than he had previously been. His possibility of reaching the Ascending Soul Phase was something he¡¯d have to consider more carefully when he got closer. It was possible he¡¯d permanently ruined his prospects. That would be regrettable, but given the state he¡¯d been in he wouldn¡¯t be surprised. He¡¯s already been lucky not to die. Ultimately, his own personal cultivation was not the most important thing in the world. He was already stronger than the vast majority of people he was aware of. And unless Yustina was extremely incorrect about her previous life in Aglor, it was also unlikely that anywhere else had an assumption that people would reach the Consolidated Soul Phase or the Ascending Soul Phase. The latter half of the cultivation Phases took more than just dedication. There was a factor of luck regarding location of birth, talent, and various other things. ----- Now that disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads had started reaching the Soul Expansion Phase, many had three elements. In short, that meant it was quite valuable for them to go out on almost any excursion with John, visiting different sects to train with different styles and still be able to draw upon the local elements for themselves. Or occasionally to learn to deal with the single core element they didn¡¯t yet have. Though of course, there were also those practicing allied cycles- who would have completed that effort at the Soul Expansion Phase and would then most likely begin to double up on elements- or those practicing single or dual elements. They had every sort in the sect, which was one of the main draws. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The next destination on John¡¯s list was the Glass Hills, a place he¡¯d been aware of for quite some time but never visited in person. The intent of the trip was to draw them into the defensive alliance of the greater region, or at least improve relations with several sects and clans in the area through an exchange of pointers. The reasonable sort where nobody got seriously injured, and since the tournament wasn¡¯t all that long ago people should have some of their aggression out of their systems. The first on the list was the Abiodun clan, in the northern center of the Glass Hills. But before even reaching the Glass Hills, they had to pass through the Green Sands of the Sunfields. John chose the latter option, since that was less time spent in desert sands. And while the Glass Hills were certainly not as scaldingly hot as the Green Sands, they were still difficult to travel through with frequent lightning storms. ----- Since they were passing through, John and the rest made a visit to the Golden Tomb Guardians. John had been around to see Cuah¡¯arn once or twice since her advancement, but he still found it impressive. The guardian beast was also much more visible before, displaying her full glory in and around the sect. If the Golden Tomb Guardians had been interested in conquest, with her power they could have easily managed to take over most of the Sunfields. Of course, if they were that sort then Cuah¡¯arn as she was wouldn¡¯t get along with them. She had her own principles, and was uninterested in pointless conquest. Though frankly, John thought it was a terrible idea anyway. They couldn¡¯t actually manage such a large area from a single sect, and it would only stifle the growth of different styles if they truly expanded to fill it all. The point wasn¡¯t that they would but that they could. Just like in the Black Peaks, an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator could draw many others underneath their banner- willing or not. They were hardly invincible, after all. That had been proven several times in the last couple of decades. Training with light was¡­ difficult, even with all of the advice and insights John had received. It was still uncomfortable to simply be around it. John found himself constantly protecting himself as if he was under assault¡­ and he had the feeling that was part of his issue. He couldn¡¯t be afraid of the power, if he was to truly make it a part of him. And even if his fear wasn¡¯t overt, it was still something that affected him. It was natural, of course. It even made sense, as combining light and darkness was not an easy task. Viriato was a surprising exception, and Nik and Melanthina worked very hard to maintain their balance. Not that Viriato had ever claimed it was easy. It was simply that he¡¯d made a rash choice as a younger man and been fortunate enough to survive. With two nearly fatal cultivation mishaps under his belt- or perhaps one nearly fatal and one actually fatal experience- John thought he would end up with fair judgment about whether he could accomplish the task, but that was still a world away. He had all of the Consolidated Soul Phase to rebuild, and then he had to surpass the Ascending Soul Phase to a Phase he wasn¡¯t even sure had living cultivators worldwide- and that was with their great lifespans taken into account. They were just that rare, barely more than whispers of the distant past. Though he had to admit that his knowledge of global affairs at the current time was limited. The scope of the local region simply wasn¡¯t that great. Maybe a tenth of the available landmass, by his estimation. It could be less or more though. Cuah¡¯arn also attempted to guide John. ¡°You managed light quite well, when you removed Ciaritzal¡¯s claw from within me.¡± ¡°Most of that was you protecting me, you might recall,¡± John said. Though if he thought back to his actual memories¡­ ¡°Mostly, it was that I was devoid of darkness from my path to reach you. And the point isn¡¯t for me to give up darkness to replace it with the light element, but to have both. Insulating them from each other with allied element works to an extent, but I can¡¯t be constantly focused on that. It needs to be as natural as breathing.¡± ¡°I would actually provide a counterpoint. You can be focused on preventing mutual destruction for centuries, if you need to. But I will admit it is neither pleasant nor productive.¡± John nodded. That was basically what she had been doing as she rested after her battle with Ciaritzal- long in the past, when he had been under the control of the Society of Midnight. The Golden Tomb Guardians- or rather, their founders who started the sect based around her- had then taken up residence, augmenting their spiritual energy with her own- and vice versa. It was much the same as the Tenebach clan had been doing with Ciaritzal, though he¡¯d been separate from the clan itself for most of that time. That had been a sensible choice at the time, a newly freed spiritual beast with clear danger. But over generations, it has just become accepted as the norm instead of considering whether it was the best option. Then, of course, few clan head had more than a business relationship with the spirit beast. Ciaritzal had given to them with the blessings, then taken from the older generations as payment. But now that the clan had grown and his shards had been reclaimed, both were able to grow mutually. Melanthina had successfully performed blessing ceremonies without permanent drains on anyone¡¯s cultivation, providing a valuable early boost to Tenebach clan cultivators. ¡°Even having seen examples of balance between light and darkness, I find it difficult to replicate even in the short term,¡± John admitted to Cuah¡¯arn. ¡°I have little I can say. I am born of light, and it comes to me naturally- truly naturally, unlike the talent of humans.¡± She spread her wings, though John could only detect it as a shift in the width of her brightness. His eyes weren¡¯t able to focus on her. ¡°It is only natural for me to clash with darkness, except as I needed to hold off to avoid the consequences of annihilating that claw. It was never about balance. But as for the control of light, I think I have one piece of advice. Light naturally flows out of you, while darkness is naturally carried into you. Perhaps this insight will be useful to you. But if not, you will find understanding in something else entirely.¡± John nodded. The words definitely promised some ideas, but he couldn¡¯t say if they would pan out. What he found the most helpful was her confidence in him. She spoke of him reaching the understanding as a sure thing, rather than a possibility. Even if she didn¡¯t quite mean it that way, he appreciated it. Chapter 319 When they reached the northern Glass Hills, the Abiodun Clan was their first destination. To reach the area they slipped through the southeastern point of the Sunfields, crossing just to the northeast of the Green Sands. That route avoided the most difficult terrain, and excessive heat. Though the Sunfields did have fire elemental spiritual energy, the area was not generally hot like the mono-element country to the south. Though the Glass Hills were also mainly sandy, it was a thinner layer rather than deep dunes like the Rolling Dunes or the Green Sands. And despite having a high concentration of air element, it wasn¡¯t windy. Instead, the area was prone to random lightning strikes even in skies that appeared clear. Evidence of said lightning appeared in the form of the fulgurite visible around the area- also known as lightning sand. John had mostly just heard of the phenomenon back on Earth, where lightning heated and instantly melted a section of sand, pulling it into a sculpture. But not one of clear glass, but the crudest form imaginable, simply sand fused together- though in interesting shapes, branching off at odd angles as it exploded out of the ground due to the lightning strike. There was certainly some of that visible, but either because of repeated strikes or the peculiarities of spiritual energy, the Glass Hills were much more than that. Some areas became purified, turning into translucent glass of different colors, blues and greens being the most prominent. This was the case both for branching fulgurites as well as large stretches of ground simply covered in glass, revealing just a hint of what lay deeper beneath. As interesting as it was, it was a harsh place to live with little plant or animal life. Though according to what John knew, away from the border there were exceptions. Just like the Phoenix Forest with its fire adapted trees, certain forms of life still thrived in the area. They still tended to be scraggly looking trees, but John had quite a bit of respect for anything willing to directly absorb a lightning bolt. Alternatively, some trees had special bark that diverted the electricity around their cores. The actual chances of an individual being struck by lightning were rather low, but even so John and the disciples with him marched in a formation, ceding control over some of their spiritual energy to him with which he formed a deflective barrier. Any lightning that would be heading towards them would instead catch onto the barrier and flow through it into the ground on either side of the road they traversed. That was much easier than maintaining a barrier that would actually block a lightning strike. Though John could do that, it was only worthwhile in an active combat scenario where the lightning came with intent behind it. ----- The Abiodun clan stood out from the surroundings, rising tall and proud over everything. Yet the tallest features were the lightning rods, meant both to draw lightning away from their tallest buildings but also to draw it into their training grounds where disciples could either directly absorb some, or at least bask in the spiritual energy it left behind. Which option they took would depend on their training and their confidence. Their arrival was greeted by the sect head himself, a dark skinned man with just a hint of white hair among his black. Kehinde Abiodun was an imposing figure even without the lightning crackling through his hair at all moments. John wondered if that was for show, or was a practical part of his cultivation somehow. He could come up with reasons one would want a constant flow of electricity, in theory. ¡°Welcome, Six Elements Crossroads,¡± his voice boomed over them. ¡°Though there is no grand event happening here like the tournament you organized, we will certainly learn much from each other.¡± ----- Some time later, John was sitting with Kehinde in his private lounge, discussing cultivation of course. ¡°I notice your Abiodun clan focuses only on the local air element, without considering the earth element. What led you down that path?¡± Obviously most cultivators were single element, but there were still choices involved. ¡°It was quite simple,¡± he said. ¡°We saw the power that lightning has here, even over the dominant element of earth.¡± John nodded. The whole time, he hadn¡¯t been able to ignore the shocks of electricity flowing around the man- especially between sections of his hair. If he was actively controlling that, it certainly was subtle. ¡°I understand,¡± John nodded. ¡°Lightning is indeed powerful. But even though it reshapes earth, the earth itself might become something more.¡± ¡°That may be the case,¡± Kehinde admitted. ¡°Either way, the control we have is sufficient. And of course, before the most recent generation¡­ there was little hope of having a balance of totems. At the Soul Expansion Phase, two totems and one is rather awkward.¡± John nodded, though three totems of different elements could be even more awkward. ¡°What of the lightning around you? Would it be too intrusive to ask what purpose it serves?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± he said. ¡°It aids my control, and my defense against related assaults. My body is my domain. As for you¡­¡± Kehinde looked over John. ¡°You have made a different choice. A much riskier one, with the lightning coursing inside of you.¡± John would barely call it lightning, with its minimal power, but he had indeed continued the process of augmenting his nerves. ¡°I take it that you wouldn¡¯t recommend this, then.¡± ¡°No, I would not. Unlike my fool of a brother.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± John raised an eyebrow and grinned. ¡°I might wish to talk to him, if I could.¡± ¡°He¡¯s no longer here,¡± Kehinde replied. For a moment, John thought he¡¯d stumbled into an unpleasant topic- but though Kehinde seemed consternated, he didn¡¯t have the same tone of loss John might expect. ¡°His style didn¡¯t mesh with ours and he went to form his own sect.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Which sect is this?¡± John asked. ¡°The Flowing Sand Sect,¡± Kehinde said. ¡°Perhaps it would be valuable if you spoke to him. At least you could warn each other about pitfalls.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the sect,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I hadn¡¯t heard the connection. They did not participate in the tournament. The sect head¡¯s name was¡­ Musa. He is your brother, then?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Kehinde nodded. ¡°Our disagreements pushed us apart¡­ but I still understand the value in his insights, even if I believe his path is too dangerous to allow within the clan.¡± John could sense there was more to that, but also didn¡¯t think it was wise to ask at the moment. ¡°Perhaps we shall find the time to visit, then.¡± According to what he remembered, they were further south. That would prolong the intended trip somewhat, and he¡¯d need to let the sect know they were coming ahead of time, but it should be worth the effort. ----- The best training tended to be in battle. It was practical, and it involved pushing to the limits and seeing others do so as well. Two cultivators who were cognizant of their offensive power could spar with little risk, if they had proper formations in place. The Abiodun clan certainly did, and John was glad to see frequent sparring¡­ and of course to participate himself. He did engage with several elders, but most of them were below him in cultivation which meant he didn¡¯t have as much to learn from them. But Kehinde himself was in the late Consolidated Soul Phase, so he should prove to be a decent challenge. From the man¡¯s musculature, John hadn¡¯t expected him to use a bow- but perhaps that was his own mistake. Bows took quite a lot of strength to be effective, after all, and as a cultivator the man would need to train his whole body to stay on the move. John continued with his normal style- a blade in one hand, and the other free for whatever he needed. When the signal came, he immediately flicked throwing daggers towards his opponent. Lightning lashed out, deflecting them away from Kehinde. In turn, John had to twist his body to avoid crackling arrows that stuck firmly into the ground. One after another, the arrows were shot towards him as Kehinde circled around the arena. John kept a defensive shield of earth and air elements in case he got hit, intending to guide the electricity around himself as much as possible. John had to admit he nearly missed the trick. Kehinde¡¯s energy blended in well to the background air element, so it was only because he was particularly sensitive that he reacted when Kehinde reached out- but not towards him. A line of lightning was drawn between two arrows- metal cored, now that John chose to pay more attention to them. His leg was jolted as he pulled away, and he stomped the ground to push the electricity out of his body. That stopped his progress, and now he had to focus on the myriad possible combinations of lines between the various arrows. Unless they could only be used once, but he wasn¡¯t going to immediately bet on that. Even when he got up close, Kehinde wasn¡¯t helpless. His legs were covered in particularly sturdy armor, and he used one leg to parry John¡¯s attacks while keeping him at bay. He left a few openings, and John could have overpowered him if he was only interested in winning¡­ but learning was supreme. Any time John¡¯s blade struck the man¡¯s legs, lightning coursed up his weapon. John dispersed most of the spiritual energy, but when it was weaker and less controlled he did his best to absorb it. He¡¯d trained with lightning many times, from Kusuma¡¯s crazy training to the more reasonable folk of the Blustering Peaks just recently. He knew how to counter his enemy. In turn, he could make use of his diverse elements to launch unexpected attacks. John left behind him a concealed trail of water and darkness element, something to complement the arrows Kehinde was launching everywhere. The man obviously didn¡¯t care whether or not he actually hit John- though his attacks would obviously still be effective if he did. No, if John was actually struck he had little doubt that he would suffer greatly. Even arrows flying overhead could connect to two or three others, forming numerous connections. John augmented his movements by shifting not only his own body but some of the terrain. Finally, when Kehinde was passing through the center of the arena, John activated his own plan. A burst of air and water element together drew air element into the stored ¡®pool¡¯ under their feet, including stored elements in the various arrows. Kehinde quite gracefully redirected the lightning around him, spiraling into the ground, but the moment of distraction was enough for John¡¯s sword to touch his throat, brimming with fire element that he hadn¡¯t been using much elsewhere. ¡°It seems the first round goes to you,¡± Kehinde admitted, while at the same time challenging John to more. A challenge John was happy to accept, wondering what other tricks the man had up his sleeve. ----- Ayhan found himself with a somewhat unfortunate weapon for facing off against the Abiodun clan¡¯s cultivators. A metal chain was flexible and had great reach, but that second property also meant it could stretch into an enemy¡¯s domain of control. There, they could overpower his own spiritual energy and attempt to attack him through his own weapon. And even when his weapon wrapped around them, they responded the same way. If he didn¡¯t have the earth element augmenting his defenses, he would likely have gotten knocked out of the battles swiftly. As it was, with his earth dominant and his water on the weak end against air, it was a matter of skill. Some opponents he could defeat, others he couldn¡¯t. Which was exactly what he wanted. He had the air element as well, but using lightning against them was foolish. What they did not specialize in, however, was wind- so his experience in the Blustering Peaks found some value. Making use of air and earth, he could force them into a compromising position- and he could lock them in place with water. His connection to water could be exploited to attack him, but only if he kept one. If he instead infused spiritual energy into a certain form and tossed it, he could easily cover them with water- weakening their automatic defenses. Ayhan finally felt strong. But he knew there was at least one more major step in his future. The Consolidated Soul Phase would be where he reached a cycle of the core elements, and there he would see at least some of the strength of the sect head. Though actually matching John if they were at the same level of cultivation seemed impossible. Ayhan had decent totems, but he¡¯d chosen them more for initial strength than growth, so they were slow to improve to higher tiers. Then again, he might have neglected that aspect of training entirely without the sect head¡¯s guidance. He only barely remembered the Molten Sea in Lunson, as he was so far below them there was basically no interaction. But one thing he did know is that he wanted the strength to make his own choices in the future- or at least to be part of a group who could stand up for themselves. For that, he¡¯d been extremely lucky to be chosen as a part of the Six Elements Crossroads. And he wasn¡¯t going to forget what had been done for him. He would strive to live up to expectations. Chapter 320 It was entirely possible that searching for valuable body tempering methods for each element was a waste of time. John could be spending that time focusing on his primary cultivation of spiritual energy, or refining different techniques. And yet, he couldn¡¯t help but want to continue with his methods. The knowledge would be useful for the Six Elements Crossroads, and he could save many people a large number of hours if they simply knew what methods worked and what didn¡¯t. And if everything was bad, he could definitively state that. He also continued with it because he had been inspired by Ursel, who was continuing her efforts with body tempering using solely the earth element. The methods there were more straightforward, but that didn¡¯t necessarily make it less effort to achieve worthwhile results. That connection to his wandering daughter made it worthwhile, regardless of any power it did or did not bring to him. He still couldn¡¯t say he¡¯d mastered his air element body tempering technique, neither the lung filtering nor reaction increasing¡­ but he was improving them slowly and steadily. As for Diamond Defense and his Eyes of Darkness, those were difficult to improve at the current time. His next goal was a water element body tempering technique. Water¡¯s main features were flexibility and adaptability. But as for being actually flexible, John didn¡¯t think he needed to improve that much more unless he was planning to become a contortionist. Actually, if he cared to, he could probably achieve that level of flexibility without any further supernatural involvement. And while it might seem cool, he probably didn¡¯t need to bend his spine ninety degrees in combat. There was some value to rigidness as well. If there was one actual liquid within the body that came to mind, John would first think of blood. Improving the flow of blood could be valuable, potentially raising endurance as long as it was still able to properly exchange oxygen and nutrients with the cells throughout the body. As for what exactly he could improve, he was still figuring that out. However, the process was less delicate than his attempts to enhance the transmission speed of signals within his body, so he was certain he could figure something out. Though his current surroundings weren¡¯t optimal for that sort of development, he could still test the process at a basic level. ----- After their time with the Abiodun clan, the group from the Six Elements Crossroads was moving on to their next stop, the Mozdar clan. They had quite a different combat style, though it was also lightning based. Very few in the Glass Hills would focus on anything besides lightning. And why should they? With such frequent examples of powerful splendor, it was an excellent place to train. If you had the tenacity to live in such a place. The Six Elements Crossroads brought with them a significant supply of rations. That was easy enough with storage bags involved, but it was still a difficult place to travel. Lightning during the day was the primary concern. John was slowly increasing the burden on the disciples who were helping to maintain their diverting fields, though he still kept a layer of his own power underneath should they slip up. But hazards during travel were actually relatively easy to manage. It was during downtime when they were supposed to be resting that things became difficult. Unlike most everywhere else, there weren¡¯t frequent towns or cities. Over five days of travel between the two clans, there was only a single city on their route. That meant they couldn¡¯t rest in inns, and while cultivators could certainly handle a few days of sleeping in tents under normal circumstances- in many places they would probably be fine sleeping directly under the stars- that wasn¡¯t the case here. Rains were a frequent annoyance, but lightning could be quite an issue for those trying to sleep. They could have shifts of people watching over them, and that was indeed a valuable partial solution, but something more was required. Either finding or creating a more effective shelter such as a cave was required. There were remnants of some such found frequently along the way, but repeated lightning strikes ground down much of the surroundings to a smooth gradient, though temporarily pitted in various locations. The earth cultivators among them got the most experience with practical things such as reshaping earth, while the air cultivators were generally left with the tasks of deflecting any incoming lightning. Fire and water cultivators were not left out of the process, helping to soften and reshape the shells of gritty glass on the surface. Breaking them apart was all well and good, but they could be a valuable part of a temporary structure if reshaped. A significant quantity of earth had to be moved to fit their numbers even in a cramped den, but as cultivators they were up to the task. John contributed his own part, wanting to make sure to continue to impress upon his disciples that nobody was above menial tasks. Indeed, greater power led to greater responsibilities. The same tasks needed to be completed, just with higher requirements for efficiency. With only a small entrance to their underground burrows, it took a smaller set of disciples to watch over them, which meant they could have fewer shifts and spend less time resting. And while they could have technically condensed the whole five day march into a couple days without stopping, such reckless tests of endurance were not on the menu for this trip. Though perhaps they should have excursions of the sort, beginning in a less hostile environment. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The sound of lightning had long ago become normal, fading into the background- even when it struck surprisingly close. Instead, the most noticeable part was how it disrupted the general balance of elements their group carried with them. ----- The construction of the Mozdar clan appeared surprisingly modest on the outside. Rather than tall towers supplemented with lightning rods, they had low buildings- though they weren¡¯t unimpressive. Indeed, they were made of finely worked glass, quite different from the gritty and opaque glass produced by random lightning strikes. John at first thought their walls seemed small, but upon properly entering their territory he discovered the truth. They didn¡¯t have tall walls, because that wasn¡¯t what served their best defensive purposes. Instead, they would fend off their enemies elsewhere- at the entrances to the tunnels which served as the proper core of their clan. John supposed he should have expected that, because unlike the Abiodun Clan, the Mozdar clan was known to practice both the earth and air elements that permeated the Glass Hills. Though they were greeted outside by a waiting elder, John was swiftly brought through their tunnels- where he confirmed how secure they were, considering how many guards he had to pass on the way. Being underground also had the benefit of shielding them from probing senses, as even John could barely sense around a corner or two. He certainly couldn¡¯t pick out their core areas from a distance, and navigating to their vaults without knowing where they were would require a great bit of luck or time. As the Mozdar clan was on the very edge of the local region, John had only previously had minimal interactions with them. His first time had been decades ago at a previous tournament, and he¡¯d mainly watched some of their younger cultivators. Their current sect head had not come to the first tournament hosted by the Six Elements Crossroads, though they still sent disciples and the clan head had sent a letter with her regrets about not being able to attend. That could have been just an excuse, but he was inclined to believe it was true due to their receptiveness when he had been arranging this excursion. Zelma Mozdar was nearly the same age as John- barely a decade older. While that might have placed them in different generations earlier in life, simply due to how quickly cultivation advanced early on, they were now much closer to each other. She had an impressive bearing, and an equally impressive cultivation in the late Consolidated Soul Phase. It reminded John that he needed to pay attention to even those on the periphery of their understanding- and indeed, learn more about their further neighbors as they could, before they might turn into threats. ¡°Greetings, Sect Head,¡± she bowed, and John responded in kind. ¡°The news about the depths of your cultivation does not do you justice.¡± ¡°The same with yourself. You are striving for the Ascending Soul Phase, are you not?¡± ¡°Indeed. But I still have an entire rank before I can even touch the threshold. I would not describe my own achievements in the same way as your spiritual energy transcends your own rank.¡± They could only complement each other so much, sincere as they might be, so they soon moved on to other topics. Zelma did not seem opposed to the idea of a wider unification, but the idea was still growing to fruition. Ultimately, however, John hoped that they could stop any unnecessary infighting, at least within the scope of their region. He might eventually hope for worldwide peace, at some point, but even with his current significant cultivation he felt just as far from accomplishing that as when he was a burger joint manager back on Earth. ¡°How are things with your neighbors?¡± John asked. ¡°Well, those from the Breathless Plains are uninterested in anything here. Otherwise, they would have migrated here long ago.¡± She shrugged, ¡°The Crystal Sea to the southeast hasn¡¯t changed to any significant degree. And east of us, the Gloom Desolation¡­ I can¡¯t imagine we¡¯d have much they would be interested in. Though keeping track of darkness cultivators isn¡¯t a trivial task.¡± John nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about them, but it is said to be a rather harsh place. And an odd one, with unassociated elements dwelling together. Fire and darkness both, correct?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Zelma agreed. ¡°An odd mix. As for our western borders, I¡¯m certain you are mainly aware of things. The Sunfields have no quarrel with us. We covet nothing of the fire cultivators of the Green Sands. Only the air cultivators of the Wuthering Steppes tend to frequent our country, relative to others at least. There are inevitable skirmishes that happen, but nothing our clan is concerned with.¡± ¡°Have you noticed any activity from the Sky Islands?¡± John asked. ¡°Nothing has come to our attention, no. There haven''t been any other signs of them coming down from their lofty perches.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John said. Though they were the less bad of the two groups involved in the whole Leviathan incident, they had still caused quite a bit of trouble in the Wuthering Steppes and Darklands. ¡°Now what is your opinion on expanded body tempering?¡± ¡°And what do you mean by that?¡± Zelma asked. John held out his hand, bare of any spiritual energy which would allow her to better observe him. ¡°My skin is tempered according to the principles of Diamond Defense, and I have developed my own techniques for other changes.¡± ¡°Dangerous to develop,¡± Zelma said. ¡°And not a common sight. Though perhaps if that lightning technique reaches a stable form, we might be interested. We are known to absorb lightning into our bodies, but we break it down into pure spiritual energy instead of augmenting our bodies.¡± ¡°I heard that Musa of the Flowing Sand Sect has developed a body technique as well,¡± John said. ¡°Do you interact with them much?¡± ¡°Only rarely,¡± she admitted. ¡°As a wild sect springing up after clan troubles, their earlier years were quite volatile. It is only recently that they have developed into a sect worthy of acknowledgement. They reached an equilibrium much more slowly than your own sect, I must add.¡± ¡°That is the difference between planning and not, I would imagine,¡± John said. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s discuss what our disciples can best learn from each other.¡± Chapter 321 The Mozdar clan made use of their lightning based attacks in both traditional and nontraditional methods. Guiding lightning through the air was the basis of most lightning based assaults, and they were quite proficient in such things, even circumventing complex defenses. But their addition of the earth element to their cultivation even as primarily air cultivators provided them surprising utility. Normally, when lightning struck the ground it dissipated within it, rapidly shrinking to nothing. That was the natural state of things, as earth was a good conductor of electricity and generally held the opposite charge. The special technique the Mozdar clan brought was the ability to control the flow of lightning through the ground. Since the ground was a naturally good conductor, creating a better path without letting it dissipate was quite difficult. From what John saw, they lost some power by attacking through the ground, but they were effective enough that the unexpected assaults were worthwhile. Indeed, even when expecting it, tracking the path through the ground was rather difficult for most people. Only earth focused cultivators possessed a real advantage against the Mozdar clan in that regard, but most would be counting on their element to naturally handle lightning, when they actually needed to outclass the clan¡¯s control. It was good practice for the cultivators of the Six Elements Crossroads to fight against them, and while learning some of their secrets made it easier to fight against them it wasn¡¯t necessarily the case that people could actually make a simple counter. Time spent countering their particular techniques might instead be used to develop their core strength, and not everyone practiced the proper elements. Others could still rely on their various defenses, from direct resistance to avoidance and counterattacks to disrupt their enemy. There was no such thing as an invincible technique. Everything had tradeoffs in skill required, energy expended, and training time. But their skills were still high quality, and the versatility it allowed for compared to other lightning cultivators had been valuable to them over the years. John was happy to incorporate parts of what he saw into his own techniques. It was always good to see more multi-elemental cultivators, and he was already considering ways to improve upon things. For example, water was traditionally weak to air, but that meant he could augment lightning with water elemental spiritual energy. And while it was risky to try to control the path of lightning with it, as a simple addition to air or earth it could be valuable. His recent sparring with the clan heads in the Glass Hills solidified John¡¯s confidence in himself, as he could match up against late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators to a certain extent, despite being many ranks below them. Simple spars couldn¡¯t predict how an actual battle would go, as both sides would have techniques that were either secret or simply unsuitable for anything short of lethal combat. The most important thing to John was he didn¡¯t lose out in simple power with his various elements supporting each other- and his high tier totems. He¡¯d spent a lot of effort over the years improving his totems, and everything had paid off. When he actually reached the Ascending Soul Phase, he figured he would be a match for Gesine or Sitora as they had been during the Leviathan incident. And given their age, he wouldn¡¯t expect that much change for the living Sitora. But they¡¯d parted amicably enough, so preferably they wouldn¡¯t have to butt heads again. John had no guarantees for how he would fare against other Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. It wasn¡¯t as if average cultivators reached that level, so even the worst among them were some level of genius. But knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be inferior to those he¡¯d encountered was good enough. That included the half-advanced Faramund as well as Rezso of the Black Peaks. Either of them he imagined he would be able to take down without support- though he would still bring strong allies if he had any choice. He¡¯d seen the effects of cooperation to a great extent. That was ultimately what had brought down all of those Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, confident in their own strength. ----- The time came to move on to their final and previously unplanned stop in the Glass Hills. That would be the Flowing Sand Sect, headed by Musa, the brother of Kehinde Abiodun. John had personal investment in such a trip, as Musa was known to practice body tempering involving lightning, and it would also be valuable for the disciples to see how much a style could change even between siblings of the same generation. From what John understood, there were quite a few differences beyond just the body tempering aspect. Since they were going further than intended, their return trip might also be changed up. They might go through the Green Sands instead of directly retracing their route through the Glass Hills, as that would be a more direct route back to Astrein. Or they could take a more circuitous route and go through the Wuthering Steppes to the southwest, curving around through the Darklands and up through the Stone Conglomerate. John liked that idea, except for the time it would take. It would be better for them to return to the sect sooner, and that route could easily add a week or two of travel even if they didn¡¯t make long stops. And if they weren¡¯t going to train, it was mostly pointless. Though lightning frequently appeared with minimal clouds in the Glass Hills, it wasn¡¯t without rain occasionally. That made their journey a greater slog than normal, as they had to either face deep mud or sudden rivers depending on the exact state of the area around them. If enough of the ground in a particular area had been turned to glass, water couldn¡¯t penetrate through and would often end up gathering along the roads. That could range from annoying ankle deep water to flash floods that threatened to blow everyone away. Of course, they were cultivators so they could handle a bit of extreme water. Rather than aiming for slightly rougher terrain above the roads, they pushed forward through rushing water, working together to deflect the water in various ways. Earth cultivators created temporary barriers they pushed along in front of them, while water cultivators more directly changed the flow. It was a good opportunity, because while the raging waters in some way seemed more threatening than sparring¡­ they were actually not all that dangerous. Stolen story; please report. Even if a disciple had been swept away in the currents, their energy defenses would protect them from being dashed against the rocks. There was only so quickly the water could flow, after all. The roads tended to be somewhat lower than the surroundings but they weren¡¯t that sharply below everything else. It wasn¡¯t like what could happen in an actual riverbed, and even that they could probably handle. It was a good opportunity for the disciples to work together against an obstacle of unknown power and duration. Even protecting their carved out camps at night had a set duration, though they might not know how much lightning had to be dealt with during that time. Though in such cases there wasn¡¯t anything people actually had to do if they set things up correctly. Lightning would always prefer to strike a higher target of similar or greater conductivity. ----- Everything was once again dry by the time they had reached the Flowing Sand Sect. John had sent a messenger to them while they were staying with the Mozdar clan, and the affirmative reply had come easily. Not that there was any particular reason for them to refuse. The Six Elements Crossroads was rapidly growing in power, and had a good reputation. Of course, if they had refused John would merely have been slightly disappointed and moved on. Their style was once again quite different from the tall towers of the Abiodun Clan or the primarily underground Mozdar clan. Instead, they seemed to cover a broad stretch of land with only a token wall surrounding the area. Most of their claimed area appeared to be empty of structures at the moment, though he didn¡¯t think it went unused. He saw various disciples training, and he could see why they needed so much space. First they would create lightning, striking a patch of ground and turning it to glass, which they would then reshape. It didn¡¯t seem much good for attacking as he saw, but he figured it was more akin to strength training. And if they could catch someone with molten glass, it would be a powerful move. Another thing John couldn¡¯t fail to notice about the disciples was how they seemed to have a constant flow of electricity around them, much like Kehinde and the Abiodun clan. In some cases, John saw disciples take advantage of this by focusing the power between their fingers or in their palm, scooping up some sand and dirt. That nearly instantly melted into glass, which they reshaped with their hands and some earth element spiritual energy. Once again John didn¡¯t see their specific actions as practical in combat, but their control was remarkable. Musa was easily recognizable as Kehinde¡¯s brother, except with more scars. He had many of the traditional sort, even atop his head making his hair grow in wild patches. Musa also had numerous lightning scars, where it was clear electricity had flowed under his skin. ¡°Welcome,¡± Musa called out. ¡°It is good to see a fellow man devoted to progress.¡± John wondered if he was referring to leaving a clan to start a sect- which they¡¯d done for different reasons- or perhaps his studies of body tempering. He¡¯d mentioned those in his missive, and the man had studied John¡¯s form just as much in return while John took in his scars. ¡°Indeed it is,¡± John replied. ¡°I¡¯m certain we can learn much from each other.¡± The man grinned, a wild but friendly look. ¡°It appears you have made fewer obvious mistakes than myself, though clearly you¡¯re not above treading unexplored ground. Five elements¡­ and yet, a modest number of scars.¡± John shrugged. ¡°I simply stumbled into one particularly large mistake. Otherwise, I could not have five totems at my current cultivation.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Musa nodded, gesturing for him to follow along. ¡°I have heard the common knowledge about what happened with you. Many are curious about whether you can actually reach the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± John said. It might be a decade or two, but that wasn¡¯t particularly long as far as cultivators were concerned. ¡°Confident,¡± Musa said. ¡°I like that.¡± ¡°I certainly wouldn¡¯t succeed without it,¡± John said. Indeed, he had to believe in his ability to reach the Ascending Soul Phase until he proved otherwise. He had learned much from his costly and long term mistake, and already had plans how to do better. ¡°What is your intent for the lightning you carry within you?¡± Musa asked straightforwardly. ¡°Improved reactions and the response of my muscles,¡± John said. ¡°And perhaps feedback from my body.¡± Musa nodded. ¡°The body is the core of cultivation. It provides the framework on which we deploy our spiritual energy. There are clear natural limits that most cultivators reach¡­ and few have the bravery to push beyond. What led you down this path?¡± ¡°I saw one such technique near the beginning of my cultivation,¡± John said. ¡°Though it was much later before I had a proper chance to learn it. That might have been the end of it, if my daughter hadn¡¯t stolen my materials to learn it as well.¡± ¡°Melanthina? No, your darkness should be common to all of the Tenebach clan. So it would be your other daughter, Ursel.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. ¡°Anyone who catches sight of her would no doubt notice where she has gone with such techniques¡­ though she certainly hasn¡¯t neglected her strength of spiritual energy either.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Musa agreed. ¡°One must be able to guide the spiritual energy as it affects the body, and have the insight to know when one is going too far. I¡­ have failed in both, at various points.¡± ¡°That means you could help me avoid future mistakes,¡± John said. ¡°Which I would be quite grateful for, as I currently find myself with a burdensome amount of caution where I make only slow progress.¡± ¡°Slow progress is not bad,¡± Musa said. ¡°Though perhaps a younger version of myself would have disagreed. But neither is slow progress always safer. We can compare what we have learned, as I imagine that even insights from different elements will be valuable.¡± Chapter 322 Given what John had previously heard about Musa, he expected him to be a wild and reckless man. Instead, what he found was a calm and collected man, full of wisdom. At first the two views seemed incompatible, but of course there was hardly ever a time when a single perspective was complete. After spending time with Musa, John came to a better understanding. Musa was indeed the reckless fellow that had been spoken of by his brother and Zelma of the Mozdar clan. Or at least, he had been. Yet it seemed that even they recognized the changes that had occurred in him over decades. As for why they still held that opinion, humans were prone to sticking to their beliefs¡­ and to cultivators, it might not seem like all that long had passed and so it was somewhat fresh in their minds. A person learning from their mistakes was one of the most admirable traits they could have, in John¡¯s opinion. But he could also understand why people would much prefer those who hadn¡¯t made any mistakes. Or at least, when those mistakes were either less severe or considered more socially acceptable. John remembered how hesitant he was to take on ex-cons as workers at his branch of Brad¡¯s Burgers¡­ and how silly it seemed. Would people really risk going back to prison just to steal a handful of cash from a restaurant¡¯s till? Maybe a few rare individuals, but most just wanted a job so they could survive. Of course, he could see that now but in his early 20¡¯s he was afraid. It was entirely possible that Musa had done something more serious than petty theft. No, knowing how clan politics worked it would have had to be something more. Maybe he killed someone¡­ though they either weren¡¯t important or it was an accident. John could ask, of course, but he only planned to if it came up naturally. What mattered most was how the man was now. And who he was now had quite good advice, especially on the topic of air element body tempering. John didn¡¯t think the external electrical field of the Abiodun clan would be of much use to him, even with the changes Musa had made, but it was the process of reaching those changes that was important. ¡°Human bodies aren¡¯t meant for any of this,¡± he explained. ¡°Perhaps we aren¡¯t even meant for cultivation of spiritual energy at all. Maybe we weren¡¯t supposed to interact with totems.¡± John frowned. He certainly hadn¡¯t thought of things like that. After all, when introduced to the world, everything seemed like it was how it was supposed to be. And while John didn¡¯t think that Musa fully believed what he had said, it did provoke thought. ¡°What are totems?¡± ¡°A good question,¡± Musa said. ¡°And no, I don¡¯t have the answer. Perhaps an universal constant beyond our normal reality that we managed to tap into. Or perhaps they are a figment of a combined human subconscious.¡± ¡°But totems do things.¡± ¡°Maybe only because we believe they do,¡± Musa shrugged. ¡°Have you ever come across a totem that was exactly what you were searching for? One previously undocumented?¡± ¡°Not quite,¡± John said. ¡°But with a great number of them, surely one would expect to be able to find most combinations of traits.¡± ¡°And how many do you think there are?¡± The Tenebach clan had documentation for hundreds in each layer, and with six layers¡­ ¡°There have to be at least many thousands,¡± John commented. ¡°I know of at least that many.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. Let us say, for ease of use, that there are six thousand. Equally divided among elements, that would be one thousand. Less than two hundred per layer. And within each element, you have various concepts. For air, you have lightning and gasses. For earth, you have stones of various sorts. Boulders, mountains¡­ plants. How many gasses are there? How many plants?¡± ¡°Well, totems aren¡¯t going to strictly tie to a single plant but¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°Even if you consider larger categories, there would be far more. Unless you get as vague as the mere concept of trees, but I know there are varieties even within that.¡± John frowned. ¡°So are you saying we just make them up?¡± Musa shrugged. ¡°Not necessarily. We might simply be discovering them by searching for them. But I do believe there are effects between cultivators. Tell me, you could swiftly find anything logged by your clan or sect, could you not?¡± ¡°Well, obviously. That¡¯s why they have been cataloged.¡± Musa smiled. ¡°Let me show you what we have cataloged,¡± he said. He brought John into their library- obviously his presence was enough for them to go to any section, even those normally restricted to outsiders. ¡°Look at these.¡± John saw there were many different sorts of winds, types of lightning strikes, and of course earth totems that were skewed towards things that fit in the Glass Hills. Sand and form changing earth more than massive boulders or mountains. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is¡­ what totems people can find are based on what people already know? Have you compared with other sects?¡± The two of them moved to a private area for their discussion- so as to not disrupt others, among other things. ¡°I have, actually,¡± Musa nodded. ¡°And their records are quite similar to ours, within the Glass Hills.¡± ¡°What about the Wuthering Steppes?¡± ¡°Quite different.¡± ¡°So¡­ is it geographical, or related to people?¡± ¡°A good question, isn¡¯t it?¡± Musa raised an eyebrow. ¡°The only way to test would be to uproot an entire group of people from one region to another and have them cultivate. Which¡­ I do not think would be worth the results. And people are still able to find totems they are aware of or believe should exist, given time and effort. But that does not disprove the idea, as if it takes them more effort where such things are not commonly known¡­ does that not contribute to the idea?¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. John closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking. ¡°It might. And ultimately, it doesn¡¯t matter, does it? What¡¯s important is that people can obtain totems that fit their needs with sufficient time and effort- whether they are discovered or invented.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Musa agreed. ¡°I am certain you have encouraged your disciples to search for totems that fit them well. Though I will say there is a confounding factor in our numbers.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± John asked. ¡°Not everyone is going to record every totem they come across. Especially if it¡¯s similar to another one they¡¯ve heard about but don¡¯t care about. In fact, I would expect very few to do so, except those specifically tasked to do so. The others would be a particular kind of personality.¡± John pondered for a few moments longer. ¡°For all the time I¡¯ve spent searching for and thinking about individual totems, I¡¯ve spent far less thinking of totems as a whole. Because¡­ the system worked for me. Perhaps I should emphasize the possibilities to disciples more clearly. I¡¯ve had assumptions about what people might realize.¡± Then something else came to him. ¡°Totems can grow in power. Does that mean they¡¯re not fixed in form?¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve realized that, have you?¡± Musa nodded. ¡°Well, I can say it is theoretically possible to change them¡­ but I wouldn¡¯t. Of my many mistakes, that was one of them- and I wasn¡¯t even trying for a shift between elements. They might grow with you naturally, but forcing it¡­ its just as bad as forcing anything else in cultivation.¡± ¡°I am aware of the pitfalls,¡± John said. ¡°Indeed. So, why did you change your name?¡± ¡°What?¡± John asked, surprised at the sudden topic change. ¡°I had disagreements with my brother and strife within the clan,¡± Musa said. ¡°But I still kept my name. I would have fought for it, even. But you¡­ from all accounts, you¡¯re on more than adequate terms with the Tenebach clan, and all of your children.¡± ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s part of it,¡± John said. He thought about how- and what- he should explain. ¡°The triplets made things somewhat complicated. Especially with their elemental affinities. Tirto was born with water element, so he had little choice but to take a position in the Brandle Clan. The same with Melanthina and Darkness. It was for the benefit of both them and the clans. But after Matayal was gone¡­ I didn¡¯t want to feel tied down to a single clan.¡± ¡°So you divested yourself of your entire name, starting anew.¡± ¡°It sounds a bit extreme now that you mention it. And¡­ I never really stopped having those connections. It¡¯s a bit silly, I suppose.¡± ¡°Perhaps. But I understand. I founded this sect, not because I had great ideas in mind. Not even to prevent people from making the same mistakes I had. But instead¡­ because I felt like I needed a structure built up around me to keep me stable. I understand. Though I don¡¯t quite understand the particular name you chose. Why John Miller?¡± ¡°Well, I¡­ had my reasons.¡± ¡°Is it your name from a previous life?¡± Musa asked. John couldn¡¯t help but react slightly. ¡°You need not be surprised. Any figure of great influence has rumors about reincarnation. It is common enough among the upper echelons.¡± ¡°And who is spreading these rumors?¡± John asked. He wasn¡¯t really upset. He¡¯d known the name change might reveal some things, and he¡¯d stopped actively hiding his status from the world at large- he just hadn¡¯t announced it either. ¡°They¡¯ve been around for decades,¡± Musa admitted. ¡°I heard them even before your name was changed, though they intensified. You and your wife were star crossed lovers, destined to rule the world. And then, when she perished, it was said that the both of you were cursed to reunite for only brief moments.¡± ¡°That one¡¯s a bit¡­ flimsy, isn¡¯t it? We were married for decades.¡± John had to admit they didn¡¯t spend as much time together as they should have. Their responsibilities didn¡¯t allow that. ¡°And we knew each other before that for quite some time.¡± Though most of that was Fortkran, so that didn¡¯t really count. Then there was the relevant detail that Matayal wasn¡¯t a Reincarnator. Or a Transmigrator. ¡°Yes, it was a rather inconsistent series of rumors. And most rumors aren¡¯t true. But¡­ for you in particular, I had a feeling. Before your reaction, of course.¡± Of course an experienced cultivator would have noticed. ¡°You¡¯re odd, you know? That was before your name change, which is an odd name indeed. As Fortkran Tenebach, you were training in pure darkness¡­ only to have a sudden change in trajectory. And personality. Rather than one who reincarnated from the world, you¡¯re more likely a Transmigrator, are you not?¡± John shrugged. ¡°Would it make any difference if I was?¡± ¡°It would make more sense to me why someone suddenly decided to try a full cycle of elements even though common sense says it¡¯s insane. Especially since you could have only expected to reach halfway at the time- which is not a cycle in any sense.¡± ¡°All I can tell you is that it was youthful rashness. I certainly didn¡¯t know enough to properly train a cycle of elements. That I reach this place was great luck, both in the family I was born into and many elements beyond that.¡± ¡°Every cultivator of great renown has such fortune,¡± Musa said. ¡°Even myself, to some extent. I could be dead, you know.¡± John nodded. This was the moment, then. ¡°So what was the incident that caused all this for you?¡± Musa sighed. ¡°I crippled my niece. Which hurt me nearly as much as I hurt her. She was so eager and vital.¡± ¡°I have the feeling this was more than a simple sparring accident.¡± ¡°Indeed. It was my radical training ideas. She pushed for a totem she wanted but couldn¡¯t reasonably attune to. She wasn¡¯t the only one I harmed, either. A number of clan members ruined their bodies under my guidance. And here I am, unharmed.¡± ¡°Did you know that harm would come to them? Had you tried the techniques yourself?¡± ¡°I had. But circumstances were different. I was old enough to have gotten over most of my folly of youth¡­ while somehow forgetting that others were still there. So perhaps I had simply fooled myself. I shouldn¡¯t have ever taught her that.¡± ¡°... I should have died instead of Matayal,¡± John said. ¡°She was the one who belonged here.¡± Silence lingered between them. Both of them knew their words weren¡¯t true, except so far as that was what they felt. Perhaps at some point they would get back to technical details of cultivation, but before that steadying their hearts was of greater importance. And though it wasn¡¯t something either of them had sought out, each utterance brought them a bit closer to restoration, even if reaching the end of said road wasn¡¯t possible. Chapter 323 With the training excursion already having been longer than anticipated, John opted to have the group return to Astrein upon the most direct route through the Green Sands. It wouldn¡¯t be very comfortable for some of them, but movement along the main roads was expedient enough. In the case of John specifically, he hadn¡¯t been to the Green Sands except for brief periods. Based on his previous experiences, he always found himself surprised when a fire dominant area felt pleasant. The Phoenix Forest and Sunfields combined their fire element with other spiritual energy, so it was not such a dominating factor. The Green Sands, however, had practically nothing in the way of other spiritual energy, and it took the form of oppressive heat. John had possessed a fire totem for some time, but he still found himself surprised by its effects sometimes. It didn¡¯t automatically make the temperature bearable, but it did reduce the effects of heat, and with just a small active input he could absorb enough of the surrounding heat to bring it to a nice balance. For John and many of the others, simply moving through the Green Sands was a valid form of training. Either those who had the fire element siphoning away the excess energy from other disciples, or those who had other elements learning to shield themselves appropriately. Obviously it wasn¡¯t the best form of training they could find, but it was still useful. They passed by Zolvolj and the Milanovic clan, though mostly because that was the largest route. The current trip couldn¡¯t afford any more time consuming stops even along the route. If John thought they hadn¡¯t gotten an adequate amount of training it would be one thing, but they had- and there were other disciples to get back to. John expected the Six Elements Crossroads to continue functioning without him, but his presence was still useful for the sake of training other disciples. It was a shame that they hadn¡¯t had the chance to slip through the Wuthering Steppes to then visit the Darklands. John thought it would have been valuable. And yes, it did have something to do with routing through the Stone Conglomerate at the tail end to visit the Tenebach clan. But it was always good to visit Melanthina and Nik. The fact that he had a new grandchild there he¡¯d only met a few times was clearly just a bonus. He wasn¡¯t currently considering moving their journey half a week out of their way just because he wanted to see Ereli again. That would be crazy and selfish. She was adorable, though. Just like all of his children and Nitza, his other grandchild from Tirto and Verusha. It was probably a good thing that John was a little bit distant from them, or he might become a grandpa that spoiled them. He certainly didn¡¯t want that. A little bit now and then was totally fine though. He could almost justify the visit. It could be valuable for the disciples to see a balanced interplay of light and darkness- from more than just Viriato, whose focus wasn¡¯t really on cultivation. Nik and Melanthina had a good balance, of course, but the interesting case was Ereli herself. She was infused with spiritual energy just like John¡¯s children had been, the light and darkness inherited from parents living harmoniously within her. There were concerns about her future, of course. If the balance was disrupted at some point, it could be catastrophic. Just because it maintained itself without active control so far didn¡¯t mean there wouldn¡¯t be issues later. Once she began cultivation, it would be far riskier than others. But she had wonderful parents watching over her who could guide her, and that was all that could really be expected. Speaking of Nik and Melanthina, they had advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase after Ereli¡¯s birth. They¡¯d been holding back to try to minimize the chances of something like their child being infused¡­ and maybe it helped. Or maybe they were doomed from the start. Certainly, it could be assumed that an infused child would be a cultivation genius¡­ but with such genius came risk. John could barely remember the full extent of the trouble the triplets got up to as children because they had spiritual energy. They likely would have been handfuls to begin with, but that exacerbated the situation. ----- Returning to Astrein reminded John why he¡¯d chosen the location to begin with. Aside from its convenient location, the balance of elements was invigorating. The area had been untapped and effectively wasted for most of its history, but now cultivators of all sorts could benefit- even those of a single element. Though the Six Elements Crossroads didn¡¯t specialize in training them, they wouldn¡¯t reject them either. Training to separate spiritual energy with their peers was a valuable exercise in control. Now that the Six Elements Crossroads had a bit of history behind it, they drew in disciples from other sects or even clans. But at the same time, some got their start in the Six Elements Crossroads and moved on to find sects that fit them better. While at some point John would have been resistant to their disciples leaving, disciples who they spent time, effort, and resources on¡­ ultimately he thought it healthy that there was mobility between sects. Especially since the goal was to have them all allied together as a greater whole. There had been thoughts to establish restrictions with regards to who could come and go. Certain disciples received more focus and attention, so in some regards it made sense to require either them or the sects who wished to recruit them to pay back some of those expenses. It was an idea posited by Viriato, who led the management of the sect¡¯s finances. Ultimately, however, they had decided they could balance out the financials and get ahead in a greater sort of loyalty by minimizing such restrictions. They didn¡¯t let people forget the expenses involved in their learning, but they also didn¡¯t make them directly pay. Having stronger cultivators who maintained positive feelings towards the sect and who carried those feelings with them to their new locations was its own sort of value. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ----- John¡¯s body tempering plan for water was fairly simple, fitting in with his air element efforts. Not the heightening of his reflexes, but the first minor change he¡¯d made- filtering the air in his lungs. That was useful, but incomplete on its own. After all, that was only one place toxins might enter the body, and it could only do so much. Filtering his blood was the next step to add onto that. Obviously the body already did that on its own, but that was through purely mundane methods. It was good longer term as it gradually filtered things out, but wasn¡¯t good against floods of venom or anything happening all at once. Kidneys focused on directly filtering the blood, and the liver took part as well. But if John were to expand his thoughts to all of the body¡¯s filtration, he could count at least the digestive system to a greater level. The intestines did some amount of filtering out toxins as they tried to absorb only valuable nutrients, though the efforts were not always sufficient. And even the skin had a role to play in filtering the body through sweat and other excretions. Many of the pieces involved in the process were traditionally looked down upon, but it was far better to filter out the traditionally gross bits than to keep them in the body. For the most part, everything already worked. John¡¯s task was to supplement an already effective system with some supernatural aid. Before he could do much of that, however, he needed to know how his body worked. There was a big difference between knowing superficially and actually observing the functions. On Earth, he would have had to watch videos of the body at a small scale to visualize what was happening, but here he could actually observe that directly with his spiritual energy. It wasn¡¯t simple to pick out all the intricacies of what happened on the cellular level- or the even smaller levels, as things went in and out of cells or were passed around by them. But with sufficient spiritual energy came a level of supernatural insight, speeding the process of understanding. In addition to what he¡¯d already studied, he made rapid progress. Screwing up his internal filters wouldn¡¯t have such immediately visible catastrophic effects as breaking the transmission of signals throughout his body, but it could be just as perilous. However, he had much more experience for himself, and the guidance of others to aid him. Musa had been quite helpful in that regard, and knowledge of how things could fail was just as valuable as how to succeed. Stepping into a pitfall people had already experienced was simply wasteful, so he relished the ability to avoid even those that merely slowed progress with minimal harm. The only way to know for certain if his efforts were succeeding was to intentionally ingest toxins. If done in small amounts, the body could naturally learn to fight against poisons, but not all toxins could be adapted to. Simple buildups of lead or other toxic metals weren¡¯t generally intentional by man or beast, but the body didn¡¯t always have a way to remove such things efficiently. And for those things it was meant to remove, John was aware that his changes could actually make the process less effective. That was why he had to watch as small amounts entered his body to see how it would react, and if it wasn¡¯t working as expected he could actively remove toxins. He¡¯d done it before, and that was the primary way that cultivators handled poisons. But the more his body was prepared for, the less active effort he would have to take. Or looking at it another way, if toxins could disrupt his consciousness before he could properly begin removing them they could be very dangerous. If the body actively fought them more effectively, then his risk was lower. As he began to closely observe his body on a lower level, John realized he would likely never understand everything that was happening. Though¡­ perhaps he was underestimating his potential lifespan. Even with his biological age surpassing sixty years old, John was still young in this world. With his cultivation in the Consolidated Soul Phase he could expect to live to well over a century. Perhaps even two, once he was properly in the Ascending Soul Phase. Age did catch up to cultivators¡­ but John wondered what part of it actually got them. Obviously one of the more common causes of death was direct violence, but if cultivators aged more slowly, perhaps they could intentionally take control of the process. It was possible his current efforts could either reduce aging¡­ or maybe he would be subtly making his body worse in unknown ways, reducing his lifespan. John wasn¡¯t particularly concerned about that at the moment, it was simply a consequence of considering the buildup of toxins. If the rate was slow enough that he could expect to die to something else, then he didn¡¯t have to care about particular kinds of them. But the longer he lived, the more the little things began to matter. And that also included his own small mistakes. Ultimately, he could only rely on his own intuition and understanding, along with the experience of others. And frankly, he imagined a little bit more or less lead or random radioactive elements would not be the important factors if he lived a long life. Even ignoring a potential violent end, John imagined that his lifespan was probably affected by his greater cultivation failures. The first one that had spelled the end of Fortkran didn¡¯t leave any obvious lingering damage, but it was impossible to completely discount it either. And nearly burning himself alive as he attempted to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, even if most of the damage had been contained within his dantian, was more likely to shorten his lifespan than a thousand smaller incidents. Ultimately, John took a cautious approach with his bodily changes. He would have to consult with Ursel more about her efforts, as she certainly had a good amount of experience in the field of body tempering now. And in terms of total cultivation experience, his children weren¡¯t as proportionally far behind him as they had once been. They were all in the Consolidated Soul Phase now, after all, which was vaguely between matched with him and a Phase behind, depending on which aspect of himself he counted. Chapter 324 Many of the disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads had already reached the Soul Expansion Phase, but very few were close to the Consolidated Soul Phase. This was simply a matter of time in training, even with the best talent, resources, and time available. Because of that, there were those who had a bit of an advantage. Because of the recent birth of the sect, there was little difference between a disciple and an elder, but there were a pair who still fit that definition. Viriato had been cultivating significantly longer, and the alchemist Raul had still reached the Spirit Building Phase before the early establishment of the sect, back when John wasn¡¯t even sure if he was actually going to go through with his plan. Either way, both had more experience than others. Viriato¡¯s particular lifestyle and cultivation path made his advancement somewhat slower, but even so he was close to the limit of the Soul Expansion Phase. His talent wasn¡¯t bad by any means- indeed, he couldn¡¯t have balanced light and darkness in his youth if that was the case- but he¡¯d been lacking guidance or proper techniques, so he had stagnated at the peak of Spirit Building. After all, attuning to another totem of either light and darkness would have unbalanced him- a very difficult state to manage. After they met, John had guided him towards another element and a totem that could work with them. Obviously there was no perfect choice, as nothing was exactly in between the two elements. Even so, a water element totem that combined elements of light and darkness provided him an opportunity to advance. Above the surface of the waters there was light, and below there was darkness. Even though water was aligned with darkness, his skills of balance were good enough to manage. Now he came to John for further advice. ¡°I imagine you¡¯ll suggest some sort of air or fire totem,¡± Viriato said. ¡°And you would be right,¡± John agreed. ¡°If you can find something fitting, you can maintain a decent balance of elements. Air will most likely tip you doubly towards light, while fire can feed into water and keep you balanced towards darkness. Thus I think I would recommend fire, unless you can find a particularly fitting totem.¡± ¡°And what totem would that be?¡± Viriato asked. ¡°A good question.¡± John pondered briefly, recalling his conversation with Musa. It had simply confirmed something he already believed, that one could nearly always find a totem suitable to their needs- or perhaps create it. Because of that, it was important to carefully consider what one chose. ¡°Fire¡­ would be something like a campfire with dancing shadows around it. Keeping to the theme of balancing light and darkness, obviously. But if you were to choose an air totem¡­ perhaps a stormy night interspersed with lightning?¡± ¡°Sounds dangerous,¡± Viriato said. ¡°Same with choosing the most conflicting elements as the first two,¡± John shrugged. ¡°I still probably wouldn¡¯t recommend the air option, but I wouldn¡¯t completely discount the potential value. Ultimately, I¡¯d search and see what you can find. You chose a difficult route, knowingly or not, but I think if you manage to surpass this step it will get easier. Your path through the core elements will be set by your next choice, but I believe the goal here should be to lock in your elemental balance. If you reach the Ascending Soul Phase, I imagine you can handle a three and two balance on either side, since you managed two and one.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m not saying this step should be easy, but once it¡¯s complete you¡¯ll likely be the most stable you¡¯ve ever been.¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°As long as I don¡¯t lose my balance when I take this step.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to, of course,¡± John pointed out. ¡°If you harbor doubts, it would be better to remain at your current cultivation. I¡¯m not saying this because I don¡¯t believe in you. You already have shown your cultivation talent even with a focus elsewhere. But you have to believe in yourself, or that doubt will be your biggest enemy. More than any actual difficulties you have to overcome.¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± ----- Raul had already chosen his next step. His own cultivation progress had been similarly limited- Astrein had little access to good cultivation advice, and Raul had believed like many others it was low in spiritual energy. Yet it wasn¡¯t easy for him to settle elsewhere, so he¡¯d taken up residence as an alchemist barely struggling by. And now he was the chief alchemist for the Six Elements Crossroads, providing extracts of spiritual energy for those who needed boosts to help them through particular bottlenecks. Alchemy could also produce valuable medicines, and it could even create concoctions that boosted performance during a battle- though usually at a cost to be paid later. John had also gotten him to look into possibilities of aiding advanced body tempering methods. If something like Diamond Defense could be accomplished more cheaply but still with reliable results it could be quite valuable for many of their disciples. Raul had already chosen his next totem. As an alchemist on the route of a cycle of core elements, and that meant a water element totem. It was fairly easy to pick one suited to his professional needs. He had begun with fire, the basis of alchemy and the main catalyst for reactions. Earth had been pure glass to represent the tools he needed. Air was next, representing convection currents necessary to help regulate heating. That left water, and a simple totem representing boiling, for an even greater control over the process. The more totems he had, the better his abilities to purify elements- or achieve whatever balance was desired. Pure elements weren¡¯t always better, even for mono-element cultivators, though it depended on the intended application. John was quite pleased with how he¡¯d grown, and that they¡¯d been able to work together from near the beginning of his career. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Raul still asked for cultivation guidance, even if he had picked out his totem. John had more experience, and Raul particularly had concerns about the final step of balancing a cycle of the core elements. They wanted to be balanced, but obviously given John¡¯s experience it wasn¡¯t a trivial matter. Indeed, they might feed into each other too well, like what happened to him. Nobody wanted an overabundance of spiritual energy in their dantian, no matter how much it seemed to be a good thing at a glance. ----- John found a good excuse- no, an opportunity- to go visit the Tenebach clan. Core element cultivators had gotten too much attention in terms of training excursions, so this would be a visit to the Tenebach clan, the darklands, and even all the way south to the Prism Underfields and the Combining Luster Sect. Of course, the journey was still open to those who wished to train against light or darkness regardless of what they actually cultivated. Even so, the turnout was somewhat less. Visiting his daughter and son-in-law was of course a pleasant experience, and he was glad to spend time with them. But he had to admit they weren¡¯t the main purpose of his visit. Instead, it was Ereli. John smiled, bending down and spreading his arms wide. ¡°Ereli!¡± The girl simply stood there, her arms at her sides. ¡°Grandfather,¡± she acknowledged, her void neutral. John sighed, standing up and looking at Nik and Melanthina. They just shrugged. Well, even if she wasn¡¯t a hugger or particularly enthusiastic, his second granddaughter was still cute in her own way. ¡°Can¡¯t you at least call me grandpa?¡± Ereli shook her head. ¡°Respectful,¡± she said. Not much of a talker, either. Though the fact that she knew and could pronounce multisyllabic words at her age was already good, it might have been nice if she used sentences. But John wasn¡¯t going to complain about that in front of her, as negativity wouldn¡¯t help. He did take the opportunity to ask about her in private later, of course. ¡°She¡¯s certainly¡­ succinct,¡± John said. Nik sighed. ¡°We began to teach her manners and formality and¡­ well, she was already kind of like this,¡± he admitted. Melanthina nodded. ¡°We had a few close calls early on, with her accidentally making use of her spiritual energy¡­ and nearly disrupting her internal balance. We may have overemphasized control.¡± John nodded in return. ¡°Or she might just be like that,¡± he added. ¡°She might,¡± Melanthina agreed. ¡°Controlling her energy might eat up her concentration,¡± Nik said. ¡°Honestly, having no experience with spiritual energy at a young age myself¡­ I can¡¯t really relate,¡± he looked over at his wife. ¡°I only had darkness,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Along with Tirto and Ursel, we found it relatively easy to control what we had. But that was because we were in a balanced state. If one of us had been on the other side of the elemental divide, we might have disrupted each other. Though in that case, we might not have made it to birth.¡± ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡± John asked. ¡°We¡¯re not really sure,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°But she seems to like to watch people cultivate. And though it might not look like it, I can tell she was interested in you.¡± ¡°The two of us represent both of her elements together, but we¡¯re not really mixed unless we¡¯re cultivating,¡± Nik added. ¡°She probably finds you interesting for having multiple elements, as she isn¡¯t exposed to that much.¡± ¡°I suppose that makes sense,¡± John agreed. ¡°Though I might also be a distraction in some regards.¡± ¡°I suppose so,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°But it would be easier for us to watch her with someone else cultivating rather than us. Then again, we might not want to encourage her to try to advance at the moment. Raising children is¡­ a lot more difficult than I thought. Even though, in many ways, Ereli is quite easy to manage.¡± ¡°She¡¯s very obedient,¡± Nik agreed. ¡°Once we got past the earliest stages where we had to constantly worry about her destabilizing, it was easy to plant her into a routine. She¡¯s not the sort to go around poking her nose into trouble,¡± Nik looked pointedly at Melanthina. ¡°Nor do we have to worry about other siblings at the same time.¡± Melanthina ignored Nik¡¯s jab at her. ¡°We¡¯re hoping to get her some playmates, but she would still need constant monitoring by someone strong enough. Honestly, Tirto might understand her better as he was the calmer type as well. We¡¯re just not sure if she¡¯s too subdued.¡± Melanthina sighed, ¡°How did you handle us triplets?¡± ¡°Poorly,¡± John admitted. ¡°And with the help of many family members and friends.¡± ¡°I wish we were closer to¡­ everyone,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°With people spread afar, it¡¯s difficult to see family and friends regularly. At least I have Nik to help manage the clan. How did you manage, with mom at the Brandle clan the majority of the time?¡± ¡°Your grandfather helped with the bureaucracy, and your great-grandfather with any diplomatic matters,¡± John said. ¡°Speaking of which¡­ how is Luctus?¡± ¡°Relaxed,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Especially since we broke through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, he¡¯s spending more time in social settings. He almost acts younger, except, well¡­ we know he¡¯s not. His health doesn¡¯t seem to bother him too much, but it¡¯s clearly failing. He might have only a few more years, or he might have twenty. It¡¯s difficult to say.¡± John nodded. He imagined it would be much greater except for the effects of the old blessing ceremony. Luctus had been part of several generations of that, his cultivation fluctuating for the sake of the clan¡¯s future growth- and most likely with some personal sacrifice for his when he transmigrated to this world. Luctus never spoke of it, but John recognized some signs. There was a sudden knocking at the doors of their chambers, almost hurried. ¡°Clan heads! Come quickly to the underground. Ereli slipped out of Crystin¡¯s sight for a moment and¡­¡± John looked over at Melanthina. ¡°And here I thought your daughter hardly resembled you. Perhaps there is more of you beneath the surface than it appeared.¡± Even as he spoke, they were rushing towards the nearest stairway down below- though it was just next to the suite they were relaxing in. Ciaritzal wouldn¡¯t hurt Ereli on purpose, but that didn¡¯t mean something couldn¡¯t go wrong. Even being below where it was suffused with darkness could potentially unbalance her spiritual energy, and it wouldn¡¯t take much to cause significant harm to a child¡¯s body or barely developing dantian. Chapter 325 Nik remained behind as John and Melanthina hurried their way into the underground. Being in such concentrated darkness was uncomfortable for him, and his presence was strong enough to potentially upset the balance. They didn¡¯t need another person to help catch Ereli anyway. In fact, there was almost no chance that Crystin hadn¡¯t already caught the young girl- or at least caught up to her. John was hoping she didn¡¯t need to be physically restrained. Melanthina sighed. ¡°She knows not to go down here, but I suppose I overestimated her level of responsibility. She¡¯s still very young.¡± Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t difficult to find their way around. Both Ereli and Crystin stood out for different reasons. The latter had a strong darkness energy, while Ereli¡¯s light element stood out in stark contrast. The underground of the Tenebach clan was not especially dangerous for those who belonged. The only actual dangers were young shadowhawks, kept secure in their own location. For intruders, of course, Ciaritzal would be their worst nightmare. For Ereli¡¯s sake, the biggest danger was the concentrated darkness element. If that led to her having an elemental imbalance, it wasn¡¯t something Crystin could easily handle on her own- thus the swift message to Nik and Melanthina. ¡°Of course she went straight for Ciaritzal,¡± Melanthina commented when they spotted her. ¡°That¡¯s how everyone gets in trouble.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± John said defensively. Melanthina frowned. ¡°Then you¡¯re just a weird exception.¡± The form of darkness that was Ciaritzal loomed over the small form of Ereli, who reached out towards him. If she actually touched him, his higher concentration of darkness could potentially greatly disrupt her balance of spiritual energy¡­ but she stopped before actually touching him. ¡°... Painful?¡± she asked. Even with his enhanced sight, John could only barely make out the shifting of Ciaritzal¡¯s face, revealing a crooked sort of smile. ¡°If you touched me, it probably would be painful for you, yes,¡± he acknowledged. Ereli shook her head. ¡°Different. Injuries,¡± she said, pointing insistently. John didn¡¯t see anything, but Ciaritzal laughed. ¡°These aren¡¯t injuries anymore. Just scars. How did you even notice?¡± ¡°Mixed,¡± she said. ¡°Dangerous.¡± ¡°I see. You can tell they were caused by light element?¡± Ciaritzal parsed her limited words. ¡°But there isn¡¯t any left now. Just the scars.¡± Ereli nodded. Then she turned her head and began walking towards John and Melanthina. ¡°Mother. Grandfather.¡± ¡°Ereli,¡± Melanthina acknowledged her. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be down here, remember?¡± Ereli¡¯s eyes widened, as it seemed she had truly forgotten¡­ or she was good at pretending. She bowed her head. ¡°Repentant.¡± John suppressed a chuckle. She was far too young to know words so big¡­ and yet not speak whole sentences. It could be signs of a developmental issue, but if she was able to function being odd was not that big of a problem. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Melanthina said, offering her hand. When Ereli took it, some tension drained from her posture. ¡°There is too much darkness here. You could get off balance, that¡¯s why you¡¯re not supposed to be here.¡± Ereli mutely agreed. ----- The only reason Ereli had actually been able to enter the underground was an oversight. Some of the entrances were guarded, specifically those in the parts of the clan grounds that outsiders had access to. Most clan members had permission to go beneath the clan, as it was the best source of spiritual energy for them to train. That was part of its purpose, after all. The inner parts of the sect didn¡¯t have guards for those entrances, because everyone who was allowed that far also had permission to go to the underground¡­ with the specific exception of Ereli. Even if an intruder made it that far into the clan to head for the underground, they would only find themselves easily revealed. There were fewer walls to prevent detection in the area, and Ciaritzal¡¯s senses would easily pick them out if the clan members training didn¡¯t. Ciaritzal wasn¡¯t kept down below because he was vulnerable, either. Not to anything less than a full army, as he had advanced his cultivation to the equivalent of the Ascending Soul Phase, just as Cuah¡¯arn had done some time before. Thus, they simply hadn¡¯t thought to secure the area. Crystin was very apologetic, but another clan member had come to her with something requiring her attention. Ereli had never snuck off before¡­ and they weren¡¯t even certain she had intended to sneak off that time. It was possible she had sensed something, and had truly forgotten about the instructions not to go below. Either way, the solution was to momentarily lock the unguarded entrances, which would be inconvenient for other clan members¡­ but for the protection of Ereli, they really couldn¡¯t complain. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. John thought Ereli had handled it well enough, but it seemed like she had reached her limits without realizing it. It would only take a small amount of spiritual energy going wild to cause significant harm to the child, so it was still better to keep her out of the area. ----- When John found his grandfather in private, he realized that Melanthina might have significantly overestimated the man¡¯s remaining lifespan. Rather than sitting with his back straight in meditation, it looked more like he should be lying in a bed. Not that John would tell his grandfather that. Luctus opened his eyes as John entered his quarters, smiling. He gestured to the low table in front of him. ¡°Come, sit. We haven¡¯t had a chance to talk in some time.¡± John nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. The sect has kept me quite busy.¡± ¡°I understand. It is not strictly a complaint.¡± Luctus sipped some tea he had in front of him, then poured some from the kettle into a cup that seemed to be waiting for guests in general. The tea was still hot, kept at a consistent temperature by miniscule fire enchantments upon the kettle. A reasonable luxury, for someone of Luctus¡¯ station. ¡°Since you showed up, the changes to the Tenebach clan have made it unrecognizable. Again, I don¡¯t intend to complain. Its prosperity is greater than any point in my lifetime. It¡¯s just different.¡± John nodded, sipping some tea. It was unsurprisingly quite good, though perhaps a bit more bitter than he preferred. But it was his grandfather¡¯s favorite. ¡°Where I am from, traditionalism is often eschewed for progress. Or whatever people see as progress. I may have taken it too far.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Luctus shrugged. ¡°But I did allow you to take on your own personal experiment. I will admit I doubted you would reach anything beyond the early Soul Expansion Phase, but you seemed stable enough and could produce a proper heir for the clan. I am not at all disappointed in that regard. Melanthina was troublesome, but you raised her into a fine woman.¡± ¡°I tried,¡± John admitted. ¡°Some of that happened despite me, though.¡± The corners of Luctus¡¯ mouth turned up. ¡°Her chosen spouse had good talent as well. And while I will admit I have no idea where the clan will go from here¡­ I am not worried about it having a future. And I was, through my own time, and your father¡¯s, and¡­ your early life.¡± The peace on Luctus¡¯ face made John imagine him fading into nothingness, his physical form collapsing into sparkles. But he remained there, seated upright. And John imagined he never intended to leave such a position even after his end came. ----- After the training excursion ended, John found himself back in Astrein, specifically the ¡®secret¡¯ valley. It was no longer truly a secret, but with the Six Elements Crossroads being the preeminent faction in the region nobody else could claim it from them. And like many other such wondrous places, they solidified their control almost paradoxically by sharing it¡­ just on their schedule. Disciples from other sects would be allowed to train there and gather some of the natural herbs and the like, just as those of the Six Elements Crossroads. There were simply fewer of them. However, at the current moment it was reserved exclusively for the Six Elements Crossroads¡­ and more specifically, the core had a section cordoned off for John himself. He didn¡¯t want any disturbances to his cultivation for what he was going to attempt. It hadn¡¯t been long enough for him to achieve some sort of massive breakthrough. He was only on the verge of moving from the early Consolidated Soul Phase to the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Regaining his former cultivation was a smooth process, but John had come to an understanding regarding his spiritual sea. His first attempt to reach the Ascending Soul Phase had been catastrophic, and one of the reasons was his spiritual sea. It wasn¡¯t weak, as he had been training his other totems properly¡­ but for what he wanted, it was insufficient. Deep inside his dantian, the core of his spiritual sea appeared as a chain of small islands in an expansive sea, where at first he¡¯d had a single much larger island. Now he was focusing on a small section of that, readying himself for what he was about to do. He¡¯d come to see the value in what he had done, ultimately expanding his spiritual sea in practical terms¡­ but it had been far too lacking in control. He¡¯d tried to do all at once what he probably should have been doing for many years prior, though he hadn¡¯t fully realized how things would go. Either way, his focus on the few small islands caused them to rumble as something like a volcanic eruption built up within them. Then they exploded, catching alight the trees of darkness that had only just begun to grow into mighty specimens. The flames looked almost like nothing, as the core of John¡¯s fire element was Ethereal Flames, but the heat they gave off was very real. Unlike before, however, John only felt a slight twinge of pain. Combining his efforts with what would otherwise be an advancement in rank, his cultivation ended up staying much the same¡­ except now he had several larger islands, and a number of additional smaller ones. The ash of the previous trees would create fertile soil for the next generation. Most importantly, the ecosystem within him wasn¡¯t fully disrupted by his attempt- it was just one small part of him. With the nourishment of spiritual energy from the rest of his dantian, his recovery would be swift. John didn¡¯t know exactly how much, but he imagined he would properly step into the next rank within a few weeks and feel none the worse for wear. The process itself was momentarily draining, however. John focused on drawing in the spiritual energy around him. Seated in the core of the valley, he had all six elements to empower him, denser than the rest of Astrein. John even drew in a quantity of the light element, though he still had to keep it contained so it would not react with his darkness tinted element. He didn¡¯t need to have perfect control by the time he reached the Ascending Soul Phase, but he wanted to at least not have to shy away from it so much. Then he would have all of that Phase to continue his improvements, before attuning to a light element totem upon reaching the Exalted Soul Phase. At least, that was the plan¡­ though he didn¡¯t know if he could accomplish it. Either way, he had to keep moving forward. His personal cultivation was important, but so too were the lessons he could pass on to his peers and his disciples. Beyond that, he was still focused on changing the greater political landscape for cultivators. There had far too often been internal fighting, squabbling for resources when it wasn¡¯t strictly necessary. All the while, some of the greatest threats came from outsiders. John had no intention to focus society on an ¡®us¡¯ and ¡®them¡¯, but it really was true. And ultimately, he wished that they could develop into a culture that didn¡¯t feel pressured to use their martial power. That was a lofty one, of course. World peace was more than just a little bit ambitious. But whatever level he actually managed to reach would be good enough. Chapter 326 In his quest to explore the remainder of the continent- specifically with the intention to establish connections between the various elemental zones- John found himself in the worst place he¡¯d ever been. He felt that strongly, even though he¡¯d experienced the Soulrot Bogs. And yet, for the locals¡­ it wasn¡¯t a particularly unpleasant place at all. That could only mean one thing. Light element. Aside from the Prism Underfields, John hadn¡¯t visited anywhere with pure light element. The Sunfields weren¡¯t so bad because they were actually fire element primarily, with the light element being secondary. Especially now that he had a proper totem, he didn¡¯t mind fire- but he¡¯d also been training his interactions with it longer. There simply weren¡¯t many accessible areas of light element, so he hadn¡¯t been exposed all that often. He certainly hadn¡¯t been able to train with it in his early cultivation, though it might have been valuable, if difficult. The Shining Coast was only slightly further northwest than he¡¯d been before. It was nestled just west of the Blustering Peaks and north of the Viridia Wildlands. Rather than trek directly over the Blustering Peaks from Astrein, he took a ship along the north edge of the Shimmering Islands to reach the narrowest point of the Viridia Wildlands, which was just at the base of the Peaks as well. From there, John and only a small number of disciples trekked the rest of the way on foot. While normally he would have brought most interested disciples, since the area was less familiar he made the choice to limit their numbers for the moment. Not every outing had to be led by him personally anyway, and bringing along other disciples was more for prestige and safety than anything else. This also included Viriato, as the finance elder also had some of the best control of light among all of their disciples. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t been here more frequently,¡± John said. ¡°I thought you sought out the best prices for everything.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Viriato responded. ¡°And with a much more convenient source of light element goods nearby, I had little reason to come out here. Especially since many of our light element disciples are strongly influenced by the Golden Tomb Guardians.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± John nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a flaw.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve been particularly failing to try to include diverse training options for every element. It is simply that the Prism Underfields are quite difficult to access, and the Shining Coast is¡­ not actually that powerful, in the grand scheme of things.¡± ¡°They certainly haven¡¯t involved themselves in any wide scale conflicts,¡± John admitted. ¡°Nor did many of note attend the tournament. But I thought they might simply be conserving themselves and letting other people deal with their own hardships.¡± Without any contacts in the area, they hadn¡¯t been able to arrange to stay at any particular locations, but if necessary their group could camp out anywhere without too many concerns. The area was not known for such powerful beasts as the Viridia Wildlands, and that was information that would have spread. Even though they had certainly entered the general area given the large quantities of light element, they should still be several days of travel from the coast the area was named after. The Shining Coast did not share the same waters as the Shimmering Islands, but ran up against the Enor Sea- a much less populated area, though it did still attract some amount of water element cultivators. Rather than finding the light element around him directly draining, John felt it like more of an itch he couldn¡¯t scratch constantly wearing about him. It would have been much worse previously in his cultivation path, but now that he had two elements allied to light it was tolerable to be around. Even so, he limited his use of the darkness allied elements, or he imagined he would be constantly converting elements to replenish his spiritual energy. There were two destinations in mind, with the option to expand upon those if it seemed valuable. The Goldheart Clan was said to be a major influence on the area as a whole, and a few of their clan members had participated in the latest tournament in Lunson. The Solar Palace was closer, though reaching them required moving northeast into the high hills adjacent to the Blustering Peaks. Ultimately, it had been decided that heading towards the Solar Palace first was a better path, as they were less distance into unfamiliar territory. An odd group of cultivators like them could cause a significant disturbance otherwise, especially considering their power with two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among them. Forty years prior, that would have been completely absurd considering the relative states of the wider region. The path up to the Solar Palace was more long than difficult as they hiked up switchbacks and natural slopes that would take somewhere around two days at their current pace. John had to admit he could see why the Solar Palace had chosen their location, because they stood out from a great distance, shining in the mountains. Maybe shining a bit too brightly in John¡¯s opinion, but that was more of a personal problem. At least it had practical merit to it when it was done by light cultivators instead of simply being a display of ostentation. Without winds threatening to blow them off of every edge like the Blustering Peaks, it turned out that the trek was much simpler. They still didn¡¯t encounter many people on the same route, but they did pass what looked like a few hopeful potential disciples. John wished them well. The Six Elements Crossroads didn¡¯t have a physical trial to reach the sect, and their tests focused more on ability to work with others and learn more than what cultivators could do before they entered the sect. After all, people who already knew what they were doing might be useful for bolstering the sect in the short term but there was no guarantee they would be any greater in the long term. They still accepted those who had prior cultivation experience, of course, it just wasn¡¯t the main factor. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ----- The first sunset halfway to the Solar Palace, everyone got an even better view than before. The sea was just on the edge of the horizon, and the fading sun reflected beautifully off of the water and the clouds in the area. Even at night, the light from the sea seemed to focus towards their destination. Most likely that was not due to the efforts of the Solar Palace, but instead why they chose their location. It wasn¡¯t just the sea and clouds, of course, as those would tend to reflect light relatively evenly across the landscape. Instead it had something to do with light reflected off of the rest of the area as well somehow focusing a majority towards a certain peak. Night in an area high in light element was an interesting phenomenon. John could always see well at night due to his blessing of darkness, but it seemed as if even the light of the stars was amplified. More than that, the lights in the cities below seemed to stretch further. City lights were something John hadn¡¯t really thought about since coming to this world, and he hadn¡¯t realized he missed it. Even though light pollution from cities tended to reduce the visibility of stars, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case in the Shining Coast. Or perhaps he was missing something truly marvelous. Either way, the combination was almost worth traveling as far as they had just for that. Something stirred inside John. He was still quite far from making a proper connection to light. In fact, he was already one totem overfull. But even so, he found he had stumbled across another set of insights, revealing to him more about light than he¡¯d previously considered. The beauty of light wasn¡¯t just in the way it revealed things. It revealed more options for his eventual light element totem, most likely several decades off still even if everything else went smoothly. He had no idea how long it would take to surpass each rank of the Ascending Soul Phase, after all- though it seemed to be a few years at least if he were to judge by Steve and Yustina. ----- Sunrise was less pleasant for John specifically, as instead of pleasantly fading away the light only continued to increase. At least it stopped reflecting directly into his eyes at some point. Or at least, not as much of it. The rest of their journey up and across the mountain brought them ever closer to the Solar Palace, until they finally came into view of¡­ the side gates. Of course, they were still suitably impressive, but the Solar Palace was oriented such that those coming from the center of the Shining Coast would receive the best angle. Though it added more than a few kilometers to their journey, John decided it would be best for them to make their way around towards the main entrance. Most likely the more experienced guards would be there, and their group should cause them less consternation. Either way, it should give them more time to prepare. The flow of disciples and prospective disciples picked up towards the main entrance, though it still wasn¡¯t anything massive. Still, it was a healthy amount. If the sect was completely static, both in terms of current disciples and recruitment, then even having the best location possible would hardly benefit them in the long run. They still needed new blood, and current disciples needed proper worldly experience. While John was used to either announcing himself or having people recognize him, he understood that in some cases it was better to have someone else do the job for him. Thus, he and the rest of the group stopped at a proper distance, with Viriato stepping slightly ahead towards the gates to announce them. ¡°The Six Elements Crossroads comes seeking an exchange of knowledge and insights.¡± There was more to the exchange than that, as the Solar Palace wasn¡¯t expecting guests such as them. However, not having contacts in the area meant it was difficult to arrange for anything ahead of time. They were an isolated bunch that did very little trading, so even Viriato hadn¡¯t known anyone appropriate. Even unprepared, it didn¡¯t take long for them to relay messages through the sect. Shortly thereafter, a trio of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators approached to greet them. From what John could sense without prying too much, they might be the only Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators within the sect. Not that it was a poor showing, exactly, but even the newly founded Six Elements Crossroads matched them in that regard. Raul had no particular reason to come with them on the journey, however, so it was just John and Viriato. ¡°The Triumvirate bid you enter,¡± the gate guards announced. Ah. That resolved the question of the sect head going through John¡¯s mind, and reminded him that they didn¡¯t know as much about these people as they ought to. But in the current state of his sect¡¯s growth, he found it more valuable to gather some information directly instead of sending others. The gates seemed to both draw in and reflect light, and John was glad when they were out of the way. Even so, he could barely make out the three figures in front of him. In the center was an older woman- John might have taken her as the sect head, except her cultivation was slightly below the younger woman to her right. The older woman might still have a higher position among them¡­ or perhaps it was simply that they had to stand in some formation. Either way, the third of them was a man, his cultivation slightly between the other two seemingly just over the line of the Mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Very technically that placed him at a higher cultivation rank than John himself, not considering totems. ¡°Welcome,¡± the woman in the middle spoke as John and the others approached. ¡°I am Tineke.¡± ¡°Nisha,¡± the younger woman said. ¡°Ukko,¡± the man respectfully bowed. ¡°We were not expecting guests, especially not the esteemed Six Elements Crossroads, but we can easily prepare accommodations for however long you wish to stay.¡± John nodded. While they said that, John imagined their presence would begin to grate after a week or so, as they might have other plans that he had inadvertently interrupted. ¡°Thank you,¡± John said. ¡°I apologize for the lack of forewarning, but we have very few contacts within the Shining Coast. Perhaps you can help us rectify that information for the future.¡± John thought he was doing a pretty good job of not squinting. And while he felt a constant need to protect himself from the light element around him, he thought he managed it in a manner that was only minimally disruptive. At least he hoped so, because he wanted to make a good impression on this sect. Chapter 327 The Triumvirate of the Solar Palace were quite accommodating, especially considering John had shown up unannounced. They provided a place for him and his entourage to stay, while at the same time making arrangements for a proper meeting the next day. The Solar Palace did keep guest rooms with a neutral element to them, for which John was extremely grateful. The rest of the sect was simply too inundated with light element for him to handle it long term. It would be fine during the day, but he would never get any rest. While John could probably last a few weeks without proper sleep, that wasn¡¯t something he wanted to do. Most of the others with John actually had trained in the light element, or at the very least they weren¡¯t from opposed elements. That included Viriato and Toma, along with a number of other disciples. They could likely get in some proper training, though that wasn¡¯t the goal of their current excursion. The main point was simply to expand connections into the Shining Coast, as John didn¡¯t want to miss even the smallest pockets as he built up a wider alliance. ----- In the morning, John was brought by one of the local disciples to his meeting with the Triumvirate. He exchanged greetings, but they rather quickly got into the meat of things. The older woman, Tineke, began things rather simply. ¡°To what do we owe the honor of your visit?¡± John wanted to say something about it not really being an honor, but he understood that it was just a polite way of asking what business he had with them. ¡°I¡¯m sure you heard about the incident in the Shimmering Islands some years past.¡± For each of them, it would be a recent memory even though it was more than a decade prior. ¡°Powerful cultivators came from afar, and they were only defeated by a small margin. I found our response to be inadequate, both in terms of speed and coordination. Thus, I began creating a greater defensive pact. That is why I have come to you.¡± ¡°We are aware of your activities,¡± said Ukko. He stroked his chin. ¡°Yet we are not such a powerful sect that you would have need of us.¡± ¡°One would hope so,¡± John admitted. ¡°But you might become something greater, and you are not weak as you are. The more we have to stand against outside threats, the more we can share the burdens. All of us can prosper.¡± ¡°And what does this entail?¡± asked Nisha, the last of them. ¡°As I said, a defensive pact. In addition, agreements to settle disputes within the pact without battle. It is my intention to establish courts of neutral arbiters to help resolve such issues.¡± John doubted any system would be perfect, but any attempt had to be better than letting people kill each other. It was the way of the world, and John doubted they could entirely get away from the cycle of violence. Even if everyone in the region suddenly got along, they would still need martial power because people like the Molten Sea might wish to take advantage. More importantly, as each local sect grew stronger the consequences of local wars would become more disastrous. Trying to prevent that ahead of time was the best option. ¡°And how would such things be accomplished?¡± Tineke asked. ¡°People will not easily give up their current control. The same is true of us, as we would need clear benefits.¡± ¡°Aside from the defensive pact, which I think you could see the value of should anyone cross the Enor Sea to the northwest, I believe you would find the other benefits quite valuable. I should imagine you have rivals here, and while you could most likely stand up to any of them alone, if they joined forces things might not go so well. This would include both martial matters as well as other areas. An unbalance of the markets or political pressure, for example.¡± ¡°And how would such disputes be resolved?¡± Tineke asked. ¡°Through a series of courts. Specifically, the intent would be to have a balance of greater and smaller sects¡­ and some cross pollination of others from within the pact to be a neutral force representing the interests of all.¡± Ukko frowned, ¡°I think I can see some flaws in such a system.¡± John nodded, ¡°I would imagine we have already considered many of them¡­ but we would of course be interested in hearing your feedback. Especially before things are established, when the system is more mutable.¡± ¡°What is to keep the ¡®neutral¡¯ parties from consorting with certain groups?¡± Tineke asked. ¡°A good question. First there would be a matter of term limits, so people don¡¯t get overly influenced. But we have ideas for other safeguards as well. That includes some more advanced voting systems regarding which sects to select representatives from, both local and foreign.¡± John smiled, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t come down to simple majority.¡± John wasn¡¯t going to let outdated voting systems lead to factionalism and gridlock, if he could at all help it. Nearly any other option was more representative than a first-past-the-post voting system. And of course, starting with one that worked was required or it would never change, as whoever was in control would want things to stay the same. Actually reaching a fully democratic system in this world was¡­ highly unlikely. Nor did John necessarily believe it would be the best option, as nice as it sounded. Sometimes, swift and decisive action had to be taken. If they had done so with the Molten Sea, they could have most likely prevented them from gaining a foothold to begin with- and taking out a single Ascending Soul Phase cultivator wouldn¡¯t have been so unreasonable. ----- After a week with the Solar Palace, John had managed to secure promises to remain in communication through the relatively nearby southeastern port. As there had been no official channels for most groups, it was a significant step forward towards bringing the Shining Coast into the wider community. It was better to do so now than wait until the next emergency, and certain elemental zones had grown far too isolated from the rest of the world, even though in most cases it had been unintentional. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Clear communication wouldn¡¯t solve all problems, but the plan was to reduce conflicts to preserve as much life as possible. Likewise, wasting resources on unnecessary wars was better avoided. After concluding business with the Solar Palace- or at least what could be accomplished in the near future- John and the others set out to the northwest. The plan was to travel through the center of the Shining Coast, visiting any notable sects or clans along the way to Moonport on the coast. Everything was going more or less according to plan, and they had reached beyond the halfway point of their journey¡­ but they were approaching a particular stretch of territory where they expected some trouble. Locals had warned them about the Goldheart Clan pushing into the area, but rather than avoid it they continued onward. Not only was it a very long detour to go around, it was a good opportunity to determine if they were a troublesome group. Normally, John would be content with letting the locals solve their own problems. However, if travelers from the Six Elements Crossroads were going to be in danger he would rather know ahead of time and try to smooth out any potential problems. John was being slightly deceptive by concealing his cultivation along with Viriato, but if he was harassed because he felt weak that was exactly the behavior he wanted to punish. Their first day of travel within the supposed territory of the Goldheart Clan was uneventful, but in the middle of the second day a squad of riders on golden horses approached them. They numbered about twice as many as the group with him, but John didn¡¯t judge their combat ability to be problematic. Many of their number were in Spirit Building, and the old woman in the lead was only in the early Consolidated Soul Phase. Naive calculations put her at the same strength as John, but that simply wasn¡¯t the case. Even if she had not been one rank beneath him, John¡¯s passive estimation of her totems placed her best totem at the fourth tier. That was decent, but with her other three totems being of the second and third tiers her strength would be about three quarters of a cultivator with all fourth tier totems, and that was before accounting for the advantages of John¡¯s own cycle of elements. That assessment was important, as if he thought they had any chance of being outmatched John would have chosen to retreat. It was possible that they would be run down by the horses, of course, but everything was a calculated risk. He¡¯d heard ahead of time that this woman¡¯s name was Lenka, as she seemed to be the elder in charge of toll collection efforts. ¡°Halt!¡± the old woman called. ¡°You must pay a toll to pass through the territory of the Goldheart Clan?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± John asked. He kept his tone doubtful, but not too confrontational. ¡°Did you build this road?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Lenka lied. ¡°We also keep the road safe, so it is only our right to be compensated for our efforts.¡± John sighed dramatically. ¡°Very well, how much is the toll, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Let us search your storage bags and we will determine it from there.¡± Up until that point, John had been willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps their tolls were uncomfortably high, but ultimately worth paying. If they actually provided road security, it could be reasonable. But asking for people to hand over everything they had even if they weren¡¯t going to keep it all was beyond overbearing. ¡°I trust my storage bag will be enough to provide a representative sample?¡± John said. He was still going along with this because¡­ well, he wanted to see how unreasonable things might get before things went down. ¡°Fine,¡± Lenka said, reaching out her hand. John tossed his storage bag towards her. He hoped she didn¡¯t mess it up too much, but it was less of a pain than if they all had to get their bags back. And while it would be annoying if this group simply rode off with his bag, everyone else had all of their tents and stuff. If his bag was stolen, he could simply finish the trip then come back and wipe out the clan later. The woman¡¯s eyes actually shone with greed as she looked into the storage bag. Or perhaps her eyes shining should have been interpreted as some sort of perception technique, but it was ultimately the same. She smiled broadly when she finished. ¡°I think that¡­ half of everything you have should be sufficient.¡± John was actually impressed. Obviously he wasn¡¯t going to hand over half of everything, or a tenth, or a twentieth¡­ or even a single percent. But the woman looked at the wealth in his bag and still had the guts to say that? She hadn¡¯t even asked who he was. Obviously, the Shining Coast had been a bit too isolated lately. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± John said, gesturing to either side with his arms sweeping forward. ¡°Make sure none of them get away.¡± At that point, he released his hold on his energy where he had been building up his elemental momentum. With a flick of his wrist, a throwing dagger charged with the four core elements whistled through the air towards the center of the woman¡¯s chest. The old woman reacted with great alacrity, her body beginning to glow from the inside and enhancing her defenses. Her energy negated the elemental mix, but the dagger was pierced part way into her defensive energy, where its true payload was revealed. Obviously that remaining piece was darkness, and its reaction with her light element was astounding. Lenka was blasted backwards at the same time as all of the horses were spurred forward, the waves of energy startling the horses. Even though they appeared quite well trained they jerked and twisted, allowing an opportunity for the rest of those with the Six Elements Crossroads to surge forward. The revelation of two Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators- with Viriato being a moment behind John- was quite a surprise for the Goldheart clan. John¡¯s opening attack was quite significant, but Viriato actually proved even more problematic. With his founding elements being light and darkness, he had the ability to defend himself easily while attacking with their main weakness. No matter how good they were at balancing the reaction of light and darkness, the majority of pure light cultivators would fall short. At best, they could prevent any explosive results but still receive injuries. The rest of the group with John were all Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, and while they might have been somewhat disadvantaged due to the numbers without John and Viriato, they were easily able to match up to one or two opponents. John watched proudly as Toma fought, recalling how short the man¡¯s career as a cultivator was and how far he¡¯d progressed in that limited time. Not everyone had to start young, they just needed a proper chance. The old woman was staggering to her feet at the back of the squad when John reach her, having cut his way through a few others to reach her. ¡°Please wait!¡± she said, her torso in tatters. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°Too late, and too insincere,¡± John said. His sword came down, knocking aside a shortspear she attempted to block with and slicing into her chest where her energy was in the greatest turmoil. John very much doubted she would have stopped at half of everything, once the greed had taken over. As for the rest of the Goldheart clan¡­ they only had one other Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, so even if they came chasing after John instead of fortifying themselves against opportunistic neighbors he was quite confident that they could cut them down. But he was still going to ride out of their territory on their own horses to get some comfortable distance before they bedded down for the night. Chapter 328 In some ways, traveling on a mission promoting unity and peace while then killing people on that same mission felt like hypocrisy. In others, it felt like exactly what John should be doing. After all, the purpose of unifying was to protect against people like that. Ultimately, John understood that there were probably better ways to handle the situation. He could have gone around the Goldheart Clan rather than through it. Provoking people certainly didn¡¯t make the excuse of self defense quite as airtight. On the other hand, if he hadn¡¯t clashed with them they would have continued to harm others. John was totally fine with legitimate taxation, and he might even turn a blind eye to what he felt were excessive practices as they tended to be the norm in this world. However, there were limits to that. The Goldheart Clan had not built the roads as Lenka, the elder, had claimed. Nor was John entirely sure that they maintained it. And if they kept bandits away, it was only so that they would have more people to rob themselves. It would have been one thing if they were actually a better option, but John didn¡¯t find that compelling considering how they had acted. Taking out their patrol should weaken their position greatly, allowing others in the Shining Coast to clean up the situation. That was the intention, anyway. It was entirely possible the Goldheart Clan would send people to hunt them down and chase them all the way to Moonport. There weren¡¯t that many others traveling along the road that they could be mistaken for. But if they intended to make trouble in the city, he would gladly finish off the rest of them. Rather than being secretive about things, he warned other sects along the way about what happened. It wasn¡¯t as if nobody else in the area knew about what they were doing, they simply lacked motivation to act in the interests of others. ----- John and his entourage managed to reach Moonport without further trouble, visiting a few small sects along the way. Overall, John was feeling fairly positive about how the trip was going. There was just one last major stop in Moonport, specifically the Lunar Island. He was somewhat aware of how Moonport was arranged ahead of time, but simply hearing people talk about it didn¡¯t do it justice compared to actually seeing it. Wide sandbars sheltered the bay, curving about into the shape of a crescent moon. Like everything in the Shining Coast, the city redirected light in many directions. The curved sandbars reflected light into the middle of the bay, alighting upon a tall tower standing upon a lone island. That tower sat atop the Lunar Island. It looked uncomfortably bright and hot when they arrived in the port in the middle of the afternoon, but according to John¡¯s understanding they were a nocturnal sect. They¡¯d managed to send word ahead of their arrival, but it would still be best to approach during normal operating hours. ----- When sundown came, rather than darkening John actually felt that the bay brightened. That was almost certainly not the case, but the dark waters were full of darting lights. Luminescent fish and jellies, from what he could pick out through the murk. Meanwhile, the lights reflected onto the tower in the middle of the bay, creating a much less harsh reflection and revealing the many curves sticking out from the tower. A handful of rowboats had already been arranged for the ground, though John could have quite easily walked them across to their destination if they needed to. Swimming would have been fine as well, if a bit undignified. Showing up to a water element sect soaked was one thing, but it was less acceptable elsewhere. They were met on the shores of the island by a small entourage. At the head was a woman in flowing robes, with sleeves stitched with symbols representing the different phases of the moon. Rather than any sort of formal greeting, the woman seemed to speak to herself, or the area in general. ¡°The arrival of new faces on the eve of the waxing crescent.¡± John wondered if that meant anything. So, he asked. The woman smiled, small lines by her eyes just beginning to show her age. ¡°Everything can reveal meaning, if we let it.¡± She looked him over. ¡°You are an odd sort to lead a group of light element cultivators.¡± ¡°For now, I suppose that¡¯s true,¡± John agreed. ¡°But I have found that cultivators needn¡¯t be immersed in an element to help guide others to some extent. And the rest can be learned from their peers.¡± ¡°An interesting perspective, but I suppose it has worked out for you, John Miller. Even given our geographical isolation, we are still aware of the Six Elements Crossroads. I, Szabina, welcome you all to the Lunar Island.¡± She bowed, sweeping her arms. ¡°Thank you,¡± John said. ¡°As for your isolation, it¡¯s not so difficult to make the trip if one puts in the effort.¡± ¡°Yet few seldom do. Even you are quite far afield.¡± ¡°It was simply a trip through the Shimmering Islands,¡± John pointed out. ¡°It is not nearly so far as the Prism Underfields.¡± ¡°True,¡± the woman nodded. ¡°Perhaps I am simply used to days when traveling so far was less common.¡± Honestly, John thought that people hardly traveled far at all in this world¡­ though the fact that it mainly had to happen on foot was one consideration. Travel by sea could be quite a bit faster, but also came with the risk of storms and beasts. While there were large flying beasts, attempts to tame and ride them were rarely successful. At best, specific groups of tamers were able to make use of such methods- and such beasts rarely remained tame outside of their constant upkeep. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He had to admit it was still quite a bit of time to reach the Shining Coast, but given that cultivators also had more time he felt it balanced out. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to pry if it is a secret,¡± John began. ¡°But most cultivators tend to choose the most powerful source they can. You must have great quantities of sunlight here during the day, but you don¡¯t seem to make use of them.¡± ¡°It is not a secret, even if it is also not known by all,¡± Szabina replied. ¡°The answer is simple. Like any other sect, we focus on what suits us the best. And a proper flow and cycle of energy is more important than sheer power. I¡¯m sure you understand this.¡± John nodded. Many people would seek both, but it wasn¡¯t necessarily lacking here either. They were still in the Shining Coast with concentrated moonlight reflecting off of the shores to their tower. Their cultivation might not grow so quickly, but that might give them more time to lay proper foundations. ¡°I think that¡¯s a valuable way to look at things,¡± John agreed verbally. ¡°And of course, I don¡¯t personally mind the milder setting.¡± ¡°We will provide you a room on the far side of the tower for your stay,¡± she said. ¡°I expect the rest would prefer to be on the brighter side.¡± Although it was night, for the Lunar Island things were just picking up. Disciples had just awoken, and were moving in and around rapidly. Szabina brought their group past all of the hustle and bustle up to the peak of the tower, where John found himself quite relieved that the harshness of the light was not that of the day. Viewing the tower from the shores and viewing the shores from the tower were both pleasant experiences, at least at night. The south facing side of the tower had an excellent view of the moon as well, along with the various reflections. It was a relatively small sliver, but John was reminded by the few features he could see that it was not the moon he was born with. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like he could name any specific features. All he had pictured in his head were vague shapes. This moon was more familiar given his many decades of exposure to it. He simply felt a bit of nostalgia for Earth¡¯s moon. Not that he would want to go back now, even if he could. After all, his family would have most likely already have passed on. He had once worried about them, but whatever was going on with them would have resolved itself long before. As he looked up at the stars, he knew that view was different as well. Though perhaps somewhere in another galaxy was the world he¡¯d been born upon. The Shining Coast had a wonderful view of the stars. ----- Spending time constantly surrounded by light element was unpleasant for John, but he had sufficient control to keep it merely unpleasant. And discomfort wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. It was difficult to grow without pushing oneself, after all. With the milder environs of the Lunar Island, John was able to find some time to reflect on his abilities. John thought about Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s words as he interacted with the light around him. He was quite far from the potential point in time where he could actually bind to a light element totem, but he could still improve his control and other interactions with it. The spirit beast had explained that light was naturally projected outwards, with darkness sinking inwards. And yet when surrounded by it, he constantly felt like it was trying to invade his body. John knew it was foolish to ignore such feelings, as the reaction of light and darkness was anything but peaceful, and he didn¡¯t want that to happen uncontrolled inside him. Yet he didn¡¯t want to discount the advice, either. Just because he had a different experience didn¡¯t mean it was wrong. Instead, he imagined that it was merely meant in a different context than he was experiencing. And if he thought about it carefully, he could picture it as part of the overall flow of the energy. Light element cultivators did tend to radiate light, after all. And while darkness cultivators would have a matching aura, the feeling of an aura wouldn¡¯t necessarily match up with what was happening. Human senses could be wrong in myriad ways. Rather than focusing on light for the moment, he instead took some time to let his darkness element flow naturally. He felt it extending beyond himself, but not in the same way as he might expect from something like fire. He found it quite interesting, how looking at such a fundamental thing from a different angle revealed more. Rather than extending darkness, he extended the pull of darkness. Indeed, he was reminded of one of his very first martial techniques, Gravity Blade. While it did not create true gravity, it pulled things in and acted in a certain manner reminiscent of gravity. The same was true of darkness element when he let it ¡®spread¡¯ around him. Pulling away the light from around him was much like spreading darkness further. In some ways, indistinguishable since the effect would always spread outward from him. Whether it was light or darkness, it acted much the same. But it was different. He could feel it. He paid close attention, focusing on what happened at the smallest scale. When his darkness ¡®spread out¡¯¡­ light was pulled into him. It was then very quickly eliminated by the actual darkness element inside of him. And yet, what remained outside of him was still a tangible thing holding its own shape, and with his blessing he could still see. How that worked was a mystery for later. That would explain why areas of high light elemental spiritual energy density were so troublesome. More light would be pulled into him, more than he could naturally annihilate without consequences. So perhaps it wasn¡¯t truly the light trying to find its way into him, but it seemed the same. Thinking of it that way made quite a bit of sense. Light and darkness were oppositely charged, so they would be drawn to each other¡­ and perhaps something like matter and antimatter, they would then mutually annihilate. John had no reason to believe that was actually what they were, but the properties were similar enough to provide a useful basis to consider things by. Another step of understanding, though his actual control didn¡¯t necessarily improve. Keeping his darkness from pulling in light was not all that different from keeping light out¡­ but a change in mindset might prove advantageous until he made his next step in understanding. Chapter 329 Though he had not planned it, the Lunar Island was just what John needed for his next phase of training. Rather than a balance between light and darkness, it was an example of light that was not too harsh, using different aspects of the element than many others. He was one step closer towards a complete understanding of all the elements- though John supposed that even if he managed to create a stable cultivation with all six he would not necessarily have a complete understanding. There could always be more things to improve. Fine details to tweak which ended up having much larger effects than anticipated. But of course, John still had a significant amount of growth to undergo that didn¡¯t require combing over the finest details. Even his understanding of his first elements of darkness and earth had some larger gaps he needed to fill in over time. Perhaps that was the greatest limitation on cultivators. Not necessarily their ability to gain insights, but their ability to understand how much more there was to learn. Or maybe that was simply his own interpretation, since what John was doing worked for him. ----- John¡¯s purpose for visiting was not for his own training nor that of his entourage, but also to reduce the seemingly unintentional isolation of the Shining Coast. Neither they nor those around them intentionally cut them off, it was simply a consequence of inconvenience and lack of motivation to seek out different resources. In some ways that was good, as it kept them out of conflict, but it also restricted their growth to some extent. John discussed the terms of the alliance with Szabina, which mainly centered around mutual defense against outside forces. While she expressed some doubts about whether others would actually act on behalf of the Lunar Island or the Shining Coast in general, her main concern was about communication. ¡°We are far enough that, by the time we call for help it may already be too late for us,¡± she said. ¡°That has been an area of concern for myself ever since¡­ well, a majority of my life,¡± John said. ¡°But we have solutions. First, we have various messenger birds available.¡± ¡°And they would fly through the Shimmering Islands or the Blustering Peaks?¡± Szabina asked. ¡°Some of them can, actually,¡± John said. ¡°But that is not the only method. We¡¯ve also been working on expanding a signal network for communicating long distance.¡± The techniques had originated in the Sunfields with the light element, and while not everywhere could replicate that same thing, other methods had been tested for a while. At the current moment, they didn¡¯t even have the equivalent of a proper telegraph¡­ but the more people they had working with them, the easier it would be to set up functional networks. And if light turned out to be the best method of communicating long distances, they could recruit cultivators from different areas to fulfill the tasks. That required cultivators being more comfortable outside of zones of their chosen element, but that was exactly the sort of thing he was already promoting. ¡°We will consider it,¡± Szabina said. ¡°That¡¯s all I ask. However, I would like to secure a commitment to building up communications networks. It¡¯s not exactly convenient for people to walk or ride across the continent to speak to each other.¡± The great variance in elemental climates and terrains made elementally focused creatures incompatible with about half of the regions- they would often be able to function fine in elementally aligned areas, but crossing the light and darkness divide often made them worse than just having good horses. Needing specific cultivators to control them could be another issue. ¡°I suppose we could accept that,¡± Szabina agreed. ¡°As long as it is not too costly.¡± ¡°I imagine you will find that the improvements to local communication are worthwhile on their own,¡± John said. ¡°The only thing I ask is that you stick to the standards we will provide so that we can maintain compatibility throughout the region.¡± John had slowly come to realize how important logistics were. For cultivators, a proper army could be just a few hundred people of sufficient cultivation¡­ but eventually conflicts grew large enough that numbers like that were insufficient. It was one of the reasons they had been able to drive away the Molten Sea- the other of course being that they killed Gesine. Yet that might not have happened if they hadn¡¯t cut the Molten Sea off from their reinforcements, both local and foreign. John was coming to know entirely too much about war, and he didn¡¯t like it. But at least other logistics were always going to be useful, even in times of peace. Viriato knew that as well. He would be managing his own negotiations with the locals, since if they were more connected it could actually be worthwhile to transport goods to and from the Shining Coast. The Six Elements Crossroads did need resources of all elements, after all, and not every elementally aligned region would have the same types of resources available for a given element. ----- John¡¯s cultivation continued to grow at a steady rate, and he had just reclaimed the thirty-first rank. That signaled him officially stepping back into the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. With a fifth totem and a full cycle of core elements, John was the strongest he had ever been. He didn¡¯t plan to fight head on against anyone at the Ascending Soul Phase anytime soon, but he wouldn¡¯t have to slink around as much either. Though slinking about was a core part of his combat strategy, so he wasn¡¯t planning to simply give it up. From the Lunar Island, John moved east along the northern Shining Coast. After all, they had only cut through the center of the area and would leave out many groups from their negotiations otherwise. John didn¡¯t intend to visit every sect and clan, only those of a sufficient size or prominence. Those who were left out might feel slighted, but ultimately there was only so much he could do- and only so much time he could afford to spend. He circled back around to cover the majority of that region before returning to the western coast and traveling through it, his ultimate intention to arrive back at the small coast bordering the Shimmering Islands. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. News reached them as they traveled. The Goldheart clan had collapsed, just as John had hoped. With the loss of a Consolidated Soul Phase elder, they were suddenly vulnerable. Their domineering attitude and position in the center of the Shining Coast was a problem for future activities in the region¡­ but it seemed that a number of small clans and sects had banded together and driven them off. It seemed the sect head had managed to escape. He was a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator himself, but he had fled with only a small portion of the clan¡¯s elites- such as they were. It was likely they would try to resettle elsewhere in the Shining Coast, but with their land and most of their equipment and resources lost there wasn¡¯t much trouble they could be for a long time. And if they came to find trouble with John, he was confident his current entourage could handle them. Viriato was also a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, after all, and that would make up for any potential gap in numbers. But the Goldheart clan either failed to track them down or thought better of it, and they safely completed their journey back to Astrein. John was looking forward to a prolonged period where he didn¡¯t have to go anywhere. Hopefully, people would come to visit him instead. ----- As a sect head, John could always find something to do that would further the goals of the sect. There were always projects that could be planned, and of course he could spend an unlimited amount of time on his own training or lecturing the sect¡¯s disciples. Once more, John thought it would be useful to have more of him¡­ but cloning techniques were either illusions or at best temporary constructs of spiritual energy. They didn¡¯t allow a cultivator to split their focus more efficiently, and usually resulted in the opposite. Out of the hundreds of things vying for his attention, John focused first on his own cultivation, second on training sect disciples, and third on matters of family and friends. While family and friends were the lowest rung on the list, they were still one of the priorities. It simply meant that John wasn¡¯t traveling around to visit, instead making time for them to come to him as they were available. That wasn¡¯t always feasible with him constantly moving around, which is why he resolved to remain in place for a longer period. Hopefully at least a year. As for those who were able to visit, that varied. John kind of hoped to see his grandchildren, but he understood that both sets of parents were quite busy precisely because of said grandchildren. As they got older, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily become easier to handle until they mentally matured. Nitza wasn¡¯t too difficult for Tirto and Verusha. Ereli continued to be a handful mostly unintentionally. It was hoped that as she grew older the risks of an elemental imbalance would shrink, but she still had to properly begin cultivation and choose a totem which would be another point of risk. And even for a child born infused with spiritual energy, she was not ready to really cultivate yet. Steve and Yustina seemed to be relatively free with their time at the moment. Or perhaps they specifically wanted to get away from the endless strings of petitioners that would show up if they hung around the Milanovic clan. After all, though they were not acting as clan heads they were some of the few Ascending Soul Phase cultivators in the region. That number included Cuah¡¯arn and Ciaritzal, with Renato being the last of them. There were quite a few potentials among sect heads of various places, and especially those associated with the various core allies, but it seemed it would take most of them longer to make the final leap. There had also been those who had failed- like John nearly had. His failure had left him alive, but not everyone was so lucky. ----- ¡°I have to say, our grandchild is adorable,¡± Steve said. ¡°I never really expected that to happen, for various reasons.¡± Then he sighed, ¡°Man, we really screwed up with Emilia, huh?¡± John nodded. ¡°We pushed that relationship a little bit too hard.¡± Yustina added her own opinion into the mix. ¡°I don¡¯t think that was particularly onerous compared to the norm,¡± she commented. ¡°And while it has taken some time, she seems to have recovered her relationship with both Tirto and her sister. And then of course there is the young man courting her¡­¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly call Harta young,¡± Steve said. ¡°Isn¡¯t he like¡­ forty or something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just your old age biases at play,¡± Yustina pointed out. ¡°He¡¯s still in his prime. His cultivation has kept him young.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s your metric, you could almost say that about us,¡± Steve countered. ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m getting old, darling?¡± Yustina shot Steve a look of false outrage. Considering that they were Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, they also didn¡¯t look any older than their prime. At least, not based solely on physical features. There were certain ways that humans tended to change with time, even if their bodies stayed young and healthy. John frowned. ¡°What is it?¡± Yustina asked. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering if we live too long.¡± ¡°And why would you think that?¡± ¡°... It¡¯s difficult to change the world.¡± Yustina laughed. ¡°It should be.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even really mean the whole thing,¡± John said. ¡°But even locally¡­ progress is so difficult. And I¡¯m not talking cultivation, but other advancements. Back on Earth, a few decades was enough for the world to be almost unrecognizable with new technology. Here, we¡¯ve barely implemented long range flash signals even though I¡¯ve been pushing for that for decades.¡± ¡°Yeah, well,¡± Steve shrugged. ¡°Isn¡¯t that how it is? Long periods of seemingly little development, then a sort of technological revolution. It kind of happened with cultivation here, but the other might follow behind.¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t know about that kind of stuff.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how any of it works, nor could I name you any dates when important things came about. But I do know that seemingly little progress was made in certain areas, then it came in great bursts. Or at least, it seemed to. Perhaps it was always happening and people just didn¡¯t notice. Or something.¡± ¡°Or people had to be more connected first,¡± Yustina said. ¡°Which I think we are managing quite nicely. And unlike what you said about Earth, we don¡¯t have to worry about perishing from old age in the next decade or two, which is quite nice.¡± John would say that they did have to worry about getting killed in a war¡­ but actually, that was true on Earth as well. People were just better at pretending wars didn¡¯t happen or wouldn¡¯t ever affect people in ¡®first world¡¯ countries. Chapter 330 Another handful of years had passed, and it was about halfway to the next once a decade tournament. The first one had been the most important for the Six Elements Crossroads to get right, as it had been to legitimize their position, but the second one still needed to go smoothly to prove it wasn¡¯t just a fluke. More specifically, John wanted to draw in people from further afield. He knew that a fighting tournament could become a place where groups would settle personal grudges between each other instead of necessarily promoting the unity he wanted, but it was better to settle things nonlethally if it could be avoided. As for the times when people had grudges that went beyond that level, sometimes those would still be handled the old way. It was difficult to get people to agree upon and enforce a broadly applicable set of laws, as for the most part groups liked having their own control maximized. Yet if they came into contact with others whose strength was greater, they would want laws to protect them. They couldn¡¯t have things both ways, so getting people to recognize that was tiresome. But with the looming threat of powerful outside cultivators, John hoped they could continue on their path to establishing a wider power structure that didn¡¯t rely on personal power of clans or sects. There was no telling when another powerful group would try to force its will upon the region. Indeed, though Sitora of the Sky Islands herself had ultimately been tolerable, they had still forced their way through the Wuthering Steppes and the Darklands to reach their goal rather than attempting to negotiate. John wondered whether he should try to reach out to the Sky Islands. They were further southeast of the Wuthering Steppes, over the Crystal Sea. Drawing their attention might be problematic if anyone among them chose to cause trouble, but it was difficult to just leave them there without at least speaking about peace treaties or defensive pacts. With his expanding view of the world, they were on the very edge of the region. Meanwhile, the Molten Sea was likely to be both less positively inclined towards being approached and significantly further away with several more elemental zones between the Sunfields and the Molten Sea. It was best to start with those who could both reasonably be reached and who might actually be open to cooperation. While there might be some grudges with the Sky Islands, if they were going to begin a process of reconciliation they should start sooner rather than later. But John wasn¡¯t simply going to decide on his own. He had others to consult with, both longtime friends and his growing pool of acquaintances from various groups throughout the region. Simply acting without thought could bring consequences down on others, so he needed to be certain everyone was on the same page¡­ especially the Wuthering Steppes and Glass Hills, who were closest. ----- Deep within his dantian, John¡¯s spiritual sea continued its steady growth. He was now at rank thirty-three, the height of the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. Three more ranks to reach the peak of Consolidated Soul and he would finally have an opportunity to properly step into the Ascending Soul Phase. For that, he needed to consult with his fire inspirations. That would be Steve and Yustina, plus Charlotte of the Firepine Palace. He had continued the process of thoughtfully cycling his internal growth, breaking apart islands in waves of fire only for them to spread and grow. It was a more violent process than he was used to, but that was the addition of the fire element. Ultimately, as long as he kept a proper balance it was quite a valuable process. The ash left behind was fertile, causing his trees of darkness to grow up rapidly. John was currently maintaining one larger central tree, not quite as grand as it had once been¡­ but combined with its counterparts the overall power of his totem was greater. The process was quite slow, as John still felt that it still only matched a low fifth tier totem, but with both his cultivation base and totems growing steadily his overall power was at its highest. There was no equivocation about it. Sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if ten or twenty more years had passed before the incidents surrounding the leviathan. Would he have taken the same path he did? Perhaps he would have successfully broken through to the Ascending Soul Phase along with Matayal¡­ or perhaps both of them would have perished together. Then again the change in circumstances might have left John dead during his attempt to advance, leaving her alone instead. Only the world where they both lived was appealing, and in truth without the motivation of great powers to face off against he couldn¡¯t say that any of those he knew who were reaching the Ascending Soul Phase would have advanced at the same pace. They might have been stronger, directly fighting against the Molten Sea and Sky Islands both¡­ and perhaps that might have led to their downfall. Pondering alternate futures was something he couldn¡¯t help but do. Fortunately, he could turn those same thought processes to slightly more helpful ideas as he considered where he would go from now on. The eternal search for strength wasn¡¯t something he or any cultivators could just give up on, but with each step his level of responsibility increased as well. Responsibilities could be ignored, but when one had the power to do something and did not, that was still a choice. More and more people would come to rely on him, though he found himself wishing it was just one or a few. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ----- The Entrapping Vortex Sect was one of the most prominent in the Wuthering Steppes, and many of its members had attended the last tournament. Because of their overall power and influence, they were chosen to host a gathering of various others from the Wuthering Steppes. Though there were dozens in attendance, John knew that aside from the Entrapping Vortex Sect the most important were the Silence Breeze Sect, the Gale Palace, and the Uladh clan. Meanwhile, along with John came Deirdre of the Golden Tomb Guardians as well as Elder Bahadur of the Rising Storm Palace, as well as a number of others from the alliance. There was much to discuss, but even so they did not get directly into the greater discussion. For the first few days people were still arriving, and they were able to mingle together and get to know each other. In the forty years or so since the first Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator in the region had appeared, many others had followed suit. Now it was rare for any sect of significance to not have at least a single Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator at their top. However, this particular gathering stopped there, lacking the ever so rare Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. Deirdre was less than half a step from that realm, but it was a very difficult step as John could attest. The current state of the Wuthering Steppes would place them in a troublesome position should the Sky Islands once more turn their sights on the region, as they were the most closely positioned. John¡¯s goal was to balance what was best for them and the region in general, which both included getting their participation in the larger defensive pact¡­ and making certain that they wouldn¡¯t choose to willingly go along with the Sky Island¡¯s intrusions should they set their sights on something deeper inland. Sitora herself was quite reasonable, but one person with people from a handful of sects was not a fair picture for the whole of the Sky Islands. They could easily set their sights on those below, and as it was rather difficult to reach them given their location they were relatively secure against counterattack. Relatively, of course, because for them to return to their homes in the sky there had to be methods to reach them. Flying ships were one such avenue, as cultivators flying as individuals or groups was quite difficult, even for air cultivators. That said, those at the Consolidated Soul Phase and above might manage it for a certain distance. It was not an area that had been greatly developed in the region, since most of their people had not been strong enough for it to be relevant. John supposed he should look into it himself. There were risks when flying, of course, but even in the scenario where he foolishly ran out of air elemental spiritual energy at a great height he would still have a sufficient quantity of spiritual energy to protect himself from a fall. While falls could be deadly to anyone, even unsupported humans in extreme circumstances had survived terminal velocity. Those circumstances could be replicated with spiritual energy of all sorts if one was prepared. Creating drag, softening the ground, and relaxing the body were all on the table. But John would rather not need to make use of any such techniques. Managing his energy properly would be key. As an excuse to become more familiar, John approached the head of the Gale Palace. He was an older fellow called Avenir, with long flowing robes and windswept silver hair. John began with some smalltalk, introducing himself properly even though the other man already knew who he was- it always surprised John where he had ended up, and he might never get used to being important. After some time, he brought up his actual question. ¡°As my cultivation has grown, one thing about the air element has always fascinated me,¡± John said. ¡°To soar through the air like a bird¡­ more than simply momentary leaps. It came to mind that the Gale Palace is the most likely to have a technique that could accomplish such a task.¡± The older man smiled, ¡°That may be true. The Entrapping Vortex Sect is certainly larger and more powerful than us, but their methods of air control are more specific. We do indeed have some methods, but they quickly exhaust the user. They either need more refinement, or it is a task that should only be undertaken by higher rank cultivators.¡± ¡°Do you know if such techniques are used by the Sky Islands?¡± ¡°One would presume so,¡± Avenir replied. ¡°However, I also know that they make use of the materials in the Crystal Sea to produce flying ships.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± John said. ¡°I have heard of them, but¡­ they did not bring such ships with them during their intrusion. Do you know the reason?¡± ¡°They are expensive and thus if they can be attacked quite vulnerable.¡± Avenir shook his head. ¡°I do not know if they require time to replenish the spiritual energy within them, but if so they would be even more vulnerable, immobile on land. Using them within their home islands should be their best use.¡± John nodded. Even if Avenir didn¡¯t know, it made sense that they would require fuel of some sort. The most likely candidate would be spiritual energy, and if they used it faster than they could replenish it then it certainly would be risky. It would be nice to have flying ships, though. If they were merely used for transport within friendly territory, it would be easy enough to set up regular locations for them to rest. Airports, since there wasn¡¯t really a more suitable word. They would just be using a different sort of flying vessel. John wondered if more traditionally shaped airplanes might be valuable. Engines might be a problem, but crafting appropriate wings should be simple enough. Perhaps air cultivators might instead use individual gliders. John certainly remembered seeing that in various media, before he realized that such supernatural things actually existed¡­ if in a different world. If the cultivator themself was the engine then it would save quite a bit of weight¡­ but the flying devices would also be very vulnerable to attack. Once again, not something valuable for war. Which was exactly why John thought it might be a valuable avenue to explore. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t say he was much of an engineer so it might use up more of his time than it was worth to him personally. Perhaps he could find someone else passionate about such things to put in the time. Chapter 331 Investigations into proper flying techniques revealed sufficient insights for John to find the idea somewhat feasible, but ultimately it wasn¡¯t something he would want to do in battle. It clearly needed some more development. On the other hand, it wasn¡¯t like time spent flying could ever be wasted. Sometimes he had to remind himself, but he was flying. The things he could do in this world might have dulled him to the supernatural, but humans flying still wasn¡¯t common. At most, they would linger in the air for a while. Standing atop water had once been something he would have given almost anything to be able to do, but once it became actually possible¡­ it had lost a lot of its charm. But that was mostly due to the constant need to cultivate for strength, instead of for the sake of itself. Studying to pass a test wasn¡¯t particularly engaging, but if one was interested in a topic they could both learn and enjoy it. It was a cycle with cultivation that was easy to fall into, where John focused only on what he felt was the most important for his growth instead of what he wanted to do. Even though in some way, the latter always tended to be valuable. Most of John¡¯s early practice with flight involved skirting just above the ground. When he rose higher, he would fly above the buildings of the Six Elements Crossroads. He had no intention to hide his activities from the sect, though he was cautious about teaching air cultivators anything about flight. While many were progressing quite nicely through the Soul Expansion Phase, it was still difficult for them to fly. But rather than forbidding them and ending up with people practicing in secret and getting hurt, he simply made it a rule that practicing flight had to be done with supervision. The other important rule was for both students and himself- never fly higher than you¡¯re willing to fall from. There was a certain knack to flying that John hadn¡¯t been able to grasp instinctively. Instead, it took time to properly fly. His first thoughts were that he should gust air into himself, pushing him upward. And while that worked to some extent, it tended to result in erratic motions, especially when he made only minor adjustments in horizontal trajectory. Tilting his upper body slightly could also send him tumbling. Pushing down against the air, while potentially being the same thing as pushing the air against him, was a more natural way for John to balance himself. But while it allowed him to stand in air, it wasn¡¯t quite the same as flight. The proper techniques all ultimately led towards a particular idea, one of seizing control of the air in a region around the user. It required more spiritual energy to do so, but was also more stable- which in turn meant less tumbling about and trying to correct motion. And that led next to a greater efficiency, even though it was technically using more energy. Perhaps if John had perfect control the more minimalistic approach would be proper, but he could see enemies disrupting him easily. Mostly, he decided to relegate it to sightseeing flights. If he was somewhere safe and didn¡¯t have to go particularly fast, John could conserve his energy. But no matter what method he used, it burned through spiritual energy quickly. Augmenting his air element with water only went so far, and flowing through a cycle and converting between elements merely staved off the inevitable. If he just sat in a stationary position in the air, John could maintain his state for an hour or more. If he wanted to move around, especially with speed, it was half an hour or less. Not enough for a battle, except for a short skirmish- and of course any other use of spiritual energy would also exhaust John faster. If he kept to using other elements besides air to attack, it just slowed his recovery rate¡­ but it was tempting to drop lightning on people. He supposed he needed to be properly in the Ascending Soul Phase for that to even be somewhat viable. If he was a pure air cultivator he would also be better. A cycle of elements allowed him to augment any of his elements beyond their one-fifth proportions within his dantian, but he still had significantly less spiritual energy of any one type. And unfortunately, John didn¡¯t know how to fly with any other elements. Though perhaps he could think of small multi elemental boosts. Heat tended to rise, but was that enough to use the fire element? Could he create a cloud of water to stand upon? Both sounded like they would still need a large amount of air element. But those plans would have to be explored over the course of time like everything else. John was still progressing through the late Consolidated Soul Phase, and he needed to review his fire elemental inspirations so that he could reach the Ascending Soul Phase properly. If he wasn¡¯t able to do that¡­ well, many of his ambitions would be stifled. Among other things, he wouldn¡¯t be confident about approaching the Sky Islands. The current plan was to try something after the next tournament in a few years, but John needed his cultivation to progress properly first. ----- Despite being married for more of their life than not, the styles of Steve and Yustina could hardly be more different for them both being fire cultivators. Steve was quite straightforward with his uses, and for him the motto seemed to be the hotter the better. He was capable of amplifying his fire element enough that even he began to overheat from just using it. But in the end, Steve could also cool himself down by burning off that excess heat. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Ultimately rather than being a strict weakness or failure of technique, it was simply a cycle that led to the greatest output for him. While there was some risk of someone exploiting a weakness in his overheated state, he didn¡¯t have to keep pushing towards that level and could always expend some of his built up flames productively. It was an acceptable trade off for ultimately utilizing more power. Yustina, meanwhile, concentrated on the flow of power. She was a water cultivator in her past life, and that greatly influenced her style. It had also led to the incident where she and Steve properly met. She¡¯d had her own flaws early in her fire cultivator, and she¡¯d forgotten simple things like consuming sufficient water. After John had become a water cultivator himself he sort of understood, but it was still a rare moment of absentmindedness for Yustina. John did his best to learn from Steve, but ultimately he wasn¡¯t the sort to directly blast away at people and try to burn them to ashes. It wasn¡¯t that Steve¡¯s technique had no subtlety, but that was layered within a core of great power. He overwhelmed people early and took over the pace of combat. Yustina¡¯s style was to wear people down, and they might not even realize she was doing it. Like waves crashing over and over on rocks, slowly wearing them away¡­ or bringing a frog to a slow boil. Of course, the latter only worked on lobotomized frogs which wasn¡¯t really appropriate, but she could make people not realize her flames burned as hotly as they truly did. Individually they were a force to be reckoned with, but together they were almost unstoppable. Water cultivators were the weakness of fire, but Yustina¡¯s experience allowed her to minimize that advantage. Against other opponents she acted in the background, controlling the flow of battle while Steve would feel confident going all out. Yustina would stabilize his peaks and troughs, covering the last bits of his weakness that Steve didn¡¯t handle himself. And he provided instantaneous power for when there were opponents that wouldn¡¯t crumble to anything else. As an individual cultivator, John still managed to pick out some useful features of both of their styles. He already had the flexibility of being a five element cultivator, it was just how he made use of his different elements that determined how well he covered his own weaknesses. And while Matayal was no longer with him, he didn¡¯t have to fight alone. John wasn¡¯t going to assume he could defeat anyone alone, even once he advanced to the Ascending Soul Phase. That was what the whole alliance was for. ----- While John found he greatly improved his ability with fire after training with Steve and Yustina for a while- they were Ascending Soul Phase cultivators after all- he didn¡¯t quite feel that he had scratched the necessary itch. For each of his previous steps since his near self destruction, he had found that memories of those he trained with triggered some insights that allowed him to step forward. Some he had been at the threshold, while others had opened the path ahead of him reaching it. Two out of three were now dead. Matayal and Kusuma¡­ they were only a small part of the deaths that had happened. Kusuma was older, but she could have still lived on for quite some time with her cultivation. Matayal went far too soon. Though it was strange to think of it, soon enough she would have been gone for longer than he spent with her. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t feel it- sometimes it felt like an eternity- but it also still hurt like it happened a day before. John almost wished his memory were not enhanced by being a cultivator. Almost. But of course, he would not actually wish to forget the love that had developed between them. If anything, that would leave him with only the pain. Humans were funny like that. Since Steve and Yustina didn¡¯t seem to fit the bill for fire, the next option was Charlotte. The sect head of Firepine Palace had welcomed him in for training when he requested, and they had fought alongside each other. She was both a friend and a mentor of sorts. John figured he might find the particular spark he was looking for there. Firepine Palace¡¯s style drew upon their insights from the Phoenix Forest, the key thing being that the area was not purely that of the fire element but also of earth. Rather than consuming the earth, however, the two instead resulted in new sorts of life. Some elemental zones were barren, as the pure elements ruined their habitability, but the Phoenix Forest was flourishing in its own unique way. Fire wasn¡¯t just destruction, but it could also be transformation. John knew this, but reviewing his knowledge could result in new understandings. Fire allowed water to shift between forms. It was heat and energy, necessary for all life. And while it could also destroy life, the general result of such destruction was ash- a valuable breakdown of various constituent parts into usable nutrients. With the addition of ash, many plants could grow stronger. It was just like the normal cycle of death and decay¡­ but accelerated. John had already come to the understanding he could amplify elements in both directions, though the natural cycle was much easier. Charlotte¡¯s insights into fire were valuable¡­ but John realized that they were not what he needed either. And yet, who else had inspired John? He thought, briefly, of Gesine from the Molten Sea. Rather than an inspiration, she had simply been an antagonist. They only truly encountered each other once, during the final battle. John didn¡¯t like to think about it, but he calmed his heart and picked through the memories anyway. He didn¡¯t find anything compelling there. The way that the Molten Sea controlled earth with fire was interesting, but it wasn¡¯t something that John had taken to. It was rather difficult to go visit the site of the event, since the leviathan was dead¡­ but perhaps seeing one of its children would be valuable. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to try. At worst, it was a good excuse to visit Tirto, Verusha, and Nitza. Chapter 332 Arriving back in the Shimmering Islands and in particular Pualani, John was reminded of the passage of time. Much of the clan remained the same, but John still saw how the gardens changed, either due to stylistic choices or the simple growth of trees and other plants taking over a larger area. The Brandle clan¡¯s land had expanded somewhat on the central island, the borders not quite familiar to John. The biggest indicator of the passage of time, however, was Nitza. He saw her yearly at most, and she had grown from barely being able to walk and talk to her current age of ten years old faster than he could imagine. Why, John had only¡­ moved around most of the continent making treaties with everyone he could. Alright, so the past handful of years hadn¡¯t been entirely devoid of activity, it just felt too fast. Then again, so did everything. But at least with his own children he had been around them slightly more than half the year. Then they had become adults and John had barely been able to appreciate it. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Nitza still scurried towards him and hugged him, wrapping herself around his waist. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Nitza. Have you been good for your parents?¡± ¡°I¡¯m always good,¡± she protested. ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Tirto agreed, approaching at a more reasonable pace. ¡°Our daughter defied the odds and turned out quite reasonable.¡± ¡°What does that mean, huh?¡± Verusha commented, her hair flaring orange. Tirto shrugged. ¡°Just that one of us was more notable for getting into trouble. And most of her aunts weren¡¯t really helpful in that regard. It was really an uphill battle.¡± Nitza tilted her head. ¡°But I only have three aunties. Only auntie Ursel gets into trouble, right?¡± ¡°These days, maybe¡­¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°But that¡¯s only because Melanthina has responsibilities holding her back.¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± Verusha flicked her head. ¡°I thought for a moment you would malign my sister.¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Tirto said. ¡°She¡¯s far too close to risk that.¡± John nodded. ¡°I do sense her around. How is she, anyway?¡± ¡°Much better,¡± Tirto said. Verusha nodded. ¡°This path¡­ has to have been the right one. We¡¯re all happy, even if it took a while.¡± ¡°Well, it certainly would have been a shame if Nitza didn¡¯t exist,¡± John said, patting her head. ¡°... Why would I not exist?¡± Nitza asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± John said. ¡°Okaaay.¡± She looked him up and down. ¡°Your energy is weird. Why do you have so many elements?¡± John was going to say that she should already know¡­ but that wasn¡¯t necessarily true. She hadn¡¯t been born infused with an element, which put her on a more conservative path of cultivation. The fact that she had begun at her age was already a bit quick, though John couldn¡¯t blame Tirto and Verusha. No doubt she wanted to be able to match up to her cousin Ereli. ¡°I train in the full cycle of the elements,¡± John explained simply. ¡°Oh. Then you¡¯re missing one,¡± Nitza commented. ¡°I would need another totem to have the last element,¡± John explained. ¡°And that requires advancing to a higher Phase.¡± He didn¡¯t really want to have to explain what his current Phase was, so that was a decent summary. ¡°Nuh-uh,¡± Nitza said. ¡°Look,¡± she pointed her fingers together in front of her, fire wrapping around one, and water around the other. ¡°I don¡¯t even have a totem yet but I can control two elements.¡± So much for the easy way out. ¡°Actually, I do have a small amount of light element. It¡¯s just small enough that you probably can¡¯t feel it compared to the rest.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Nitza frowned. ¡°If you say so, grandpa.¡± John would have to accept that doubt. It wasn¡¯t his job to try to explain deeper cultivation topics before she was ready. He looked towards Tirto. ¡°As I said in my message, I was hoping to see a leviathan for training.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Nitza said. ¡°You¡¯re going to go see Carl? I wanna go too!¡± ¡°Carl?¡± John raised an eyebrow. Tirto shrugged. ¡°She asked if the leviathan had a name, and we said it didn¡¯t. So she named it.¡± ¡°I told you we should have come up with our own earlier,¡± Verusha grinned. ----- Emilia was smiling as she stood on the ship next to Harta. That was a sight John had missed for too many years. Despite wanting to do well for their children and not force them into anything, there had still been an assumption of sorts that Tirto and Emilia would marry. The parents on both sides saw they got along well, and did a bit more than simply encouraging the relationship. But the people involved had still been young and never really knew what they wanted. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Tirto and Emilia would have been fine together, but John recognized now that fine wasn¡¯t enough. Verusha was good for Tirto, and the same in turn. Meanwhile, Emilia and Tirto were just as valuable to each other as friends. It had just taken too many years and tears for that to settle in. The ship cut through the waters, approaching their target- and John could sense it already. He supposed that unlike the older leviathan, a young one didn¡¯t require living in the deepest parts of the sea. However, as they approached John could tell that this one wasn¡¯t exactly small. It was at least three times the size of their ship, the flagship of the Brandle Clan. What could he say? They grew up so quickly. Not that he had any particular connection to any of the baby leviathans. ¡°Carl!¡± Nitza jumped into the sea when they got close, and many others including John followed after. The young woman swam up to the massive creature, more like a small island than a fish or any other sea creature. This one hadn¡¯t been grown over due to a large period of time, and seeing its full form was rather alien. Rocky textured skin covered a body that John could only describe as a few giant manta rays fused together. It was wider than it was long or tall, though in John¡¯s understanding that might change significantly given time. Compared to the leviathan he was familiar with¡­ this was tiny. Whole squads had been swimming through the veins of the adult leviathan. Which meant that, despite the decade and a half of life this creature had, it was still very much a tiny baby. Memories washed over John¡­ but no insights came to him. Some of the memories hurt, but that was only because the ones before them had been so good. He tried not to make his emotions too obvious in front of Nitza, though he figured the main reason she wouldn¡¯t notice was the fact that they were underwater. Not that crying was inappropriate, but he also didn¡¯t want his granddaughter to be sad secondhand. The way the creature swam through the water filled John with a feeling of great power, though ultimately the leviathan was still probably only the equivalent of a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. A leviathan¡¯s power would grow slowly, after all. That said, John was mainly judging its output. The massive creature most likely had much greater stores of spiritual energy than others. Maybe in another decade or two it would be as strong as the Consolidated Soul Phase. And surely in a few centuries after that, it would grow to match its parent. Though some of that depended on its survival, and whether it had to compete with its siblings. But that was the business of the Shimmering Islands, and those clans who were managing the children. John could see how the Brandle clan¡¯s energy was influenced by the leviathan, and the same was true in turn. Though the leviathan did not speak, it was clearly on good terms with them. Hopefully, it would develop into a valuable guardian beast. It wasn¡¯t a spirit like Ciaritzal or Cuah¡¯arn, but it was still elementally infused. Of course, like any beast it required a certain amount of caution- even if Nitza swam up and patted it on the head without a care, others were there watching over her just in case. But perhaps that was how things were meant to be, responsible adults sheltering children from the dangers of the world- though not so much that they would not be able to handle themselves in the future. ----- They made a few visits to the leviathan over the course of John¡¯s stay at the Brandle clan, and while he gained some useful insights he didn¡¯t find what he came for. His inspiration for the completion of the Consolidated Soul Phase and his step into the Ascending Soul Phase would have to come from elsewhere. John had a slight worry in the back of his mind that perhaps he hadn¡¯t found it because he was destined to not reach the Ascending Soul Phase. He¡¯d already screwed it up the first time, after all. But he didn¡¯t have to listen to that little voice. And if it was his destiny, he¡¯d just have to figure out how to change it, wouldn''t he? Or maybe he would come to terms with it and try to do what was best for the world, if it couldn¡¯t involve his own greater cultivation. ----- While John was staying at the Brandle clan, news came from Melanthina and Nik about the failing health of Luctus Tenebach. The news was not unexpected, but it was still disheartening. John quickly made his way to the Tenebach clan, and he was relieved to arrive in time to speak to his grandfather. A cultivator might live a great many years, but when their end came a life of a century could be over in a matter of weeks. When John arrived, Luctus immediately sensed him and sent for him. The two met privately, with Luctus for the first time lying in bed instead of sitting up regally or standing imposingly. ¡°I am here, grandfather,¡± John said. ¡°Good. I am glad,¡± Luctus nodded. ¡°You know, my health has been failing for some time. As it turns out, cultivation shrinking and then growing rapidly¡­ well, doing that a few times isn¡¯t great for your longevity.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even look a day over a hundred,¡± John said. ¡®You don¡¯t have to lie to me,¡± Luctus said. ¡°Maybe a month ago¡­ but I digress. Promise me you¡¯ll take care of the clan. Your family. I don¡¯t care about the name¡­ I¡¯m sure you will take care of them even as John Miller of the Six Elements Crossroads.¡± ¡°I will,¡± John nodded. ¡°Of course I will.¡± Luctus smiled. ¡°And that¡¯s why¡­ I can finally let myself go. That kid Nik¡­ he¡¯s good for Melanthina.¡± Luctus coughed. ¡°Who would have thought¡­ a light cultivator marrying into the Tenebach clan¡­¡± he looked at John. ¡°And someone crazy enough to attempt a full cycle of elements.¡± ¡°Thank you for believing in me,¡± John said. Luctus¡¯ face scrunched up as he vaguely smiled. ¡°What other choice did I have? Well, I wouldn¡¯t have minded Matayal taking over and running things. That was the other option, besides separating from Fortkran.¡± ¡°She would have been great,¡± John nodded. ¡°Better¡­ to have someone always here,¡± Luctus said. ¡°Even if¡­ it took an extra generation. Make sure¡­ to support them all.¡± Darkness energy was leaking out of his grandfather as if his dantian was a sieve. It didn¡¯t take long for his spiritual energy to drain entirely, and his body failed before that. John stayed for a few more moments, before stepping outside to where Melanthina was waiting. No words had to pass between them. They¡¯d already known what was going to happen. Most likely, Melanthina had already begun preparations for his funeral. ¡°It will be difficult,¡± Melanthina finally said. ¡°Losing a grand pillar such as him.¡± John just smiled. ¡°There are plenty who can hold this clan together. Like Crystin. And of course there is you. He was just waiting for you to grow into your own. And while I won¡¯t be here every day, I¡¯ll never be far.¡± Ereli approached, walking up to her mother. She looked pointedly towards the room. ¡°He perished.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Melanthina acknowledged. ¡°The clan will mourn,¡± Ereli said. She walked up to John and her mother, giving each of them a short hug. ¡°Think of good memories.¡± John sighed. Well, at least Ereli had moved beyond single word sentences. Not that she ever had trouble with words, exactly. But clearly she didn¡¯t push herself too hard to speak ¡®normally¡¯. Then again, perhaps she was focused more on her balance of light and darkness. She was pretty good at it, but John still imagined it took constant vigilance that kept her from other thoughts. Or she might just be like that. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said simply. Chapter 333 Even a loss that was inevitable like with Luctus still hurt. In some ways the slow expectation made things worse. In others, it helped as mourning already began even before death. Though it might not be pleasant for the one perishing, John found it preferable to be able to spend more time with those he cared for. Luctus Tenebach had been one of the necessary catalysts that brought about John¡¯s own success in this world. Matayal¡¯s support had been critical as well, though that was reliant on some initial success. Without the support to go down his rather audacious cultivation route, John would likely have ended up being a fairly average leader for the Tenebach clan¡­ and in the current times, that was not something they would have been able to afford. Speculating what else might have changed from there was a bit much, but it was likely that disaster would have come either from the Society of Midnight or in the form of Gesine succeeding with whatever her desire was for the leviathan. There would also be a million other minor things that likely wouldn¡¯t change things for the better. As much as John might wish to change a few details of the past to keep certain people alive, he had to admit that several major events had been successfully weathered, and presuming that they could have survived with no major casualties was rather arrogant. ----- Luctus¡¯ funeral was scheduled as soon as practically possible, considering how much needed to be done to invite even close allies. It was not a public affair that just anyone could stop in on, but it still involved people from all around the continent. The Tenebach clan under the guidance of Melanthina and Nik handled the preparations quite well, though John contributed where he could to reduce their burden. That wasn¡¯t necessarily involving himself in official business, but simply taking time with Ereli or helping pen messages was still valuable. Ereli was old enough that she didn¡¯t necessarily need to be managed, but she still required some of her parent¡¯s attention. At the moment, Crystin was the best darkness cultivator within the clan- though Melanthina had the potential to surpass her, especially if Crystin remained stuck at the threshold of the Ascending Soul Phase. However, Crystin also had her own responsibilities managing security and a pure darkness cultivator wasn¡¯t necessarily the best for Ereli. In the aspects of combining light and darkness, Ereli had more practical experience than John, but she was missing some deeper understandings about that and cultivation itself. To her, the balance was natural. It had to be, or she wouldn¡¯t have made it so far. Because of that, she was struggling with where her cultivation would go in the future. Even picking an initial totem was complicated for her. Of course, considering the consequences of what might happen should her totem be unsuitable or result in her elements becoming unbalanced it wasn¡¯t an easy choice at all. John¡¯s best guidance to her came from his gathered experience and especially what he had learned from Viriato, a rarity that also cultivated light and darkness. He¡¯d managed to get himself into a stable position somehow despite attuning to the two elements sequentially, but then both were powerful enough that going off balance could turn disastrous. ¡°What kind of totems are you thinking about choosing?¡± John asked. ¡°I am uncertain,¡± Ereli responded. ¡°I see. Which ones caught your attention?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Unknown,¡± she replied. John thought about that for a moment. Was the unknown a totem? No, it seemed more like she¡¯d reverted to her single word state. Why was that? He¡¯d asked only simple questions about cultivation. But perhaps to her, they were much more. ¡°Do you remember seeing totems?¡± John asked. It wasn¡¯t a great question, but he wanted something easy to respond to. ¡°Many.¡± ¡°What elements?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± John nodded. ¡°Did you see the Seed of Darkness?¡± John asked, referring to his own totem and sending a pulse of spiritual energy through it. She nodded. That was¡­ worse? ¡°Mist?¡± he asked. Ereli tilted her head, then nodded again. John asked about a few other specific totems, the sort that would be referenced by the Tenebach clan¡¯s tomes. It seemed she had searched thoroughly through the first layer of the sea of spiritual totems for those referenced. John pondered, wondering where he might lead her to make some progress¡­ and how to avoid leading her astray. Clearly, she had some trouble with totems, but would asking about it help or hurt? ¡°You know, my first totem was the Seed of Darkness,¡± John said. ¡°Funny that it doesn¡¯t feel like a seed at all anymore, does it?¡± Ereli¡¯s reaction was neutral¡­ or perhaps nonexistent. ¡°I could have picked a second or third tier totem, you know. But they didn¡¯t feel right. They were stronger, but not something I thought was suited for me.¡± John waited, hoping for some sign of acknowledgement from his granddaughter. At least a sign she was listening or comprehending- or even that she was not, so he could try to help. ¡°... Deeper?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He wasn¡¯t quite sure what she wanted there. Was she asking if it was better to go deeper? How to do it? ¡°How long can you spend in the sea of spiritual totems?¡± John asked. ¡°Some,¡± Ereli replied. That was perhaps less than helpful. ¡°Are you comfortable showing me how long?¡± Ereli thought for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Wait.¡± John watched as she sank into herself. He kept track of the time carefully, until her eyes fluttered open a few minutes later. She looked at him. ¡°About five minutes,¡± John said. It wasn¡¯t terribly long, especially considering she seemed to have significant experience and she only confined herself to the first layer. ¡°Is it difficult?¡± Ereli shook her head. ¡°Then why leave?¡± When he got no response to that nor an indication that she was properly processing his words, he held up his hand. ¡°We can talk again tomorrow.¡± ----- ¡°Ready for cultivation discussion,¡± Ereli said the next day. ¡°Do you remember what we were talking about yesterday?¡± Ereli paused for a few moments, then shook her head. John didn¡¯t really know where to go from there immediately, because the purpose of his question had been to have her explain what she remembered, which would hopefully help him grasp her area of focus. But if she didn¡¯t remember anything¡­? ¡°Do you remember talking about totems?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ereli agreed. So she did, but he had to bring it up. Maybe none of the memories were strong¡­ or there was something else at play. ¡°You spent five minutes in the sea of spiritual totems,¡± John said. ¡°What is the longest you can stay there?¡± ¡°Five minutes,¡± Ereli answered quickly. Was she just parroting his words? That didn¡¯t seem right. ¡°But you said it wasn¡¯t difficult.¡± ¡°Difficult is bad.¡± Now there was something. ¡°You stopped because it was going to become difficult?¡± John confirmed. ¡°Yes.¡± Now they were making some sort of progress. John looked carefully at his granddaughter. Perhaps it was his own bias, but he didn¡¯t feel that Ereli was lazy. Refusing to try anything difficult most likely had a reason. ¡°What happens after that, when you do something difficult?¡± Ereli shivered. ¡°Balance breaks down. Pain. Parents become morose.¡± John nodded slowly. ¡°If you get tired it¡¯s hard to control the light and darkness. Does one of them cause you more trouble?¡± Ereli tilted her head. ¡°Which element diminishes first, leading to the imbalance?¡± ¡°Light,¡± Ereli said easily. That made sense. From what he could feel, her darkness was kept more internally while her light was kept in a shell around that. Light could break away on its own, potentially. What Ereli needed was not a totem that increased her active control but rather her automatic stability. Though what that might be was outside of John¡¯s comprehension. Though he supposed he could look for totems himself. If he didn¡¯t have the need he might not properly manage it, but he was looking for a balance between light and darkness. If he could find and describe such a totem, perhaps Ereli could find it as well. Of course, John understood he needed to be cautious. Teaching a young cultivator required that. Mosa had told him what could happen if things went wrong, though John wasn¡¯t trying to tread entirely new ground with body tempering here. Even so, it was an inherently dangerous topic. ¡°I¡¯m going to try something,¡± John said. ¡°Wait for me, alright?¡± ¡°I wait patiently, grandfather,¡± Ereli acknowledged. John slowly let himself drop into the sea of spiritual totems. Whether he was simply discovering totems that already existed or inventing them, to some extent it didn¡¯t matter. What was important was the ability to find something that fit a particular need. It wasn¡¯t always easy. If Ereli¡¯s circumstances were different, John would have preferred her to spend the effort, since it was valuable for the cultivator doing so. But if she had a fear of expending that effort, failure was more likely and could have the opposite effect on her ability and confidence. John wasn¡¯t quite sure what he wanted, and even less sure that what he sought out would be what she needed¡­ but he thought he could gain something regardless. What made sense? A structure? John imagined a lighthouse, guiding ships to port. What he found first was at odds with that image, as it was a fire atop a tower. But was that not a more common and reasonable vision of it in this world? A spinning beacon powered by modern lighting was hardly the norm here. Flame certainly didn¡¯t fit, and he wasn¡¯t certain a lighthouse was the right style regardless. What next, and object? John considered a glass orb, containing light within it. Yet even as such a picture entered his mind, he also considered how that would force the light and darkness together instead of keeping them as they should be. John moved on to more conceptual totems. He imagined a planet of darkness with a ring of light around it, or perhaps the light was like moons. His concept for such totems was weak, so they seemed quite indistinct. Certainly not something he could explain or recommend had value. What he really wanted was something like a magnetic field, perhaps. But before he could look for that, he felt a repeated sensation from his physical body. He drew himself up and out, finding Ereli repeatedly poking his hand. ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked. ¡°You realize it is dangerous to touch people who are cultivating, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t waking up,¡± Ereli said simply. ¡°I thought you were¡­ lost.¡± John shook his head. ¡°No, I was alright. Why?¡± ¡°It was too long,¡± she said simply. He thought she was supposed to be fairly patient, but it had only been half an hour or so. ¡°Only half an hour,¡± John said. ¡°But¡­ your elements¡­?¡± ¡°What about them?¡± John asked. ¡°You have five. Or six,¡± Ereli said. ¡°Is it¡­ okay?¡± ¡°Is it fine for me to stay in the sea of spiritual totems for a long time?¡± John nodded. ¡°Of course. I am used to it, so its gets easier. At the first layer, I could remain for a long time. And my elements have a stable balance between them.¡± That was it. Stability. Ereli¡¯s elements were balanced, but only in the metastable way that a pencil could be balanced upon its point- or that many objects of different sorts could be stacked upon each other. Her natural reaction needed to default towards stability rather than not. Perhaps the simplest would be some form of scale. Surely it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to have one that tended towards a sort of balance. Now he just had to find something that fit, explain it to Ereli, and determine if she actually wanted that. Because it was also quite possible that she would prefer something else entirely, and personal preference was perhaps the most important factor in choosing totems. Chapter 334 Several minutes of silence was hardly a change from normal interactions with Ereli, the silence was simply more complete when she was engaging with the sea of spiritual totems. As John predicted, she returned after a short period of time. She wasn¡¯t pushing herself, but given her circumstances John didn¡¯t think that was something to criticize herself for. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find it,¡± Ereli reported about the totem he¡¯d had her searching for. ¡°Is that so?¡± John nodded. ¡°Perhaps you will find it later.¡± The difficulty of searching for particular totems could vary significantly even within their own layer. More obscure ones were of course more difficult to seek out, but there were personal affinities as well that had some effect. Perhaps Ereli wasn¡¯t suited for the particular totems, or she subconsciously rejected them. That could be a sign she was unsuited, or a lack of confidence or any number of other things. Rather than being concerned about her progress, John chose to focus on what was working. She was clearly less stressed about her own balance of elements throughout her day-to-day life, and that was a good thing. John believed a proper totem could help settle things for her even further, but he also didn¡¯t need to push her to do anything immediately. He was able to diagnose how she responded on the surface, but there could always be things she wasn¡¯t willing or able to share. The Tenebach clan was filled with darkness, but both she and her father were still able to cultivate properly. At the moment, her parents were still a better source of advice for her personal cultivation. They might have already discovered the same things John had, but either way he would share the information with them so they could do with it what made sense to them. It wasn¡¯t his job to come in and drastically change Ereli¡¯s path in just a couple weeks. ----- The funeral for Luctus filled John with melancholy, but either because he was becoming used to such events- which he really hoped wasn¡¯t true- or because he had longer to prepare himself, he wasn¡¯t swept over by emotion. Many of those gathered, including Ciaritzal, said a few words about the man. John did as well, but he could hardly remember any specifics, even about what he himself said. Everything he¡¯d actually needed to say had already been said. At least he had that chance this time, instead of things being cut off abruptly. ----- After the funeral John took some time with Nik and Melanthina to explain what he¡¯d learned about Ereli. ¡°She clearly has some talent, but she¡¯s afraid to push herself. That fear might be justified¡­ but it could also be remnants of when she was weaker and had little control.¡± He looked over the two of them. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to get hurt and see you sad.¡± Nik smiled sadly. ¡°I would hope that she would focus on her own pain more. It¡¯s clearly still one of her concerns, but placing us above herself¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s family,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad trait at all. It just complicates things for us.¡± She pondered for a few moments. ¡°I believe we shall focus more on pushing herself safely. In addition, better managing our own reactions when she breaks down might help her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking,¡± John said. ¡°Though it doesn¡¯t sound great to say it, your own reactions are making things more difficult for her. At least, that is one factor. Her balance is more active than natural. A totem could help but¡­ she¡¯d have to have the confidence to find and choose one. Until then¡­ how does she do when she sleeps?¡± ¡°Her room is kept free of extraneous spiritual energy,¡± Nik explained. ¡°As long as her balance is correct when she sleeps, she has no problems. And we¡¯re nearby if she needs help.¡± John recalled a few things from the past, both his more recent experiences and his old world. ¡°What I am going to say may sound harsh¡­ but it¡¯s possible that you protecting her will hurt her. And though she might suffer some pain it might ultimately be better to let her resolve future incidents alone. I know that¡¯s not an easy thing to hear or do, of course,¡± John admitted. ¡°But if she expects to be rescued and being rescued also brings her more emotional pain, it could lead to a negative cycle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as you make it out,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°If we just have to let something happen¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s not easy. But you don¡¯t actually have to stand by and do nothing. It will probably be even harder to watch secretly without doing anything, but I¡¯m also not asking you to actually leave her to her own devices.¡± Nik nodded. ¡°We need to let her learn that she can recover from a negative spiral on her own. She¡¯s old enough now.¡± He sighed, ¡°How did you handle it?¡± ¡°Ursel and Melanthina were constantly getting into trouble,¡± John said, looking towards the latter. ¡°Letting the two of you suffer the consequences of your actions was the only way for your mother and I to keep sane. Of course, we still sheltered you from some of it. That said, you triplets were self-balanced in terms of spiritual energy. Single elements meant even your infusions in early life were still safe enough. You might need to let Ereli develop at a slower rate, and frankly even if it takes her ten more years to reach her first totem she won¡¯t exactly be slow.¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°She might be upset about falling behind Nitza,¡± Melanthina pointed out. ¡°She looks up to her cousin.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll have to remind her that Nitza is several years older. Even if Ereli was born with an infusion of energy, that still matters. It might even get to the point where they have to not see each other for a few years¡­¡± John shook his head. ¡°But that is something you¡¯d have to carefully consider.¡± ¡°We understand,¡± Nik said. ¡°If we can get Ereli to push herself just a bit, she might be able to find and secure a totem that will make everything easier. I think we knew some of that already but¡­ putting it together isn¡¯t always easy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think easy was what the two of you signed up for,¡± John pointed out, looking at the paired light and darkness cultivators. ¡°Though it still seems quite far away, I¡¯d also be thinking about the next tournament. We can hope that she binds a totem before then, but it might take more than a few years for her to get on that path. I imagine Nitza will be close to the Foundation Phase, if she has not reached it by then. It could be inspiring, or it could be demoralizing. Likewise, pushing herself to try to win official matches might be good¡­ or it might not.¡± John shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s something you¡¯ll have to decide.¡± ----- Though John was the sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads who was organizing the tournament, he was only involved in very little of that himself. At least as far as the actual tournament was concerned. Seeing the rise of the Six Elements Crossroads and other prominent sects, people from all over were interested in the event for reasons beyond simply wishing to win prizes and glory. Since those prizes had to come from somewhere, it was quite understandable. The sects were the ones funding the tournament, so expecting a direct profit would be rather short sighted. That said, the greater volume of people in Lunson brought more trade for everyone involved. People didn¡¯t have to go far and wide to find exotic goods they needed, and even though prices were high most people found it worthwhile. Aside from an economic surge, however, the gain from the tournament was more focused on something else- connections. Whether those were for trading partnerships or future training opportunities, that was the main goal of the tournaments. Bringing people together, and despite it being a battle tournament the intent was not violence but unity. So far, John found that goal was at least largely functional, though there had been some clashes in the streets that the security forces had to deal with. But beyond that, most of John¡¯s time was spent meeting with various groups. Those he already had established connections with to strengthen those connections and let them know he hadn¡¯t forgotten, and those who were newer to establish such connections. John made sure to monitor the political landscape, and while all forms of human interactions tended to develop competing factions, he was pleased to see that his efforts to minimize such factionalism were working. Or perhaps he was simply not seeing something beneath the surface. John had to admit his own fallibility, and he was responsible for making a sort of core faction from his earliest allies. Still, any effort to have a unified region was better than simply coasting along and hoping that nobody got into any wars with their neighbors. That had clearly not worked out well, and it was a miracle that civilization survived at all in a world full of cultivators. Perhaps untamed wilderness between various sections was the main factor that kept society intact, as it limited how often people were actually willing to match to war as an aggressor. ----- John did not participate in the tournament himself, neither did Viriato or Raul who were the strongest members of the Six Elements Crossroads. That was half their personal preference and partially public policy. The disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads were able to participate for their own personal experience, but not showing bias was important as well. Most importantly, referees had to come from a different sect than any participants. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but John understood nothing was. Even if cultivation was striving for perfection, actually reaching it was something else. ----- Ultimately, Ereli had wanted to participate in the tournament and her parents thought it would be beneficial. She was still quite young, as she hadn¡¯t even been born before the last tournament. At less than ten years old, there weren¡¯t many appropriate opponents. Very few slots existed for totemless individuals in the Spiritual Collection Phase, but there were always new cultivators who wanted to test themselves. While they most likely had the weakest control, the battles were likely the safest. The tournament grounds could prevent any significant injuries with their enchantments, and they were extremely effective where the cultivators were weaker. Ereli was matched against a woman almost twice her age- but beginning cultivation in early adulthood was not rare. Dinara was a member of the Combining Luster Sect which now had a direct connection to the Tenebach clan through Nik. While he had fully given up his membership in the sect, they were still on good terms. The match began with Dinara focusing a beam of light through her crystal tipped weapon, a decisive attack that would have been difficult for many cultivators to deal with. However, Ereli stood strong. Her back straight, she didn¡¯t even make a motion to deflect the light around her, bouncing it off of her own light element. Then she responded with her own attack, throwing a dagger wrapped in darkness. John recognized the throwing technique, though he shouldn¡¯t have been surprised. She was part of the Tenebach clan, after all, with access to the same information he¡¯d had. Dinara threw herself to the side, understanding she couldn¡¯t handle a clash of light and darkness. Simple techniques were all that either side could manage, circling around each other and trying to strike a proper blow. They gradually drifted closer until Dinara managed to pierce through Ereli¡¯s defenses, the tournament barriers taking over as Ereli staggered back. Neither side was particularly stronger than the other, nor did they display any staggering techniques. Indeed, Ereli¡¯s mastery over her own spiritual energy might have been greater. Yet she was still timid about direct clashes, unwilling to exert herself past a certain point. Dinara seemed to have spotted that. John could see Ereli reeling in the arena, her balance of elements disturbed¡­ but she got a handle on herself quickly enough. Rather than the loss hurting her confidence, John thought she looked proud to face against someone older, even if she didn¡¯t win. She would have had similar opportunities in the Tenebach clan, but she couldn¡¯t really expect them to fight properly against the young mistress. Of course, John could find himself misinterpreting things and he would check on her and her parents when the time was right. Chapter 335 There weren¡¯t many battles John was personally invested in for those in the lower ranks of cultivation, but obviously both of his granddaughters were on the list. Being somewhere around four years older than Ereli, Nitza stepped into the ring some matches after Ereli¡¯s loss. Unlike her cousin, however, she was not born with an elemental infusion. Because of that, she was no more advanced in her cultivation, having had to work to catch up to years of passive training. Her opponent was a new recruit to the Six Elements Crossroads, a man named Cristoforo. Though he was close to a decade older, his actual time training in cultivation was not terribly dissimilar. He drew upon the power of Darkness, wielding a large axe that didn¡¯t seem to fit the element at all. But of course, whether it was a functional weapon depended on his personal style. As a battle between two newer cultivators, John was able to spot numerous flaws in the techniques of both sides. That was obvious and expected, as martial skill didn¡¯t come from nowhere but required decades of mastery. Nitza had a thin current of water element flowing around her, making use of her spear to keep Cristoforo at bay. Though he had great power behind his swings, he couldn¡¯t step close. However, his own footwork prevented him from suffering significant damage in return. He managed to force Nitza backwards into some of the obstacles laden throughout the arena. When she found herself cornered momentarily, he was able to strike glancing blows as she extricated herself. Cristoforo managed to gain a slight advantage and capitalize on it bit by bit. John watched carefully, and the determining factor involved some sudden footwork in which were traces of earth elemental spiritual energy. He managed to step inside Nitza¡¯s reach and land a direct blow on her torso, causing the safety formations to respond as she didn¡¯t have the ability to resist. It was likely Nitza could have predicted the movement. As a member of the Six Elements Crossroads, training in a second element for when he advanced to the Foundation Phase was rather expected. With most choices of starting element, there were two logical paths of advancement aside from maintaining a single element. He had intentionally hidden the earth elemental spiritual energy with his darkness, and Nitza simply hadn¡¯t been ready. John wasn¡¯t upset about early losses for both of his granddaughters. Given the timing of the tournament, they were just barely qualified to participate. It was unfortunate for them, but losses weren¡¯t necessarily bad for their development. Of course, John hoped they would seek out other opportunities to grow and achieve their own victories before the next tournament hosted by the Six Elements Crossroads. ----- As days went on, battles escalated to higher ranks of cultivation, and John was pleased to see clear growth from everyone who had previously participated. There were also a number of new faces, and John was particularly pleased to see more individuals from the Glass Hills and the Wuthering Steppes. There were also a few individuals from the Shining Coast. He was a bit disappointed that nobody from the Muted Crags had shown, but perhaps they were still wary due to the war. He could understand those from the Black Peaks in particular not wanting to show, but there wasn¡¯t anyone else from them or a few other places. Still, one step at a time brought the region closer to a sort of unity. There were a few battles in the later rounds that made him wish he could participate himself, but that wasn¡¯t appropriate. At least¡­ not for the main body of the tournament. As the tournament organizer, it would be inappropriate. However, the situation had changed significantly enough from the previous decade that others also had to be excluded. The few existing Ascending Soul Phase cultivators obviously couldn¡¯t be fairly matched against anyone else, regardless of affiliation. It wasn¡¯t just a difference of one rank, as stepping into the next Phase came with much more than a bit of spiritual energy. An additional totem- usually at a higher tier- was also a factor. That was a secondary reason John couldn¡¯t participate in the main tournament, as he wasn¡¯t just a peak Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. But giving no opportunities for the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators to do anything at all would be a waste, both for those participating and those simply observing. They would miss out on a display of strength and an opportunity to learn. Thus, those who made it to the furthest rounds of the tournament were given an opportunity to challenge someone. At the current moment those people were John himself, Lucanus, Yustina, and Renato. Challenging any of them did not affect the rankings in the tournament, but was only an extra opportunity for them to obtain rewards. Those who were challenged didn¡¯t gain anything if they won, but that didn¡¯t mean they would go easy on anyone. John found himself challenged by one of the finalists, a woman named from the Soulrot Bogs. As far as elements went, Medea was a pure water elemental cultivator. Her weapons were a net and a hooked spear. Though she was not the overall victor of the tournament, having lost to Deirdre of the Golden Tomb Guardians, her positioning was still a surprise. She¡¯d barely been on anyone¡¯s radar before the tournament began. The challenger was allowed to choose a battlefield from those that the tournament grounds had available. While they could certainly give themselves an advantage by doing so, without it they likely didn¡¯t have a significant chance of victory. Medea chose a battlefield with water and very few footholds. A familiar environment for her. However, it didn¡¯t give her a true elemental advantage- John¡¯s cycle of the elements included water, after all. Stolen novel; please report. The battle began with Medea rapidly diving into the water, hiding beneath the surface. However, her plan backfired on her when John immediately countered with a series of thrown daggers, cutting through the water without issue. A blade pierced into her shoulder as she threw her net, driving it off course. After that, John dove into the water himself, the two swimming and darting around, trying to gain a tactical advantage. Both moved swiftly through the water, finding it a boost to their capabilities, but John managed to keep the upper hand. Medea¡¯s tactics at first seemed to rely on stealth, dragging her opponents into disadvantaged terrain with her net. However, it soon became quite obvious that she wasn¡¯t limited to ambushing those on land. She controlled the net independently in the water, forcing John to have to focus on dodging it while also dealing with her assaults from the front. The net was made of durable material reinforced by her spiritual energy, so he wasn¡¯t easily able to cut through it. John imagined if he focused on it he might be able to slice some sections, but that would open him to the rest of it entangling him. Rather than risk that, he focused on pressing Medea back, often swimming past her so that she had to maneuver her net around herself to continue the chase. That was only a minor gain, but he managed to keep her on her toes. His elements cycled through him, allowing him to land several more blows on her. Though they were individually minor, Medea¡¯s injuries were building up. John was confident in his victory, but he tried not to get careless. She was a worthy opponent, and personally John thought she¡¯d just gotten unlucky with her final opponent. Or maybe she hadn¡¯t been thinking of them at all. Medea seemed quite fresh at the beginning of this battle, and her concentration was at its peak. She might have intentionally lost to conserve her energy for this battle. Since the prize wasn¡¯t better than winning the tournament, John supposed she wanted a good match. They had no grudge between them, after all. John intended to do his best regardless of the circumstances, showing her what he was capable of. As the battle dragged on, Medea was clearing tiring faster than John. Her injuries were one factor, but his cycle of elements also provided significant stamina. She picked up her pace, the force of her movements increasing. While she seemed desperate, she didn¡¯t let that affect her skill. Medea managed to maneuver John into a position where he couldn''t escape both her net and spear. John swam towards the wide net, energy surging around his sword. If he was going to cut it, he had to be thorough. From his toes to above his head, he cut down the middle of the net. He dashed through the severed restraint, but even as he was doing so something told him it was too easy. The severed halves twisted around, wrapping around his upper body and legs separately. The immediate response John had was to gather air elemental spiritual energy, but as he released a shock of lightning the nets caught most of it. Medea was already charging forward to take advantage of his condition, but John simultaneously channeled earth element. He formed a barrier of stone stretching over the net, taking advantage of it as he forced her spiritual energy control away from part of it. Her hooked spear crashed into the barrier, partially piercing his cloth armor. But before she could withdraw, John strengthened his earth element, catching her weapon in the net. Then he channeled more lightning along her weapon. She let go, backing away, but she had already lost control over both the net and her weapon at that point. It only took John a moment to disentangle himself, and she quickly surrendered. ¡°Thank you for the match,¡± Medea said, bowing after they returned to the surface. ¡°It was quite enlightening.¡± John nodded. ¡°It was a good one. Perhaps when we both advance to the Ascending Soul Phase things will go differently.¡± John already had some of the advantages, after all. ¡°That may be the case,¡± Medea agreed. ¡°But your skill with many elements is still difficult to overcome. I would certainly appreciate the chance to try.¡± ----- After the tournament ended, John had gained insights from the best matches. Deirdre had challenged Renato, and though the Ascending Soul Phase earth cultivator predictably won that match, John learned a few things about the light element. But the conclusion of the tournament was valuable in other ways. It meant that John once more had a stretch of time where he could focus on himself, and that meant furthering his plans to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase. The only problem was figuring out how. He had already consulted with Steve and Yustina, but while he learned more about the fire element he didn¡¯t particularly find the key he needed for his advancement. His other source of such knowledge was Charlotte of Firepine Palace, but the results were quite similar. Regaining his cultivation, John found he had associated each phase and element with particular individuals. Yet he hadn¡¯t found the same with this final step. It took longer than he might have liked, retracing his steps¡­ but eventually John realized his mistake. While others had certainly contributed to his growth towards the Ascending Soul Phase, ultimately he hadn¡¯t been reliant on their teachings when he attempted his breakthrough the first time. That had resulted in a nearly fatal failure, but upon consideration John didn¡¯t think that meant he needed any particular guidance. Indeed, he had learned much in the decade and a half since that time both about himself and about cultivation. And while he had not been able to succeed on his own merits before, he was a better person. He had more appropriately come to terms with Matayal¡¯s death and repaired his broken relationships. While John still had some trepidation, ultimately he had to believe that he could succeed on his second chance. It wasn¡¯t that he was solely relying on himself, but he still needed to make the final step on his own. It was almost contradictory, but while he and Matayal had gone together into the Consolidated Soul Phase, without her he had to move on alone. His friends and family could help, but the final step had to be him alone. That was what he believed, at least. He simply had to put it into practice, which meant finding his way back to the very place he nearly killed himself once before. Chapter 336 The time had come. John returned to a particular spot in the northwestern part of Astrein, where there was a simple thermal spring. He had considered many times whether his choice of location was correct or not. Indeed, even if it had been correct on his first attempt, was it not appropriate to change locales now that he already had his totems? If John was simply going for the best balance of elements, he would most likely go to the hidden valley. It was only a few days from his current location, and something under control of his sect would be quite appropriate. But John decided that he at least needed to come visit the location once more. Upon seeing it with his eyes, he knew he made the right choice. Memories flooded through him. Memories of pain and loss of control. Memories of his spiritual sea being torn apart outside of his control. That had been his greatest moment of failure, at least under the control of John. Fortkran¡¯s failure had been great as well, but it was an overreach born of arrogance. But if he didn¡¯t possess the memories, John couldn¡¯t say the incidents were truly different in their fundamentals, and even then he might be fooling himself. He¡¯d still failed to control himself, after all. John did like to think he¡¯d taken better precautions, though. Failing to step into a practically unknown Phase was quite different from a failure to reach the Foundation Phase with proper guidance available. After seeing the area, John¡¯s thoughts teetered on the edge of whether it was better to stay or not. Ultimately, he came out just on the side of remaining in the same area. The process of breaking and burning parts of his spiritual sea was something he was conscious about now, and having more fire element available would be valuable. Unlike last time, John didn¡¯t simply carry with him external sources of spiritual energy but also a specially brewed elixir, courtesy of Raul. It had taken time for Raul to develop a proper recipe, but it would be valuable for future cultivators of the Six Elements Crossroads as well. Raul had named it an elixir of Elemental Harmony and it helped to balance the six elements within a cultivator. It didn¡¯t simply provide an infusion of equal amounts, but rather released those that were lacking and absorbed those that were overabundant. Such an elixir would be valuable for any multi-element cultivator at an awkward stage of cultivation. It would be useful for a cultivator with two core elements breaking through to the Soul Expansion Phase and adding a third element, and just as much for their step into the Consolidated Soul Phase. Likewise, a cultivator that went for an allied cycle of elements with light and darkness would find it a boon when adding their first non-allied element at the Consolidated Soul Phase. Actually making it practical to use before the Soul Expansion Phase was another matter that would require dropping the price. The Six Elements Crossroads was doing their best to raise the required herbs and other ingredients, but it would take some time before they had enough to use more than rarely. This would be John¡¯s second use, having tested it once to be certain of how it would affect him. He didn¡¯t want any surprises this time. John settled into the hot spring, finding it quite relaxing. Perhaps he should spend more time on specifically relaxation. He wasn¡¯t the sort who worked himself to the bone at the expense of his own mental health, but perhaps intentionally seeking out opportunities would be valuable. While he did find cultivating quite relaxing most of the time, he thought perhaps he didn¡¯t engage enough with alternatives. John prepared things around himself, making use of slightly different sources than before. One source of each element, including light. The elixir was the star of the show, however, and John prepared his own internal state as much as possible before drinking it down. John stoked his spiritual energy, bolstering the cycle of elements within himself to fill his dantian to near bursting. Out of curiosity, John dipped his consciousness into the sea of spiritual totems, but it was difficult¡­ distant. Only the totems he already had bound called out to him, and he quickly withdrew his consciousness. He wouldn¡¯t have attempted to repeat his steps even if it resulted in another spiritual totem, but his soul was in such an odd state he¡¯d needed to feel it out. Rather than a problem with his totems, then, it was John¡¯s dantian that was lacking- but he¡¯d developed the landscape greatly and was ready for his final push. He let his spiritual energy build up higher and higher, but rather than letting himself be overwhelmed he took control. The ground beneath the islands inside of him trembled, but John was already prepared for what would happen. Fire was simply the catalyst for his transformation, the last element in a balanced cycle of growth. One by one, the islands he had grown burst apart, but rather than following the rules of the physical world it followed another sort of logic. Each island broke apart into many pieces, but those pieces were each nearly the same size as the islands had been. Huge hunks of earth sprayed in every direction as the seas boiled, but rather than crashing into each other the seas expanded to provide space for the earth to fall and become new land. The skies stormed, winds swirling and spreading fire from place to place. The trees of darkness burned along with the life in the sea, but John knew that was not the end of things. It was only the beginning. He¡¯d performed the same task many times now, bit by bit expanding his dantian. Now, he took the final step of explosive growth. The elixir inside of him met the elements outside of him, spiritual energy rushing into fill the emptiness. The seas rose as water element filled them. Islands grew from stones. The seeds of darkness were spread all about, sprouting rapidly from the rush of spiritual energy. Lightning struck between the clouds, earth, and sea. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. In the sky, an ethereal sun provided heat- and light. While the light was still weak, it provided promise for the future The aches and pains he felt were minor, like that of strenuous exercise. He felt no traces of serious wounds, and his dantian felt stable returning to a state of steady growth. He was momentarily drained from the rush, and the area around him was empty of spiritual energy as well, but John could clearly feel the results. John withdrew his consciousness back to his body, feeling the spiritual energy flow through him. He felt slightly different, and it took a moment to figure out how. Looking around, his vision was clearer than he expected for the time of day. With the Tenebach Clan¡¯s blessing, his eyes could see in the dark, but normally he felt somewhat off during the day. That awkwardness had lessened, and John felt like that wasn¡¯t the only part of him that had grown. It was only his judgment, but his skin felt a bit tougher, his lungs stronger, his flow of blood swifter. Perhaps they were small steps, but he felt like developing them further would be possible. It wasn¡¯t something he had experienced before during an advancement. Was it something unique about the Ascending Soul Phase? No, John didn¡¯t think so. Instead, it was likely due to his attention on his body as he climbed back through the Phases. A nice benefit, even if in most cases none of them would make a difference between victory and defeat. John wondered if he should have already begun a fire element body tempering method, but he supposed it would also make sense to develop it now that he was in a proper state rather than a broken advancement with only his totem. Despite everything he¡¯d achieved- his greater body tempering and the growth of his totems- John would have much preferred his advancement had proceeded properly the first time. Instead here he was a decade and a half later, having just stepped into the thirty-seventh rank. He was only a rank or two behind his peers¡­ but that was more significant than it might seem. In the end, John could only celebrate that he¡¯d survived before and not permanently crippled himself. It was a weight lifted off of his shoulders, as he had never been quite sure until this very moment. He had a great many insights for how to help future cultivators avoid the same pitfalls. ----- When John returned to the Six Elements Crossroads, the entire sect was waiting for him. Viriato and Raul stood at the fore. ¡°Congratulations on your advancement!¡± they called out as he approached. A moment later, the rest of the sect echoed the words. John wasn¡¯t quite sure he liked this, but since he was sect head he couldn¡¯t exactly deny it either. He let his energy loose, where it washed over the surroundings. He tried not to get a big head, but ignoring eager disciples wouldn¡¯t be great either. With a gesture, John had the two follow him. They were his highest elders, so it wasn¡¯t odd if he had personal instructions for them. However, he didn¡¯t say anything in front of the crowds, waiting until they were properly in private. ¡°What would you have done if I didn¡¯t come back, or had failed?¡± Viriato smiled. ¡°The person we know isn¡¯t the sort where we had to worry about either of those. We both met you after your accident, I¡¯m sure you remember.¡± Raul agreed. ¡°Your return would certainly be glorious, and if you had not returned¡­ I would have simply chosen to believe you moved on to something else.¡± ¡°I appreciate your faith in me,¡± John said. ¡°But it¡¯s not that easy to reach the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°We are both aware, having caught glimpses of the next Phase ourselves. However, knowing the company you keep it seemed inevitable. None of your associates failed to advance.¡± ¡°Except me specifically,¡± John pointed out. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t fail twice,¡± Raul said. ¡°We could see the confidence.¡± John didn¡¯t feel the need to spend more of his time convincing his elders not to believe in him, so he let things drop there. ¡°Aside from the exception of Lucanus and Yustina, no group yet has two Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. So it¡¯s hard to say we¡¯re exactly consistent. We might simply be the lucky ones. There have been a few before us who used extreme methods to break through, but outside of that there were more failures¡­ and then those from afar.¡± ¡°I remember the Molten Sea,¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°It was around then I got stuck at the Foundation Phase, realizing my foolishness.¡± ¡°I think stumbling into the hardest pair of elements doesn¡¯t quite deserve to be called foolishness,¡± John shrugged. ¡°What do you think of my granddaughter¡¯s state, by the way?¡± ¡°I wish I could say I was an expert, but I¡¯m not,¡± Viriato replied. ¡°Her first totem might be the most difficult, as she needs to maintain balance. Or perhaps every step will be hard for her going forward. I don¡¯t believe she would be suited for following my sort of path, as her innate light and darkness change things somewhat.¡± John shook his head. ¡°We have little information on what happens to infused children who try to pursue a different path. None of the triplets even really considered it. I¡¯ve heard about other infused children being born in the past decades, but the information is so sparse. Most of what people know is due to the triplets.¡± It wasn¡¯t John¡¯s responsibility to figure things out for his grandchild, but he would also feel negligent if he didn¡¯t at least try to help. He felt partially responsible for encouraging the relationship between Nik and Melanthina, and though he would do it again he would have preferred a life without troubles for them. As if such a thing was even possible. No, rather than a life without trouble the best one could do was be able to manage said trouble. Even living as a hermit had its own trials and tribulations. Chapter 337 Though he had now properly advanced to the Ascending Soul Phase, John wasn¡¯t particularly eager to test himself. Not in any real way, of course. A true opponent would require a war, which was exactly one of the things he didn¡¯t want. His continual desire to increase in strength was because it was likely inevitable, but that didn¡¯t mean seeking it out. Testing his actual combat prowess was also more difficult than it seemed. Two Ascending Soul Phase cultivators sparring would strain the limits of the arena¡¯s safety formations, and the expense of upgrading them was immense- if it was even possible. Creating barriers that could stop the attack of an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator wasn¡¯t the most difficult part, it was doing so conditionally. Not that it was particularly easy to deflect great power, but it was achievable. He still intended to seek out others to test his power properly, but it would be difficult to get a definitive answer of which party was stronger. That didn¡¯t even account for holding techniques in reserve- even though John wasn¡¯t worried about anyone betraying him somehow, he still didn¡¯t want to advertise any potential flaws in his technique. It would be difficult for any clash between two Ascending Soul Phase cultivators to be truly private. Still, John was able to test his power in other ways. His diligent practice had increased his control of spiritual energy even at small scale. Minute adjustments like altering the heat while cooking on a grill were used to their fullest advantage. While John didn¡¯t spend much time directly working with the food businesses under the umbrella of the Six Elements Crossroads, he didn¡¯t forget his origins in Astrein. Cooking wasn¡¯t the only area of business where they were making practical use of spiritual energy for otherwise seemingly mundane things. On the other end of the power scale were grand techniques, both for attacking and for utility purposes. The most pleasant of all of those was flying. Having studied the flying techniques of various sects and clans, John had a decent understanding of them, and had even practiced them to a usable level. However, it was only after his advancement that he felt comfortable truly flying. It was a matter not just of power and control, but his ability to sustain the usage of spiritual energy. In the early days of his advancement, John could frequently be seen flying around the sect grounds or over Lunson nearby. That was both for his own enjoyment and as a show of strength. It was certainly better than having to show his power in other ways, though none of the factions in Lunson were foolish enough to get up to any trouble that required his personal intervention. Especially not since there was so much for them to lose if they tried to gain advantages through crime. In the decades since the founding of the Six Elements Crossroads, the prosperity of Astrein had grown several fold. Though John very much found he enjoyed flying, it wasn¡¯t actually terribly efficient wherever it was not required. Even though he could maintain height and impart upon himself sufficient speed and momentum to travel over the course of a day, he wasn¡¯t really any faster than on the ground. Especially within the borders of Astrein where the terrain was mostly flat, with only a small number of hills and mountains, there was little value in flying. Even simply hovering near the ground was more efficient, as he could push off the ground to impart himself more speed by using earth elemental spiritual energy. Otherwise, he spent all of his effort gathering air elemental spiritual energy and converting his energy from other elements. Not that other elements were completely useless while flying, but air was by far the most prominent to keep himself afloat. If he was going to be hovering near the ground, he might as well just run along, taking advantage of mechanical forces and this thing humans had called a body. When augmented with spiritual energy, it was much more efficient than moving purely with energy. The final nail in the coffin was that as the sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads, he wasn¡¯t meant to go anywhere alone. Guards would seem unnecessary until he truly needed them, and if they couldn¡¯t keep up then there was hardly any point to flying quickly or slowly. Except for fun, and John had to admit that was a good enough reason sometimes. Oh, and there was some utility to be gained from a bird¡¯s eye view of things. Cartographers would probably kill to be able to fly. Though ultimately they would have to train their spiritual energy like everyone else. Though he had his origins in the element of darkness, John knew he¡¯d changed greatly from his origins. His style would always be influenced by his beginning, and of course he would always find value in his most familiar techniques, but everything he did was infused with combinations of different elements now. And sometimes, he even touched on light element and didn¡¯t immediately regret it. ----- John had recently studied light, focused on its interactions with darkness, both for his own sake and for the sake of Ereli. The balance was difficult to manage, even though he understood how it should work. Light and darkness were odd. They were attracted to each other for mutual destruction, yet also repelled each other to some extent. They were truly difficult to manage as the only pair of truly opposite elements. The power of both together was explosive, and could be dangerous to both enemies and those attempting to make use of it. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Yet John also had examples showing that it was not impossible to achieve a balance. Ereli was one case, who somehow managed even though she was young. Then there was Viriato, who had taken an ill-advised leap to attune to the second element, only to find himself unable to find a path forward. Fortunately for him there was one, he just needed some help. Next were Nik and Melanthina. The two of them cultivated opposite elements, yet they retained their elemental purity and their cultivations were thriving. They worked in harmony, proving it was possible to the world in general and their daughter. The final example, and the earliest John had encountered, was Cuah¡¯arn. While it was difficult to say that the spirit beast had lived in harmony with darkness, she had still lived with it. For over a century she had survived with one of Ciaritzal¡¯s claws lodged in her, and she was even able to recover to some extent and guide the Golden Tomb Guardians with both wisdom and power. It wasn¡¯t an intentional choice, but she showed that the elements could remain together for a long period of time. Of course, Cuah¡¯arn in particular did so through isolating the elements, which was exactly what John didn¡¯t want. Darkness wanted to draw things in, and light wanted the opposite. They pulled on each other, and while it was possible to achieve a balance they could also easily fall away from that balance, crashing into each other in a catastrophic manner. John had seen Ereli¡¯s struggles, and he knew that choosing the right totem would be critical. He didn¡¯t simply want a forced and active balance, he wanted it to be natural. For example, the four core elements inside of him naturally tended towards a balance between them. If he was low on fire, for example, his earth element would naturally support it to grow. Though it might seem like water element would quash the fire when it was weakest, that was actually not the case. There were unstable configurations where that might happen, but just because water could eliminate fire didn¡¯t mean it wanted to. While spiritual elements in general didn¡¯t have any actual desires, it was still beneficial for water to have fire around. With fire weakened, water was actually weakened as well since fire augmented water. Reaching a truly stable point did require all four elements and an intentional choice of totems, but John could feel his elements working together rather than against each other. All he needed was to do the same for light¡­ but that required a bit more work. Of course, John still had the entirety of the Ascending Soul Phase to undergo before he even had the hope of choosing a new totem, but he had been perusing his options long before. Once more he returned to the sea of spiritual totems, trying to find properties that appealed to him. A light element totem that got along with darkness was not impossible to find, and indeed Nik had already attuned to two. John was not privy to the details of the second, but the young man had made an audacious choice to bind to a totem of elemental annihilation, acknowledging the possibility of destruction and embracing it- but under his control. Meanwhile on the other side Melanthina had bound to the concept of Ultraviolet, something that could be called light yet from the perspective of humans it was darkness. The definitions of scientists on Earth about ¡®visible light¡¯ were a useful guide for John¡¯s thoughts, but Cultivation was in large part about perception and interpretation. There were rules, but they could be manipulated to some extent by perspective and will. However, it was clear that truly erroneous beliefs resulted in failed cultivation- usually in deadly ways. John wasn¡¯t the sort who embraced the idea that there was no universal truth, but he had come to understand that it was certainly broader than individual facts might seem to declare. The sixth layer of the sea of spiritual totems was, as far as anyone was aware, the deepest anyone could go. That was what made Ursel¡¯s advancement to the Soul Expansion Phase so impressive, among other things. She¡¯d skipped entirely past fifth tier totems and attuned to one at the sixth tier. That was not John¡¯s path, but for her it worked. The pressure of the sixth layer was difficult for even John to bear for long. Sometimes he could spend half an hour perusing the sea of spiritual totems, and other times only a few minutes. He reviewed various concepts, searching more through intuition and whim than any sort of proper plan at the moment. Darkened glass certainly involved light, but even if he could find something similar that was a light totem it would dull the power rather than being a useful balance. Totems at the sixth tier were often seen as the final evolution of some previous totem, but John didn¡¯t believe that was necessarily the case. As always, the situation was more complicated. Would a tree of darkness be the same thing as what John had, raised from a seed? Perhaps it would, but in other ways it might be missing something important. The tree might be exactly the same, but without the emotional connection its effectiveness might lag behind. Then again, that might be an element of John¡¯s personal path, and it was entirely possible that others would find the current state of their totems to be all that mattered. Having lived only a short stint of cultivation as another person, John couldn¡¯t say for certain that there was any particular universal truth to be had there. Indeed, even the parts of life that Fortkran had lived were now part of him, even if he had only stood on the threshold of the Foundation Phase at his furthest. Light totems that caught John¡¯s eye whether for utility or simply because of their nature included the following: Light reflecting through glass and especially prisms, rainbows, stars at night, and lights in the city. Prisms and rainbows had little connection to darkness, but representing diverse spectrums of light resonated with John¡¯s many elements. The latter two were light among the darkness, not competing with it but enhanced by that very thing and indeed only visible because of the general darkness. John was far from choosing his next totem, and he wasn¡¯t even certain if he would be able to follow the path to the threshold of the Exalted Soul Phase, but he was still going to put in the effort to maximize his possible chances, starting from the very first rank of the Ascending Soul Phase. Chapter 338 There were two reasonable paths for John on his journey to compete with the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators he knew. There weren¡¯t exactly many of them- though there were a good number of individuals on the threshold throughout the region and the next decade might see a significant change in that numbers. Besides John himself, however, there were only six. Four humans, and two spirit beasts. Perhaps there were a few other guardian beasts that had achieved the same level of power, but if so they were kept secret. It was quite likely that the Sky Islands had more Ascending Soul Phase cultivators than Sitora herself, but they hadn¡¯t been able to properly confirm that. The Molten Sea was quite a bit further away, so little proper news came from them. Then again, they had missed the news of Rezso in the Muted Crags until he began causing trouble. That was a mistake John had resolved not to repeat, and he was keeping tabs as far away as practical. That might improve as their communication lines grew to bridge between different elemental reasons, but for the moment messenger beasts were still among their most reliable and fastest methods. For those cultivators he did have access to, the route that would be easier would involve training with Ciaritzal first, then Renato. Those were his first two elements, so it would get him used to such clashes. Sadly he didn¡¯t know any air cultivators aside from Sitora, and water cultivators were completely out. There was something to learn from both Steve and Yustina, and the latter had a good understanding of water even if she was no longer a water cultivator. Finally, there was Cuah¡¯arn, a spirit beast of light. John would have the most trouble with her. Which was why he was going to fight her first. The chance of him losing the battle was quite high. Over ninety percent, in John¡¯s estimation. Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s advancement had come quite some time before, and while the spirit beast wasn¡¯t growing rapidly she was consistent. She should still be in the early Ascending Soul Phase for a few decades, but she would be stably positioned and in control of her full power. ----- Any random person who walked up to the Golden Tomb Guardians would not be able to see Cuah¡¯arn as they pleased, but John had a long history with both her and the sect. He still put in a formal request, but he hardly had to wait a few moments after his arrival. John found that the ¡®tomb¡¯ was even more oppressive than before. In a technical sense it was easier to move through, as the majority of the traps had been disabled. Cuah¡¯arn was no longer wounded, and quite capable of defending herself against any intruders- not that anyone would make it that far with the overall growth of the sect. Her power was greater and John was even more sensitive to light now, but not only in a bad way. He could feel the danger, but he was able to recognize that it was still safe enough to move around. The area still gave him a headache though. ¡°You don¡¯t often come here in person,¡± Cuah¡¯arn commented in place of a greeting. ¡°It¡¯s not currently my preferred sort of environment,¡± John admitted. ¡°What is your purpose?¡± Cuah¡¯arn asked directly. ¡°I want to spar with you,¡± John said, explaining the reasoning behind his request. ¡°I¡¯ve come prepared with gifts for the sect for the inconvenience.¡± If they were to battle seriously, there was no guarantee Cuah¡¯arn would get by without injuries. It wouldn¡¯t be the same as her battles with Ciaritzal, of course, as there wouldn¡¯t be anything left behind to maintain such a wound. Even so, having their guardian beast weakened for even a short time could be a risk for them. ¡°I hope we will not have any need of such treasures, but the sect will gladly accept them in either case,¡± Cuah¡¯arn finished. ¡°Where shall we battle?¡± ¡°I believe somewhere in this place would be most appropriate,¡± John said. ¡°Though if you would perform better outside, I would wish to face you there.¡± ¡°Here will suffice,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said, spreading her wings. The avian figure had little form John could make out, and that only intensified as her figure shrunk. ¡°We will inform the sect, and then we shall have our battle. I look forward to see what you can do with your other elements.¡± ----- When the battle began, John barely managed to dodge out of the way as Cuah¡¯arn rushed past him. She was fortunately nowhere near close to the speed of light, but she was not constrained by mass either. Her claws snipped closed just over his shoulder. The attack didn¡¯t end there. With a powerful flap of her wings, Cuah¡¯arn halted her momentum while at the same time sending a barrage of feathers towards John. He swept his hand, driving them away with a gust of wind. Though they lacked weight, the force behind them was still significant. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. John didn¡¯t have any time to slowly build up his elements, and he couldn¡¯t simply stay on the defensive. Though it was a simple trick he¡¯d used in many battles, John still flicked a throwing dagger from his left hand, unabashedly coated in darkness. Cuah¡¯arn twisted her body out of the way, but she had to do more than that to avoid being struck. The dagger sought out her concentrated light, forcing her to further push her momentum to the side instead of charging towards John once more. John stomped the floor, loosening the stones so he would be able to form a barrier when he needed it. Flames coiled around his sword as he slashed towards Cuah¡¯arn passing by. His intent was to catch her feathers alight- not something that could normally be done with light, but John¡¯s Ethereal Flames would be able to burn away her spiritual energy. However, even without having seen that trick before she took his assault quite seriously, rapidly extinguishing the flames despite their obvious lack of heat or danger. As Cuah¡¯arn turned about once more, stopping in the corner of the large central chamber, she opened her mouth wide, letting out a screech- and focusing a beam of light towards him. That was where the loosened floor came in handy, as he raised it up and reinforced it with earth. Even so, he was struck for a few moments. John protected himself with air and fire elements, so that they had no particular weakness against the assault. Darkness would have just cost him dearly. Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s assault didn¡¯t stop, the barrier of stone blocks heating up and beginning to melt in its center. John responded with the element of water, some of which instantly vaporized from the heat. However, that was part of the plan as the clouds of steam were then controlled to refract in all directions, effectively neutralizing it. Deciding she was done with that particular avenue of attack, Cuah¡¯arn once again made use of her feathers. However, she didn¡¯t just attack directly, instead bouncing her feathers off of the walls and ceiling. The whole area was infused with the light element, and they acted much like reflective surfaces. They came at John from nearly every angle, and he dove downward, under the floor- pulling the stone blocks on top of himself. The feathers crashed into the barrier, and he moved through the earth. If he didn¡¯t have darkness to conceal himself his movements would have been far too slow, and even with that he was concerned Cuah¡¯arn would pick up the slight fluctuations. While the ground itself wasn¡¯t charged with the light element, the stone blocks were and if he didn¡¯t keep his darkness tightly constrained they could react. He slid through the earth for only a few moments before leaping upward, launching the stone blocks towards the greatest concentration of light above. John sprang out of the ground with his sword wrapped in darkness, which nearly cost him the match then and there. His attack had been aimed where he thought Cuah¡¯arn was, but light could be just as tricky as darkness. He destroyed only a shell, and another beam of light was focused on him. He blocked with his sword, causing an explosion as light and darkness clashed. He allowed the explosion to push him back, catching himself with his sword in the ground and spinning to the side. His cycle of elements was pushing at full blast as he launched lightning from his left hand, only to have it smacked away by Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s wing. John just barely readied himself for her next charge, darkness on his sword augmented with the four core elements for stability. He cut towards her belly as her claws reached for him. Cuah¡¯arn grabbed the blade of his sword in one claw, the other stopping just short of his eye. Light and darkness clashed in her other claw, but John had to give up that struggle for fear of destroying his own weapon. He stepped back, closing his eye with the image of the talon still embedded in his retina. She had pierced precisely through his defensive energy, and he hadn¡¯t been swift enough to avoid her. Indeed, she¡¯d used his own counterattack to anchor her position for the assault. ¡°You¡¯ve clearly been fighting more battles than I have heard of,¡± John said, his eyes still closed. ¡°You reacted to each element brilliantly.¡± ¡°I may not understand as much as you about any of the six elements beyond light,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said. ¡°But I understand very well how the five others react to light in particular. And of course, I am in excellent control of the totality of my strength. That is what you came here for, isn¡¯t it? To experience that?¡± He nodded. ¡°More or less.¡± There were two ways this could have gone. First, his cycle of elements was so strong that he could immediately overcome an experienced combatant that wielded his one true weakness. No matter how much he trained against light, that was still the case. He could cover for that weakness, but fully erasing it would require reaching the next Phase. And more importantly, training. The second and much less likely outcome of the battle was John¡¯s victory. If he had immediately been able to overcome Cuah¡¯arn- and then all of the others- then he would actually have reason to back up an unlimited confidence in his own power. That hadn¡¯t happened, and John thought that was probably a good thing. No, immediately seeking out the worst opponent for himself and taking a loss was just what he needed. Even if he won all of his other matches- which was debatable, as the others would also have years of stability under their belt and had mastery over their single element- starting off this way would remind him he wasn¡¯t invincible. Even though he¡¯d kind of felt like it after he¡¯d made his advancement. There was nothing particularly special about what Cuah¡¯arn had done, and her power wasn¡¯t unreasonably higher than his own. No, it was just years of dedication and training. A deep understanding of her own element and how it interacted with others. It wasn¡¯t her elemental advantage either- because while light was indeed John¡¯s weakness, darkness was still the weakness of light. Both were mutually destructive, so the one with greater skill came out on top. ¡°Thank you for your guidance,¡± John said. ¡°I have much to think about.¡± He breathed out slowly, then drew another breath back in. ¡°And now everything will be much easier.¡± After all, he didn¡¯t have to worry about losing. He¡¯d already done that. And he¡¯d make sure that the Golden Tomb Guardians were aware. He should probably put their floor back together too. He could even repair the melted blocks, though he wasn¡¯t exactly an expert craftsman so they might have to polish the top. Structurally, though, it would work out. But that would come later. It had been a short battle, but he was exhausted. He could feel the light element around him causing his skin to itch¡­ and he wondered if he could do something about that. Perhaps some sort of dividing line that light and darkness would not easily cross? No, that would limit his own techniques. But he could likely better train his own energy. Chapter 339 Before John moved on from the Golden Tomb Guardians, Deirdre came to see him. They had become friends after they first met, and they had remained friends after she reached her current form. An unfortunate turn in Deirdre¡¯s cultivation had put her in a perilous situation, and Cuah¡¯arn called upon John for help. However, he wasn¡¯t able to restrain her spiritual energy, and the actual Deirdre died. ¡°How are you doing?¡± John asked. They had already interacted publicly, of course, but that didn¡¯t give them much chance to really talk. ¡°Not as well I¡¯d like to be. At least, in terms of cultivation,¡± Deirdre admitted. ¡°I¡¯m the last to join the ¡®club¡¯, and I¡¯m last to reach the Ascending Soul Phase. Or rather, the issue is that I¡¯m having trouble.¡± ¡°Well, you know that I¡¯m not going to be much help with light element insights. So what troubles are you experiencing?¡± ¡°I find myself lacking some needed experience. The me who is Odette, I mean,¡± she clarified. ¡°I have memories of early cultivation that I can make use of, but they¡¯re not really mine. I was able to advance to the Consolidated Soul Phase, but I can tell the Ascending Soul Phase is going to be more difficult. I think what I¡¯m missing is that early experience.¡± John nodded. ¡°So you came to me, three time participant in the Spiritual Collection Phase. What precisely do you think you need?¡± ¡°Well, if possible¡­ I¡¯d like to experience early cultivation safely. Without destroying what I already have.¡± John nodded. ¡°Well, though I¡¯ve never really done it on purpose I can draw from my experiences and provide the former option to you. But, if you don¡¯t want to actually reset your cultivation I think I¡¯ll be of less help. I can still suggest a few things, though.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± Deirdre asked. ¡°You can suppress your cultivation and spar with people. I don¡¯t know if that will gain you the insights you want, but I think you¡¯d figure out fairly quickly if it was helpful. Other than that¡­ watch others,¡± John suggested. ¡°See how they grow in early cultivation, their successes and their struggles. Teach and guide them.¡± Deirdre frowned. ¡°I do teach people but¡­ usually those who are more advanced. Aside from giving classes to large groups, at least. Such sessions don¡¯t leave much room for personal attention.¡± ¡°Right, well, that¡¯s what I would suggest,¡± John said. ¡°Though if you are going to restart your cultivation, sooner is better than later.¡± ¡°I¡¯d very much like to avoid that,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to ask others for help as well,¡± John said. ¡°Cuah¡¯arn already knows about your transmigration, and a spirit beast will provide a different perspective. But since you¡¯ve pinpointed the problem, you can always ask others about the issue. Saying you feel distant from your ealy cultivation and it¡¯s holding you back is still truthful. And I wouldn¡¯t worry too much, since knowing your area of weakness means you¡¯re on the path to success.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°I feel quite a bit better. And good luck with the rest of your training journey.¡± ¡°I appreciate it,¡± John said. ¡°Though at least I shouldn¡¯t expect to lose so badly elsewhere.¡± ----- The path from the Golden Tomb Guardians to the Milanovic clan was almost a direct line south from the Sunfields into the Green Sands. However, that also placed Zolvolj directly in the path. Because of that, any actual roads went around to the west. So as to not make things unnecessarily difficult on his traveling companions, they took the normal route, even though they could have saved some time. There were situations where it was worth it, and other situations where there was sufficient time that avoiding trouble was better. The chances of John and his group running into trouble they could not handle was quite small, but if there was going to be anything having it occur away from the roads would be far worse. And John didn¡¯t mind spending a couple extra days in the Green Sands anyway. He¡¯d come a long way from his early experience with the Green Sands. The first time, he had been a darkness and earth cultivators, especially weak to the surrounding heat. An enchanted carriage had barely made the journey tolerable. He¡¯d learned to resist the heat, channeling it away from him- generally into the ground below. That had been the best option at the time, but now he had far greater experience- and he had a fire totem. Any level of heat that wouldn¡¯t be deadly to non-cultivators was a pleasant warmth to him. Though each element was different from the others, they were all comfortable in their own ways. Except light, currently, but that was the final step. Among his escort were Ayhan and Lir, as the former urchins were some of the most prominent members of the Six Elements Crossroads. There were a few people who had joined with higher cultivations, but there weren¡¯t any who had been with the sect longer than them. They had been with John half of their lives, more or less, and over that decade and a half trust had grown between them. That was more important than slightly higher cultivations. Ayhan had each of the core elements except for fire. He was still much more comfortable than John had been, both due to his greater cultivation and having water as a dominating element. However, if he focused on dealing with the fire element not by destroying it but guiding it as practice for his next totem he would benefit from the travel more. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. John made sure to give everyone traveling along proper guidance, and while there were people more knowledgeable than him in individual elements, now that he was properly in the Ascending Soul Phase he was in a fairly unique place. John didn¡¯t know of anyone who had successfully completed a cycle of core elements beyond himself and Raul. Not that he thought it was impossible, but the idea was only just being seen as viable within the region, and they were at the leading edge of the wave. The group traveling with John were nominally there to guard him, but without any Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among them it would be quite difficult for them to do more than support him. The Six Elements Crossroads was lacking top ranking cultivators aside from John, though he was quite confident they were on the path to overcoming that issue within the next decade or two. There weren¡¯t actually many dangers, going from allied sect to allied sect. The region wasn¡¯t perfectly free of conflict, and wild beasts and other natural dangers still existed, but these were the most peaceful days in some time. John simply enjoyed the sun reflecting off the beautiful sand, and he was even able to enjoy the heat as they traveled. ----- Though John would have preferred to go directly to see Steve and Yustina, he couldn¡¯t just ignore the rest of the clan. Aside from political reasons, he was still quite fond of some of the leadership, so he was willing to go through the appropriate process for a visiting sect head. Alina had long been in control of the clan, even though she had made some unpopular decisions long in the past. One of those was choosing her own husband. That was what had set off the first real interactions between the Tenebach clan and the Milanovic clan, and Tempkeit had long since integrated into the Milanovic clan. The reason Alina maintained control of the clan was in part due to the drive that let her make such a decision to begin with. She had chosen what was best for her, and she would always act in ways she thought were best for the clan. With the support of Steve and Yustina, it would be pretty much impossible to displace her, though she had also established herself as a central pillar of the clan and would maintain that position without them. As long as they didn¡¯t express displeasure with her, of course. There was only so much people would be willing to act against two Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. Not that John thought such a situation was likely, as they were quite happy with the way she was running things. Or rather, Yustina was happy and Steve honestly didn¡¯t care about the clan politics. Like the other core factions of the alliance, the Milanovic clan was the strongest power in their surroundings. They could shape the Green Sands as they pleased¡­ but importantly, they used that power to promote general power and unity rather than directly enriching themselves. If another crisis came and they were the only competent faction in the region, they knew how much they would regret it. John found the lifespans of cultivators quite interesting. Short term growth could be quite important to them in certain circumstances, but they were always going to be around for the long term. That didn¡¯t mean nobody was corrupt or that they never prioritized the wrong things, but time made the value of their choices abundantly clear. They would nearly always live long enough to experience the consequences of their actions. ----- John intended to spar with both Steve and Yustina separately. Though he did also consider fighting them together. He would obviously lose that, but he might learn something. That was only relevant if he held his own against them individually well enough. Though they were single element cultivators, that didn¡¯t necessarily make them weaker than his own path. Among other things their earlier successes in the Ascending Soul Phase put them at a higher rank than John, and even a slight edge in power could be turned into a great advantage by those otherwise similar in ability. Steve was John¡¯s first target. They were most experienced fighting against each other, but John hadn¡¯t had a proper battle where he also had control over fire. Knowing that Steve¡¯s power tended to grow over the course of a fight, John started out the gate with aggressive offense. They fought on the slopes of Zolvolj, since they didn¡¯t want to cause any damage to the clan grounds. The volcano itself was sufficiently pitted and cracked already, so it wasn¡¯t as if they would mar some sort of pristine landscape. Knowing that Steve would be able to counter water element attacks, John focused on air and darkness offensively. A combination of lightning charged around his sword and the technique Gravity Blade that made it difficult for Steve to parry his attack and immediately disengage meant he was able to keep up constant pressure. Even moments after the battle began, Steve was surrounded by a constant pillar of fire. Weaker ranged attacks wouldn¡¯t penetrate, but fighting inside the area would wear down John. He protected himself with the water element, but he also made certain to channel away the heat so that it didn¡¯t build up. Though Steve tended to heat up during a battle, he still came out swinging. His attacks melted the ground around them, and there was constant pressure from both sides as they tried to break through the other¡¯s defenses, landing a solid blow. Rather than it being a weakness, Steve had learned to use the way he overheated during combat to further his own advantage, as it was simply more power for him to expel. It was a risky maneuver that showed his mastery over the element, maximizing its effectiveness. Soon enough, Steve¡¯s attacks began to overwhelm John, and it was all he could do to channel the power away from himself. He had a plan, however. He drew his opponent after him, traversing through the battlefield they had already fought in. When he felt the time was right, John reached out to draw upon all of the fire element he¡¯d channeled into the ground, forcing it towards Steve. At some point in the past, the maneuver might have worked. However, he had underestimated the changes Steve had undergone as he advanced to the Ascending Soul Phase. John had never intended to defeat his friend with only fire element. That would have been simple arrogance. Instead, the intention was to disrupt Steve¡¯s flow of energy with a sudden surge. John was ready to take advantage of the moment, filling his sword with icy water element¡­ but rather than his spiritual energy being disrupted, Steve began to pull in all the stored heat in the surroundings as well. A moment later John found himself standing alone on a pillar of hot stone, swirling flames having melted everything around him for twenty meters. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t say that he protected himself from the assault- it was clear that the attack was targeted around him precisely because of how devastating it would have been. ¡°You win,¡± John conceded. ¡°I thought I would at least cause you to stumble a little¡­¡± Steve shook his head. ¡°You¡¯d need a much greater surge than that to throw me off. And while I didn¡¯t pick up on what your plan was, I still saw where all that heat was going.¡± John wondered what his loss said for his chances against Yustina. She was much more skilled¡­ but she was less focused on overwhelming power. The same trick would have failed against her for entirely different reasons, but John didn¡¯t know if he had a particularly better option against Steve except to try to beat him in a battle of attrition- and most likely Steve would have found a moment to overpower him anyway. Chapter 340 While John had battled with Steve many times throughout the course of their friendship, the number of times he had sparred with Yustina was significantly fewer. That had little to do with Yustina and her value as an opponent, but more to do with the way Steve tended to challenge everyone every time they met. John¡¯s intention was to use a technique he had been working on, but he hadn¡¯t been able to deploy it against Steve. Perhaps he still should have tried it knowing it likely wouldn¡¯t work just to get experience, but John was also trying to win. He felt he should at least try to trust his own judgment about whether or not it would work. Of course, he might fail to use it properly against Yustina as well, but the difference in style and temperament would hopefully work to his advantage. John didn¡¯t actually have a huge variety of codified techniques, generally relying on his free flowing elemental style. He was once again facing battle on the slopes of Zolvolj, but as the battle began John appeared to do nothing except wait for his opponent to engage. He had considered how he might make use of his particular technique, and ultimately settled on a combination of air, water, and fire. Earth would make it more stable, but that was counteracted by the element of his opponent. It also wasn¡¯t appropriate for the particular technique. Darkness, as always, kept his true intentions hidden. With his apparent hesitation, Yustina took advantage of the opportunity to gather her own spiritual energy. Flames rose around her, then rushed forward in a wave that covered John, clinging around him. Said flames ate away at his spiritual energy, but John didn¡¯t simply sit idly and allow himself to be assaulted. His prepared elements worked together, mixing in among Yustina¡¯s spiritual energy and dissecting it. While that took place, John launched his own attacks, throwing daggers keeping her off guard while he charged forward with a flurry of blade strikes. The daggers were serious threats in their own right, though they could only carry a certain amount of spiritual energy with each attack. Yustina deftly avoided his swings, only occasionally requiring her spiritual energy to deflect his attacks. When she did so, a sheet of flame came to meet his blade with the gentle style of water worked into her technique. The dismantling of the energy clinging to him relied on one key component that John had used throughout his career as a cultivator- Spiritual Energy Absorption. For the first time he was actually able to take more than a modest amount of fire element into himself, as he properly had his own totem now. John¡¯s efforts absorbing the flames around him ended up near a net neutral, but that meant he came out ahead by about as much effort as Yustina spent on the attack. John also had his own combination of techniques that could produce similar results when attacking his opponent. Clinging Affliction combined with Spiritual Energy Absorption to create a longer lasting assault on his enemy, feeding off of their defenses to fuel the attack. Most of the time, his opponents would divest themselves of a portion of their spiritual energy to be rid of his assault, but the particular nature of his fire totem gave him an advantage here. His fire totem was the Ethereal Flames, practically invisible and almost undetectable through other means. Of course, if his attacks looked like nothing then Yustina would undoubtedly be more cautious. Instead, the other elements infused into his attacks seemed as if they were intended to break down Yustina¡¯s defenses on contact, so she wouldn¡¯t be surprised when she found some of her spiritual energy missing. Not that John expected such a strategy to last forever. His allies were all aware of his totems, after all, and so John did his best to display some more obvious uses of fire element. As usual during a battle, he circulated the five elements within himself to feed into each other, strengthening with each cycle to the limits of his control. Wave after wave of flames from Yustina targeted him as she did her best to avoid his attacks in turn, the instantaneous damage beginning to wear down John¡¯s defenses even as the clinging flames did little. In turn, he secretly carved away more of her spiritual energy with each assault. The hope was that by the time she recognized how much damage had been done, it was too late. John had a high assessment of Yustina¡¯s ability, which was why he had planned the battle as much as possible. Obviously he¡¯d taken Steve seriously as well, but he also knew that in-depth plans were useless against the man. His main plan always had to be expecting Steve to overcome whatever was thrown at him. And John hadn¡¯t quite been able to endure. Against Yustina, however, he had an advantage in raw power. Though her experience as a water cultivator in her previous life meant she could easily compensate for her elemental weakness, John made use of all of his elements to wear her down. That included earth, though he didn¡¯t use it for any direct offense or defense. Instead, he used it to mess with her footing or to bolster his own movements rather than clashing with her fire element. John was aware of the state of Yustina¡¯s defenses, perhaps slightly more than even she was. When he found the perfect opportunity, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through a weak point where his Clinging Affliction had managed to wear down her flow of energy. His weapon came to rest against her textile armor, making it clear he had the ability to follow through. ¡°I surrender,¡± she said, stepping back. ¡°How disappointing, I¡¯d hoped for both of us to beat you.¡± She closed her eyes for a moment, assessing both her own spiritual energy and John¡¯s. ¡°I see. I thought I was the one wearing you down, but the opposite was the case. How problematic.¡± ¡°Thank you for the match,¡± John said. ¡°I learned much.¡± ¡°Myself as well,¡± Yustina admitted. ¡°Perhaps next time I will be the one to defeat you.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Only if you properly train. I still have two more opponents to test myself on this journey.¡± ----- ¡°I found something.¡± John¡¯s return to the Tenebach clan after the tournament and the first segment of his training journey was met with an immediate declaration from Ereli, missing even the introductory elements such as ¡®welcome back, grandfather¡¯. Perhaps that simply showed what was important to her. ¡°What did you find?¡± John asked. ¡°A totem,¡± Ereli replied. ¡°The moon.¡± ¡°The moon?¡± John pondered for a few moments. Depending on perspective, the moon could be many different elements. It could easily represent the element of earth- the one around this planet seemed to be just as much made of rock as the one around Earth. Likewise, it could be a water totem because of its effects on the tides. Of course, Ereli was a light and darkness cultivator so¡­ was that represented by the way it lit up the sky? It reflected the light of the sun, after all. ¡°I see,¡± John said. ¡°Like the cycles of the moon, from new moon to full moon?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ereli said directly. ¡°Okay¡­ can I look at your totem?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stop you,¡± Ereli said. ¡°I was asking for permission to look,¡± John clarified. She nodded. ¡°Yes. See it.¡± John carefully reached forward with his spiritual energy, feeling the way Ereli¡¯s new totem affected her spiritual energy. Confirming that she indeed had a totem was simple, but reading deeper took more observation. If Ereli had actively been using her energy to make use of the qualities of her totem, it would have been faster. Slowly, John began to form a picture. The moon in the sky, shining bright. That was the light. He knew she wanted a totem that balanced light and darkness¡­ so where was the darkness? ¡°Hmm,¡± John said. ¡°I honestly can¡¯t quite figure it out.¡± ¡°You will see,¡± she said. ¡°Tonight.¡± Then she turned to leave. Interesting. Would her totem change at night? That was one way to do it, though he wasn¡¯t sure if that would help with her balance. But she was the one who chose it, so she should have had some reason. ----- After Ereli wandered off, John found his way to outside Melanthina¡¯s office. Not long after, the petitioner inside scurried out. ¡°Come in!¡± Melanthina said. ¡°I didn¡¯t intend for you to hurry your other guests,¡± John said, stepping inside. ¡°Nah, I was done with that woman anyway. You were just a good excuse to get her out.¡± ¡°I would be offended,¡± John said. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t taught you that.¡± Melanthina grinned. ¡°Did Ereli find you? She was excited to show you her new totem.¡± ¡°Excited¡­ isn¡¯t necessarily the word I would have used,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I suppose she did come find me instead of the other way around. I don¡¯t really understand her totem, even after trying to feel it, but she said I would see tonight.¡± John wondered if there was a special lunar event? He didn¡¯t usually keep track of that. ¡°You¡¯ll figure it out pretty quickly. I have to say it was a unique choice. I wasn¡¯t really sure what to expect, but I can follow where the logic came from. And for Ereli, there wasn¡¯t really an option to deal with safe, traditional totems so I¡¯m not surprised she ended up with something so unusual.¡± ¡°How are things here?¡± John asked. ¡°The clan is doing well¡­ though Crystin wanted to speak with you as well.¡± ¡°Is she alright?¡± Melanthina nodded. ¡°She¡¯s fine. How about you? How did your previous battles go on this trip?¡± ¡°Two out of three¡­ were losses. But that¡¯s not terribly unexpected,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m still getting a handle on the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still quite a distance away,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°I¡¯m barely in the Mid Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± ¡°Considering you reached the Consolidated Soul Phase younger than myself- after holding yourself back for the sake of Ereli- it¡¯s not unreasonable. Ten years from the twenty-eighth to the thirty-second rank isn¡¯t bad at all.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ but Ursel is almost in the late Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± John chuckled. ¡°Is that the problem? I¡¯d think you should know enough not to compare yourself to others too harshly by now. You have more¡­ responsibilities than Ursel does.¡± ¡°She mostly runs around crushing things with a stone club,¡± Melanthina agreed. ¡°Still, her totems¡­ they¡¯re also amazing.¡± ¡°You know her third one was for you, though. She skipped an entire layer just to try to rescue you.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Melanthina sighed. ¡°You know, we¡¯ve been hoping to find a chance to return to the Prismatic Chambers the next time they open.¡± ¡°That might be a good idea,¡± John agreed. ¡°Though I¡¯d keep a close watch on any mischievous daughters or nieces.¡± ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t even go running off on purpose in there!¡± Melanthina complained. John just grinned. ----- The reason Crystin wished to speak with John was pretty straightforward, and well within expectations. She was looking at trying to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase, and John had properly completed his advancement now. ¡°I¡¯ve talked to the others,¡± Crystin admitted. ¡°And of course there¡¯s your previous advice. However, you know me the best. Maybe you can find what I¡¯m missing.¡± ¡°Even without talking it over, I think there¡¯s one thing I can say from my own experience. What you need most is a reason.¡± ¡°A reason¡­? Like, to advance to the next Phase? Obviously, it¡¯s to become stronger.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± John said. ¡°But for who? Is it for yourself? For the clan? It can be both, or neither. Personally, my first attempt was jumbled up partly because of that. Obviously, it was also because I was missing insights into how things worked but if I had understood other things better that would have fallen into place.¡± ¡°So what was it, in the end?¡± ¡°I had a lot of people help me grow, and I wanted to show them their trust wasn¡¯t misplaced. And on the spiritual energy side, I came to realize how serious the change was. It¡¯s more than a simple bump in power. Renato hasn¡¯t really gone into detail over his advancement, but Steve and Yustina¡­ well, they were immersed in flames the entire time they were missing, more or less.¡± ¡°I think I want to do it for everyone. The clan. You. Our allies. And myself, of course.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John said. ¡°Now just make sure you know that, and don¡¯t just think it. And of course, we¡¯ll consider the technical aspects of what transformation will occur.¡± Chapter 341 Previously, Crystin had been with John the majority of the time. That continued even after he officially relinquished his status as clan head. Her loyal protection had been critical to John at multiple points throughout his life, so whens he actually requested something for herself he took it very seriously. Of course, it wasn¡¯t entirely for herself. Crystin¡¯s desire to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase would be greatly beneficial to the Tenebach clan and their allies. Strong allies were usually an effective deterrent against trouble, but having someone directly present was far better. Unsurprisingly, despite the recent efforts to bring people together the region wasn¡¯t fully unified in just a few decades after long histories of conflict. Even if Crystin simply wished to advance to know she could, it would have the same benefits when she succeeded. John believed her success to be likely, but he couldn¡¯t be sure. He provided his best advice, doing his best not to focus on insights personal to himself and his own experiences. The most important advice he had was not to rush the process. While urgency could be a valuable tool, it also came with greater risks. And if it was not truly necessary, rushing was usually a mistake. John found that true in all walks of life. ----- His semi-final opponent was¡­ larger than he remembered. Then again, Ciaritzal was a spirit beast and didn¡¯t necessarily have any defined size. John had also interacted less with Ciaritzal after he attained his current strength. Well, whether the size was a legitimate threat or a mere attempt at intimidation, he had to deal with it regardless. They stood in a bare section of the constructed underground, but John already knew it would need repairs after the battle. ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are,¡± Ciaritzal said. John nodded. ¡°I am ready.¡± There was little need for any sort of official referee, however they still had members of the clan watching from the sidelines. There might be something they could learn from the battle. Against a creature of darkness, attempting to conceal his actions with darkness was pointless. At best, the results he achieved would still lose out to the effort. Thus, he focused on a more straightforward tactic to start. John began with several throwing daggers, charged with lightning. The indistinct form of Ciaritzal bent and swayed, easily avoiding all of the attacks. That wasn¡¯t John¡¯s intention, but it was predicted. If he couldn¡¯t hide the elements involved, he could at least still keep his plans secret. If they had hit, it would have been to his advantage¡­ but their current position allowed lightning to arc between the three of them, forcing Ciaritzal to leap out of their path. In the moment the beast was in the air, John slashed forward with his sword, covered in flames. He aimed for Ciaritzal¡¯s side and¡­ clashed against an unexpected claw. ¡°Nice try,¡± the guardian beast said when he landed, fading into the shadows- even to John¡¯s enhanced vision he was little more than an indistinct blur. Picking out anything but his general location was difficult. It was his very focus on trying to spot Ciaritzal that got him in trouble. He watched the darkness, and nearly wasn¡¯t ready when it came from his side. As for why Ciaritzal attacked his side, he would actually have been more wary of his back. Wisps of darkness within the local darkness struck at John, forcing him to take the hit directly, blocking with earth element and tumbling across the floor. Rather than being undetectable, the sense of Ciaritzal suffused the area so deeply that picking out which part was real and which was not seemed impossible to John. He found himself cutting at shadows, yet he always found himself striking nothing, leaving himself open to further attacks. Constantly weathering blows was going to get him nowhere. Tracking Ciaritzal¡¯s movements was obviously not working for him. He seemed to possess impossible speed. Or perhaps¡­ he wasn¡¯t moving at all. John once again gathered fire on his blade, slashing outward at a perceived threat. When his attack failed, he was not surprised. Spectral jaws nipped at his heels, but his fire element joined with water, empowering it. A burst of steam blasted away the attack and filled the room. With that, John was able to confirm what he suspected. Ciaritzal wasn¡¯t moving faster than he could react, he simply wasn¡¯t there to be struck at all. At the moment he was little more than spiritual energy spread throughout the room, diffuse and unable to be attacked. Meanwhile, he could attack from literally any angle. A powerful move, but not without its weaknesses. Whether or not John would be able to exploit them was another matter. Spirit beasts had bodies for a reason, so it was unlikely Ciaritzal could keep up the technique forever. However, even if John could drag out the fight long enough to tire the guardian beast, he didn¡¯t necessarily want to end it that way. And he wasn¡¯t sure it was actually possible. Five elements circled through him, bolstering each other in the minor cycle aligned with darkness and the cycle of core elements. Rather than trying to hide what spiritual energy he prepared, John simply kept all of it ready to react depending on the circumstances. It was pointless to attack nothing, but John still kept his blade empowered with flames. He simply waited, anticipating the next attack. It seemed Ciaritzal also wasn¡¯t interested in a stalemate of sorts, and a claw manifested over John¡¯s head. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Fire led into water which bolstered air, creating a layer of lightning atop John¡¯s head, outside a hardened layer of earth element. The claw struck him, but took at least as much damage as it caused. The quantity of darkness element in the area diminished. Good, if there were truly no ways for him to counterattack he could only run¡­ though John decided if he found himself in such circumstances in a real situation, that would be the most appropriate. Choosing to fight in a battlefield slanted against him was valuable for training, but not so much for surviving. The two clashed repeatedly, John doing his best to anticipate Ciaritzals method of attack and Ciaritzal in turn trying to predict his counters. John froze the attacking appendage, wreathe it in flames, and simply covered his body in spikes. His final tactic was to try to use his own darkness element to disperse the surrounding spiritual energy. Ciaritzal didn¡¯t let him take control and absorb any of it, instead wrestling with John¡¯s efforts to make sure both of them were drained. In the end, it all came down to a final move. John spun his sword, stabbing forward and to his left, opposite his sword hand. Ciaritzal had only just begun to form a claw there, and John managed to land a solid hit, stopping it just short of reaching his own side. ¡°How?¡± Ciaritzal asked. John shrugged. ¡°I know you, and I know that you know me. With my left hand empty, that¡¯s my weakest side.¡± ¡°Why not directly to your left?¡± Ciaritzal asked. ¡°Same reason. You knew that was the weakest, so you didn¡¯t focus there. Only one of your first attacks, to see if I could guard against it.¡± ¡°Hmph. That¡¯s what a strong affinity gets you, I suppose.¡± ----- Nightfall came, and with it Ereli¡¯s promised insight into her totem. John went looking for her, and stumbled across her meaning along the way. She was right. It was easy to see, if he looked right. John looked up at the moon, shining brightly in the sky. That was how he recognized it was not the moon that was Ereli¡¯s totem. The moon was only part of it. It was the light¡­ and the rest was the darkness. He understood now. The moon was only a source of light at night. Not that it couldn¡¯t be seen during the day, depending on the circumstances, but nobody would say they were bathed in moonlight. Her totem wasn¡¯t the moon, but the very feeling of looking up at the moon in the night. Finding it as a source of light in the darkness, yet in its own way not a source of light at all. Most days, it couldn¡¯t be seen at all, and only faintly when it was- dim as it was in true light. It was a consistent cycle of light in the darkness and darkness in the light. A totem of balance between light and darkness, and the way that circumstances changed one to the other. Staring up at the night sky was the place John saw the greatest natural balance of light and darkness. John continued his mission to find Ereli, spotting her sitting by a pool, staring at a reflection of that same night sky. ¡°You chose well,¡± John said. ¡°A natural balance rather than one manmade. And something fitting yourself rather than something others recommended.¡± ¡°It was the only one,¡± Ereli said. ¡°Nothing else fit.¡± John nodded. Understanding more about her totem, he also saw how her energy was subdued. Not weak, though clearly far from the explosive results regarding the interplay of light and darkness. Nearly the opposite of her father Nik, who had focused on the mutual destruction and chosen to master his control over it. But of course, it was perfectly fitting for one who had to live with the elements, instead of simply combat the other- or train with someone controlling the opposite. ¡°Have you thought about your next totem?¡± John asked. ¡°No,¡± Ereli answered straightforwardly. That caused an awkward break in the conversation. She might have said she was still some time off from stepping into the next rank and reaching the Foundation Phase, but instead she responded in that way. And maybe that was fine. She was still young. Besides, John realized that there was a question that hadn¡¯t been asked. ¡°Do you want to cultivate?¡± Being born with light and darkness within her, she didn¡¯t really have a choice. She couldn¡¯t just ignore it, like any single element- or even other combinations which would mainly end up viable. Ereli looked down at the reflection in front of her, stretching her hand to cover what John thought was the moon. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she admitted. ¡°I think you should,¡± John said. ¡°But you need to figure out your own reason why. And trying to keep up with your cousin might not be good enough. You should find something you enjoy.¡± John wasn¡¯t quite sure why he said what he did. Ultimately, he didn¡¯t intend to push her away from cultivation¡­ but Ereli forcing herself if she didn¡¯t want to could only end poorly. It might not be great for the clan¡¯s image, but the Tenebach clan could handle a single individual not cultivating. Melanthina didn¡¯t necessarily need to pass on leadership of the clan anytime soon. Even when Matayal had been around, they had still intended to stay clan heads for a few more years. The only reason they wouldn¡¯t have remained in their position for fifty years or more would be the separation. However, Nik was together with Melanthina the majority of the time, instead of being apart half the year or more. It wouldn¡¯t be odd if she remained as the clan head for as long as Luctus had. Then again, as long as the clan was strong perhaps the clan head didn¡¯t need to have a high cultivation. It would require someone like Crystin as a constant guard, but as long as one was a competent administrator the clan could benefit. But there was plenty of time to figure out the future of the clan. Nor did they have to strictly limit themselves to a single child. The world had changed enough that there were opportunities available, and blindly sticking to tradition was pointless. The point of a single child was to limit strife in passing on the mantle to the next generation, but the Tenebach clan had unity beyond simple obedience to the main line. There were also outside forces that kept them stable in their allies. In short, they could afford some changes. Though John really did think that Ereli would be better off cultivating, and would continue to gently encourage it. The opportunity to grow was something not easily passed up, and it would only bring more opportunities with it. Ereli also clearly had the talent, simply by the fact that she still lived. Chapter 342 The Order of the Amber Heart was only a short distance away from the Tenebach clan, at least when considering the greater scale of the Stone Conglomerate. Close enough that they could exchange messages through shadowhawks in a few hours, while a trip on foot might take a day if done at a modest pace. If there were some actual emergency, cultivators could make the trip in a few short hours, or faster if they were of high enough rank. John took the more leisurely approach as he didn¡¯t find any reason to rush. The environment wasn¡¯t as convenient for his cultivation as Astrein, but he was still more than capable of cultivating to some effectiveness in anything but a light-dominant terrain. Earth was one of his earlier totems, though the order in which he adopted the elements didn¡¯t necessarily restrict him now. It had defined his style, though he was always working to increase his flexibility while making the most of what training he had done. The first to come greet him was not the person he sought, but John would never be upset at her presence. ¡°Dad!¡± Ursel rushed towards him and crushed him in a hug. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were coming.¡± John shrugged, as best he could without having proper control over his arms. ¡°If I knew you were here I would have sent a message to you in particular. Most of the time, you¡¯re out and about.¡± ¡°As it turns out, useful things don¡¯t just spring up in the middle of sects,¡± Ursel said, stepping back. She was only a little bit shorter than John now, and while she was a grown woman it wasn¡¯t necessarily guaranteed that she wouldn¡¯t surpass him. Most people would be long finished, but with Ursel there was no way to say. John reached out and put his hand on Ursel¡¯s forehead, pushing. It was like trying to knock over a pillar with his bare hands. Everything about her felt tempered, from her skin to her bones, blood, and organs. Even her heartbeat was slow, feeling like the movement of tectonic plates. ¡°What¡¯s that for, huh?¡± she said, her neck not even bending slightly under his pressure. ¡°Just checking things. You¡¯ve certainly been making progress.¡± Her spiritual energy cultivation wasn¡¯t lacking either, already having reached the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. ¡°Oh yeah? Well, let¡¯s see how you like it,¡± Ursel said, spreading her palm over John¡¯s face. He just snorted air through his nose. ¡°Hmm. I feel like you¡¯re missing something. Where¡¯s the fire?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t come up with a good method yet,¡± John admitted. ¡°Well, most of the rest is still imperfect as well.¡± ¡°You should at least try Bones of the Earth,¡± she commented. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that what you were training with those rhinos?¡± John asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should focus too much on one element. And it might disrupt my blood purification technique¡­ such as it is.¡± ¡°Yeah, well¡­ then make it not do that,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Bones should definitely be earth element.¡± ¡°I disagree,¡± said another voice, joining in the conversation. Renato grinned at the two of them. ¡°Most people aren¡¯t set up to carry around the extra weight that involves. It limits movement too much, forcing them to expend more spiritual energy.¡± ¡°Then just get more muscle!¡± Ursel waved her arms. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s simple.¡± ¡°How long did you spend hunting snakes to temper your muscles?¡± Renato asked. ¡°Only two years!¡± Ursel said, posing proudly. ¡°And that¡¯s why it¡¯s impractical for most people. Most people also don¡¯t have a body-related totem,¡± Renato pointed out. John nodded. ¡°And one from the sixth layer. Even I don¡¯t even have sixth layer totems yet.¡± ¡°You could,¡± Renato said. ¡°Or at least, one or two.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that,¡± John said. ¡°Might have thrown myself off balance and failed my advancement.¡± John did have to admit that, since his totems had been at the fifth layer on his first attempt to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, they were all more than just fifth tier totems. He figured he was somewhere around halfway to the final transformation, though that was tricky to judge until he actually did it. ¡°Well, I¡¯m ready when you are,¡± Renato declared. ¡°Ready for what?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Our battle.¡± ¡°Oh, me too!¡± she said. ¡°I want to fight too!¡± John hesitated. Not because he was worried about her getting hurt- she was able to judge dangers for herself and could handle that just fine. He just didn¡¯t know what he would do if he lost somehow. Against anyone else in the Consolidated Soul Phase he wouldn¡¯t have thought they stood a chance¡­ but she might be an exception. ¡°Well, alright,¡± he finally said. ¡°But it has to come after.¡± ¡°Tch. I was hoping to fight both of you at once.¡± Renato grinned, ¡°I made your armor, you¡¯d better believe I can break it.¡± Ursel crossed her arms. ¡°If you break my Mountain Steel you have to replace it with Continent Steel.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°If I knew how to make it¡­¡± Renato shrugged. ¡°But maybe you¡¯d do better making it yourself.¡± ¡°Ugh, then I¡¯d have to wait until I reach the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°That¡¯s life,¡± Renato said. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t have much left to teach you as an apprentice. I doubt my path to the Ascending Soul Phase will match yours.¡± ----- John stood opposite Renato, out in a rocky field. A cave of some sort might have been more appropriate, except there was too much risk of it collapsing during the battle. There might be value in trying something like that at some point just to practice restraining their energy, but that wasn¡¯t the point here. Currently, John had two wins and two losses. He would really like to achieve a third win, to show that the cycle of elements had some sort of value over focusing on a single element. He knew that the others had spent more time at their current level of power, but John really wanted to produce consistent results against all elements. Then again, all of their strengths were close enough most of the battles could have gone the other way. John knew that if Renato landed a single solid hit against him, he was done for. Obviously his friend would hold back so as to not actually crush him, but the point remained. Meanwhile, he was going to have to find his way through Renato¡¯s heavier armor just to slightly damage him. With the armor being able to absorb much of the damage instead of his spiritual energy, Renato would be a tough fight. But it wasn¡¯t like John hadn¡¯t fought him before, and he had plans. In turn, Renato would expect something from John as well. Maybe even anticipate John¡¯s new tricks. ¡°Fight!¡± Ursel yelled from the sidelines. While she wasn¡¯t the official arbiter- that was what Johannes Dalen was for- the two of them mutually agreed to begin at that moment. The stone weapons of the Order of the Amber Heart were propelled more by their earth element than their muscle, just as every other element. Even so, that didn¡¯t mean the muscle was worthless. It was an important part, providing consistent power. The heavy stone club slammed down where John had been standing, creating a crack in the ground. It was not John¡¯s job to fix that later, since this was an earth element sect. That was something he could be happy about, at least. Speed would be John¡¯s advantage in this battle, but he had to keep in mind one thing. Being overconfident in his speed would instead get him hit, as Renato could change the direction of his swing more quickly than seemed possible. Even the first attack rebounded from the ground, swiping towards him- but John was floating through the air. Not quite flying, simply propelling himself slightly higher with air element. He landed ten meters away, his elements surging. That distance wasn¡¯t much, just enough to give him some time to set up. Fire was the weakness of earth, and Renato knew that. Even so, he hadn¡¯t properly sparred against John¡¯s fire. Spectral flames flickered throughout the area, ready to catch him on fire. A perfect source of fuel. John just had to catch Renato and- Renato rushed through the net of invisible flames John had been carefully constructing. Immediately, his spiritual energy was aflame- but it wasn¡¯t as if he would burn to ash in an instant. Renato wound up a wide swing, flinging his weapon when John once again lept out of the way. Astonishingly, he also divested all of the flames in that attack. John twirled through the air to avoid the projectile, taking advantage of the moment he had to toss some water element focused daggers at Renato. His opponent twisted his body, the attacks deflecting off his armor without harm. The club, controlled by Renato¡¯s energy, took a return trajectory and while John had some thought to try to stop it, with Renato charging forward he didn¡¯t want to risk getting caught in between. Perhaps if the situation came up again. Renato¡¯s club returned to him, and he dropped the remaining spiritual energy just before it reached him- causing the remaining ethereal flames to drop away. Too bad, as John was just about to amp them up again. Moments later, Renato was chasing John around the battlefield, with John constantly dodging around. He occasionally slashed at Renato¡¯s arm when he overextended, attempting to catch him alight once more, but he mostly focused on his movement. Spiritual energy of all sorts flowed through him, sinking into the ground beneath. John was much more comfortable in the air now, able to control his movements properly. Renato didn¡¯t have many techniques that could reach the sky, but he was ready to take advantage of a normal jumping trajectory. Even someone forcing themselves on a different path would normally tire them enough for him to gain some advantage, but the repeated movements weren¡¯t a problem for John. Every time John got a spot of flame on Renato, he made it spread over his spiritual energy. Renato obviously didn¡¯t let his energy be burned easily, but the self-sustaining nature meant John wasn¡¯t spending too much effort to keep up the assault. Once more Renato threw his stone club while John lingered in the air. John flipped over it, finding a new flow to his movements strengthened especially by his recent battles. He landed gently on the ground, gathering earth element. Renato continued towards him, not particularly less threatening without his weapon. The ground turned into sludge under Renato¡¯s feet, John¡¯s movements to that point having slowly added water element. That didn¡¯t stop him, but it slowed him a step, giving John a moment to reach behind him and catch the incoming club. Renato¡¯s energy was about to run out, and he took over the weapon. It was heavy as he swung it down towards Renato¡¯s head. Swung in one hand, Renato resisted the hit even as it forced him deeper into the ground. John¡¯s sword came up, cutting at the joints of Renato¡¯s armor in that moment. Renato didn¡¯t go down easily, lunging forward. John stepped back, revealing that he was not even standing on the ground at all, dropping Renato into a hole as the surface collapsed. Being buried under the earth wouldn¡¯t stop a cultivator like him for more than a second, but John filled the pit with swirling fire and air. As always, the true state of things was hidden by his darkness. ¡°Alright,¡± Renato said. ¡°I can see where this is going. I give up.¡± The ground sprang up beneath him, bringing him to the surface. John pulled away his Ethereal Flames so that Renato didn¡¯t have to waste a layer of energy. ¡°I was worried you¡¯d last through all of my assaults forever,¡± John admitted. ¡°I thought I could withstand your flames,¡± Renato said. ¡°They seemed much weaker than Steve or Yustina¡­ but that was the ploy, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Well, they are weaker,¡± John admitted. ¡°But not as much as it seemed.¡± ¡°Your aerial movements were impressive.¡± ¡°Thank you. I sought out trainers¡­ though I still need more experience.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my turn now!¡± Ursel commented. ¡°I¡¯ll fight either of you!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± John said. He was going to have to take the battle seriously even though he wasn¡¯t too fatigued. Renato saw the direction things were going and gave up earlier than he needed to. However, John knew he shouldn¡¯t underestimate Ursel. The chances of her winning were slim, but they would skyrocket if he was careless. Chapter 343 Earth cultivators were known for many things. Power and endurance were chief among those, and John had experienced those truths many times. What he least associated with earth were speed and flexibility. Fortunately for his dignity, he had prepared seriously for his spar with Ursel, and his reaction to her sudden acceleration was swift enough to avoid her assault. The instant the battle began, she stomped downward pushing off of the surface as she hardened it. For most cultivators it would have been more efficient to use the spiritual energy to directly accelerate herself but her method hid her intentions and came with at least as much speed, her trained muscles springing forward with great force. John knew how heavy her weapon and armor were, but she moved almost as if she were entirely unencumbered. When he tried to deflect her stone club, he had to force himself to move away from the weapon rather than deflecting it. Her follow up attacks were not sluggish either, her weapon naturally reflecting off of the ground. She wasn¡¯t even limited to set trajectories for her attacks, though it was clear that redirecting her own assaults did take some effort. John didn¡¯t try anything foolish like heating her up slowly. He knew her body would be able to withstand it at any reasonable level, so he would just be wasting his effort. Despite her relative speed compared to where she should have been, John was still faster. He still intended to further bolster his movements with air related body tempering, but it was a slow process for him. Ultimately, despite Ursel¡¯s bodily advantage John was still half a Phase higher than her and he was able to avoid all of her attacks as long as he remained focused. Meanwhile, he still had a bit of leeway to counterattack, striking with lightning and concentrated flames meant to strike through her armor. Actually damaging said armor would be a more difficult task, and the difficulty of repairs made John not want to try such a method anyway. Even though he managed to land solid blows, Ursel seemed to shrug everything off. John stepped close to Ursel, so that she could not swing her weapon properly. Her reaction was swift and decisive, dropping her grip with one hand and reaching out for him. If she got a hold of John, it would be difficult for him to get away- but he still found dodging her grip preferable to facing the arc of her weapon. Having refamiliarized himself with her fighting style he came up with a counter. Fire element flowed around him, focused primarily on his sword. Of course, John was never channeling just one element and that moment was no exception. He boosted his speed until he managed to step behind her, away from the reach of her weapon and grasping arm. His sword cut across Ursel¡¯s shoulder, burning away her defensive energy. His weapon clashed against her armor, causing no real damage to her. Then his hand, filled with fire and water, touched atop her shoulder. Water flowed into the gaps of her armor then changed form- half to steam, and half to ice. Ursel¡¯s arm that was swinging back towards him froze in its tracks as her shoulder joint stopped moving, her arm parallel with her body. John danced aside as she ducked forward, kicking towards him while swinging her body and especially her club single handed. The earth shifted beneath him, but that move he was well prepared for, and he took advantage of the motion rather than letting it hamper him. Knowing that it would take Ursel only a few moments to divest herself of the ice surrounding her shoulder, John didn¡¯t slow his assault. She wanted a battle, and doing anything less than his best would be rude. Darkness filled the area around them, hampering her sight and her sense of other elements. John moved with the wind, silent in his approach. Ursel began to swing wildly while trying to free her shoulder. The fact that she could swing her club of extremely dense stone with one arm once more impressed John. However, her actions being restricted for even a few moments provided an advantage that John cascaded to his victory. He ducked beneath her club, next freezing her waist. Her armor was well made, allowing her for a great range of motion, but it also provided surfaces to which he could anchor more ice. John continued to split the heat away into steam, causing burns that would heal with time but would cause some consternation for Ursel in the moment. Bit by bit John took away her mobility, and just a moment after the ice cracked around her first shoulder he froze that elbow to her side. At some point he had sheathed his sword, the weapon too large to be of much use. Instead he took one of his daggers, sliding it between the body and neck of her armor. Ursel had one last bout of defiance, catching the dagger with her chin and snapping it against the top of her sternum. However, even she knew that she was only able to do that because John had held back with his spiritual energy, intending only to lightly pierce her skin. He didn¡¯t underestimate Diamond Defense, of course, he¡¯d simply limited his motion enough to stop himself if he did more damage than intended. ¡°Alright, I give up,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I¡¯d very much hope so,¡± John said. ¡°Most people would have had their muscles frozen by that. I didn¡¯t get much deeper than your skin.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°About that¡­ can you remove all this?¡± She might have gestured, if she could move any of her limbs. John unfroze the ice made of dense spiritual energy, letting it drop away into puddles. Ursel immediately spun around, grabbing John around the waist. ¡°Ha! Got you!¡± It was obvious that they had shifted from sparring mode to playful, as she used none of her spiritual energy in her following attempt to suplex him. John didn¡¯t resist the motion of his body, but around the time he might have met the ground, Ursel realized there was nothing there. Instead, they floated a meter or so in the air. ¡°Hey, no fair!¡± Ursel complained, even as she intentionally spun them over and over. ¡°Flying is cheating!¡± ¡°You¡¯re only saying that because you can¡¯t fly,¡± John grinned. He dropped the two of them back to the ground a short time later, partially because Ursel was done and partially because it was rather difficult to lift her into the air even though she wasn¡¯t resisting. If she wanted to anchor herself to the ground, he wasn¡¯t sure he could do anything about it. ¡°Now I want to fight master Renato!¡± Ursel declared. ----- The ¡®fight¡¯ between Ursel and Renato was short and brutal, ending up with her buried neck deep in the ground with a broken wrist. That broken wrist came about with the sort of blow that would have shattered most people¡¯s arms, and according to Ursel it would recover within a few days. ¡°Do you have a regenerative technique?¡± John asked. She shook her head. ¡°Not particularly. It¡¯s just that my body is so infused with earth element, all it takes to fix it is more of that. Healing is way more difficult than breaking things though. The burns will also go away quickly,¡± she explained, holding out her arm for him to watch. Obviously he couldn¡¯t see it happening with her armor in the way, but he could feel the earth energy infusing into her arm, and how her skin began to regrow, shedding the dead layers into dust as new skin regrew at a measurable pace. It clearly took more spiritual energy than Ursel could use in combat, but she should be able to complete the healing of her skin in just a few hours with only the energy she took in from her surroundings. Of course, the Order of the Amber Heart was one of the denser locations of earth energy, even within the wider Stone Conglomerate, but the point remained. ¡°You¡¯ve advanced your body tempering quite a bit,¡± John admitted. ¡°When healing myself, I can only promote growth and let it happen, instead of advancing it directly.¡± ¡°You probably could with a bit of practice,¡± Ursel said. ¡°You just need to convince your body it¡¯s okay to work that hard. Oh, and don¡¯t forget to feed it. Like, actual food.¡± Her stomach growled. ¡°Speaking of which, we should eat something.¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± John said. Sparring was still intense exercise, and even if most of his spiritual energy usage was replaced externally his body still needed food. Ursel had been picky about her food when she was a little girl. She had been a proper woman for quite some time now, and ate everything ravenously. ¡°All sorts of food have different things your body needs,¡± she explained. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m the one who told you that,¡± John pointed out. She shrugged. ¡°So, speaking of the body¡­ I¡¯ve been working on techniques of different elements to improve my own. It¡¯s been some time since we covered the subject, and I wondered if you had any new advice.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ listen to your body,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Usually, it¡¯s whining about pain because you¡¯re in the middle of something to make it better, but the way it hurts can tell you if you¡¯re doing something really wrong.¡± ¡°A difficult balance,¡± John admitted. ¡°It can lead to very unfortunate consequences.¡± John shared the story of Musa and his nephew, and how failed body tempering led to a separation between two brothers. ¡°Listen,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Young people are way too reckless with body tempering. And I say that as someone who stole the materials for Diamond Defense from you quite young. It¡¯s a good thing that technique was well thought out to not be able to cause any damage that seemed impossible to undo. On that note, unless you¡¯re dead or destroy your dantian¡­ you can probably undo pretty much any changes. You just need to have a good idea of how the body is supposed to work to begin with. And it¡¯s not always easy.¡± ¡°That sounds like the words of someone who screwed up a lot of things.¡± ¡°The secret is to call it experimentation and testing,¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°Turns out, eyes are squishy for a reason. Which is why I instead focused my efforts on active skin hardening.¡± Ursel closed her eyes. ¡°Go ahead and touch the lids.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like stone,¡± John admitted. Yet as he lifted his fingers it softened- back to what he expected from Diamond Defense. It would still be tough, but not hard. ¡°Perhaps I should learn that too. Also, did I feel a bit of spiritual energy there?¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°Any active shifts require spiritual energy. But you can set your body up to shift more easily. Well, that¡¯s the only one I¡¯ve seen any promise with. Usually you want your skin to act like skin, as it turns out. Likewise, you never want hard internal organs. And no, I didn¡¯t actually try that.¡± ¡°Good,¡± John said. ¡°Currently, I¡¯ve used darkness to bolster my eyes- more than the initial blessing from Ciaritzal, I mean. Then earth is basically just Diamond Defense. Air I used to improve my reactions.¡± ¡°I noticed that,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Often, people¡¯s bodies react slower than their spiritual energy.¡± ¡°Next is my blood, using water. So far, I¡¯ve been using it to purify myself but perhaps I should also add something like providing nutrients.¡± Ursel¡¯s comments had made him think of that. Maybe he could store extra energy in his blood? Not spiritual energy, but sugars and the like. Though that would likely be more complicated than simply saying it. ¡°I¡¯ve considered a few things for fire, but I haven¡¯t started yet. That seems like the element most likely to cause outsized damage to myself.¡± Ursel grinned. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d probably avoid turning yourself into a pile of ash. But we could talk about possibilities.¡± Chapter 344 Discussing body cultivation with Ursel, it was clear her actual expertise extended only to earth. That didn¡¯t mean she was without valuable insight, only that she couldn¡¯t directly tell John what to do. Ultimately, she had experimented for her own advancements, studying anything she felt valuable from the strongest beasts. Not that her abilities particularly resembled any beasts, as she didn¡¯t attempt to change her body away from being human at its core. John could certainly see advantages in her method, but he felt that style wouldn¡¯t suit him. Furthermore, it would be likely that specific traits would be incompatible with beasts of different elements. When trying to determine what traits of fire he should try to adopt- or if it would even work at all- John considered what he¡¯d done already. For the most part, his different augmentations were unrelated. Eyes and skin for darkness and earth. Then, deeper inside, he effectively changed his nerves for Air¡¯s Swiftness- his improvement in reactions. That was a process that took a long time, and even now it was not fully complete. For water, he was slowly changing the function of his blood to be able to expel impurities more easily. There was little relation between any of those, except John had also started another transformation with regards to air. His lungs would theoretically filter out toxins he breathed in. He had completed the transformation to a certain standard, but ultimately he hadn¡¯t run into poisons terribly often. Focusing on that over other things seemed wasteful. But perhaps he should not consider it like that. If he could find a connection between the different elements he could also imbue in his body, what he learned might be more valuable than the actual practicality of his accomplishments. If he improved his understanding and control, as long as his body was better off than he had begun, it didn¡¯t matter if it was something that would come up frequently. From that perspective, he could think about how to incorporate at least the four core elements into filtering his body. The important part was, of course, actually knowing what to target. Even some necessary compounds could become toxic in too great a quantity. In fact, almost everything was, even things considered normal vitamins and minerals. The body already dealt with such things for the most part. Even actual poisons were usually filtered out- a fatal dose simply meant overwhelming the body, causing enough damage before anything could happen. And there were damaging thresholds far below fatal, where permanent damage could be caused. Ultimately, John¡¯s intent was to focus first on an aspect he¡¯d been having success with and see where that took him. As long as he took his time he should be able to avoid harming himself. And even if he failed to accomplish his goal, he would still learn something. Or he would waste a bit of time, but he would have spent it improving his ability to manipulate spiritual energy within himself so it couldn¡¯t be a complete waste. With a goal in mind, John considered how he would add ¡®earth¡¯ and ¡®fire¡¯ into the mix. Some part of elements was how they were perceived- cultivators could bring out different qualities in earth or water depending on their understanding and practice. Earth could soften blows like dirt, or fully resist them like stone. Water had many forms, shifting between gas, liquid, and solid within temperatures humans frequently observed. It was easy to think of the water element as ¡®liquid¡¯ and therefore ¡®blood¡¯, but that wasn¡¯t the limit within the human body. Earth at its core tended to be structure. Diamond Defense caused the structure of skin to hold together without losing its other valuable properties. That had taken some valuable materials at the time, but ultimately it was about spiritual energy with certain qualities. Finding such energy naturally wasn¡¯t easy, but it was possible to modify internal energy for a purpose. That was something John had vast experience with, especially as he even transformed spiritual energy between elements regularly. When thinking about the structure of the body, bones were a big part of it. Looking at the aspect of purification, bones even housed the marrow that helped to create blood. But the organs could also be considered structure, and there were more than a few that were meant to filter things out of the body in different manners. John saw that he might need to do a comprehensive assessment of his internal organs to figure out where his efforts might best be served. Then there was fire. What was the purpose of fire in purification? The idea of fire purifying things was long established, and indeed even alchemists used such thoughts. Heat was an important catalyst in most reactions, from melting down simple metals and scraping away what didn¡¯t belong to speeding up chemical reactions. Fire did the same to support the element of water, aiding its transformations- even in a somewhat contradictory manner when it was formed into ice. John didn¡¯t know if he had any intention to try to transform any impurities inside of him, but separating them out might be valuable. Alternatively, he could burn them away- if the body was unable to dispose of them properly. That would be more of an emergency measure, but he at least considered the idea. The first and most obvious steps, at least to John, were to focus somewhat more on the most well known filtering organs, the liver and kidneys. He was aware that most organs actually participated in filtration of toxins to some extent, including the intestines, but he had to start somewhere. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. John felt a sort of relief as he continued his internal observations. He didn¡¯t feel pressured to come up with something that would make him directly stronger. This was just another way of understanding himself and the various elements. If he failed¡­ well, failure was the first step to success. The only true failure would be causing actual harm to himself. Even that could be a valuable learning experience, he would just prefer to have smaller failures that caused only minimal damage. Was John suddenly going to become invincible, even if he made great strides in body tempering? Certainly not. But he might be able to improve upon the more practical changes he had already made, with more practice. And if he discovered a practical avenue of advancement along the way, he would certainly pursue it. ----- Body tempering was certainly something that John had passion for at the moment, but he wasn¡¯t going to forget the main point. He wanted experience with spiritual energy. Just because he¡¯d reached the Ascending Soul Phase didn¡¯t mean he could just stop learning. Even if he had been able to win every battle in his recent journey- which he most definitely hadn¡¯t- it wouldn¡¯t have been an excuse to stop seeking strength. That strength would be necessary in the future, of that he was quite certain. It wasn¡¯t as if the Molten Sea and Sky Islands had suddenly disappeared. They were still there, even if the particular groups involved had been beaten back. There was no guarantee that any of the rest would come to cause trouble- but in that case, someone else would. That was the way the world worked, and John needed to be strong enough to face it. That meant both personal strength, and that of the alliance they were forming. The alliance might never be perfect, as there would always be different factions with different goals, but it was better than simply assuming that people had to be split into different group based solely on geographical and elemental differences. John felt the battles, even if they were just spars with the strongest people he knew, were of great value to him. Because of that, he intended to seek out more. Notably missing among the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators- or equivalent spirit beasts- were air and water cultivators. There might be some that arose within the next decade or two within the region, but John didn¡¯t intend to wait that long. There was something else he had to do anyway, and that was continue to expand the area of communication. Even if there were no alliances made, actually keeping in contact with neighbors would result in a better future, or so he believed. There was one way he knew to accomplish both goals together, and he figured it was finally time. The Sky Islands. For him, usually far to the south and then to the east. They hovered over the Crystal Sea, and were the home of powerful air and earth cultivators. That included Sitora, with whom John was on¡­ decidedly neutral terms. They had technically worked together to stop Gesine, but there hadn¡¯t been much in the way of actual camaraderie despite the circumstances. And there was another minor goal he could accomplish. Gesine was a transmigrator, just like himself, Steve, and Deirdre- or perhaps he should call her Odette in that context. John didn¡¯t have any reason to believe there was some purpose to their arrival, but he was interested in an opportunity to speak about it, if she would. And since there wasn¡¯t mail service to the Sky Islands, he would have to go in person. To get there¡­ well, he would have to fly. That meant he couldn¡¯t exactly bring a large number of companions with him. He wanted to be secure, but also to not look like he was coming with an invading army. Thus, he found taking three people along with him was appropriate. He decided on that number through a simple method. The Six Elements Crossroads didn¡¯t currently contain an abundance of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. They had several up and coming individuals, but it was still just Raul and Viriato. Raul was focused on his work as an alchemist, providing value for the sect. Viriato also provided his own value, through trade deals and the like, but having him present at all times was less required. Thus, Viriato would once again be John¡¯s traveling partner- and he might even be able to negotiate for a trade agreement with the Sky Islands. They had their own methods to reach the world below if they wanted to, so it was possible. And if not, Viriato was still there to lend legitimacy to John, and backup just in case. He couldn¡¯t guarantee that people would be friendly or even that they wouldn¡¯t be openly hostile. John didn¡¯t intend to commit to a fight, but if he was backed into a corner he wanted some more power with him. The other two would be Ayhan and Lir. They were among the best of his disciples, and while they were only just reaching the mid Soul Expansion Phase they were young enough that they should still be respected for that level of strength. Unless the Sky Islands were completely full of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. It seemed more likely that Sitora was an exception- one among an elite few, rather than a typical example. If the Sky Islands were so powerful, that was still another reason to try to open diplomatic channels. It wasn¡¯t as if they were unaware of the rest of the world, after all, so it would still be better to try to curry some favor with them. John had no intention of prostrating himself and begging for their attention, but he could certainly show proper respect for stronger cultivators should he encounter them. Ayhan and Lir were both in part air cultivators, but that didn¡¯t mean they could fly independently. At best, they could support John. Viriato was in no part an air cultivator, his core being light and darkness. With John¡¯s guidance he had added water and fire to help balance the two elements, using totems that represented elements of both light and dark. Viriato would likely continue his difficult and winding path with either earth or air next, but he was quite far from settling on that decision and thus had no more control over the air element than John had over light. In short, John would be doing most of the work flying them up. But first they had to travel through to the Wuthering Steppes, then the Crystal Sea. And from there, they had to pick a destination not knowing who would be waiting in any particular place. Chapter 345 Few ships tended to go deep into the Crystal Sea. For purposes of trade, they might head east along the coast from the Wuthering Steppes to the Glass Hills, but with the Deadfields to the west there wasn¡¯t much else immediately nearby. There wouldn¡¯t be many ships going on deep sea fishing expeditions either, as that tended to come with other dangers. That was why plans had been made well in advance, so that John and the others didn¡¯t have to wait for someone going in the right direction. Nor would they have to swim- and while they could potentially swim for days or purchase a smaller boat to man themselves, neither option was terribly efficient. The ship was no Wavecutter, but neither were they dealing with as many storms as within the Shimmering Islands. They moved forward at a decent pace, and it wasn¡¯t long before John spotted one of the Sky Islands on the horizon. The only problem was¡­ it hardly seemed closer a day later. Since the ship they were on was anything but slow, that meant the sky island had to be particularly high. John wasn¡¯t sure if it was actually larger than he imagined, but it made him realize how much they actually didn¡¯t know about the Sky Islands. In his head, he had placed them somewhere around a few hundred meters in the air- plus some amount to account for the mass of earth below. That was also different than he¡¯d imagined. Rather than masses of earth dangling down from a relatively flat surface, he saw mountains with relatively flat bases. Rather than loosely held together dirt, his eyes picked out solid stone with speckles of something within it. That something, at least, he had some understanding of. The Crystal Sea wasn¡¯t called that simply because it was beautiful. Instead, it was said to occasionally have crystals floating on the surface, quite valuable for any lucky sailor. Those same crystals seemed to hold up the Sky Islands, though he didn¡¯t have any reliable information on how except for that it involved air element. ¡°How high would you say that is?¡± John asked Viriato. ¡°The nearest island, I mean.¡± He could just spot a few more, even further in the distance. ¡°It¡¯s hard to get a good sense of scale,¡± Viriato admitted. ¡°I can¡¯t make out any trees or buildings. It could easily be¡­ five, ten kilometers? Perhaps as high as the Blustering Peaks.¡± ¡°According to the captain,¡± John said. ¡°We should be passing close tomorrow. I suppose we¡¯ll have to figure it out then.¡± ----- When he¡¯d first begun to fly, John had believed flying upward to be more difficult than moving horizontally, and there were indeed factors that influenced that. He could create lift with wings when moving horizontally, lowering the force he had to directly create to lift himself. However, when considering direct application of spiritual energy he already had to balance out his weight. From there, vertical and horizontal movements were quite similar if not exactly the same. The parts of vertical flight that made going higher more difficult were a drop in air density- a problem when using air elemental spiritual energy to manipulate it- and the consequences of success itself. In theory, it took no spiritual energy to move downward. Indeed, he would gain energy when falling. And that would have worked just fine if he didn¡¯t care about the part where he¡¯d be crushed against the ground at the end. In short, when considering longer flights he had to think about conserving energy to get down, as he had to maintain his speed. And so, though he would be at least half carrying several others with him, as long as he properly landed on the sky island it wouldn¡¯t be particularly different from flying a similar distance horizontally. Friction based on his orientation might be the deciding factor there. John had previously tested whether the four of them could fly together. Viriato wasn¡¯t much help, with his elements not providing any benefit, but Ayhan and Lir could do at least a good portion of the work for themselves. With high air element density in the area, they should be able to last long enough to reach their destination, an island that was now nearly straight above them. As they had drawn closer to it over the course of the next day, they were better able to make judgments about its size and height. The island itself was relatively small, barely a few kilometers across. Yet in a way, that was also quite large- even in a world full of spiritual energy, islands floating in the air didn¡¯t happen easily. The sheer mass floating in the sky was astounding. Finally, when they got close enough, the four of them left the ship behind, flying into the skies. The angle of approach was chosen to be a reasonable approach that didn¡¯t require flying a terribly long distance while still allowing potential residents of the island to spot their approach. If they seemed like they were sneaking towards the island, the potential results could be far more negative than approaching openly. And if someone decided to attack, them doing so before John and the others got close was better. Winds swirled around them, carrying them into the sky. Flying was still as exhilarating as ever, and with others involved it took more concentration and effort. The islands stood perhaps ten kilometers in the sky- perhaps a bit lower, but somewhere the atmosphere would have thinned. That also made flight more difficult, but John was confident he had more than sufficient energy. From sea level, it was difficult to feel anything particular about the spiritual energy surrounding the island- except that it had concentrations of both air and earth. John and the others hadn¡¯t been able to sense individual cultivators at such a distance, but he reached out his senses to learn what he could as they approached. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. He gathered there was a sect or clan inhabiting the island, at least several hundred individuals. Notable among them were a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, but that was nothing that worried John. The plan wasn¡¯t ever to engage in a fight- if they threatened danger, retreat was the best option. When approaching closer, John learned more detailed information. Unsurprisingly given the natural levels of spiritual energy there were earth and air cultivators among them, but not everyone used both nor did they necessarily fit into the same style. That indicated something other than a sect or clan, though the whole population still appeared to consist of cultivators. Though their flight wasn¡¯t particularly fast, it also only took twenty minutes or so to reach the height of the sky island. There were no winding switchbacks like climbing a mountain, though the relatively rapid change in air pressure was uncomfortable on the eardrums. The structures on the island seemed to be built into the gentle slopes, with terraced fields lower down. John didn¡¯t see any walls around what he decided was a city- or perhaps a town. Not that walls would do much good when the only enemies that could approach had to be able to fly. Flight had become rather difficult as they approached, the thin air being less useful for propulsion. John had to gather far more to provide the same force required to counteract gravity, but they weren¡¯t far from their destination. Then something odd happened, with the island seeming to pull him towards it. Not like gravity, but rather the air itself. His flight suddenly eased up as air density increased, and the chill air of the high atmosphere decreased. It never got close to sea level, but it was much more manageable. John set down with the rest near the edge of the island. He spotted several workers in the fields- a mix of cultivators of the four core elements. They gave appraising looks to the new group, but neither approached nor turned to run. He could see why cultivators of all sorts would be needed to tend the fields. He wasn¡¯t sure how much natural rain would fall on them, as they had already passed through some of the clouds. Likewise, there wouldn¡¯t be enough heat or air for most plants to grow normally. Earth element was helpful for growth in general. The group approached the town itself, walking along a dirt path that turned into a more formal street when it reached the proper buildings. John had a decent sense of the entire island at once, as it was smaller than the grounds of most clans or sects he¡¯d been to. For the total population, it was quite spacious. They took their time approaching, so as to not cause too much concern to the locals. John did feel several of the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators gathering together, and they soon encountered each other. The group was led by an old man at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. The old man bowed. ¡°Greetings, senior,¡± the man said politely. Even if John wasn¡¯t actually older, the acknowledgement of his power was traditional. ¡°I am Deepak. We here on Seta have not heard tales of your name. Might you enlighten us?¡± In short, they wanted to know who he was and why he was there. And John had no reason to be impolite, since he would be asking many things of them in the near future. ¡°My name is John Miller, sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads. The reason you haven¡¯t heard of me is that I am from the lands below.¡± He wasn¡¯t certain what their reaction would be to that. Clearly some members of the Sky Islands had a sense of superiority, but the news would come out at some point so there was no point in dragging it out and causing a fuss later. Deepak stood in silence for a few moments. ¡°Visitors from below are rare, as you might imagine,¡± he finally said. ¡°It is not so easy to reach us. Your strength speaks for itself.¡± Flattery, even if the man meant it. Not that John was terribly concerned. He knew how social things tended to go, even if he didn¡¯t usually enjoy politics. Time for him to continue answering half-stated questions. ¡°Visitors from the Sky Islands to us are also rare. That is why I am here, so that we might learn more about each other. Somewhat more than a decade and a half ago, I made the acquaintance of a senior by the name of Sitora. I had hoped to speak to her again.¡± The man nodded slowly. ¡°You must speak of Sitora of the Second Peak. We have heard of her, though she has never had any reason to visit a place such as this. Seta is an island of few means.¡± They didn¡¯t look poor to John, but he supposed they didn¡¯t really have many opportunities for growth, either. They would mostly have to rely on the natural density of spiritual energy. ¡°I know little of the Second Peak or the arrangement of the Sky Islands as a whole,¡± John admitted. Asking for a map was a bit awkward, as someone that might be a foreign spy, but he couldn¡¯t avoid asking anything. ¡°I am curious about the restrictions on travel. Obviously, we were not able to ask for permission to land here before our arrival, but we don¡¯t intend to cause any disturbances here.¡± ¡°Well, the restrictions are more based on ability. Only air cultivators can easily fly along the paths between islands. Otherwise, one must possess a suitable spirit beast. Both require a certain measure of power.¡± Deepak shrugged. ¡°I am an air cultivator myself, but I rarely make the trip. Though it is generally acceptable to move as you please among the rest of our lands, you need an invitation from above or permission of the island masters to move to a higher level. Thus, you need to seek out the Fifth Peak to relay your message.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John nodded. ¡°And how might I find them?¡± Deepak explained how John could travel between the nearby islands, with several routes he could take to reach one of the larger islands. John thought he could just about pick it out, though cloud cover and not actually knowing what he was looking for were problematic. He did, however, sense the ¡®paths¡¯ Deepak spoke of. A connection between the islands that John felt would make flight easier. He didn¡¯t know how they were formed, but it did seem it would have been impossible to have much of a society if only Consolidated Soul Phase Cultivators or greater could feasibly travel. ¡°The Fifth Peak,¡± Deepak eventually explained. ¡°Is the lowest of the Great Peaks. You can seek permission there.¡± ¡°How does one gain permission?¡± ¡°If they favor you for some reason, it can easily be granted. Otherwise, you must pass certain tests,¡± Deepak concluded. So power or nepotism, basically. Even if one could actually fly to the highest peak, they wouldn¡¯t be allowed. Then again, it wasn¡¯t as if sects generally allowed people to wander about on their land- and where land was more limited that might be even more important. John was satisfied with the initial interactions in the Sky Islands, and hoped that they would remain relatively peaceful. There would be matters of politics of course, and while he wasn¡¯t exactly presenting himself as a friend of Sitora, people might construe it that way and she doubtless had enemies. Nobody would become as strong as Sitora without accumulating any enemies, even if she¡¯d been generally successful in wiping them out. Chapter 346 Rather than rushing towards the Fifth Peak, the group took their time surveying the Sky Islands. For the most part they avoided any area controlled by larger clans or sects, as they didn¡¯t have any particular business with them and didn¡¯t want to draw too much extra attention to themselves. Obviously people would notice foreigners in a place they could rarely even exist, but there was only so much they could do. While John had first noticed a mix of various elements, those who wanted to be taken as serious cultivators tended to cultivate either earth or air, usually both. It made sense, but John felt it had a certain lack of enlightenment behind it. Just like Astrein was not actually lacking in spiritual energy, earth and air weren¡¯t the only things present in the Sky Islands. All of the core elements were relatively abundant, it was simply that water and fire were overshadowed by the other two. Using a less common element was admittedly a disadvantage, but that could be made up for by a lack of competition and the competitive edge from an unusual style. And while in other places he might simply recommend that people migrate to an elemental zone that fit them, entering and leaving the Sky Islands was much more difficult. The general sentiment that John gathered was that the Sky Islands were just better than the continental folk, so why would anyone want to be part of them, or put in effort to reach them? Even if nobody was directly confrontational, that could have partially been because of his cultivation rank. Flying around the islands or along the connected paths was much easier than flying free throughout the air. Not only was there plentiful spiritual energy, but something about the islands augmented the effectiveness. Most likely the same crystals that allowed them to float in the sky in the first place, though the people were surprisingly rather protective of such things so he never got to observe them up close. He didn¡¯t intend to force it, either. After a few days of travel, the Great Peaks came into view. As they were even higher than the general altitude of the Sky Islands, they stood out even more. They were further from the continent, standing tall in a sort of helix starting from the Fifth Peak spiraling up towards what was presumably the First Peak in the top middle. Merely seeing them didn¡¯t mean they were particularly close, however. Some of them were as far above the other islands as the majority were above the sea below. If it were not for the mitigating factors around the islands themselves, it might not even be possible for people to properly breathe at such altitudes. ¡°Sect head,¡± Ayhan mused shortly after they spotted the Great Peaks. ¡°How high do you think we can get?¡± ¡°All the way to the top,¡± John commented. Ayhan shook his head. ¡°I appreciate the encouragement, but that is not entirely what I meant. The three of us are weaker than yourself. I wondered how far we might get on our own merits.¡± ¡°My answer is the same,¡± John replied. ¡°Though you might need a little time.¡± Viriato added his own comments. ¡°If one were to compare them to the phases of cultivation, we should at least make it to the Third Peak. Though it is unclear if they would be counting down from the true peak of cultivation, or just the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± John frowned. ¡°It¡¯s a bit difficult to tell¡­ but I feel like we would know if they had any Exalted Soul Phase cultivators. Even from here, unless they chose to hide their power. I can just feel something like the Ascending Soul Phase over there. Not any individuals, though.¡± ¡°That would put you at the second peak,¡± Lir pointed out to Viriato. ¡°You are a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, after all.¡± ¡°But not one that fits into the local norms,¡± he countered. ¡°I have no reason to believe that the challenges will be equally fitting for all.¡± Ultimately, Deepak had informed them that as John¡¯s retainers, they would be able to go along with him. But the better they performed, the more respect their group would have. The two disciples were nervous, though because of their youth they shouldn¡¯t be judged too harshly. On the other hand, it was impossible to say how they would be treated as outsiders. ----- Although the group spotted some flying beasts along the way, they never seemed to come close to the main islands. Most likely they had some sense of the danger, so travel ended up relatively safe and without obstructions. When flying was less intensive, matters of unfit terrain went out the window. Especially when there often wasn¡¯t terrain to begin with. They passed a few other travelers along the way, but not terribly many. While there were numerous islands, none seemed to have a terribly large population. Without knowing the full extent of things John couldn¡¯t make an accurate assessment of their population, with his estimates ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. Seta had only a few hundred individuals, but the population density could certainly be higher. The only other point of reference John had was the forces that passed through the Wuthering Steppes and the Darklands along with Sitora. They only totaled a few hundred, though their cultivations were relatively powerful. Many Soul Expansion Phase cultivators and a decent complement of the Consolidated Soul Phase as well. At the time, that was sufficient to suppress the continental forces along their route. Even now they¡¯d have to consider the consequences, but they were much less likely to simply allow outsiders to act as they pleased- instead they would be able to call upon the aid of others, instead of each clan and sect acting mostly as individual forces. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The point being, if Sitora was part of the Second Peak, it could be presumed they had greater forces than that. So even if the total population of the Sky Islands was likely under a million, they still had a high proportion of powerful cultivators. Traveling for multiple days with frequent stretches that required flying got John much more familiar with the process. He¡¯d learned it before, but now it became more automatic. Obviously he wouldn¡¯t be as skilled as those who had lived in the Sky Islands their whole lives, but with the boost from the islands he didn¡¯t find it particularly fatiguing. Even Ayhan and Lir were able to fly under their own power. Viriato unfortunately didn¡¯t have much control over air energy, but it wasn¡¯t like he would need that particular element anywhere else. They were only a few islands away from the Fifth Peak, half a day of travel at most, when Viriato suddenly spoke while their group was transitioning between islands. ¡°Trouble up ahead.¡± ¡°I sense them too,¡± John said. ¡°And I don¡¯t intend to doubt you, but I would like to know what makes you believe they¡¯re trouble.¡± ¡°The fact that they confirmed we were more than halfway along the path before moving towards us. They¡¯ve been waiting for a while.¡± ¡°Perhaps a member just arrived to join them?¡± John postulated. They had plenty of time to determine their course of action before they¡¯d be close, so he felt it worthwhile to be thorough. ¡°I saw no one join them. And they were certainly looking at us in particular.¡± ¡°You can see them clearly from here?¡± John asked. ¡°Impressive.¡± His own eyes were better than they¡¯d ever been on earth, but that wasn¡¯t unusual for cultivators. ¡°It¡¯s a simple trick of Light,¡± Viriato said. ¡°I imagine you could do it. It¡¯s quite useful, as it doesn¡¯t alert others.¡± ¡°This is why I brought you along,¡± John said. ¡°Aside from your general strength and knowledge of trade, and all the other reasons you¡¯re an Elder. I¡¯ll trust your judgment.¡± He thought for a few moments. ¡°Can you two support Viriato¡¯s flight? He will be able to fight, and I¡¯d rather be free to move independently if there is an issue.¡± Ayhan nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°Great. Oh, and we won¡¯t make the first move in any circumstances. If they¡¯re smart enough to reconsider before they act, we¡¯ll let them go.¡± There were nine of them in total. Six Soul Expansion Phase cultivators and three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. John wasn¡¯t familiar enough with the local factions to tell who they might be associated with. All he could tell was that they were mixed earth and air cultivators- with the Soul Expansion cultivators having earth as their majority element as two out of three totems. They were so bad at hiding their hostility that John almost thought they might have naturally foul dispositions and were simply trying to pass by peacefully. But when they flew adjacent to the group without saying anything, John realized they might want to try to take out the more vulnerable cultivators first. He was half right, as the three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators all at once called upon their earth energy, surrounding John with it. Before he even realized, he was falling- and a moment later, he was below the level of the ¡®path¡¯. ¡°Hmph, how trivial,¡± commented one of the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, one of two women. How interesting. They had negated his flying technique with a surge of earth element that latched onto him, which also served to weigh him down. Thus, even when he stretched air element beyond it he wasn¡¯t immediately able to fly. But John couldn¡¯t afford to inspect their technique for long, instead relying on natural counters. Flames crackled around him, burning away the lingering earth element. A moment later, he was rocketing upwards in a swirling tornado of flames. It seemed Viriato had acted more swiftly than the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, a burst of light blinding them and darkness throwing off their energy senses. Now, it appeared as if three version of Viriato, Ayhan, and Lir faced against the six. That fight they could win, but with the addition of three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators? Viriato would have to pull out the best tricks John had ever seen. But John wasn¡¯t out of the fight for as long as they had predicted- or perhaps they had thought him unable to return at all, unable to fly outside of the paths. As if he could have gotten to the Sky Islands any other way. He charged directly upwards into one of the three stronger cultivators, catching the man around the throat, ethereal flames enveloping them both. The three reacted by attempting their technique once more, but with flames twirling around John it barely caught hold for even a moment. In turn, John expanded his own earth and water energy around them. Enough earth element to negate their flying, while the water pushed them all closer together. John sealed them all together with bands of earth. ¡°Turnabout is fair play, I think,¡± John commented. One of the women almost immediately managed to reinforce their flying techniques, but that was why the three were bundled together. With others weighing them down, they all fell together. But of course, if John simply left them there was a good chance they would escape just as he had. They wouldn¡¯t have fire element to burn away the restraints, but they could dismantle uncontrolled earth element. Thus, John followed them down, keeping control of his energy even as he supplied more earth element. He also used his air to push off of them, supplementing his flight by pushing them down. ¡°What is this- how?¡± the man called out as they breached the edge of the path, the normal atmosphere taking over. ¡°Come now,¡± John said. ¡°You came here for me. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t know what to expect from an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator.¡± With one final shove, he thrust away from them, back towards the other battle. There was some chance they would be able to return to the battle, but given how they were surprised he did it he wasn¡¯t expecting much. Either way, he could make use of the time without them to take out the others. Viriato, Ayhan, and Lir clearly weren¡¯t used to fighting in the sky. Even with the flight being supplemented by the path, most of the disciple¡¯s focus remained on that. However, the enemies also clearly weren¡¯t used to fighting light and darkness cultivators- and they couldn¡¯t reasonably have been prepared for one cultivator who was both. Viriato¡¯s energy twisted towards them, allowing the interplay of light and darkness to detonate when it reached them. One had fallen already, and another was on his last legs. With light, darkness, water, and fire Viriato created reflections, mirages, and other distortions they couldn¡¯t keep up with. They almost never knew if they were attacking a real enemy. John threw daggers billowing with flame as he approached, burning through their primarily earth defenses. With only one air totem, the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators were only just able to fly, and even minor injuries made them lose focus. John let them try to arrest their falls as he approached, cutting down one of those still- while Viriato finished off a third. The Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators seemed to have caught themselves a few hundred meters down, but they were flying away towards another island. John wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good idea to chase them down at the moment, as Ayhan and Lir seemed to be pushing their limits carrying Viriato. Better for all of them to reach solid ground than for John to go running off after some fools, even though they would doubtless cause more trouble later. Chapter 347 Once the four travelers were safely on the ground- as safe as one could be near the edge of a sky island, at least- they took a few moments to gather themselves. ¡°Good job countering a new technique,¡± John commented to Ayhan and Lir. ¡°I certainly hadn¡¯t anticipated something to drop people out of the sky, though perhaps I should have.¡± Lir shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think we could have, if they hadn¡¯t started with you. That gave us the necessary time to prepare. And you recovered almost instantly.¡± ¡°Too slow, in my estimation,¡± John said. ¡°Remember, I¡¯m an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. I shouldn¡¯t have dropped out of the path. Especially not to such a simple and straightforward lump of energy. I think all of us need to practice countering such techniques.¡± Viriato also had some comments. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I was as effective as I should have been. Being unable to fly, I held these two back.¡± ¡°I brought you for what you can do,¡± John explained. ¡°Flying wasn¡¯t one of them, though I imagine that some day you¡¯ll be able. You still fought well, bringing down the enemy cultivators. However, it wouldn¡¯t hurt if you also learned to counteract their¡­ grounding techniques. You do have fire, after all, so you should be able to eradicate the earth element if you¡¯re prepared.¡± Viriato nodded. ¡°I¡¯m concerned about those people, and who they are allied with. It might be unsafe here for us.¡± ¡°Might be?¡± John raised an eyebrow. ¡°It was always going to be unsafe. Now, our enemies have revealed themselves. If we notice any more of their disciples, we can learn who they are. They already passed up their best chance. And I don¡¯t believe we could have been random targets. They should have noticed I was an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. They weren¡¯t so incompetent to have missed that.¡± ¡°What are we going to do about it?¡± Viriato asked. ¡°We figure out what faction they¡¯re from, which should inform how we react. To have a reason to risk sending Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators after us, they should have had specific reasons. We might find allies in their enemies, depending on the social situation. If it places us in an untenable situation, we throw ourselves into the sea and have a grand old time swimming back to land.¡± ¡°So our next move?¡± ¡°We go into this town over here and start asking questions. Then we get in some training before we head on to the next island.¡± ----- There was only so subtle they could be when asking about the group. Any delicacy was to avoid any immediate friction, as the group that attacked them would inevitably learn the results of the attack- their three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators had flown off, after all. John might have been able to chase them down, but he wasn¡¯t certain the other three would have made it to land safely. The three hadn¡¯t been particularly injured either, so there was some risk to himself if they stood and fought. Perhaps he should have brought more guards with him, but he felt the results would have been the same. The enemy should have known their numbers and judges they had a reasonable chance of success- more people who could be knocked out of the sky would have been a liability. And the point was to not be seen as an invading army, which certainly could have happened. It was fairly clear that the inhabitants of their current islands had felt the battle- Four Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator clashing could be felt from quite a distance. People from several islands over might have felt something, and they certainly could have seen figures if they were looking. There was no horizon that got in the way, just other islands. The locals were clearly a bit uncomfortable, but John learned that the people were disciples of the Third Peak. Which was both frustrating and completely believable. That was certainly likely to restrict their passage. It was something that had to be considered further before they got to that point¡­ but they needed to reach the Fifth Peak regardless. Giving up before then would feel like a failure. If the Fifth Peak could contact Sitora, her response would dictate where things went from there. If she rejected meeting with John, then he would do his best to ingratiate himself to those of the Fourth and Fifth Peak, just to establish some sort of diplomatic rapport with the Sky Islands. But if Sitora gave him permission, it was unlikely the Third Peak would cause too much of a fuss. Though he anticipated they would already be saying he attacked them. ----- Though they could reach the Fifth Peak in a day or so of travel, John and the others took a full day off from traveling. Instead, they used the opportunity to train- specifically both on utilization and countering of the grounding techniques. Ayhan and John were the only ones who could use the earth element, which meant John¡¯s training to resist was a bit lackluster. Still, he was able to observe from both sides of the techniques, and he knew he would be able to react faster in the future. In truth, John wanted a variety of elements to be utilized at all times to begin with. Adding fire into his flight wasn¡¯t unreasonable, and he could burn away earth techniques before they took hold. It didn¡¯t have to be earth, however. The group theorized ways to strip flight with pure air techniques, and even water might be able to do it. It would have the disadvantage, but it wasn¡¯t necessary to completely prevent flight- just making someone drop out of the proper pathways meant they had to expend more energy to stay in flight, and it might be possible to fight from above, keeping an enemy down. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Things might have gone more poorly if the three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators had stayed vigilant, instead of assuming John was out of their hair for the moment. If they¡¯d fought from just inside the ¡®path¡¯, he would have been much less efficient than them. Of course, he would have found a way to fly around them, but even that left openings. John found that he liked the way he had linked them together, so that they weighed each other down. He tried something like that with Lir and Ayhan- with them all practicing just over the surface of the islands, of course. Nobody was going to risk falling ten kilometers into the ocean. Even if they could probably survive it, there was no point. They had already experienced the true risks, and needed some safe training. Refined techniques couldn¡¯t be created in a day, so everyone stuck to basic things. Lir and Viriato could burn away any earth, while Ayhan could use the same sort of technique to bring down enemies. Even if they were experienced enough to resist their own techniques, it was better to make the attempt. Viriato also planned a method to use his interplay of light and darkness to confuse his enemies in a more beneficial way. Illusions had become the backbone of his fighting style, and his plan was simple. All he had to do was lure people out of the safe zone. Then he could bombard them with attacks while they were focused on trying to return to an easy place to fight. All three of them practiced various other pieces of aerial flight, but ultimately they could only do so much in the course of a day. Too much caution might look like weakness, so they decided to continue their journey with their new preparations fresh in their mind. ----- The four took great care watching the island ahead of them before continuing their journey, with none of them spotting anyone waiting where they might arrive. Their enemies might have other plans to continue the harassment, but with wide open skies it would be difficult for them to approach unseen. Even if they were hidden somehow, they could be picked out. No longer was traversing from one island to another a casual affair. They did not encounter any trouble along the next leg of their journey, but they were more aware of what it might look like. They did notice some people watching them, though it was unclear if they were curious about some fairly obvious foreigners or potential informants. Travel ended with them one island away from the Fifth Peak- the first of the islands that significantly broke away from the general height of the other islands. From there, the peaks spiraled upward quite steeply, each towering over the next beneath it. There was enough time in the day for them to make the approach, but they opted for another round of training. It was best to arrive in their peak condition in the morning, and while a few more hours of practice might not drastically change any future outcomes, sometimes the deciding factor in a battle was a small improvement in speed, power, or efficiency. ----- The island where they spent the night was just beneath the Fifth Peak, while maintaining a relative position off to the side. There was some drift between the two, but none that was relevant in a short timeframe. John and the others noticed a gathering of air cultivators in the morning, all on the edge of the island facing the Fifth Peak. ¡°Do you need transport?¡± some of them approached the group, and specifically Viriato. ¡°It is only a small fee.¡± Viriato was the one in charge of managing money, but he still deferred to John in situations like that. They were present on a diplomatic mission, after all, so it was his job as Sect Head. ¡°We appreciate the offer,¡± John said. ¡°But the Six Elements Crossroads will be ascending under our own power. I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± They did, in fact, and quickly withdrew- looking for other travelers who might wish to try to climb the peaks. Their prime targets were cultivators not confident in their flight as well as cultivators of other elements who truly couldn¡¯t fly. There was a fairly steady flow of people. The Sky Islands were not terribly populous, but there were a handful of people moving between each of the peaks at any time. There were always many moving between other islands, though that was spread out between the various routes. The path to the Fifth Peak was a little bit less generous than the others. Which is to say it supported flight less than the bubbles around most islands. Having flown up from sea level, however, it was still much easier than that. There was a clear entrance to the Fifth Peak. Large gates swung wide open. Ceremonial in purpose, perhaps, but still a clear guide on what they desired. John had no reason to try to circumvent their obvious structure. That would be a good way to get booted over the edge. The four of them landed outside the gates, slowly approaching. John felt comfortable in doing so, because while he could vaguely sense some Ascending Soul Phase cultivators further up, the strongest in the Fifth Peak was simply at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Now that they were closer, John could vaguely feel what he thought was Sitora, and he thought the other Great Peaks had at least one Ascending Soul Phase cultivator each. Even four gathered together in such close proximity was something to take seriously, and there might be more. That information hadn¡¯t been freely available along their route, however. Sects didn¡¯t always like to reveal their exact strength. They were met at the gates by a young female disciple- she was the strongest of those available. ¡°Greetings. What is your business with the Fifth Peak?¡± ¡°We wish to ascend the Peaks,¡± John answered in much the same way as others who had come through ahead of them. ¡°But we also wish to pass on a message to a higher peak if it is possible.¡± ¡°You will have to ask Island Master Mirka about the latter,¡± the disciple said. ¡°Though you should be able to meet with her directly. You shouldn¡¯t need to take the test to ascend to the next peak.¡± John nodded. ¡°Very well. However, my retinue might still wish to engage in the tests.¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± the disciple nodded. ¡°We will arrange for them at your convenience.¡± John hoped that Sitora would respond promptly, and would be willing to meet. On the other hand, if they completely bypassed normal protocol they might lose some respect. There was no point in him fighting here on the Fifth Peak if they didn¡¯t have an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator- unless they could arrange some other test- but Viriato and the others needed to garner some respect of their own. There was also the looming form of the Third Peak, from which John could clearly feel the cultivation style of those who had caused trouble. He hadn¡¯t expected the information they gathered to be incorrect, but that was going to be a serious obstacle. Chapter 348 The arena of the Fifth peak was not terribly large, but it made up for the lack of horizontal space with a vertical component. Miniature floating islands, held aloft by the same crystals keeping the whole of the Sky Islands in place, were scattered above the base of the field. They were close enough together that even cultivators that didn¡¯t practice the air element would be able to make use of them, however there was certainly still an advantage for air cultivators. Not that anything else would have been expected in this place. Air was the prime element, though earth was nearly matched. According to the rules of the island masters, they were to match the seasoning and cultivation strength of the challengers as much as possible. While there were no exact terms, it was critical that the match be as close as they could possibly make it. If the challengers didn¡¯t get a reasonable chance to showcase their ability, then it was all pointless. While a win for the challengers would guarantee them an opportunity to reach the next peak, a loss didn¡¯t disqualify their advancement if they made a good showing. If either side won too easily, it brought some measure of shame to the island masters- unless the challengers were truly pathetic. That was how things worked in theory. In practice, John didn¡¯t know. The opponent picked out for Lir seemed quite reasonable. He was a disciple in the Mid Soul Expansion Phase, his totems weighted towards earth. The widespread dual element cultivation of the Sky Islands seemed to only apply to the particular pairing of earth and air, with the most common alternative being mono element cultivators of the four elements. For those of the Peaks, however, there didn¡¯t seem to be an alternative- though their styles would still differ between groups. The battle started on the ground, with the two cultivators facing off against each other. Lir held her glave and her opponent- oddly enough- a crossbow. Such weapons weren¡¯t unheard of, but they were certainly not common. The man¡¯s battle strategy became clear quite quickly. He leapt upwards on the winds, shooting his weapon downwards as he ended up on one of the floating islands. Air wrapped around the bolt, but the main element was earth propelling it downwards. It blasted away a good portion of the ground of the arena where it hit, Lir deflecting it with her glaive. The force and speed behind the shots were sufficient that the telegraphed nature of a ranged attack was not a weakness, and they forced a response. Even deflecting the attack took serious effort. A moment later, the crossbow was loaded again and ready to fire. Of course, Lir wasn¡¯t just going to stand still and get shot at. She fluttered up to a similar perch, limiting the benefit her opponent gained from height. The lack of footing around him was still an issue, but that wasn¡¯t an insurmountable barrier. Her opponent¡¯s next shot came not when Lir¡¯s feet touched down on the small platform, but the moment she leapt forward towards the next. She twisted her trajectory to try to avoid the incoming shot, but ultimately had to swing her weapon with a burst of fire. Despite the elemental advantage in the exchange, she was still worse off. The disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads wouldn¡¯t lose so easily, however. They were trained to be adaptable, regardless of their particular elements. Once more the crossbow in her enemy¡¯s hands was quickly reloaded, but she pushed forward from one floating platform to the next, having moved about two-thirds of the way across the arena. When the next shot came, Lir launched an attack far before the projectile reached her. Her glaive stabbed out, flames swirling around it. She didn¡¯t specialize in long distance attacks, but the flames were able to latch onto the elements empowering the heavy crossbow bolt. Rather than trying to overcome the earth element it was strong against, Lir intentionally disrupted the weaker air element guiding the bolt. She danced out of the way, conserving her energy compared to a direct confrontation. She was only one platform away from her opponent, and she leapt forward. The chances of him actually remaining stationary were negligible, and she was banking on him trying to leap to one of two platforms on either side. Her judgment was right, but unfortunately he had the advantage of a burst of speed when he shoved off the platform. She wasn¡¯t able to turn her momentum in time, and he reloaded once more in the air. The force of the shot propelled him more precisely towards his destination, clearly a practiced maneuver. Lir, who was already trying to redirect her motion in the air, was in a difficult position. She was forced to meet the attack head on, further exhausting her. John watched with great interest. She was certainly losing, but he was confident she could pull off a win. There were several things in her arsenal yet untouched, including the entirety of her water element. Lir immediately jumped again, seemingly repeating her move. Her opponent was quite comfortable with that, and once again picked a nearby island as his destination. He was already on the way and his shot had been taken when he realized she didn¡¯t even try to chase after him. Instead, Lir let her momentum carry her forward and over the floating platform, where she slid off the other side and hovered behind it for a moment. The platforms were quite sturdy- most likely to protect the crystals, which had to be expensive. Even if the Crystal Sea was their source, they weren¡¯t unlimited- nor were they always active. John didn¡¯t know what the secret there was, but he resolved himself to find out if he could. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Immediately after the attack impacted the platform, Lir was off once more, flying around the side of the platform. While she hadn¡¯t directly clashed with her opponent, the unexpected change had thrown him off. He was still prepared to leap away, but a moment slower. A huge wave of water pushed Lir onto the same trajectory as her opponent, and even slightly ahead of where he was going as it flowed with her. The unexpected burst of speed forced him to swivel towards her, and his spiritual energy was split between the attack and trying to end up on a platform. Lir slipped past the crossbow bolt, circling around towards him as he tried to fly to a safe landing position. She spun her polearm as she approached, flames gathering around it. He blocked her assault with a barrier of earth, but was sent crashing to the ground below, unable to keep his footing. He surrendered as she plummeted down towards him, following up on her previous attack. John smiled, quite pleased. He was quite looking forward to his disciples advancing to the Consolidated Soul Phase. While it was likely still a significant time away, once they had all four core elements they would be a spectacular sight. ----- Ayhan was next. With earth, air, and water he had elements both dominant against and weak to his opponent¡¯s majority totems. The man he faced off against had two air totems, while also wielding short claw weapons strapped to his forearms. Most likely the man would be focused on agility, though John couldn¡¯t tell any more without probing more deeply into his actual totems. The two combatants didn¡¯t seek out the high ground right away, instead moving towards each other at ground level. Ayhan had a long chain with spikes on the end, which he whipped forward. Water coated its length, directing its motion to try to entangle his opponent. The man was swift, wind carrying him forward as he tried to slip around Ayhan, but his weapon caught one of the man¡¯s arms. Or perhaps that was the goal to begin with, as a moment later lightning coursed through the water and chain. Ayhan wasn¡¯t unprepared for such an eventuality. The tail of his spiked chain dangled down to the ground, directing the electricity to disperse there. His opponent slipped out of his grasp with no particular advantage to either of them. Ayhan continued to try to entangle his opponent, but the man began dancing up into the air, staying out of reach- forcing Ayhan to shift his grip on the chain to try to reach him. The intent was likely to prevent him from grounding the weapon, and it worked to some extent. However, while Ayhan was relatively new to flight the Sky Islands boosted such abilities enough that he could reach his target. Water and earth twisted together around his weapon, and the two clashed as they once more made contact. Lightning once more charged down the weapon, nearly causing Ayhan to lose his grip as it passed between his hands. He had to redirect it as much as possible with his own air element¡­ because the other two were focused somewhere else entirely. Earth and water flowed over the flying man. He was obviously familiar with the local techniques to negate flight, and managed to hold himself up against that- until Ayhan¡¯s weight began to drag him down. He had avoided the chain wrapping around him, only contacting the far end with his hand, but the water element leapt forward, turning to ice that bound the chain and his hand. Ayhan¡¯s feet reached the ground, and he yanked further as another surge of lightning came. Rather than resisting, his flying opponent rushed down, letting the chain slacken as he clawed at Ayhan. Ayhan blocked with his forearm, claws drawing blood¡­ and then the Fifth Peak disciple crumpled to the ground. John raised an eyebrow. That was certainly an¡­ unusual tactic. It had all happened in a moment, with Ayhan directing the lightning coursing through his chain through his own body and back into his opponent. That required a careful maneuvering of elements both internal and external, with the most important part being that Ayhan was ready for the two of them to be a circuit. A risky maneuver, though one that had great benefits when pulled off correctly. Not something that could be done frequently, as his opponents would catch on, but that was why versatility was so important. ----- Viriato¡¯s match wasn¡¯t particularly thrilling. Even matched against a mid Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, they were simply unprepared for him using all four elements uncommon in the Sky Islands. Light and darkness were the least prominent, and while they likely faced water or fire cultivators often enough very few people cultivated both. Though perhaps they should have, as there would have been more total spiritual energy available using the same principles as Astrein. Either way, the woman Viriato fought was totally unprepared for the numerous illusions. Furthermore, mistakenly attacking the wrong place could result in a detonation of light and darkness. Those two elements together were the biggest factor in the battle, as very few people could expect any cultivator to make use of those. Even in a place of relatively high cultivation like the Sky Islands, they simply didn¡¯t have that combination. She did make a decent use of thrown axes, tossing them at potential targets so she wouldn¡¯t have to risk the explosions herself, but drawing the weapons back to her afterwards was difficult. The explosions destabilized all sorts of energy, often breaking her connection to the weapons. That meant she had to draw more of her limited supply or maneuver to a position she could retrieve her weapons. Either option provided moments of opportunity for Viriato, and the elder was quickly worn down. However, the results were still within the expected tolerances. Viriato would receive a decent amount of clout for his victory, and the Fourth Peak would likely be able to provide a better match. John had no opponent. The Fifth Peak¡¯s Island master was not an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, and she didn¡¯t have any reason to deny John¡¯s advancement. He would have to turn out to be extremely weak for an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator for her decision to be unwarranted. Personally, John was fine reducing the number of times the locals got to see him fight. Chapter 349 The flight from the Fifth Peak to the Fourth Peak was no further than the typical distance in the Sky Islands, except it was arranged much more vertically. The difference in difficulty John had noted reaching the Fifth Peak was even more pronounced. He was tempted to support Ayhan and Lir, but he thought better of it. Instead, he only provided support for Viriato, who simply could not fly on his own. It might be possible for the man to learn a non-air flying technique, but that would be a long term project. John paid careful attention to their flight along the path, trying to discern how and why it was different. The general aura around the Sky Islands still existed. The Peaks weren¡¯t lacking in the crystals either. If anything, they had more of them. So why was it more difficult to fly between them? Some part of it was the verticality. However, that only slightly increased the distance and shouldn¡¯t have made the actual flight more difficult than anywhere else. It wasn¡¯t that the connections were weaker either. He pondered as the four of them flew upward. His two disciples were having particular difficulty, requiring great concentration from them. When they reached the Fourth Peak, John took stock of himself and the others. ¡°That was more difficult, wasn¡¯t it?¡± he commented. Ayhan and Lir nodded. ¡°Could you do it again?¡± ¡°It was quite strenuous¡­ but I believe so,¡± Ayhan commented. ¡°My spiritual energy isn¡¯t particularly low,¡± Lir agreed. ¡°Is there some reason we would have to?¡± she asked, looking around. ¡°Not at all,¡± John shook his head. Indeed, his two disciples felt if not fresh at least somewhat vigorous. John hadn¡¯t particularly been focused on replenishment of his energy, but he found himself nearly full. Interesting. Was it a difference between skill or technique required and actual expenditure? He¡¯d have to continue to pay attention to that. But first, they had a new Peak to get acquainted with. Not that they intended to be around for terribly long. John still wasn¡¯t quite certain if his message had actually reached Sitora, but he would reach her eventually. And chances were she would notice him regardless. He could already sense her, and it wasn¡¯t likely she would simply ignore a new Ascending Soul Phase cultivator in the area. The Third Peak might still be a problem. John was going to maintain caution with regards to them, since some of their disciples had tried to kill him. He couldn¡¯t imagine that was outside of the direction of their elders, though he couldn¡¯t say for certain if they were a unified faction. Perhaps he could learn some of that on the Fourth Peak. ¡°Congratulations on your ascension to the Fourth Peak,¡± said an older man who awaited them at the gates. His cultivation was in the late Consolidated Soul Phase, so most likely he was an elder of some sort. There were at least a handful of others that John could sense who appeared stronger than him, but he was still relatively near the top. ¡°May we assume you are interested in continuing your ascension?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± John said. ¡°My retinue is also interested in taking the challenges.¡± ¡°Very good.¡± He inclined his head. ¡°The island is available, if you wish to meet with her.¡± ¡°I would appreciate it,¡± John said. Reading the situation, he continued. ¡°I assume someone will help my disciples settle in?¡± John intended to take Viriato with him, and ultimately that was approved. John had only briefly met the island master of the Fifth Peak. Without intending any sort of insult, that had been all that was useful. John wasn¡¯t going to become a disciple of the Fifth Peak or engage in local politics long term. Her passing along John¡¯s message was a fairly simple favor, and acknowledging that was pretty much the limit of appropriate reparations. The island master of the fourth peak was a step above Mirka. Quite literally, of course, being one peak higher, but that was true in many ways. She was in the early Ascending Soul Phase, though at the thirty-ninth rank compared to John¡¯s thirty-seventh. She seemed young, though that was sometimes difficult to judge. She was seated on a throne, floating above the rest of the room- though sufficiently far back people didn¡¯t have to crane their necks too much. John inclined himself just enough to be respectful but not necessarily subordinate. While the Sky Islands might not recognize it, John believed himself to be an equal as the head of a sect with his cultivation. Viriato bowed much deeper. ¡°John Miller of the Six Elements Crossroads,¡± the woman said. ¡°Welcome. I am Venera.¡± She floated down from her position, landing atop the steps that led to the same level as her ¡®throne¡¯ would be, if it didn¡¯t fly. She was making a show of her power, but not so much that she would embarrass herself if she later lost to John. It was an open question, since John only had so many experiences fighting Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. However, he was quite certain he could perform well enough to pass regardless. And when the time came, he wanted to win. ¡°It appears you are acquainted with Sitora,¡± Venera commented. ¡°That is correct. We fought against mutual foes in the past.¡± To some, it wouldn¡¯t be that long ago. Even to John it wasn¡¯t all that long, about a third of his time spent in this world. Perhaps a particularly long fifteen years in some ways, but he thought himself better for it. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Curious,¡± the woman said. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken with her of what happened only rarely, and she said little even then.¡± ¡°She managed to settle the score with an old rival of hers,¡± John explained. Surely that wasn¡¯t secret. ¡°Yes. From the Molten Sea,¡± Venera nodded. ¡°They traveled quite far to fight over some prize.¡± Venera turned to Viriato. ¡°You are Viriato, an elder of the sect, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, island master,¡± Viriato replied. ¡°You practice an unusual combination of elements,¡± Venera said. ¡°Our challenges are doubtless still valuable for your advancement, but without the air element among your totems I suspect you have another purpose. Otherwise another elder would have been brought.¡± Except for the fact that the Six Elements Crossroads had few others who could claim the title of elder at the moment, she was spot on. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Viriato said. ¡°My purpose is to open negotiations to trade with the Sky Islands, whether directly or through the Wuthering Steppes.¡± ¡°As long as you can provide something of sufficient value, we may be interested. But such a talk is for another time.¡± Her eyes returned to John. ¡°I am interested in hearing more about your sect. Your cultivations are quite¡­ intriguing. Moreover, your sect was founded recently, was it not?¡± John answered some questions she had. Nothing sensitive, but there was no point in denying things like their disciples usually practicing a cycle of elements. Venera found herself quite fascinated by their ability to cultivate in a neutral element zone. In return, John managed to slip in some questions about the various Peaks, including the Third and Second Peaks. It didn¡¯t seem the Third Peak had made any sort of public declaration about him, but there was no reason for them to have done so. At best, they would have exposed their own wrongdoing, or at least opened themselves up to questions they would rather not have asked. There was no luck with there being some sort of minority faction that might have been responsible for the attack- at least nothing Venera knew of. Not that John had expected much different. Sitora had not yet sent a reply, but John was ever more confident she would be aware of his presence. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to recognize him, either. The difference between four and five elements wasn¡¯t so stark that he would feel like a different person. Perhaps if she wasn¡¯t paying attention it might slip her mind, but everyone would feel him once he properly fought. The only appropriate challenge would be with Venera herself, though that would be the last of their group¡¯s challenges. ----- Ayhan and Lir were able to secure victories once again. Assessing their battles, John determined that while their opponents weren¡¯t particularly stronger than those from the Fifth Peak, they were more skilled. Similar to the arenas below, there were many floating platforms which became both cover and footing. The only difference was that the floor was no longer a valid part of the arena, instead it was simply there to catch anyone who fell. Once again, an advantage towards those who could fly- but even for Viriato it wasn¡¯t a terribly big disadvantage. He once again maintained a handy lead against his opponent. With water and fire as two of his elements, he had both a dominating element and one that was easily overcome. However, the Sky Islands weren¡¯t used to opponents with both. They focused too much on trying to take advantage of his water element and not enough on the threat of fire. Combined with light and darkness, which he used with great skill, his opponent was kept off balance the whole fight. Viriato also managed to confuse his opponent as to which platform he was actually standing on, with false projections appearing real enough until an attack was launched- and even then if the attack missed it wasn¡¯t always clear which was which. The victories weren¡¯t necessarily easy for any of the three, but they were determined to win. Meanwhile, the Fourth Peak cultivators fought well because they didn¡¯t want to be embarrassed, but they had little to actually gain from a victory. It was that edge that kept the rest ahead, and John hoped that they would be able to keep it up. ----- More important than fighting well against Venera was learning. Of course, if he lost terribly in his first actual fight against an island master he would be extremely embarrassed, but John was confident he would hold his ground well enough. He was looking forward most to his first time fighting an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator that he hadn¡¯t known beforehand. And a proper fight with just him. He¡¯d fought against Gesine in the past, and the Society of Midnight had pushed their sect master to display a similar level of power, though the breakthrough hadn¡¯t been stabilized. John hadn¡¯t fought Rezso head on, taking a back seat to Charlotte. Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be interested in a one-on-one fight, if he wanted to use his abilities most effectively. But either way, measuring himself against Venera required doing his best, and he would learn the most that was as well. His goals were aligned. However, if possible, he also wanted to win instead of just meeting the minimum standards. Venera readied a large hooked polearm as they faced off against each other. John could expect her to fight up close, which was fine with him given his own style. No doubt her ability to fly would be better than his, but with the size of the platforms¡­ he had an idea of what her strategy was. When the battle began, John was happy he hadn¡¯t truly displayed his abilities in the Sky Islands just yet. Venera deflected his throwing daggers seriously, but she didn¡¯t sense the true dangers behind them. Ethereal flames began to flicker over her, and while she would sense their effects soon enough the flames fed easily on her earth element. John didn¡¯t expect the battle to last long enough for her to get worn down from just that, but he had a strategy. Venera approached quickly, and the first sweep of her polearm pushed John to the edge of the platform. She landed, solidifying her own footing- and ensuring there was nowhere on the platform out of her reach. His free hand was used to catch and deflect the haft of the weapon, when he could not parry it with his sword. He didn¡¯t try to hold his position long, rapidly switching to a different platform. They were all of similar size, but he was still better off fighting his opponent before she had established her footing. John¡¯s mind raced as his spiritual energy fed into itself, five elements working in concert. He couldn¡¯t wait to see what else she had in mind. Chapter 350 The Fourth Peak island master moved rapidly, her hooked polearm sweeping at John as they rapidly traversed between platforms. John thought he was getting a bit ahead, as she had to position herself solidly on a platform to make an attack. His continuous dodging was easier on him than such attacks were on her. Then Venera missed her leap. An opportunity like that wouldn¡¯t happen often, and John flicked a throwing dagger with his left hand, adding more ethereal flames to the few strikes he¡¯d managed previously. He expected her to arrest her fall and reach the platform regardless, but her momentum would be lessened. He was half right, his dagger striking him even as she continued her attack without course correction at all. Her weapon, coated in earth element, just barely reached the platform John was standing on. Yet the weight of earth upon it sent the whole thing crashing down- including John, as it pulled him along with its artificial attraction. The counterforce of her attack sent Venera into the sky, to land on another platform. The attack felt almost like it pulled the arena to crash upward into the platform he was on. The crystal felt like it was activated in a different way, and John wasn¡¯t able to disentangle himself before it struck the ground. It seemed that the platform touching the ground was not a disqualification, as Venera still stood ready. John took special note that she would not miss her jumps, and did not need to fly to correct herself. Still, he wasn¡¯t actually damaged by the attack, just put in an awkward position. Now he had to fly upward towards his choice of platform- or directly charge someone with solid footing. He kind of wanted to see if he could make the platform fly. Would it take earth, air, or both? However, learning to activate the crystals in the middle of combat might not be the best use of his time. John sprang upward, letting the local area augment his air element flight. Venera rapidly bounded towards his chosen platform from where she had been in the center. John doubted he could stand up to her when she had solid footing and he did not, so he changed his trajectory for a position between the platforms. Her weapon wouldn¡¯t be able to reach him, so perhaps he could fly above her. It would still be difficult to get footing on a platform with her guarding them, but he had to do something. He felt it as she began to swing. Her weapon carried not just the force of an attack, but a field of gravity around it, extending towards him. It struck him like a massive hammer of earth element, clinging to him and pushing him down. John wondered if this was a practical method of combat. For the Sky Islands, maybe it was. The restriction about hitting the ground in the arena was not an arbitrary limitation, despite how little danger there actually was. Even so, he thought it would be difficult to kill an opponent by dropping them out of the sky. But maybe that was his perspective as someone from the ground below who had to fly up. Ayhan and Lir would have a harder time arresting their fall to the world below, and it would be embarrassing either way. It took more than a couple moments to rid himself of the earth element, but while he was immersed within it he studied the flow. There was actually a portion of air element mixed in as well, providing pressure that forced him downward. He cut the flow of spiritual energy in half with his sword, forcing it off of him at the last moment. He negated his momentum a few meters above the arena floor. An attack like that¡­ would be much more effective if his enemy followed him down. Venera had to know that. Which meant if she¡¯d wanted to, he could have technically lost already. But this was a test. She was making certain he wouldn¡¯t go out in one of the easy ways, rather than focusing on winning at all costs. No doubt she had methods to cause more direct damage to him, even if he tried to dodge between platforms. John needed a moment to think, but he didn¡¯t want to assume she had no ranged attacks. If he just floated where he was, he could maintain his position for a long time¡­ but he would be close to being knocked down. Time to test something he¡¯d wondered ever since he saw Lir hovering behind one of the platforms, using it as cover. He charged upwards, towards a platform next to hers. He knew she would reach it before him, but he wanted to cause her at least that much extra consternation. He gathered his various elements, at the last moment using a portion of his air and earth to swerve to the side. Not up at an angle towards another platform, but instead directly at the underside of the same platform she stood upon. He nearly bashed his head on it as it pulled him upward. He flipped over, placing his feet on it. He felt light, as the platform pulling up on him was somewhat less than the regular force of gravity pulling down. He was effectively flying, but it was nearly effortless. ¡°Excellent! I hadn¡¯t expected one of the continentals to try that,¡± Venera commented from up above. ¡°But it seems like you have forgotten something.¡± He hadn¡¯t, actually. Even as she amped up her elements to slam the platform downward, he was already acting. If she¡¯d come around the side his water would have become a fog, but instead it became a cloud. Fire had been climbing stealthily around the platform. Air and earth were half keeping him in place, and half joining the other elements. Darkness kept his intentions concealed, and also took advantage of the technique where he had first seen ¡®gravity¡¯ at play. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He doubted that most techniques that purported to affect gravity actually did so. Maybe the crystals that held up the Sky Islands- and the platform above him- but very few other things. Gravity Blade certainly wasn¡¯t gravity, it just made his energy more ¡®sticky¡¯. But that was perfect for when John¡¯s concoction of elements reached Venera, the cloud wrapping around her. At that instant, he flared the ethereal flames already on her. They¡¯d been practically dormant, but then they exploded into power. Not to directly harm her, but to add to everything that was happening. A swirling vortex of elements pulled her upward at the same time as she slammed her weapon down on the platform. The rebound pushed her up, and John enhanced that. Meanwhile, he stepped directly onto the crystal to counteract Venera¡¯s efforts, deactivating its enhanced pull for the instant he needed to push away. He angled himself for the other platform she had dropped, uncertain he could stop the downward momentum with just his flight abilities. Meanwhile, she was going up. Her air and earth struggled against five elements tied together, and she seemed quite uncertain where she should start. She focused first on protecting her body and next on stopping the assault, which meant she was too slow to stop herself before she hit the vertical boundary of the arena. It wasn¡¯t solid, instead more of a net to catch anyone¡­ just in case. John let his elements fizzle apart immediately as that happened, as he didn¡¯t have any need to push her further. He hit the platform with a thud, letting his body flop limply rather than trying to fight it. He¡¯d had a cushion of protection, of course, but it was still going to bruise. He only paid special attention to his head, as concussions were no fun. Venera floated down towards him. ¡°Was that your plan the whole time? Or only once I started dropping you?¡± John shrugged. ¡°I noticed that people here seemed particularly fond of dropping others. So I thought I¡¯d do the opposite.¡± Technically, he could have used the burst of energy from the ethereal flames as a direct attack as well. His plan had some versatility to it, depending on what he needed. ¡°Neither of us were really brought to our limits, but¡­¡± she smiled. ¡°It is still your victory. It was refreshing to fight someone different. I¡¯ll admit I could have never anticipated¡­ that. You are certainly worthy to go to the Third Peak.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± John inclined his head. ¡°I do have one question. I am rather unfamiliar with the system here. Would it be unusual to engage in additional battles after receiving permission to ascend?¡± ¡°That would depend on the individuals in question. But it is done often enough. You wish to battle again?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± John said. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a proper battle with as many different Ascending Soul Phase cultivators as I would like. I think there¡¯s much we could both learn.¡± She nodded. ¡°I will gladly accept. Though I should note delaying more than a few days will be taken as a lack of confidence in your further ascension.¡± ¡°Just a battle or two and some proper time to rest, then,¡± John said. He was lacking confidence. Not in his ability to continue on legitimately, but rather in the system and what the Third Peak might try to do. He wanted every edge possible, and some time to think about his strategy. Plus he wanted to see how would do in a straightforward fight against Venera. ----- Just like his ¡®tour¡¯ around his home region, he clocked up some wins, and some losses. Frankly, that was the best result. An opponent that could beat him was important for growth, but being able to come out on top when he performed well was also critical. He¡¯d been worried about the two rank difference, but his cycle of elements helped close that gap. With reach Phase, those of lesser talent were weeded out. Ascending Soul Phase cultivators wouldn¡¯t be lacking, but a cycle of core elements was a massive advantage. John had only been able to imagine it when he first started out- the Consolidated Soul Phase had been a dream at that point, let alone actually reaching where he was now. Over the last few days, John had been bruised in pretty much every way possible, as he was battered around by Venera. Standing directly against her was where most of his losses had come into play, but once he had managed to slip inside her guard. He¡¯d used his left hand to prevent her from retreating with her weapon, his grip solid. His augmented reactions had come in clutch just to reach that point. ¡°Thank you for the opportunity,¡± John said. ¡°If you are ever down on the continent, please come visit the Six Elements Crossroads. We would be happy to receive you.¡± He¡¯d have to inform people of the possibility, of course, or they might react poorly given what happened last time. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will find the continent quite different from what you¡¯ve previously heard.¡± She nodded. ¡°You¡¯re producing Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, among other things. That¡¯s¡­ unexpected. What elemental zone is your sect placed in? It must be difficult to find one that fits your particular elemental affinities.¡± ¡°Astrein,¡± John said. She frowned. ¡°Astrein? Isn¡¯t that the¡­ neutral zone?¡± John had the feeling she¡¯d thought of a less complementary word first. ¡°Forgive me if I¡¯ve made a mistake with my geography.¡± ¡°No, you are correct. Calling it a neutral element zone would be appropriate. But unlike what people believed, it¡¯s not lacking in spiritual energy.¡± It wasn¡¯t really a secret how the Six Elements Crossroads actually flourished there. Venera looked over John, then eyed Viriato and his disciples. ¡°An even balance of elements? That still seems¡­ rather difficult to handle.¡± John smiled. ¡°I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.¡± He still occasionally cooked with his disciples, using his elemental expertise for practical noncombat purposes. He looked up. The next step was the Third Peak. He¡¯d considered how he would approach it, and now he simply had to go through with things. His plans would be flexible based on their reaction. Chapter 351 It was ever so slightly more difficult to fly to the Third Peak than it had been to the Fourth Peak, but it wasn¡¯t really a challenge. The difficulty of flight was always less than what he¡¯d dealt with from the sea below, and the distance? Incomparable. John had flown with the others ten kilometers vertically, and the vertical distance to each of the peaks was no more than a kilometer. This was a test for the natives- if the islands even had any control over the pathways. Ayhan and Lir might have had a harder time of it alone, but with John supporting the group they could sustain the necessary force for a sufficient amount of time. He barely had to provide anything himself, except for Viriato. Carrying one other person wasn¡¯t that difficult, however, and it didn¡¯t make any difference what Viriato¡¯s cultivation rank was. When he landed upon the Third Peak, John didn¡¯t let his spiritual energy fully settle. The others got the message, keeping their energy somewhat active. Control of the situation was the most important thing. That was what John had decided. So rather than timidly walk forward and have to face the local island master in whatever sort of throne room she had, he took the reigns. He projected his voice widely. It wouldn¡¯t be loud anywhere, but it would be clearly heard- and his energy would be felt over the whole island, and hopefully beyond. ¡°The Six Elements Crossroads arrives to challenge the Third Peak in the Trials of Ascension.¡± John was being rude. It was an intentional choice, intended to produce favorable results. And he wasn¡¯t so rude as to be completely unreasonable. From certain perspectives, he would certainly be displaying confidence. Announcing himself wasn¡¯t that unreasonable either. Part of it was his plan, and part of it was his annoyance at the Third Peak island master, despite never having met her. However, what he had heard from Mirka and Venera hadn¡¯t changed the opinion he had formed based on the attack by Third Peak disciples. If there was some sort of error, and they were rogue disciples¡­ then he might apologize for his brash actions. If it seemed appropriate. But until then, he would act like someone important. Because as it turned out, he might be. He felt ripples of movement as people responded. John and the others strode towards the gates at a measured pace. Without directly focusing, he kept his thoughts on Morana, the island master. He felt hesitation, then she moved from her position deeper in the sect. John timed his approach to arrive at the gates near when she did. She wasn¡¯t rushing, exactly, but she wasn¡¯t moving at a leisurely pace either. Before she reached them, John paid special attention to the surroundings. He didn¡¯t want to make a mistake in how he handled things¡­ but then he saw the few people he needed to. That decided things. The four stopped outside the gate. Internally, John¡¯s energy was still nimble. If things went wrong, he was wholly prepared to take Viriato, Lev, and Ayhan and just run. Dropping off the edge into the ocean might be embarrassing, but he wasn¡¯t looking to get killed here. There was a hint of motion from above, but John simply took note of it. He didn¡¯t have the spare attention to continue tracking that, with Morana in front of him. ¡°Greetings,¡± Morana said the word, but John knew she didn¡¯t feel it. Which confirmed his understanding of things. ¡°I am surprised. It has been some time since a continental has attempted the trials of ascension.¡± If he only considered her words, they were polite. But the way she said continental was as if she were speaking about a particularly disfavored sort of insect. John kept his tone as clear as possible. He saw several of the disciples moving past the others. He needed to keep the initiative. ¡°Perhaps it would not be so rare if the Sky Islands did not distance themselves. And if the Third Peak did not shelter bandits.¡± John pointed directly towards the closest of the disciples- the man of the trio of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators who had attacked them along the way. The man twitched, as he had clearly been about to decry John as the offending party. And while he would still have an advantage in his own sect, it still helped shape the narrative. Morana¡¯s spiritual energy flared. John continued the interplay of elements inside of him, hidden. ¡°How dare you make such accusations against a disciple of the Third Peak!¡± John nodded. ¡°So you did order them to attack us, then. Typical.¡± ¡°Of course not. There was no-¡± ¡°Ask him about the burns on his backside. Or those two women about the wounds on their sides.¡± John knew they wouldn¡¯t have healed from his flames just yet, as it had only been a few days. And while he hadn¡¯t caused serious damage, perfect recovery in that time was difficult. The six Soul Expansion Phase cultivators hadn¡¯t made it out, recklessly trying to overpower Viriato and the other two- though it wasn¡¯t like they¡¯d fought long so they had little time to realize their mistakes. ¡°These are serious accusations,¡± Morana glared. ¡°We will investigate thoroughly.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the one that attacked us!¡± one of the women declared. John grinned- but only internally. ¡°Trivial. I believe that was the word you used, assuming someone of your status could defeat me with a trick and numbers. That was moments before you all ran with tails between your legs, of course.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Morana shouted. Wind blew in all directions from her, whipping John¡¯s hair and clothes. ¡°I will not tolerate these insults to the Third Peak. The accusations against you are sufficient to place you under arrest.¡± She stepped forward, reaching out. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. John drew his blade in an instant, cutting her wrist. He¡¯d hoped to completely sever the hand, but she yanked her hand back too quickly for him to accomplish his task. ¡°He comes to assault the peak! Seize him!¡± Morana yelled. John stood his ground. Not because he thought the four of them could stand up to a whole sect, though. John was pleased that aside from readying their spiritual energy to the full, his retinue restrained themselves. Cultivators swarmed forward- John noticed Morana herself hesitated. ¡°Stand down.¡± The words were spoken no louder than casual conversation, but their weight was immense. Even John felt slightly mollified. The disciples had to have heard, but not all of them reacted immediately. Some continued forward, preparing attacks. An instant later, a gust of wind pushed them in all directions. John noted that one of them was caught so off guard that he tumbled over the edge of the island, more than a hundred meters away. If nobody caught him¡­ he¡¯d might not be coming back. It was a long fall, and an even longer ascent. Most likely he could avoid hitting the sea too hard, but that wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Sitora landed between the two of them, her age showing just as much as it had the last time John had seen her. She didn¡¯t appear to be on the verge of death, but she certainly wasn¡¯t getting any younger. Her energy was that of the Mid Ascending Soul Phase. ¡°What is going on here?¡± she demanded, as if she didn¡¯t know. John let Morana speak first. She could condemn herself with her own words. ¡°This continental attacked my disciples!¡± she said. ¡°I was merely bringing him in for a proper investigation.¡± ¡°I see. And when did this incident happen?¡± Sitora asked calmly. ¡°It was barely a week ago.¡± ¡°Why did you not report it to the Peaks immediately?¡± Sitora said. ¡°Surely your disciples must have noticed him challenging the peaks. His presence has not been subtle.¡± ¡°I did not wish to-¡± ¡°Inform me that you had attacked my guest?¡± Sitora raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes, I am aware you prevented his message from reaching me.¡± She turned her head to John. ¡°Do you have anything to say?¡± ¡°Your insight has revealed everything of import,¡± John said. ¡°Did you perhaps sense the battle?¡± ¡°Faintly,¡± Sitora said. ¡°You were many islands away. I will admit I did not immediately recognize your spiritual energy, though I should have predicted this. You were but one step from a fire totem.¡± ¡°Not a trivial step,¡± John admitted. ¡°But I accomplished it, in time.¡± ¡°What is it you wish?¡± she asked. ¡°Revenge?¡± Morana interrupted. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard-¡± Sitora¡¯s head whipped around. ¡°I wasn¡¯t speaking to you. And I have heard enough.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about the affairs of unimportant disciples,¡± John declared. ¡°Unless they intend to shame themselves again, I am done with them. I am merely here to test myself against the peaks. With several members of my sect,¡± John gestured behind him. ¡°Then a challenge you will have. Come, everyone,¡± Sitora gestured. Though she stood alone among the members of the Third Peak, she was not entirely unguarded. There were other members of the Second Peak that had followed after her, hanging above the island. ----- Things were going about as well as John could have hoped. He figured Sitora would have been paying attention, but it was good that she remembered him. Though it was likely she would have had to make a concerted effort to forget anyone, even with her age. Maybe if John hadn¡¯t interacted with her directly, but even then she would likely remember his energy signature. Morana would have been steaming, had she been a fire or water cultivator. As it was, she was quite close as she shuffled along after Sitora, subdued. ¡°Pick your combatants,¡± Sitora said simply as they arrived at the arena after climbing several flights of stairs. John noticed that this arena had no floor. If he understood the rules correctly it would still count as a loss to pass through ground level, and the island would catch anyone that actually fell, but it would be embarrassing. The floating platforms were also moving around independently, and John thought there were slightly fewer of them. ¡°I am certain you know how to choose appropriately.¡± Morana was clearly annoyed at being told what to do, but also clearly unwilling to stand up to Sitora. That was quite reasonable, because ignoring other factors a fight of two Ascending Soul Phase cultivators against her would result in her guaranteed loss- and most likely death. There would be no way John would stand by if something happened. The rest of the sect might have been problematic, except for the hovering guard. And the fact that as many as felt they could get away with it had started to pull away. The island master was not at all conservative with her picks. She chose late Soul Expansion Phase cultivators to go against Ayhan and Lir, who were solidly in the mid Soul Expansion Phase. John was quite certain they had people more appropriate, based on duration of training. But he didn¡¯t complain. Viriato¡¯s opponent was in the thirty-fourth rank while he was in the thirty-first. The late Consolidated Soul Phase. ¡°Second Island Master, if I may,¡± Morana said. ¡°I believe things would be resolved most optimally with a group engagement.¡± Sitora glanced over at John, but he gave her no expression. Perhaps she picked something up regardless. ¡°That is an acceptable test.¡± With Morana being two ranks ahead of John- the same rank as Venera- all four of his side were at a cultivation disadvantage. But personally, he had no issues. This was actually the best way for Ayhan and Lir to officially ascend. They might be able to follow him because of his own success, but then they wouldn¡¯t be able to experience a battle on the Second Peak. That would be far more valuable for them compared to a standard match here they might lose. John expected Viriato would have won here, even a single battle against the opponent the Third Island Master chose. He was only gaining more experience against earth and air opponents, and they were still just as unfamiliar with his style. Being unable to actually fly himself would only be a minor hindrance if he blasted them out of the sky. ¡°Your orders, Sect Head?¡± Viriato asked as they approached their positions. ¡°Take out the small fry. Don¡¯t hold back.¡± He looked to Ayhan and Lir. ¡°Same goes for the two of you. Morana won¡¯t have an opportunity to engage with either of you, so focus on rapid offense.¡± Morana hadn¡¯t done herself any favors with her suggestion. The Third Peak was going to lose more face for their defeat with a stacked deck. Chapter 352 The battle started. While there was a veneer of it being a trial, that was what it truly was. A battle where it was unlikely anyone would die¡­ but not impossible. Given the wide spread of cultivations, the weakest members were at the greatest risk. Ever since he stepped foot on the Third Peak, John¡¯s spiritual energy had been eagerly building. Now, it was finally able to do something, erupting from his body as wind and flame. Yet neither had much visual flare to it, the ethereal flames mingling with the invisible wind. The flames were an additive to his flight that John had come to appreciate, helping keep him aloft while also providing a counter for the grounding techniques the Sky Islands seemed to favor. John would not risk a drawn out battle with Ayhan and Lir at risk, nor did he think it would benefit them regardless. He was aware that Morana favored war darts as weapons, and was able to attack at range effectively. She was not incompetent in melee, of course, but it wasn¡¯t her favored range either. Her first attack came swiftly, twisted air and earth as she threw what was effectively a javelin towards John. It arced up above, almost ponderously, then suddenly shot down towards him at increased speed. John calculated the possible change from there in a moment, and decided he couldn¡¯t afford to dodge. Instead, he cut it out of the air with his sword, slicing the weapon in two. The weight of earth attached to it only caused him to bob slightly as he burned the element away. Viriato¡¯s attack took a moment longer for him to prepare, but it did exactly what it needed to. His target was one of the late Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, meant to outmatch Ayhan and Lir. His choice was the one trailing slightly, their exact intent never to be revealed. One from each hand, Viriato shot twin beams of light and darkness intersecting precisely at his opponent. The resulting explosion blasted the enemy cultivator completely out of the arena, and John imagined there had to be some wounds even with defensive formations in place. Ayhan and Lir attacked the other with their long weapons, Lir¡¯s glaive sweeping at their opponent and deflecting his lighter spear towards Ayhan, providing an opportunity for him to encircle it with his spiked chain. John imagined that situation would resolve itself rapidly, but there were still dangerous opponents in play he had to reckon with. Twirling axes from the late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator arced towards John. They were much more strongly supported, so he didn¡¯t even try to cut them out of the air. Instead, he twisted his body to slip around them, merely slightly deflecting one with his sword. In his other hand he was charging a concoction of five elements, a throwing dagger ready to slip into his hand. His eyes were locked on Morana. It would take her a moment to prepare another attack. Meanwhile, the twin axes continued past John, threatening his companions rather than trying to cut him off from behind. A sound enough tactic, but he¡¯d been prepared for either eventuality. His arm snapped forward¡­ his hidden intentions revealing themselves as the overcharged dagger flew towards that Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. The man had enough control to withdraw the majority of his spiritual energy from his distant weapons to defend himself while redirecting their trajectory so that the weapons wouldn¡¯t be vulnerable. The throwing dagger still knocked the man from his perch on one of the few floating platforms, hitting him directly in the chest. The four element cycle didn¡¯t have any particular focus behind it aside from destruction and force, and John was fairly sure he¡¯d cracked the man¡¯s armor. He was just short of the formations determining it to be a killing blow, however. Or perhaps they were partial to the Third Peak. He didn¡¯t have time to worry about such details, as new attacks were incoming from Morana. Two war darts, one aimed towards him and one towards his disciples. If he moved to intercept, the one targeted at him would certainly follow and he would have to contend with both at once. Even so, John didn¡¯t despair. There was no time for it, frankly, and he felt supremely calm despite the circumstances. Anyone who felt they needed the advantage of a whole minor stage of cultivation over each of his disciples and Viriato was someone he didn¡¯t take seriously in the grand scheme of things. Morana might be stronger than him now, or she might not, but if she had an advantage it wouldn¡¯t last. No wonder she hadn¡¯t reached the mid Ascending Soul Phase, with an attitude like that. John lobbed what was effectively lava, molten earth that would counter the air and earth elements Morana used. That attack struck the secondary attack for his disciples, and while John didn¡¯t completely negate it he was confident that he¡¯d weakened it enough. His sword clashed with the other, and he once again dropped slightly as the earth element in the attack tried to pull him out of the sky. His flames consumed it, but he was awkwardly positioned and had to regain altitude. The other attack reached Lir and Ayhan, who were still wrestling with the late Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. It had only been a moment, after all, and they were at a disadvantage of cultivation. Ayhan yanked his spiked chain, pulling the enemy cultivator into the trajectory of the incoming war dart. His chain had slithered around the man¡¯s hands as well, so he couldn¡¯t easily let go. His reaction was swift enough that he leaned into the movement, intending to go past the attack instead. That failed for multiple reasons, but the primary one was Lir leaping from the platform and slashing her glaive into his side to arrest his momentum at just the right spot. Clearly, Morana had faith that her disciples were going to avoid the attack. When it came to the final moment, however, he was still there and she instantly dispersed her energy. The kinetic energy of the weapon still shoved him forward, causing Lir¡¯s glaive to slice slightly deeper. Viriato could have finished him off at that moment, but he instead targeted the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator that was theoretically his opponent. Though he was more clever about it than that. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. John was truly impressed by what he pulled off. Fire and water combined together on one hand- unlike certain interpretations of the elements, they worked together just fine with the fire bolstering the water. He shot forward a beam of ice from that hand, coating one of the twin axes as it tried to return to its owner. Weakened, the remaining spiritual energy was overwhelmed and it began to drop, coated in ice. Around Virato¡¯s other hand was a combined beam of light and darkness together. Forming that at the same time as he did his other two elements showed an exceptional amount of focus and skill. It clearly wasn¡¯t perfect, as the beam detonated prematurely, right before it actually reached the other axe- but the explosion was significant enough to knock it off its trajectory regardless, leaving the other cultivators attacks a moment behind. That meant John didn¡¯t have to worry about him for that instant, and he regained his balance, slipping just behind one of the circling platforms so that Morana couldn¡¯t so easily target him. Ayhan and Lir snatched up Virato, flying him closer to the enemy. He could leap, of course, but having him with them provided them greater safety. That was good, because Morana chose to target them. John had promised that she wouldn¡¯t be able to engage with his disciples, but situations changed. More importantly, he saw something in Viriato¡¯s eyes that let him continue to concentrate his energy instead of launching a counterattack. A powerful attack from a cultivator nearly a full Phase ahead of Viriato streaked towards the trio. He didn¡¯t rely on the same tricks repeatedly, instead pulling out something even John hadn¡¯t seen. A lens of water appeared in front of him, and he blasted light into it, focusing that light into a tighter beam with the help of the lens. Fire and darkness gathered until Viriato could sustain the other attack no longer, his reserves momentarily depleted. A cone of dark flame caught the incoming projectile, spread widely because he couldn¡¯t predict quite how the attack would turn. The flames burned through earth energy easily, and the darkness reacted with the lingering light on the incoming war dart. Viriato looked nearly spent as he was dropped onto the next platform, but the attack was negated. The Consolidated Soul Phase elder focused more of his energy on the single throwing axe available to him, sending it streaking towards John like a bolt of lightning. In turn, John activated the platform he was next to. He¡¯d been growing ever more familiar with how the crystals worked as he fought. They were clearly efficient conductors of earth and air element, otherwise it would be pointless to have them at all. They were also part of the battlefield, and there were no rules against making use of them. The only one that existed was a strong suggestion that they should not be intentionally destroyed. The platform pulled him along with it as it rocketed towards Morana. Was she likely to die from being smacked by a floating platform? Not at all. It would be a minor inconvenience, most likely. But her reflexive attack did nothing except scar the platform. John¡¯s platform crashed into hers. Morana had leapt away, flying off to the side. John still had three elements ready, and a whip of water, curled around the side of the platform as it split to wrap around her ankles. If he tried to sink her with earth, no doubt she would have ample experience to counter him. Flame coursed out of John, empowering the water- and causing it to boil around one leg and freeze around the other. He pulled down with all his might, swinging her towards the lacking arena floor below. However, she strained her energy to keep herself high, and she didn¡¯t drop below John¡¯s own level, simply being pulled around a bit. Then her own companion¡¯s axe struck her in the back. John hadn¡¯t expected it to work so well, but these cultivators were very unfamiliar with darkness. Concealing her movement from her companion while also muting his incoming attack in her own senses was perhaps the best display of darkness he¡¯d ever pulled off. The formations activated, indicating a killing blow and that she was out of the battle. John sprang towards the one remaining opponent just on the far side of her, his elements swirling within him, if tiredly. The instant he passed by Morana, she stabbed at him with one of her war darts. She was¡­ entirely unsubtle about it. John had seen her arm drifting, and felt her energy building internally. He didn¡¯t know what she had against him, but he also didn¡¯t care. As it turned out, cutting through the defenses of the formation was quite difficult¡­ but he managed it regardless. Her hand sailed off as his sword swept down, always having been the target of his current charge. The instant it was away from her, flames dissolved it as she screamed in pain and rage. John¡¯s momentum carried him forward to her lieutenant who had just barely retrieved his axe. He saw Ayhan and Lir approaching, and clearly thought about trying to take one of them out. His eyes focused on John, and he threw down his weapon. ¡°I surrender!¡± he yelled, looking frantically towards Sitora, the Island Master of the Second Peak. Morana¡¯s final attack was pathetic, a war dart thrown with her off hand and flagging energy. It didn¡¯t even make it to John, but not because the formations stopped her like they were supposed to. No, instead it was Sitora that flicked her attack away with a gust of wind, almost casually. She was still fresh and the combatants were exhausted, but even so John was reminded of her power during the Leviathan battle. ¡°Don¡¯t dishonor the peaks further, Morana,¡± Sitora said casually. ¡°You have lost.¡± ¡°But he-¡± ¡°Defeated you quite directly. I would suggest you take this chance to rest and learn from your battles. I anticipate there will be a challenge from the master of the Fourth Peak in your near future given your display of weakness.¡± Ayhan and Lir looked slightly disappointed they hadn¡¯t been able to clash with the remaining man, but given the significant gap in cultivation they also looked somewhat relieved. In a properly safe environment it would be one thing for them to try it. Either way, they would have learned much- and would have the opportunity to challenge the Second Peak properly. John still didn¡¯t know why the Island Master of the Third Peak hated him, but he could come up with any number of reasons. Most likely the answer involved both politics and pettiness. ¡°Come,¡± Sitora said. ¡°I believe you have done what you came here for.¡± With that, her winds picked up herself, Viriato, and the two disciples. They could have flown without her if they hadn¡¯t been exhausted, but the short battle had involved extreme expenditure of energy. John flew after them, pulling air and earth from the surroundings¡­ as well as three other elements that most cultivators wouldn¡¯t even sense, dim as they were compared to the strength of the two prominent in the region. Chapter 353 For the first time in a while, John felt calm. He was not without remaining worries, but being welcomed to the Second Peak by Sitora promised at least a time of safety. If she wished him harm, she would have already done whatever she pleased. So far in the Sky Islands, it was only the Third Peak that had caused his life to be truly imperiled. That was a matter now dealt with, though John imagined that he wasn¡¯t truly at the end of his troubles. He still found no reason for the Third Peak to have quarreled with him to begin with, and if Sitora and the Second Peak were not intending him any trouble that left only one remaining option. The First Peak. Or perhaps he was being paranoid, and she was simply that disdainful of ¡®continentals¡¯. Then again, John couldn¡¯t think of a reason anyone from the First Peak would dislike him either. John and his disciples shared a suite between the four of them. One thing the Sky Islands lacked was space, but the quarters were not cramped. Indeed, the various rooms took great advantage of verticality, rising towers and even lower rooms seemingly carved out of the island itself. ¡°You all fought well,¡± John congratulated the other three as they sat together around a table of refreshments the Second Peak had brought them. ¡°Nothing compared to yourself,¡± Viriato said. John smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t be too humble. I noticed the way you combined elements with great skill. And the two of you clashed successfully with an opponent several ranks above you,¡± John said to Ayhan and Lir. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Ayhan said. ¡°But it was just within the Soul Expansion Phase. There is a greater difference between ranks in the Ascending Soul Phase, sect head. That you defeated Morana as you did was astounding.¡± John shook his head. ¡°All of us were outmatched in cultivation ranks, and we won together. We all deserve praise just as much as any other. So, congratulations. I think even in normal circumstances, very few Soul Expansion Phase cultivators are meant to reach the Second Peak.¡± Lir nodded, then her face grimaced. ¡°If that woman hadn¡¯t been so horrid, we wouldn¡¯t have had to go through that.¡± John shrugged. ¡°Indeed. But now that we are victorious, we can only be glad for the challenge.¡± ¡°That woman deserves death for what she did,¡± Viriato grimaced. ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense,¡± John said, a slight smile behind his eyes. ¡°Death would have been too kind, for one of such foul disposition betraying what I assume should be a sacred rite.¡± Viriato grimaced. ¡°They¡¯ll stitch her hand back on soon enough. A few months¡¯ setback in her cultivation, maybe a year.¡± ¡°I do believe it would take quite a lot of stitches,¡± John said. ¡°And quite a lot of chasing around after ash.¡± Viriato blinked. ¡°I¡­ did not realize. I was focused on the remaining man, and only saw her arm briefly. How did you¡­ manage that?¡± John looked around, assuming that anything he said would be overheard. However, it wasn¡¯t much of a secret. ¡°The formation is tuned to the elements they are used to. At best, it expects any sort of pair. Besides, they¡¯re only meant to bolster a cultivator¡¯s own defenses, not completely prevent attacks on their own. Though perhaps the unfair partitioning of the formations distorted their effectiveness as well.¡± Viriato frowned. ¡°So by focusing them too much on themselves, it didn¡¯t work?¡± John shrugged. ¡°That part is a guess. They might have also been momentarily drained from the ¡®deathblow¡¯ she took moments before.¡± The only thing John was certain of was that Sitora hadn¡¯t interfered. Viriato just pondered for a few moments. ¡°She¡¯s going to bear a grudge.¡± ¡°So what?¡± John shook his head. ¡°We beat her before, and now she¡¯s down a hand because of her own foolishness. Easy enough to overcome.¡± They moved on to discussion of insights they had gained during the battle, though they were still absorbing the experiences. John had the feeling he was close to a breakthrough himself, and he might advance to the thirty-eighth rank soon enough. It was just the second step in the Ascending Soul Phase, but after only a couple years he found it rather quick. Still, insights were a bigger issue for him than quantity of spiritual energy. The cycle of elements in his dantian grew quickly and powerfully when given regular encouragement. ----- The next day, John was invited to visit Sitora. He was unsurprised to find her rooms to be opulent, but there was an aesthetic about them that he couldn¡¯t quite place. It simply didn¡¯t fit with the rest of the Sky Islands. He found her sitting at a table. She was sipping tea, and gestured for him to sit. John did so, pulling up his own chair while trying not to scrape the floor. There was silence for a few moments. Finally, John spoke. ¡°I must thank you for your assistance.¡± She shook her head. ¡°No need. I was merely preserving the honor of the Peaks.¡± Strange. John had expected her to ask for a favor of some sort. He would have been obligated to accept, if she kept it reasonable. Yet he didn¡¯t exactly feel kindness from her. ¡°Guards,¡± Sitora said. ¡°Ward off prying ears.¡± John felt the various hidden guards shift their positions. Their stealth skills were decent, but without Darkness among them their existence was fairly obvious to him. Blending their elements with the natural surroundings was of little use when he could distinguish small flaws. ¡°You are not surprised,¡± Sitora said. ¡°Though I doubt it necessary with someone like me, I still suspected that you should always have an honor guard.¡± Her eyes burrowed into him. ¡°You sensed them. I am aware we are lacking in some areas.¡± She set down her tea cup. Something about its form spoke to him. ¡°Have a sip,¡± she said. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He did, taking the handle of his own cup. He wasn¡¯t raised for proper manners with such things, but he handled it delicately as well as he remembered. He hadn¡¯t done this in forever. Odd, because he¡¯d certainly had tea with visitors. ¡°John Miller,¡± Sitora¡¯s voice cut through the air, stirring up old memories. ¡°An amusing name.¡± ¡°I think it rather plain, myself,¡± John responded, though for some reason he delayed a moment. Then he realized. The surroundings. The teacups. Even the language she had spoken a moment before. ¡°Thou speak well. Did the one known as Deirdre teach you?¡± ¡°Is that the most likely option?¡± John asked. ¡°A new name and an unusual style.¡± She swapped back to the local language, instead of English. ¡°But your style was odd when you were called Fortkran Tenebach.¡± John hadn¡¯t been trying to hide it. He wouldn''t have used his English name at all if that was a concern. He especially hadn¡¯t been planning to conceal it from Sitora, since he believed she already knew or at least had heavy suspicions. ¡°I am well aware. But it made sense to me.¡± John sipped his tea. ¡°Is it appropriate to call you Alva?¡± ¡°It is a name long separated from myself,¡± Sitora said. ¡°But a true one nonetheless. It seems I should have paid more attention to Deidre, unsurprised as she was at the possibility of other Transmigrators. How curious. Even more so, that we speak the same language.¡± ¡°One would presume Earth has a connection to this realm,¡± John said. ¡°Though that would leave quite a lot of room for other languages.¡± ¡°Indeed?¡± Sitora asked. ¡°Has English not been spread far and wide by trade winds?¡± ¡°Many people speak it,¡± John said. ¡°But not all in the same way.¡± John was glad they weren¡¯t speaking in English currently, as somewhere around two hundred years made it difficult for both of them to communicate. She sipped her tea from a distinctly western style teacup. ¡°Indeed. Tell me, why did you come here?¡± ¡°To the Sky Islands?¡± John asked. ¡°To see you.¡± ¡°For what purpose?¡± ¡°To form a connection as neighbors. I wish for things to be different than¡­ than they were.¡± She stared at him. ¡°How odd.¡± ¡°I think if I word it differently, you won¡¯t think so. I wish to establish clear boundaries between enemies and allies. And the Sky Islands were the next closest location.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Sitora said. ¡°And if we are neither?¡± ¡°Then we continentals need to know that,¡± John said. She smiled, though it didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. ¡°Amusing. But¡­ I will admit you come bearing surprising power.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the only one, you know,¡± John said. ¡°In the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± Sitora tilted her head. ¡°Indeed? But I was just among you less than two decades ago.¡± Frankly, John was surprised the Sky Islands only had four¡­ four and one hand short. But one of them in the mid Ascending Soul Phase and one just barely in the late Ascending Soul Phase was still a significant factor. ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you get invaded. People become quite motivated. Not the same as if you can sit safely in your high peaks.¡± ¡°Is that a threat?¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t need to be,¡± John said. ¡°Indeed, you know this place would be difficult to attack. But should you descend uninvited once more¡­ you might find the reactions of the locals somewhat more significant.¡± ¡°So you want us to cower here?¡± ¡°No,¡± John shook his head. ¡°I mean to invite you to take a look at the world, and realize that just drifting along may not be the optimal future for the Sky Islands. I recognize your power, of course, and we would be quite pleased to have you work with us.¡± ¡°And who are we? Yourself and Deirdre, plus your sects?¡± ¡°All of us continentals,¡± John said. Technically, the whole continent wasn¡¯t yet part of the alliance. Some were reluctant members, mostly giving lip service. They likely wouldn¡¯t fight if called upon, unless they were the ones imperiled. Even so, the majority of the strength was actually united. ¡°Truly? I am surprised. You seemed so¡­ disorganized. Now there is a sudden change.¡± ¡°Twenty years can be more than you might think,¡± John said. It hadn¡¯t even quite been that long, but that wasn¡¯t the point. ¡°If you paid more attention, you could have seen the developments.¡± ¡°Perhaps so.¡± She paused for a few moments. ¡°Do you intend to continue challenging the peaks?¡± ¡°Unless you have some reason I should not. Can I expect the proper traditions to be followed involving safety?¡± It bothered him that Sitora had to think for a moment. ¡°It should not be an issue.¡± ¡°Then I will continue challenging. I should very much like to challenge the First Peak.¡± ¡°You speak as if you have defeated me already. You think you can?¡± Sitora smiled a predatory grin. ¡°A good question,¡± John said. Ultimately, he still didn¡¯t believe himself close enough. If he properly reached the thirty-eighth rank¡­ then she would still be five ranks ahead of him. Most likely, he would lose. ¡°But I don¡¯t necessarily have to win to ascend, do I? I just need to show I am worthy. That, at least, I am confident in.¡± ¡°And your disciples?¡± Sitora asked. ¡°They will continue to challenge, of course. Should they lose, I think they will still be able to garner valuable insights. That is what the Peaks and challenges are for, are they not?¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± Sitora said. ¡°A proper Island Master is dedicated to such goals.¡± Which meant some Island Masters did not think that way. John wondered if that only referenced Morana. He had not yet encountered the final Island Master, of course. He only knew the basics. Her name was Abritt. The fact that all five Island Masters were currently female had briefly surprised John, but it wasn¡¯t that statistically improbable. And based on what he had heard, it really was just a coincidence of timing. The positions didn¡¯t change all that often, but over a century or so they seemed to shuffle quite a bit with growth in power¡­ and deaths. He figured it was safer not to ask directly. Instead, John asked what he could expect if he should reach the First Peak. ¡°Defeat,¡± Sitora said simply. ¡°Abritt is someone you cannot overcome. And there is nowhere higher to ascend.¡± John shrugged. ¡°Even so, I can put on my best display. I wouldn¡¯t want to embarrass the continentals.¡± After that, Sitora asked a few questions about Earth. John didn¡¯t really have any secrets from Earth, so sharing what he knew wasn¡¯t a problem. Nor did he come with vast knowledge of technologies that would somehow advance people- if that was the case, he would have already done so. The best he¡¯d gotten was encouraging various forms of long distance communication¡­ and more unusual cultivation, like his own. Anyone with some insight could have seen the potential value in each. Chapter 354 There wasn¡¯t some sort of magical connection that formed between John and Sitora now that they both knew about the other¡¯s transmigration. They had only been allies of opportunity during the Leviathan incident, and Sitora interfering with the Third Peak had most likely been in her own best interests. Even so, knowing that they could work together was a significant step in the right direction. John had dealt with people he liked less that were now part of the regional alliance. The woman had spent far longer as a cultivator than she had as a person of Earth, so for the most part he could expect certain kinds of responses from her. That meant taking advantage of her power to her benefit, wherever she could. Of course, people on Earth did that as well- John just didn¡¯t know exactly how much, since he wasn¡¯t part of the world of the powerful. He could hope she was better than the locals, but that meant nothing unless she actually was. Frankly, the chances of her being trustworthy were more or less the same as everyone else, so it would take time. In the short term, however, John could take advantage of where their interests were aligned. Clearly there was some tension between the peaks. While Morana of the Third Peak couldn¡¯t stand up to Sitora on her own, clearly she had some connections to the First Peak. Sitora seemed to have control over her own people, so that was the only real option. John wasn¡¯t quite certain how he could shift the balance of power, or if he even wanted to, but it seemed Sitora was content with him continuing his challenges. He doubted she expected him to defeat Abritt of the First Peak. That was extremely unlikely considering that Sitora herself was in the Mid Ascending Soul Phase and he probably couldn¡¯t even defeat her. But just putting on a good showing might be all that was necessary. John doubted that Sitora cared about the prestige of the continentals, but if Abritt thought of them as lesser than properly standing up to her might be the best result. Of course, it might also anger her. He had to consider the risks. If he angered Abritt enough to want to kill him, it would be difficult to avoid death. It didn¡¯t matter what sort of consequences might follow for her, because even if John knew that his friends would avenge him that wouldn¡¯t bring him back. And he wasn¡¯t going to bet on being lucky enough to live again. If specific cultivators came back repeatedly, they would have been far more famous and world shattering. John spent some time forming a plan. It might be a bit ambitious, but it shouldn¡¯t have too much risk if he failed. ----- The opponents chosen by Sitora for Viriato, Ayhan, and Lir were more appropriate than the Third Peak¡¯s choices. However, that didn¡¯t mean they had a better chance of victory. Just because they were better matched in cultivation time didn¡¯t mean they were any weaker than the others. Indeed, John determined that they were probably of greater talent than the previous foes as their cultivations still outmatched his disciples. Not that he was terribly surprised. The early days of the Six Elements Crossroads had been somewhat rocky as he learned how to best instruct others in multi-elemental training. Even now he couldn¡¯t say it was a perfectly refined technique, but they were certainly better. That said, their early growth was a bit slower than it might have been and there had been fewer opportunities for them to engage in practical expeditions because of their lower cultivations. Viriato¡¯s opponent was similarly advantaged, as he had been stuck in the Foundation Phase for quite some time. He¡¯d advanced rapidly once he was properly able to, but that still left him a bit behind. John wasn¡¯t surprised nor upset when they lost. Frankly, they were shown proper respect with Sitora picking her best disciples. They didn¡¯t win solely on the merit of higher cultivations but instead displayed wondrous technique. Viriato had a hard time because the arena was even more favored for those who could fly. Fewer platforms further apart, though the way they moved around still provided opportunities. The key thing that led to his loss was that his opponent actually seemed to have prior experience fighting against all of the different elements. Viriato¡¯s particular combination of light and darkness certainly put the man on his back foot briefly, but he adapted quickly. Just once did Viriato manage to strike the man with a beam of twisted light and darkness. After that, the man rapidly closed the gap between them, lightning coiled around him as he boxed in Viriato with his earth element. Fire wasn¡¯t able to save Viriato, as the Second Peak cultivator swept away the heat from the shell of earth with a constant breeze. Ultimately, it became a total victory for the Second Peak, with their contestant standing strong, Viriato fallen. Neither Ayhan nor Lir fared better against their opponents. Alone, each of them had deficiencies they couldn¡¯t yet overcome. Yet John didn¡¯t take that as a sign of weakness, instead considering how he could shape their growth in the future. Unfortunately, none of them qualified to ascend- but they learned some areas of weakness. Viriato was poor in close combat. The other two would fare far better once they had a full cycle of core elements, but additional experience was relevant as well. ----- After his disciples, it was John¡¯s turn to face Sitora. His ascension could hardly be predicated on his victory, since she had centuries of experience on him. There was no other opponent able to match him, however, as the Second Peak had no other Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. John sensed some who were at the threshold, but whether they would actually advance or not was a difficult question. If they did, would one of them take over the Fifth Peak, or was it more prestigious to remain a disciple in the Second Peak? Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Those were all matters John didn¡¯t know, and wasn¡¯t planning to stay long enough to find out. Perhaps in the future it would be relevant, if they remained in contact with the Sky Islands like he hoped. The most John knew about Sitora¡¯s fighting style was that she was partial to lightning. A sensible option for air and earth cultivators, in John¡¯s opinion. He had to be careful of the flow of elements, lest he open himself up to critical strikes. He doubted Sitora would let him pass on if he would embarrass her with his weakness. His powers of flight were put to the test immediately, as she blasted the platform he was standing on. It didn¡¯t matter if she used excess spiritual energy with her advantage in cultivation, as she could probably keep up the pace for quite some time. The bolt came almost immediately as they began, crackling through the sky. If he hadn¡¯t moved, he might have been instantly defeated. A clear warning, but John¡¯s reactions were up to the task. He couldn¡¯t quite say he had finished refining his body in that regard- he didn¡¯t even know if there was an actual limit- but he¡¯d seen tangible improvements. A swirling chain of earth energy was launched for the direction he dodged, and Sitora twisted it to chase after him as he carried himself up into the air. When it caught him, however, John didn¡¯t try to resist it. Instead, he sent his own energy to ¡®bolster¡¯ it¡­ attaching it to Sitora, who was flying towards him. When he dropped, she fell with him- and he used her to pull himself up for a few moments before she shattered the construct of energy. Another streak of lightning, his hair standing on end before it manifested. John used the tip of his sword to redirect its path, twisting his elements together to create an enticing path while also lowering Sitora¡¯s control. There was never a moment where he wasn¡¯t reacting in some way to Sitora¡¯s attacks, but he didn¡¯t just float around dodging. He doubted he could cause any serious damage with his throwing daggers, but he tossed them as he cycled through elements, using them when one element surged naturally. While Sitora¡¯s energy deflected his attacks, he was getting a sense of how her defenses worked. Winds and lightning with an almost undetectable trace of earth increasing its durability. He couldn¡¯t find any easy flaws in its patterns, and he hadn¡¯t seen any weaknesses when Sitora fought Gesine. It had been a large and chaotic battle, and Matayal only managed to change the tides of the battle with the Leviathan¡¯s overwhelming power. She¡¯d used skill and technique as well, but that wasn¡¯t enough. Sitora was pushed against Gesine, but they were of similar cultivation. John clearly hadn¡¯t caught up yet. But against his most powerful opponent yet, he put the thought of his loss out of his mind, instead focusing on how best to fight. With Sitora having two elements, John couldn¡¯t make use of an absolute elemental advantage. Even so, he combined water and fire- one weak and one strong. Appearing mainly as a bolt of water, his energy lanced towards Sitora and struck her barrier of wind and lightning. Rather than letting the air annihilate his water, he released the energy of the flames to change its shape causing a burst of steam that was swept up in the winds. Against an equal rank opponent, John figured he would have caused at least some minor burns. Sitora appeared to be uninjured, but he was at least gifted with her expression becoming more serious. Meanwhile, John pulled off his best maneuvering to try to reach a better position. He wanted to get above her, and had to make liberal use of fire to prevent another earth technique from pulling him down. He barely got above Sitora when she directed another bolt of lightning at him. He was prepared, making use of his earth element to connect to an anchor of the energy he¡¯d left behind. His body trembled as he managed to redirect the lightning back down and through Sitora. Using her own attack was probably the most powerful force he could draw upon. It trickled along her skin as it flowed around her, leaving her nearly unharmed once more. ¡°Seen that before, huh?¡± John shrugged. ¡°Every few decades people think it¡¯s a good idea.¡± She charged upwards towards him, and John only had a couple moments to gather as much energy as he could, sweeping his sword down towards her. She caught his sword in her bare hand as she punched him in the gut. The arena¡¯s formations activated, leaving John with only a smaller shock through his spiritual energy instead of serious wounds. ¡°How serious was that?¡± John asked as he floated down towards the island below. ¡°It contained my full intent,¡± Sitora said. John was pleased. Both that she¡¯d attacked seriously¡­ and that he was fairly certain he wouldn¡¯t die from just one attack. Of course, she could probably do that again, but that wasn¡¯t the point. A couple centuries of experience and five ranks of cultivation wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever actually expected to overcome anyway. ¡°Thank you for the match,¡± John said. ¡°What is your judgment?¡± ¡°You did well enough to ascend to the First Peak¡­ though you should expect nothing but harsh judgment from them as you are.¡± She narrowed her eyes, looking at him. ¡°Especially if you continue to hold back.¡± John held up his hands. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really holding back, honest. It¡¯s just¡­ I figured it was better to save it.¡± ¡°For what, if not this?¡± Sitora asked. ¡°For the First Peak. I doubt they can fully condemn me if my rank improves during my match.¡± Sitora pondered, her age showing in her wrinkles. ¡°If you can truly be certain you will achieve that, I would be pleased. However, I still believe you need some more experience.¡± ¡°Clearly,¡± John said. ¡°But that¡¯s something I can only get with time.¡± ¡°Or proper pointers,¡± Sitora said. ¡°Your flight has several inefficiencies. Furthermore, you telegraph your movements.¡± John frowned. ¡°I thought I was doing a pretty good job hiding that.¡± ¡°Not enough, if you¡¯re facing those of higher cultivation. But why hide it when it can be unknowable?¡± ¡°It makes me faster,¡± John said. ¡°And¡­¡± he could also give false paths, if they expected his movements to be visible beforehand. He injected air element ahead of him to ¡®loosen up¡¯ the air. ¡°Still¡­¡± Sitora said. ¡°You will do well to stay here for a short time. Perhaps a week to allow things to settle.¡± ¡°Will I have the opportunity to learn from you again?¡± John asked. ¡°In part. Though I will also ask you to spar with my own disciples in turn.¡± Chapter 355 When Sitora said to allow things to settle, what she might have actually meant was to wait for Venera of the Fourth Peak to challenge Morana of the Third Peak. Even upon taking an injury, there was only so long an island master could go without accepting challenges, especially from other island masters. From what John understood, the system was not set up so that the positions would frequently change hands, but Venera seemed to have been waiting for an opportunity and had a challenge properly available. Having lost a hand entirely through her own fault, Morana couldn¡¯t say it was unfair. Indeed, as far as her injuries could heal she was healthy by the end of the week. But her hand was never coming back. John had made certain of that, unless she came across some sort of miracle to regrow it. Not impossible for cultivators, perhaps, but such things couldn¡¯t be secured in a short period of time. John descended to observe the match. He was formally able to move as he wished between the islands, with the exception of the First Peak where he¡¯d have one official visit. It would have still been dangerous to move to the Third Peak alone, as Morana might have wished for vengeance. But with the challenge happening, people from every peak came to watch- even a few from the First Peak. Not the Island Master, however. The battle was¡­ disappointing. With her primary hand gone, Morana¡¯s combat prowess dropped significantly. Clearly she had kept in practice with her off hand, but that was most likely intended for if she sustained a minor injury. She wouldn¡¯t have anticipated losing it entirely and surviving. The loss of even a small amount of power could vastly shift a battle. Even Morana¡¯s energy efficiency with her off hand was diminished, as she was clearly used to channeling her spiritual energy a certain way. Indeed, the missing hand meant that the meridians within were gone as well, throwing off her internal energy circulation and even her habitual defenses. Each piece on its own might not have been enough. But together? Venera deflected the first of Morana¡¯s war darts easily with her hooked polearm, charging forward to catch her just after she threw her second, narrowly avoided. Morana attempted to fly away, but the hem of her clothes were caught by Venera¡¯s hook and she was slammed disgracefully into the platform. They were durable enough to hold together, because they also served as armor. Most likely Morana¡¯s timing had been based on the speed at which she could throw with her right hand, and that tiny instant had cost her dearly. She tried to thrust a war dart towards Venera, but she was currently at the worst possible range for her weapons. Too close to safely throw, too far to actually reach her challenger. She only barely managed to deflect the incoming polearm, but she got a gash on her forearm. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t make it all the way to her feet. Venera didn¡¯t let up, the weight of earth carrying her weapon downward with great force, battering Morana until the Third Peak island master collapsed. The formations protected her from the final blow. The new Third Peak island master stood victorious. Venera was not so careless as to let down her guard, most likely being aware of Morana¡¯s earlier treachery. Either Morana didn¡¯t have it in her, or she knew better. John being a continental might have been a good enough excuse if she¡¯d been successful, but attacking another member of the Sky Islands would likely be far more disastrous for her. She¡¯d also have to expect it to work. Venera wasn¡¯t being subtle about her continued readiness, unlike myself. Venera flew down and landed in front of the crowds watching. ¡°The assessments for those who wish to remain part of the Third Peak will begin tomorrow.¡± That was that. John didn¡¯t fully understand the system, but he assumed that some combination of likely loyalty and talent were required for the residents of the various peaks. That seemed apt to cause trouble when the Island Masters changed, but perhaps that was why it was not supposed to happen frequently. ----- Every time he fought or trained, John felt the same feeling as when he¡¯d had his proper battle with Sitora. It was a sense of enlightenment and power. Yet he held off, for he still had a plan. John was pleased to see Viriato and the others making great strides. At least, as much as could be expected in a week of training. Viriato had much to learn about both dominant elements in the area. Ayhan had both earth and air totems already, with Lir not yet having an earth totem. But they could still learn everything that was taught, and Lir would be attuning to an earth totem when she reached the Consolidated Soul Phase, completing the cycle of core elements. Viriato was in an odd state, and he had yet to make a decision about what sort of totem he would reach for, should he reach the Ascending Soul Phase. That was less of a guarantee than the others reaching the Consolidated Soul Phase. Even so, it had to be considered. Either way, fighting against experts wielding the two elements he didn¡¯t have would prove valuable. The Six Elements Crossroads had plenty of air and earth cultivators, but once disciples attuned to two elements they were usually gunning for all four core elements. John sparred against Sitora and the disciples of the Second Peak. Unlike the trial, the lack of serious consequences meant he simply would not gain as much value. Even so, Sitora guided him in her own way. Her insights into her two elements were much deeper than his own- though it would have been worrying if they were not. John had to split his attention between five¡­ all six elements, really. Though he was still only barely functional with light. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ----- No specific guidance had been provided to John by Sitora with regards to what sorts of techniques Abritt of the First Peak would use. He could of course surmise many things. All of the Island Masters used earth and air, and he could feel the same elements were part of the woman, even from a distance. While individual fighting styles varied, they had an overall theme to them. Sitora saw him off with a few polite words. Everything that needed to be said had already happened. John knew that he was going to lose. But certainly, the experience should be valuable. While there was some sort of vendetta against him, Sitora seemed confident that John wouldn¡¯t be killed. He agreed, though he would be watching out for more than just that. If necessary, he would shamefully throw himself out of the arena. There was some risk for Viriato, Lir, and Ayhan but even so they chose to ascend with him. They could only observe the battle as his attendants, but he hoped they would learn something as well. When they landed on the First Peak, nobody came out of the ostentatious gates to greet them, though they were properly escorted inside after they approached. ¡°A challenger is here, Island Master,¡± they announced as he reached a sort of throne room, much like the others. John was unwilling to crane his neck, but he also didn¡¯t keep his head down as he looked up at the Island Master. She was old. Perhaps more than Sitora, even. She had the look of centuries, and her aura stood powerful at the forty-third rank, the late Ascending Soul Phase. Just one rank above Sitora, but a very significant one. John felt her gaze bear down on him. The pressure of it was almost like an attack, and he felt his disciples tremble slightly even as they were on the periphery. Even so, he stood firm without reacting. ¡°We shall meet at the arena,¡± the woman declared. It seemed she had nothing more to say, as the guards gestured John and the others out. She clearly wasn¡¯t happy. Perhaps she might not have cared about her minion on the Third Peak, but she would be annoyed at her plans being disrupted regardless. In some ways, her lack of words infused with vitriol made John more concerned. But he was a fairly decent judge of intention, as he had to be as despite his lack of taste for politics he still had to participate. Abritt would wish to embarrass him. So his main goal would be to avoid such an end to the best of his ability. Obviously he would lose the match, but that alone wouldn¡¯t mean much. She was two stages ahead of him, after all. He took note of those in the surroundings. There were more than a few individuals in the late Consolidated Soul Phase that he felt were on the verge of the Ascending Soul Phase. Perhaps if one of them had advanced, John wouldn¡¯t even be given the honor of facing the Island Master. Then again, they would have had to be sure to beat him. It would be embarrassing for the First Peak otherwise, to misjudge him and for the Island Master to have to face him after a loss on their part. Not that he intended to embarrass them. That was impossible, except so far as Abritt¡¯s ego might be inflated. Perhaps not losing horrendously would be sufficient to bring her down a peg. But that was his only aim- he had no intention of provoking such a powerful cultivator. He was here to take part in their traditions, and as much as he felt disdain for continentals¡­ he didn¡¯t really care. Abritt flew out of her throne room when he was nearly to the arena. Upon the issuance of the challenge, the arena had been activated and the disciples had begun to make their way over. Those who were further followed behind John and his disciples. Viriato picked out a position in the front row, on one of the ends. As his disciples it was appropriate¡­ and John suspected that it was one of the best positions to flee, if that should become necessary. Just because he thought he knew how things would go didn¡¯t mean that caution wasn¡¯t warranted. Abritt landed ahead of him, on one of the very few platforms in the arena. A mere four of them swirled around, rising and falling and otherwise traversing to all points of the arena. John flew up. The air was slightly thinner here, the flight marginally more difficult than the initial ascent from sea level- except for the fact that it was far shorter. Instead of many kilometers, it was barely twenty meters. The arena of course had no floor, its boundaries made clear by transparent formations. The start of the match was called. Immediately, John flicked a throwing dagger enhanced with fire and earth. The moment before it reached Abritt, a tornado erupted around her. While it was technically a small cyclone, it did fill most of the arena with high winds. And it wasn¡¯t an instantaneous gust, meant to blow one attack off course. Indeed, Abritt kept a neutral expression that indicated she could keep the whirlwind forever. She stepped off her platform, floating towards John at a leisurely pace. Half a dozen throwing daggers later, John was certain that he could not touch her with one. He was also certain that she could have returned his attacks at high speed, and simply chose not to. John wondered why, since defeating him with one of his own weapons would have been quite shameful. Then he realized. She reached the center of the arena and simply stopped. Winds buffeted at John, threatening to tear him away from his platform. She intended to defeat him without launching an attack. John understood that now¡­ and he couldn¡¯t really say that he thought she would need to. Her winds wrapped around him, but he was reminded of the past. Training on Cyclone Island, with Kusuma. It was a shame she had perished, both because of her ability and because he enjoyed her as a person. Each time the winds ripped him off of his perch, Kusuma had made him get back up, taking his stance once more. Now, John knew that if he was wrested away from his perch he would be tossed out of the arena. Frankly, Abritt had enough strength for that. Though she was currently battering him with a constant wind, John knew that one good gust could bring him down. So he extended roots, and prepared himself. He had at least one thing he wanted to do before being defeated, but he wanted her to show more of her hand first. Or at least try. Chapter 356 Though in theory the First Island Master¡¯s method of battle could have been part of a plan to provide a fair challenge for John, he was absolutely certain it was meant to embarrass him. The only thing she was doing was maintaining a cyclone, but it was powered by a significant gap in ranks. He felt her spiritual energy weakening the bonds he was making with the platform below, the only thing allowing him to barely keep his footing. He nearly slipped up as she suddenly twisted the direction of her tornado, but he was used to handling difficult to predict gusts. He¡¯d just never thought it would be so practical as more than an introduction to the air element. His spiritual energy would give out soon. John knew that¡­ and it would be a rather pathetic loss. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to strike Abritt with an attack, as his ranged weapons would be bound up in her winds, and attacks made purely of spiritual energy would be torn apart. She wasn¡¯t close enough for him to attack with his sword, and there was a good chance it would be torn from his grasp anyway. Actually¡­ he sheathed his weapon. Some might have taken that as a sign of surrender, but Abritt clearly didn¡¯t intend to let up unless he said the words- or was tossed out of the arena. John really hoped that neither would happen, though in reality he could only expect to delay the moment longer. He did have one thing prepared though. He reached deep inside himself, stoking the flames in his dantian. He¡¯d been ready for a while, but now was the time. He began to break through for a while, and had considered doing it before or during his battle with Sitora. However, he had been confident enough in passing that challenge without. He grit his teeth as five elements- with just the slightest trace of a sixth- built pressure inside of him. This wasn¡¯t going to grant him victory, but it was a statement. Not one that he needed to break through to stand against her- since he would remain five ranks lower. Instead, it was a statement that he could break through whenever he wanted. That he had real talent¡­ and she was an old woman who seemed to be stuck in her cultivation. Not that all of that would come through clearly. The surge of energy within him caused a single twitch in the flow of energy from Abritt. That was all, but John felt a relief in pressure. Obviously, he was still going to get worn down. But he already knew he wasn¡¯t going to win, at least in terms of being victorious. That was why he¡¯d set himself personal goals, and if Abritt continued as she was¡­ he would absolutely achieve them. The breakthrough was the first. It was straightforward enough. The second goal was to learn what he could about Abritt from the battle. He¡¯d assumed it would be an actual battle, and had been prepared to go down in a short time. This was far better, as he was able to observe her energy for a long time. More than that, she was twisting and turning to try to catch him off guard. Abritt revealed a lot from the way she changed the motion of her winds. The earth element she used to try to unbind his own was also quite clear to him. He considered trying to burn it all away, forcing a minor victory there. Instead, he only countered with what fire and water element he had to spare, matching his levels to his earth and air which were directly countering the winds. He stood firm, his head high. He could see she had expected him to falter before now, and she was getting frustrated. She would step up her assault, he had no doubt about that. But forcing her to launch an actual attack- one for which he reserved enough of his energy to shield himself, just in case- or at least use her full power was good enough for him. Elements cycled within him, strengthening each other just enough for him to resist. Until she moved from the center of the arena and began to approach. Both the force of her winds and the way she tore at the roots binding him to the platform began to intensify. However, John redoubled his own efforts, taking in the patterns she had to predict changes in tempo. He also grew more tangible roots, reaching around the platform he was holding his position on and twisting around it. They were stronger, but conversely more vulnerable to direct assault. It seemed Abritt had enough pride to not directly assault them, instead using her own energy to dismantle his technique. It was slower than before, but she had more spiritual energy of each type to call on. And she grew more powerful the closer she got. John managed to last until she stepped onto the platform next to him. He really wanted to force her hand to at least shove him away¡­ but ultimately he found he wasn¡¯t strong enough. Nor was his technique up to par, but he had learned quite a lot about how she operated and how he would counter her in the future. The roots holding John to the platform tore away, and he was blasted out of the arena in a single instant. He stabilized his momentum over the stands, the winds not stretching beyond. John remained tense, prepared to create a defensive barrier- he would allow himself to be blasted off the island, if necessary to survive. But Abritt seemed to be aware of the gazes watching, including that of the other Island Masters who were not doubt fixated on the battle from their own positions. It was pride, not honor, that held her hand. She might have been willing to have Morana dirty her hands, but Abritt would not taint her own. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°You are a century too early to even think of beating me. Your loss was total and complete.¡± John agreed, though not entirely. ¡°I accept my loss.¡± He walked over to Viriato and the other two. He gestured for them to follow. He began to walk away, then stopped. He projected his voice, scattering it across the island, and to the other peaks below. ¡°Nine years. I invite any and all challengers from the Sky Islands to come to the tournament in Astrein at that time.¡± He didn¡¯t have to look or even use his energy senses to detect the frown on Abritt¡¯s face. He returned to his previous pace, heading straight for the nearest edge of the island. He wasn¡¯t quite fleeing, but he didn¡¯t want to give Abritt an opportunity to change her mind. He let himself glide back towards the Second Peak. In his exhausted state, it was much easier than proper flight. When he landed, Sitora was waiting for him. ¡°How amusing,¡± she said. ¡°I am quite interested to see this tournament of yours.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°You have great faith in yourself. Five more ranks in nine years? To surpass even myself in that time¡­ it will be more difficult than you think.¡± ¡°And why should I need to grow five ranks?¡± John asked. ¡°I just need to win.¡± He didn¡¯t mention that the arenas he would be using would be much more in his favor. Even if he allowed a random option, the arenas of the First Peak were made specifically to cater to the Island Masters and the other inhabitants of the Sky Islands. But John didn¡¯t think it would be unreasonable to set up a perfectly neutral arena for himself. ¡°You can rest here,¡± Sitora said. ¡°But, I wouldn¡¯t stay too long.¡± John nodded. He didn¡¯t intend to give Abritt to much time to stew, and even if no direct insult to her had been offered he¡¯d still made her lose some face, having to increase her efforts to defeat him. ----- John was still digesting the flow of energy Abritt had as they reached the closest island to the continent. They still had quite a distance to go, since it had taken them a few days of sailing to reach it. On the way, John hadn¡¯t worried about potentially being followed by those with ill intent. Unless Abritt herself came, he wasn¡¯t concerned. With Sitora backing him up at least to some extent, and two of the remaining three Island Masters having a vaguely positive relationship with him, he didn¡¯t let himself be concerned. If Morana tried to kill him with one hand and a smaller gap in rank? She would die. Or if she brought sufficient armies to challenge him, they would just jump. The four of them were already intending to drop down to the sea below, so it wasn¡¯t as if enemy techniques that stopped them from flying would be a real issue. Nor could any sort of technique expect to hold up for the entire ten kilometer or more drop, so they would be free regardless of whether or not they eventually fought it off. More importantly, all of them had the water element so it was not as deadly to crash into the ocean at terminal velocity as one might expect. It was something they had discussed before flying up, given that Viriato couldn¡¯t fly on his own and the other two could only barely manage. Or at least, that was how they had been before coming. Everyone had made advancements in insight into their own spiritual elements- and potentially prospective ones. John and Ayhan already had both earth and air, but Viriato might be picking up both of those eventually- in a theoretical world where his advancement continued unhindered. Either way, the insights would be valuable for his future decisions. Lir was of course going to attune to earth for her fourth totem, though she still had to reach the peak of the Soul Expansion Phase. The two disciples were at the twenty-third rank, but John had no doubt they would advance to the twenty-fourth in short order. Viriato was higher rank so his advancement would be a bit slower, and reaching the thirty-second rank for him meant reaching the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. The experience would certainly bring him much closer to that point. The group of four descended, gliding away from the Sky Islands. They could all swim with supernatural speed as cultivators of the water element, but it was still less convenient. John provided the bulk of the energy binding them all together, with Lir and Ayhan supporting with their own air element. ----- They reached the Wuthering Steppes first on their return journey. Viriato had business there, discussing potential trade with the Sky Islands with them. The important thing was that the Wuthering Steppes allow it, given their previous altercations with the Sky Islands. It hadn¡¯t been anything serious, but there was still bitterness. However, the groundwork had already been laid. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll actually manage anything soon?¡± John asked. Cultivators could move slowly, and there were also logistical issues when one had to fly ten kilometers vertically. Viriato shrugged. ¡°Before the tournament? I doubt there will be much of anything. Perhaps probes from Sitora, as the most amenable Island Master. But even then, politics might stay her hand. Still, I was able to get my hands on some interesting samples¡­ and I greased a few palms with treasures that can only be found on the continent.¡± There was some risk at showing wealth, however John firmly believed that the continent would win if there was a war immediately. The enemy only had four Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, if they could somehow all be convinced to commit to a true assault. Abritt would be an issue, but plans had been made. Now that he knew their strength, John judged that Cua¡¯arn could match Abritt at least for a time. With Renato, Steve, Yusina, John¡­ they had more than enough to match the rest. The Sky Islands were close to having a few more Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, but at best John thought they could dominate one or two of the regions. Trusted members of the Alliance made up at least five elemental regions, plus the Wuthering Steppes or whoever was attacked directly. The goal was to not have a war, of course. But they would be preparing regardless. If it wasn¡¯t a war¡­ he hoped they would peaceably join the tournament, in which case they would be fighting anyway. Abritt might be a problem there, but John truly did believe he could achieve victory in nine years. Of course, he was completely unprepared for what actually happened. Chapter 357 Formal missives were sent out throughout the alliance, informing everyone to prepare properly for the tournament. Along with that he gave a general description of the strength of the Sky Islands, including their approximate numbers of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and of course mentioning their four Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. The general disdain for continentals had put John at risk of death, but it had also served him by the Island Masters remaining confident in their power. He might have learned quite a bit about their strength, but there was little he could actually do with that knowledge. Even though the continent had more Ascending Soul cultivators, they didn¡¯t have anyone in the mid or late phase. On equal footing, John thought they would pull ahead- but if the continental forces tried to assault the Sky Islands, they wouldn¡¯t even be close to equal footing. At best they could bring only a small portion of their strength, and even though they would be able to transport all of their Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, dealing with Sitora and Abritt would be¡­ difficult. If a battle happened immediately, perhaps they would have the advantage with Morana¡¯s crippling injury. But John didn¡¯t even want such a confrontation. While he sensed the Sky Islands had several individuals on the threshold of the Ascending Soul Phase, he didn¡¯t think that waiting would be detrimental to the continent. After all, the two dangerous Island Masters had been training for a very long time. There was little chance of them suddenly growing in power. Sitora might break through to the late Ascending Soul Phase, but if Abritt improved her single rank wouldn¡¯t make or break anything. Ultimately, John was betting that the continent could grow stronger, faster. Also that it was possible to avoid a real war. The Sky Islands hadn¡¯t been pushing for such before, and while John¡¯s approach might have brought the continent to the forefront of their minds he anticipated they would wait until the tournament. The possibility of sparking trouble had already been discussed before he went, and it had been deemed an acceptable risk. ----- While he couldn¡¯t afford to monopolize the time of the ¡®club¡¯, they were the best training partners for each other as they were currently the only Ascending Soul Phase cultivators available, not counting the two guardian beasts. Meeting together for one month out of the year was what they committed to, and Astrein was their location of choice. It was centrally located, and as fair of a battleground as they could manage. It did advantage John, but they also had the ability to imbue the training grounds with whatever element was necessary to change things up. John exchanged blows with Renato, not that he would actually let his friend hit him. Usually, that spelled the end for him. Even with a dominant fire element, the impact of Renato¡¯s blows was difficult to resist. Nor was it sensible for him to even try. Instead of facing his opponent¡¯s best condition, he should seek out weaknesses. Currently, John was doing his best to replicate Sky Island cultivators. That included flying around, making it difficult for Renato to reach him. Not that it took his friend long enough to replicate a grounding move. He was pure earth element, after all, and good at what he did. Currently, Renato was their best bet for defeating the Sky Islands. While they also cultivated earth, Renato¡¯s focus would likely overcome their skill, and then he simply had to consider the dominant element remaining. They weren¡¯t taking his victory for granted, however. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to be faster than that,¡± John said. ¡°Yeah, I doubt you¡¯d get blown away by Abritt but I don¡¯t even know what her true attacks are like. Something might break through your guard.¡± ¡°Break through?¡± Renato shook his head. ¡°Not likely. Slip past? Potentially. If she is sufficiently fast, a focused dagger strike or some such might pierce a critical point.¡± ¡°She is a full four ranks ahead, though,¡± John reminded him. ¡°It¡¯s possible she can overpower you, even at an elemental disadvantage.¡± Renato nodded. He had simply been stating his weaknesses as he thought most probable. He never considered himself invincible to begin with, even against someone of the optimal element for him. Renato was John¡¯s first bet. He¡¯d take outside odds on Steve or Yustina, the former because he was just like that and Yustina because she had great skill. Both still had a partial elemental advantage. Deirdre¡­ no offense to her, simply being an unfamiliar element wouldn¡¯t be enough. It would be difficult for her to overcome the gap. Plus, she had to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase first, though she was pretty much guaranteed to reach that point within a few years. As much as anyone could be, at least. John didn¡¯t place his odds of victory against Abritt terribly high. Not as he currently was. But he was serious that by the end of nine years he intended to be strong enough. Still, he couldn¡¯t really say his cycle of elements was better than a solid earth cultivator for that particular application. He did have the advantage of direct experience with Abritt, however, and he¡¯d read as deeply into her technique as he was able before he lost. If it came down to a battle between them, she would regret how long she took to take him down, even if using her full power immediately would have been shameful. ----- ¡°Daaaad!¡± John actually quite missed hearing one of his children call for him¡­ but he didn¡¯t even live near any of them anymore. Still, they knew where to find him. This time, it was Ursel. ¡°What?¡± John asked as Ursel stomped into the room. Her heavy footfalls were natural for her, now. Ursel took out a clump of metal. ¡°This isn¡¯t working.¡± She tossed it forward, and it cracked tiles beneath it. ¡°Oops.¡± John shook his head. ¡°You should be more careful. And yes, I¡¯m going to make you fix that.¡± Fortunately, as an earth cultivator she could seamlessly repair such things. No doubt she had to do it frequently, at least around people with the ability to keep her in line. She wasn¡¯t exactly troublesome anymore, but she didn¡¯t always have a good grasp of how sturdy things were. ¡°So what¡¯s the issue?¡± ¡°This,¡± she gestured to the lump of metal. ¡°It just¡­ it¡¯s terrible. I need you to help me make something better.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Trying to reforge your Mountain Steel armor?¡± John asked. From what he understood, it had been beaten and battered throughout her various adventures, until it finally gave out. Obviously that would have been a bigger issue if Ursel herself weren¡¯t durable enough to continue onward, but things had turned out alright. ¡°Nah, no offense to master Renato but Mountain Steel isn¡¯t good enough now,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I want to make Continent level stuff!¡± That would be something the equivalent of the Ascending Soul Phase. It made sense, he supposed, because it would be a bit silly to recreate something she¡¯d already outgrown¡­ but it wasn¡¯t that simple. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that be a job for Renato? He¡¯s the right one.¡± ¡°He says he won¡¯t,¡± Ursel grumbled. ¡°I think he can¡¯t, but maybe he just needs the time to make some for himself or something. But either way¡­¡± Ursel set her foot on the lump of metal. ¡°Mine always comes out looking like this!¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to shape it into armor,¡± John grinned. ¡°You know what armor looks like?¡± ¡°I do!¡± Ursel grumbled. She sullenly reached a hand into her bag and pulled out a large silvery ingot. Then she flattened it with her hands, a surge of earth elemental spiritual energy flowing through it. In that instant, she made something approximately resembling a breastplate. ¡°It¡¯s really easy when it¡¯s made from soft stuff like this. But I can¡¯t get fire the right temperature. I think this,¡± she kicked the lump of metal on the ground, ¡°Is also full of impurities too.¡± ¡°Good impurities or bad ones?¡± John asked. After all, steel was less pure than iron, containing just the right amount of carbon. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Ursel waved her arms around. ¡°Nobody even has manuals for this stuff! Master Renato had to come up with his own technique for forging Mountain Steel to begin with, since he was part of the first generation of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators here.¡± John sighed, reaching down to pick up the slag. As expected, it took more than casual effort to lift it. He had to use spiritual energy to fortify himself. ¡°It¡¯s not like I know what to do with this either. I don¡¯t have any experience with forging or anything. At best, I know a little about alchemy.¡± There were other people who specialized in such things. John didn¡¯t think himself so special as to excel in every field he touched without effort. And there simply wasn¡¯t enough time to get good at everything. ¡°You use fire in alchemy, right?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°Well, usually yes,¡± John agreed. ¡°And you purify and change the properties of stuff, so it¡¯s basically the same. Come on!¡± ----- It was not ¡®basically the same¡¯. John was willing to invest his time for his daughter, but if that was the case he wanted to do something. Not just melt the same metal over and over. ¡°It needs more of the thing!¡± Ursel said as she tried to hammer semi-molten metal into a vaguely usable shape. ¡°We need to make it hard but not too brittle!¡± Ursel was terrible at explaining what needed to be done. If John wasn¡¯t an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, he might have not even had a sense of what it needed. He had nearly as much experience with earth as with darkness, but that didn¡¯t mean he was going to be as proficient as a mono-element cultivator. He could sense all sorts of way to transform the metal as he helped bolster the forge with his fire element, but he didn¡¯t know if any of them were good. A hammer came down, and the slab of metal split in half. ¡°Argh! Again?¡± John shook his head. ¡°We might need different materials to begin with. And repeatedly trying to forge the same stuff might have screwed things up in ways we can¡¯t detect.¡± Ursel ground her teeth. ¡°This is the best metal literally anywhere! I¡¯m sure it can be transformed to Continent Steel¡­ somehow.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± John agreed. ¡°But while I¡¯m confident we could make Mountain Steel together with the techniques Renato put together, we¡¯re wandering around blind here. I don¡¯t think we-¡± ¡°We can do it!¡± Ursel said. ¡°We have to!¡± John understood obsessions, but sometimes the time wasn¡¯t right. Still¡­ ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult for just the two of us. If Renato won¡¯t help, we need an experienced smith. And maybe Raul will be able to help. He¡¯ll understand more about purity than us.¡± Raul had completed a cycle of core elements, and he¡¯d always been decent at elemental balances. ¡°Do you have a smith better than me?¡± Ursel asked. John shrugged. With her ability to strengthen and shape the material, she could make up for a lack of experience. And clearly she had some of that, seemingly having worked on her current project for some time. ¡°None convenient. But I¡¯m sure we can find one.¡± ¡°We¡¯d have to bring them in from far away or whatever,¡± Ursel said. ¡°And we wouldn¡¯t know them. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d trust armor from someone weird. That Raul guy is okay, though. Let¡¯s ask him.¡± And so they recruited Raul. It took several attempts for Raul to get what they were going for, given that Ursel could hardly explain it and even John just barely got anything, aside from ¡®even more unbreakable than Mountain Steel¡¯. Frankly, John was surprised Ursel¡¯s armor had managed to get damaged. Wouldn¡¯t she have had to be fighting things stronger than the Consolidated Soul Phase? Though maybe she just let them batter on her armor for a long time, he couldn¡¯t put it past her. ¡°... I do believe you¡¯re overemphasizing the earth element,¡± Raul finally said. ¡°It¡¯s made out of metal!¡± Ursel said. ¡°It¡¯s gonna still be made out of metal. I¡¯m not enchanting it with anything, so what else would it have?¡± ¡°When it¡¯s complete? Nothing,¡± Raul agreed. ¡°But the process might need other elements, yeah? You use fire to forge it. Perhaps we should take greater account of air and water. That might help with the¡­ tempering?¡± ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t get any of that. You two will have to figure it out,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Tell me if I need to stop hitting things or whatever.¡± Personally, John felt he¡¯d done a decent job with the other elements. Air was fed to the forge to fuel the flames, and water was used to quench the metal. But he had to admit that perhaps there was more to do there. Still, was he just supposed to intuit what was right? He didn¡¯t think they wanted an equal balance of elements, but it certainly needed to end up in a stable configuration. Unfortunately, even with new ideas they weren¡¯t able to make anything up to Ursel¡¯s standards. She looked down at the metal in front of her. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m gonna go find a technique book. I¡¯ll be back.¡± And just like that she was off. John of course thought to ask where she would find one better than what Renato had made, and when she would be back. But of course, he figured Ursel didn¡¯t actually know the answer to either of those questions at the moment. That was just the way she was. If he was lucky, she might return with a proper smith. Or maybe he could convince Renato. It wasn¡¯t crazy for him to want her to do the work herself, but he might be able to guide them. John thought Ursel would be back in a year, maybe two on the outside. Instead, it took her six. Chapter 358 Seeking out opponents who could replicate what the master of the First Peak was capable of wasn¡¯t a simple task. No, John expected it was impossible unless he traveled to far off lands, and he had no intention to invite trouble on himself by showing up in a completely unfamiliar area. Thus, his best options were in the Blustering Peaks and Wuthering Steppes, as they were the strongest air cultivators in the region. More relevantly for battling Abritt, they focused on wind instead of lightning. Unfortunately, the Rising Storm Palace of the Blustering Peaks only had a late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator as their sect head, and Ronan¡¯s advancement to the thirty-fourth rank was quite recent. Avenir of the Entrapping Vortex Sect had high potential to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, and the right sort of training. John intended to seek him out at some point. He might even help the man advance, if he could. But that was something for later. Deirdre and the Golden Tomb Guardians had explored beyond the Breathless Plains and Frozen Heights to the east and northeast of the Sunfields respectively. Among other details, new parties had been invited to participate in the tournament, as that was the first step towards having actual relations with their neighbors. The Breathless Plains were of great interest to John. They practiced something nearly the opposite of the Sky Islands, as much as could be the case for sharing the same element. Though perhaps instead of opposite, John should term it as a counter direction. It might actually provide some insight into winds, which John needed to have any chance against Abritt. Obviously he wasn¡¯t going to assume that she only had the whirlwind technique he had seen, but it would be his starting point. He imagined she would also have lightning, and he¡¯d seen how her earth element sought to dismantle his own defenses. ----- John¡¯s journey to the Breathless Plains was accompanied by Deirdre and disciples of both of their sects, as she would be able to introduce him to the locals. Specifically, Presha of Silver Breeze Gorge. Ayhan and Lir were still digesting their insights from the Sky Islands, so while the journey might have proven beneficial to them, others having the opportunity was more important. Of the earliest disciples, Barakat was the only one to join them. He had once been the leader of the urchins, and his first element was air. Like a majority of the Six Elements Crossroads, he was training a cycle of the elements, going from air into earth and then fire. He was in the late Soul Expansion Phase, and would need insights into water to advance to the Consolidated Soul Phase. That didn¡¯t mean that it was good for him to neglect other elements, however, so the journey should still prove beneficial to him. The Breathless Plains was an odd location. Despite their modest elevation, John felt like he was at the peak of a mountain. It was not unexpected, of course. Very few elemental zones were named simply for fun instead of something practical or fitting, after all. It was among the strangest air element zones he¡¯d experienced. While the Glass Hills were more visually impressive with the nearly constant lightning, the main feature of the Breathless Plains were endless fields of grass. At least, that was what it appeared like on the surface. But there was a very good reason that all of the foot traffic was along one major road. While the plains seemed to stretch on forever at an even level, the grasses actually hid narrow gaps that led to precipitous drops. Traveling off of a set route was quite a risk, even for cultivators, and thus there was only one main road. Their group passed traders and disciples of various sects without incident. Despite land that seemed fertile and good for farming, various complications limited such activity to smaller locations. First, while the soil was good the thin air required the addition of formations or constant care by cultivators. Frankly, John thought the latter should be simple enough if everyone was taught at least basic cultivation, but not everyone had the aptitude nor was everyone willing to share the secrets of cultivation. John didn¡¯t really blame anyone for that, and even in Lunson the cultivators were all part of sects or clans. Of course, with the broad standards of the Six Elements Crossroads very few people were left without any chance to cultivate. Guiding people through the Spiritual Collection Phase was simple enough, and not a huge investment if talent didn¡¯t pan out. Besides, even without high cultivation people could provide useful skills to the sect. One of the larger cities along their route was called Cona, the fields carefully guarded from both man and beast. Markers were placed beyond the field, seemingly marking some of the crevasses that marred the landscape. Deidre took them to a restaurant she¡¯d enjoyed on her previous trip, and John found it quite acceptable. Aside from his drink which was supposed to be healthy- and tasted like things that were supposed to be healthy. Some sort of barley tea. Maybe it was an acquired taste. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Not that he publicly addressed his displeasure. It was exactly what it was supposed to be, and he could handle a mediocre to unpleasant taste. He might have rinsed his mouth with water element before moving on to the actual food, however. There were certain forms of maturity, and then there was unnecessary stubbornness. The main dish was some sort of fowl. It was a strong flavor, and the meat was infused with air elemental spiritual energy. John would have preferred an even balance of elements, but obviously most places wouldn¡¯t have anything like that. Not that he got most of his spiritual energy from food anyway, as extracting spiritual energy from the environment was good enough in most cases. As he ate, John took in the city around him. Cona had more than a few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, easily noticed from afar. The level of air element spiritual energy was quite high, despite the thin atmosphere. Or more likely it was the cause in some manner. Currently, he was keeping his own spiritual energy restrained. Not hidden, as anyone who took a proper look at him would be able to discern his strength. However, he also wasn¡¯t broadcasting it everywhere. For someone new, it might feel like a challenge¡­ and while John didn¡¯t mind conflict, he would prefer it to have a reason. They continued on without incident, not that John would have expected trouble in a city. It didn¡¯t take long to find some, though it was not from human cultivators. Instead, it seemed their lunch had come to them to take revenge. Or at least a similar sort of bird, diving from high in the sky. And not just one, but a whole flock. An odd behavior for what seemed like birds of prey, but beasts tended to have a wide variety of behavior. ¡°Incoming attack!¡± John warned for those who had not noticed the shift in elements- or the others preparing themselves. That was something that needed to be addressed in the future, as the creatures only had stealth insofar as their elements matched the surroundings. John threw a dagger at one of the incoming birds. He found his attack dropped off before he expected, the thinner atmosphere not supporting his weapon as well as it might have. He would have to adjust his attacks in the future to counterbalance that effect. Normally it might not have been an issue, except that his attack was supposed to be supported by air itself. Obviously he couldn¡¯t throw a dagger that high into the sky on pure muscle strength. The flock swooped down from on high, and John quickly stepped to the side- not to avoid an attack, but to block one for one of his disciples. The Foundation Phase cultivator was unprepared for the incoming attack. A claw swiped at John¡¯s arm¡­ and he was surprised to find it drew a line of blood. A thin one, but it cut through his spiritual energy defenses more easily than expected. The birds of prey both flew faster and attacked with greater force than their level of spiritual energy indicated. That was troublesome, because it meant they had greater control. However, aside from some minor injuries in the initial pass there wasn¡¯t anything serious. John recalled the attack. Air element gathered on the talons, increasing sharpness. That was expected, of course, as he didn¡¯t expect the birds to try to blow them away or shock them with lightning. However, the talons themselves had only been a medium for the spiritual energy. It was a compression of power and then¡­ nothing. Or more specifically, a moment of vacuum. Not something cultivators were used to blocking with spiritual energy, though instinct tended to mean it was always at least partially affected. John¡¯s wound was lighter because of Diamond Defense, but the fact that he was injured at all showed the potency of the attack. That also explained how the birds flew faster. It wasn¡¯t all that different from what John did sometimes, reducing air friction. It was just that these birds seemed to go for a deeper vacuum, though they seemed to keep from causing any sort of thunder equivalent despite creating a vacuum. Perhaps that would give them away too easily, or otherwise cause issues for them. Deirdre and the Golden Tomb Guardians took out several attacks as they began to swoop down for another attack, creating lasers that the birds couldn¡¯t dodge. A single instant of focus on their eye and they would be blind, if not outright dead. Then they readied themselves for anything passing by in melee range. John added his own throwing daggers into the mix, his second attack for the battle more accurate but only barely clipping his target. His third struck its target at the height of its wing, sending it spiraling down. At the same time, he prepared a large net of earth element. He made use of the techniques he¡¯d learned in the Sky Islands, negating the bird¡¯s flying techniques while simultaneously weighing them down. Obviously birds could fly naturally, but suddenly slowing and dropping slightly was devastating for the portion of the flock he struck. The various disciples were able to hit the slightly off kilter birds of prey with counterattacks. John once more blocked one of the attacks, this time focusing on countering the vacuum created. It was easy enough, a simple injection of air element, though he did have to intentionally replace what was taken away. He limited the amount of energy he used, because overwhelming amounts of Spiritual Energy weren¡¯t what made good techniques. He wanted to be able to fight enemies stronger than himself, not dominate those weaker. The young disciple John was protecting managed to strike the incoming foe, swinging a curved blade coated in water element. The bird was soaked, and though the attack hadn¡¯t fully penetrated through its defenses crashed to the ground where it was swiftly finished off. The last of the flock either retreated or were finished off on their third pass. John watched the few wise enough to retreat. Instead of pulling above the clouds, they kept low- then dove down into the ground. Indeed, it only made sense that they lived in some of the ravines. Most predators wouldn¡¯t be able to reach nests embedded in the cliffs, and they might even get lucky with foolish man or beast falling into one of the openings. Though not scavengers, they would happily eat a fresh corpse. Was there any use in creating a vacuum against Abritt? John knew that fully negating her windstorm would be a foolish attempt, as that would be clashing power against power. With the difference in rank, it would just be a waste of his effort and guarantee a loss. However, he might be able to slip attacks through with a small vacuum around them. Assuming she didn¡¯t know how to counter that, which she very well might. Still, it was an idea worth exploring. Even if it didn¡¯t end up useful against her, John had no doubt there would be opponents it was valuable for. Chapter 359 The battle against the local birds of prey, beasts wielding the power of the air element to create miniature vacuums as part of their assault, ended with no major injuries on the part of the travelers. They weren¡¯t completely uninjured, and even John had a small wound to remember the battle by, but everything was the sort that competent cultivators could recover from without specialized medicines. In some part that was due to their strength, but it also required effective coordination and trust. If the disciples had been unwilling to accept the protection of their fellow cultivators, standing on their own, they could have reasonably been taken down. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t need to correct anyone on those particular issues. Any other deficiencies were a matter of training and experience, so while John might direct his disciples towards certain issues in the near future there wasn¡¯t anything particularly wrong. Now that they knew the suddenness that enemies could appear, they would be prepared. Though it would take somewhat desperate beasts to attack a group as strong as theirs. It was quite possible they had not felt John to be as strong as he actually was, but even then Deirdre should have been a deterrent. Not that they could ask what the reason was, as the beasts involved weren¡¯t intelligent enough to speak¡­ and were for the most part dead. Usually the instincts of beasts kept them from battling opponents that would outmatch them too severely, but mistakes were always possible. They continued onward through the Breathless Plains, keeping their senses open for nearby rifts out of which beasts might fly. Or crawl, as the case may be. Various sorts of snakes were also known to live in the cliffs the local gorges made. Anything that could survive in a vertically oriented environment, really. Silver Breeze Gorge was reached without further incident, no doubt in part because the closer they were to a sect the better patrolled an area was. They came across several groups of disciples along the road before they came to their turn. Silver Breeze Gorge was not precisely along the main road through the Breathless Plains, but was instead a short hour away from the road, at least at a cultivator¡¯s pace. The road seemed to wind oddly, no doubt in part to avoid any stray ravines. There was one more reason, however, as they approached their ultimate destination. The tall grasses of the plains did their best to conceal the drop off until they were right upon it, but John felt the open area far sooner. After all, it was quite trivial to detect the difference between dense air element and neighboring dirt and stone. In the space of a few steps, they went from the gorge being completely concealed to its entire length visible before them. Sunlight glittered off the walls, as a long path sloped downward towards one end of the gorge. The gorge curved slightly, the walls blocking only the far end from view. It was the largest by far that John had laid his eyes on, a dozen meters wide at the thin end ranging to perhaps a hundred meters wide at the curve, which was most likely its widest point. Carved into the walls were the buildings of the sect, leaving the majority of the gorge open, including the path along the bottom which was only marred by side trails leading to stairs zig-zagging up the cliffs. As John took his first step into the gorge, he felt a powerful gust of wind threatening to topple him backwards. Not that it actually could, of course. It was a natural phenomenon that was far weaker than the concentrated gusts Abritt employed. It was, however, sufficient to make many of the lesser disciples stumble. It was possible for John to insulate all of his disciples from the gusts, but he determined it was better to let them handle the issue of whether or not they looked foolish on their own. Though the slope was steep, the winds gusted out of the gorge so there was no chance of the disciples being knocked downhill. If it suddenly reversed direction, John would be prepared. Though if that were likely, Deirdre would have probably warned him of it. There was no gate barring their path at the bottom of the gorge. Perhaps it was deemed pointless when there were limitless places where it was possible to drop into the gorge along its length. Or maybe the ridge was otherwise defended. Either way, they were met by only a modest complement of defenders. One Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, and about a dozen others. ¡°Greetings,¡± Deirdre said. ¡°The Golden Tomb Guardians visit once more, with one of our allies.¡± The man leading the group bowed slightly in acknowledgement. ¡°Welcome,¡± he said. His senses flickered over the group. ¡°A rare cultivation style. I must presume I look upon the Six Elements Crossroads.¡± John stepped forward, next to Deidre. ¡°Indeed you do. We thank you for your hospitality.¡± ¡°My apologies. I must remain here. These two will direct you towards the quarters we have prepared for you.¡± John¡¯s political training told him that could be taken as a slight, treating him as not important enough for a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator to escort. The key, of course, was that it could be that. Conversely, it could be a sign of trust to send only lower ranking cultivators with them. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! There were some who could not stand even minor perceived insults but John did his best to remain above that. Even if he had detected a negative tone to the man¡¯s words- which he did not- he would do nothing. If someone meant him ill, they would grow more bold¡­ and then he would make them regret it. Otherwise, overreactions would most likely just taint their early relationship. Being too accepting could have its own flaws, but John knew he was still far from that threshold. He had thought that the gusts might minimize once they were at the bottom of the gorge, but they actually seemed to increase somewhat. The Soul Expansion Phase disciples that walked ahead of them caught some of the winds for the group, keeping things at much the same level as they were on the path down. John noted a few oddities. Obviously the air element was denser here, but the breathable air was as well. Normally that wouldn¡¯t seem a surprise, but it seemed that up above the powerful air element was actually responsible for the thin atmosphere. Furthermore, though the winds should have carried some of the more breathable air up above¡­ it had been practically the same as elsewhere even at the edge of the gorge. Though it had not been particularly apparent from the top of the trail, the Silver Breeze Gorge was bustling. It was simply that most of the activity was within the walls of the gorge itself, instead of following along the floor of the gorge. There were still a number of disciples moving from one section to another, though most of them stuck to the walls. John had a better view of the stairs, and he had a clear thought that OSHA would not approve. He chuckled at that internally, noting the way the carved stairs crossed back and forth, alternating further in and on the edge of the gorge wall. One could easily fall off the outer side, and even a fall on the inner side could send one tumbling down the stairs. He wondered if the gusts of wind did not affect such areas, or if that was merely deemed part of the training. He just hoped new disciples lived on the lower levels, for their sake. The full extent of the gorge was revealed as something of a boomerang shape, with the Golden Tomb Guardians being placed on the outer edge of the curve, on the north face of the gorge there. The Six Elements Crossroads were placed across from them in one vertical slice, having easy access to their various rooms. The best room was at the very top, nearly at the lip of the gorge, so that answered one question at least. Climbing the stairs to his room, John determined that the gusts were indeed a relevant factor even off to the side, though certainly much reduced from the floor of the gorge. He didn¡¯t actually have much to drop off, and it wasn¡¯t like he was going to fill the provided armoire with clothes. He could carry everything he needed on him, though it was still nice to have a place of his own he could set up during his stay. John expected his privacy would be respected, but he wouldn¡¯t be leaving anything valuable laying around to tempt fate. ----- The sectmaster did not make them wait long, the delay most likely being a politeness to let people get settled in and cleaned up after their journey. Unsurprisingly, Presha¡¯s residence was at the far end of the gorge. It was a grand palace, carved nearly to the top of the ridge and extending deep into the stone. Wind whistled through the various openings therein. Presha was waiting in a round chamber, kneeling on a pillow placed at a low table. Two more were placed around the table, each a third of the way around. John and Deidred took their places, able to look towards either of the other occupants fairly easily. The sectmaster had a fairly young appearance, though John didn¡¯t find that surprising. Quite a few of the younger generation had risen to great heights. Deirdre had previously mentioned suspicions that Presha might be in the Ascending Soul Phase, and John was able to confirm it easily enough. Either he was better at discerning such things, or perhaps she was not trying too hard to hide it. Even without probing to determine what her totems were, it was easy enough for John to pick out the signs that marked an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Presha appeared to be at the thirty-seventh rank, which would mean she only recently advanced. Though as far as advancements at such a stage went, that could have been five or ten years prior and it would not be terribly odd to remain at the first rank of her new Phase. ¡°Greetings,¡± Presha inclined her head. ¡°Deidre spoke highly of you. It seems you have even advanced your cultivation since that time, if I am not mistaken. John nodded. ¡°I was able to recently advance to the thirty-eighth rank. I was quite fortunate to be able to make a visit to the Sky Islands.¡± ¡°Truly?¡± Presha looked quite interested at that. ¡°I had considered making the attempt but¡­¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t particularly friendly towards continentals like us,¡± John confirmed her thoughts. ¡°It helped that I had previous encounters with one of their Island Masters. One of their ruling sects, so to speak. You might even be able to see them at the upcoming tournament. They have been invited, and I have high hopes.¡± For multiple reasons, really. Because if they refused to associate in any way, it would make the certainty of stability difficult. Better to deal with any potential trouble as soon as possible. Presha nodded. ¡°I imagine that will be quite the experience.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± John replied. ¡°I was even fortunate enough to face off against the Island Master of the First Peak. Though¡­ I can¡¯t say it was much of a fight. She was in the late Ascending Soul Phase and hardly even needed to launch a real attack to send me flying.¡± ¡°That is¡­ somewhat concerning,¡± Presha said seriously. ¡°We are far from them here, but not so far as to be comfortable with such power.¡± John didn¡¯t immediately say that was why she and through her the Breathless Plains should join their alliance. But he strongly implied it. He also made sure to invite her formally to participate in the tournament- it was open to all, but a direct invitation was better and more difficult to refuse. He wanted to at least be on good terms with their neighbors, since the various elemental regions had been so isolated for a long time. Chapter 360 Perhaps unsurprisingly, there weren¡¯t a large number of open spaces available within the Silver Breeze Gorge¡­ except the Gorge itself. All of a sudden, the lack of buildings along the ground made more sense. Suddenly, all of the buildings could be seen as stands watching one massive arena. As John faced off against Presha, he also saw another advantage to things being arranged the way they were. The protections over their various facilities doubled as arena restrictions, making any construction more efficient. There was the slight issue that when a serious battle was happening nobody would be able to move around between spaces, but John didn¡¯t think that anyone would mind. Indeed, he felt eyes from all over watching eagerly. The disciples of the Silver Breeze Gorge couldn¡¯t have seen terribly many battles at the Ascending Soul Phase level, since their sect head had only just advanced recently. Either way, they wouldn¡¯t begrudge one more. The instant the battle began he charged towards Presha, not expecting his longer ranged attacks to be particularly effective against an air cultivator. At the same time, a massive gust of wind pushed against him. John twisted his own air element around him, pushing against the force. Then he sprang forward, far overshooting his target. The move nearly resulted in a terribly embarrassing ring out, but John caught himself. From sudden gusts of wind to an instant vacuum. He hadn¡¯t expected that, but he was pleased. This was probably the best sort of relevant training he could get outside of the Sky Islands. Even if Presha¡¯s techniques weren¡¯t the same as Abritt, he could learn much. And he had no reason to assume that Abritt didn¡¯t have techniques to create a vacuum and simply hadn¡¯t needed it, with John locked down by her power. Presha didn¡¯t simply fight defensively, of course. The moment John got back on track, he was assaulted with a dozen blades of air element. They didn¡¯t seem powerful, but he knew better than to underestimate them. He dodged past as many as he could, imbuing his sword with earth element to cut through the rest. Upon contact, the compressed air element actually tore apart, creating both an explosion and a lingering vacuum. John had no doubt that it would have cut him just as effectively as the local beasts, but of course with more power. Attempting to use his own air element against Presha was ultimately futile, but he still did it. He did his best to replicate Abritt¡¯s technique, as that would both familiarize Presha with it and let him observe her counters. Since he only had a certain proportion of air element, John had to support his power with the core cycle of elements. Earth fed into fire, then water, then finally an outpouring of air. His whirlwind was less than half the distance of Abritt¡¯s, requiring him to get closer to Presha. At first he¡¯d thought she didn¡¯t have any weapon, but long strings unraveled from her sleeve as he approached. Then, most surprisingly, a heavy weight was dropped in. With a single rotation, her sling built up sufficient momentum to launch a projectile at extreme speed towards him. John twisted, raising a barrier of earth as he expected the sling bullet to twist towards him, but instead it kept straight on its path. He wondered why an air cultivator would use such a technique. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to take advantage of her element to redirect an attack already on the way? The next attack was already in process as he was thinking about that, and this time he faced the attack head on just to be certain. His sword, fortified with earth element, crashed against the incoming sling bullet. He won that clash, but not by as much as he would have expected. So that was it. He felt it now. The sling bullets themselves radiated the earth element, being more or less extremely dense stone. Air element could boost their effectiveness, but it would be harder for it to redirect their momentum, either through winds or creating a vacuum. John continued forward, expecting Presha to leap away as he finally got close. Instead, she stood her ground. Instead of launching another sling bullet at him, she kept the projectile in the bands of the sling, twirling it around as a long flail. John expected the sling itself was more durable than its size let on, or he could merely cut it apart. Perhaps in a real battle he would have made the attempt, as it was likely possible. But he was more interested in facing this head on. He couldn¡¯t circle around Presha, as her spinning weapon would be able to strike at nearly any angle. It was quick enough that he couldn¡¯t use its timing as a weakness either. His best bet was to try to unbalance Presha herself. A gust of wind was useless there. He watched her split the winds around her, with a greater expertise than he himself had. Not that he expected to outdo a single element cultivator, but he could certainly learn from one. He stomped the ground, trying to throw Presha off that way. His attack did work, to the extent that it threw her up into the air- but as he moved in he realized she was unexpectedly light. And indeed, she had probably been floating the whole time, merely appearing as if she were pushing off of the ground. Or perhaps she was actually doing that, but carried herself with wind bound into the rest of her techniques regardless. Presha didn¡¯t fly high into the air, but the reach of her sling was enough to cover her legs if John tried to take advantage somehow. He still gave it a few good attempts, feeling the momentum behind the sling as she met his sword with every strike. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. John was fairly certain that he could overpower Presha, but he wasn¡¯t interested in that. Nor would that be as valuable for her. John stopped modifying his normal fighting style for her, and instead started throwing daggers to see how she would respond. It was a toss up between merely avoiding the weapons, blasting them off course with wind, or catching them for herself. She rapidly analyzed what elements he used, making her choice then. When they were imbued with earth, she moved herself out of the way. His experiments with water showed she was confident in taking over the weapons with a dominant element. Fire she was most likely to blow away, and she was also confident enough to dismantle John¡¯s air element and take over. When he mixed elements, she had more trouble. That was expected, as she wouldn¡¯t have much experience with such things. Earth and air was difficult for her, because John could redirect those. He was able to chase her around for a while, though her flying technique seemed efficient enough that he couldn¡¯t necessarily say he was winning that exchange. Besides, he had to fly himself to reach her with his sword, or try to throw her off with his whirlwind technique. John used a grounding technique from the Sky Islands. He started with the most common type, an insubstantial net of earth element. It had little more than weight and the intention to negate air element behind it. Presha wasn¡¯t ready for that, and took a fall. John dropped forward after her, taking advantage of her momentary loss of momentum. His sword pressed against her neck. ¡°They use that one pretty commonly,¡± he said. ¡°Abritt will definitely be capable. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll quickly learn to deal with it.¡± Then he stepped back. He wasn¡¯t interested in who among them won any particular exchange. He needed a sparring partner not from the Sky Islands, where they could watch his progress. She needed to see the techniques he could replicate, as much as possible. ----- John had expected that Presha would eventually run out of projectiles, but that was not the case. Certainly, not before she would have exhausted herself from battle. The sling stones were clearly not of great value, yet powerful enough to be part of her style. It made sense, of course. They were basically lumps of stone that didn¡¯t have to be terribly precise. She just had to get them going fast enough¡­ and they flew along well enough with her air element supporting them. When one of them just missed him, John learned the hard way how quickly she could mold her air element. In an instant it went from a boost to the projectile to a blade creating a vacuum. John was just glad that Diamond Defense protected him well enough, because he hadn¡¯t yet figured out the best counter for those techniques. Aside from just always coating himself in earth element, of course. John wasn¡¯t ever going to be able to beat Presha with Abritt¡¯s air techniques, but he did replicate them well enough- at lower power- that he saw her various counters. The most surprising one was her sling, spinning rapidly to create a trail that cut apart the segments of wind. The natural earth element in the bullets also destabilized the greater construct of spiritual energy. The least surprising but most impressive was simply negating the winds entirely. It hardly appeared to be anything at all. She merely created the exact opposite effect from his air element. John knew he wouldn¡¯t be using that one against Abritt. He also saw some clever movements where she twisted her body in unpredictable way, flowing with the windstorm instead of fighting it. By remaining fully within, John could only attempt to gust her out of it. They came to an unspoken agreement that technique was more important than power in that context. John had described Abritt¡¯s strength in great detail, though he still wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d seen the limits of what she could do even with her whirlwind technique. John didn¡¯t think he could pick up her sling technique easily, but he could just throw her sling bullets. He found some of them scattered about the battlefield, and while he was missing some power, his earth element made up for that. It clearly took some technique to cut through winds, but the stone bullet¡¯s lack of aerodynamics was actually a boon. They were simply meant to shove through enemy air techniques. Though surrounded by Presha¡¯s own air element, she could do much more. ----- Deirdre wasn¡¯t quite an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, so her battles against Presha were obviously quite lopsided. However, she had the significant advantage that her ranged attacks were completely uninfluenced by wind. Or at least, at first. Presha could still use her air element to directly defend her body. Furthermore, the Golden Tomb Guardians had many melee techniques they made use of. Their main weapons were staves that they turned into glaives, and though that nicely provided a smaller profile for the wind compared to a weapon that was always physical, it was still difficult. When Deirdre was able to reach close to Presha, her staff was a great counter to Presha¡¯s sling. She could intentionally let it wrap around her weapon and use the other end to slash at her opponent, though Presha was fast enough to pull herself away and untangle her weapon that she never really got in a solid hit. The last of Deirdre¡¯s advantages went away when Presha began to use the way light refracted when moving from air to vacuum. That was several times more efficient than using wind to deflect normal projectiles. John made special note of that¡­ both as a defensive technique, and for the future. Hopefully, some day, he would have more than tiny mote of light element under his control. It was still useful for Deirdre, however. Presha was better able to replicate wind techniques with greater force. Fighting against a more powerful opponent was always useful for gaining insights. John hoped his friend could break through to the Ascending Soul Phase soon, though he wouldn¡¯t rush her. He had already experienced the consequences of failure- perhaps one of the milder versions, even. Chapter 361 The visit to Silver Breeze Gorge was quite productive in all areas, from diplomatic to personal training. John didn¡¯t suddenly feel like he could defeat Abritt, but it was a good step forward towards a potential victory. Presha had a potential he would keep an eye on, and he hoped to influence her to formally join the alliance. Having another Ascending Soul Phase cultivator would be reassuring. Optimally he wanted to break through to the mid Ascending Soul Phase before the tournament, but practically he felt he would be lucky to grow to the thirty-ninth rank. Nine years seemed like a long time, but John was aware that there were cultivators over a hundred years old who had not even reached the Ascending Soul Phase. As for why there were so many in their generation with none in recent memory¡­ that was a complicated phenomenon that nobody really had the answers to. It was in some part due to the challenges available, growing stronger with their peers, but something had to spark such change to begin with. John¡¯s personal theory was that there was an unusually high number of transmigrators and reincarnated individuals, but he didn¡¯t actually know that for sure. He hadn¡¯t found records of previous years, since such information wasn¡¯t generally public. It may have just been a coincidence. Over the next several years, John traveled to various clans and sects, including some further regions he hadn¡¯t previously come to. The intent was to have the next tournament be the biggest one yet¡­ and no matter what happened, he thought that having more ¡®continentals¡¯ present would be beneficial. Obviously he hoped someone could defeat Abritt, but if not showing her something like a united region should make her realize a true battle wouldn¡¯t be in her favor. Certainly, Abritt had been strong but she was still only in the Ascending Soul Phase. Could she defeat any individual cultivator? Probably. But even without having seen her full potential, John was confident that along with three or four of the others he could take her down. Even if Sitora and the other Island Masters fought alongside her, with the inclusion of the guardian beasts he was confident in a victory there. And for those at the Consolidated Soul Phase and below, the continent would vastly outnumber them. But the point was to not end up in a war. Deterrence was better. Hopefully, the tournament would show sufficient strength that other considerations were unnecessary. ----- Halfway to the tournament with about five years remaining, John was filled with greater confidence. Deirdre had broken through to the Ascending Soul Phase, and Zacharie was not far off. At the moment, their cultivations and connections to Cuah¡¯arn qualified them to attempt to take over leadership of the Golden Tomb Guardians, but neither were eager to replace Lambert. He had been a fine enough sect head, and had the respect of the elders. Perhaps a generation before they would have made the attempt regardless, but John had made it clear that being sect head wasn¡¯t necessarily better. They had all the privileges and resources they could need, and for the most part all either of them would do was take over the responsibilities that ate away at their time. If they cared about contributing to the sect, they could still do without being sect head. John¡¯s own position with the Six Elements Crossroads wasn¡¯t one he had particularly wanted, but he¡¯d felt it was necessary for his goals. He didn¡¯t mind the responsibility so much either, since he¡¯d been the head of the Tenebach clan. He felt things had worked out better there, with Melanthina and Nik at the head. Obviously the transition could have been accomplished more intentionally, but the circumstances surrounding that were in the past and couldn¡¯t be fixed. ----- Though he spent much time traveling, in the latter half John¡¯s plans were to spend the majority of his time at the Six Elements Crossroads, where people could come to him if they wished to. He almost wished he could do so all the time, but practically it just didn¡¯t work out. The best thing about remaining in one place was his grandchildren would come visit. Nitza and Ereli were both in the Foundation Phase now. Both of them were growing up into fine young women, and they got along well despite their different personalities. Nitza was as wild as her style, shifting between moods as quickly as she shifted between phases of water. She was a pure water cultivator, but she had learned how to apply the principles of fire from her mother and grandparents. She rapidly ranged from traditional water based attacks to ice and steam, sometimes together. Her emotions always showed on her face, and she wasn¡¯t timid about expressing herself. Ereli had maintained the personality that had been forced on her by circumstances. She was still cautious and reserved, though she had a balance in her light and darkness that no longer required her constant vigilance. She didn¡¯t speak as much, but that just left Nitza more room to comment on everything she saw. ¡°Who do you think will win the tournament? Do you think I can?¡± Nitza asked. ¡°Impossible,¡± Ereli retorted. ¡°The difference in cultivation is too much. An Ascending Soul Phase cultivator could defeat us while taking a nap. No, probably any Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator as well.¡± ¡°Okay, fine,¡± Nitza admitted. ¡°But what about the early brackets? I bet I can go further than you.¡± ¡°We will find out,¡± Ereli inclined her head. ¡°I do not intend to lose.¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± Nitza turned to John. ¡°Fly with me! No, carry both of us!¡± ¡°I believe I will pass on such an opportunity,¡± Ereli said. ¡°I have more productive uses of my time.¡± ¡°Boring! Besides, I get to observe air element and stuff so¡­ it¡¯s training!¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Are you sure?¡± John asked. ¡°I can easily take you both. And it won¡¯t be terribly long.¡± ¡°Thank you for the offer,¡± Ereli said. ¡°But I am confident in my response.¡± John saw something there. Was she afraid of heights? Well, he wasn¡¯t going to bring it up in front of her cousin regardless of the answer. There could be plenty of reasons why she didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± John said. He swept Nitza up in air element. ¡°A tour of the city!¡± ¡°Go fast!¡± she declared. ¡°It will be over sooner, then.¡± ¡°Umm¡­¡± Nitza pondered. ¡°I still want to go fast.¡± ¡°Then we will,¡± John grinned. All the power he gained wouldn¡¯t be of much use if he couldn¡¯t dote on his family a little bit. He did his best not to actually spoil his grandchildren, because it would be better they didn¡¯t come out as arrogant young ladies. But a bit of fun sometimes was quite appropriate. Flying was heavily restricted in Lunson, but as the sect head he was one of those who could go anywhere. Technically, there were some exceptions. People could reasonably complain if he did something like landing on their roof, not that he would bother. The Six Elements Crossroads had the highest towers and the best views. With practice and increased power, John was much more confident in his flight. He had contingencies prepared in case for some reason his air element suddenly faltered, though it was likely that Nitza could survive a fall on her own. A Foundation Phase cultivator had to be able to do at least that much. Still, he¡¯d prefer not to risk it. The actual chances of an issue were pretty much nonexistent, of course, Spiritual energy didn¡¯t just stop working for no reason, and if there were an incoming enemy attack he would sense it from afar. Still, there were always worries. He rushed around the city, passing by different compounds that housed more permanent delegations from various sects and clans throughout the greater region. The Six Elements Crossroads had plenty of room for guests, but some might prefer greater privacy. Lunson was flourishing, ever since the removal of the Platinum Tower Society and the establishment of the Six Elements Crossroads. While Lunson had once been one of the few places where cultivators were rare, the growth of the city provided even non-cultivators with a higher standard of living. Furthermore, everyone at least had an opportunity to pick up basic cultivation, with a greater understanding of the local elements. It might be difficult at first to separate out the element one wanted, but Astrein wasn¡¯t a dead zone like it appeared on the surface. Nitza clearly reveled in the feeling of flight more than actually seeing the city. John wondered if it would be appropriate for her to train in the air element as well. She was at the point where she needed to commit to whatever choice she made, as when she attuned to her third totem in the Soul Expansion Phase her path would be pretty much set. That was something she should discuss with her family, however. Breaking from the traditions of a clan could be problematic. John was lucky Luctus had supported his crazy plan. In the distance, John could see the herds of bison. While there were ranches for some, great care went into making sure the native beasts of Astrein kept their homes and weren¡¯t wiped out. It would be a terrible waste to end up in another world and allow ecological devastation to happen. While cultivators were often quite reckless about such things, convincing those who could actually be reasoned with wasn¡¯t that difficult. It wasn¡¯t like causing problems for future generations and ignoring the consequences was easy, either. Most cultivators would be alive in any such future, and so would have to deal with the issues they themselves caused. There were certain advancements John found useful to bring from Earth. Refrigeration hadn¡¯t been completely unheard of, and allowed for food to travel further with the cooperation of water cultivators. The local methods of long distance communication had already been sufficient- or at least some of them. It was simply that things like the light communication of the Sunfields had to be expanded. Of course, private long distance communication still mostly went via messenger bird, but those could be much swifter than anything on Earth. Overall, John thought things were pretty good. But he planned to be around for a long time and would want to see even more improvements, if they could reasonably be accomplished. ----- Three years before the tournament, Ursel finally returned. Once again, instead of going to the Order of the Amber Heart, she came to John. ¡°Help me make armor,¡± she said, dumping a storage bag full of materials in front of him. Anticipating her return, John had taken the time to brush up on smithing and the like. Now he could proudly place himself higher than a novice. Raul would probably still be better, as he had both a core elemental cycle and actual practice imbuing objects. However¡­ John also felt components with elements of darkness and light in Ursel¡¯s bag. ¡°This will be a tough project,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ll need a light element specialist, as well.¡± ¡°So ask that Viriato guy. Or Nik.¡± Both were decent cultivators, but they weren¡¯t really crafters. ¡°Are you sure this is the best approach?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah. Earth element armor is good if I¡¯m going to be augmenting it myself in battle. It can even be nearly unbreakable. But, it¡¯s not. And I¡¯d rather have armor that was properly balanced.¡± She looked down at the bag. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know which of these things we need, though.¡± Thus it was that John helped her sort through things. What Ursel wanted was armor that could stand up for itself, something she didn¡¯t have to worry about supplementing with her own spiritual energy. She also didn¡¯t mind if it didn¡¯t completely absorb attacks, as her body could handle significant force without issues. She wasn¡¯t concerned about weight, either. ¡°This blacksteel you found might be good,¡± John admitted. ¡°If we can actually combine it with light element. I think we¡¯ll need layers, based on what I¡¯ve experienced. An inner layer of darkness, the four core elements, then light outside. Speaking of which, these crystals and Cuah¡¯arn¡¯s feathers¡­ aren¡¯t really viable components for armor, I don¡¯t think.¡± ¡°I do have some mirror ore,¡± Ursel said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit too flashy for my tastes, though.¡± ¡°Maybe it will be subdued by the influence of darkness,¡± John said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t directly try to mix them. Not without a master.¡± ¡°I can do all the smithing stuff better now,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I just need the elemental balance.¡± ¡°Viriato, then, once he returns from his most recent excursion. Until then, I¡¯ll do my best to familiarize myself with the various things, and we can go over your process.¡± Chapter 362 Ursel had just planned to mix everything into an evenly ratioed alloy. On the surface, that seemed like a viable plan. With light and darkness involved and different potencies of materials, however, things became far more complicated. Even with the attention of Ursel, John, Viriato, and Raul the required balance of elements was difficult to maintain. They were fortunate that the first failures only resulted in the destructions of certain materials that had additional backup. ¡°Alright, I think I understand the ratios,¡± Raul said. The alchemist was used to complicated mixtures. Most of them simply didn¡¯t become solid afterwards. ¡°We need to focus on the four core elements first. Viriato will be responsible for stabilizing the light and dark elements as we add the layers on opposite sides. And Ursel, you¡¯re responsible for molding the shape. I don¡¯t know what will fit you and if you¡¯re right and its practically immutable when our work is done¡­¡± he shrugged. ¡°Well, it would be pretty terrible if it didn¡¯t fit right.¡± Ursel grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s so much easier to do pure earth.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that¡¯s not what you went for.¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s no good. If I went up against someone like master Renato they could just dismantle my armor on an elemental level. If we get this set up it should be better. Uh, assuming it¡¯s stable.¡± ¡°It can be,¡± John said. ¡°Now let¡¯s go over the process one final time with the alterations before we make our attempt.¡± Once everyone was confident in their roles, they began the process. First was a core of neutral attributed metal. Even if the earth element would often control metal, it didn¡¯t have any earth element beyond its basic form. The basic smithing process in some ways reflected the cycle of core elements. The next thing to be introduced was heat, melting the metal and allowing it to be roughly shaped. From there, it could be quenched in water or a certain sort of oil, before being returned to the air. In their case, the process was a bit more drawn out. They began infusing the various elemental materials into the neutral metal. John¡¯s role was actually to keep things stable, though that grew easier as they added elements. Ursel had a good understanding of what materials could be imbued into the armor, instead of just bringing powerful components of every element. Fire stones, water crystals, a bottle of particular air, and some essence of earth to tie everything together. Once the first round was complete, they had a big slab of metal. Ursel was pounding it into shape, as pouring the liquid into the mold produced even layers which weren¡¯t actually optimal. During the whole process, they had to keep it from cooling completely. Once it did, the stable structure would likely be more durable than Mountain Steel, a solid mixture capable of resisting any attacks at the Consolidated Soul Phase- and still being quite effective beyond that level. Raul continued to add elements bit by bit, until they had several generations of elements holding together. Then it was Viriato¡¯s turn, as they added light element infused threads to what would become the outer edge. John was quite certain that a normal suit of armor wasn¡¯t made in a single batch, but this was the method Ursel was most confident in. And indeed, as she continued to hammer and twist things into shape- with John helping encourage everything to flow together as she willed it- sometimes skipping steps as a cultivator was actually more practical. Full body armor from head to toe began to take shape, with Ursel sweating profusely as her arms reached deep into the forge. Protecting herself from flames wasn¡¯t that easy, even with a tempered body. When the darkness was infused, John felt the whole thing threaten to tear itself apart. Fortunately, he was ready for that and reached out to it, holding on from one side while Viriato wove himself through the whole thing to balance the light and darkness. The latter tugged on the former, holding it tight against the material. John had no idea how long it took. He just knew that the sun was setting when they were done, but he thought he¡¯d seen a couple sunrises as well. His spiritual energy was drained, as he¡¯d needed to provide the greater strength of his own energy. The others were exhausted as well, but finally Ursel declared it done, smoothing stray bits and making certain all the articulating joints worked. Looking at it when it finally cooled, John got the sense that the suit of armor was a single thing. Which it was, from a certain perspective. But even when gauntlets and sabatons were pulled apart from the helmet and cuirass, it still had a clear connection. Even without particular enchantments inlaid into it, the very mix of elements made it act as a single entity. ¡°This is amazing,¡± John said. Then he grinned. ¡°Maybe we should make this for everyone.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Ursel shrugged. ¡°You try it,¡± she said, tossing him the gauntlet. Aside from the fact that it was made to fit her¡­ there was another issue. John almost toppled over when he caught the gauntlet, as its weight was significant. He had enough spiritual energy left to balance himself, but their resulting material was denser than even Mountain Steel. ¡°Will you even be able to move around in this?¡± John asked. ¡°Obviously,¡± Ursel said. ¡°And more importantly, I shouldn¡¯t have to augment its defensive properties against most opponents.¡± ¡°Leaving you free to attack as you please,¡± John nodded. ¡°Though¡­ I can¡¯t imagine many people standing up to you regardless. Your weapon is still the same, right?¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Ursel nodded. ¡°Mixing elements there would inhibit my ability to be active. And though my body is quite powerful, I do intend to still make use of my spiritual energy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± John said. ¡°Do you want to test it out before the tournament?¡± ¡°Yes. We should.¡± ----- Watching Renato flail on Ursel to no effect, except occasionally forcing her to take a step back, John was quite confident he couldn¡¯t damage her new armor. Not that that would make her invulnerable. He could attack through the small eye slits or any other gaps, if necessary. Sure, he¡¯d then have to contend with her tempered body but John was fairly certain he could manage it. Then again, it would be pretty embarrassing to lose against a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, even if Ursel was near the peak. When they were first testing, John had only given half hearted attempts to destroy her armor. Then he¡¯d ramped up to more serious attempts to damage it. He knew it would be difficult to repair, but that was why it was important to see if he could even scratch it. ¡°What should we call this?¡± John asked. ¡°I think it¡¯s fairly simple,¡± Renato said. ¡°Rainbow armor.¡± ¡°Ugh. Pass,¡± Ursel said. It did glimmer, though, given the outer layer having the greatest imbuement of light. ¡°Six Element Steel is way better. And your sect did most of the work.¡± ¡°We might have to borrow you to smith some more of it at some point,¡± John said. ¡°Maybe a few small pieces, or thinner perhaps.¡± ¡°You¡¯d lose something, but most people would find it better,¡± Ursel agreed. ¡°Without the thickness, you might be able to cause some damage. It flexes a bit, actually.¡± ¡°Sure doesn¡¯t feel like it,¡± Renato shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not much, but it distributes the load throughout it, the elements calling on each other,¡± Ursel explained. ¡°It¡¯s even better than I thought.¡± ¡°Great,¡± John said. ¡°So, does this mean you¡¯re planning to dominate all of the Consolidated Soul Phase participants from the Sky Islands?¡± John had been worried for a bit, but they¡¯d received an official missive from the First Peak indicating the Sky Islands would be participating in the tournament. Escorting them through the Wuthering Steppes would be necessary, as many people remembered their previous grudges. Even if Sitora hadn¡¯t wiped out people along the way like the Molten Sea, there had still been conflict as they made a route to the Shimmering Islands. More than that, Abritt might be looking for trouble and it would be better to avoid any excuses. They would be treated with honor, though not with subservience. Of course, John had assured the Wuthering Steppes that they were free to seek any vengeance within the bounds of the tournament. If they were strong enough to manage it, of course. ----- The last few years of preparing for the tournament went quicker than John might have expected, though perhaps that was because he was so busy. He didn¡¯t neglect his own training, of course. As the representation of the region¡¯s unity, he had to be the strongest. If he lost to Abritt again- which was unfortunately still quite likely- he had to at least show enough strength. He wasn¡¯t alone, of course, but John didn¡¯t expect any but Renato to have a better chance of defeating Abritt than he would. If Abritt were a pure air cultivator that would be one thing, but she still had the earth element as well. She would be able to unravel his defensive techniques, even if she didn¡¯t use earth element in the same way as the Stone Conglomerate. In short, he wouldn¡¯t have a complete elemental advantage- and the gap in ranks was still important. Renato had reached the thirty-ninth rank before John, but he wasn¡¯t likely to step into the mid Ascending Soul Phase with just another year or so. With Abritt in the first rank of the late Ascending Soul Phase, there was still a huge gap. As for everyone else, however, John expected Renato could dominate any Sky Islanders. The other exception might be Sitora as she was a transmigrator with a wealth of experience, and solidly in the mid Ascending Soul Phase. But John had thoughts on how to fight her, and the gap wasn¡¯t as large. That was assuming all of the Island Masters were participating, of course. John suspected Morana would be sitting it out, but if she chose to show up he would give her a proper chance to participate. And he would be making sure that the formations were ready to protect people from any untoward actions. That included from both sides, because they couldn¡¯t afford to appear as if they were trying to cheat. Any victories they didn¡¯t earn would appear as a weakness instead, ruining their show of strength. ----- Several new individuals had reached the Ascending Soul Phase in the area. Alina of the Milanovics in the Green Sands. Yonit was the first in the Brandle clan to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, though Tirto was probably only a decade or so behind. Presha¡¯s existence as a new Ascending Soul Phase neighbor had been a surprise, but she was not the only one. Not counting the Muted Crags who had lost Rezso, there was one as far west as the Viridia WIldlands. John had personally been hoping for someone from the Emerging Bamboo Sect, but sadly it was Mandlen of the Indestructible Kapok Grove. John¡¯s main experience with them had been negative, but that was how things went sometimes. Surprisingly, Mandlen was just one of the elders of the sect and not the Sect Head, though it was thought he might take over the position in the near future given his strength. Whether it was because of some cycle affecting the world with great spiritual energy or a greater level of association between elemental regions or any of those factors plus more undetermined it wasn¡¯t quite clear, but cultivations had risen faster than in any records. Charlotte of the Firepine Palace was not a surprise candidate as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, and John had rather expected it even given her age. There was just one final individual John was hoping for. Ever since he had formally established the Six Elements Crossroads he didn¡¯t see as much of Crystin as he had- she was still part of the Tenebach clan, after all. She had been a reliable friend and ally, so John was quite pleased when he finally received word of her breakthrough. It apparently hadn¡¯t been easy, with some sort of special help from Ciaritzal and Melanthina, but she made it. John looked forward to seeing her, though as he understood it she wouldn¡¯t be participating in the tournament herself. She would just be acting as a guard. Well, if that was what pleased her John saw no reason to stop her from doing so. And he would be glad to know that Melanthina and Ereli had reliable protection along the road- even more than usual, of course. Most likely, the Sky Islands would have a few more Ascending Soul Phase cultivators of their own. John had sensed some close to the edge, and with nine years and a particular challenge they expected to face he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some were successful in breaking through. It was probably a good thing, as long as they could manage to get along. John hoped that the Second Peak got some, because Sitora was a reasonable enough individual. And maybe Abritt would get over her disdain for continentals. He could dream, at least. Chapter 363 The Sky Islands cut their arrival time close, to the point that John thought they might be a no-show after all. However, he received messages of their arrival on the continent just in time. Perhaps it was simply their intention to show up at the final moment and take the grandest position with their show of strength. Sects and clans flocked to Lunson, those participating in the tournament and those simply there to observe. The housing was overflowing, as the numbers had outgrown even the highest projections. Viriato had seen the trend early on, and was leveraging his contacts to make sure that at least the city would have enough food. Shipments came from the Sunfields and the Stone Conglomerate to help supplement what they already had. Overcrowding could be a problem for a city, and even though it was going to be a relatively short term issue John still granted permission for people to set up camps outside the city. That would not damage the profits of the various businesses seeking the customers, as there was plenty of competition to sleep in a proper room, usually with elemental separation arrays. Nobody wanted to be the people who looked like they couldn¡¯t afford better. There were a few scuffles as some owners thought to replace those who had already paid with new customers who would pay better, but the Six Elements Crossroads shut that down quickly. If anyone could be paid enough to give up their spot that was one thing, but the sect wouldn¡¯t allow any unruliness. All of their biggest allies had established their own compounds or were able to stay with the sect itself, so it wasn¡¯t too big of an issue for them. Then there was space set aside for the Sky Islands as something akin to guests of honor. They would be treated with proper respect for their strength¡­ and John hoped to show them that despite what they had, they weren¡¯t on top. They finally arrived to an overflowing city, the last decades having expanded its size several times over as it became a center of trade and even cultivation, instead of merely a place people happened to pass through. Cultivators of all elements were present for their arrival. Light cultivators from the Prism Underfields, the Shining Coast, and the Sunfields. Air cultivators mainly hailed from the Breathless Plains, the Wuthering Steppes, Blustering Peaks, Glass HIlls, and the Shimmering Islands. Fire cultivators from the strip that contained the Green Sands, Sunfields, and Phoenix Forest- and stretching all the way up to the Boiling Springs. Water cultivators came from the Viridia Wildlands, Shimmering Islands, Soulrot Bogs, and the Frozen Heights. Earth cultivators came from the Stone Conglomerate, Glass Hills, Viridia Wildlands, the Phoenix Forest, and even a few from the Rolling Dunes despite their limited population. Darkness cultivators were the rarest, with the Darklands being the main source. However, there were also some that hailed from the Soulrot Bogs, as well as a few from the Gloom Desolation and even the Muted Crags. All were welcome, as long as they didn¡¯t cause trouble on their journey- or at the tournament. And from what John had heard, that was going better than could have previously been expected for cultivators. There was still friction, but it was impossible for there to not be any conflict with so many people. So far, they had avoided any deaths, and the Sky Islands would see something resembling unity. ----- The early parts of the tournament were all of those with the lowest cultivations. There were a great many Spiritual Collection Phase cultivators, but they needed neither large arenas nor much time for each of their individual battles. Thus, their numbers were quickly reduced. The winners received their own rewards and the opportunity to challenge those of the next Phase. In general, the strongest participants at one Phase could beat a portion of those in the early part of the next Phase, though whether they actually accumulated more victories depended somewhat on luck. After all, their opponents could also be skilled for their own cultivation, and simply had not had sufficient time to grow further. Nitza and Ereli were both in the peak Foundation Phase, and while the tournament did its best to try to match experience and cultivation there weren¡¯t very many individuals as far advanced in their early twenties. With them at the peak of the Foundation Phase, they had to match their cultivation instead. The differences weren¡¯t so stark as the last tournament where they were practically children, but they still faced off against opponents five or ten years their senior. John¡¯s granddaughters weren¡¯t the only talented youths, however. The tournament was drawing from all over, so there were plenty to compete against. Ereli¡¯s unique nature gave her a significant advantage, using light and darkness to take out opponents who could hardly be prepared for both at their training level. All of her struggles had paid dividends now that she had control over her own cultivation. By contrast, Nitza made up for her lack of a unique discipline with enthusiasm. Her fiery temperament came from her mother¡¯s side as she used the Brandle Clan¡¯s water techniques. John was reminded of times long before, when he had just been getting to know Matayal. John thought that Ereli would be going far, but after a few rounds she ended up fighting against a man from the Shadow Wolf Clan. Quite surprisingly, the young fellow actually defeated her despite her elemental advantage- she was quite competent defending against darkness and could attack with light. However, he defeated her with surprising martial skills, using his war pick with great agility and keeping her locked in close combat where it was difficult for her to safely use her techniques. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. After her loss, Ereli looked disappointed¡­ but that was all. She wasn¡¯t the sort to declare vengeance or worry about things long term. ----- Nitza managed to continue deeper into the tournament, and was soon facing Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. Though John was confident in her strength, he didn¡¯t expect her to win much. Maybe a match or two further. The difference in a Phase was significant, and each victory theoretically placed her against a stronger opponent. Her second match in the next stage of the tournament was a disciple of the Third Peak. The Sky Islands had brought no one lower than the Soul Expansion Phase along with them. With a cultivation at the twentieth rank and an elemental advantage- two air totems and one earth versus Nitza¡¯s two water totems- it seemed like a pretty straightforward result. However, the arena happened to favor Nitza, with small raised platforms surrounded by water at the same level. Or at least, it seemed to favor her, because the elemental advantage still applied. Lightning was the favored choice of Nitza¡¯s opponent, and the younger cultivator found it difficult to dodge. Even though she managed it several times, the waters were charged with lightning. A downward gust of wind pushed her into the water as she leapt between platforms. That was expected to be the end, but the formations didn¡¯t activate and John could feel Nitza swimming towards her opponent. Bolt after bolt struck the water, and while it would normally disperse the control of an air cultivator could weave lightning towards its intended target, taking advantage of the conductivity of the water to be even more devastating. Yet Nitza held herself together, riding a wave out of the waters below. Lightning coursed through a bubble around her as she stabbed her spear into her opponent¡¯s chest, piercing through the earth element supplementing her armor. The gathered lightning of Nitza¡¯s opponent was drawn along her spear, the woman felled by her own power. Perhaps she had relinquished control, expecting the lightning to disperse naturally¡­ but that still would have required great mastery on Nitza¡¯s part to control it. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like she would be unfamiliar with lightning. The Brandle clan was water cultivators in a land of storms, and except on Pualani itself lighting was an everyday feature. Whatever the exact reasons, Nitza won the battle with confidence. The cultivator was from the Third Peak- now controlled by Venera. John looked to see her reaction, and it was about as flabbergasted as he would have expected. She noticed his gaze and he nodded in acknowledgment. It was unfortunate it had to be one of hers that fell, but he hoped it was a proper show of strength. Nitza continued on to defeat her next opponent, until finally she faced off against a cultivator at the twenty-second rank in the mid Soul Expansion Phase. That was where an earth cultivator from the Viridia Wildlands finally spelled her defeat¡­ though it was only the expected result. It was just that she hadn¡¯t gotten the expected result for her last few matches. Even after her defeat, however, Nitza celebrated. After all, she¡¯d gone extremely far in the tournament- and she¡¯d surpassed Ereli¡¯s victories by a significant margin. John could see her bragging to her cousin, who seemed to be relatively unaffected by the results. Then again, there might be more John couldn¡¯t see from his position. She wasn¡¯t emotionless¡­ just in tight control of herself due to the habits of her early life. ----- The tournament continued over the course of the first week through the Soul Expansion Phase and into the Consolidated Soul Phase. This was the first tournament where they would actually have an Ascending Soul Phase division, limited though it was. There weren¡¯t any wild upsets from what John saw. Raul made a decent showing, but he wasn¡¯t primarily a fighter. Viriato managed to defeat a cultivator from the First Peak, which made him feel vindicated, since he hadn¡¯t even been given the opportunity previously. He¡¯d lost to one of Sitora¡¯s disciples on the Second Peak, but most of a decade of training could make a significant difference, bringing him into the late Consolidated Soul Phase. Melanthina fought against Tirto in that phase, with Tirto coming out solidly on top. However, he was defeated by yet another cultivator from the First Peak, at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Only for that man to face off against Ursel and be destroyed in the first moments of the match. It was unquestionable which of his children was strongest, and it was unsurprisingly the one who spent every moment of her life training in some fashion instead of dealing with other responsibilities like running a clan or children of her own. Ursel was the ultimate victor of the Consolidated Soul Phase division, with her standing at the peak of the Phase herself. Her siblings were only a rank behind, but there were other differences to be had as well. Not that John loved any of his children more or less for their strength. But he did very much enjoy watching them win. ----- The final stretch of the tournament began with Renato fighting against one of the elders of the First Peak. Noemi was one of those who had been at the threshold nine years prior, now having stepped into the Ascending Soul Phase. She wielded a bow, shooting an actual cyclone of arrows that followed Renato wherever he went while she flew about overhead. For his part, Renato took advantage of the light element arena to make her briefly lose track of him. She likely felt the earth element he was preparing, but she clearly expected a grounding technique rather than him rocketing over a dozen meters straight up through her cyclone of attacks and slamming her into the ground with a single swing of his club. He landed atop her before she could reorient herself, and her defenses simply couldn¡¯t handle the results. She crumpled, the arena¡¯s formations protecting her from taking any significant actual damage. It wasn¡¯t a loss that could really be debated. John was feeling pretty good about Renato¡¯s chances, though sadly he hadn¡¯t broken through to the mid Ascending Soul Phase. That would have greatly improved his chances at taking down Abritt. Neither she nor Sitora were placed in the first round of the Ascending Soul Phase tournament, given their greater cultivations. Chapter 364 Each battle in the Ascending Soul Phase division took the entire arena for the duration. Nobody would want to miss a single battle, and the arena¡¯s defensive formations couldn¡¯t stand up to more than one pair at a time. After Renato fought against Noemi came a battle between Steve and Deirdre. Some allowances could be made to avoid those of the same sect or clan fighting in the first round, but it was pretty much inevitable some from their alliance would battle. Based on prior experience, John was certain Steve would come out ahead. He had not only advanced before Deirdre, but was a natural combatant. The battlefield was earth dominant, with few obstructions. The fire cultivator opened by creating a huge pillar of blue flames that rose out of the ground. Deirdre dodged, of course, but it followed her around as a spinning whirlwind. It never managed to catch her. The most obvious improvement in Deirdre¡¯s abilities after advancing to the Ascending Soul Phase was her speed. John had managed to spar with her after her advancement, and somehow she¡¯d improved even further in the short time in between then and the tournament. Instead of keeping her distance, she pressed closer to Steve. John thought that was a terrible idea, since Steve was actually specialized in close combat. But somehow, she managed to keep him on the defensive, her glaive-staff twirling constantly. Every targeted attack she dodged, wings of light appearing behind her for an instant in some cases. When Steve simply created superheated flames all around himself, Deirdre cut her way through a small portion around her. She wouldn¡¯t last long in such a position, but she merely had to outlast her opponent. When Steve let up for a single moment as he began to overheat, Deirdre shoved forward with her staff parallel to the ground, an attack Steve had little way to dodge but one that wasn¡¯t particularly dangerous either. It simply knocked him back through his own fire tornado. In an instant, he dispersed the energy¡­ but that was one more moment where he wasn¡¯t cooling down, and Deirdre fired a beam of light from her staff as he was distracted. It struck him directly in the head, with enough power for the formations to activate. He just stood there breathing heavily for a few moments. ¡°Nice,¡± he said finally. ¡°You win.¡± ----- Yustina battled against Presha in a field favoring the latter. It was one of the few arrangements they had that used the Sky Island¡¯s setup, vaguely. John had snagged a couple crystals from the Crystal Sea for this very purpose, though they didn¡¯t create platforms that floated quite so gracefully. There was probably some technique they had, but at the moment the arena was supplementing it with more power. The air cultivator was a terrifying sight in battle, able to make use of wind, lightning, and the power of vacuum. With her sling, she could chase Yustina all around the arena without taking a step away from her own platform. For the majority of the battle it appeared as if she were going to win, with Yustina only managing to launch a small number of flaming attacks that were brushed away by the wind. That was probably what Yustina intended Presha to believe, but John saw something different. The fire cultivator was constantly using her energy, but produced no fire that he could see. When Presha suddenly collapsed, a good portion of the audience was surprised. Even some of the other Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, though Presha was in the most difficult position as she couldn¡¯t watch the battlefield from afar. Yustina had, instead of creating fire, mainly ratcheted up the temperature. Presha would have noticed that, of course, but she kept most of that away from Presha. Her various flame attacks were mostly a distraction, forcing Presha to keep up her defenses. That was the ultimate weakness, as she focused too much on absolute defense and forgot she needed to breathe. Meanwhile, Yustina¡¯s heat infiltrated through the platform she was standing on, slowly affecting the air around her. Yustina had shown great ability in manipulating flames like water, due to her previous life, but John was quite pleased to see she managed a small manipulation of air as well. He thought she might have used her fire element to use up the oxygen without any visible combustion, though from a distance he wasn¡¯t entirely certain. Either way, Presha didn¡¯t realize she was low on breathable air until it was too late, since she should have had plenty. John doubted the air cultivator would ever suffer a similar loss again, but for this one battle she was out. ----- Ursel was placed against Yonit. As earth and water cultivators, the darkness element battlefield they met in was theoretically neutral. It was a design that had been used before in previous tournaments, a maze that significantly dulled all senses- focusing on spiritual energy senses. Obviously the specific layout was different for every match it appeared in. Yonit still had the obvious advantage in cultivation, with Ursel having moved up from the Consolidated Soul Phase tournament. However, he still took the battle entirely seriously. That was for the best, as it saved him from an embarrassing defeat. John watched as the two cultivators turned a corner at the same time, with Ursel already swinging her weapon. How she had picked him out wasn¡¯t entirely clear, but perhaps her senses were simply strong enough to pierce the darkness. A bubble of water cushioned the blow, but Yonit still flew backwards into one of the walls, the second impact negated by the same bubble wrapping behind him. He immediately responded to Ursel¡¯s following charge with a surge of water, a wave that froze around her as it passed, creating ice several centimeters thick. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. He dissolved a portion of the ice around Ursel¡¯s shoulder as he stabbed where she was relatively less armored. The thinner ice allowed Ursel to snap her arm down and prevent the blow from driving deeper, and the spear merely grazed her skin- which wouldn¡¯t cause damage of any significant note. Ursel then used her freed arm to smash against her chest, shattering the ice there. A few moments later she was moving, but Yonit had retreated into the maze. She followed a trail of water he left behind, but was unable to spot him propped between the walls of the maze above her. He dropped down and froze her again, except for her head. He gripped her helmet, yanking it off. Of course, her head was probably nearly as durable as Mountain Steel still, but that was better for him than her actual helmet. Yonit continued with his skirmisher tactics, never facing Ursel directly. It was almost enough. John figured out how Ursel had sensed Yonit the first time when she began stomping around the maze. She would reveal her own presence like that but¡­ he imagined she could make out something from the vibrations in the earth. Yet Yonit still got the drop on her, freezing her in place and launching an attack at the back of her neck. At which point Ursel spun around and hit him directly in the side, demonstrating that the thick ice had never actually stopped her to begin with. Ursel¡¯s blow followed through, slamming Yonit into the wall and triggering the arena to protect him from the blow. And thus it was that Ursel got her first victory. ----- The tournament didn¡¯t have a perfect match in the number of participants, and with Sitora and Abritt not taking part in the first round due to their greater cultivations Charlotte managed to pass onto the second round without a battle. John knew the fire cultivator wasn¡¯t weak, but neither were any of the other opponents. She¡¯d have to prove herself in the second round. The final individual advancing to the second round was Mandlen of the Indestructible Kapok Grove, having defeated Venera of the Third Peak. He at least showed the name of his sect wasn¡¯t just for show. The second round took place the following day, and Ursel ended up in the first match against Deirdre. John knew that it would be difficult for her to land a blow on the light cultivator¡­ but he honestly had trouble predicting the outcome of the match. Her armor would make Deirdre¡¯s life much more difficult. The two of them had little advantage or disadvantage from the windy arena though it slightly affected Deirdre¡¯s flow, slowing her sometimes and speeding her along others. Deirdre flashed around Ursel, her blades spinning but never causing real damage. Ursel never left any of her joints open long enough, and her body beneath was durable on its own. The difference in cultivation was a single rank. An important one, certainly, but Ursel¡¯s armor was very good and she had more power than her cultivation displayed. It all came down to one important move. Ursel was never able to strike Deirdre, her opponent moving faster than her stone club could catch up. Even ricocheting it off the ground with greater speed never caught her. But Ursel made a particularly reckless swipe, forcing Deirdre to dodge to one side. She¡¯d simply missed that Ursel was wielding the heavy club in a single hand. Even with spiritual energy supporting her, one would have expected it to require her full strength. Ursel¡¯s arm snapped out, catching only the slightest fold of Deirdre¡¯s sleeve. Deirdre instantly recognized the issue, and attempted to sever the cloth protecting her own arm. However, Ursel¡¯s energy pushed in and solidified it. She yanked Deirdre towards her as she dropped her stone club, and once she got an arm wrapped around Deirdre the match was effectively over. Unable to use her weapon, Deirdre had to resort to direct attacks on Ursel¡¯s eyes through the small gaps in her helmet- she had the luxury to target that because her body was effectively no longer in her control and nothing she could do would change that. The earth cultivator¡¯s eyelids plus her own energy held her long enough to turn Deirdre into a pretzel and place her hands on either side of Deirdre¡¯s head. ¡°I surrender,¡± Deirdre said clearly. Ursel pulled away, rubbing her eyes. ¡°You know, I might not have been able to snap your neck before you drilled into my brain.¡± Deirdre shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t think that chance was good enough. And your ability to fight with such confidence is worthy of the victory.¡± Two victories for Ursel. That was the sort of thing that might go down in history. ----- Since the tournament brackets were only partially curated, what was potentially the most exciting match came rather suddenly. Optimally it would have been the final match of the tournament, but Renato versus Abritt came suddenly in the second round. The battlefield even favored Renato. That was slightly unfortunate because Abritt could use it as an excuse if she lost. Then again, she was also partially an earth cultivator so the great stone pillars weren¡¯t entirely to her disadvantage either. Abritt immediately flew to the top of one. Renato then immediately shattered its base. As it fell apart, the old woman remained in flight, a great cyclone appearing around her and driving chunks of broken rock into Renato. A moment later, Renato wrapped chains of earth element around Abritt, pulling her to the ground. But instead of trying to resist, she simply let herself drop. In a sudden flash, a trickle of blood went down Renato¡¯s forehead. At least he had forced Abritt to reveal her weapons. Though perhaps not her only weapons. Either way, the claws she held on her hands had briefly appeared from under her sleeves. Being still four ranks above Renato, it was the late Ascending Soul Phase versus the early Ascending Soul Phase. She fought without fear, even in what should have been a disadvantageous position. She didn¡¯t even dodge Renato¡¯s attacks, letting his club strike her. The sounds of the impact rang throughout the arena, as he clearly struck energy that was of similar or greater hardness to his own. Her own attacks were razor focused to cut through Renato¡¯s defenses, and though it took several minutes of constant battle, he was worn down and eventually had to accept his loss as blades poked through his visor to stop just before his eye- though not because of mercy, but instead the formations stopping the attack from going any further. John furrowed his brow. He¡¯d hoped for Renato to win. Obviously he¡¯d trained for the same battle himself, but watching her fight he couldn¡¯t say that he could win, even with more of her abilities revealed. He wondered what she still had in reserve. Chapter 365 After Renato¡¯s loss, though he felt the man put on a good showing, John didn¡¯t see many avenues to pick up a victory against Abritt. However, the final Sky Islands cultivator aside from Abritt was knocked out of the tournament in the same round. Sitora was defeated by the previously low profile Mandlen, of the Indestructible Kapok Grove even with his cultivation in the early Ascending Soul Phase. The battle against Sitora showed his durability as he fought against the other cultivator, standing tall and proud as a tree. But he didn¡¯t simply stand passively, retaliating with each incoming blow just like his namesake- the particular tree being referenced had a great many thorns covering it, after all. He rooted himself to the ground, following up by wrapping Sitora in energy like branches when she got too close, in a manner she could not disrupt even as a partial earth cultivator. Perhaps Mandlen could defeat Abritt, as a different sort of earth cultivator. Though John would have preferred it to be one of those he was close to, they could still show the Sky Islands the strength of the continent. Charlotte also advanced to the next round, though her elemental advantage would likely only carry her so far. A fire cultivator who worked with earth could certainly outmatch an air and earth cultivator, but the gap in ranks was still a significant hurdle to overcome. ----- The next morning came, the match ups not having been revealed, though the various arenas were prepared. The first match was Charlotte against Mandlen, the results of which set John off kilter. Charlotte defeated Mandlen, and while that wasn¡¯t a terrible surprise given their elemental balance, that meant what John thought was the best matchup against Abritt was gone. He might be able to win himself. At the very least, he¡¯d force her to fight seriously, unlike before. Yet John couldn¡¯t remain fully confident in his strength bringing a victory. He¡¯d forgotten what that matchup meant. Ursel was set to face off against Abritt, and he could only watch nervously. John knew his daughter was well armored and had a durable body, so he wasn¡¯t too concerned about her. However, it was possible that Abritt would try to cause her real harm through the formations given her connection to John. If she pushed her luck many people would be ready to spring into action, but he hoped it didn¡¯t come to something like that. They were trying to avoid a war. Neither did he want to slaughter invited guests. The battlefield wasn¡¯t exactly favorable to either cultivator- though Abritt certainly had things easier. The arena was filled with lava on the ground and flames twisting through the air. Not a battlefield any earth cultivator whether full or partial wished to remain for long. But the flame in the air was less severe, so Abritt would likely be able to resist for longer. She clearly wasn¡¯t interested in simply outlasting her opponent, though. Ursel was at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase, the thirty-sixth rank. It would be embarrassing to take long to defeat her, or to have to exploit the battlefield. Against an even opponent, or at least someone closer to the forty-third rank like herself, using such tactics might be reasonable. Instead, she clearly intended to blow away her opponent. Abritt started with a literal attempt. The rules against being knocked out of the arena were fairly generous for such a battlefield, but if a cultivator couldn¡¯t control their own positioning to that extent they would be recognized as weak. Having experienced Abritt¡¯s winds himself, John knew how powerful they were. And Ursel stood there, shin deep in lava. She didn¡¯t even use any energy until Abritt ramped up her whirlwinds to the point that had finally blown John away. Ursel grew roots of earth element into the fiery ground, simply looking up at her flying opponent. Whether it was intended as a provoking gesture or not, Abritt charged down towards her. Ursel¡¯s club struck Abritt directly on the forehead¡­ causing no damage. John wasn¡¯t surprised, given that Renato had done more or less the same. The difference in phase wasn¡¯t something easily made up for. Abritt slashed at Ursel with her claw weapons, spinning around her much like Deidre. However, she was slightly less agile than the light cultivator, and Ursel managed to keep her away from any vulnerable joints. At the same time, she scooped up a dripping boulder of lava with her club, slamming it into and around Abritt. The air cultivator didn¡¯t avoid the attack, perhaps because it took her only a moment to remove the shell of material from herself. After that, Abritt rose up into the air, whipping up the molten ground and flinging it at Ursel, intending to completely cover her. It was only then that Ursel began to move, but mostly to reach larger clumps of lava. The layer of lava was only about a meter deep, after all. Plenty for normal circumstances. Ursel used her club to fling clump after clump at Abritt. While each one would cause her no damage, it was possible she would overheat eventually as her durability was based on earth. John thought Ursel should be fatiguing quickly, though her new armor should be somewhat heat resistant. That was simply enough to last her this far, it shouldn¡¯t endure forever. Abritt wasn¡¯t content with one form of attack. She shifted swiftly between them, likely looking for any one thing that could take down Ursel quickly. A continued battle might be embarrassing for her¡­ though John wasn¡¯t certain if she was even thinking about that in the moment. She dug into the lower rock of the arena to form thin shards of rock, most of which shattered upon Ursel¡¯s armor in the whirlwind. She directly manipulated the ground to stab huge spears of rock into Ursel, not damaging her armor but pinning her in place for a few moments at a time as they came in from different angles. Abritt was not shy about going into melee, either, swooping in to claw at Ursel. Each time she received a blow that she shrugged off, while she got closer and closer to striking Ursel¡¯s weak points. Ursel took special care of her head, given Renato¡¯s defeat. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. John was so invested in the various exchanges of the battle he hadn¡¯t realized how much it was dragging on. Ursel had already surpassed his own time against Abritt. The older woman resorted to direct strikes, her heel impacting the top of Ursel¡¯s head. The blow was designed to send a shock through her armor into her body directly. Perhaps it did¡­ but Ursel had likely endured worse. John had seen her fight things larger than buildings, and there was only so far earth element layers would protect against such things. Ursel gathered energy, and Abritt suddenly pulled away. Perhaps she feared a concentrated strike might actually harm her. For a few moments, Abritt hung in the air above Ursel, looking down at the younger woman who was standing in a zone more or less clear of fire element, given how all the lava had been slung about. Then Abritt¡¯s assault continued, tiny shards of stone intermixed with bolts of lightning. Ursel crouched down, seemingly to cover herself. Then she sprang upward. Abritt instantly bolstered her defenses as Ursel swung her club with one hand, slamming her in the ribs. Her other hand clutched around Abritt¡¯s ankles¡­ and the two of them hung in the air for a moment. The strain on Abritt to keep Ursel aloft was clearly more than she liked, so she let them fall to the ground. Along the way Ursel continued to uselessly bash Abritt¡¯s side. Neither opponent could seriously harm the other, or so it seemed. But eventually one would collapse, and it seemed like Ursel would run out of spiritual energy far sooner. It was inevitable, really. The moment before Ursel¡¯s feet touched the ground, Abritt¡¯s hands flashed. With Ursel holding onto her, they were both more or less stationary targets. Her claw weapons stabbed into the thin eyeholes of Ursel¡¯s helmet. John felt Ursel¡¯s energy defenses crack and then¡­ Nothing happened. Specifically, the arena¡¯s formations didn¡¯t activate to signal the end of the battle. Nor did Abritt pull her strikes. But the worst scenario John could imagine also didn¡¯t occur. Abritt¡¯s blades simply stopped, unable to go further. John focused energy on his eyes to get a better picture of the fine details, and he saw Ursel with her face scrunched, and her eyes closed. Her eyelids served as armor, her skin far more durable than it had any right to be. The battle had begun with John believing that Ursel was outclassed in every manner. That was true to some extent. Even if her body was strong and durable, it shouldn¡¯t have made a difference. But there was one other area that Ursel stood out in that he had completely forgotten. John sensed the energy radiating from the two. Abritt had five totems, ranging from the fourth to the fifth rank. Her earlier ones had likely been developed from their initial levels. John had five fifth rank totems, but his rank being inferior made that slight difference less relevant to the battle. Ursel had four totems. Her first two were now respectively at the fourth and fifth rank. Good, she¡¯d been properly advancing them. John remembered her third totem, Roots Cracking Boulders. A sixth rank totem that she¡¯d picked up as she broke through to the Soul Expansion Phase and caused much consternation. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that her fourth totem was also at the sixth rank. She¡¯d done it once, so she should be able to do it again. John had vaguely recognized it when they sparred, but only now did he really feel it. He couldn¡¯t quite say what it was, but it was fully active. He got a feeling of¡­ well, Ursel herself. Or someone much like her. A straightforward totem that was just a person standing against enemies¡­ perhaps one that affected her body even more than her other training. Abritt tried several more times to stab Ursel¡¯s eyes. She also stabbed her underarms and the inside of her elbows- Ursel wasn¡¯t doing more than shifting her head or body slightly to prevent the attacks from having their full force, but her body withstood the attacks with at best small scratches. Meanwhile, Ursel¡¯s blows continued to strike Abritt at awkward angles. And then¡­ The arena¡¯s formations activated. Not to protect Ursel, but to protect Abritt. John felt it. And he knew why. Because blow after blow, all of which seemed useless¡­ were driving roots of Ursel¡¯s energy deeper and deeper into Abritt, through her layers of earth element defenses and hiding beneath her notice. Abritt dropped to the ground awkwardly- Ursel still holding one leg. John thought she would protest. Say that somehow, the battle was rigged. Or perhaps respond in any way. Instead, she just stood there as Ursel¡¯s victory was declared- a good thirty second late as the silence throughout the arena had taken even the announcer. Abritt continued to stand in her same position, staring off into the distance, as Ursel let her go. As she walked out of the arena. And she stood there until the cultivators of the Sky Islands came, eventually, to walk her out of the arena. When sound returned, the arena was filled cheering, shouts of joy, and confusion. John barely noticed any of it. He understood how things had fallen into place¡­ but that didn¡¯t make him less surprised. The armor he¡¯d helped Ursel construct had clearly been a significant part of the battle. However, if she hadn¡¯t been able to withstand direct attacks on her body it wouldn¡¯t have been enough at the end. Speaking of said attacks, John knew that Ursel had worked with those adjusting the formations to provide some special rules for herself- not to cheat, but so that it would properly register what was safe for her or not. It might be able to sense the durability of her armor, but that combined with her body was beyond what anyone would normally anticipate. At some point, Ursel had arrived in front of John. There had been crowds of people wanting to speak to her, but she¡¯d shoved her way through them to reach first the boxes of Tirto and Melanthina, then finally that of the Six Elements Crossroads where John sat. ¡°Congratulations,¡± he said once he recognized her presence. ¡°That was amazing.¡± ¡°Thanks. I almost didn¡¯t think I could do it.¡± Which meant she did think she could win. Unlike probably everyone else present. If one factor had been different in terms of elemental advantage, her durable body, her totems, her armor imbued with all six elements, or perhaps Abritt¡¯s style¡­ she would have likely lost. When she blinked, John realized that her eyelids were scoured, and would be dripping blood if not for her energy keeping it inside her. She might have been quite literally less than a millimeter between victory and defeat. Well at least he didn¡¯t have to think about how to beat Abritt now. Though John doubted that battle was replicable. Abritt shouldn¡¯t allow herself to end up in that situation a second time. Even so, she¡¯d lost once- and to a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Which might have been insulting if it had been on purpose or at all something people could actually comprehend. Already there were whispers that Ursel must be hiding a cultivation in the Ascending Soul Phase, perhaps even the late stage like Abritt. John was almost inclined to believe them even though he had direct access to evidence to the contrary. Chapter 366 The entire arena was somewhat numb. Even those who had been excited for Ursel¡¯s victory over Abritt fell into a lull by the next day. There was another match with Ursel and Charlotte, who prevailed over Mandlen of the Indestructible Kapok Grove, but people simply weren¡¯t able to keep up enthusiasm. It was a bit unfair to the contestants of what was theoretically the final- excluding a potential battle with John. He wasn¡¯t certain if anyone would be excited for that match either. He was rather inspired to fight, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he could put on a more impressive display than Ursel. Though he did believe he was likely to defeat her, as he was aware of her weaknesses such as they were. Nothing Abritt could really take advantage of, though. The final match continued as planned, however. Charlotte faced off against Ursel in one of the air element arena setups, which didn¡¯t directly favor either of them. However, as soon as the battle began Charlotte leapt onto one of the floating platforms, seeming to find it a better battleground. It was reasonable enough, as Ursel was certainly best with solid footing. But nothing stopped her from simply following after Charlotte. The older woman was still gathering her fire element spiritual energy when Ursel leapt after her, the weight of her armor and body not slowing her down at all. Charlotte knew better than to face Ursel in a direct competition of power, despite possessing an elemental advantage. She leapt towards another floating platform, providing buoyancy with fire element. To most people, it likely seemed as if she was simply fleeing to draw out the battle, but John noticed something she left behind. Roots of flame, attaching to Ursel¡¯s ankles. She snapped them off as she followed after Charlotte, brandishing her club, but the flames twirled around and into her boots. The omni-elemental construction of Ursel¡¯s armor wouldn¡¯t allow simple tricks like building up heat defeat her, but John had the feeling Charlotte was just probing the boundaries. Nothing was unbeatable, and it was simply Abritt¡¯s direct reliance on her power that led to her defeat. John could think of a few ways that an air cultivator could have been more effective against Ursel, though it wasn¡¯t as if he intended to explain that to her opponent. The two cultivators traversed around the arena in a mad dash, hopping from platform to platform. Charlotte constantly left behind a trail of flames, which Ursel forced her way through. Her element might have been weak to fire, but her armor and body were durable enough that it required more than small licks of flame to actually reach the threshold that mattered. Soon enough Ursel became aware of the ways Charlotte was trying to infiltrate her defenses. A constant haze of heat crept into her lungs with every breath. The winds in the arena served only to distribute the heat Charlotte created more broadly, instead of letting it linger in a few small zones she could avoid. The roots of flame were also an issue, wrapping onto Ursel and searching for vulnerable joints. Ursel hadn¡¯t allowed there to be a weakness on the very bottom of her feet, her sabatons being solid on the bottom, but she needed flexibility in her ankles so it was impossible to have absolutely no joints at all. Her earth element resisted the intrusion of Charlotte¡¯s fire, but she was disadvantaged in total quantity along with her elemental disadvantage. Letting her passive defenses work wouldn¡¯t serve her. That wasn¡¯t the only thing that was holding her back, however. Charlotte had taken control of the pace of battle, repeating the same actions of jumping from place to place- and Ursel subconsciously took that as a challenge to catch her, instead of trying alternate tactics. She was constantly having to focus on eliminating all of the traces of fire Charlotte left behind, whether small roots trying to infiltrate or explosions of concentrated energy that triggered when she was about to land. It was also entirely possible Ursel was still fatigued from the previous day. Charlotte had had her own battle, but it hadn¡¯t been as much of a sustained brawl. As a fire cultivator familiar with the interplay with plants, she had been dominant against her opponent. All of those factors were leading towards one end. Ursel¡¯s annoyance at being unable to attack Charlotte was building, but it seemed she realized something. Perhaps too late, but Ursel¡¯s tension released and she grinned. John didn¡¯t actually see her face with her full armor, but he felt the change in her posture even as she leapt. It looked like she accidentally overshot the next platform, slipping just past the edge, but it was on purpose. Ursel was already swinging her club, and she launched the platform at Charlotte like a projectile. If she¡¯d thought of that earlier, she might have still won the battle. But while her initial aim was correct, her energy and thus further control of the platform dissipated as it naturally stabilized itself. Charlotte simply jumped over it, shifting her prepared energy from being planted beneath her to being lobbed at Ursel¡¯s landing spot. Ursel slightly shifted her trajectory, but Charlotte¡¯s flames were flexible enough to reach after her. Ursel had to use the remnants of her energy to stop the energy from infiltrating her armor¡­ and then she only had her own body and armor to protect against Charlotte. There was some possibility that if she could have caught the older woman and hit her, she might have still caused damage. But Ursel was already breathing heavily, and the pervading heat Charlotte had been working on was seriously getting to her. She soon got caught by another attack, a full blooming firelilly encapsulating her. Flames twisted their way through gaps in her armor, and she was already calling out her surrender when the formations activated. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Ursel just sighed. Even if she was tired, she couldn¡¯t really blame that on Charlotte. Her defeat was legitimate, based on an understanding of Ursel specifically. ----- Just because Ursel accepted defeat with dignity in a public setting didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t complain to her family later. John had his children and their families all dine with him in his private rooms, and the only reason he¡¯d avoided it up until then was to try not to show his bias as much. It was better to avoid the appearance of impropriety regardless from the beginning. ¡°I spent all that time thinking about how to defeat Abritt that I kind of forgot to be ready for other people,¡± Ursel grumbled. ¡°Though I was looking forward to fighting you as well.¡± ¡°We still can,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Just not as part of the tournament.¡± ¡°You have to beat Charlotte for me,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Win back our dignity!¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± John was fairly certain he could defeat her now, but nothing was certain. His techniques weren¡¯t perfect, and Charlotte was quite clever. ¡°What did you think about the structure of the tournament?¡± ¡°What about it?¡± Ursel asked. ¡°I think advancing to the next tier is pretty good.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Nitza said enthusiastically. ¡°I got to fight against people in the Soul Expansion Phase and that was great!¡± ¡°I was thinking more about the Ascending Soul Phase part. It was a bit¡­ awkward,¡± John explained. ¡°I didn¡¯t really intend for it to end up single elimination, but for the rest of the tournament it is necessary because of the total number of matches required. Until there are too many Ascending Soul Phase cultivators to handle- if that¡¯s even possible- we could certainly have a better format to properly display who is the strongest. I wanted to show the Sky Islands our strength, but I hadn¡¯t expected Abritt to actually lose. Especially to you, Ursel. No offense but your cultivation¡­¡± ¡°Almost a whole Phase behind. Well, seven ranks anyway,¡± Ursel nodded. ¡°I believed in you,¡± Tirto commented. Verusha snorted. ¡°Only once she was winning.¡± Tirto clicked his tongue, looking away. Ereli added her own thoughts when there was a gap in conversation. ¡°I did believe Auntie Ursel had a good chance of winning. The exquisite balance of elements in her armor cannot be underestimated. In that way, you are also responsible for the victory, grandfather.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± John said. ¡°We have to include Viriato and Raul as well. All of us worked on that armor with Ursel. But ultimately, she was the one who won. So again, congratulations. And thank you for taking the matter so seriously. This is an important win for our alliance.¡± All he had to do was leverage the situation to bring about proper results. Once Abritt got out of her daze, she might find herself insulted, even though no one but Ursel had seriously thought her winning was a possibility. It wasn¡¯t a setup or anything. But the Sky Islands might not believe that. ----- John announced the official victor of the tournament alongside his proposed changes for future tournaments. And since he was the Sect Head, anything he said would come into being unless his advisors could convince him otherwise. ¡°This tournament, we were able to witness the might of great cultivators. This includes of course those of our broader region, including the cultivators of the Sky Islands. However, I am certain some of you were disappointed to not see more of that power on display. Thus, in the future we will be arranging for a more thorough tournament for those at the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± He kept his promises vague, because the exact details weren¡¯t worked out and he might change his thoughts. But he also made sure to intentionally honor the Sky Islands. The whole point was to try to build a positive connection instead of animosity. Battle was simply the best way to do that in a short time in a world of cultivators. Now, the ¡®continentals¡¯ would be taken seriously. John did not bring up the matter of how Abritt lost. It would be counterproductive, and it would also diminish Ursel¡¯s accomplishments if he called her a mere Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. It might seem like her victory was some sort of luck instead of intense training and careful preparation on her part. John didn¡¯t know all of what she¡¯d done while she was adventuring to find materials for her armor, but he expected it was anything but casual. He¡¯d seen her battling giant rhinoceros in the Viridia Wildlands decades ago. It was unlikely that her training was more casual now, especially considering how much she¡¯d improved on Diamond Defense. He was going to have to determine if it was feasible to cultivate more elemental boosts into his body training. Since Ursel was focused on a single element, everything she did was by defaul complimentary- but John would have to carefully select his own balance. ----- Part of the reason that John was not a normal participant in the tournament was to not make it seem as if the rewards were rigged somehow. Even if they allowed other cultivators from the sect as the Sect Head it would seem like just paying himself if he won. More than that, he at least had an air as a position to overcome. That had been sensible the previous tournament when there wasn¡¯t an Ascending Soul Phase division, but John would have to rethink it in the future. He didn¡¯t want to end with an underwhelming battle. Then again, that just gave him good motivation to train and ensure he was the strongest. For the moment, he had to put up an impressive enough fight against Charlotte. Even if he lost, he would prefer that the battle was showy so as to not tarnish the reputation of the Six Elements Crossroads. Next time he would be more prepared for the management aspects around the tournament. Everything had gone smoothly enough, but it could have been better. ¡°Prepared to lose?¡± Charlotte grinned at him from across the arena. John laughed. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you are.¡± Five elements and a trickle of the sixth danced inside him. He planned to take advantage of everything he had, and if he truly lost¡­ he respected Charlotte enough for it to not bother him much. Chapter 367 Fighting against a familiar opponent was a true test of how one had improved over time. Charlotte knew most of John¡¯s tricks, as they had battled against each other numerous times before. They fought against each other in an arena suffused with flame, from the skies to the molten ground. That meant John¡¯s normal techniques wouldn¡¯t do him any good¡­ but he no longer had to worry about channeling heat into the ground to prevent overheating. Not only had he attuned to a water element totem, his fifth totem was one of fire. His ethereal flames weren¡¯t able to hide themselves from Charlotte, as John quickly learned. Trying to slowly wear her down with fire wouldn¡¯t be an effective strategy. The two of them danced back and forth atop molten ground, viscious liquid which clung to their feet, John¡¯s sword clashing with the glaive Charlotte held. With his free hand he peppered her with daggers, but each one was slapped away by a tendril of flame before it could draw close. John¡¯s water element would be his biggest advantage in this battle, but he couldn¡¯t use it up too early. If he drained himself of his dominant element, he would have to win then and there. Of course, he could still use small amounts, augmenting it with his cycle of elements. Each slash of his sword imbued with water quenched the flames swirling around Charlotte. He made sure to watch his feet, aware that Charlotte would have no trouble attacking through the ground- especially in this particular arena. Unlike Ursel, John did not have a nearly unbeatable defense. She didn¡¯t have to wear him down, and indeed it would be to her advantage to find a few decisive clashes to try to overcome his defenses. In general, John tended to build up momentum as battles drew on. His cycle of elements provided great endurance, as each element fed into the next. As expected, Charlotte took advantage of that. The glaive she had chosen for the battle spun down, cutting from above. When John deflected it, Charlotte¡¯s bladed spear curved through the ground, drawing molten earth up with it in the following motion. John leapt over the attack, the lightness of air carrying him out of easy reach. He could fly, but doing so unnecessarily was a waste of energy. Besides, his ranged attacks clearly weren¡¯t sufficient to take down Charlotte. Though he might be able to adapt to that end, he had better strategies. John only managed to strike Charlotte in the back with a small dagger imbued with water, but it was not enough to pierce her armor even though it broke through the flicking tendrils of flame. There was some foolish thought in John¡¯s head to defeat Charlotte with her own element. Indeed, he made liberal use of fire- but only because it was the most easily refreshed. There was a close call when Charlotte produced a wall of flames that pressed forward on him from behind while she slashed with her glaive at his neck, but John twisted his body parallel to the ground, scooping up a fistful of the flaming earth to launch at her midsection. Just because she was a fire element cultivator didn¡¯t mean she could ignore such an attack, and she wasn¡¯t able to follow up before John moved to a better position. Five elements gathered around John¡¯s sword. He could see Charlotte beginning to fatigue, as there was only so much external fire element she could process in a given period. He moved forward, his feet carrying him smoothly over the ground even as it tried to cling to him like glue. A vortex of flames burned around Charlotte''s glaive as she thrust towards him. The reach of her weapon was meant to keep him back, but he merely parried with his sword to keep it from striking directly. He doubted he could step inside her range before she could pull back, but his free hand snatched for her weapon. The weapon was still imbued with flame, but water element around John¡¯s hand sizzled into steam as he negated the heat. His hand grabbed the shaft of the weapon as she began to pull back, and lightning coursed through the weapon that momentarily had less energy protecting it from such shenanigans. John managed to tear the weapon from her hands as she focused on protecting herself over keeping her grip, though Charlotte still managed to counter by slinging a tendril of fire around his ankle, causing him to stumble away instead of immediately following up with an attack. Disarmed of her weapon, however, John had a significant advantage over Charlotte. On the battlefield she could have gotten a replacement from a subordinate or drawn something from her storage bag, but the limitations of the arena were just what they carried on them. That was a problem for John as well, as he had only a limited supply of throwing knives. He had been scooping them up with his energy whenever he was near their landings, but now his off hand was rather occupied. He couldn¡¯t just drop the weapon and assume Charlotte wouldn¡¯t get it, after all. For a moment John pondered over the clunky setup he had, but he decided that sheathing his sword was the best option. He wasn¡¯t a master with a glaive, but he¡¯d trained with and against various sorts of weapons. While it was quite a different polearm than a spear, the flowing style he could achieve with it fit quite well with the Brandle Clan¡¯s style. While Charlotte was able to match John for several exchanges without a weapon of her own, she was no longer able to seriously threaten him. Fire element detached from a weapon wasn¡¯t a serious danger to a cultivator who had control over both fire and water. Even if her control of fire was superior, he could continue to attack while they were wrestling for control over one of hers. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. John kept his eyes on the ground, avoiding spurts of flame, reaching lava, and roots of fire. The final blow with which he ended the match was not impressive on its own, just a combination of a few elements to cut through Charlotte¡¯s defenses, but he thought that the overall battle was impressive enough. It was still likely inferior to the battle between Ursel and Abritt, but it was pretty much impossible to replicate something like that. ¡°A good match,¡± Charlotte nodded. Charlotte was able to keep her dignity as the winner of the tournament, and John kept his as the Sect Head of the Six Elements Crossroads. Ultimately the tournament seemed to have achieved many of its purposes. While Abritt might have lost some status because of her defeat, the focus of people afterwards was not implying she was weak, but that Ursel was strong. For one thing, people knew she wasn¡¯t weak- and they didn¡¯t want to test if she was willing to shut their mouths. John probably wouldn¡¯t have stopped her if she restrained herself and didn¡¯t try to kill anyone, but people were more sensible than that. ----- With the tournament officially over, everyone was in an odd state. John decided to throw a proper banquet in celebration of the event. He invited all of those who placed highly in any of the tiers, including of course Abritt and every Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. ¡°An unexpected invitation,¡± Abritt replied. ¡°Unfortunately, I have prior engagements and cannot linger further beyond the scheduled length of the tournament.¡± She spoke precisely, showing little emotion. No anger, which was good, though perhaps she was simply hiding it. ¡°Perhaps on a subsequent iteration of the tournament I will be free for longer.¡± Indicating she would participate in the next round was good. John was happy with that. ¡°Of course,¡± John said. ¡°And if you wish to visit before the next tournament, simply send someone to inform us.¡± Abritt was¡­ subdued wasn¡¯t quite the right word. He could see she still had fire inside her. However, she wasn¡¯t angry at her loss, or at least not in the way she could have been. Perhaps introspective would be more appropriate. Clearly, it was taking time to process what had happened. John knew that if it were him, he would be reviewing every moment. There were a few ways she might have defeated Ursel, but most would have required prior knowledge of the younger woman. It was also obvious to anyone that Ursel was anything but a normal Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. She was stronger than those at the peak, and had defeated multiple Ascending Soul Phase cultivators before Abritt. But the greater gap between her and Abritt in particular resulted in an astounding victory nobody but apparently Ursel had predicted. Then again, Ursel had carried a great confidence from a young age¡­ and she usually had legitimacy to back up that confidence. She was quite skilled and had powerful totems, along with her body tempering bringing her beyond simply what her power looked like. Her armor was a factor as well, but as she was chiefly responsible for its creation it wasn¡¯t really something anyone could complain about. Abritt had found her way past the armor and simply been unable to directly damage Ursel. Even her eyelids were durable beyond reason- though it helped that she had a partial elemental advantage. Frankly, John thought the banquet atmosphere was much more relaxed without Abritt and her faction. Not all of the Sky Island cultivators left, either. The Second and Third peaks remained, which was the majority of what remained. That included Sitora. ¡°Well,¡± the woman said, after she was seated near John. ¡°I must say I did not anticipate that result.¡± ¡°What do you think will come of this?¡± John asked. ¡°I can¡¯t be quite certain,¡± she said. ¡°But I expect it will be more or less what you wished. There is some possibility that Abritt attempts to declare war on the continentals but¡­ that would be a bit troublesome for her. Because I would expect your daughter Ursel will be reaching the Ascending Soul Phase in the very near future and thus boosting her already formidable power.¡± ¡°I expect the same,¡± John agreed. There was some possibility Ursel would have difficulty reaching the Ascending Soul Phase¡­ but at this point she would have the backing of a great number of people if she needed anything. John would have to approach her to see if she needed anything, even simple advice because as someone who had greatly screwed up his advancement to the Ascending Soul Phase he could confirm it wasn¡¯t entirely straightforward. But if Ursel took three or five years to stabilize her current position, John wouldn¡¯t have any fear for her advancement. As for Ursel herself, she was scarfing down food. John had made sure to inform the kitchen staff that Ursel in particular would be eating more than they thought physically possible. He¡¯d been there to see her feasting on roasted rhino, after all. Even if she hadn¡¯t eaten the entire hill sized beast all at once, she certainly ate close to her weight- and she wasn¡¯t a petite woman. Ursel wasn¡¯t exactly tall, but she was packed with dense muscle. Between that and her armor, it had been enough to ground Abritt almost purely on the basis of mass. The peaceful departure of the First Peak and the clear indications from Sitora of the Second Peak and Venera, the new master of the Third Peak, made John feel much better about the overall situation of the region. The Sky Islands had been the biggest looming problem- actually looming in the sky, even. The Molten Sea was significantly further away and the direct conflict with them had left a much larger bitterness over the region- but eventually, the influence of the Six Elements Crossroads and others would expand to meet theirs. Whatever happened there, they needed to be prepared. Chapter 368 Totems were one of the most important aspects of cultivation. That was John¡¯s belief, and he found it held up quite easily. It wasn¡¯t just about the tier of a totem, however. They also needed to fit a cultivator''s style, and have synergy with each other. Inside of John¡¯s dantian, his totems formed a world. A small world, true, a replica lacking in many features. It would never be truly real, as he was responsible for the forms within it. If he wanted to replicate Earth, he would need to at minimum create millions of species of plants and animals. Oh, and fungus, since those were their own thing. But even if he had the knowledge- which he did not- he literally couldn¡¯t have anywhere close to a sufficient amount of time to do so. He might live a few centuries. In fact, that wasn¡¯t particularly unlikely. If he somehow formed a proper species every day- instead of the mere shadow of fish or the like- at the end of his life he would have made one hundred thousand species, assuming the lifespan he lived three hundred years further. But that was Earth, a world with more limited rules. When spiritual energy came into things, it was easy to find something like six or seven times as many species of things. The world inside of John was just a replica. A shadow. Something like a trick of the light. And that was perfectly fine with him. It fit quite well. The important thing was for his elements to form a balanced space that he didn¡¯t have to constantly interact with. Instead, it allowed the elements to feed into each other naturally and grow- not entirely without supervision, but with more occasional guidance. Choosing one more totem was not necessary for six ranks- all of the mid and late Ascending Soul Phase. John found himself at the border of the mid Ascending Soul Phase, but did not know how long it would take to advance. Estimating a total time was even more difficult. It could be as swift as a handful of decades- or he might never reach the peak. He was just being realistic about that. Abritt and Sitora were both elders in the Sky Islands, a location that seemed to have a history of producing Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. One was a transmigrator, which seemed to imply a certain level of talent. The other was unclear, but Abritt clearly was talented, even if not particularly likable. When he had begun his cultivation journey, he would have expected to be lucky just to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase. But just because he wasn¡¯t certain if he could make it didn¡¯t mean that plans weren¡¯t appropriate. Cultivators could, it seemed, find or create totems that fit their specific preferences. The caveat being that they had to have a solid image of what they wanted in mind, and the ability to endure the necessary depths of the Sea of Spiritual Totems. The final totem John needed would be of the light element. If he could manage to attune to one that fit smoothly with the rest of his totems, he would complete a full cycle of elements. He was already aware that a cycle of core elements was a source of significant power, but it was difficult to say exactly how much more a full cycle would bring. If done poorly¡­ well, John didn¡¯t actually know how someone would actually achieve a poor success in such a thing. Most likely anything below a certain threshold would result in a devastating and deadly failure as light and darkness annihilated each other inside the dantian. And while he¡¯d seen multiple examples of people with both elements surviving, with the involvement of core elements he thought the eventual results would have an even greater magnitude. Hopefully, in the positive direction. The point being, with few exceptions, a well put together cycle of elements would surpass cultivators of individual elements or natural pairs of elements. That wasn¡¯t an absolute rule, as while casual progression in a single element would be an easier path¡­ no doubt there were ways to amplify single elements beyond what seemed possible. Like Ursel¡¯s path with earth, involving both body and spiritual energy. She clearly wasn¡¯t taking the smoothest route to progression. So, ultimately, John had come to the understanding that it was the challenges they faced that made a cultivator truly strong, even when all other factors remained the same. It was hardly a revelation, as that theory had been espoused in his early training- both as the previous inhabitant of his body and as his current self. But he didn¡¯t think he was wrong to have sought out a cycle of elements, even though sticking with pure darkness might have been a route where he could have grown just as strong. But once he¡¯d found the appeal of the cycle of elements, he doubted he could have gone back. He would have always been thinking about what could have been. But here he was, successful, picking out his last totem¡­ perhaps far earlier than he needed to. It still had to fit, though. Deep in the sixth layer of the Sea of Spiritual Totems, John sought out light. It was the most difficult things had ever been, not just because of the deeper layer but because the darkness inside of him instinctively rejected light, and it rejected him in turn. That wasn¡¯t something that months and years of training with small quantities of light could just overcome. John found that there were almost limitless totems that appealed to him. The simplest light totem that would fit was¡­ okay, that one was more of a fantasy. But he used a sword as his primary weapon, so a sword of light was totally appropriate, right? It wasn¡¯t just that he wanted to hold a laser sword. But really¡­ it didn¡¯t mesh that well with his other totems. And he could just create a laser sword with a technique, instead of devoting a totem to it. Next was the sun. That certainly fit in with his other totems, forming the last piece of a world. He was using his Ethereal Flames as a substitute, but as far as spiritual energy was concerned flame wasn¡¯t truly light. And similarly, a star didn¡¯t have to be a burning ball of gas. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Yes, a star would fit. But his totems didn¡¯t have to be direct components of the world. He hadn¡¯t attuned to an island totem- he instead attuned to Compost which filled the seas and formed land. He did have a sea totem- but it was the deep sea, representing more of a feeling of dark oppression that just so happened to be part of water. Atmosphere was pretty direct, just a simple air totem with elements of impurity. But winds and lightning hadn¡¯t really made sense. In short, he was at a sort of balance between totems that were directly part of the world and those that provided useful abilities while fulfilling the role. And his totems weren¡¯t entirely static, shifting and growing along with him to some extent. If John wanted a totem of light and darkness, perhaps he needed to look no further than the options he had helped present to Ereli. But no, those were more abstract concepts. His Ethereal Flames were certainly a bit abnormal, but to fit into the concept of dark flames he¡¯d only had a certain range of options. At least, that he could easily conceptualize. That was the important part, that the totem had to become a part of him. So going by what felt right¡­ actually wasn¡¯t that strange. Light and darkness. Mirrors, in a way. A lightbulb, able to switch on and off? No, he really had no intention to try something like that. Ultraviolet, like he¡¯s suggested for Melanthina. Light that was unseen by normal eyes. A taiji. Light and darkness balanced within each other. However, that concept was one of Earth, and rather weaker in this world. More importantly, John wasn¡¯t looking to balance just light and darkness. If anything it needed to be more of a rainbow. Was a rainbow good? Not necessarily a traditional one, as he couldn¡¯t match a totem up to each color. But rainbows representing both light and various elements certainly sparked some interest. As his thoughts continued along similar lines, he eventually came to the prism. A prism with light passing through it would display a rainbow of different colors. Why that seemed better to John than a totem of a rainbow itself¡­ perhaps it was just a matter of taste. A natural rainbow was basically just the same thing caused by water droplets instead of a crystal. That could be the problem, actually. One was natural, and the other was usually in some parts artificial. At least, the shape of a prism that perfectly separated sunlight into a rainbow wasn¡¯t found commonly. It was more likely to be constructed. Was that better? John was aware that his internal world was artificial. Would leaning in that direction be advantageous? What would a prism mean to him? Light, splitting into different elements. But while he could imagine the four core elements, darkness was a bit awkward. Was the darkness simply everything not touched by the beam of light? That could work. But that didn¡¯t mean it was the best. The concept of a prism splitting light into all elements was certainly intriguing, but he could not find a totem that quite fit. Even without forming a connection, a cultivator had an instinctive understanding of what a totem might be like. Spending more time studying a particular one could reveal more detailed information, but once John felt one didn¡¯t fit it seemed pointless to delve deeper. As long as he could string together a pattern of what he felt was missing, he could search for something else. But he didn¡¯t know quite what it was yet. Then again, that was why he began his search now and not when he had a high enough rank to advance. Trying to build familiarity at such a late point would be like trying to catch up when he really didn¡¯t need to be behind to begin with. ----- Light swirled around John. Other elements as well, but those he controlled naturally. Light was still difficult, and he knew it would continue to be. He¡¯d had some success in forming it into a sort of orbital shell. If he balanced the position where its natural inclination to fly away matched that of the pull of darkness inside of him, he could achieve a stable orbit. For anywhere between a few seconds and an hour, depending on initial configuration and how much upkeep he put into the situation. John also drew light element into his dantian, but he kept it insulated with allied elements. It was also a truly small amount, so even if it came into contact with his darkness the surrounding spiritual energy would contain it without too much damage. John had determined important differences between actual injuries and more intentional effort within his spiritual sea. When he¡¯d first had his island split forcefully, it had almost killed him. But when he chose to do it again, as he did frequently, he came with only slight pain and little danger. It was the difference between exercise, straining a muscle to the point it would grow, and overextension of said muscle to the point of injury. Though John¡¯s first attempt to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase was more akin to someone slashing his abs open than doing too many crunches or the like. Not a perfect metaphor¡­ but then again, external damage to his cultivation was possible. It just usually also resulted in death from bodily injuries unless someone was quite intentional about it. John¡¯s energy circulated inside of him, building higher and higher. But he did not think he would try to break through to the next rank anytime soon. The division between partial Phases in the Ascending Soul Phase followed previously established patterns, getting harder as they went. It wasn¡¯t quite as big of a step as breaking through to the Ascending Soul Phase again to try to reach the mid Phase, but perhaps it would be along the level of seriousness he¡¯d needed for breaking through to the Consolidated Soul Phase. Plus, he didn¡¯t have any guidance, except for a few short conversations with Sitora. It was new territory for even most of those from the Sky Islands, not just those of the continent. It was best to take things one step at a time. It would also give him time to think about other body tempering opportunities. He wasn¡¯t sure what he would even do for light, but he was quite pleased with how his various other elemental tweaks to his body were developing. He hadn¡¯t needed toxin resistance much, but if he visited some more exotic locations it might be precisely what he needed. And stronger defenses and improved reactions were always welcome. Chapter 369 The Six Elements Crossroads was one of the rare places where techniques of all elements could be seen regularly. There were a few other sects trying to achieve the same sort of growth, but for the most part they were destined to fail. It was rather simple, really. The Six Elements Crossroads was the best. Any competition needed to take place within Astrein, or the difficulty of gathering all six elements grew significantly. With that being the case, anyone with serious ambitions would choose to join the Six Elements Crossroads, if they could. Most people who made the attempt were able to join, so there was little reason for them to settle for the second or third best sect. There were few artificial limitations on the growth of the Six Elements Crossroads. They didn¡¯t have strict limits on the quantity of disciples recruited, and for good reason. From the very beginning the sect had been meant to expand, and over the few decades of their existence they had gotten quite good at making sure the contributions of sect members outweighed the expenses. While that might seem like a counterintuitive proposal, since the disciples were joining to have resources poured into them that they could not obtain alone, it was actually quite achievable. At least when competent people were placed in charge of finances and the like. Bargaining for resources on behalf of an entire sect instead of as an individual granted more leverage, allowing them to pull ahead in quantity and quality of available resources over time. The other factor was that many of the resources they poured into their disciples were renewable. John wasn¡¯t simply thinking of grains or the local bison- though when carefully monitored and with land properly managed, they were. He was thinking of training and techniques. The experiences of himself and the other leadership could be shared with others without being lost. While filling their libraries with technique manuals did have initial cost, as long as everything was properly maintained such techniques could last more or less forever. Meanwhile, purchasing just one manual would likely bankrupt a lone cultivator. But of course, all of that was no good if they did not gain something from their disciples. While there was something to be said for eating early losses to develop great talents, focusing only on those who had the potential to reach the Consolidated Soul Phase or even the Ascending Soul Phase would be shortsighted. With proper application, John believed that everyone had the potential to reach the Soul Expansion Phase. Even if they could only reach the Foundation Phase- which he would consider more of a failure on the part of those teaching rather than the disciples themselves- they could still provide valuable services. Cultivators still needed labor, labor which could not be provided by the common folk. Though there were fewer and fewer people who had not picked up at least the basics of cultivation, as people no longer felt the need to so jealously guard the information regarding the early Phases. There was some legitimate concern that a plethora of cultivators could drain an area¡¯s spiritual energy dry. However, even that wasn¡¯t quite as problematic as it seemed. Doing so briefly was certainly possible, but that was usually with regards to a single element. It would still generally be present among the others, just less prominent. Thus, it was good practice drawing out strands of spiritual energy from seemingly depleted zones. And the Six Elements Crossroads did not have to worry about fully draining an area of spiritual energy. It might not even be possible, but if it was they simply were not large enough yet for it to be a concern. John wasn¡¯t ignoring the possible risk factors- but compared to the sorts of ecological devastation cultivators could enact on an elemental zone the concept of truly finite quantities of spiritual energy were still far off. The real concern was harvesting without planting, overhunting an area or otherwise aiming for short term gains at the cost of the future. That might be a problem with the constant expansion humans tended to undergo, however there was something important about this world that set this world apart from Earth. This world fought back. Of course, mighty beasts had been a source of trouble for a large portion of human history- but danger and resources didn¡¯t necessarily go hand in hand. With Spiritual Energy, however, beasts dwelling in an area would absorb said energy and grow strong. That might make humans seek them out even more¡­ but it also meant more people died. And despite the intentions of the alliance, interpersonal conflicts were still prevalent enough that humans were still the greatest source of human death. That had dropped recently, but it would be some time before that would be a concern. The true source of Spiritual Energy was not entirely clear. Were the Sky Islands filled with air and earth element because of their special makeup, or was it that the Sky Islands could exist because there was an abundance of elements? Were the Green Sands and Zolvolj a product of fire element, or did they create them? John thought the answer might be a little bit of both. But either way, Spiritual Energy remained abundant. And as long as they didn¡¯t tear up every plant by the roots and core out the ground beneath them, it seemed things might last forever. While stone and metal didn¡¯t seem like a sort of renewable resource, John wasn¡¯t certain that was true. At the very least, spirit stones were formed directly out of spiritual energy building to a certain density. Furthermore, with access to flows of magma the ground itself was not necessarily in a state it would not ¡®grow back¡¯. It might simply be a much slower process. Either way, the Six Elements Crossroads kept a stable balance of extraction, both of their fields and flocks as well as their mines and of course the secret valley that was no longer quite as secret as it once was- but still well guarded. While it was technically wild, good stewardship of the area allowed them to get a constant draw of resources from the area, most of which were renewable on some timescale. Trees merely took decades, which wasn¡¯t so bad when you considered a cultivator¡¯s lifespan. ----- For the most part, John didn¡¯t have to personally mediate in the conflicts within the region. Indeed, if an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator was required, things had gone much too far. That said, occasionally his presence was still required not to fight in battle but to be a mediator in a dispute. A powerful and generally neutral party was helpful in getting people to settle their differences. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Not every conflict involved someone clearly in the wrong. Sometimes, there was no Molten Sea stomping through territory as they pleased in an attempt to slay a leviathan for its heart. Sometimes, two neighboring factions couldn¡¯t quite agree where boundary lines should fall¡­ or even if there was an official agreement, one or both sides felt that they had received the worse end of a bargain. Sometimes they had, and John did his best to make certain those who lost out received fair reparations. But sometimes it was just feelings, and both parties might just want more than they had. There were also old grudges that people were reminded of. Clans fighting each other for hundreds of years didn¡¯t just suddenly stop, not entirely. And when economic warfare went too far, one group might retaliate with direct violence- often excessively. Sometimes it was John¡¯s position to determine what was fair, in which case he had to balance loss of life or limb with economic damage and broken contracts. Nobody ever liked the value he placed on a particular individual. For those who lost lives, it was a member of their own with unrealized potential. For the other side, potential was often disregarded. Or at least, that was how things tended to work out when factions could not settle things on their own. If they could agree on things, he wouldn¡¯t be called in. This time, he had been called to the Stone Conglomerate to work out a conflict between the Northwestern Quartz Clan and the Silverfield Quartz Clan. Normally the Order of the Amber Heart would have taken the task, but the Silverfield Quartz Clan had loose ties to the Order. John was only one step further removed, but for the sake of a quick resolution to the conflict the Northwestern Quarts Clan found him acceptable, instead of trying to call upon someone further. Getting anyone completely unentangled might require calling Mandlen of the Indestructible Kapok Grove¡­ or accepting a mediator in the Consolidated Soul Phase. But as each clan had Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators of their own, it wouldn¡¯t have felt proper to them. John found himself looking at the entrance to a mine, with two grumpy middle aged men staring at each other. Technically, he was younger than them by a couple decades- but with his greater cultivation he looked one step further than that. John still seemed to be in his prime, or perhaps just past it. The dispute was over the mine, and how particular old contracts provided ownership based on various factors. The Northwestern Quartz Clan had a crackling old scroll that described their territory. The Silverfield Quartz Clan had a series of documents indicating contracts that detailed the passing of ownership of the mine, or at least so they argued. ¡°The entrance to the mine- a natural cave, you will notice, begins on our territory,¡± the Northwestern elder argued. ¡°In addition to the traditional operation being at our hands.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but a majority of the mine is now in our territory. And what is above and below the ground come together, as is necessary for the Stone Conglomerate to function.¡± John had already heard those arguments. He also heard how the Silverfield Quartz Clan had been mining for some years, when they were attacked on the way out of the mine- as they were still in traditionally Northwestern Quartz Clan territory. Both sides had issues. Older documents could be persuasive, but newer ones tended to supersede them. The problem was the wording in the Silverfield documents certainly indicated an extension of ownership to the territory containing the entrance, but might have also included provisions specifically excluding the underground. But that wasn¡¯t fully clear, and the Northwestern group had good arguments that the mining had been done in secret, indicating the other side was aware they did not have the rights. But now people had died on both sides, and the documentation wasn¡¯t clear. Furthermore, the natural caves did not extend to every area that had been mined beyond the border so another factor weighed against the Northwestern clan. Despite moving around at night, the Silverfield clan had good reason, which was avoiding certain diurnal beasts in the area. The two elders were calm as they had presented their first arguments, but soon their discussions became more heated as they argued that obviously this or that meant they were clearly in the right and they deserved compensation for all of the damages the other side had caused. It was giving John a headache, and neither elder seemed to take that into account. Nor that he was slowly building up his Spiritual Energy. While he would have loved to smash their heads together, instead he stomped his foot and shook the earth, collapsing the entrance tunnel. That shut them up at least. ¡°Here is what is going to be done,¡± John said. ¡°The territorial edges will be formalized to the current ridgeline. A proper survey will be done, and then new entrances will be delved. Each clan will be constrained to their own sides of the territory, both aboveground and underground. As the first perpetrators of violence, the Northwestern Quartz Clan owes a blood price. But, because the territory was reasonably marked regardless of the disputes, a portion of the mined ores will be taken from the Silverfield Quartz Clan according to the records.¡± Did this mean that essentially one would end up buying ore from the other? Yes. But it was better to force them to make the exchange than to say neither side owed each other anything. The veins had diverged sufficiently that the Northwestern Quartz Clan would have sufficient quantities for their needs and would not have to concern themselves with the dearth of natural caverns. John shook his head. This should never have gotten so far. They needed a better system to stop these things before it came to violence. There was no way that either had gone completely unnoticed by the other. Also faster communication. Though that was already fulfilling itself through various means. Properly trained flying beasts were competing with enchantments attempting long range communications and the communications towers. Perhaps some of them would die out, or perhaps they would all remain in competition for the various advances they had. Either way, if it was easier to ask for resolution things might not have escalated to begin with. At the very least, some of the latest skirmishes and deaths could have been avoided. But it was still better than simply trying to wipe each other out, fighting until one side capitulated or was annihilated- or another group sought to entangle themselves. That was how things used to be¡­ and probably still were, in some places even within the broader region. The conflicts just tried to be more subtle to avoid people like him making people compromise. Chapter 370 The main motivation for John and indeed many members of the alliance was still related to the events they remembered with the Molten Sea. Becoming stronger was one part of that- strong enough that nobody would dare to cause trouble. But growth took time, and even with Ascending Soul Phase cultivators blooming one by one among the alliance, certain regions had possessed Ascending Soul Phase cultivators much longer. With no guarantee they could overpower any enemies, knowing more about the strength of potential enemies was important. Cultivators were being sent to expand the range of their knowledge, essentially acting as spies¡­ though they weren¡¯t infiltrating clans or sects, but focusing more on publicly available information. Some useful geographical information was available because of Yustina- she had reincarnated from the far side of the world, and knew the general layout of the local regions. Creating a precise global map would be extremely difficult because of various dangers from environment, beasts, and humans- but they were certainly able to do better than just knowing the next region over. Crossing the seas was quite difficult- unless higher ranking cultivators were willing to explore. The Crystal Sea beneath the Sky Islands was relatively safe, but that was practically coastal. Further beyond it they had limited information except that most ships did not return. The same was true circling around to the west, all the way to the north after pasting the northwestern region with the Shining Coast and Boiling Springs. To a certain distance the seas were ¡®safe¡¯, though The Swirling Expanse to the southwest was the least stable even near the coast or where it approached the Shimmering Islands. Even so, it was known there were islands or perhaps larger landmasses further out. Meanwhile, continuing along the continent to the northeast it narrowed out until it eventually reached the Molten Sea. It was debatable whether or not that counted as ¡®land¡¯, but ultimately it separated things from the far continent that Yustina once lived upon. Since the ¡®continents¡¯ on Earth were for the most part actually connected by land, the Molten Sea was at least as good of a divider. That left the world with two main continents and some amount of unknown area. Unknown, at least, to the greater region John lived within. Yustina may have once known more about other areas, but if she did she hadn¡¯t retained that information upon her reincarnation. She remembered enough to know she hadn¡¯t roamed beyond the nearby elemental regions, which wasn¡¯t that surprising as she had only reached the Consolidated Soul Phase for a short time before she was killed. Nothing stopped lesser cultivators from traveling, but they needed to rely on safety in numbers, and Yustina¡¯s previous sect hadn¡¯t been interested in roaming widely. ----- In addition to exploring the world more widely, efforts had begun to seek out additional reincarnated or transmigrated cultivators. The only catch was that asking directly wasn¡¯t necessarily going to work, nor was it the best option. While John himself was semi-public with his transmigrated status, the rest of the club weren¡¯t. There might be rumors, but that was true of most strong individuals. The reasons to remain secretive about the search were plentiful, though there were a few main issues. While John and the others were strong enough to protect themselves against most potential threats, it might still be possible to draw attention from the wrong sort of individual. Simply because they hadn¡¯t heard of any Exalted Soul Phase cultivators didn¡¯t mean they did not exist. In addition, any sufficiently strong faction interested in reincarnation might cause trouble. John wasn¡¯t concerned just for himself, but also for those they were seeking out. Furthermore, there were certain requirements if they were going to be inducted into the ¡®club¡¯. Trustworthiness was key among those features, and making themselves known to certain individuals then not allowing them to join could certainly cause strife. The search for individuals who had lived prior lives was one that was more long term, however. They didn¡¯t expect it to bear fruit in any given timeframe. Even with previous efforts, they were still mostly at the level of tenuous leads to those who had great talent. ----- Though John usually did not attend openings of the Crystal Caverns, this time Ursel had come to drag him along. Not that she would actually have to drag him¡­ but it seemed like she could and would, if he hadn¡¯t agreed. ¡°I found a really deep section last time,¡± Ursel explained. ¡°It was packed with dense energy. I should be able to find it again even with whatever shifts have taken place.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John nodded. ¡°And I¡¯m assuming you plan to break through there?¡± ¡°Exactly! And I need you to defend me while I do it. Because there¡¯s no way I won¡¯t be drawing attention from the natural creatures here. And maybe some others.¡± John remembered the creatures of living stone. He doubted they could easily harm Ursel¡­ but that was just the ones he¡¯d encountered long before. ¡°That sounds reasonable enough,¡± John said. ¡°But would not Renato be more appropriate as a guardian?¡± ¡°No way,¡± Ursel said. ¡°I¡¯m going to need all the earth element there,¡± she declared. ¡°If he came along he¡¯d slurp it all up fighting!¡± ¡°I would naturally use some earth element as well,¡± John pointed out. ¡°But I can restrain myself. How many others should come along?¡± Ursel shook her head. ¡°Nobody! The more people, the more spiritual energy disruptions.¡± ¡°That sounds fine on the surface,¡± John said. ¡°But I should bring along disciples. They can remain further off, if necessary, but having more fighting force along the way should be helpful.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ursel pondered. ¡°It will take longer to get there, but I guess it will be worth it.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°How will it take longer with more combatants?¡± ¡°Because we were gonna run straight there! I don¡¯t need any dumb crystals so we could just ignore everything and go past anything trying to stop us.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good way to get into trouble,¡± John pointed out. ¡°You could run into a group ahead that you can¡¯t get past while being pursued by others.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good training,¡± Ursel shrugged. John wasn¡¯t surprised she¡¯d done something like that before. ¡°But you¡¯re right, you can bring some other people. As long as they don¡¯t stay too close, and preferably those without earth element.¡± While for most cultivators going into an area where there wasn¡¯t an element for them was problematic, and less useful for training, the Six Elements Crossroads wouldn¡¯t have that same problem. ¡°At least some will need to absorb earth element for their own training,¡± John pointed out. ¡°There will be plenty of spiritual energy before and after,¡± Ursel said. ¡°There¡¯s also the matter of getting official slots,¡± John added. ¡°The others I bring might not be ¡®fated individuals¡¯.¡± Since he was close to the sect master and the other highest ranking cultivators it wasn¡¯t really that big of a question- especially for himself- but they still had particulars. ¡°Good points,¡± Ursel said. ¡°You should bring something like¡­ ten people. And we can see which of them are fated.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just pick a number of people?¡± John asked. ¡°No way. They¡¯re super serious about that stuff. Even disciples of the Order don¡¯t all get to go inside. You¡¯re already on the permanent list, though. Like Renato and myself,¡± ¡°And Johannes, I presume.¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Most of the time the sect head is watching the outside. Oh, right, that¡¯s another reason Master Renato can¡¯t help me out. He¡¯s on guarding and sealing duty. This time the sect head is going in.¡± ¡°I assume he¡¯s trying to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase. It¡¯s a bit unfortunate, as he was one of the first to reach the Soul Expansion Phase.¡± Ursel shrugged. ¡°It wasn¡¯t his time, I guess. But I bet he¡¯ll advance this time.¡± ¡°How much do you believe about the fate thing?¡± John asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But I know how serious the others are,¡± Ursel shrugged. ¡°So carefully pick some people and some of them should work out.¡± ----- It would have been easier if John was just allocated a number of tickets, but he went along with Ursel¡¯s deal. There were a number of people in the sect eager to break through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, and who might benefit from earth element specifically. John also brought Raul and Viriato, as while they weren¡¯t near a breakthrough they could still benefit. Raul already had an earth element totem, and Viriato might be adding one next- depending on if he felt it fit his balance. Ayhan and Lir as well as other early disciples were also selected. John didn¡¯t bring too many because he knew some would be disappointed- and simply training with the Order of the Amber Heart was something they could do at any time. John didn¡¯t think Ursel did any manipulations, but ultimately only some of those without the Earth Element from his group were selected. That included Lir, Viriato, and another named Tlaloc. Tlaloc was originally from the Shimmering Islands, and had been split between air and water. However, before he could choose his third totem the Six Elements Crossroads had been founded and he felt called to join. Now, he was on the precipice of the Consolidated Soul Phase and completing a cycle of core elements after having already attuned to fire. Whether or not Ursel or someone else had manipulated the results, they got what they got. Ayhan looked a bit disappointed, but he would have other opportunities to advance and keep up with Lir. Besides, it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that anyone bur Ursel would break through. Technically not even her, but John seriously doubted she would fail. She knew herself best, and she had more than enough experience with her element and with the world in general. ----- ¡°Today, the Crystal Caverns open once more,¡± Renato said, addressing the waiting crowds. ¡°As before, they will have shifted, the earth element within empowering the very structure below to change. Be wary of the danger, even those who have been chosen. In general, deeper depths are filled with denser spiritual energy- but make certain you can survive the trials and more importantly make it back out in time. The caverns must be sealed on schedule, and anyone left inside afterwards will be presumed deceased.¡± With that, Renato stretched out his hand and removed the seal on the caverns. John noted that it was stronger than before- was it simply because the sect head had grown in strength, and was able to create something more, or had the spiritual energy within grown and thus made a stronger seal necessary? That was something of great interest to John, but he would ask later. Their group of five was among the first in, and while they didn¡¯t entirely go along with Ursel¡¯s reckless charge strategy, they did ignore the earlier groups. They should have only been a challenge to Foundation Phase cultivators at best, so leaving them behind was for the sake of others. But eventually they slowed their pace, ¡°Where precisely are we heading?¡± John asked. He could vaguely feel a greater density of earth element ahead, but that only represented the first few hundred meters. Which path was better could easily shift. Ursel walked past the various crystals without taking note, though the other three harvested some of the larger ones. They weren¡¯t all earth element, and indeed a surprising number of them were light element just as before. Viriato was likely thinking of the crystals as a resource for the sect, while the other two doubtless wanted them for personal use. ¡°We¡¯re going down,¡± Ursel said. ¡°Always pick down. Though if the same path as before still exists, it won¡¯t really be difficult. There was a big spiral.¡± Along the way they encountered a number of earth creatures, some made of the local stone and some formed out of the various crystals, sharp edges sticking out of their bodies as their vaguely humanoid forms charged at the group. As Soul Expansion Phase cultivators, Lir and Tlaloc were the focus of the attacks, and the others let that happen so they could gain experience- though they did make certain the two weren¡¯t swarmed by too many foes. Then they arrived at a hole- a deep vertical drop that seemed as if a cylinder of stone had simply been erased. ¡°This seems good enough,¡± Ursel said, then she leapt over the edge. Everyone else looked at John. ¡°We should climb. I don¡¯t want to use up my air element or have to convert too much just yet.¡± Chapter 371 The more sensible majority of the group began to climb down the large vertical pit after Ursel. About fifteen seconds after she had jumped down, they heard a loud crashing sound. That was good, because the sound of a fragile human hitting the ground would have been much quieter. Climbing down wasn¡¯t trivial either, with the walls of the pit being almost perfectly smooth. John went down first, paving the way for the others by creating handholds and footholds that would be valuable for climbing back out. Even if they weren¡¯t deep, cultivators didn¡¯t need much. Professional climbers from earth without cultivation could handle holds of less than a centimeter, and while their actual experience with climbing was less, supernatural abilities made up for a lot. The important part was that John was using only earth element. That was the easiest to replenish in the Crystal Caverns, as they were flooded with earth elemental spiritual energy. Later, Ursel had requested that he leave as much as possible for her- which meant now was the best time to use what he had and replenish it. John was ready to catch anyone if the slipped and fell, but there wasn¡¯t anything supernatural about the edges of the pit except perhaps its formation. The material held together under their weight, and even those who were a bit more unsteady held on with the help of their own spiritual energy. They made it to the bottom in just a few minutes, moving a steady pace straight downward. During that time, Ursel battled with a few earthen creatures attracted by her sudden appearance. They were turned into rubble quickly, as it would likely take the entire population of the caverns to threaten Ursel. Though perhaps as deep as they were going they might find more challenging opponents. Ursel said nothing about having to wait, and soon the weaker disciples were once again in charge of fighting the enemies they encountered. They had the most to learn, and everyone else wasn¡¯t going to suddenly learn something amazing from defeating enemies far beneath them. The two who stood out among them were Lir and Tlaloc, given their rather different styles. Lir had planned out a reverse cycle of elements from the beginning, going from elements into those that they supported. Her first element was fire, however, and that was dominant against earth. While internally she might have functioned quite differently, externally she was capable of rapidly bringing down creatures formed of earth. Lir didn¡¯t try to burn them down or melt them, but instead focused her energy on her glaive, driving her energy deep into specific sections. Rapid heating of just one small part caused the stones to fall apart- and they could not reform with the fire element interfering. Though their forms were malleable by default, they were also simple formations of spiritual energy that instinctively wrestled with the fire element, even if they couldn¡¯t win. Thus, once the damage was done they used up their remaining power struggling pointlessly. Tlaloc, with exactly the same three elements, fought in a very different manner. Fire was his third totem, and he fought with the flow of water and power of storm that the Shimmering Islands had. His energy was very fluid, but the way he used fire was more like waves of flame¡­ and burning rocks from the outside simply wasn¡¯t that effective. If he had enough more power he could certainly annihilate his foes, but unless the fire permeated deep into the earth creatures they suffered only superficial damage. That didn¡¯t mean Tlaloc had a flawed style. Indeed, it was quite similar to how Yustina battled. However, he was currently missing some key insights. John could just tell him what to do, but then he would know one method instead of learning properly. When Tlaloc asked for advice, John still helped- he just didn¡¯t hand him the solutions. ¡°Fire is supposed to be dominant against earth,¡± Tlaloc said. ¡°But these creatures can¡¯t be caught alight nor can they overheat. I don¡¯t have enough power to take them out swiftly with my third of fire element energy.¡± ¡°That is true,¡± John agreed. ¡°And it is one of the key weaknesses of a cycle of elements. Until you reach the Consolidated Soul Phase, your cultivation is somewhat incomplete. However, you still have the necessary pieces. Doesn¡¯t air support water and water support fire?¡± ¡°Should I fight by using up all of my spiritual energy, then?¡± Tlaloc asked. ¡°I think I will exhaust myself quickly.¡± ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case if you kept up on your elemental conversion training. But also, you need to seek out efficiencies,¡± John said. That is where Ursel interrupted. ¡°You¡¯re using fire like waves,¡± she said. ¡°But unless you have years, that¡¯s now how water best defeats earth.¡± Ursel was insightful enough to not actually tell him the solution either. John wasn¡¯t actually sure if her words were helpful, either. Tlaloc floundered for a while, struggling against his opponents. He tried using fire like rain and mist¡­ which was even less effective than before. He was battered around frequently, relying on water element defenses to dampen the blows. When more dangerous spines of crystal threatened to puncture him, he carried himself away with a gust of air. John was ready to step in at any time in case he was in real danger, but for the most part it was just his offense that was ineffective. As long as he wasn¡¯t surrounded by enemies, he would eventually defeat them. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Tlaloc sat out of several battles, watching Lir and the others. After some observation he once more threw himself into the fray, focusing his fire element into a spear that pierced through the midsection of a large clump of boulders. However, while the attack pierced through his target it didn¡¯t disable them. For a human, a hole through the center of the torso would destroy them. For a being made of earth, it merely meant that it tossed aside a few hunks of rock that were no longer listening to its spiritual energy. The man wasn¡¯t far from figuring out what he needed to, however. Tlaloc was well aware of how to fight earth element cultivators, but this particular sort of opponent was difficult with his particular experience. Which was exactly why it was good he came along. John gave him a few hints when the next group of enemies attacked. The weaker cultivators couldn¡¯t handle the number of enemies that came all at once- both the number and strength of which were increasing as they continued deeper. He did much the same thing as Tlaloc, but instead of his fire piercing out the back of his targets it lingered inside. He only did that a few times, however, also choosing to melt a few enemies. It was nice to be a proper fire element cultivator sometimes, and he needed to make sure Tlaloc could pick out the important techniques. The Crystal Caverns were open for several days, and thus their group stopped to rest regularly. Once they had cleared an area, it would remain safe for at least a few hours. As cultivators, that gave them enough time to rest in shifts. It wasn¡¯t the most comfortable or relaxed they would ever be, but as long as they paced themselves they moved forward at a good pace. John could feel the concentration of spiritual energy Ursel was aiming for now. It was a bit concerningly powerful, even at their current distance. It might be just what she needed to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase, however. Tlaloc pierced a gout of flame into the midsection of another stone creature. It was still not a proper representation of technique, however. John indirectly demonstrated a few more times, both for him and any others watching. He tried to make it clear when he was simply overpowering opponents, and when he was being efficient. There was a significant difference between huge gouts of flame and jabbing darts. John also lashed out with a whip of flame, a thin tendril that wrapped around limbs that seemed to melt through them. And certainly he did, to some extent, but he wasn¡¯t doing so purely based on heat. The disciple finally got it near the end of their trip. He wasn¡¯t supposed to use less energy to puncture halfway through an enemy and expect that would be more effective somehow. Nor was that particular method even necessary. Tlaloc eventually settled back into a form resembling waves, but his flames lingered¡­ and more importantly, sought their way into the cracks in his foes. Personally, John thought that was obvious. But then again, Tlaloc was from the Shimmering Islands. Water only eroded rocks through constant waves¡­ it didn¡¯t crack apart rocks when it froze in the winter because it didn¡¯t freeze. Because of that, he couldn¡¯t apply those particular water element principles because they were outside of his specialty. Ultimately, when his fire clung and sunk into the gaps in the structure of the stone creatures- or where they had no gaps transmitted heat through the most conductive materials- he was able to infiltrate the body of the creatures and break down the earth element holding everything together. If a human cultivator¡¯s earth element was reduced to a small fraction they would still be standing unless their body was also harmed, but for a creature ¡®alive¡¯ only because of spiritual energy it just ceased to hold together. The creatures crumpled to the ground, hunks of rock no longer held together. Good. Hopefully, Tlaloc would remember better than simply being told to try to get a small portion of his energy deep inside and leaving it there. The earth elementals wouldn¡¯t sweat or overheat in that manner, which meant going from outside in was rather difficult, but once the core of their energy was disrupted they stopped functioning without having to wear it all down. ----- Their group came upon a large cavern, the floor covered in millions of tiny crystals- most as thin as needles. Ursel stomped on them and crushed them, but some of the less cautious disciples found how dangerous needle thin crystals could be. The crystals punctured their energy defenses, but John was ready to pull them back with their footwear partially stabbed through and at most a couple small holes in their flesh. Following precisely in Ursel¡¯s footsteps or otherwise crushing the crystals before stepping down was the proper way to move forward. It was more difficult than it might have seemed, as each crystal was imbued with sufficient earth element to hold it strong. Ursel¡¯s armor covered even the bottom of her feet and was durable enough that the needles wouldn¡¯t even scratch it, but even John wouldn¡¯t casually step wherever he pleased. ¡°This is the place,¡± Ursel said as she approached the center. The entire cavern was vaguely spherical- perhaps a bit flat, but Ursel was making her way to the bottom of a depression. ¡°I¡¯m going to need the earth element here to be as steady as possible.¡± John looked around. The room was possibly the worst layout they could have, if she attracted the notice of the local elemental being- and she certainly would. The entrance they came in was far from the only one. First there were a dozen much like it horizontally around the edges of the chamber. Then there were more both above and below, tunnels entering and departing vertically. It had more holes than swiss cheese. ¡°We¡¯ll have people watch a few neighboring tunnels,¡± John said. ¡°Viriato, I¡¯d like you to focus on those directly above Ursel¡¯s position. I¡¯ll focus on anything coming from below in the center of the room, and whatever slips past the others.¡± John looked around at his disciples. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to let enemies past if you have to. We don¡¯t want anyone getting overwhelmed. Now then, before we begin¡­ we should make sure to rest once more.¡± Ursel had already been settling down into a meditative posture, as if she had intended to begin her breakthrough immediately. She changed her position to by lying down in a relaxed manner. Of course, everyone else was going to move back into one of the other tunnels where there weren¡¯t millions of durable needles. They made sure to advertise their presence first, drawing in the closest natural creatures. Any they didn¡¯t have to fight later would ease their burdens. But in the ¡®morning¡¯, they were making final preparations- including carving out places for people to fight without harming themselves. But no doubt any incoming foes would make their lives more difficult. Chapter 372 Like a video of grass growing in fast motion, John watched needles of crystal rise from the floor in real time. Their efforts to clear out areas for the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators to stand weren¡¯t entirely wasted, but clearly it wasn¡¯t a long term solution. With that in mind, taking more time to make preparations wouldn¡¯t be terribly valuable. A loud thud echoed through the chamber as Ursel dropped heavily onto her back, splayed out with her arms spread wide. Not a traditional meditative position, but certainly one that maximized her connection to the physical earth. ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Ursel declared. At that moment, she began drawing in all of the surrounding earth. Not merely earth elemental spiritual energy, but the earth itself. It rippled around her as it slowly built up. From certain perspectives it might have seemed she was simply building up the ground around her, but careful observation revealed the earthen needles moving a few millimeters at a time. Spiritual energy was of course absorbed at a tremendous rate. Combined with the movement of the ground itself, there was a constant if minor tremor. The folds of earth began to slowly roll over Ursel, but it never seemed to build up beyond a certain point. Somehow, it was being absorbed. There were a few tense minutes of waiting. John understood why she didn¡¯t want any fluctuations in the earth element, if possible. She was now deeply tied to the surrounding area. But of course, even if none of them caused a disturbance in the energy, the local creatures would. Rolling mounds of sand and pebbles were first, loose conglomerations of activated earth elemental spiritual energy. These seemed to have even less intelligence than the others, trying to force anything out of their way as they approached but having no tactical prowess. They were easily scattered apart by simple elemental attacks that interrupted their structure. Waves of water swept down tunnels at the behest of half of the cultivators, with the other half using gouts of flame. Having fought with more solid versions of the same foes, they found it rather trivial to neutralize groups of enemies all at once. But they kept coming. Soon more solid foes began to appear, requiring people to crack them apart instead of merely flooding through them. Of course, Tlaloc and the others had learned how to pierce their energy into the enemy¡¯s core and cause lasting damage. Performing the technique once or twice in a short period was reasonable, but they had to do it over and over as enemies crawled in from the numerous tunnels. Viriato made use of paired light and darkness to blast enemies coming from above within their tunnels. He alternated between forming one element around each hand and sending them forward for the beams to intersect at his target and twisting them together along the way which created a sustained explosion along the length of a beam when he released his control and allowed the elements to mutually annihilate. John focused on those crawling up from the tunnels around Ursel, often dropping them on each other to conserve his own energy. He constantly moved around in a ring, slicing through any who got too close. Obviously all of the battling would cause some fluctuations in earth element, but none of the human cultivators were drawing it in except Ursel. With each fallen living element, some portion of their earth element was released and became part of the tumble of earth around her. The disturbances of the battle didn¡¯t seem to have caused her any consternation just yet, but they were trying to stop most of the incoming enemies from entering the chamber. But they continued to come, and to take them down at a rate that could be sustained meant the disciples had to pace themselves. Those on the outer perimeter had a bit more leeway, but anything entering near John was dangerously close almost immediately. Thus, he didn¡¯t let himself slow his pace at all. He was constantly cycling all of his elements, though he kept his earth element in a strictly internal role. Fire was his best bet, not just because it was a dominating element but because of the techniques he had unintentionally specialized in. Clinging Affliction with his spectral flames actually burned the spiritual energy of the incoming creatures through the physical layers protecting them. More than that, it spread between them and sustained itself on the weaker enemies. Those beyond a certain point of durability, however, would cause the flames to sputter out instead of growing. Thus, John focused most of his attacks on them, occasionally renewing Clinging Affliction in particular tunnels when the flow of enemies dried out for a time. Throwing daggers sunk into the chests of lumbering towers of rock and crystal. Now he was facing off of a few stronger foes drawn by all the commotion. They were more capable of battle, but also more easily distracted from their goal than the smaller ones because they recognized him as a danger. Rocks sailed past him. He was concerned about what would happen if they impacted Ursel, not because he thought she would be directly injured but because they would be a large jolt of spiritual energy, throwing off her state of concentration. Thus, he focused on drawing the larger enemies around the perimeter. Unfortunately, their greater intellect also allowed them to work together. He wasn¡¯t certain if they would cooperate beyond defeating him, but that didn¡¯t really matter. One charged towards him, drawing close while others attacked from a distance. While he was busy fending that one off, boulders were tossed- and some of the creatures absorbed the local needle-like shards of crystal, turning those into projectile attacks as well. Wind and water twirled around John, capturing the smaller attacks and slowing the larger ones long enough for him to get out of the way. His sword stabbed through the torso of the closest one, flames lingering behind and melting its core. But even as he defeated one, two more began to clamber out of the nearby tunnels. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Elsewhere, people began to combine their forces, drawing back further into the room to manage new defensive lines. The weaker ones among them had to be more careful with their footing, but fortunately they were facing fewer opponents. Viriato also had some spare moments to snipe particularly annoying enemies. The slight tremor around Ursel had heightened into a distinct rumble, shaking the walls and ceiling of the cavern. Shards of needle earth began to fall from the ceiling, and John expanded his whirlwind of air to cover the whole chamber. He didn¡¯t want to do that since it would likely be a greater disturbance- but Ursel would just have to tough it out. She knew there was going to be combat. Along with the four core elements, John also made use of his darkness to distract enemies. He couldn¡¯t fill the whole area to limit them as most of his allies had no element of their own darkness, but he could create false impressions of Ursel¡¯s location. With no eyes or normal senses, the constructs of spiritual energy latched onto the false impressions he was creating, occasionally clashing as they encountered each other at their final target. The density of earth element was increasing as Ursel drew it in, and the chamber was slowly growing in size- and all of the surrounding tunnels were widening as well. It was not necessarily Ursel¡¯s conscious intention, but the physical earth she was absorbing had to come from somewhere. Then the worms came, burrowing through the ground itself with little regard for its solid nature. Fortunately most of them were distracted by the battle and didn¡¯t directly approach Ursel, but Viriato was forced to blast them as they dropped in from above and John had to send his fire element into the ground to seek them out. He cut down enemy after enemy as he channeled energy through both his hands and feet. The enemies seemed to come in waves, not based on intentionality but merely what sorts were present at particular distances. The smallest and fastest ones were mostly annihilated, but fortunately many of the larger foes had been cut down as well. John still had to duck and twist around the last several near him, but it seemed that some of the pressure was letting off. Most of the incoming ¡®worms¡¯ were only a few centimeters across, solid chunks of stone but not particularly large. They were dangerous when they wrapped around an arm or a leg, and once they had a sufficient potion of themselves out of the ground they could whip themselves with great force, but their thin bodies made them relatively easy to take apart. But a few were larger, up to several times as thick. And John felt another approaching from beneath, as big across as his torso was wide. He tried to find an opening to channel more of his energy to create some sort of barrier to stop it, but he didn¡¯t have much time. A half formed net of fire underground created only a few scorch marks as it tore through them and was about to ram into Ursel. John was prepared to put his life on the line to defend his daughter, but before he could react Ursel dropped through the floor like it was suddenly liquid. Two powerful sources of earth energy collided, disrupting his senses beneath the ground. The entire chambers suddenly began to shake at a greater intensity, cracking and crumbling. Several tunnels collapsed, along with parts of the ceiling. ¡°Everyone gather together!¡± John called, severing one of the largest remaining enemies vertically, leaving a line of molten rock he would have appreciated at any other moment. But he was already diving down into the earth, using his own energy to make it malleable. Then there was one final burst of earth element, and the whole ceiling collapsed all together. John was glad he¡¯d warned everyone, as together they all channeled their spiritual energy into a dome that kept the mountain of stone off of them. Fortunately some of the vertical tunnels relieved the pressure, though they were choked up with stone. John carefully held his portion of the barrier while breaking down some of the clumps of rocks in the tunnels, allowing some of the rock remaining above them to tumble off. But they still had several meters of stone pressing down on them, and subsequent tremors shook more and more of the ceiling loose on them. If they could reach one of the side tunnels they might be able to burrow into a safer position, but they couldn¡¯t leave their position. The constant flow of earth element around them suddenly stopped as the surrounding stone liquified, molding into a single solid shell. ¡°That was pretty exciting, huh?¡± Ursel commented as she poked her head out of the floor, raising her arms up and then levering her torso and lower body out of the stone. ¡°I thought I might attract slightly less attention than that.¡± John looked at her carefully. She didn¡¯t feel like much at first, as she faded into the background. Rather than a cultivator, she felt like just another part of the Crystal Caverns. But probing deeper, he could feel the connection to a fifth totem and the energy signature of an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Meanwhile, all around her disciples were falling into trances. Even Viriato, who was not yet at the point he could advance to the Ascending Soul Phase, seemed to be meditating on the earth element subconsciously. John felt Ursel using her energy to create a calm environment of earth, with all of the elemental creatures having been solidified into the ground itself as merely part of their surroundings. She didn¡¯t directly influence the energy of Lir and Tlaloc, but both began to absorb the surrounding earth element. Lir managed to step through to the Consolidated Soul Phase, while Tlaloc simply took one step close. A good day, both for John and his family- and the Six Elements Crossroads. Though they did have wounded to treat, everyone had been able to let any excess pressure through to John and Viriato. John smiled at his daughter and wondered how strong she was now. He was still confident that he could personally defeat her- though only with his understanding of her various abilities, the power of his cycle of element, and probably the gap in rank. A cultivator like Abritt, even if she learned from their battle, would likely never be in a position to defeat Ursel ever again. John needed to break through to the mid Ascending Soul Phase to feel confident in consistent victories against Ursel, however. And maybe he could make some developments in his body. Little by little he was improving his reflexes from Air¡¯s Swiftness and his durability from Diamond Defense, but the other pieces were a bit too niche. ¡°Oh, congratulations by the way,¡± John said. Even through her helmet, he could feel Ursel¡¯s smile. And then he was nearly crushed by her hug. ¡°Thanks! I can¡¯t wait to show the other two,¡± she snickered. Indeed. Ursel¡¯s advancement would be a great motivation for the other triplets. Though John hoped they would still advance with proper caution. Chapter 373 Rather than John having to go all the way to the Sky Islands, he was quite pleased that Sitora came to meet him in Lunson. Technically it was the same travel distance for either of them, but in some ways it was more practical for Sitora since there was more business for her to take care of on the continent. It was also a sign of trust, that she would come visit with only a small entourage. They sat down atop one of the towers within the Six Elements Crossroads, designed specifically to channel the maximum amount of wind around it. It also had a nice view of the city in one direction, and the sect and then the plains in the other. ¡°I appreciate you coming to visit,¡± John said. ¡°I very much prefer that we become actual allies instead of just scattered groups held in submission by power.¡± Sitora grinned. She was clearly more relaxed around him now, which he appreciated. Though he doubted she was lacking in vigilance. ¡°Are you sure? Many people prefer the latter so that they can show off their strength.¡± John shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know about them, but I¡¯m enjoying my life. I¡¯d rather not have to worry constantly about whether a slip-up will lead to my demise.¡± ¡°You get numb to it,¡± Sitora shrugged. ¡°But take some advice from this old woman. Make certain your friends are genuine.¡± ¡°I absolutely do,¡± John said. He took a sip of tea. ¡°How is Abritt?¡± Sitora raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why should she be any different?¡± John chuckled to himself. ¡°Last I heard she was contemplating her cultivation. It¡¯s been a few years, and I wondered if the changing circumstances had any impact on her.¡± He was dancing around the true topic, not because Ursel¡¯s advancement was secret- it might be the least secret thing to happen in the last year- but just because he enjoyed it. ¡°As it turns out,¡± Sitora began, ¡°Abritt is seriously reconsidering her impressions of continentals. She might also be attempting to convince herself that Ursel was always in the Ascending Soul Phase, but she doesn¡¯t seriously believe that.¡± Abritt had come across quite an unfortunate incompatibility in that battle. She didn¡¯t have sufficient force to properly defeat Ursel, and she had underestimated Ursel¡¯s offensive abilities. Against many opponents Ursel didn¡¯t even need to make use of her roots, so it was easy to assume that she relied on brute force. And Abritt had shown that her defenses were sufficient to resist direct assaults. Perhaps if she had been more in tune with her earth element, she could have dismantled Ursel¡¯s defenses more effectively, or noticed the infiltration within herself. However, she had believed herself invincible against Ursel given the severe gap in cultivation¡­ and that simply hadn¡¯t been true. John looked vaguely off to the south. ¡°I hope to show her soon that there¡¯s more than one person who can defeat her.¡± ¡°You think you can?¡± Sitora asked. ¡°Maybe not just yet. But I have a greater chance when I reach the mid Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be right about that. Even I can defeat her on occasion. But she would have the right to require multiple bouts for me to take over her position.¡± ¡°Really?¡± John asked. ¡°I thought Venera and Morana only had a single match.¡± ¡°They did. But Morana didn¡¯t want to lose two or three in a row. She was forced to accept her defeat in a¡­ dignified manner.¡± ¡°That certainly doesn¡¯t sound like the woman I remember,¡± John said. She had attacked him after his victory, after all. That hadn¡¯t exactly been dignified. ¡°She¡¯s gained some humility from being down a limb. By which I mean she¡¯s been stricken by melancholy.¡± Sitora gave the slightest shrug of her shoulders. ¡°Though I would say she deserves it.¡± Sitora¡¯s eyes looked around the rooftop. ¡°How is the privacy here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re visible from the other towers. Or by random fliers,¡± John said. ¡°Concealing our voices would be simple enough, however.¡± Sitora nodded, gently creating a barrier of air around them. ¡°I¡¯ve found a few interesting people. And there¡¯s reason to believe that Mandlen is one of them.¡± ¡°Of the Indestructible Kapok Grove? They¡¯re a bit far for you to pay attention to,¡± John said. ¡°But I agree that every Ascending Soul Phase cultivator is worth paying attention to.¡± ¡°I speak of people like us. Though not precisely. Mandlen has displayed none of the oddities of transmigrators. But his growth was swifter than natural. Most likely, he is a reincarnator. Like Gesine. Or¡­ some of your friends.¡± It wasn¡¯t clear exactly what she knew. Sitora certainly knew about Deirdre- that was their initial point of contact, back during the whole leviathan debacle. John hadn¡¯t shared details about the others in specific, however. John thought for a few moments. ¡°It would explain a few things. He seemed to reach the Ascending Soul Phase out of nowhere. Though perhaps we were simply paying too little attention beyond the Shimmering Islands.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I have no confirmation. But my spies indicate he has a few techniques that seem to have come from nowhere.¡± ¡°Oh, and what do they say about me?¡± Sitora crossed her arms. ¡°You have a few main techniques¡­ and otherwise tend to use adaptable strings of elements to create whatever effects you desire.¡± That could have all come from watching him in the tournaments. It didn¡¯t really confirm the presence or absence of spies otherwise. Mainly, John would be interested if there were any within the Crossroads itself. It would doubtless be trivial to find someone within Lunson who wanted to receive payment for passing on information, but whether they could get anything truly secret was another matter. ¡°I haven¡¯t really seen signs of any others,¡± John admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you had been looking.¡± ¡°You made me curious. Unfortunately, I have no way to tell if there are particularly higher numbers of reincarnated or transmigrated individuals in the current time¡­ or if the surge of cultivation is caused by something else.¡± ¡°Many others are growing to levels that previous generations did not,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Yes. But most cultivators tend to drag others up with them¡­ either allies, or those enemies trying to keep up. It¡¯s not so unusual to have surges. Take for example the Sky Islands. A couple centuries ago, there were no Ascending Soul Phase cultivators at all.¡± ¡°Not even Abritt?¡± John asked. ¡°She was the first. I was more than a few decades behind, even with my advantages. Either way, there was another surge of cultivation growth on the continent around that time. Our records are incomplete, but it seems that nobody surpassed the Consolidated Soul Phase. And that most ended up killing each other off.¡± ¡°That actually makes sense,¡± John said. ¡°Faramund of the Society of Midnight was from that time.¡± Which also meant that Ciaritzal and Cuah¡¯arn were as well- but John already knew they¡¯d been around at the founding of the Tenebach clan. That had been before his grandfather, so it all fit. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate you keeping me informed. If nothing else so I know who to pay attention to.¡± ¡°Naming other names at the moment might compromise some of my spies,¡± she said. ¡°But I can share in the near future. Of course, I would like it if you reciprocated.¡± ¡°I certainly will, if I find anyone new.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to confirm the exact status of the club members without good reason. Sitora bringing up the matter was actually good motivation for John to do something besides slowly growing stronger. There wasn¡¯t much further their alliance¡¯s influence could spread without clashing with other established groups closer to the Molten Sea, and not everyone was fully on board. Though personal power was always useful in this world, finding Transmigrators in particular to determine if it was merely a coincidence that all four he knew of spoke English would be enlightening. ----- Outside of the constraints of the Sky Islands, John found battling with Sitora to be much easier. Or perhaps he should say he found her to be weaker. When trying to determine why that was he was stumped for a while¡­ but then it dawned on him. ¡°You¡¯ve grown too used to your flight being augmented,¡± John said, circling behind her at the same time as he dodged a bolt of lightning. She easily caught his sword, her defenses augmented by earth, but the fact that she had to block him at all proved him correct. ¡°Even with that, I¡¯m still far ahead of you,¡± Sitora commented. Her earth element surged from her hand along his sword. It was prepared to drag him down, while at the same time lightning gathered in the sky above. John let go of his sword before her energy reached him, flying backwards and drawing out two throwing daggers. With his left he threw upwards towards the gathering lightning, attempting to lure in the attack. The other was coated in Ethereal Flames, the effect nearly invisible as it fed on a coating of earth that was what he hoped for her to see. Unfortunately she didn¡¯t take the bait, and twirled out of the way of his assault instead of taking it head on. She also managed to redirect her attack around his other dagger, though the slight delay allowed John to focus his energy within his skin¡­ recreating a technique he¡¯d seen from Sitora in the Sky Islands. Her lightning attempted to follow her will, but it never made it deeper than his skin as it danced along his body. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t have worked,¡± Sitora commented. ¡°It was one thing when I did it with my own energy you redirected, but I still had control of that energy.¡± Lightning crackled around her. John knew he wasn¡¯t going to last much longer. She was a full three ranks ahead of him, and she had another century of practical experience as well. The only reason he didn¡¯t lose faster was because his own style was far out of the norm. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you how I did it if you can block this,¡± John said. The four core elements swirled together between his palms. With a push, it flew forward like an energy blast- a core of earth around which water, air, and fire raged. Sitora didn¡¯t let his taunt get to her. Instead, she simply let herself drop, after throwing some of her energy up and behind John. Her energy moved so quickly that even though John could read the flow, he couldn¡¯t react perfectly. Lightning flashed between herself and her extended energy, catching John in the middle. He didn¡¯t manage to completely redirect the lightning, and the arena¡¯s formations had determined that his defenses were insufficient. John slightly disagreed. Either way, it was a good part to stop. ¡°It¡¯s something about your skin itself,¡± Sitora declared. ¡°That¡¯s how you can replicate the diversion technique.¡± It was true. While Diamond Defense was naturally durable against more direct attacks, it didn¡¯t necessarily stop lightning. But he could channel an incoming lightning attack through it with only minor damage, instead of burning off his skin and likely a good bit of muscle beneath. Sitora looked towards where the ball of energy had faded away, perhaps wondering how the attack John threw could have defeated her if she met it head on. The answer was, of course, that it wouldn¡¯t have. While simply letting the four core elements feed into each other resulted in a decent amount of power, when naively combined together like that it merely looked cool. Sure, it would create a sizable explosion, but it would be undirected- thus mostly wasted. Changing it around to cause it to actually focus all the damage on his intended target wasn¡¯t feasible in that form. But John wasn¡¯t going to share that information. Best to pretend he had a secret explosive technique, and then stab someone on the sly with a good one or two element combination. Though if John could add light and darkness into the mix, it would either create something very stable and thus useless as an attack¡­ or explode with many times more force. He could see it going either way, but he simply didn¡¯t have enough light element to do more than small scale experiments. And without going full power, he couldn¡¯t know if it would hold together or not in a real battle. Still, it was a very pretty feint, and if John hadn¡¯t been taken down so directly he was prepared to follow up with a better and less obvious attack. Chapter 374 The formerly secret valley was now called Six Element Valley, and was an important part of the Six Elements Crossroads territory. The valley was carefully tended to make certain it would maintain both its elemental balance and abundant spiritual energy. Herbs and beasts were carefully monitored to not overharvest. The location of the valley had been entrusted by Filimena to John and the sect, and in turn they made sure to take care of the woman. The old herb collector¡¯s cultivation had managed to push through to the Soul Expansion Phase with their help, but was proceeding very slowly from there. However, both her quality of life and total lifespan were much higher than they would have been had she simply tried to exploit the area herself. A worthwhile exchange for all parties involved. Now John was visiting the valley once more, though not to collect any particular resource, nor to battle the local beasts. There weren¡¯t any creatures that would be a challenge for an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, after all. Instead, he was simply there to make use of the spiritual energy for a breakthrough- much like Ursel in the Crystal Caverns. The area was much easier to navigate than the Crystal Caverns, and he didn¡¯t anticipate quite as much commotion. Even so, it was important that he make the best use of it that he could, as he intended to break through to the mid Ascending Soul Phase. Advancing from the thirty-ninth to the fortieth rank was not nearly so complex as breaking through from phase to phase, but it was still an important step that took sufficient preparation. John also intended to use it to bring himself one step closer to the element of light. He knew it would be far too late to gain a mastery over light when he was attuning to his final totem. He had a basic level of control over light, but that wouldn¡¯t be enough for him to survive the process on its own. Thus, he had slowly been acclimatizing himself to light. Fortunately he had many examples to work with, including Melanthina from the perspective of a darkness cultivator, as well as Ereli and Viriato who made use of both elements from their early career. Viriato was actually something of a genius cultivator who had been too successful, locking himself into the Foundation Phase unable to advance without further knowledge. Ereli had little choice, but she¡¯d held on long enough to choose totems that helped self-regulate. John made his way towards the center of the valley, where all the elements mixed together. It was much like the majority of Astrein, appearing almost to have no spiritual energy at all to those who were not prepared. Except with the greater density of spiritual energy, even those with less experience would be able to extract whatever element they needed to a certain extent. Disciples of the sect guarded the area as John readied himself. He had to trust that they would keep him safe, as he needed to focus all of his attention on his advancement. Just because it was safer than stepping into the Ascending Soul Phase didn¡¯t mean it would be easy¡­ and John had failed at the former once. Even with the surrounding circumstances, that was enough to fill him with a greater sense of caution. John was tempted to reach out for everything at once, to open the floodgates entirely. However, he knew that simply filling himself with spiritual energy was not sufficient to advance. It had to be done properly. Thus, he began with a single element, reaching out for darkness. The element flowed into him through his meridians, creating a coating of darkness over everything within his dantian. He began to pull it all together, away from the islands that made up the structure of his inner world. The spiritual energy compressed into a sphere resembling a black hole. Or instead of that, nothing at all. Next, John drew in earth element. It added weight, life, and strength to the mix. Instead of mixing it with the darkness, he wove it into the surface of the core while leaving room for more. Following that came air, following the path he had cultivated the elements. Fluidity, flow, and bursts of strength were added to his elements which he began to braid in with the strands of earth element. His fourth element was water. The most moldable of elements, it could have elements of solid, liquid, or gas. It was the most tangible of the elements after earth. This mixed with the others. The last part of the setup was fire, a consumptive and growing strength that also provided the necessary energy for life. Linking fire to everything else completed the cycle of core elements, causing them to amplify. John drew from that power with his darkness, bolstering it. Then he slowly began to draw in light element. Unlike the others where he had created a complex tapestry all at once, he used single strands of light. It revealed where darkness hid. It was birthed by fire and flowed through air. Drawing upon prior experience, he didn¡¯t try to mix it with his darkness. Instead, he wrapped light around everything, forming a shell. Light¡¯s natural inclination was to move freely, and more than once it escaped his grasp and he had to start over. But he was also cautious about pulling it in too far, and triggering the attraction of light and darkness. The two would happily annihilate each other, which was not something he wanted to happen inside of him. John found that he had trouble keeping the light. He hooked it into the core elements, but did not try to weave it in with them- or it would then follow through into the darkness. He needed to find the balance where light was held in by its draw to darkness without dropping. A stable orbit, effectively. He¡¯d done something like that before, but it was always quite difficult. This time, it kept peeling off and dispersing into his inner world. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Fortunately it didn¡¯t cause any damage, but if he kept up what he was doing he would only risk a greater reaction. Soon enough he realized that the light was being pulled away by the elements in his inner world ¡®below¡¯. That was a problem he needed to solve, but nothing he tried worked. Anchoring it more strongly to his other elements resulted in him having to constantly hold it in place, as it didn¡¯t have a solid form. The core elements were mostly insubstantial as well, but balanced with each other they happily remained. Not so with light, especially as he had to keep it away from the darkness at the core of everything. Had he made a mistake in his methods from the beginning? John supposed that was possible. He was about ready to dissolve everything and try again, or even give up and make another attempt later, when he realized something. His spiritual energy was interfering with what he was drawing in. He¡¯d recognized that and thought he had to balance it somehow, but that wasn¡¯t the case. It would only be true if he were incorporating spiritual energy into what existed of his inner world. And ultimately that was something he needed to do. However, his current goal of improving his rank and thus capacity and power output didn¡¯t require that he immediately integrate everything together- especially his greater concentrations of light element. Thus, he drew away from the broad stretch of islands he had created, taking the orb of mixed elements with him. Away and away, into¡­ nothing. Because there was no true space inside of the world. Once he was separate from the normal ¡®world¡¯, he found it easier to balance the light he was drawing in. He wasn¡¯t able to maintain as much light as he would have liked, but he managed first to have a tenth as much light compared to other individual elements. But that wasn¡¯t enough. He kept pushing, increasing his ratio from about ten percent to twenty percent. Light was constantly slipping through his grasp and tightening his grip on it only accelerated the process. According to his experiences darkness settled into place more easily- though he had no doubt he would find it similarly difficult to shift styles had he started at the other end of the elemental spectrum. If John simply continued to gather more of the elements as he was, he knew he would break through to the fortieth rank successfully. He just had to hold everything¡­ but he wanted more. To be better. So he pushed for a greater proportion of light. It slowly grew beyond twenty percent, to nearly thirty¡­ then the light unraveled to only half that magnitude. John¡¯s main limitation was not the total amount of spiritual energy available, but his control- and how long he could maintain more complex maneuvers. Though he was loathe to give up, he realized thirty was too much. But he could do better than a proportional fifteen percent or so. Slowly, ever so slowly, he added more light back into his mix, a sphere much like its own planet. The various forms of spiritual energy were nothing beyond the pure elements themselves- a far cry from the world he had been building- but out in the void nebulously far from everything else he constructed something new. When John reached a quarter as much light, he decided that was as far as he could reasonably push. That was still far more than he was used to maintaining. He was tempted to try to tighten the light into his weave¡­ but he followed his insights and slightly loosened his grip. The loose element floated around in almost a haze¡­ but did not detach from what he had constructed. Then he slowly continued to draw in more of each element in the same proportions- every element but light was perfectly balanced. The sphere he had created continued to grow and expand until¡­ John stopped. Then he carefully released his control. The various elements weren¡¯t held in place by the concepts of his totems, but instead balanced according to his understandings. And the sphere, or perhaps more of a blob, endured. It wasn¡¯t the prettiest thing, especially compared to the islands covered in a semblance of life, but it was stable. The final thing John had to do was connect the spiritual energy to his totems- while in concept a balanced mass of pure spiritual energy was valuable, he wouldn¡¯t really be able to draw upon it efficiently. John watched as slowly, the concepts of his totems began to fill in the spiritual energy. Each spiritual element slowly began to shift¡­ very slowly. John imagined it would take days to properly form into anything, but he didn¡¯t want to rush the process. He would simply have to monitor it. If everything went right¡­ it would form its own separate little world. And once it was a proper world, he hoped to integrate it with the rest of his inner world. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He wasn¡¯t quite certain how long his breakthrough had taken. The time of day had shifted, but that could mean anything from just a few hours to a few days. Either way, it was quite clear to him that he¡¯d properly advanced to the next rank. He also had significantly more light element within him than ever before. Only the secondary portion reached a full quarter, but with what he learned there he would eventually be able to integrate similar proportions into the other parts he had. John also realized that he could have separated each element into its own zones all along. Not that such a thing would be conducive to an effective cycle of elements, but it might be useful for people trying to take more esoteric paths. Perhaps some disciples would join the Six Elements Crossroads with unbalanced elements. Alternatively, those who began with the core elements might need to separate light or darkness from the rest at the Ascending Soul Phase in order to integrate both light and darkness at once in the Exalted Soul Phase. Though that was getting both ahead of himself and any theoretical disciples. No, long term compartmentalization seemed like a flawed path¡­ but a temporary separation should serve him quite well at the moment, as raw elements were converted into a proper world inside of him. It was also much more comfortable than breaking apart and regrowing the pieces inside of him, though that was still an important tool for him to use between ranks to maintain constant growth. John was still two ranks behind Sitora, but being in the same general phase filled him with confidence should he spar with her again. And he was also quite certain that a battle against Abritt would be less weighted against him, even if she had continued to develop her cultivation smoothly. Chapter 375 There had been hopes that everything would stay peaceful until the end of the decade and another round of tournaments, and for the majority of the region that was true. At least, relative to the normal rate of conflict among cultivators. However, while they had a run of good luck the days of peace were not going to last forever. The first signs of trouble were missing ships in the Crystal Sea. They simply departed one port and didn¡¯t arrive at the next. One or two missing ships could have been caused by accidents out at sea, and there were more than a few trading back and forth along the southern coast. However, in the span of just a single month the Glass Hills reported five missing ships. Their own investigations soon turned up the sunken remains of one, clearly plundered. That ruled out beasts, which in turn cast suspicion on the Sky Islands. Though they tended to have little to do with ships, it was suspicious. However, with no proof of their involvement little happened. When the Wuthering Steppes also reported missing ships further west, the matter became a higher priority. Neither elemental zone had a high focus on naval superiority, but they still relied on ships to trade around the coast into the Shimmering Islands and especially with the Blustering Peaks. That route connected the majority of the air cultivators, with the other options being a much slower land route. Those continued difficulties led to calling upon the aid of the Shimmering Islands¡¯ water cultivators to investigate, which eventually led to Tirto heading to investigate the situation. Given his status as the head of the Brandle Clan, he also came with an entourage. They ended up with a small flotilla of three ships. Tirto had intended to leave Verusha behind to manage clan affairs but¡­ ¡°You¡¯re telling me that there might be pirates on the sea and I don¡¯t get to come along and burn them down?¡± Verusha had laughed. ¡°No way. I¡¯m going.¡± That had then drawn Nitza¡¯s interest, and since she was old enough to make her own choices- and high enough cultivation- Tirto couldn¡¯t really deny her. She was only in the early Soul Expansion Phase, but that wasn¡¯t a trivial level of power. They sailed south out of the Shimmering Islands, past the Soulrot Bogs which previous covered much of the connection to the Swirling Expanse beyond. In the past, large ships weren¡¯t able to sail through that route, but in the interests of trade the waterways had been expanded. Being able to ship goods from Astrein¡¯s central location to the outer edges of the region via sea generally avoided most of the unknown risks. Aside from the storms of the Shimmering Islands, of course. But those storms were easily navigated by experienced sailors. With a generally higher level of cultivation among the people, the Shimmering Islands were generally safer in recent days- even if journeys weren¡¯t necessarily peaceful. One reason such trade routes hadn¡¯t been expanded upon before was that the first and largest stretch of land to the east was the coast of the Deadfields. Unlike Astrein, the area was truly devoid of spiritual energy. However, there were still thriving cultivator settlements beneath the surface where light element reigned supreme. With greater cooperation, a few decent ports had been established along the coast- where there was at least some semblance of spiritual energy. Tirto noticed that Nitza seemed nervous during the first stretch of their journey. She was constantly looking around, scanning the area with her spiritual energy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he said to his daughter. ¡°We won¡¯t be set upon so easily as the others. None of the lost vessels carried two peak Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators.¡± Verusha, being a handful of years younger than Tirto, had been behind in cultivation- especially during their early relationship. But properly cultivating together had allowed her to close the gap to less than a rank. Tirto would undoubtedly break through to the Ascending Soul Phase first unless circumstances lined up for them to advance together, but she wouldn¡¯t be terribly far behind. Nitza relaxed slightly, but not completely. ¡°I understand father. But aren¡¯t we looking for vessels sunken under the sea?¡± ¡°Not this far west,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Once we reach the southeastern shores we will focus our search, but none of the reported ships could have made it this far in the timeframes they were missing.¡± Nitza nodded, but continually checked the ocean around them, including behind their trio of ships. Tirto chalked that up to her relative youth, but he knew this might be a good opportunity for her to get some real experience outside of the Shimmering Islands. They¡¯d done their best to raise her as a competent and responsible individual, but she hadn¡¯t been forced into greater responsibility early. Tirto was glad for that, as the alternative would have meant he and Verusha were no longer able to handle clan affairs, and they were far too young for that to be an issue. With their cultivation they should be young well past a hundred years old, though depending on circumstances they might pass on leadership sooner or later than that vague date. ----- As they approached the Crystal Sea, Tirto felt a significant change in the flow of the ocean itself. The balance of elements shifted, which made it more difficult to perceive at a far distance. That would be both a benefit and a detriment for their purposes. If they came across whoever was causing troubles, they should be able to get closer without their strength being noticed. They were hiding their power to look like easier targets, hoping to at least get close enough to other ships to ascertain whether they were friend or foe. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. But the more difficult sensing would also make it tougher to sense any downed ships. Even relatively near the coast, it swiftly dropped to over a hundred meters or more. That made things more difficult¡­ but water cultivators hadn¡¯t been called upon for nothing. Swimming along at the same speed as the ships was not difficult for anyone with proper training. The only issue was maintaining that long term, requiring numerous rotating shifts. Tirto had trained to function in the deep sea, including adapting to the dark. He would never have a clear of sight as a darkness element cultivator, but he could at least make out the shape of the ocean floor below, and whether there were any disturbances. Such as the wreckage of a large ship. The third day they were within the expected territory, Nitza actually found a sunken ship. However, when a group dove down to find it they quickly realized it was a much older wreck. Whatever wood had not already rotted away was covered in coral and barnacles. But spotting more than what they were looking for was still a win, as it meant they were covering enough area. ----- Tirto liked the water. His life would have been pretty miserable if he didn¡¯t, being born with water element cultivation and living in the Shimmering Islands. In his opinion the Crystal Sea was not as good, but at least it was new. There were different varieties of sea life to observe, though he could see why there weren¡¯t many water cultivators established in the area. The element was just a bit thin for proper cultivation. He swam down to the bottom, watching crabs and other creatures scuttling about on the sand. To them, he should feel like part of the sea. His energy was restrained to cause as little disturbance as possible. Occasionally, he would spot the shadow of a larger creature off in the distance. Whales were not uncommon in the area, but he thought he spotted something far larger on occasion, further away from shore. His investigations never revealed anything, so he thought perhaps that was his imagination. ----- They stopped by the first port in the Wuthering Steppes without having found any recent wreckage. The three ships in their flotilla had spread out to cover as much of the seas as they could, but unless the merchants they were looking for had gotten significantly off the mark they should have spotted them. There was little reason to sail far from shore, however, as the seas were safest when land was kept in sight, as long as it was deep enough. They asked around to see if they could find any further information, but they kept their purpose secret. Far too often in cases of piracy, locals were providing information about shipping schedules. Even if they couldn¡¯t confirm if it was standard piracy or outside cultivators causing trouble, emphasizing their presence in the area wouldn¡¯t benefit them. They didn¡¯t want to scare off anyone. Tirto had prepared a manifest for their main ship that would hopefully make them a tempting target. There was no guarantee they would draw in who they were looking for, but it was one more route to success beyond simply scouring the ocean floor for sunken ships and trying to find some sort of evidence on who was at fault. ----- Off to the southeast and far above the ocean were the Sky Islands. Tirto couldn¡¯t help but suspiciously watch them. They even came across one group descending from one of the border islands to a ship below¡­ but they were a regularly known quantity in the area. Without some significant proof, even mentioning suspicion of them could damage the newly formed relationship between them and the continent. Of course, if there was proof then Tirto would act appropriately. They didn¡¯t need to keep a peaceful facade if it simply meant the continent was attacked without retaliation. Tirto looked out on the horizon, spotting their other ships just far enough that they could spot the central ship. At such a distance they would have more difficulty aiding in a battle, but they had to cover enough area. He felt the energy disturbance of Nitza rushing to the surface, and prepared himself for trouble, but she merely threw herself out of the water onto the deck. ¡°I found another one!¡± she proudly declared. ¡°Good,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Let¡¯s check it out. How far?¡± ¡°About halfway between us and the furthest ship,¡± Nitza explained. Tirto took Verusha¡¯s hand and jumped into the water with her. Even as a fire cultivator she was strong enough to swim and fight easily enough, and she also had techniques to replenish her supply of air. But there was no reason to make things unnecessarily difficult. A bubble of water formed around the two of them as they swam forward, others trailing behind much like a school of fish. Nitza had returned to the water and was leading the way, though she didn¡¯t exactly swim in a straight line, instead curving back and forth. There was no benefit to such a movement style as far as Tirto was aware¡­ most likely, it was just for fun. She was still fast enough to provide a proper pace that matched with their slower cultivators. Soon enough, Tirto was able to spot the sunken ship- and it was immediately apparent how much more recent it was. Inspecting it revealed charred wood, indicating much of the ship had been on fire. Unlike the Shimmering Islands which had to constantly deal with lightning strikes, other vessels were often quite vulnerable to fires. However, even with a basic complement of cultivators a mundane fire would not bring down a vessel. They inspected the ship, finding few remains of any crew except a few who were killed below decks. The only thing they were able to confirm for certain were certain battle scars on the ship, and that it was one of the vessels they were searching for. Like the one that had been found by the locals, this one was looted of everything cultivators would find valuable, except perhaps the vessel itself. One sample wasn¡¯t enough to tell them what sort of cultivators attacked. Fire wasn¡¯t exactly exclusive, and it could have been brought about by more mundane means- if the crew was busy fighting, they couldn¡¯t just put it out. Tirto would have to compare with what they¡¯d learned about the other ship to see if there were any consistent patterns they could draw from. Chapter 376 One thing that Tirto found odd was that they had not been attacked by anything yet. He wasn¡¯t expecting whoever was assaulting the ships to easily show themselves when they were perhaps a quarter of the way through the area they intended to patrol, but he did expect some sort of attack by local beasts. Certainly some would be lured in by the presence of the ships and their cultivators. Unless creatures in the Crystal Sea were vastly more cautious than those in the Shimmering Islands. It was possible that they sensed his cultivation or that of their other stronger members, but that didn¡¯t usually stop beasts. Perhaps all of the local ones were weaker than anticipated, but while they seemed to avoid the ships, Tirto still spotted a few that seemed to be the equivalent of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Verusha came to lean against the rail next to Tirto. ¡°I expected more excitement. At this rate, I wonder if we¡¯ll even encounter these pirates or whatever they are.¡± Her hair was a dim reddish orange, like coals. In the past it had been uncontrollably influenced by her emotions, but she had learned to deal with that¡­ when she cared. But she had no particular reason to hide her boredom. ¡°I was thinking we should have at least been attacked by beasts,¡± Tirto commented. Verusha dangled one arm over the side as she twisted towards him. The sort of ¡®lazy¡¯ pose that took more effort to maintain than simply standing up straight. ¡°Yeah? You think we could provoke some?¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be setting a good example for our daughter.¡± ¡°Pfft. She¡¯s an adult now, any bad habits I have she¡¯s either already got or is immune to.¡± ¡°Regardless,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Causing a local disturbance would potentially tip off the people we¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Maybe we should just set our ship on fire and call for help. That could draw their attention.¡± Tirto chuckled. ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit early to go to such extremes. But if you¡¯re that bored, you can come with me to look for wrecks. Another ship was likely lost somewhere around here, based on its predicted sailing path.¡± ----- Swimming with Verusha was much more energetic than swimming alone. She seemed almost eager to boil the water around them- and he knew she could, if it came down to a combat situation. It was a large expenditure of energy, but it could be a surprise to human opponents, and beasts were rarely able to deal with a sudden change of that sort. The only option was to completely block water from touching them or to flee out of an invisible area of unknown scope. Despite her general attitude, Verusha didn¡¯t actually go around causing chaos all the time. That was simply a representation of what she would have been up to without Tirto. Said chaos would have probably been much more troublesome than Ursel¡¯s extreme enthusiasm. Only specific powerful beasts had to worry about her. Tirto¡¯s presence helped her learn to pick and choose when she should unleash certain parts of herself. In turn, she provided a push for Tirto when he might have otherwise been overly cautious. ¡°I sense something further out,¡± Verusha commented. ¡°We can probably reach it in just a few minutes if we push ahead.¡± Tirto nodded. He would have personally continued at the same pace, staying closer to the ships and the other swimmers. But there was no real reason for him to be concerned, as they would sense anything of significant power far before it got close. The sea smoothly flowed around their own personal bubble of water as they pushed forward. Soon enough, Tirto could pick out the same things Verusha had. And despite approaching a burned out ship, there was no prominence of fire elemental spiritual energy¡­ merely air. ¡°Help me track down the origin of this air element energy,¡± Tirto asked. The two of them split up, making their way around the remains of the ship. The wreck was even more recent than the last, and still carried lingering traces of the battle. Not a clear picture, but the traces of energy brought Tirto to the keel of the ship. He took special note of the burn marks. Burns. In an area that would always be completely submerged. He inspected more closely and discovered the signature marks of lightning, spreading webs from which the fire spread. But it didn¡¯t make sense. While air was dominant over water, fire was not. Thus, using lightning to spark a flame underwater was a contradictory action. The lightning would flow smoothly enough to its target, but it wouldn¡¯t cause a sustained reaction. Yet the keel had burned, enough to open a wound in the hull of the ship. It might have even been the primary cause of the ship sinking. That was a significant difference from catching sails or pitch alight, the usual hazards of fire aboard any ship, and burning a sturdy part of the ship underwater. Tirto tried to recall if there were signs of similar damage on the previous wrecks. He didn¡¯t think so, but he at least understood one thing. Whoever did this had ways to prevent fire from being put out by the presence of water. That would explain why previous ships hadn¡¯t simply put out the fires- it would have been odd to have no water cultivators. That was the end of what they managed to gleam from the current ship, but it was a critical piece of information. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t tell them who was at fault. Along the coast of the Wuthering Steppes, any number of individuals could have started a fire with lightning. Lightning was the specialty of the Glass Hills. And yes, the Sky Islands used lightning as well. So the signs didn¡¯t point anywhere in particular. Indeed, they seemed to point everywhere. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Perhaps it was a rogue sect from one of the continental regions. They would certainly have easier access to shipping routes, but that didn¡¯t mean they were the only possibility. The Sky Islands were not without grudges against the continentals, even if they had avoided actual conflict so far. Some of the peaks were friendly, while others were not. ----- Their journey continued, stopping occasionally in ports while downplaying their combat capabilities, with the intention to hopefully draw out the attackers. They were able to confirm the first wreckage that had been found along the shared border of the Wuthering Steppes and the Glass Hills- and with careful observation, they were able to spot signs of lightning as well. It was difficult because the fire tended to spread, breaking down portions of the ship. ¡°This is weird,¡± Verusha commented. ¡°What part?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°People always want to rob others, so I assume you mean something else. ¡°Obviously. I mean the fire.¡± ¡°Well, when caused by lightning it might be different?¡± he shrugged. ¡°But maybe you could explain what I¡¯m missing.¡± ¡°So it burns underwater,¡± Verusha said. ¡°I can do that, if I want to. You just need a good understanding of technique. Without defenders, I could burn these ships into a pile of ash.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tirto agreed. ¡°But that¡¯s an unnecessary effort.¡± Verusha grinned. ¡°Would it be, though? Because burning holes through a ship causing it to sink is a good way to occupy the defenders. Though that¡¯s not my point. How should I say this¡­ why didn¡¯t the ships burn down to nothing if the fires could be sustained in water?¡± ¡°I assume it takes a constant application of energy,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°Thus the excessive effort.¡± ¡°WIth cultivators actively fighting against you, definitely. But a good fire cultivator could certainly cause a self-sustaining reaction against an undefended ship. In short, it wouldn¡¯t have stopped.¡± ¡°But these ships are mostly intact. And we haven¡¯t senses any particular prevalence of fire elemental spiritual energy, except what one might expect from burned ships,¡± Tirto concluded. ¡°Exactly. So it¡¯s probably not any sort of fire cultivator, and the technique requires some sort of continuous application of effort. However, I suspect it¡¯s quite good against active resistance by water element cultivators. A couple people threaten the ship, distracting the defenders while the rest of the pirates take down cultivators in small groups instead of as a unified defensive force. The ship still ends up sinking, but the flames end there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a technique,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°Indeed. It could be kept secret, of course¡­ but with coastal shipping not being a big part of daily life here, it would have to be an ancient technique dug off of dusty shelves or something just recently created. But it¡¯s easier to just assume it didn¡¯t come from locals. Probably not even the Sky Islands, since such a technique¡­ they barely even have ships, so why would they bother?¡± ¡°Alternatively,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°It could be something they¡¯ve always had, to prevent people from poking around the Crystal Sea beneath their domain.¡± Verusha nodded. ¡°It could be. So maybe we still just have to track down these fellows to actually figure things out. If we can find traces just a few days old¡­ though that is about as likely as simply sweeping them up in our net.¡± Verusha shrugged. ¡°But hey, at least there¡¯s something interesting going on now.¡± ----- Their route continued east and slightly north along the coast, past the Glass Hills. And then, ultimately, they came to the end. They had come across most of the sunken ships they expected, as well as many more that were far more ancient, some barely visible as the sea itself covered them with sand and life over the course of time. But they were at the edge of the Glass Hills now without having seen any recent traces of the pirates they were looking for. Going further would only bring them along the coast of the Gloom Desolation. That was a darkness element region with which they had little prior contact. ¡°It¡¯s too risky to continue,¡± Tirto declared. ¡°We don¡¯t know how the Gloom Desolation would react to our presence.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± Verusha agreed. ¡°We don¡¯t know. So we should find out. Perhaps they are sheltering these pirates. And no, I¡¯m not saying that because they¡¯re darkness cultivators. We simply don¡¯t know. Their response would tell us quite a bit.¡± Tirto took his wife¡¯s words seriously. But just because he did so didn¡¯t mean he always had to agree. ¡°This would risk a diplomatic incident.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± Verusha said. ¡°We had better be prepared both to get involved in and resolve said incident. Together, we have the strength to handle anything we could reasonably expect. And in the worst case¡­ I can¡¯t imagine their ships would be able to keep up with us, should we focus our ships on speed. Especially if their sails have been turned to ash.¡± Ah, good. Tirto was somewhat worried at how his wife was acting up until that last line. ¡°You¡¯ve convinced me,¡± Tirto agreed. ¡°But I don¡¯t intend to just traipse up to one of their ports. I¡¯d like to contact a coastal village first, if we can. Let them see we are not a threat.¡± ¡°Or burn down a few houses so that they know you are a threat,¡± Verusha grinned. ¡°I¡¯m just saying. People respect strength.¡± ----- The changes around them rapidly became apparent. Gloomy clouds that provided no rain. Lifeless coasts. And most tellingly, a clear lack of vibrancy underwater. There was still some measure of sea life, but it was a far cry from the Shimmering Islands and still noticeably lacking compared to where they had traveled just days before. Dark element reigned supreme even just off the coast, creating an environment where deep sea fish would be most comfortable- except that it was also the shallows. As for those coastal villages Tirto was planning to visit¡­ there weren¡¯t any. Fishing villages were a staple of every coast he¡¯d ever been to, even if some found it risky to go too far out to sea in certain elemental zones. But though they kept their eyes on the coast, they spotted only villages further away atop distant hills. So they pressed on. They had not come this far to return with merely a few hints, and it was quite possible the locals could provide something unique. Whether they supported the pirates or had merely spied them in the distance, it would tell them something if any trace had come this far east. Chapter 377 The first port along the coast in the Gloom Desolation took several more days to reach. It had only just been spotted off in the distance when the attacks began. Tirto almost didn¡¯t notice the first assault, barely reacting the instant before it struck the ship. With his energy supporting the ship¡¯s defensive enchantments, the ship rocked back and forth but sustained no real damage. The same could not be said of the other vessels in the fleet, as nearly invisible attacks slammed into mast and hull. The ships were not so flimsy as to instantly crumble, but the initial bombardment set people on the back foot. Subsequent attacks were already on the way, but with the cultivators on alert they were able to pick out the concentrated darkness energy in the long range attacks. The fact that they had missed them before was simply a consequence of the type of energy involved. At such a distance, however, the incoming attacks weren¡¯t particularly complex. Verusha¡¯s energy flared, but Tirto put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I can totally hit them from here though!¡± she complained. ¡°I¡¯ll burn down their stupid port!¡± Tirto sighed. ¡°If we need that, you¡¯ll be the first I call.¡± Then he raised his voice, using his spiritual energy to project his command to the other ships. ¡°Turn about! We¡¯re withdrawing to a safe distance!¡± ¡°I swear we can beat them!¡± Verusha urged. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be certain about that. Nor is that necessarily what we want.¡± The ship was already turning about at his command. More attacks continued to rain down on them steadily, but the crew¡¯s combined energy held strong. Launching a combined attack over several kilometers was certainly weakening the energy of those on shore, even with special techniques or weaponry. But if they drew any closer, the ships would be at significant risk. ¡°Why are we retreating? It¡¯s pretty clear they¡¯re at fault!¡± ¡°... How many lightning cultivators do you sense in that city?¡± Tirto asked. Verusha frowned. ¡°They¡¯re concealing them. Obviously.¡± ¡°They might be,¡± Tirto agreed. ¡°But there are better ways to discover that aside from a frontal assault. It might seem odd as primarily water cultivators, but it may be safer to attack from land. That way, we can avoid these long range attacks.¡± Regardless of it being a technique or some sort of defensive emplacement, they would at least be able to dodge such long range attacks. The ships, however, weren¡¯t so maneuverable- so they couldn¡¯t avoid taking hits. But if they completely avoided attacks, that placed the enemy at a disadvantage. ¡°More than that,¡± Tirto continued. ¡°They¡¯re an entire city, against just a few hundred of us. Even if we can determine that we have a cultivation advantage individually, it¡¯s a bit reckless.¡± Verusha grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°Fine, I guess that makes sense. But-¡± She never got to finish whatever she was going to say, as a sudden surge of water approaching the port drew their attention. One they had not sensed¡­ or that they had dismissed as being part of the sea itself. A half dozen fins rose out of the water at odd angles, revealing a form that didn¡¯t look like anything more than various sea creatures stitched together. As it rose up out of the water, the sea around it surged, rising ever higher until a wave a hundred meters tall crashed upon the port. The first person to react was Nitza. ¡°Carl, no!¡± She leapt over the edge of the ship into the sea in an instant. Tirto sighed. ¡°We should never have let our daughter name a leviathan.¡± Then he dove into the sea after her. Normally, he would have tried to stop his daughter from approaching a massive monster. However, the situation was such that the effort involved in wrestling her away would be too problematic. Instead, it was more important to deal with the whole situation. Carl was a young leviathan, but at three decades old now he was not insignificant in size or strength. Whether or not he could take on a whole city was another question¡­ and it wasn¡¯t clear that this particular city was their enemy. Either way, the situation was clear enough. Somehow the leviathan had been following along with them, unnoticed. Now that he thought about it, Tirto had sensed something odd. He should have taken the time to look into it. Because they were attacked, the leviathan was coming to their defense- without understanding that they didn¡¯t need him just now. Nitza was rapidly approaching the beast, and Tirto was just a few moments behind her. Attacks from the city rained down on Carl. He withstood a great many of them, but Tirto could sense several wounds already. Compared to his mother, the young leviathan was orders of magnitude more vulnerable. Nitza grabbed onto one of Carl¡¯s pectoral fins, specifically one resembling a manta ray, and pulled. ¡°We¡¯re not fighting them right now, Carl!¡± Concentrated bursts of darkness exploded, more powerful due to the closer proximity. Some reached underwater, and Tirto barely reached Nitza in time to cover her when one happened to explode nearby. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with this. You need to get to safety.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°If he sees you going, he might follow!¡± Tirto said. ¡°Now get going!¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Nitza nodded reluctantly, pushing off of the leviathan and jetting through the water. Meanwhile, Tirto climbed up to survey the damage. The good news was that the wave, while quite tall, had not carried much water behind it. Some of the docks were damaged, and cultivators had been swept into the water. Buildings further on land had taken some damage, but only those without any defensive enchantments. And for all of the leviathan¡¯s power, he didn¡¯t seem to have focused on anyone or anything. There were likely a few casualties still, but it shouldn''t have been anyone important. While that was a callous way to look at things, at this point it was more or less fair retaliation for the attack on them. If it happened that the Gloom Desolation was harboring the pirates, Tirto would have a very different view on things but for the moment he didn¡¯t want conflict. ¡°Come on then, you don¡¯t need to do this!¡± Tirto used his water element energy to try to nudge the leviathan away. He didn¡¯t seem to be listening, though Tirto knew he at least somewhat understood human speech. ¡°You need to stop this¡­ Carl!¡± He knew he probably sounded foolish shouting at the leviathan, especially with such a common name- though one that had sounded exotic enough to Nitza when she was young. But the beast showed a reaction to his name. ¡°Come, Carl. Everyone on the ships are safe. We¡¯re done here.¡± With that, he gave one final nudged with his energy. He couldn¡¯t forcibly move the leviathan on his own, not anymore. He might be able to defeat Carl, as the leviathan was still on the verge of strength that could match the Ascending Soul Phase- but moving such massive bulk was nearly impossible. And he certainly did not want to cause harm to the creature, so he could only indicate what he wanted. To Tirto¡¯s great relief, the leviathan began a wide turning motion. He was still being attacked from the shore, but once he dove under water the attacks became nearly negligible. Tirto was a fast swimmer, but he was not a mighty sea beast- so while his maneuverability was much higher, once Carl was turned about he quickly caught up. Tirto grabbed onto the beast as he continued back towards their ships. Nitza had already made it back to the ship. When they were once more out of range of the harbor, Tirto took a good look at the leviathan. He was large enough that he barely fit in the shallower waters closer to the harbor. That was probably for the best, or he might have tried to get even closer- increasing both his own destruction on the city, and the damage to himself from the defenders. What was he going to say to the beast? Perhaps he could chastise him for coming along secretly, but Carl was not a pet that could be ordered around. He was a creature of independent thought. Some day, perhaps, he would be a great guardian beast- but for the moment, he was still young and inexperienced. Tirto did his best to explain to the inhuman creature. ¡°You should not hide yourself from us. Even if you were worried about our safety, it would be best if we knew you were around.¡± As he spoke, he soothed the leviathan¡¯s wounds. Spiritual energy didn¡¯t have any easy tricks for healing something so massive, but he could help stop bleeding with water element. The leviathan quickly caught on and began to focus its own energy on the same task. Even with a huge, durable body, the quantity and magnitude of enemy attacks had caused significant damage. ----- When he finally boarded their flagship once more, he saw his wife standing next to a timid daughter. Verusha caught him with her eyes. ¡°Our daughter has something she wishes to confess to you.¡± Tirto had a pretty good idea he knew what it was. ¡°Very well. What is it?¡± he asked. ¡°Well. You see¡­ I actually noticed Carl a while ago.¡± Tirto nodded slowly. ¡°I see. And you didn¡¯t see fit to tell us this¡­ why?¡± ¡°You might have made me take him back home,¡± Nitza explained. ¡°An excellent idea,¡± Tirto said. ¡°It would be a fitting punishment for failing to inform us of something so important.¡± ¡°But- we¡¯re so far now!¡± ¡°So?¡± Tirto raised an eyebrow. ¡°It is not as if you will have to worry about being attacked by wild beasts.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s um¡­ pirates? Probably.¡± ¡°We already patrolled the area,¡± Tirto said. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any along that route. And if you¡¯re worried, you can have Carl travel through the deeper ocean.¡± Nitza grimaced. ¡°But,¡± he said. ¡°I will finalize my decision on what to do about that later. For now, we need to settle things with this nearby city. Your mother and I are going to approach on foot, with a squadron of our best combatants. We need to determine if they are associated with these attacks.¡± ¡°What else would it be?¡± Nitza asked. ¡°Tell me,¡± Tirto said. ¡°If your people had been attacked by pirates¡­ might you not respond aggressively to strange ships appearing on the horizon?¡± He looked at Verusha as he did so. ¡°I guess, yeah,¡± Nitza admitted. ¡°So you think they¡¯re innocent?¡± ¡°I think we don¡¯t know,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°This is our best opportunity. I would not wish to cause unnecessary trouble with the Gloom Desolation, if we wish to ever fully unite the continent. Bringing only a certain portion of our people to the city wall should hopefully help assure them our intentions are peaceful.¡± Verusha frowned. ¡°And if they don¡¯t see things that way?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have someone who can set them on fire. Or we can jump into the sea. Either way, water cultivators traveling on land should be less concerning for them.¡± ¡°Can I-¡± Nitza cut herself off when Tirto glared at her. ¡°You will stay here to help care for Carl. We will not need you on land at this time.¡± ----- For the first time on the journey, Tirto wished they had brought along Yonit. He was the first of the Brandle clan to reach the Ascending Soul Phase. However, there were good reasons to have him remain to keep clan affairs secure. He was trusted and powerful. But at the moment, Tirto could have used his strength. Then again, they would look quite aggressive strolling up with so much strength on a city that seemed to have no Ascending Soul Phase cultivators of their own. Intimidation was valuable up to a point, but sometimes it ended up provoking people unnecessarily. Tirto wasn¡¯t quite certain whether or not the incident with the leviathan would have angered the city further or cowed them slightly, but he supposed he would find out soon enough. Swimming to shore had been simple, and the city hadn¡¯t sent anyone out to defend their coastal roads. Now, they were approaching the city along one of said roads. So far, they were in sight of the walls and had not been attacked yet. Though Tirto was constantly on the lookout for ambushes. They were darkness element cultivators, after all. They could be hiding behind every rock and tree. Though if they were that close, he was certain he¡¯d pick them out- unless they were somehow better than Melanthina at concealing themselves. Chapter 378 No trouble was encountered on the way to the port city, and while the land route to reach it had taken some time to traverse, if they had to flee the ocean was only a short distance away. Tirto was quite confident that his group could outpace any darkness cultivators in the water- even Verusha on her own, if for some reason that was necessary. Tirto gathered spiritual energy to amplify his voice. ¡°People of the Gloom Desolation. We come in peace, not with intentions of war.¡± He could see a few figures on the walls of the port city, though he wasn¡¯t sure how many more were concealed. ¡°We will wait for someone authorized to speak for you.¡± ¡°No need,¡± a man faded into view atop the wall. ¡°I am here. But who are you?¡± ¡°Tirto Brandle, of the Shimmering Islands. We have come to investigate attacks on the shipping of our allies. We were unable to find any traces of the pirates themselves, so we continued beyond the borders of the Glass Hills. We merely intend to inquire if you have seen anything.¡± ¡°I have heard of your clan,¡± the man said. ¡°I am Tenzing, an elder of the Dark Shore. I have also heard of these attacks, perpetrated by water element cultivators like yourself.¡± ¡°Water element?¡± Tirto asked with genuine surprise. ¡°From what we saw, lightning cultivators used their techniques to ignite ships beneath the waves. We had not even suspected the involvement of water cultivators. Have you seen the signs yourself?¡± The man¡¯s sharp eyes pierced into Tirto. ¡°I have seen them. And I know well the signs of hidden spiritual energy. Though they didn¡¯t wish it to be found, water cultivators were certainly involved. As for lightning cultivators¡­ would not the most likely culprits be members of those very ¡®allies¡¯ you spoke of?¡± Reading Tenzing¡¯s expression was difficult. The distance and unfamiliarity both led to trouble. Tirto was only certain that he knew more than he was letting on just yet. But he couldn¡¯t quite be certain what that meant. ¡°We had in fact suspected some sort of internal strife. However, it is unlikely that any group could have hidden such expert techniques for such a time as this, when they would have better been served rising to power in other ways.¡± Tirto noted that Tenzing hadn¡¯t said that there weren¡¯t lightning cultivators involved- he had merely revealed the presence of water cultivators. Even his prior deflection somewhat suggested that. ¡°You speak with great certainty for one who admits to knowing little,¡± Tenzing replied. ¡°Would not it be the simplest solution?¡± ¡°I am open to hearing any proof you have of cultivators of the Glass Hills or Wuthering Steppes attacking the ships of their own people. But so far, you have only revealed your understanding that water cultivators were involved. The very reason we were called upon was that they have very few such individuals to rely on for investigations such as this. As for internal conflict being a simple solution¡­ that might be so, but none of the stolen goods have appeared within their borders.¡± Tirto was hoping that honesty would get the reaction he wanted. While it was still possible the Gloom Desolation was harboring pirates, he estimated it was unlikely to be this particular port. Verusha was not so subtly scanning the area around them with her energy. Tirto hadn¡¯t felt any darkness cultivators sneaking about during their conversation, but she might pick them out where he failed. Or they might be content to remain behind their walls. ¡°You spoke of peace,¡± Tenzing said. ¡°What then of the damage to our ships and port?¡± Admitting fault was an acceptable practice among allies, but in many cases cultivators had to put up strong images. Tirto wanted to avoid being too overbearing, but he wouldn¡¯t look weak either. ¡°We were attacked first. Our companion was merely a little bit overzealous in his reaction. You should note I stopped him before he caused too much damage.¡± He¡¯d also stopped Carl because the young leviathan alone couldn¡¯t take on a whole city. But he really had wanted to prevent him from damaging the city too much. Tenzing gave no apology for striking without verifying their origin, and Tirto gave no apology for what resulted. As far as Tirto could tell, the matter had been settled. ¡°It is undignified for us to shout at each other from a distance for so long. If you are willing, we can have a more private discussion.¡± ¡°I have no objections, as long as I can bring my current companions with me.¡± ¡°Open the gates!¡± Tenzing said by way of response. Tirto, Verusha, and their guards approached the city as the gates swung open. The optimal time to attack them, if there was going to be an attack, would be shortly after they stepped through. But Tenzing himself had already come down off the wall to the main road, which would have left him vulnerable if they were planning an assault. Besides, Tirto could sense some of the hiding cultivators, and they weren¡¯t near enough to be an immediate threat. He imagined he probably missed some of them, but finally sensing some was comforting. It wasn¡¯t unreasonable that they would be monitored upon entering the city. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Welcome to Port Dusk,¡± Tenzing said. Several guards moved to stand around the group, but he waited for Tirto and Verusha to get closer before moving further into the city. They might have been surrounded on all sides, but their own guards were closer to Tenzing if trouble should break out. The structures of the port were quite modest. That was unsurprising, given the relative lack of worthy materials in the region. Perhaps there were darkness element materials of great value further into the region, but the outer edges had been sufficient to dub the area the Gloom Desolation- a name which even the locals had not seemed to reject in the few interactions that had come up in the past. Tenzing led them to a manor. ¡°I hold the position of governor of Port Dusk. It affords me a certain level of luxury¡­ even given the surroundings.¡± He brought them to a sitting room, where the Brandle Clan guards positioned themselves on one side- and a number of those sharing the same style as Tenzing stood on the other. Tirto again felt more in rooms beyond, but he would have been somewhat insulted had they not been cautious. When refreshments were served, he wished he had spent more time studying the blood purification techniques his father spoke of. He had no reason to believe the food was poisoned. Indeed, darkness cultivators weren¡¯t necessarily more likely to poison anyone compared to other cultivators- with the caveat that they would be better at hiding it if they chose to. ¡°You have not yet introduced yourself,¡± Tenzing said to Verusha as he sipped some tea. ¡°You are from the Green Sands, are you not?¡± ¡°Indeed. I am Verusha Brandle, formerly of the Milanovic clan in the Green Sands.¡± Her hair refused to settle into any particular pattern, but rather than betraying any particular emotion, Tirto thought it might make her harder to read. Though her caution was likely apparent even to those unfamiliar with her. ¡°I did not expect you to be familiar with the Green Sands.¡± ¡°It is not that I am particularly familiar. But I would be remiss if I did not at least recognize the cultivators of an elemental zone merely two steps displaced from my homeland. Though a journey through the Glass Hills is not a pleasant one, it is certainly quite possible for cultivators of sufficient caliber.¡± Tirto nodded. He decided they had to get to business sooner or later, so he began the process. ¡°Your words and actions indicated that you also had trouble with pirates.¡± Or they were working with them, but a sudden assault would be an odd way to hide animosity. ¡°Can you tell me about what you know? Especially what let you understand there were water element techniques involved.¡± ¡°As you noted, we also found ships damaged by lightning. That was the more obvious part, in fact. The water element techniques were merely an enhancement.¡± ¡°Ah, a supporting role from the cycle of elements,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Do you know if they are dual element cultivators?¡± ¡°Dual element cultivators, or paired in such a way as to effectively be that,¡± Tenzing confirmed. ¡°We have previously noticed their passage, and of course the loss of some of our ships.¡± ¡°Were they passing through from the east or the west?¡± Tirto asked. He had little understanding of what was east of the Gloom Desolation. ¡°It is difficult to say, except that they went far enough east to be noticed within the vicinity of Port Dawn. That would be the one furthest east.¡± ¡°Since we share difficulties,¡± Tirto said. ¡°We should work together. Or if you would¡­ at least pass on word of our presence so that we don¡¯t run into further conflict. You should at least know that it is not we who are troubling your shores.¡± ¡°You bring a rather large monster with you for a peaceful visit,¡± Tenzing commented. Tirto shrugged. ¡°We did come with the intent to bring retribution upon those at fault. But you maintain the Gloom Desolation isn¡¯t involved, so he shouldn¡¯t be any risk to you.¡± Tirto certainly wasn¡¯t going to mention that Carl had followed along in secret. Simply because leviathans were part of the sea didn¡¯t excuse Tirto missing it. Though he¡¯d seen some of the signs and gotten close to sensing him. It certainly explained the lack of predators. ¡°I can send word ahead to the other ports,¡± Tenzing confirmed. ¡°They may not be willing to let you dock, but they should at least be more cautious with their actions. Though I would suggest not picking up air cultivators or you may appear as targets.¡± ¡°We appreciate the offer,¡± Tirto said. ¡°If you can provide additional information, such as dates and locations of attacks¡­ that would also be quite beneficial. We are not yet certain if it is a single small fleet or multiple groupings.¡± Tenzing thought for a few moments. ¡°I suppose it should not harm our interests to share that information¡­ if you will reciprocate.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Tirto said. If the Dark Shore were truly involved somehow, it really wouldn¡¯t matter if they knew the details of attacks they themselves had perpetrated. The same was true in the other direction. As the shipping routes would be fairly certain, there were few secrets to be had with the lost ships. Though Tenzing was clearly cautious about revealing too much, Tirto judged him to be honest as far as they had come. And he was fairly certain there was no poison in the food¡­ though he would be making use of some blood purification techniques later in private, just in case. Verusha suddenly spoke up. It wasn¡¯t that Tirto had forbidden her to speak, but she understood her own personality. That ultimately meant her diplomatic training had focused on simply not saying things without good reason. ¡°If you do spot them, let us know right away so we can go burn them to the water line,¡± she said. ¡°As long as you can point us at them, we¡¯re sure to catch them.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Tenzing asked. ¡°They have the advantage of free wind in their sails.¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± Verusha turned up her nose. ¡°Little good it will do them facing cultivators of the Shimmering Islands. The moment we have a target, it will be over for them.¡± Tirto was also quite confident in their ships¡¯ speed- though they could be dealing with other seaborne cultivators. Then again, they at least had Carl. The leviathan didn¡¯t seem like he would be fast, graceful, or even basically functional¡­ but in a straight chase, the power of a sea creature like him could catch any ship eventually. Human cultivators would tire themselves first, and the natural speed of wind and wave were simply not enough. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the others of your assurances,¡± Tenzing declared. ¡°Port Dusk will support you in this effort. So will the others, if I can manage it.¡± Chapter 379 Armed with what little additional information Port Dusk could provide, Tirto knew at least had a better idea of how wide-ranging this group was. There was some possibility there were several different groups, but the lightning damage was a consistent marker. The fact that he hadn¡¯t noticed traces of water element cultivators earlier was an unfortunate failure, but he had no reason to disbelieve Tenzing on that front. Water and air were the best elements to run ships swiftly and efficiently, and water could augment the effects of lightning running through it. That would explain how it was focused into the hulls of the ship so easily, instead of inefficiently scattering. Sufficient control of a single element could produce similar results, but that would limit the number of users of such a technique. Now that they knew something about their enemies, they needed to consider how to counter them. ¡°How would you stop lightning coming through the water?¡± Tirto prompted Verusha. ¡°Same way I¡¯d stop anything else targeted at the ship. Make people unable to do it.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Besides, it wouldn¡¯t likely cause the ship to sink without a sustained attack, right? So we just have to worry about winning in general.¡± ¡°Lightning is already a pain to deal with. If we¡¯re facing experts in conducting lightning through water, things will be much more difficult.¡± ¡°So don¡¯t use water,¡± Verusha pointed out. Tirto looked at her, then over the edge of the ship, then back to her. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll just learn how to channel earth before we run into them. Should be simple enough.¡± ¡°I bet you could,¡± Verusha said. ¡°But I mean, if they¡¯re specialized in attacking through water water¡­ just don¡¯t let there be any of that. I bet they¡¯d be thrown off by dealing with steam and ice.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°I suppose we can manage that well enough, but that won¡¯t work well for the rest of the crew. Then again, simply being prepared for a tactic should be extremely useful. I wonder if we can come up with anything else?¡± ¡°I can roast them alive,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Mom taught me how to slip through typical water defenses, after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not really a tactic,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°Just your standard form of operation.¡± ¡°Hey, if it works,¡± she shrugged. ----- Knowing they were likely dealing with water cultivators, Tirto had their small fleet focus slightly further away from shore. They still could only cover so much territory at once without becoming separated, but they readjusted where they were looking slightly. Now that everyone was aware of Carl¡¯s presence, the leviathan could also be part of their plans. By himself, he was likely only slightly stronger than a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator like Tirto, but he was extremely fast when he needed to be. He could roam a little bit further, and he wouldn¡¯t attract that much direct attention. After all, he fit into the ocean perfectly. Since he had come along, they might as well make use of him. His instructions were only to find ships and return- any sorts of ships including the rare local traders, potential pirates, and anything sunken. Any of those would hopefully lead them closer to their goal. Tirto didn¡¯t want to return to their allies empty handed. Though even if they failed to accomplish that, he hoped to establish slightly more solid connections with the Gloom Desolation. Their current goals were continuing along the coast to reach Port Midnight and Port Dawn. Hopefully without getting into conflicts with more local.s ----- A huge spray of water came from the area around Carl as his fins cut through the surface. He was moving rapidly towards the ship, but he turned before reaching them, merely rocking them with his wake. ¡°Looks like he¡¯s found something,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Did you find a ship?¡± he called forward. A few fins waved excitedly. ¡°What element cultivators?¡± At that question, the leviathan gestured towards the shore. ¡°Darkness? Should be locals, then. Unless¡­¡± Carl gave no indication that they were hiding anything, but he couldn¡¯t exactly get close without revealing himself. There was a big difference between something far away in the sea and getting close enough for people to actually see him. Which was quite a long distance, with his massive stature. The darkness of the depths could provide some cover for him, but that was less effective both nearer to shore and where actual darkness cultivators were involved. About an hour later they passed the other ship. It was clear that they were cautious about strangers. They might not have heard about Tirto¡¯s presence yet, as they likely left port before messages from Tenzing could arrive. Even so, they didn¡¯t make the first move. It would have been foolish against three ships, and Tirto gave them plenty of space. Though he did dive into the water and sneak closer himself just to verify that they weren¡¯t hiding anything. Aside from a general veil of darkness over their ship, which seemed to be the most proper sort of defensive formations to have in the Gloom Desolation, Tirto sensed nothing. Certainly no hiding water or air cultivators. Beyond that, he had literally no interest in the actual contents of their cargo. ----- They came across one wreck they already had been informed about, and a new one that hadn¡¯t been on the list. Paying very careful attention, Tirto was indeed able to discern the feeling of manipulated water element in the area, faint as it was against the background of the ocean. He was glad to confirm what Tenzing said with his own senses, as that gave weight to the rest of his words. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Port Midnight was their next stop, and they approached cautiously until they could confirm it was safe. They had only used a few days of supplies, but they stopped there regardless to make it clear that they were peaceful. The port did know of the ship they had passed, but had little other information for them. ----- Once again back at sea, Tirto wondered if they would ever find anything. Perhaps these pirates had already been tipped off to their presence and would know how to avoid them. Then again, if their trail of destruction went across the whole width of the Gloom Desolation, might it stretch even further? Several days out, the leviathan once again came to report in. This time, he circled around Tirto¡¯s ship without stopping, displaying excitement. Tirto could guess what it was, but he needed him to calm down slightly. ¡°Hold on there. What did you find?¡± Carl merely splashed around for a while. ¡°Does that mean you finally found water element people¡­?¡± It took a while, but Tirto was able to confirm that, as well as an enthusiastic confirmation of there being air element cultivators. ¡°Do you recognize any of their energy styles?¡± Tirto asked. Water and air could easily come from the Shimmering Islands, and while Tirto wasn¡¯t afraid of attacking cultivators from his region, he wanted to know what he was getting into. Carl was not unintelligent, but he wasn¡¯t good at communicating. Ultimately, it took some time to confirm that they didn¡¯t feel like the Shimmering Islands, which was a start. ¡°We just need to hunt them down. I want you to lead us to them, but wait for us to start fighting first.¡± Carl looked somewhat upset at that, but Tirto explained, ¡°You¡¯ll come in from behind and sink their ships- or catch anyone who is fleeing.¡± Nitza managed to squeeze a bit more information out of the guy. ¡°How many were there?¡± she asked. ¡°And how strong?¡± When she asked about many, she spread her hands wide. Carl spread his own fins wide, then put them closer together. ¡°More than us, or about the same?¡± He held his ¡®front¡¯ fins steady. ¡°The same then. How strong?¡± she asked, raising her arm up. Carl held a fin straight up. ¡°Very strong? What about compared to my father, or you?¡± Carl took a moment. He carefully stretched a fin over the ship, patting it on Tirto¡¯s head then raising it up slightly. ¡°Stronger than me¡­ but not frighteningly so?¡± Tirto asked. Carl splashed around in what was probably confirmation. ----- The leviathan led them onward. Even without him, they likely would have run into the ships. Tirto thought they might pull away, seeing a trio of vessels that didn¡¯t appear afraid, but they actually locked in their approach. He was slightly worried about their strength, but as they were still approaching Tirto tried to measure their cultivation. They were no longer hiding it, and Tirto felt what Carl had been warning them of. Along with a number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, there was an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Early Phase, but just barely. Then Tirto recognized not the specific individual, but the general style. ¡°Sky Islands,¡± Tirto grumbled. ¡°Just the one, though.¡± He¡¯d seen all of the Island Masters, hadn¡¯t he? So why didn¡¯t he recognize the figure? Perhaps they had been banished or¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve got it,¡± Verusha said. ¡°That has to be Morana, right?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t see her arms from here,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°But she was the only one who didn¡¯t show for the tournament.¡± ¡°Do you think this is some sort of protest by the Sky Islands? Or is she working alone?¡± ¡°The easiest way to find out is to keep her alive.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± Verusha rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s so easy to do with a cultivator stronger than us.¡± ¡°First of all, we don¡¯t need her very alive,¡± Tirto said. ¡°She can afford to lose a few more limbs. And I¡¯m going to declare that she¡¯s not stronger than us. Stronger than me? Certainly. Stronger than you? Quite probably. Stronger than us?¡± Tirto raised an eyebrow. ¡°Not a chance. There¡¯s no way Ursel can beat Abritt alone and we can¡¯t take out this lady together.¡± Verusha crossed her arms in front of her. ¡°I¡¯d say something about the circumstances being different but instead I¡¯ll just agree. Nitza!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t keep me from the fight, mom!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. You stay with Carl, okay?¡± Nitza nodded, jumping over the rear of the ship towards their now-trailing companion, before anyone could change their mind. ¡°So,¡± Verusha said. ¡°What are our tactics against her? She has an elemental advantage.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°True. But it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know how to deal with a bit of wind or lightning. The Sky Islands might be above most stormclouds, but the Shimmering Islands isn¡¯t lacking in that area. And there¡¯s one weakness I know she has for sure.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Verusha asked. ¡°She¡¯s going to try to kill me.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a weakness. Sounds like a good way to die,¡± Verusha huffed. ¡°True, but I meant she¡¯ll likely focus on me in particular. Because she¡¯ll want revenge for her arm.¡± ¡°Yeah, but can you guarantee that?¡± Verusha said. ¡°What if she targets someone else?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to worry about that,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I¡¯ll just channel you for a moment.¡± Tirto got a stern look on his face, then boosted his voice with his spiritual energy. ¡°Hey old hag, I thought you were done after my father cut off your arm! But it looks like you¡¯re trying to lose another one!¡± Verusha burst out laughing. ¡°She¡¯s not even old, is she? ¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s totally going to work.¡± Lightning clouds suddenly began to grow over the approaching flagship. ¡°Wow, talk about a lack of control over her emotions.¡± Tirto just looked at Verusha. ¡°Shush you,¡± Verusha turned her head away. Her hair turned into streaks of blue, light and dark mixed together. ¡°We should probably start attacking or whatever.¡± With both sides approaching each other at full speed, the distance between them was rapidly shrinking. Tirto took Verusha¡¯s hand. It wasn¡¯t a strictly necessary thing to do, but the two of them fought together and it was most effective if they weren¡¯t separated even for a moment. Tirto stepped forward onto the prow of the ship, waiting for the first bolt of lightning from the cloud above. Though he knew that the actual threat to the ship would come from below. Chapter 380 The first lightning bolt dropped towards the flagship of their fleet, and Tirto was ready with a barrier of water. He paid careful attention to make certain that the shell of water did not draw close to any part of the ship, as that connection could actually be used to slip through more easily. Instead, it was there to disperse the lightning as much as possible. But of course, Morana knew what she was doing- either from prior knowledge or training with water element cultivators. She forced the attack through his barrier with minimal loss of spiritual energy, and it continued towards him and the ship¡­ only to be stopped by Verusha, of course. A barrier of fire element was neither strong nor weak against lightning, so the two clashed on the merits of their power alone. Morana was in the Ascending Soul Phase, so she had an advantage there- but she was also on the offense, attacking at range using a method other than her primary form of study. More importantly, Verusha was not alone. Tirto¡¯s barrier had still absorbed some of the attack, and the crew supported her as well. The clan had long experience working with Tirto and Verusha, while the alliance of Morana and the other cultivators with her appeared more recent. Finally, defending against a long range attack was easier. Neither Tirto nor Verusha would want to try to continuously take such attacks, but they could withstand a few- and the more spiritual energy they could get Morana to expend wastefully, the better. ¡°I¡¯m out of taunts,¡± Tirto said. ¡°You literally only used one!¡± Verusha commented. ¡°But whatever. Hey, Morana! Your windswept hair look isn¡¯t as good as you think!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even make out her hair,¡± Tirto admitted. Verusha shrugged. ¡°Neither can I.¡± The storm cloud grew ever more charged above Morana¡¯s ship. A second strike was stronger than the first, and the third even more so. Even defending with all their might, the crew found it difficult to withstand her might. Air had an elemental advantage, no matter how much experience they had with storms. A fourth bolt of lightning raged within the cloud before unnaturally leaping forward. Tirto hastily threw up a channel of water, but the fourth and strongest bolt of lightning leapt from his barrier towards the main mast. The ship trembled as the bolt of lightning struck. Tirto breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°I was worried she¡¯d try to strike the sails directly, or us.¡± Their ships were made to withstand the Shimmering Islands. Lightning was an everyday occurrence. A cultivator with active control could direct lightning in devastating ways¡­ but Morana had only been dealing with the local seas. While there were some storms, they weren¡¯t constant in the same ways. The Glass Hills were known for their lightning, but that didn¡¯t extend out to sea. The Wuthering Steppes and Gloom Desolation likewise didn¡¯t have the same sort of lightning proofing¡­ so Morana wouldn¡¯t have been used to the results. Perhaps the cultivators with her might- they were a mix of water and air cultivators. But with Morana in control, her power provided the backbone of their ability¡­ and her weaknesses shone through. Plundering ships for a few months hadn¡¯t taught her everything she needed to know. They only caused her to waste a single attack, but it was a big one. The storm cloud she formed in anger dispersed after the assault, and the ships were drawing close enough that they would soon be engaging each other directly. Even if Morana wasn¡¯t actually exhausted, she was at a lull in her ebb and flow of power. They were ready to take advantage of that. The first thing that happened was Verusha threw a swirling glob of fire that clung to the main sails of the enemy flagship. Their water cultivators immediately set about putting out the fire¡­ or trying to. The best they could do was push the spreading fire around, dropping pieces of it onto their deck. Verusha had picked up more than a few tricks in the decades she had been living with water cultivators. Tirto knew how to counter the technique, obviously, but nobody was going to tell them. They did manage to quash some of the flames with an excess of power, but that kept a great number of them distracted. Brandle clan cultivators prepared to cross the distance between ships, and while being underwater wouldn¡¯t insulate them from air element attacks it still provided them with their optimal mobility. Before the ships actually reached each other, Tirto and the clan members around him joined their power to assault the enemy ships- not the cultivators. The enemy flagship and one other drew close to each other, and at the optimal moment the seas were frozen between and around the ships. The other water cultivators could certainly reverse the process, if they were not otherwise occupied, but it would still take a few moments. Meanwhile, the two ships were tied to each other and lacking mobility. That was also when Carl attacked the third one- along with a number of clan members riding on the leviathan. The ship was completely cracked in half, tossing the cultivators into the sea. They wouldn¡¯t be helpless there¡­ but it caused chaos among them at the unexpected situation. Morana was trying very hard to look like she wasn¡¯t gathering another attack. Personally, Tirto thought it was a waste. She was going to try to sink their ship like the others¡­ as if water cultivators would fear that. She should have consulted her own crew upon encountering cultivators atypical to the region. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Instead, she did exactly the thing they had been ready for. Morana and a number of water cultivators around her joined together to drive her lightning through the water. It snaked towards Tirto¡¯s ship, only to be met by a layer of steam that he formed, with Verusha¡¯s assistance of course. Then a layer of ice. The layers alternated rapidly at random distances, occasionally having standard liquid water in between them. The lightning was meant to surge through pure water and cling to the wooden hull of a ship, amplifying its damage. Morana wasn¡¯t ready for such a counter, and even though the water cultivator with her instantly began to try to disperse the layers, they simply couldn¡¯t manage it. The attack fell apart when its intended results failed to manifest. But Morana and the others were clearly preparing for another volley.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯d think an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator could win a battle against lower rank cultivators, but I guess not.¡± Verusha¡¯s voice was overly loud and her tone pretty clearly intended to provoke Morana. Tirto didn¡¯t think that anyone would fall for it. But apparently Morana was really that easily provoked, even though she¡¯d seen how it went for her mere moments ago. She immediately threw herself forward with her gathered air element, flying towards the Brandle Clan Flagship- far out in front of the others. That disrupted those who had been gathering energy to attack with her, and while the spiritual energy wasn¡¯t lost they took a moment to redirect it towards trying to take care of other problems, like the frozen ice around their ships, and trying to save their masts. Their sails were already done for. While the optimal way to deal with Morana might have been to call upon the power of his whole crew to try to bring her down, Tirto actually directed them to attack elsewhere. ¡°We¡¯ll handle her!¡± he called out. It was a bit of a risky proposition, but it had logic behind it. He truly believed that with just himself and Verusha, they could take on an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. And it would be even easier if she was angry. Morana flung a war dart with the force of a hurricane, directly for Tirto¡¯s chest. This was her actual style¡­ but it was far less effective away from her walled palace in the sky. Tirto took a large leap to the side. In the arenas he had heard about from his father, that would have thrown him off a platform. On his ship, it hardly made any difference as he and Verusha moved in tandem. Normally, Morana¡¯s style would have involved flinging war darts with both hands¡­ but she was down one of those. Thus, her following attack came at a point contrary to her accustomed rhythm. That made it easier to avoid when the one returning from behind them didn¡¯t come quite in sync. Tirto deflected the one from the front with a shield of ice, while he slowed the one returning with a bubble of water that clung to it. Outwardly, Verusha wasn¡¯t displaying any power¡­ but she wasn¡¯t simply letting Tirto drag her about. Fire empowered water. His ability to instantly form ice was in large part due to her, as he wasn¡¯t an ice specialist. And the bubble of water surrounding the returning war dart? That gave Morana quite a surprise when she tried to disperse it from her weapon. Her burst of air element indeed stopped the water from clinging to her weapon¡­ only to cause an explosion of superheated water to spray over her as her hand closed around a scalding hot metal shaft. The former was entirely deflected by Morana¡¯s energy defenses, but the latter she didn¡¯t entirely negate in time. Her instincts immediately dropped the weapon so she took only minor damage, but that impacted her rhythm even further- and she lost control of her far flung war dart. It crashed into the ocean far behind the battle. Such minor setbacks didn¡¯t seem like they would be important, as Tirto and Verusha hadn¡¯t come out far ahead in terms of damage or spiritual energy¡­ but with the beating her allies were taking, she couldn¡¯t afford to come out even close to neutral. The three Brandle Clan ships were focused on the two enemy ships and their cultivators. The third enemy ship was fighting Carl and the remaining portion of clan members there. The leviathan was not necessarily skilled, but he was more than strong enough to control that battlefield on his own, threatening more than just a few individuals at once. Air cultivators were taken out first to remove the enemy¡¯s elemental advantage. Their enemies had been expecting darkness cultivators, and while they were certainly able to adapt to fighting different elements¡­ the leviathan was a shock. And the lack of combat synergy with Morana was more than clear. Their prior attacks had all gone smoothly, but that would have been against cultivators who were not seeking battle, unprepared for the specific sort of assault that was happening here. Morana was enraged even further, catching her falling war dart with a gust of wind, at the same time withdrawing her remaining stock to swirl around her. Facing numerous attacks at once was of course a threatening situation¡­ but Tirto knew that if such a style was actually better, Morana would just use it as a default. There was a reason she threw the war darts, and that became immediately apparent as the whirlwind pressed in around Tirto and Verusha. All of the war darts followed the same path of the wind, and while Morana created slight fluctuations they were basically just one continuous attack. Tirto formed a barrier of ice that kept them at bay, then flames joined the whirlwind. They didn¡¯t disrupt Morana¡¯s control¡­ but the war darts began to melt and burn. A great gust of wind blew Tirto and Verusha off the deck into the water, then bolts of lightning rained down on them continuously as Morana started flinging her energy with reckless abandon. Tirto just calmly focused on defending, shaping the water around the two of them into layered barriers just as before. Unlike when he was defending the ship, he could create an omnidirectional barrier around the two of them. Morana didn¡¯t try to finesse her way through the barriers, but struck with power- repeated bolts of lightning alternating with strikes from the few war darts that had retained their form. Tirto gave an exaggerated yawn, subtly adjusting his defenses and the water around him to create a clear picture for Morana. Then he suddenly opened the barrier, leaving room for a massive ball of flame to fly out. Verusha grinned as she finally got to attack again, her built up aggression manifesting in a huge explosion around Morana. The Ascending Soul Phase cultivator did not go down from that single strike, but her defenses were shaken¡­ and Verusha was obviously building up another attack. Morana took stock of the situation¡­ and before the second attack was launched, flew higher into the air. Then even higher. Away, to the south, fleeing to the Sky Islands and leaving her compatriots to die without her. Tirto first thought she meant to fight from afar, but constantly flying would drain her energy and the distance would weaken her attacks- and she didn¡¯t turn about even as they began capturing the surviving enemy sailors. Chapter 381 Verusha grumbled as she looked up into the sky. ¡°It¡¯s no fair that only air cultivators get to fly.¡± Tirto chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s your main complaint?¡± ¡°Yeah, obviously. We could have chased down that hag and killed her if we could fly.¡± Tirto followed her gaze towards the Sky Islands, just barely visible above the horizon. ¡°That might be so. But we¡¯re not really strong enough to kill her as we are.¡± ¡°That¡¯s dumb. We beat her together!¡± ¡°And she survived. So we¡¯re not quite strong enough yet,¡± Tirto explained. ¡°Though we will be soon. I¡¯m quite sure of that.¡± ¡°You felt it too?¡± Verusha asked. ¡°Melanthina and Nik are gonna be so annoyed if they¡¯re the last ones.¡± Tirto chuckled. ¡°Tough for them. Now then¡­ we need to figure out our next moves.¡± ¡°Well, my plan is to burn down the Fourth Peak,¡± Verusha said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re not that big, I could probably set the whole thing on fire.¡± ¡°I appreciate your enthusiasm,¡± Tirto said. ¡°But we have some ships and sailors to deal with first.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. We sink ¡®em.¡± ¡°Aside from the fact that the cultivators would survive to cause more trouble¡­ we need to resolve things for the Gloom Desolation and our allies. I just need to figure out a fair split of captives.¡± ¡°Just pick one,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Tell them how it is, and they¡¯ll accept it.¡± Tirto wanted to reject that idea, but it would be more expedient for him to make the decision, and he believed he could be fair. Besides, political maneuvering was most of his training. ----- Though it was slightly out of their way, the fleet sailed onward until it reached Port Dawn, the easternmost port in the Gloom Desolation. There Tirto met with the governor. He kept things short and to the point. Along the way they had learned a few things from their prisoners- among all those they had it wasn¡¯t difficult to find a few who would give up simple information like the name of their sect. ¡°You have heard of our coming from Tenzing, the governor of Port Dusk. Two days ago we came across three ships from the Stormy Sea Sect, hailing from the Windswept Sea to your south and east. We sank two of their vessels, and captured the third. You will receive one ninth of the total prisoners to further investigate, and you may study the captured ship for the duration of our stay.¡± The governor was somewhat older than Tirto and he¡¯d likely had plans for how their meeting was going to go, but he found it difficult to say anything. Instead, he could only ask, ¡°Why one-ninth?¡± ¡°There are three regions we are aware of affected by this blight of pirates. The Gloom Desolation has three major ports, so we will be distributing prisoners equally among them.¡± ¡°I see,¡± was all the man could reply. ¡°Is this¡­ all of them?¡± ¡°You wonder if they have further accomplices. That is for your investigations to uncover. The question might best be answered by coordinating with the Glass Hills and the Wuthering Steppes. All we know for certain is there were three vessels traveling together, with one clear outsider.¡± Tirto didn¡¯t name Morana not because he didn¡¯t want to cause her harm, but because he didn¡¯t think a conflict between the Gloom Desolation and the Sky Islands could possibly go well for the former. Besides, he already had plans to handle the situation. He wasn¡¯t going to just leave things with Morana having run off into the sky. Once back in allied territory they could send messages ahead, but even if he trusted the Gloom Desolation to carry such a message nothing was likely to arrive faster than their own vessel. Unless they happened to have built up a rapid communications system contained within their own region. It was possible, but even if they had it they might not wish to reveal it. The messages to various ports arriving ahead of their flotilla was likely only possible because they were searching the area thoroughly. Tirto personally believed they had gotten all of the culprits, given the number of attacks. Either way, he didn¡¯t expect any others to be found on their return route, so they would be moving with greater speed. ----- They stopped in Port Midnight and Port Dusk, repeating much the same exchanges. Tenzing expressed his surprise. ¡°Even having witnessed your strength, I hadn¡¯t expected such rapid success,¡± he admitted. ¡°It was a small part luck,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Another part was timing. And a large part a leviathan, able to spot ships far before they get close.¡± ¡°Indeed, that fellow is quite large,¡± Tenzing confirmed, having seen Carl angrily counterattack their own port. ¡°As the closest port to our alliance, I hope you will strongly consider cooperating with us for your investigations. I believe the situation is at an end for now, but there are still some details to resolve.¡± ¡°Such as the consequences for the Stormy Sea Sect.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I am certain the Gloom Desolation would wish proper vengeance, but I must remind you that your forces will not be optimal against them in a naval battle. Not alone, at least.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Tirto couldn¡¯t necessarily speak for their whole alliance here, but the Brandle Clan¡¯s influence within the Shimmering Islands was sufficient that with just what he knew he could gather and the two affected regions he knew they could make a proper showing. Even if they didn¡¯t know the true might of the Stormy Sea Sect, he was quite confident they could successfully retaliate. Not doing so would only open up further trouble. ----- Once back in friendly territory, Tirto was able to arrange for messages to be sent to explain the situation. There were various factors in play, and people needed to know what was going on. He wasn¡¯t entirely certain how they would handle Morana, but there was no way they would stand idle. It wasn¡¯t like the previous times when Sitora pushed an army through continental territory- now they had official treaties, and it was a direct attack by a member of the Sky Islands. The proof they had was a great number of witnesses and¡­ some of Morana¡¯s war darts. They might also get confessions from their captured prisoners. The thanks from the Glass Hills and Wuthering Steppes were heartfelt, but also filled with some amount of surprise. Even Tirto hadn¡¯t been certain they would be able to resolve the issue in a single trip, though he didn¡¯t tell them that. Just that the alliance had their backs¡­ and that they should consider promoting some naval factions along their shores. ----- Melanthina was surprised to receive an emergency missive, and even more surprised at the combination of direction and the sender. ¡°What is it?¡± Nik asked, immediately catching onto the unusual nature of the message. ¡°It¡¯s from Tirto,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°He just resolved an issue with pirates in the Crystal Sea.¡± She gave the message another thorough read before handing it over to her husband. ¡°He suggests that someone should make official contact with the Gloom Desolation.¡± Nik nodded. ¡°And that someone would be you.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°Who better than the sister of someone they had vaguely positive interactions with? Though apparently there was a bit of trouble with Carl.¡± ¡°They brought along the leviathan?¡± Nik said, surprised. ¡°It seems he invited himself. Nitza was with them.¡± Nik was just about to reply to that when Ereli popped out of nowhere. ¡°If Nitza was part of the mission, I should join the diplomatic mission as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impolite to eavesdrop on conversations,¡± Melanthina said. Ereli just shrugged. ¡°You just said not to get caught doing it. And you were just standing out in the middle of the hall, hardly somewhere private.¡± ¡°You did get caught, though,¡± Melanthina pointed out. ¡°Revealing myself should not count,¡± Ereli argued. Melanthina shook her head. ¡°We both noticed you before that, and you didn¡¯t realize. Your new stealth techniques are fairly good, but not that good.¡± Ereli sighed. ¡°I understand. So¡­ can I participate?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°You need to take over for me eventually. Practical experience is important. But I¡¯ll remind you of what I previously said. Don¡¯t spy on people.¡± ¡°Or at least don¡¯t get caught,¡± Ereli nodded. ¡°I will be properly cautious, do not worry.¡± ----- John¡¯s initial reaction to receiving the message was to wonder what it would take to tear a Sky Islands out of the sky. Maybe a few determined earth cultivators- obviously with some way to mitigate the effects of the fall. Simply destroying the crystals that provided the buoyancy effect should be sufficient¡­ and the Fourth Peak wasn¡¯t that large. But that was probably an overreaction. He was glad Ursel was away, or she might actually try to do that- though she¡¯d have problems reaching the Sky Islands to begin with. Aside from overreactions due to the lives of his son and daughter-in-law being threatened by Morana, he still needed a response. He just needed to determine what was most appropriate. Since Tirto had been on alliance business, it wasn¡¯t something the Brandle clan and the Milanovic clan should be left to handle alone. John briefly worried about who else might receive the message¡­ but he knew that Tirto was smart enough to do things right. ----- ¡°I can definitely set that island on fire,¡± Steve said. Yustina soothed her husband by patting him on the head. ¡°I¡¯m sure Verusha said something quite similar. But there¡¯s no need to act impulsively. They¡¯re all quite alright.¡± Flames rippled around Yustina. ¡°Though if Nitza had been hurt, we¡¯d be scorching their land already. But we must properly express our displeasure. Without violence.¡± ¡°You really think that will work?¡± Steve replied. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong. There will be threats of violence. But I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be smart enough to do the right thing.¡± ----- The last person to receive any sort of message, despite technically being one of the closest, was Sitora. That was because of the complexities of delivering a truly private message. A member of the Wuthering Steppes had come to visit the Sky Islands, but not the Peaks. Instead, Sitora had received a message asking her to come visit one of the smaller islands. She wasn¡¯t the sort who could be ordered around and had almost disregarded the message, but it intrigued her just enough to walk into a possible trap. She was quite pleased she had paid attention, because she was treated to quite a thorough explanation memorized by the messenger. ¡°The final piece of the message is thus- ¡®Perhaps visiting the northern Sky Islands can help confirm the veracity of our information.¡¯¡± Sitora decided she already believed the message. However, it would be good to independently verify a few things. Morana had been suspiciously absent as of late, then she showed up suddenly and tried to pretend nothing was going on. If she had retreated from a battle, she would have had to stop on the northern islands, even with her power at the Ascending Soul Phase. Flying many tens of kilometers was not so easy, especially without the influence of the Sky Islands themselves supporting flight. This would be an excellent chance to get rid of Morana. It might even weaken Abritt¡¯s position, given the ties they had. Or she might cast away her lackey, finding her without further value. Either way, Sitora could begin maneuvering to place a more preferred individual in the position of an Island Master. While nominally it was based only on strength, and the ability to hold on against challenges¡­ political backing was necessary for anyone who wanted to hold onto the position long term. Unless they really were overwhelmingly strong, like Abritt had once appeared. But her single loss¡­ well, it had been devastating to Abritt¡¯s image. Sitora didn¡¯t suddenly believe she could defeat the woman and take her position, but she could gradually wear away at her base¡­ and perhaps it would be worth it to finally break through to the late Ascending Soul Phase herself. She certainly found herself more motivated, no longer dealing with the stale air that had filled the Sky Islands for so long. Chapter 382 The envoy from the continent returned to them with a message that they should gather a representative sample of those aggrieved by Morana¡¯s actions. That did mean that unfortunately Yustina and Steve wouldn¡¯t be able to express their displeasure, as they had not been directly affected by the incident. But Sitora had made it clear that she intended to act, and so they gathered people from the Glass Hills, Wuthering Steppes, and of course the Brandle Clan. They brought with them a number of captured Stormy Sea Sect cultivators to add their testimony against Morana. Though Sitora appeared confident enough to resolve things on her own, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have more evidence against the woman. Though they had many air cultivators with them, there were few that could fly- and even fewer that could fly all the way to the Sky Islands. It wouldn¡¯t have been possible for them to bring so many together without taking advantage of some special ships that were able to fly to and from the Sky Islands. They made good use of the peculiar makeup of the Crystal Sea and the crystal¡¯s ability to provide buoyancy, though it was extremely inefficient outside of the area. Those ships were necessary for what trade flowed between the continent and Sky Islands, making fairly regular trips. Once upon the Sky Islands, they were met by cultivators from the Second Peak who escorted them while also flying them between the islands. Along the established paths, a single cultivator could carry a half dozen others easily enough. It was a journey of a few days to keep them at a moderate pace. ----- When they arrived at the Peaks, Tirto had expected them to be taken up to the Second Peak, bypassing the Fourth. However, they instead approached the Fourth Peak immediately, only stopping by the Fifth for a few moments to pick up other cultivators waiting there. At the same time, cultivators began to descend from the Second and Third Peaks. Not long after that, Tirto felt activity from the First Peak. When they arrived on the Fourth Peak, Morana approached them aggressively, flanked by her best minions. ¡°Why have you come here?¡± She turned to Mirka, the Fifth Peak master. ¡°And why have you allowed them to shame our traditions by bypassing the challenges.¡± ¡°They are here as guests of a higher peak,¡± Mirka said simply. ¡°Surely you should be aware of the possibility. You did your very best to interfere with the previous guest, after all.¡± Tirto replied to her first question. ¡°And you know very well why we are here, Morana.¡± Winds and lightning crackled around her. ¡°I am the Island Master of the Fourth Peak, and I will be treated with respect.¡± Verusha yawned. ¡°We always treat people with the respect they deserve. That¡¯s why you get none.¡± ¡°How dare-¡± ¡°Morana of the Fourth Peak,¡± Sitora¡¯s voice boomed from above. It was impossible for Morana to have missed the approach of Sitora and Venera, but she likely didn¡¯t expect their approach to be so aggressive. They landed on either side of her, knocking away those surrounding her. Sitora continued her declaration, ¡°You stand accused of piracy, and more critically violation of the accords agreed upon by the Peaks. Your actions have been made clear to the eyes of all.¡± ¡°Is that what this is?¡± Morana asked, doing her best to keep her voice steady. ¡°You intend to levy false accusations against me?¡± Sitora didn¡¯t even dignify her words with a direct response, instead continuing upon the path she had prepared for herself. ¡°The first piece of evidence I will proffer is your cowardly flight where you stumbled onto the northern islands in a pitiful state. This was directly after you attempted to avail yourself of a grudge against John Miller of the Six Elements Crossroads by attempting to murder his son.¡± Abritt arrived a few moments later, floating imperiously above all of the rest¡­ yet Tirto felt in her a timidity. Perhaps that was his own personal projection, but either way she did not interrupt. Morana¡¯s confidence was slightly bolstered by Abritt¡¯s presence. ¡°You have no evidence-¡± ¡°A dozen witnesses of the battle from the Sky Islands,¡± Sitora declared, her words spreading far beyond the peaks themselves. ¡°Then several dozen more who witnessed your pathetic landing in the north. In addition to three ships worth of Brandle Clan members, and a number of your co-conspirators.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± declared one of the Stormy Sea Sect cultivators, ¡°She led us on attacks against many ships along the coast, before our final failed assault.¡± Morana tried to grab a moment to interject, but Sitora didn¡¯t let her. ¡°What do you have to say for your absence on the very specific dates during which these ships were sunk, using techniques you have available to you?¡± Once again, Sitora piled yet more upon her, pulling out a chunk of ship. ¡°This is your energy signature, is it not?¡± Tirto knew that the remains of her energy signature were beyond faint in any of the ships they had found¡­ but he didn¡¯t mind piling things on himself. ¡°Oh, you also forgot these when you fled for your life,¡± Tirto said, pulling out several of her war darts. Those were perhaps the most damning evidence against her. She might be able to make excuses for everything else, but her war darts were quite distinctive. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Morana hesitated for a moment. She tried to adjust her tone of voice to be vaguely accusatory, but she mostly sounded defensive. ¡°Where did you get-¡± ¡°We got them during your attack, obviously,¡± Verusha quipped. ¡°Are you so senile that you already forgot, old hag?¡± The lightning bolt Morana shot from her formed in an instant. Nobody stopped it, neither Sitora or Venera standing directly next to her nor the other Second Peak cultivators who had escorted Tirto and Verusha. Two hands stretched out together, Tirto and Verusha clasping their hands together in a unified response. A layer of water appeared in front of a layer of ice, but that was only what was visible. The last time they had fought, the pair would have found it difficult to instantaneously respond to the amount of power Morana put into her attack¡­ but though they hadn¡¯t yet crossed the threshold of the Ascending Soul Phase, they were a step closer and had learned Morana¡¯s style from their previous encounter. The real trick was the invisible steam that went in front of the rest of the barrier, capturing as much of the lightning as they could¡­ and redirecting it back towards Morana herself. It wasn¡¯t a perfect counter and was easily dispersed by Morana¡¯s defenses, but Verusha did smirk as the woman¡¯s hair stood on end. ¡°Enough,¡± Abritt declared from above. ¡°This matter will be dealt with according to the rules of the Peaks. I am certain the Second Island Master is more than capable of administering justice.¡± Morana¡¯s expression flickered from embarrassment to despair. Perhaps she expected to receive some sort of support- but she had ruined her own prospects. Tirto knew that Abritt didn¡¯t wish to stretch her own influence at the moment. There was no way she would shield Morana after so clearly going off the rails- and that foolish attack. So she simply reminded people of her position¡­ while ¡®allowing¡¯ Sitora to do as she pleased. Sitora looked around. ¡°Are there any who wish to advocate on Morana¡¯s behalf?¡± Morana looked desperately towards her most powerful supporters. They returned her gaze with pity. With her gone, they could vie for the position of the Fourth Island Master. ¡°There being none who would come to her defense, I declare Morana guilty of the most severe violations of the Peak¡¯s honor. She engaged in a clear and intentional violation of our accords. Combined with prior behavior, the only appropriate punishment is death by execution. Do you have any final words?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a lackey of pathetic continentals!¡± Morana spit. Sitora¡¯s face remained calm, but firm. ¡°Bold words for a woman who has been defeated by continentals time and again. I hope that moment of spite was worth your final breath.¡± Powerful air element bore down on Morana, though Tirto didn¡¯t see any immediate results. Morana stepped forward, raising her arm as if to form an attack¡­ but she seemed to be flailing her arm at nothing. ¡°I must say,¡± Sitora shook her head. ¡°I find your mastery of the element quite lacking.¡± Tirto watched closely. He was quite impressed, as Sitora seemed to be perfectly negating the other woman¡¯s spiritual energy. It wasn¡¯t exactly efficient, but having the advantage of several ranks it was possible to simply overpower her. There was also another factor in the struggle that wasn¡¯t immediately obvious until Morana began to clutch at her throat as she tried to take another breath. So Sitora really meant it would be her last breath, instead of close to it. Tirto needed to come up with some sort of counter for that technique¡­ though he was fairly certain it would only be that effective against air cultivators. She likely couldn¡¯t negate every element so directly. Still, he didn¡¯t want to have the air ripped out of his lungs. Morana collapsed a minute later, though she already felt as if she had been dead for days, her spiritual energy dispersed and her body nothing more than an empty shell. Personally, Tirto kind of wanted to spear her or let Verusha set her on fire, but he supposed the Sky Islands needed to manage their own business as well. ¡°That settles things, then,¡± Tirto said. ¡°We appreciate the Peaks upholding the non aggression pact. However, there are still damages that need to be covered. Out of Morana¡¯s personal finances, of course. I have no doubt that the rest of the Peak was completely unaware of her activity.¡± That was a total lie. Tirto could read on their faces that at least some of them had suspected something, and others likely had more than suspicions. But it was better to let the matter rest, and their allies could be at least partially compensated for their losses. It was unlikely Morana was still carrying all her spoils of war on her without having converted some into cultivation resources for her own use. ----- Arriving at the Gloom Desolation, Melanthina exchanged a look with Nik. Nothing needed to be said, as they both recognized the signs. The area was certainly primarily dark element, but it wasn¡¯t as vibrant as it could be. Darkness wasn¡¯t death, after all. But the land was dying. It was quite similar to the Deadfields, though it certainly wasn¡¯t that far gone. It was impossible to tell the reason for the lack of spiritual energy at first glance, but clearly the region wasn¡¯t in its best state. Even with the wide surge in cultivation, the first large city in which they stopped had nothing higher than Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. It was no surprise that they were easy prey for the seafaring cultivators- though Tirto had indicated that the ports were slightly more powerful. Everywhere they went people were quite surprised to see the balance between Nik and herself- and even more surprised to see the internal balance of Ereli. Then again, her own parents were surprised by her nearly every day. From once struggling to maintain her own safety due to light and darkness within her to now controlling the two elements with barely a thought¡­ their daughter had come a long way. Careful choice of totems had been a large part of that. The express purpose of their visit was to formalize relations with the Gloom Desolation, but to do that they needed to understand the elemental zone. But as they couldn¡¯t roam the whole land without making people extremely uncomfortable, their next destination was Port Dusk. The plan was to move along the coast first, learning about whatever was inland before finding the best way to efficiently make the local sects and clans feel like they had been properly respected. If all went well, they wouldn¡¯t have to hear about the troubles in the area by visiting personally. That would have helped inform Tirto¡¯s latest quest, and they likely could have stopped the trouble significantly sooner. Chapter 383 Though the initial purpose of her visit was to form a connection with the Gloom Desolation, Matayal made her own secondary objective after having arrived. She wanted to discover how things ended up the way they were, especially with regards to spiritual energy. Along the coast, she found that the pressure of darkness was so minimal that the Crystal Sea¡¯s water element was actually dominant. As water was allied with darkness it wasn¡¯t detrimental to the cultivators there except if they were less proficient with sensing their own element. Either way, she did not find that the elemental zone had strong borders. That was usually caused by internal spiritual energy production or outside energy flowing into the area, potentially both. In both areas, the Gloom Desolation was weak. Instead of a darkness element zone, it felt more like a mixed elemental zone, but missing the other half. Matayal found she was better able to cultivate at arbitrary points of the Stone Conglomerate where she had to convert earth element to darkness. The Gloom Desolation stretched far to the east before curving around to the north. Their southern coast had the majority of their ports, and Matayal found that the area was in a way their most vibrant. Further in from the coast, there were many scattered villages and only rare population centers. The local vegetation was mostly comprised of shrubs and weak grasses. The climate and soil were insufficient for much more than that, and the darkness element wasn¡¯t dense enough for spiritual plants to grow despite the poor conditions. Consulting the local clans and sects, they seemed to believe that the Gloom Desolation had always been that way. Perhaps it had, but Matayal had her doubts. There were legends of higher ranking cultivators and remnants of grand cities of the past. Unfortunately, by the time the end of her journey came she had learned little more. But she swore she would be back- and not because it was necessary for diplomatic progress. At least that part had gone well. There was much respect given to high ranking cultivators, and while Matayal hadn¡¯t quite reached the Ascending Soul Phase just yet she was not too far off. ----- For cultivators, forcing a breakthrough was a significant risk. That was even more true when one had a dual cultivation partner. The normal logic was to let the leading partner break through on their own, after which the other partner would catch up at their own pace. The advice Tirto got from his in-laws was of course completely the opposite. In part opposite of natural wisdom, but also in part opposite of each other. His father-in-law would probably just tell him to jump into a volcano and it would work out. His mother-in-law had a great level of zeal as well, but a bit more sense. Her advice- which he actually asked for- was to wait for both partners to be ready for a breakthrough. She mentioned significant benefits, especially with regards to the Ascending Soul Phase. Of course, the two of them shared elements, but Tirto wouldn¡¯t be throwing himself into a volcano. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t trust Verusha to do her utmost to keep them alive. She might even succeed at breaking through to the Ascending Soul Phase¡­ but it wouldn¡¯t be much good for him. Likewise, Tirto wasn¡¯t going to suggest visiting the deep sea or the Great Waterfall or the Frozen Heights. A water element zone wouldn¡¯t be good for Verusha. But they were both nearly ready to advance to the Ascending Soul Phase. Their initial age gap of five years had been significant when they were first married. But now they had spent nearly four decades together and any gaps in strength due to cultivation time had been erased. If they hadn¡¯t managed that, it would have simply meant their talents were poorly matched. But the two of them made up for the other when one was lagging behind, and their recent battle against an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator had pushed both forward. In short, they didn¡¯t have to worry about forcing things. The only question was whether they could feasibly break through together, or needed to do so separately. ¡°What about the Phoenix Forest?¡± Verusha asked as they were poring over their maps. ¡°Fire supports water, and earth is allied. That should be, uh¡­ decent enough, right?¡± Tirto shook his head. ¡°I could make a similar argument for the Viridia Wildlands.¡± ¡°Nah, actual water is dominant over fire,¡± Verusha countered. ¡°That would counteract the benefits from earth, even with our practice.¡± The two of them scoured the various maps, finally pulling out a crude but at the same time conveniently colorful map of the greater region. ¡°Ah. There¡¯s actually one that matches perfectly,¡± Tirto said. ¡°At least, if we only care about element.¡± ¡°Seriously? I¡¯ve never heard of a water-fire elemental zone,¡± Verusha said. ¡°It¡¯s up north here,¡± Tirto pointed. ¡°The Boiling Springs.¡± Finding a perfectly matched zone for their pairing of elements wasn¡¯t actually that odd. Allied elements would commonly coexist together, but even if it was a slightly rarer combination, non-allied core elements could also exist together. And where there were any two non-allied core elements, every pair had a dominant element paired together with its supporting element. There simply wasn¡¯t another option, and if the balance was right, one would feed into the other to build it up only to a certain point, creating a sustainable elemental zone. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The Phoenix Forest and even the Shimmering Islands were examples of that. In the former, earth supported fire, but the area was adapted such that the plants weren¡¯t completely consumed. Likewise, water supported air in the Shimmering Islands. The storms were great and powerful, but they needed the water- and couldn¡¯t eliminate it. In that regard, pairings that involved fire were generally the least stable, just like the element itself, as it was easy for it to consume to the point there was nothing left- or to be quashed by water and fade away entirely. ¡°The Boiling Springs are¡­ fine,¡± Verusha said. ¡°But they¡¯re kinda¡­ weak, aren¡¯t they? I feel like we could do better just sitting in element gathering chambers or something.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°I suppose so. Astrein wouldn¡¯t be a terrible idea. Even if the Six Elements Crossroads can¡¯t lend us space-¡± ¡°Your dad would absolutely open something up for us,¡± Verusha pointed out. ¡°You¡¯re right. But I wouldn¡¯t want to cause a disruption,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Even if he couldn¡¯t for some reason, we could find custom chambers somewhere in Lunson. It would be more familiar than the Boiling Springs, and potentially more potent.¡± ¡°Or we could visit the Molten Sea,¡± Verusha suggested. Tirto burst out laughing. ¡°Good one. The Molten Sea.¡± Tirto took a good look at his wife¡¯s face. He knew the mischievous smirk she got sometimes. But¡­ it was absent. ¡°... You¡¯re serious?¡± ¡°That place has had Ascending Soul Phase cultivators for generations,¡± Verusha pointed out. ¡°It¡¯s absolutely a very dense elemental zone. Fire and water element. It¡¯s perfect.¡± ¡°Except for the war,¡± Tirto said, his words curt. ¡°I was there too, you know. I understand. They killed your mother. Which is exactly why we should steal their spiritual energy!¡± Her hair flared blue, fluttering about as she spoke. Tirto thought for a moment. ¡°I doubt it would really make a difference to them.¡± ¡°First, it¡¯s the principle of the thing,¡± Verusha said. ¡°And second, if you don¡¯t break through with enough gusto to make a lasting dent in the local spiritual energy, you¡¯re doing it wrong.¡± ¡°This would be a huge undertaking.¡± ¡°What do you think the Ascending Soul Phase is, huh? It¡¯s not like the Foundation Phase where you just think about a totem for a bit and pick one you like. It¡¯s-¡± Verusha stopped herself, not because she didn¡¯t have the passion to continue her speech but because she knew she wouldn¡¯t be heard. Tirto was already focused on how to accomplish the task. They¡¯d probably have to make a whole big thing of it. Verusha had confidence in herself and her husband, of course, but that didn¡¯t mean she was willing to risk the wrath of a bitter sect or some group wanting to make a name for themselves. A single early Ascending Soul Phase cultivator was one thing, but risking their lives alone or with only a small group in unfamiliar territory would be foolish. It was possible their mere presence would be rejected, though in general they could expect to be left alone if they didn¡¯t intrude into clan or sect territory. Assuming they looked strong enough, of course. For all the bitterness that they had for the Molten Sea, it was really just Gesine and those who supported her who came to stir up trouble. There had been members of several different sects they would have to watch out for, but it wasn¡¯t a united effort. That was the concerning part, really, as at the time they could do little to stand up to them- needing the help of an outsider whose intentions were not much better. ----- Cultivators from the Shimmering Islands were the first to become part of the expedition. Then the Green Sands, because of the connection to Verusha. From there, things began to get out of control with everyone and their father wanting to join up. Tirto thought that his actual father was a good choice, but Lucanus wasn¡¯t. Their goal wasn¡¯t to march in with an army. Regardless of whether that went in their favor, nobody was ready for that. Things were still unstable with the Sky Islands, and inviting conflict wasn¡¯t a great idea. If they did end up in a war of some sort Verusha would absolutely recruit Lucanus, though. Ultimately, their goals expanded. They needed to bring enough people to show off their strength without looking like an invading army. They needed to find somewhere they could remain for days or potentially weeks while Tirto and Verusha got used to the surroundings and then attempted to break through. And somewhere in all that, they needed to properly establish contact. Before they could even reach the Molten Sea, they also had to head through several elemental zones that weren¡¯t associated with either their continental alliance or the Molten Sea. They had some trade interactions that far out, which was more interaction than they¡¯d had with the Gloom Desolation, but beyond that they knew little but details about major groups. More complicated political climates were unclear. Thus, they had to pick a group size that implied simply traveling, while still potentially bringing along an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Or multiple, though there weren¡¯t many groups out that way that were clamoring to show off their newfound strength. The Six Elements Crossroads had become the core pillar of their alliance, but beyond that those most affected by the Molten Sea would be the Sunfield and the Breathless Plains. So along with representatives of the Brandle and Milanovic clans, there would be a smattering of representative individuals¡­ and three Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. Yonit would have come for such an important event, but they would very much be pushing the threshold of invading force with a fourth Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. So the final complement would be John, Deirdre, and Presha of Silver Breeze Gorge. With the three of them and the many others from various groups, Tirto felt like the event was less about himself and Verusha¡­ and he didn¡¯t mind that at all. He¡¯d never been much for acting as the focus of attention. He could handle being clan head, but he preferred to deal with practical matters and more private diplomatic interactions. But when needed, he could act as necessary. Such an expedition couldn¡¯t suddenly be thrown together. It took months of coordination, and longer than that to actually find time in the schedules of all the important figures. But there was no rush, because even if Tirto and Verusha were confident that they were on the threshold it didn¡¯t hurt to spend more time in training before their next big step. Well, Tirto didn¡¯t feel any rush. Verusha had to borrow some patience from him to last the whole time. Chapter 384 Being the westernmost group undertaking the journey to the Molten Sea, the Shimmering Islands cultivators were the first to depart. Astrein had gathered those from the surrounding areas, and the same was true for the Sunfields beyond and then finally the Breathless Plains. From there, they turned to the northeast. Soon they found themselves east of the Frozen Heights, a land of rivers known as the Encapsulated Flow. Or more often for the locals, by the name of whatever river they happened to be near which was obviously the greatest and most powerful of them all. Or if it was measurably smaller, special in some other way. Maintaining a relatively straight path required navigating many of the rivers, though it was a simpler task than navigating the Breathless Plains and the many gorges within. The consequences of a mistake when navigating a river generally amounted to little more than getting wet, as long as they didn¡¯t choose to cross in the rapids or somewhere else foolish. The reason they preferred a straight path was their precise destination. All of the rivers would eventually reach the Molten Sea as their endpoint, but their intention was to meet with a particular sect that had agreed to host them ahead of time. The Burning Delta was one of the rare points of contact they had with the region, though they were far from allies. Even so, their particular position had kept them from being swept up in Gesine¡¯s crusade, unlike other sects further south and otherwise generally deeper into the Molten Sea. It was possible the Molten Sea had already forgotten the war, taking it as part of everyday business as cultivators¡­ but Tirto hadn¡¯t. Nor had his father. Since they didn¡¯t wish to provoke a war, they focused on sensible decisions on their own part. Within reason, they would stay away from the riskier areas. Rivers were nice. That was partially Tirto¡¯s bias as a water cultivator, of course, but he wished he saw grand rivers more often. There was something simple about water sloping downhill, trying to find its way to the lowest area. Quite different from a sea, where the movement was caused by wind and tide. ----- Before they saw the Molten Sea, they could see signs on the horizon. The Shimmering of steam and, yes, clouds high in the atmosphere. For all that John had tried to picture it, he always tended to focus more on the fiery aspects- but it was just as much a region of water element. Despite lava being molten earth, the earth element in the area was tertiary at best. It merely supported the fire¡¯s continual presence. John had kind of expected a violent clashing of elements, but as they approached the border it wasn¡¯t as violent as what he¡¯d pictured. Then again, he shouldn¡¯t have expected that. The Molten Sea was a stable region- unlike the Annihilation Strip. Core elements didn¡¯t annihilate each other, though they often tended to settle into one being dominant over the others. Focusing his spiritual energy on his eyes, John was able to make out the border. It fairly swiftly transitioned from grass to bare land to lava, but the Molten Sea wasn¡¯t setting the nearby Encapsulated Flow on fire. It wasn¡¯t like the Phoenix Forest where the local plant matter could burn indefinitely- thus it was already burned away or more properly most plants would never take root in the border region. As for the river clashing with the Molten Sea? That had happened long ago. What remained was an obsidian river bed, covered at first by sediment from above but mainly transitioning to black. The river did constantly steam, heated from beneath and the sides, but near the border it remained short of boiling. Their path into the Molten Sea was along one of those very rivers. It was safe to walk¡­ for cultivators, and cultivators alone. There was a strip only a few meters wide of solid land, though the ground itself would likely burn leather soles just a step from the river¡¯s edge. Immediately next to the river was slightly cooler in that regard, though dealing with constant steam was required. And occasionally, the river or lava around it broke through the bed to meet the other, causing a brief but violent spurt of steam and toxic ash. It was truly a path only cultivators would walk, but almost pleasant if one was able to insulate oneself from the temperature. Flowing rivers were always a treat, and the shimmer of lava beneath the crust was intriguing. Though it would be a deadly mistake to take that crust as solid ground anywhere but near a river. The river did shrink rapidly as they advanced further into the Molten Sea, but it persisted for half a day. At that point, instead of continuing to slowly shrink, it fell down directly into the earth, then occasionally released as a massive geyser. It was near this final point that they encountered their guide, an elder from the Burning Delta. John wasn¡¯t terribly surprised to find the man to be shaved bald. While a conscious cultivator could control the temperature around them, focusing on that at all hours of the day for decades would grow quite tiring. ¡°Welcome!¡± the man said. ¡°Apologies that you had to come this far on your own, but any who could not walk this far would be better away from the Molten Sea. Unlike what you have seen there are a few temperate locations¡­ but it is easy to become entrapped without the aid of those of sufficient cultivation. I am elder Radek of the Burning Delta. I am honored to receive the representatives of many great clans and sects.¡± He turned around and gestured for them to follow. ¡°From here we will walk along the stable paths. Remember well this route, for merely relying on what you see ahead of you is unreliable. One moment you may have solid ground, the next it may crumble away, leaving you isolated.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. John was glad he had a fire totem now, because while the previous stretch had been hotter than the Green Sands, everything became even hotter. Cultivators combined their efforts to keep themselves cool, directing the heat away from their path. John saw Tirto was standing particularly close to Verusha, taking advantage of her abilities. Having anticipated the situation, they only had cultivators strong enough to sustain protection against the heat. Spiritual Collection or Foundation Phase cultivators could likely keep up the effort for a few hours, but marching all day with no reprieve was beyond their abilities. It wasn¡¯t like they could rest in the shade during the greatest heat in the middle of the day. There was neither shade to be found nor would there be the cool of night. It also was very much not a desert. Even away from the river they left behind, the air was humid. John curiously sought around, especially under their path and the lava on either side. He found pockets of water and even underground ¡®rivers¡¯. Perhaps the pits he saw before fed other areas beneath the Molten Sea, otherwise the water near the surface should have been forced out long before. Just before they reached their destination, it began to rain. This was where John was also quite glad to be a water cultivator- because the water was not cooling. In fact, it was barely short of boiling once more, having only briefly condensed into clouds above them. In addition to shielding himself and those directly around from the rain itself, John also kept away the invisible steam that came in return. At least Tirto had an opportunity to pay back Verusha for her work throughout the day. Not that they would be keeping track of such things, but John knew that every bit of closeness they had would be critical if they still intended to break through together. The Molten Sea was looking more and more like the perfect location for them. ----- ¡°Behold,¡± Elder Radek declared. ¡°The Burning Delta.¡± Ahead was a sect that had little in the way of permanent structures, instead displaying large tents made from some material John didn¡¯t immediately recognize. The tents were set up on the largest sections of solid ground they had seen since entering the region, likely owing that to the spidering tendrils of something approaching an actual river delta. Except instead of feeding into a normal sea, this was simply the area where the water finished evaporating at the end of its journey, with these branches not having found their way underground. Surrounding the sect, instead of a wall, were a series of barrier markers- and they also made a formation of sorts that kept the worst of the heat out. The temperature dropped to an unpleasant but survivable level. In the rear of the sect- at least based on their angle of approach- John spotted a series of docks. That was what they had to be, given the ships. Rather than the larger sort he was used to, they were relatively smaller and skinny. They had visible sails and a place for oars as well. The material of the hulls seemed to be some sort of visibly unremarkable stone- and it was glowing red hot. But as it didn¡¯t melt, it seemed to be sufficient. As for how they would be propelled by winds through viscous lava, John had to assume that cultivators were required- though the region certainly wasn¡¯t lacking in powerful winds due to the huge gradients in temperature. Upon approaching the tents, John could see that they were made of some sort of scaled material- perhaps some sort of local lizard¡¯s hide? Rather than entering any of them, they were brought to the center of the sect where there was actually some sort of groundcover growing- an odd plant with plump leaves. John and the others followed Elder Radek, who strode over the plant without a second thought. It took John a moment to realize what it resembled. Eventually, he settled on ice plants- which had very little to do with actual ice, but instead were a coastal plant named that way because¡­ well, John didn¡¯t know and hadn¡¯t had access to the internet in a full lifetime. Ice plant was the English name anyway- in this world they were often called blade plants. This particular variety was reddish and laid more flat than others, but it was otherwise similar. ¡°Sect Head Zdislava,¡± Elder Radek introduced, ¡°Our guests have arrived.¡± A wrinkled old woman stood there, though her age didn¡¯t bring her low. She stood tall and proud, her cultivation at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. She was outclassed by the three Ascending Soul Phase cultivators among the group, but did not appear intimidated. ¡°Welcome,¡± she said, her voice strong. ¡°Welcome to our home. The Burning Delta is happy to receive visitors for an exchange of insights.¡± She turned to John in particular as she said that. ¡°We cultivate two elements here, as we must. But I must confess I found tales of your cultivation quite unbelievable. Even now, seeing it with my own eyes, it almost seems like it must be a trick.¡± Her senses scanned other members of the Six Elements Crossroads. ¡°Yet replicating such a trick more than once would be far more unbelievable. I hear you come from a Spiritual Energy desert.¡± John shook his head. ¡°That is not quite the case. Astrein simply carries an even mix of all the elements. The quantity of each is below what might be expected, but the sum total is quite significant, if one knows how to access it.¡± ¡°I see. It is quite a long way, so our information is somewhat incomplete.¡± She then turned to Deirdre and Presha. ¡°I see your company covers the entire spectrum of elements. Though that is perhaps less unique than having most of them within a single individual. Our sect itself does not possess the grandest sights¡­ but we can show you to the local wonders on the morrow. First, you must rest from your journey.¡± Chapter 385 Though John managed to create a slight cooling effect for himself that lasted throughout the night, quite a few others woke up slightly sweating. Even if they were away from the greatest concentrations of heat, the Burning Delta wasn¡¯t concerned with completely negating the heat in the area. To them, it would probably be a waste of energy. The Burning Delta provided breakfast, which happened to be something akin to sushi. The fish was raw because it was highly impractical to actually cook it- according to what John learned, it was common lavafish¡­ and thus used to extremely high temperatures. Cooking it also wasn¡¯t necessary for health reasons, since normal bacteria wouldn¡¯t survive at such temperatures. John couldn¡¯t help but think about supernatural bacteria, but he was certain that the local would know if there were such risks with their dishes. Nor did his senses detect anything untoward. That was probably for the best¡­ though he was training his blood to remove toxins and it might have been nice to get further examples. But it wouldn¡¯t be great for the other guests. The fish itself was¡­ spicy. Not because of anything added to it, but because it was served still ¡®warm¡¯, and it also contained a significant amount of fire element. To the locals, warm was just slightly below boiling- something any proper cultivator could withstand but not always pleasant. John couldn¡¯t say he disliked it, but it wasn¡¯t a new favorite. And he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what would happen if you did cook the fish, frying it at some sort of extreme temperature. After breakfast, sect head Zdislava led them to the ships. ¡°Please be careful when approaching,¡± she said. ¡°Be aware that the sides of the ship are just as hot as the lava itself, though slightly less conductive. If you fall in, you would do best to insulate yourself from the heat while we help you return to the ship, if you don¡¯t have your own methods.¡± It was likely that nobody needed to hear that lava was hot and dangerous, and the warning about the sides of the ship should have been pretty obvious¡­ but it was better to have unnecessary reminders than to miss something important. John could probably catch anyone in a nearby vessel with a cushion of air or water before they actually hit the surface if it came down to that, but given the size of each ship he likely wouldn¡¯t be close to all of them. John wondered if Molten Sea cultivators could make lava not hot- without simply hardening it into stone, of course. Perhaps he would ask when it was appropriate. Either way, he climbed aboard one of the narrow stone vessels after Zdislava. Before anything else they had to attach the sails- it appeared they were completely removed from the masts while docked. Once they were ready to depart, they cast off from the dock- the lines holding them tight being some sort of metal ropes that were untied by the sailor¡¯s spiritual energy then rolled onto a special reel. The deck of the ship was only ¡®unpleasantly hot¡¯, but that indicated excellent insulative properties for something constantly sitting in lava. The ships had wide sails, but despite the strong winds in the area that wasn¡¯t sufficient for the vessels to move at any speed through the lava. That was another job for the sailors, and they used surprisingly familiar techniques. The sailors at the front of the vessel manipulated the lava to have significantly lessened viscosity, allowing the ship to push through it. The sailors were treating lava like water. Or perhaps it was better to say that water element techniques were functional on any sort of liquid. John was aware of their methods beforehand, but seeing it in person made him think. Traditionally he would have thought of lava as earth and fire. That said, the local lava actually did have a higher amount of water in it- providing one of the dangers they had to deal with. Powerful bursts of steam and gas built up in the Molten Sea, flinging bits of lava up into the air and threatening those on deck and their sails. The sails appeared to be little more than canvas- most likely specialized, but still flammable. Instead of trying to find some sort of flexible material that wouldn¡¯t burn, the locals seemed to focus on avoiding hazards ahead of them. When anything got too close, they manipulated the buildups to release early- or away from their ships. Some part of John wanted to say that lava couldn¡¯t be ¡®water¡¯. However, if that was the case then sometimes ¡®water¡¯ wasn¡¯t water. Water element cultivators still controlled it when it was ice or steam. Likewise, John expected he could control earth when it was molten- or if it were vaporized- with one important limitation. Water was supported by the fire element, whereas earth was dominated by it. So treating liquid stone as ¡®water¡¯ was perhaps more efficient. In truth, it was all about perspective. As a cultivator of five elements and with some experience in the sixth, John understood there were many ways to accomplish a task. Certain sorts of spiritual energy were more efficient for a task, but most could accomplish the same thing eventually. Fire element in the form of heat could help plants to grow, in moderation. When traditional earth was a liquid, perhaps it was better to treat it as ¡®water¡¯. John had an interesting idea for one of his modular techniques. He had added the air element to his Sinking in the Mire technique, which was traditionally water and earth. Using it with sand, he was able to make people sink¡­ and then when he stopped injecting air they would be buried. Why not do the same thing with fire? Specifically, if he could turn the ground into magma and momentarily reduce its viscosity, it would be extremely difficult for someone to get out. The only issue was that anyone who would remain immobile long enough for that to happen- even if it took just a single second- was far below the level John was concerned with. But if they were already naturally using lava as footing- which he had experienced before- then it might be viable as the most intensive part would be forming the lava. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! John stood off to the side of the vessel, attempting some experiments with the lava. He confirmed what he thought about controlling its movement as either ¡®water¡¯ or ¡®earth¡¯. Both were possible, but one was amplified by the abundance of fire element and one was hindered. With water permeating everything, it really was best to treat the lava as water and fire element mixed. It was no more odd than the Phoenix Forest mixing earth and fire. Their travel was smooth, and aside from the heat and how everything looked John didn¡¯t feel like anything was much different than a sea voyage. The biggest difference was that there were only shallow waves, and they didn¡¯t seem to be caused by winds or any form of tide as much as by buildups of pressure causing a burst that pushed large quantities of lava around. ¡°Are there tides in the Molten Sea?¡± John asked Zdislava. ¡°There are,¡± she confirmed. ¡°Though in most places, they are less extreme than what I have heard is the case for a more traditional sea. But one must be aware of these tides. Our sect grounds are only a few meters above the highest tides.¡± ¡°Are there ever¡­ extreme tides?¡± John asked. ¡°On occasion we have to defend our sect grounds from overflow,¡± the old woman smiled gently. ¡°Sometimes, we must let it be overrun and focus on survival.¡± ¡°The harsh environment must build strong cultivators,¡± John said. Ahead of them, John noticed an issue he had no idea how they would overcome. It was simple, really. One of the rivers flowing in its obsidian beds- but even if their ship could function on water- and he doubted that it would be a smart idea to dunk the glowing hot ship in ¡®cool¡¯ water- the riverbeds would be an issue. But Zdislava herself showed how the locals dealt with that issue. She built up her spiritual energy, forming the backbone of a molten bridge of lava that their ship sailed up. She was not the only cultivator to support the bridge, but her contribution was by far the greatest. John paid close attention to what was done, though it wasn¡¯t that much different from what he might expect. He could do the same thing with liquid water- though most seafaring vessels would need a deeper bridge to stay afloat. Their draft was relatively shallow, though John noticed that the ¡®bridge¡¯ was still deeper in the middle, forming a sort of half circle downward. Special care was taken for the lava to not collapse onto the river- John could just imagine how they might accidentally divert the flow of the rivers if they just let it fill up with random bits and pieces. The rivers already branched out quite easily, no doubt they didn¡¯t want more chaotic patterns. After they were once again traveling ¡®as normal¡¯, Zdislava began a conversation with John. ¡°I noticed you manipulating the lava with earth element earlier. As a tertiary element here¡­ do you think it would be valuable for our cultivators to learn?¡± John gave that serious consideration, then explained his earlier thoughts about efficiency. ¡°It could be useful, but if anyone is planning to cultivate three core elements, I would suggest all four.¡± ¡°But there is no natural air element here,¡± Zdislava said. John shook his head. ¡°That is not true at all. Are there not winds? Do gasses not build up in the sea?¡± Of course, the mere presence of something didn¡¯t mean there was spiritual energy¡­ or at least not usable amounts. ¡°Of course, it is relatively lesser than the others. One must know how to extract it.¡± John held up a hand, creating a small whirlwind with only external spiritual energy. Extremely small, as without cycling spiritual energy through themselves a cultivator couldn¡¯t do very much with any form of spiritual energy. ¡°But of course, I am quite biased towards a cycle of elements. Even so, three core elements would be unbalanced. That, I can guarantee. Your current methods would be far superior given the relatively lower density of earth element.¡± John was happy to speak on cultivation- and he was not worried about giving up ¡®secrets¡¯ when speaking of elemental cycles. In short, three core elements was about the only style John didn¡¯t think was worthwhile, except perhaps mixing light and darkness directly with each other- despite a few examples of that working- or with opposite core elements. Any pair of core elements had its own focus, a cycle of three allied elements, or a cycle of the four core elements or the full six element cycle were all valid paths. Perhaps John would only add a pairing of light or darkness and just one allied element to his disfavored list, but that would still be ranked above trying to balance only three core elements. ¡°I see,¡± Zdislava nodded. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning to change the methods of the Burning Delta to begin with, but I still had to consider potential routes to improve our power.¡± ¡°You can still study earth,¡± John suggested. ¡°Understanding other elements will never be a detriment. But intentionally reaching an incomplete cycle would require¡­ very specific intentions, if nothing else.¡± John couldn¡¯t say that nobody would be able to make good use of such a thing- but it certainly wasn¡¯t a great plant for a sect. The tour of the surrounding area continued, and while Zdislava seemed to think that what they saw wasn¡¯t particularly impressive, John thought that was part humility and part familiarity. Because personally, he thought that lava, massive pit geysers, and obsidian bed rivers was more than enough to impress. And how their ships navigated the Molten Sea was just as impressive as the area itself. John had also seen Tirto and Verusha excitedly manipulating lava behind them. He wasn¡¯t certain what sort of place would be best for them to try to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase, but surely they would find it here. Water and fire¡­ at least from the right perspective. And sometimes, perspective was all that was necessary for a cultivator to accomplish great things. Chapter 386 Previously Tirto had seen how fire supported water by promoting a metamorphosis between states. However, he saw now that they had only scratched the surface of that interaction, even after having advanced through two-thirds of the stages. In some ways, fire might not merely be responsible for the facilitation of transforming water, but for its creation. In Tirto¡¯s mind, water was the seas of the Shimmering Islands. Or perhaps it was the lakes, rivers, and ponds that formed inland, or the rains that brought water onto the islands. Regardless, to him water had been only a single thing. Except that wasn¡¯t even true. It was just his narrow thoughts that limited him. If asked, Tirto would say that both water from a river and water from the sea were just water¡­ but the contents of each were significantly different. Ocean water had more salt, among other things. What else did he treat as water? Any liquids containing water itself, that specific compound- including blood. Yet he¡¯d also seen people control alcohol with water elemental spiritual energy- alcohol that was as little as a single percent ¡®water¡¯. He didn¡¯t consider that weird, until he actually thought about it. Then Tirto experienced people using water element to control lava, and they didn¡¯t think about it. They just did it. They did use a certain amount of fire element as well, but that was perfectly understandable. Perhaps he had been thinking too much. So he stopped, instead reaching out for Verusha. Together, they reached for lava, finding that it moved smoothly under their combined commands. Perhaps it was a bit denser and more viscous than the water Tirto was used to, but he couldn¡¯t deny it was water. To him, that wasn¡¯t as important as it being a connecting point between fire and water. Perhaps it didn¡¯t mean anything to others, but lava felt more like fire than anything else. That was important to realize because he wasn¡¯t just a single person. He had never truly considered reaching the Ascending Soul Phase without Verusha. They were here to advance together¡­ and a mutually understood moment was important for that. After they were finished playing with lava- which was not a short time- Tirto made sure to confirm Verusha¡¯s thoughts aligned with his own. They might have been married for decades now, and as dual cultivation partners their energies were in sync with each other¡­ but that didn¡¯t mean they knew each and every thought that passed through the other¡¯s mind. ¡°This is the right place,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I can feel the connection between fire and water.¡± Verusha nodded. ¡°Somehow, it feels like an unexpected result- even though we¡¯ve always known about the Molten Sea and their elements. There was always a thought in my mind that fire and earth together must have still been those same elements.¡± ¡°Do you think it works in other ways? Fire and water is¡­ air, from a certain perspective.¡± Tirto shrugged, ¡°Certainly, I wouldn¡¯t expect air cultivators to be unable to control steam. But I don¡¯t know what fire and air would be.¡± ¡°Perhaps it works for cross elements only,¡± Verusha said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen your father use his entrapment techniques by forcing air into loose earth. The result was something much like water. Yet I don¡¯t know if air and water make fire.¡± ¡°It may not work in all manners,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°However, air and water in stormclouds mix to cause lightning. Lightning is air- but it can also be seen as fire in many cases.¡± As allied elements, it would be possible that the two were subconsciously used interchangeably. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know of any fire element users who would venture into lightning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just not around enough fire element cultivators,¡± Verusha said. ¡°I know that the Glass Hills have a small number of dedicated fire cultivators that have spread into the Green Sands.¡± Tirto nodded. ¡°Well¡­ we don¡¯t need to understand everything. Just each other, and the overlaps in our elements. Fire supports water. Water dominates fire, but can sometimes be formed by it. And though it¡¯s not a traditional teaching, water is a decent vessel for fire¡­ if you have enough fire, that is. How many times have we surprised cultivators with the heat of steam?¡± Verusha grinned. ¡°So many times.¡± ----- Failing to take advantage of his father¡¯s understanding of both the connections between elements and the Ascending Soul Phase in particular would be foolish, so Tirto made certain they discussed with him on their recent insights. ¡°All your thoughts are true,¡± John agreed. ¡°The only question is how you plan to implement them in your cultivation.¡± ¡°We were thinking of perhaps attuning to the same totem,¡± Tirto said. Obviously they hadn¡¯t just begun to choose their totems in consideration of the other. That had been the case for the majority of their cultivation careers. ¡°Or perhaps finding totems that match each other in some way.¡± Verusha looked at her husband for a few moments. ¡°There was one other idea, actually.¡± Tirto bit his lip. ¡°Well, yes. But it was rather extreme. It simply came as one of many ideas, and I don¡¯t know if it was well thought out on my part.¡± ¡°I think it was a valid consideration,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Let me ask, do you think people reach the peak of cultivation through timidity and treading the exact same path as all those before them? Certainly not, or we would see Exalted Soul Phase cultivators everywhere!¡± John grinned, looking at the two of them. ¡°I¡¯m interested to hear this idea.¡± Tirto looked to Verusha for help, but she shook her head. ¡°It was your idea. You should say it.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Tirto sighed. ¡°Fine. I had suggested¡­ that perhaps we should attune to a totem that the other would have chosen for themself. The idea was with our spiritual energy passing through each other, it would be more efficient. But obviously it¡¯s a bit extreme.¡± ¡°Why?¡± John asked. ¡°Why¡­ what?¡± Tirto tilted his head. ¡°Why did I think of it?¡± ¡°No, you already explained that adequately. Why do you believe it to be extreme?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Tirto began. ¡°We¡¯re not multi-element cultivators. Even when fighting together, Verusha always handles all the fire element and I control the water element. Even attuning to a lower tier totem would be extremely difficult, as we have significantly less experience with the other element.¡± John nodded slowly. ¡°I see. And you see reaching the Ascending Soul Phase as easy?¡± ¡°What? No, that¡¯s not what I meant at all,¡± Tirto protested. ¡°I know how difficult it will be, so wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate to further increase that difficulty? Conversely, we should be looking for the smoothest path.¡± His father nodded. ¡°Like a river flowing down a mountain.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Good. Just take a look at the rivers around here,¡± he gestured broadly. Tirto very well knew about the rivers, having just finished a tour of the surrounding area during the day. They were anything but calm and peaceful. ¡°So¡­¡± Tirto said hesitantly. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s the correct route for us?¡± John shrugged. ¡°How should I know? However, one thing I can say for certain is¡­ if your wife thinks you have a good idea, you should make sure not to set it to the side too easily.¡± ¡°... That makes sense.¡± ----- A main part of the reason that Tirto and Verusha came to the Molten Sea was not necessarily to gain new insights, but instead to find a useful location to attempt their advancement. A location with naturally dense water and fire element would greatly boost their chances of success, along with what resources they brought along with them. The Ascending Soul Phase was important enough that they couldn¡¯t afford not to bring with them as much spirit water and spirit fire as they could pack, and in the highest qualities. Rather than attempting to explore the area on their own- not that they even could as they would need a ship- the pair simply consulted Zdislava for her expertise. ¡°You need an area with the highest density of spiritual energy, but also as balanced as possible,¡± she said, thinking through the words as she spoke them. ¡°The answers I can provide for you would vary depending on how much risk you are willing to accept.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should begin with the safest,¡± Verusha suggested. ¡°We can judge whether it would seem to be potent enough for our needs.¡± ¡°You will find a wide variety,¡± Zdislava explained. ¡°The simplest location would be one of the great confluences nearby. Where two large rivers meet in the delta, fire element is also stirred up. The process is rather violent, but there are relatively safe patches nearby even the most sizable confluence. We passed by some previously. But for your purposes, even the best of those might be insufficient for your needs. You likely need something more powerful- and thus more volatile.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deny that,¡± Tirto admitted. ¡°What else might you suggest?¡± ¡°The mouth of a geyser,¡± Zdislava said simply. ¡°The spiritual energy builds to a crescendo, with fire and water elements that I think would suit the two of you. It can be rather disruptive, but the power is likely worth it. This is what I would suggest.¡± Verusha nodded slowly. ¡°And¡­ what if we wished to go beyond that?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I would actually recommend any of this,¡± Zdislava clarified. ¡°But diving into the sea itself you can find much greater density of spiritual energy. But the dangers are too many to count. You could be incinerated or crushed by the pressure, if you could even navigate it. It¡¯s rather infeasible even with the pair of you at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase.¡± ¡°That does sound a bit too far,¡± Verusha said. ¡°But what about inside a geyser? We could at least avoid the crushing weight of earth. And the two of us are more than capable of handling water pressure.¡± ¡°I will admit to having little experience there,¡± the old woman explained. ¡°Caution has kept me away. It seems of similar danger to simply diving into the sea itself, except focused into individual moments. At the surface the water of the geysers has had time to reduce in heat and pressure, but below¡­ well, I would say it is beyond the limits I would push myself to. Then again, you can see my own cultivation is not any higher than yours, despite my age.¡± ¡°Thank you for your suggestions,¡± Tirto said. ¡°We will take some time to consider the options.¡± ----- Verusha had dunked herself up to her neck in lava- and then she had yanked Tirto in after her. They didn¡¯t naturally sink below the surface, but once they were in deep they didn¡¯t float to the surface rapidly. She was giggling, but Tirto was pursing his lips. ¡°It¡¯s not much good for swimming,¡± he said. That was an understatement, as he could barely move his limbs- and that was with the application of spiritual energy to support himself. In truth, it was actually easier to control the lava to move him. But the heat was the greater issue- at least at their current level. Tirto knew that Verusha had only pulled him in to see him sweat- sweat which immediately turned to steam. Meanwhile, she was far better at regulating the heat around her. Verusha considered something briefly, before gingerly sticking out her tongue and touching the surface of the lava. She flapped her hand as if she had merely touched particularly hot soup. ¡°I think more than the pressure or heat, we¡¯d have another problem,¡± Verusha said. ¡°And that problem?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Breathing. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting lava inside me. And all your special breath techniques revolve around extracting air from water. That doesn¡¯t work if there isn¡¯t any.¡± ¡°There are¡­ pockets of water,¡± Tirto said, searching with his spiritual energy through the lava. However, he couldn¡¯t reach very far before his energy decayed. ¡°But I don¡¯t see this being effective.¡± He slowly raised himself up, letting the lava slide off him as it pushed beneath him. Together, Verusha did the same as they walked to the shore, making certain to dislodge all of the remaining lava. Though the two of them were almost casual about their dunk in lava, in truth even as peak Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators they wouldn¡¯t last long in such oppressive circumstances. They might be able to walk along the surface all day, but half or fully submerged they likely had less than an hour- and that was with their full effort focused on survival. But they hadn¡¯t expected this to be the optimal method. It was simply the easiest to test, as it merely involved going a few steps beyond the sect grounds. They would calculate their other options once they took a short break. Chapter 387 The great power released by a geyser brought with it mixed fire and water spiritual energy. The closer the pair could get to the event, the more spiritual energy they would have access to. The only issue was that such spiritual energy was volatile, and thus not trivial to use. Even if Tirto and Verusha could convert the spiritual energy to their own control, they had to protect themselves against the power of the burst of steam. Despite the difficulty involved¡­ it also wasn¡¯t enough. Being buried in the Molten Sea itself was a relatively constant difficulty that had just about the same amount of power they could absorb. The inconsistent patterns of steam wouldn¡¯t be sufficient for their advancement, and it was clear to them that they wouldn¡¯t find a better result with different geysers. Larger or smaller would both have their own issues. That left the two of them with no reasonable options. Verusha looked over at Tirto. ¡°So I was thinking maybe we should consider-¡± ¡°Dropping into one of the geysers?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°Well, yeah,¡± Verusha shrugged. ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit extreme but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re trying to make a simple advancement. Doing something that extreme is probably necessary. If not, why did we even come here?¡± Verusha bit her lip. ¡°I honestly thought this would be harder.¡± ¡°If you suggested doing it for fun? Absolutely,¡± Tirto agreed. ¡°But there¡¯s a purpose behind this. We can explore other options, but I certainly haven¡¯t heard of any.¡± Tirto paused for a few moments. ¡°What do you think of Nitza¡¯s ability to lead the clan?¡± Verusha made a face. ¡°Nitza is still¡­ immature. Not like you were at that age. But you know, I¡¯d rather not go into this believing we¡¯re going to die. You¡¯ve gotta have confidence in yourself. In us.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Tirto said. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t hurt to have a little more motivation to succeed.¡± ----- Having made their decision, it seemed like all they had to do was find the right geyser and jump in. But there was at least one more step on the way that seemed important. ¡°Can you watch to make sure we don¡¯t get attacked by lava sharks or something?¡± Tirto asked his father. John smiled. ¡°Absolutely. We¡¯ll keep a few ships on standby if you need them.¡± ¡°Thank you, we appreciate it,¡± Tirto said. It would be a shame to have assistance available and not ask for it. It wasn¡¯t necessarily possible for anyone to aid them with their breakthrough directly, but they could at least help ward off unnecessary dangers. With the rest of their preparations complete and their plans accounted for, there was nothing for them to do but get to it. Hesitating would only affect their mental state. Tirto knew that, and merely the thought of it brought to mind Verusha pushing him forward. That was something she¡¯d already done best. Meanwhile, if they needed caution it was Tirto¡¯s job to push for that. But caution didn¡¯t get people to the Ascending Soul Phase. Contrary to what might have seemed likely, they did not pick the largest geyser. Some were extremely expansive, gaping maws in the structure of the molten sea. Water fell into the gaps along with molten rock, the chamber walls solidifying from the relatively lower temperatures the water carried with it. Sometimes said walls were punctured, dropping lava below and releasing a geyser early. But the largest geysers were not always the most powerful. Having spend some days scouring the area, Tirto and Verusha had picked out one that was on the smaller side, at least as far as the tunnel that led to the underground chamber. But beneath it was quite a sizable lake. It would build a significant amount of pressure before releasing superheated steam. Their choice was perhaps the most dangerous, as water carried heat extremely well. But that same power was why they needed it. The Burning Delta brought them close to their chosen geyser, anchoring their movements near to the geyser¡¯s entrance. It didn¡¯t look like much, being just a few meters across. It seemed like very little compared to others. However, in just a few short minutes the pressure in the underground chamber built up and a geyser of steam and boiling water sprayed out the top. The cultivators shielded themselves from the incidental splatter. The moment things were clear, Tirto and Verusha leapt forward, catching themselves in the flow of the falling river. Over the course of just a handful of seconds they fell into a chamber like hell itself, bright and burning, full of toxic gasses. As they fell, the walls melted in around them, sealing all but a small portion of the opening where water fell through. They landed in water at or even above its normal boiling point, but they were already prepared for their landing and the moments after. It had already decided that their ascension would not be a lengthy process. They had to leap into it just as they did the geyser. The two combined their energies, protecting themselves from the superheated water. Simultaneously, they dropped as much of their consciousnesses as they could afford into the sea of spiritual totems. Tirto knew the totem he sought. Verusha had described it in vivid detail. Frankly, Tirto couldn¡¯t think of anything better for her. It was straightforward and simple. Heat washed over Tirto- from both outside and inside- as he rushed towards a totem he would have never chosen for himself. A volcano totem with no other notable qualities besides its sheer size and power. This was the core of fire element that Verusha had grown up with, but until the current moment she had only been able to take on small aspects of it. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. He briefly wondered if such a totem might count as the water element, considering his insights about lava¡­ but he didn¡¯t let that thought linger. He had to reach out and bond with the totem. From the first instant, Tirto knew it was impossible for him. Fire raced into him, and all his dual cultivation with Verusha could not prepare him for it. He burned, from both the inside and the outside. He tore his consciousness away- but did not release his hold on the totem. His awareness of his body strengthened as he felt the resonant energy of Verusha. Her face was pure focus as she wrestled the rushing waterfall inside of her. Around them, spiritual energy built up. Tirto drew upon all of it, making little distinction between water and fire elements. He let everything flow between himself and Verusha. He could barely hold the volcano inside of him in check¡­ so he didn¡¯t even bother. He just shoved Verusha away from the waterfall, putting himself in her place. He didn¡¯t even fight it, letting the rushing water carry him away. As intended. Meanwhile, Verusha focused on the volcano inside him, and while wrestling a volcano also seemed like a terrible idea at least she knew what she was doing. Another distraction. Tirto realized that if they died, it would be his fault. This was his idea. And then he let that thought slip away. He had things to do. Their connections to their totems weren¡¯t quite complete. They could still let them fall away, as their spiritual energy hadn¡¯t yet broken through to the Ascending Soul Phase. They would suffer heavy consequences, but they could avoid death. Tirto wanted to. He understood how crazy things were. But he also knew that having come this far, it was actually riskier to withdraw. Giving up might involve less risk¡­ but it might not. They sat at the border of boiling water over a thin shell of solid rock before magma beneath heated the chamber they were in. Not quite the normal setup for a geyser, but nothing about the Molten Sea was normal. Spiritual energy was required for its very existence. Fire and water seemed endless, trying to kill the two cultivators from the inside and the outside. Tirto let himself be swept away with the spiritual energy. Verusha was desperately clawing for something to hold onto¡­ and Tirto was certain she¡¯d catch something eventually. But until then, he kept them in the middle of the flow to avoid crashing into anything. A sudden movement tossed them upward, cracking against the temporary roof above them. They were shot up into the air, but even that release of power wasn¡¯t enough. Spiritual energy built up in the two of them, but the geyser had erupted too early. On their way back down, Tirto caught them at the mouth. He fortified the plug on the chamber, forcing the geyser to grow hotter and stronger. Pressure built up around them as water went beyond its boiling point, but with nowhere to go it could only increase in pressure. The heat around them was being rapidly converted into usable energy by Verusha as the two totems found their peace with the spiritual energy flowing between the pair. This time, it was enough. Tirto felt his cultivation advancing along with Verusha¡¯s, breaking through to the thirty-seventh rank. Power surged through them, though they needed it to protect themselves from the environment. When the geyser broke through, they found themselves battered by rocks and lava. The superheated water became steam that threatened to slip through their defenses, but they held together in their own little bubble. The two of them flew high into the air. Far higher than anticipated. And the two of them had used up all the energy they could get their hands on for the breakthrough, the surge of power protecting them at the last moments. Tirto clutched Verusha¡¯s hands as they looked down on the Molten Sea from half a kilometer above. Could they cushion themselves from the fall? What about the heat afterwards? Verusha seemed to not share his concerns, laughing all the way down. ¡°This is great! Maybe I should have been an air cultivator!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that would have worked out fine,¡± Tirto said. As he was still puzzling out how they were going to survive¡­ they landed on a cushion of air. ¡°Congratulations. Now you can brag to Melanthina. Unless she found her own way to breakthrough while we¡¯ve been on this journey.¡± Tirto¡¯s eyes took a moment to focus on his father. His spiritual energy senses were shot, his body and mind overloaded by the fire flowing through him. Verusha had somehow passed out in the last few moments, though not without wrapping her arms around Tirto. Even unconscious, she was smiling. ¡°... Was this a stupid idea?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°It¡¯s only stupid if it doesn¡¯t work. Or if you don¡¯t at least consider the risks.¡± John smiled, ¡°Since you thought, acted, and succeeded it would be hard for anyone to say anything bad.¡± Tirto vaguely registered being set down upon one of the ships, covered in his father¡¯s comforting aura. He almost felt like a little kid again, even though he had an adult child of his own. But there was nothing so bad about family taking care of each other. ----- ¡°Thank you for your hospitality,¡± John said, addressing Sect Head Zdislava. ¡°If the Burning Delta finds itself in need of any favors from our alliance, we will be happy to reciprocate.¡± The old woman nodded. ¡°We appreciate your offer. The exchange of insights has been beneficial to our sect¡­ and witnessing a paired advancement to the Ascending Soul Phase is likely a boon more than equal to our hospitality. But we will gladly remain in communication with your alliance.¡± She turned to Presha. ¡°The Silver Breeze Gorge will be easiest for us to contact.¡± Presha nodded. ¡°We can pass along any messages you require. And you are welcome to visit and train among us, even if our elements do not match.¡± ¡°I appreciate that. Perhaps someday, one of our own will reach the Ascending Soul Phase, claiming a place among the great sects of the Molten Sea.¡± Zdislava was at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase, but it was clear she had given up on achieving that level herself. However, a trade of knowledge and resources with the sect might allow some of their disciples to do so. Though there was a surge in spiritual energy and higher cultivations throughout the continent, the fact that so many all in the same wider generation could reach the Ascending Soul Phase was due to cooperation between them. John especially believed that exchanges between different elements and styles were important for people to understand their own functioning. And that wasn¡¯t just because of the rare style he¡¯d founded himself. Chapter 388 Peaceful interactions with neighbors was exactly what John wanted with everyone. The world was not so strained for resources that people had to fight each other for each scrap- and while certain cultivation resources were indeed limited it wasn¡¯t to a concerning degree. Perhaps with his perspective steeped in fortune John wasn¡¯t seeing the whole picture, but he saw how effective sharing knowledge could be for growth instead of simply trying to gobble up more spiritual energy. Of course, one needed to be careful with exactly what knowledge was shared with who. The continental alliance was still quite loose, more of a reluctant agreement than an enthusiastic partnership. John only really trusted those sects and clans where there was a history of cooperation- beginning with his own family though it had extended far beyond that now. There was even some uneasy trust with some of the Sky Islands. Abritt certainly wasn¡¯t friendly, but her faction had taken some serious blows and was more focused on maintaining their position than causing trouble. At least for the moment. The tournaments helped mitigate the various factions¡¯ aggression, but there were still far too many memories of war among the various groups. Having the opportunity to go after an outside group was something that couldn¡¯t be ignored. Most of the continent probably had little interest in actually avenging the Wuthering Steppes or the Glass Hills, but they still jumped at an opportunity to set themselves against something more than wild beasts or the natural hazards of their regions. The movement against the Stormy Sea Sect was somewhat delayed, but as far as cultivators were concerned anything less than a handful of years could be a swift retribution. Quite often, grudges were held for decades, and it wasn¡¯t unheard of them lasting for centuries- beyond the deaths of anyone actually involved in an initial conflict. The delay had been in part to confirm that nothing more would come of the troubles with the Sky Islands. However, despite whatever Abritt felt about Morana¡¯s death she couldn¡¯t do anything publicly other than accept the woman¡¯s death, whether she was intended to be nothing more than a useful crony or intended for some longer term plots. Morana had simply caused too public a mess, and worse from certain perspectives was that she had shown herself to be weak. With Tirto and Verusha now in the Ascending Soul Phase, they would be part of the retaliation forces. Nitza was reluctant to stay behind, but they convinced her to do so by pointing out that she would be guarding the sect. It was one thing to go out pirate hunting with their heir, but bringing her to war was too much of a risk. Cultivators from all different groups joined the fleets, with a greater proportion being from seafaring sects to help man the ships and of course the two regions most affected. Plus cultivators from the Gloom Desolation, of course. They wanted their revenge more than any of the others, as they had been the first targets hit. ----- Melanthina was found at Port Dawn, with the last group of cultivators that would be joining them from the Gloom Desolation- except she herself was not coming along. John didn¡¯t exactly have to ask why, as it was fairly clear. ¡°Do you find this to be a good location for a breakthrough?¡± John asked. Melanthina shook her head. ¡°Not particularly. But¡­ it is certainly a valuable region to learn from. They have managed to persevere and grow through hardship through methods I had not considered myself. We would gladly join the expedition but¡­¡± Nik took over there. ¡°But she¡¯s already upset that she¡¯s going to be the last sibling to reach the Ascending Soul Phase. So we will remain here.¡± Melanthina sighed. ¡°I know Ursel didn¡¯t have the responsibilities of a sect, but even Tirto¡­¡± she grimaced. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we were outdone by his relaxed pace.¡± John chuckled. ¡°I can. But not because I think your talent is inferior. Remember that you chose the harder path,¡± John gestured to the two of them. Light and darkness together wasn¡¯t such a simple thing, no matter how well the two cultivators matched each other. ¡°We didn¡¯t choose it,¡± Melanthina said. ¡°It just happened without our input. Like fate conspired against us.¡± ¡°Or for you,¡± John pointed out. He knew that despite her protestations the two were as happy as they could be- and their daughter as well. ¡°That may be,¡± Melanthina admitted, sending a smile towards her husband. ¡°But it seems you should probably be on your way. You¡¯ve got a war to get to.¡± John shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re forgetting something?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Melanthin asked. ¡°Like your siblings. We can¡¯t just move on before they taunt you for being last place.¡± ----- The Crystal Sea quickly gave way to something more reminiscent of the Shimmering Islands, the weather getting increasingly inclement away from the southeastern coast. However, it didn¡¯t have quite the same spark. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Maybe it was because John wasn¡¯t riding upon the Wavecutter, forcing his way through storms with Captain Sohan. Instead, their expeditionary fleet did their best to avoid the worst parts of storms for their overall convenience. That said, they did still encounter storms and massive waves, but rather than focusing on what the ships could do, their cultivators softened the blows. John found himself at the helm of a certain ship splitting the seas as ten meter high waves crashed towards them. The turbulent sea was overflowing with water element, so John didn¡¯t find it terribly difficult to split massive waves over and over. Tirto¡¯s ship was perhaps even more secure than his own. Most of the other ships didn¡¯t carry Ascending Soul Phase cultivators with the water element, so the job was split between a few weaker cultivators, often working in shifts to keep them fresh. John had some others who could take over if he exhausted himself, but he preferred to keep active to push his limits. He couldn¡¯t neglect his training with any specific element, and this was an excellent opportunity to improve his water skills. Without their masts, John could have made a simple tunnel through the waves. However, the masts and furled sails being struck by the force of the waves would have turned the boat over on its back¡­ or perhaps snapped the masts off, neither of which were something they wanted to deal with. Thus, John started at the top of the waves, cleaving downward. If he could have made the exact shape he needed it would have been much less water displaced, but if he merely cut out the profile of the ship then the waves would inevitably fall upon them. Even most cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to resist being swept away, and the ship itself could sustain heavy damage from the weight of water. Thus, John actually had to cut widely at the top. At first he tried to split the waves vertically and force all of the water to the sides, but he found that the great walls of water resisted his efforts. He still accomplished what he wanted, but it was tiring. Then he tried pushing the water backwards. That came with less resistance from unnecessary mass, but it meant directly countering the momentum of the water. He actually found that the most efficient method was to actually pull the water towards their ship. He just had to make sure the center of the wave crashed before they reached it. Imparting a little bit of extra momentum to the top of the water caused it to naturally crash down, dragging more with it at the sides. It was still a significant effort, but he didn¡¯t have to actively control tens of thousands of gallons of water. Whenever John took the time to look back on where he¡¯d come from, it was a vast gap. From struggling with simple sword techniques and the level of energy control required to prevent himself from overheating in a desert- even a rather hot one- to balancing on water, swimming up a waterfall, and eventually flight. A journey of many decades had brought about a great transformation in himself and the world around him. But there were still greater heights to reach, and he intended to go as far as he could. That was he could best secure the safe future of his friends and family. Not that he was discounting their personal strength, but nobody could do everything alone. That had become very clear to John over the years. ----- When there weren¡¯t storms, John found the seas rather peaceful. The expedition fleet even found a nice rocky island with a harbor that could provide shelter for their fleet for a while. The island hadn¡¯t been on their maps, but then again most of their maps didn¡¯t extend this far off the coast at all. Most of what they were working with as far as maps went were from the Stormy Sea Sect. Perhaps they had missed this particular island or not found it noteworthy. It wasn¡¯t exactly huge- and the rocky harbor it made wasn¡¯t large enough for their whole fleet. But some of them needed repairs after wear and tear from the storms, and that was best done in safety. Before they actually set up they did some basic checks, specifically looking for strong sources of spiritual energy. The potential threats were things like beasts, unstable natural phenomena, or hidden sects. It wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t deal with such things if they had to, but it was better to be ready first. Upon inspection it seemed safe, so they sheltered the ships that were at greatest risk of sustaining further damage without repairs. Various people began that work, some replacing boards, sails, rope, and other sorts of damage. Other cultivators were actually able to repair the damage done. For the wood itself, some of the cultivators from the Viridia Wildlands were able to knit together even dead planks. Where there were pieces missing, they could regrow small portions if necessary- though drawing material from their supplies and realigning the grain seemed to be far more efficient. Likewise, there were other cultivators who could stitch canvas together to the point it was actually as good as new. Repairs of that sort were easier to accomplish closer to when the damage happened, so it wasn¡¯t possible to completely make their fleet as if they¡¯d never been damaged¡­ but with their repair supplies it would be close enough. And they¡¯d be better prepared for the same scenarios in the future. John wasn¡¯t focused on repair tasks, but instead thought that after a week of sailing some of their number might prefer to take some time on land. That meant actually being able to reach the rest of the island without climbing up rocky cliffs. That might be good training, but they were here to take a break. Thus¡­ he was going to do more work to make their rest overall more effective. ¡°Ursel!¡± John called towards the ships from where he was positioned at the base of the cliffs. He was briefly surprised when she vaulted off of a ship- rocking it back and forth- before crashing into the stone next to him. Briefly, because he should have expected her to do that instead of just yelling back. ¡°Yeah, dad? Need something?¡± ¡°I was thinking we would carve out some stairs so people could make it to the top of the island. Maybe set up some tents or something.¡± ¡°Sure, I can help with that,¡± Ursel said. She waved her armored arm in front of her, tearing out chunks of rock like they were soft clay. ¡°How wide and deep do you think?¡± ¡°Wide enough for two people, perhaps. One each going up and down, plus some extra room for bulky supplies maybe.¡± Ursel stretched her arms wide, scooping away more material and dumping it into the harbor behind them. ¡°Kind of like this?¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± John said, looking at what she¡¯d done. ¡°Might not need to be that deep. How about we trace out the shape we want and then begin working from both ends?¡± ¡°Sure. What do we do with all the extra rock?¡± ¡°Well, I suppose we dump it down there. We could make a stone pier or something. Though it would be nice if there was enough to extend the edges of the harbor out a bit.¡± Chapter 389 Carving out the stairway and forming a simple stone pier in the harbor would have been the limit of what John did on his own. However, when he gave an offhand comment about extending the edges of the harbor, Ursel responded with great seriousness. So now they were fully reconstructing the edges of the natural harbor on Storm Rock Isle. If he just left Ursel alone, John was quite certain she would accomplish the task. She had shoved the rock walls that formed the edge of the natural harbor further out, dredging sand and stone from the harbor itself to gather more material which was pressed into solid structure and fused with the rest. Except for its placement and lack of weathering, everything seemed quite natural. Fusing stone into a continuous piece was a discipline that rock based earth cultivators would be able to accomplish by the Soul Expansion Phase, but that didn¡¯t mean they could perform the task so smoothly or in such bulk. John¡¯s role wasn¡¯t so much adding to what Ursel was doing, but instead being the brakes that kept her from building stone spikes in the shallows around the island to sink incoming ships that didn¡¯t know the correct route. ¡°We don¡¯t want to make the harbor unusable for our own people, you know,¡± John said. ¡°Alright, but if we¡¯re using this as a base we need some defenses,¡± Ursel pointed out. ¡°Yes. But we¡¯ll be up against water cultivators, so they¡¯ll most likely be able to sense upcoming trouble.¡± Eventually, he managed to get her to limit the area. The area directly around the harbor would be kept free of dangers, which would more or less force anyone into a direct assault. In fact, with the way Ursel had extended the harbor walls, one wrapped around the other meaning there was no direct line to stationary ships. It would make navigating in and out more awkward, but this wasn¡¯t meant to be a trading port but a shelter for their conflict with the Stormy Sea Sect- and any allies they might have in the area. There was no guarantee they would achieve victory in one fell swoop, so having somewhere safe to retreat and regroup was ideal. The island would provide a defensive position that could give them an advantage, since they had with them many cultivators that weren¡¯t used to seafaring. The vaguely natural look of the new cliffs was somewhat marred by adding proper fortifications, but the overlapping walls of stone would allow them to assault anyone trying to enter the harbor from both sides. Author¡¯s note: If a picture is worth 1000 words, is this 1.5 chapters or 2? These are important questions. ----- The fleets rested for a few days in the shelter of Storm Rock Isle, something Ursel found necessary despite her enthusiastic manipulations on the first day. It was good to know that even she had her limits in how much stone she could shove around. Though if anyone was relying on walls against her, John figured they were out of luck. Maybe someone somewhere had enchanted walls to be able to resist an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, but he knew that the Six Elements Crossroads certainly wasn¡¯t at that level. That said, their walls would at least slow someone like Ursel long enough to mount a proper defense so it wasn¡¯t like they were without purpose- and they would hold well enough against weaker cultivators. Given that some portion of their probable enemies would be able to fly, focusing too much effort on having impenetrable walls seemed like a waste of resources. Rather than sailing out with their entire navy, they split into three parts. One remained at Storm Rock Isle to keep the position secure, while the other two split off to explore the area. The information they had from the Stormy Sea Sect was likely incomplete- and their maps didn¡¯t necessarily indicate whether surrounding sects were friendly to them or not. Before diving headfirst into things, they wanted to have a better picture of everything. To that end, John made use of his ability to fly. Unlike when visiting the Sky Islands there wasn¡¯t a place he could rest at the far end of things, but he had also grown more powerful in the more than a decade since he had first seen the Sky Islands. Carrying a few people up with him a handful of kilometers straight up was within his abilities. Lingering in place while others made observations was actually relatively easy, and as long as John wasn¡¯t trying to fly all day he was more than capable. Actually, if he was alone then as long as he didn¡¯t push his speed to its limits he likely could fly all day. It was a sobering thought, showing how much he had grown. From five kilometers up, they could make out most of the island chain. Doubling their height was possible, as that was about where the lower Sky Islands made their place, but clouds could be an issue. The name of the Stormy Sea Sect certainly wasn¡¯t entirely inaccurate, as different areas were stormclad on different days of their investigation. They were able to pick out movements of different ships- their own fleets and some they could presume were their enemies- though even with enhanced sight it was difficult to make out details aboard any ships at such a distance. After all, at such a height the horizon extended for hundreds of kilometers. Their actual height provided only a very small proportion of the distance. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Having such a perspective was quite useful, and John resolved to make use of it elsewhere- though hopefully they wouldn¡¯t need to scout out enemy territory terribly often. Then again, he couldn¡¯t simply assume the current age of peace would last. While he had allies he would trust implicitly in many of the elemental regions, they didn¡¯t represent the attitude of everyone around them. It was good that they had an opportunity to focus aggression externally. Maybe that was why certain nations on Earth seemed to find themselves in wars so often. John would have to consider what that meant later¡­ though the standard rate of violence in this world was far worse than anything on Earth, so perhaps he didn¡¯t have too much to worry about. For all that John could convert the local elements into air, he eventually ran low on spiritual energy and had to descend. Not that there was much to be gained from long term observations, but the most difficult part was rising to a suitable height to begin with so they made the best use of it they could. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that the Stormy Sea Sect¡¯s maps were generally accurate, though it was clear they weren¡¯t extremely precise. That was a common technique for making it more difficult to invade an area- at sea, it meant never being quite sure when you would come upon certain islands. However, with a few days of observation they were able to correct the most egregious mistakes on their maps. Since they would have reached their destinations eventually it was of minimal benefit, though taking down the topography of certain islands would definitely be useful in planning their attacks. ----- Though Tirto was responsible for the discovery of the pirate¡¯s origins, as this was a matter that involved the affairs of the whole continent John was taking a leading role. Though he had turned over leadership of the Tenebach clan to Melanthina- not entirely by his intention- he was intending to continue to take an active role in the world as the sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads. Despite being somewhere around ninety years old, he expected for that to continue for a long time. After all, Luctus had lived far beyond a hundred years old and had spent most of his life in the Soul Expansion Phase. John expected his lifespan to reach at least two hundred years old even if his cultivation didn¡¯t advance any further, though various factors could influence that age. Aside from being killed, obviously. Even though he¡¯d experienced multiple times as long in this world of cultivation, he couldn¡¯t help but think of Earth. He was fully part of this world now, but his early years had molded him, and those memories reigned more strongly than Fortkrans. It was natural for people to be shaped by their early lives, but any time John did something differently he hoped it would be better. The fleets were filled with clear confidence, having a mid Ascending Soul Phase cultivator at their head. Then there were Tirto, Verusha, and Ursel. While the Glass Hills and Wuthering Steppes had recently begun to develop their own Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, none were from the coastal region. Thus, though they were relying on the powers of others in the alliance- which was the whole point. They had to trust others would work for their own benefit, or the alliance wouldn¡¯t last unto the next generations. The goal was the closest island that they knew for certain was under the control of the Stormy Sea Sect. It was an outpost of little note, but that was perfect for their goals. ----- With the benefit of good winds and of course a bit of spiritual energy enhancing their speed, their ships were able to reach their target in less than half a day. The island wasn¡¯t large enough to have a proper port, just a few ships of various sizes. As they approached in force, at least one ship darted away. It was possible for them to catch it, but they let it go. While it would make their enemies more prepared to have foreknowledge of their presence, for their purposes it was appropriate. They weren¡¯t intending on conquest or annihilation, but punishment. More than a mere slap on the wrist, but going too far could breed animosity with other sects in the region. They wanted to show that the continent was to be left alone, not to provoke a stronger counter-reaction. Their arrival could not be missed except by the most energy insensate individuals. Thus, besides the departing ship, they were met with forces prepared on the island outpost¡¯s walls. ¡°We know not who you are,¡± the woman in command of the outpost called forth, ¡°But the Stormy Sea Sect will not tolerate such an aggressive stance in our territory!¡± ¡°If you do not know us,¡± John retaliated, ¡°Then who gave you the guts to pirate upon our coasts? Your intrusion upon the continent shall not be forgiven so easily!¡± John displayed his spiritual energy clearly. Being domineering was a traditional part of any diplomatic exchange among cultivators, and John certainly couldn¡¯t expect people with which they had no contact to have developed more social niceties. Especially considering the reasons that they had come into contact. Likewise, the outpost¡¯s commander couldn¡¯t easily back down- but it was obvious that her side would lose a battle, both in terms of numbers and individual strength. ¡°You come in great numbers, but dare you fight alone?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± John retorted. ¡°But do not expect us to send one of those with low cultivation to face you. You will face myself, or one of these three,¡± John swirled his spiritual energy around his children- one through marriage- though it would be pretty obvious who he meant. ¡°Fight with honor, and your subordinates can be spared.¡± Frankly, a duel of some sort was the best option they had. It would reduce losses on both sides- even the overwhelming power of their fleets might risk some casualties against the outpost. As for the defenders, having a proper excuse to surrender would be better for their own lives as well. ¡°I choose you!¡± the commander said. ¡°I will face only your strongest!¡± ¡°Very brave,¡± John said. With a cultivation at the top end of the mid Consolidated Soul Phase, she was still nearly a full Phase behind him. Against any of the others she would be four ranks behind- still a serious gap, but potentially surmountable. Clearly, she didn¡¯t intend to win. John decided that being maximally dramatic was not only appropriate but also most convenient, and he left the ship, flying towards the island alone. Chapter 390 The cultivators stationed on the Stormy Sea Sect outpost pulled back as John confidently flew closer. In truth, if all of them worked together he could be in real danger even as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. There were some advantages to the world being so focused on individual strength, and some measure of honor regarding duels. The commander of the island¡¯s forces moved to the courtyard as John approached, ready to fight the duel she had proposed. Though John¡¯s assumption was that she challenged him to prevent unnecessary deaths, for which he gave her respect. Given the gulf in cultivation between them she was likely to lose horribly, but on the small chance that she was exceptionally adept in such matches John intended to treat the battle seriously. It would be a shame to foolishly find himself on the back foot by underestimating her. Simultaneously, they agreed the duel had begun. Their spiritual energy changed from a slow trickle to a sudden rush, flowing out of their dantians into the world around them. A spray of water appeared around John¡¯s opponent as she gathered her defenses, then the swirling water extended far beyond where it was useful merely for defense. It seemed meant to distort John¡¯s vision, and the chaotic arrangement meant to foil his energy senses. Though responding move for move was not the best way to gain a foot up in most battles, John found it appropriate to respond in kind, filling the area with darkness. Those surrounding would still be able to vaguely feel the duel, but if anyone had ill intent it would be more difficult to target him. Waves rushed John as the woman slashed with a halberd, and he responded with a bolt of lightning and his own sword. He caught the heavy weapon and pushed it off course, but his lightning didn¡¯t travel through the waves as easily as he had expected. Then again, it wasn¡¯t unreasonable for a water cultivator in something named the Stormy Sea Sect to at least be able to handle some air, even if it was their weakness. But John didn¡¯t need to limit himself to what was best on paper. As she shifted her stance he blasted out with a gust of air. Alone that wouldn¡¯t be sufficient for her to lose her footing, but she likely wasn¡¯t prepared for the ground to shift beneath her at the same time. John decided to remember that one, as the push and pull of elements added to a greater effect than expected. A Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator wasn¡¯t helpless when prone, but she found it difficult to rise to her feet under the subsequent barrage of attacks from John. Lightning, his blade edged with darkness, and even fire to boil away her surrounding waves. Elements coursed through John, building upon each other. He moved inside the range of her weapon as she tried to drive him away with a sweep of her halberd, catching the haft of her weapon with his free hand. He tightened his grip, coating himself in a layer of solid earth and locking his hand around the weapon. The ground rose beneath her in time with his yank, flipping her over his head. A cushion of water protected her from some of the impact, but her grip loosened and John flung her weapon away. Wind and lightning around his blade cut towards her neck, before stopping short. ¡°Surrender,¡± he ordered. The spray of water settled as she glared at him. ¡°Never.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± John said, dropping the cloak of darkness and focusing his spiritual energy around his weapon. He made certain his death was swift, his blade severing her head. He could have forced her to surrender, with more effort. However, that wouldn¡¯t necessarily have been the merciful option. Depending on how the sect operated, death might be preferable to a stained reputation. She might even have friends or family to worry about. ¡°The rest of you¡­¡± John spread his voice to the cultivators gathered around him. ¡°Surrender and be taken captive, or prepare yourselves for death.¡± About half surrendered. Some fools immediately attempted to attack him, while others began to flee towards their ships. But the continental forces wouldn¡¯t let more get away than they needed to. Against just a dozen Soul Expansion and Foundation Phase cultivators, John wasn¡¯t at risk. He could literally let them hit him all they wanted and they would likely run out of spiritual energy and collapse before he received a scratch. But he had no reason to test that, instead flinging daggers charged with a mixture of the core elements, cutting through their defenses. Those who ran were taken down by the rest of the fleet. It was a shame that the most honorable of those present had to die. ----- Though they had purposefully allowed ships to go ahead and spread news of their coming, retaining the initiative was still important for the continental fleets. Thus, rather than waiting for an armed response they prepared to set out towards their next target- but only after toppling the fortifications on the outpost. It wouldn¡¯t be a great expense for the Stormy Sea Sect to replace it, but it would take them time. However, with earth cultivators it was quite easy to bring such structures down when undefended. Their next target was another outpost. Their intent was to minimize the enemy¡¯s information so that their own forces could move more freely. The Stormy Sea Sect was not entirely composed of water cultivators, but they had no air cultivators powerful enough to fly and replicate their own wide view of things. Unless such cultivators were a tightly kept secret.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. No brave commander was found at the second outpost, resulting in higher casualties for the Stormy Sea Sect as they didn¡¯t see fit to surrender until they had sustained great losses. The combined continental fleets far outnumbered them, and they kept their own casualties low. After the second outpost came a third in the same day- then their fleets returned to Storm Rock Isle. Three outposts was a clear pattern of their movements, and they didn¡¯t wish to engage just yet. Instead, they were interested in observing the enemy¡¯s reaction. Furthermore, keeping so many cultivators captive was already a difficult task. They had restraints meant to suppress spiritual energy, but they weren¡¯t perfect. At some point, they would have to attempt a captive exchange. They weren¡¯t intent on annihilating the Stormy Sea Sect, so that would be an appropriate form of vengeance. They simply needed to show them how unwise it was to attack the continent. ----- Even with his energy focused on his eyes, making out an individual ship at a distance beyond ten kilometers was quite difficult. There were a few ships that were large enough, but in general John needed to look for fleets. That was the most relevant option anyway. After all, it was unlikely that the forces that could fit on a single ship could threaten them, even if the Stormy Sea Sect brought their best cultivators. Their own side had four Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, and a plethora of Consolidated Soul and Soul Expansion as well. It was still somewhat difficult to spot them at the extreme distances. John thought he could vaguely make out ships in ports on distant islands, but reflections of the sun off the ocean were just as potent. He did eventually spot some strange shapes, though at such a distance he couldn¡¯t pick out spiritual energy even without any obstructions. The cultivators simply weren¡¯t powerful enough, unless they intentionally made a ruckus. The same was true in reverse- John alone was powerful enough to be sensed at that range, but only if he put his spiritual energy on full display. That might be useful in the future, but at the moment he wasn¡¯t interested in drawing anyone in. There was a strange shimmering around the edges of what he perceived to be a fleet. He could convince himself there was some form of spiritual energy, but it was so faint it really could just be his imagination. As for what that might be, John couldn¡¯t quite tell. Perhaps some sort of concealment? If that was the case, he didn¡¯t expect to see them at all. But actually, it made perfect sense. They would be focused on other ships. Creating a ring of concealment, or even just doing so at the front of their fleet, would be sufficient for their normal cases and far easier than creating an illusory dome over their whole fleet. It wasn¡¯t like they knew John was up in the sky looking down over the seas. Or that he could see in the dark, which became extremely useful later. Without distracting reflections from sunlight, it was easier to pick out the disturbances of ships. At least, when the weather permitted. Low clouds kept getting in his way, and he had to continually change his altitude to track the enemy fleets. That was much more tiring than simply hovering in place. ----- There wasn¡¯t much point in taking prisoners if they didn¡¯t intend to do something with them, which meant engaging with their enemies. That meant arranging an encounter where their own fleets were at enough of an advantage to deter attacks but not so much as to immediately drive people off. Perhaps with the exception of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. Some of their forces were left behind to guard their harbor and prisoners, while another portion was set to scout the area, potentially even appearing in front of known enemies. For the most part, however, they would be avoiding conflict. Finally, John was leading more of their forces to encounter some of the fleets they had been tracking. A large group had initially been sent, but they had now branched out to scour the area. It likely wouldn¡¯t be terribly long before they found them on Storm Rock Isle, but they didn¡¯t want to give up the location of their safe harbor if they didn¡¯t have to. Approaching the area where they knew the fleet to be, John didn¡¯t see or sense anything but the spiritual energy of the sea. And if he believed that, he would be a rather poor darkness cultivator. Not that he thought the efforts of the Stormy Sea Sect were bad, but senses tended to improve in strength and water cultivators just weren¡¯t quite as good at stealth as darkness cultivators. Plus, he¡¯d already known they would be trying to conceal their movements. As he got closer, he figured out what the illusion was. They looked like the shimmer of the horizon and the spray of the sea. It likely wouldn¡¯t hide them from anyone up close, but that probably wasn¡¯t the point. They just wanted to get close enough to have an advantage over their opponents. Obviously they spotted the continental fleets and turned towards them, but they weren¡¯t the ones who actually chose the contact even if they thought so. When they were still quite a distance off but at a reasonable distance for someone lesser to have ¡®spotted¡¯ them, John used his spiritual energy to amplify his voice. ¡°Cultivators of the Stormy Sea Sect! Your acts of piracy upon the continent have not gone unnoticed. We are here to seek retribution!¡± One of their elders responded. ¡°And who are you to so boldly intrude upon our seas?¡± she asked. ¡°I am John Miller, sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads,¡± he declared. His cultivation wasn¡¯t on full display, but he slightly loosened his restrictions. Anyone who wished to sense him would have little trouble feeling the aura of the Ascending Soul Phase. Rather than returning the courtesy of asking for a name, he took advantage of his status. ¡°Our demands are simple. Pay an appropriate price, and the matter will be settled between us. This includes returning the hundred disciples we have captured, unless you have no interest in their return.¡± The elder was clearly hesitant about her response. It was likely clear to her that they would not win a conflict with just the forces she had on hand. Furthermore¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t have the authority to make decisions of such magnitude for the sect. Where should we contact you in the future?¡± ¡°Four days from now,¡± John said. ¡°We will meet you upon the remains of one of your former outposts to negotiate.¡± That should give them enough time to deliver any necessary messages, but not much extra time to plan anything. If they chose to launch an attack at that time, John would assess the odds available at the moment but they could at the very least kill or wound an elder or two. Chapter 391 All out war was never the plan. The best they could expect from such a plan would be more casualties on their part and a bitter rivalry with any allies of the Stormy Sea Sect. The limits of the sect weren¡¯t exactly clear, but even if they could wipe them out it wouldn¡¯t necessarily achieve the intended results. Four days passed quickly, though frequent use of his abilities for flight made John more conscious of his growth in that area. Obviously the biggest leap had come when he visited the Sky Islands, but he didn¡¯t tend to put so much of his energy into flight during his normal training. Of course, simply hovering in the air was not the only sort of flight he should concern himself with, but slightly increasing his base efficiency was valuable. If he was a little stronger, he might find flight a valuable form of sustained movement in combat, instead of in short bursts. He was limited both by his proficiency in a single element and how much spiritual energy he had of each type. Watching the path of fleets, John found that the activity in the region was certainly increasing, but he didn¡¯t see a worrying number of ships heading for the ¡®neutral¡¯ destination that had been chosen. That said, the enemy wasn¡¯t being casual either, so he needed to bring an equivalently sized force. ----- John landed on the island flanked by Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators from the borders of the air regions. Any of his own children would be a bit too powerful, and he didn¡¯t want to give away the limits of their strength just yet. If the Stormy Sea Sect chose to press for battle, he wanted them to be faced with unexpected strength. As the other ships approached, John felt her. An Ascending Soul Phase cultivator at the thirty-ninth rank. The information they¡¯d gained from those they captured wasn¡¯t so precise. Either they didn¡¯t know or were quite loyal¡­ though many of them had said that their sect head- Duha- could defeat John they hadn¡¯t necessarily believed it. As it was, he thought it unlikely- but that didn¡¯t mean he would be careless with an opponent just a single rank below him. Even if it was the difference between early and mid phase, some individuals were exceptional. It at least showed where they got the guts to act alongside Morana. Duha brought with her two late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators to more or less match John¡¯s side. John didn¡¯t sense any other Ascending Soul Phase cultivators among them, though apparently there were a few elders that people had been unsure about. ¡°Your sect assaulted our allied shores,¡± John began. Duha wore a stern expression, but she did not reveal too much of her emotions. ¡°We are here to seek repayment for the damages you caused.¡± Duha revealed little as they stood in the rubble of a former outpost of her sect. ¡°A bold statement,¡± she finally said. ¡°But you called us here today for a different reason, did you not? You have some of our disciples.¡± ¡°We do,¡± John agreed. ¡°But an appropriate price must be paid for their return.¡± Negotiating the end of things had never really been his intention. He doubted that the Stormy Sea Sect would give up so easily. The conflict had just begun, and no doubt they felt they hadn¡¯t properly been able to display their strength. However, the fact that they were willing to meet was a good start. Duha also seemed to negotiate in good faith, though John was still wary of what they might do when it came time for the actual exchange. He would prefer if it actually went through successfully, so that diplomatic efforts were feasible in the future. Thus, he was not ruthless in what he asked for. A reasonable price for disciples of a certain caliber. Perhaps he should have captured that commander too¡­ but no, she had made her own decision. As someone in charge, the consequences would likely be too much to endure. Hopefully it was more than just her ego. ----- Activity among the Stormy Sea Sect continued to escalate. They were exploring wider areas, with some of their scouts potentially getting close enough to spot the recently dubbed Storm Rock Isle. However, the island itself was currently being concealed by darkness and water cultivators. If the ships were not careful, they would instead feel only more of the sea. None approached the island, so at the current moment it appeared their position had not been discovered. Of course, if they expected the isle there they would eventually notice the discrepancy. Bringing ships full of hostages required additional forces to keep everything secure, but less than a week later two large fleets were arrayed on either side of one of the former outposts. Duha was a woman of few words. The exchange began with both parties watching over the middle. One small chest of cultivation resources in exchange for a handful of disciples. Once the contents were verified, it was passed back to John¡¯s fleet, and another exchange occurred. If anything was going to happen, John expected it to be immediately when the exchange ended and the disciples were safe. They were being freed of their suppressive restraints a few at a time, but none of them were stupid enough to fight back while they were being handed over. They were released in large part because the restraints were expensive. They had brought a significant number, but they couldn¡¯t really maintain much larger groups of captives. Though they didn¡¯t expect to run into that issue in the future.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. John was ready for something to go wrong, but upon receipt of the final disciples, Duha gave a formal nod. Not really one of respect, but at least an acknowledgement of completion. ¡°When next we meet, you shall understand that the Stormy Sea Sect is not so easily cowed.¡± ¡°This is not settled from our end, either,¡± John declared. ¡°You know the current price.¡± Unlike with the exchange of disciples, the conflict settlement offer was rather high. After all, if they merely asked for an equivalent amount for their losses, they would appear weak. It would hardly be retribution of any sort if the damage caused was repaid in exactly equal measure. ----- John watched as two fleets clashed. He watched for two reasons, though perhaps he could have been there. First was that he was still responsible for watching over the whole region with his flight. Second was that he couldn¡¯t guarantee he would have been with the fleets that got into clashes. They had some points of interest they wished to assault, but their fleets couldn¡¯t always reach the enemy shores without running into battle now. It was unfortunate that their casualties would likely be higher, but the end goal was that the total amount on the continent¡¯s side would be lesser, by giving the Stormy Sea Sect a chance to prepare themselves so they could feel properly defeated. It was a risk that would never be entirely clear as to its success, but so far it had been relatively successful. Even if John wasn¡¯t with a particular fleet, since he was holding his position on Storm Rock Isle it freed up Ursel, Tirto, and Verusha. The latter two operated as a pair, as they were far stronger in that manner, while Ursel was treated more like a weapon. If they could get her to enemy fortifications, she could crumble them. And their cultivators, but it was a larger blow to their morale to have their buildings toppled. Any local cultivator could just kill people. Flight was far too useful to neglect. John would be emphasizing the ability in the Six Elements Crossroads, though most likely only Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators could pull it off properly. Fortunately, they were beginning to have more people with a proper foundation. The earliest disciples were just on the threshold of a cycle of core elements, and John wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if a few crossed over it while he was gone. He had already given his personal guidance as much as he felt appropriate. On the horizon- his horizon, so well over a hundred kilometers out- John spotted fleets gathering to the south and east. That was where the Stormy Sea Sect¡¯s presence was stronger. Meanwhile, there had been some successes on the western end of the island chain. John watched closely, trying to determine the enemy¡¯s intention. If they wanted one large naval battle, he actually wanted to avoid that- simply because going along with their intentions without a good reason to do so would be to the continent¡¯s disadvantage. He would watch for a bit longer¡­ though he also needed to rest. After all, he would likely be participating in battles himself soon enough. ----- Ursel didn¡¯t love fighting people at sea. She liked fighting people and water didn¡¯t bother her, but it wasn¡¯t her favorite thing to do. If possible she would have preferred to fight giant monsters. Or a cultivator like Abritt¡­ though battles of that sort could get old very quickly. Humans were tricky, so they could be a decent challenge¡­ but there was nothing quite like hitting something gigantic as hard as she could. She hadn¡¯t considered attacking the ground itself. Obviously she¡¯d broken walls and stuff, but toppling island cliffs? Hadn¡¯t been on the list. Mostly because they wanted all of their own cliffs to remain in place, and also because there weren¡¯t any wars happening in the Shimmering Islands. Conflict on the continent was relatively mild, but there were plenty of beasts to battle if one knew where to look. And Ursel did. She just had to go wherever people said not to. But smacking islands was fun too. Ursel walked along the bottom of the sea. It was difficult to swim, though not impossible. More importantly, however, she had access to earth on the bottom. She didn¡¯t care if her enemy was also in their natural environment as long as she herself was comfortable. The Stormy Sea Sect were only moderately good divers. Fine for water cultivators, but they wouldn¡¯t get to a leviathan¡¯s preferred depth. Then again, why should they get good at that? Everything around them was a few hundred meters at most. This particular island stuck up from its rocky foundation and Ursel reached its base with a couple dozen meters of water above her head, but that was the limit. Obviously they knew people were coming. They probably even knew where she was. They just didn¡¯t expect it to be a problem yet. After all, what was she going to do from all the way down here? Ursel was glad for all the time spent training with her brother. Water resistance was a pain when you were trying to take a big swing. But if you knew what you were doing you could pretty much ignore that. The stone in front of her trembled as she struck it. She could have taken a big chunk out of it, but she wasn¡¯t going for anything so mundane. Immediately, she swung again and again. Each attack resonated with the one before it. And then there were hundreds of people jumping into the sea after her, once they realized she wasn¡¯t going to try to climb up their walls. But Ursel didn¡¯t have to deal with nearly that many. There were so many angry lightning cultivators from the Glass Hills in the fleets above, and many others capable of causing great trouble for the enemy cultivators. The first cultivator to reach her shot downward like water tension didn¡¯t affect him at all, falling like a rock- with a trident in hand. Water element wreathed around him, Ursel pulled back her stone club and waited. The impact drove her half a meter into the sand, but the cultivator didn¡¯t pierce her armor. In fact, the sand absorbed everything quite nicely for Ursel. Her club swung forward, crashing the cultivator into the cliff. It wasn¡¯t as good as hitting directly, but at least it served multiple purposes. The guy had absorbed much of the first impact, but when Ursel swung again to directly crush him¡­ he darted off towards the other dozen or so who had made it close. That wasn¡¯t too much to deal with. Ursel wasn¡¯t an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator for nothing. But maybe she could just drop the cliffs on them? Her allies up above should know better than to get in the way of potential falling debris. Chapter 392 Two large fleets were angled towards each other. No doubt they meant to join together on their way to Storm Rock Isle. John knew it was possible their enemies had not yet triangulated their base of operations, but it was unlikely that they were so clueless about the islands within their own borders. Even doing their best to confuse where they were coming and going from, they had to have a pretty good idea where the continental forces were set up. A combined fleet could be a problem, even with the defensive advantages of the island. It wasn¡¯t like it was a mighty fortress secured over the course of generations. It was an island with a decent harbor of natural stone that was now extended somewhat. They would have some advantages there, but it would be better not to face so many enemies at once. Determining how precisely to split their forces was important. They couldn¡¯t just leave Storm Rock Isle empty, or it could be captured and they would have nowhere safe to return to regroup. John couldn¡¯t perfectly determine the strength of enemy fleets from his position, so they would have to estimate. They wanted an overwhelming force, so they could defeat and drive off one of the fleets¡­ but they still needed to leave enough of a defensive contingent in case the lone fleet reached their base. Going himself would be obvious. However, that wasn¡¯t necessarily correct. Was he the most powerful individual cultivator? Absolutely. Ursel had achieved an exceptional defeat of Abritt, but John knew her weaknesses well enough to defeat her. Though he probably needed his cultivation advantage for it. Unsurprisingly, his daughter who spent all of her time seeking out battle and training instead of being involved with politics and teaching had grown quite powerful. And the triplets weren¡¯t kids, even if they were youthful. As cultivators who advanced quickly they didn¡¯t look any older than their prime, but they were over sixty years old- compared to John at around ninety. By the standards of cultivators, they were basically a half generation or less behind. Tirto and Verusha would be better on the offensive. John could stay to coordinate their forces. Hopefully Ursel would return from her offensive mission in time, though there wasn¡¯t much that could be done to speed that up. They¡¯d have to plan assuming she wouldn¡¯t be there. Tirto would be the best to lead the fleets against storm cultivators. John would remain, monitoring the situation- though if he wanted to be fresh for battle, he couldn¡¯t do much more flying. ----- Waiting was far worse than heading for battle directly. John had estimated the enemy¡¯s approach, but that was assuming they knew precisely where to go, the winds held steady, and he understood the local currents well enough. They could easily arrive an hour early or late. If John was any good at controlling light, he could think of a few ways to spy at a distance. It would probably be easier to redirect light from up above than to fly there himself, wouldn¡¯t it? John wondered if any of the light element sects already did something like that and he¡¯d just missed it. It seemed like it fit in the wheelhouse of the Prism Underfields, bending light and all that. Nik was in the Gloom Desolation. Maybe they should have sent a message back to the continent. They might have received some help in time. ¡°Sect Head!¡± someone called for John. ¡°We have spotted the enemy¡¯s sails to the east!¡± Oh good. Now there was something else to focus on. There was still at least twenty minutes until the ships arrived, unless they pushed for greater speed. But then they would show up fatigued, which wasn¡¯t optimal for them. Twenty minutes from the edge of the horizon. ¡°Wait,¡± John said. ¡°You spotted their sails?¡± The lightning cultivator turned back towards him. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Then they¡¯ll be here sooner than you think. Tell everyone to be at their posts in five minutes. Have our ships ready.¡± The remaining vessels could take shelter in the harbor, but if the enemy found them stationary they would be trivial to sink. But where would they be coming from? The highest point on their little island didn¡¯t have particularly better visibility than where John had been standing, so he allowed himself a small bit of flight. Just a hundred meters up so he could better scan the horizon. Yes, there they were. Southeast. It looked like little more than the natural spray of the sea, but the bulk of the enemy fleets were far closer. John landed heavily, giving orders and getting people into position. Then he made his way out to the edge of the island, walking along the extended cliffs that he and Ursel had helped form. Darkness seeped around him, dulling the feeling of spiritual energy around them. If they completely disappeared the enemy would know they were waiting in ambush, but making the sense of them more vague and focusing some of his energy elsewhere could make them seem to be in the midst of preparations. The enemy looked like little more than rolling waves on the water, but shortly after they got in range, John gave the orders. Earth cultivators focused their spiritual energy together, flinging large boulders they had prepared into the enemy fleet. Lightning struck down. Spikes of ice were interspersed with fireballs. Not long after that, the enemy¡¯s veil dropped and they responded with their own lightning bolts. John redirected a few into the cliffs, forcing the spiritual energy to diffuse. Water element cultivators from the Stormy Sea Sect insulated their fleet from attacks with a large wave of water moving ahead of them. John felt Duha standing at their head¡­ but they were missing their allied fleets. If all went well, Tirto and Verusha would be on their way back, and perhaps not even far behind them.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ----- A great fireball made of the combined energies of a dozen cultivators rolled over the edge of the ship in front of Tirto, but his spiritual energy soaked in the heat, keeping the deck from lighting aflame. As for the outer edge of the ship, Verusha handled that by pulling the clinging flames away. Together, the two of them launched a sphere of fire surrounded by ice, a tightly packed shell that punched through the ship¡¯s defensive formations, impacted the enemy vessel and exploded. The enemy fire cultivators may have been on a ship, but they were not sailors. Clearly they had sailing cultivators among them, but there weren¡¯t nearly enough of them to stamp out all the fires. And that let the marine forces attack the bottoms of their vessels with impunity. The elementally varied allies of the Stormy Sea Sect clearly didn¡¯t have as much joint training as they needed. Each individual was effective enough on their own, but they weren¡¯t ready. ¡°Straight ahead!¡± Tirto called. ¡°Then cut left!¡± Their ships charged into the midst of the enemy fleets, but instead of ramming them or trying to board them, their ships instead rode with waves and carried away a portion of the enemy fleet. Repeated flashes of lightning from the grouchy coastal air cultivators combined with winds pushing the ships¡¯ sails the wrong way. The few Stormy Sea Sect cultivators prevented the ships from immediately capsizing, but that was about all they could manage. There was one fire cultivator that was a pain though. As their fleets had passed through, he caught some of their sails on fire- and the fires were nearly unquenchable. It was both a testament to special technique and the man¡¯s Ascending Soul Phase cultivation. Did they just make people like that everywhere now? Tirto supposed he couldn¡¯t complain. He was an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, and it was highly likely that the cultivation surge extended beyond the continent. ¡°Careful,¡± Tirto said quietly to Verusha. ¡°We¡¯ve got a Mel situation.¡± ¡°Just direct me,¡± Verusha said. ¡°Where do you want it and how hot?¡± ¡°When we make our next pass,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Between my ice spikes. Show them a proper volcano.¡± Their ships circled around after sinking several of the vessels they had swept away and leaving the others disoriented. Tirto was tempted to put out the lingering flames on some of their allied ships, but it was better for the cultivators there to handle it themselves. He¡¯d need all his energy. Tirto obviously prepared several ice spears as they sailed towards the fire cultivator. Next to him, Verusha was practically boiling over with pressurized flame. She could be subtle, sometimes, but she was more effective when she didn¡¯t have to pretend to. Another ball of fire came straight for their flagship, and Tirto threw a condensed ball of water to clash with it, away from the ship. He couldn¡¯t easily wipe out such a concentration of energy, but it destabilized before it hit their ship, wasting much of its energy as half of it exploded into empty space. Tirto threw his gathered ice spikes, curving around the fire cultivator. He was almost tempted to actually try to hit the man, but he followed the plan. His ice spikes impacted the deck of the ship. Verusha¡¯s flames suddenly burst out of her, following the same path his spiritual energy had drawn, whipping around behind the flame cultivator. The Ascending Soul Phase cultivator threw up an arm, prepared to deflect the fire, but it also crashed into the deck of the ship. For a moment, it appeared to burn sullenly. Then it burst upward, sending a strangely solid flame into the air and into the water. Flames wrapped around darkness. Honestly, someone thought they could hide from Tirto with just a bit of darkness? Certainly not in a battle! Melanthina had taken every opportunity she could to ambush both of her siblings, before it was even properly called ¡®training¡¯. Though the biggest mistake was that the cultivator hadn¡¯t been concealing his energy before the fleets approached each other. Feeling an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator disappear, who wouldn¡¯t look for them? Obviously a bit of heat wasn¡¯t going to kill the man, but Tirto grabbed Verusha¡¯s hand and leapt off the ship into the water. Tirto picked out the slightly distorted position of the darkness cultivator still trying to get his bearings in the water. There wasn¡¯t anything there, which was more obvious for him in the water. He gently tugged on Verusha¡¯s energy, and the two of them sent a burst of boiling water at the man. Obviously the darkness cultivator defended himself, but Tirto held the water around the man as the two of them moved close. The fire cultivator on the surface tried to boil the seas around Tirto and Verusha. The man had quite a bit of power, and he wasn¡¯t useless against the water. But Tirto had a volcano totem. Their opponent had to work to make boiling water, but Verusha and Tirto simply redirected that heat towards the darkness cultivator. Tirto registered a few hits on his defenses, sharp like needles. But the water was his domain. And Verusha¡¯s. Their spiritual energy moved between the two of them with little care for who was who. They were a pair. And all they had to fight was two individuals out of their element. How could they lose? With a wave of his arm, Tirto pushed a boiling waterfall down into the depths, sweeping away the darkness cultivator as he dove after. The fire cultivator above was soon too far to even sense. The darkness cultivator¡¯s spiritual energy faded. Dead. Then Tirto¡¯s spear pierced the body, and he was dead. Tirto almost fell for that one. No, he had. Because even the body was fake. The darkness cultivator had slipped off somewhere, but Tirto doubted he would be back. He kept his senses open as he swam up, not wanting to go on a long chase. Even if the darkness cultivator tried to swim directly after them, it would take some time to catch up. Verusha stopped him before they surfaced, pulling him towards the hull of the ship. Their movements hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed and flames pushed towards them¡­ but Tirto shielded them from above as Verusha placed her palms on the ship. Her hands glowed, pushing through as the wood burnt away under her fingers. When she was arm deep in the ship, she yanked her arms out and moved to another spot. Soon the ship would have more holes than it knew what to do with- besides sink. The fire cultivator above could either try to swap to attacking their fleet¡­ or face them in the water. Neither option would be good for him. Chapter 393 It was tempting for John to rely on his cultivation to try to dominate the battle, but while that was a perfectly normal option for a cultivator, it wasn¡¯t always the most effective. If the strongest cultivator was sufficiently powerful, they could push back the enemy ranks and inspire their allies all at once, but that came with the risk of exposure. Then there was the option to hang back as some sort of emergency measure, watching people fall and die. Callous, but safe. John wasn¡¯t interested in either option. He could still be a powerful force on the battlefield without overextending himself. And as his whole style hinged around balancing various elements, fighting alongside the various sects was only proper. He wouldn¡¯t stand out as an independent champion, but instead would act as a pillar of support. Fighting formations of cultivators required trust and practice, so John wouldn¡¯t be able to direct the whole battlefield, but he had connections to many groups of different elements, guiding together water, fire, earth, and of course the mixed elements of his own sect. His own air element should be effective against the Stormy Sea Sect which were primarily water cultivators, but they were specially trained to resist certain sorts of abilities. Lightning was more or less neutral. It wasn¡¯t a waste of energy, but it didn¡¯t afford the same advantages it normally would- at least not unless he could catch them off guard. But Duha stood at the head of the approaching fleet, and surprising people looking directly at him was a bit troublesome. John still threw lightning anyway, just to watch how Duha deflected it. It was nothing special, just creating a trail of water that provided it an easier way to flow, though precisely controlling its path still seemed impossible. She deflected it to the edge of the ship and over the side, but the lightning still bit into the wood on its way down as John manually directed it. Not enough to break the ship apart or catch it aflame, but it was a start. More air element gathered around John, but while he continued to fling lightning a small portion of it was siphoned off for other uses. Darkness kept his true intentions hidden, in two different ways. It permeated the whole area around him, hiding what he was doing in front and those ships hiding around the curvature of their new cliffs to the back. A wave of water carried forward the enemy fleets, directed in large part by Duha. With the angle they were coming in, it was clear they intended to slip into the harbor past the defenders. But as they went, they would be under a bombardment of fireballs, lightning, and rocks. The latter didn¡¯t sound that impressive, but it couldn¡¯t be underestimated. A sufficiently fast rock could puncture a hole in sails, people, or the ship itself. Though the enchantments on the ship made actually sinking their vessels more difficult, they still had to defend the vessels. John had already prepared plans with the Brandle clan cultivators after Storm Rock Isle had been reshaped. They were ready when he directed their energy, just as the first ships were reaching the gap in the cliffs. Rather than attempting to negate the waves they rode upon, John added another component to them with water rising up and pulling towards the cliffs. That made the ships lurch starboard. Ruha kept her ship well controlled, but several others scraped against the rocky cliffs, suffering damage and opening themselves to be boarded by cultivators who preferred melee. Meanwhile, the enemy cultivators were raising great waves with which they tried to shove or pull the defenders off of their cliff. John was tempted to unleash his air element trap on Ruha, but he let her pass. He focused instead on the next ship, specifically the pilot at the back and the cultivators sustaining the wave propelling them with extra speed. Protecting against what John did wasn¡¯t impossible, but it would require awareness of what was happening. With so many attacks being thrown around it was difficult to detect a relatively subtle manipulation of air. Waves splashed over John, trying to move him or perhaps drown him, but he anchored himself in place with earth and protected his body with water. He would end up at a slight imbalance of fire, but he could use that in a moment. The cultivators on the second ship probably didn¡¯t notice themselves running out of air. At least, they wouldn¡¯t immediately. Cultivators were fairly aware of their own body so it was unlikely he could actually kill them, but as they breathed in and out they wouldn¡¯t be getting any oxygen. Or at least not much, as he filtered the area ahead of them- that way he didn¡¯t have to deal with their defenses. Since they were still breathing out carbon dioxide, their bodies wouldn¡¯t immediately recognize their suffocation. All that oxygen was pulled together behind them, and John used his excess fire element to detonate it. As the first of his tricks didn¡¯t act directly on the cultivators it was difficult to resist, but the slight flames he managed on the latter ships accelerated with the excess oxygen in a sort of explosion. The cultivators were able to protect themselves and the ship enchantments did the same, but it was an efficient attack. The second ship was drifting port, with the pilot recognizing something was wrong just before they crashed into the newly extended outer cliff. One sail scraped against the cliff and snapped, nearly toppling the mast as the crossbeam twisted. The crew recognized something was wrong and expanded their defenses, the burst of spiritual energy breaking John¡¯s influence in the area- though he couldn¡¯t extend such fine control terribly far, so they would have been released from his technique soon enough.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Ruha at the front no doubt expected to find vulnerable ships within the harbor, but what she encountered were a half dozen vessels lying in wait, attacking the instant she rounded the inner curve. And at that moment she was isolated, the rest of her fleet still making their way through the gauntlet, the second ship attempting to course correct without crashing into the sides or spinning to block the entire path. As an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, Ruha was still able to deflect most of the attacks on herself, her crew, and her ship, but not all of them. She also wasn¡¯t prepared for one of them ramming from the side. That would be the Order of the Amber Heart. It looks like they at least remembered to fortify their own ship before the collision. Several others had been upon the cliffs, dropping onto the ships below. One group wrestled control of the helm from the Stormy Sea Sect, though they couldn¡¯t send it careening into the cliffs quite as easily as they wished. The water cultivators were still controlling the water underneath, so the ship mostly stayed on course. But it was only a matter of time before they got ships to crash into each other, clogging the entrance. John turned his attention from the nearing pileup to Ruha. He trusted his allies to give their best, but leaving them to fight an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator without him was a bit much. With a rapid and long strides John reached the back edge of the cliff, leaping towards the at least temporarily isolated vessel and the sect head. The cycle of elements flowed through John, ready to respond to any whim. He had a bit more earth element remaining, so he used that to turn himself into a projectile, crashing into the rear mast. The wooden mast was nearly a meter thick, but John¡¯s impact easily cracked it, cracking it in two. All he had to do was break through the defensive enchantments and even the best material couldn¡¯t stand up to a decent injection of spiritual energy. Or at least not ones that could be made in such quantity. Perhaps there were some magnificent trees that could make nearly unbreakable vessels, but they wouldn¡¯t be something a seafaring sect could easily get their hands on. Maybe the Viridia Wildlands. Ruha¡¯s eyes showed rage as swirling waves rushed towards John. ¡°This is your fault, you know,¡± he commented as he used his sword to guide air element into a blade of wind, cutting apart the waves as he dropped down towards Ruha. ¡°Your sect started this.¡± Her trident caught his sword between two prongs, but that was what he¡¯d been expecting. John kicked out, fire swirling around his foot. Ruha was slightly delayed in her reaction, no doubt not expecting the element she was strongest against. She redirected some of her energy to her side, giving up on the crashing waves dropping back towards John. John grabbed her trident behind its head with his free hand. She¡¯d managed to freeze his sword to her trident, even though her specialty was clearly not ice. A good move, but he didn¡¯t care so much. Darkness swirled around his hand as he simply held the trident. She protected it with water element, but he tore away at it. She seemed content to wrestle with him, but something gave John away. Maybe his face, or she simply picked up what he was doing more quickly. Ruha formed an expanding sphere of water, pushing John and herself apart. Too bad. But John had still picked up more water element to work with. Spiritual Energy Absorption was not something that anyone expected, and since he could overpower her it was actually relatively efficient. The unfamiliar energy tried to rebel, but much of it had already been swept up in the cycle, converting into different elements and erasing any connection Ruha had. Ruha splashed into the water, and John readied himself for her following assaults¡­ but they never came. He felt her drop to the bottom of the harbor¡­ and then she was swimming away. John hadn¡¯t yet decided whether or not to chase her when a waterspot shot her over the outer edge of the harbor and into the sea. She swam faster than any ship, and while it was likely more energy intensive John didn¡¯t think he could easily catch her. Easily being the key term. And he had better things to do, like deal with the rest of the enemy cultivators. He watched her with his senses as she circled around towards their opening, helping to pull some of their ships away. He thought she was ready to retreat, but even if she intended to regroup he found it better to deal with those currently remaining locked in combat. In the end, they only took down three ships- the rest were able to extract themselves, though it would have been completely impossible if they weren¡¯t water element cultivators. Perhaps they should have sent Tirto and Verusha to target this fleet and let the other enemies reach the harbor. The narrow entrance was unsurprisingly quite advantageous. Then again, the supporting cultivators were more likely to have earth element cultivators who could simply topple the thin cliffs. All they¡¯d have to do was destabilize the base. Sufficiently determined water element cultivators could have done it as well, but they¡¯d have to have known how thick the cliffs were to begin with. John could have caught the retreating fleet, and likely so could have a few others¡­ but that would have been too risky. As it was, they focused on capturing the remaining cultivators. The next prisoner exchange would have harsher terms. John was hoping they could push for a surrender, or if they weren¡¯t willing to admit a loss at least push for the remuneration that was one of their goals. Money wouldn¡¯t bring back the dead, both those who died in the pirate attacks and in this war, but pushing too hard would just bring more death, even if they annihilated their foes. John had no desire to do anything like that just yet, when it would be better to have a living example of how the continent would retaliate to spread the word. If this method didn¡¯t work, then future consequences would be more deadly. Not that too many people hadn¡¯t died already, in John¡¯s estimation. Chapter 394 The mix element supportive fleets moved into a full retreat as their ships began to sink, with their flagship having sections of its belly burned out by Verusha. The fire element cultivator had fairly quickly hopped to another ship, as well as most of those remaining. With denser populations on their ships, they were better able to defend their remaining ships. Tirto and Verusha decided to prioritize their own forces and returned to Storm Rock Isle instead of giving chase. They did not arrive in time to help defend against the assault, but were at least relieved the defense had gone well. ¡°Maybe we should have focused on killing that fire cultivator,¡± Tirto commented. ¡°We could have dealt a serious blow to the allies of the Stormy Sea Sect.¡± Verusha nodded repeatedly, though not necessarily in agreement. ¡°This is why it¡¯s good that we¡¯re partners. Most of the time I come up with plans that go overboard and you have to get me on track. And sometimes I get to do that for you. If we killed an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator here, what do you think would happen?¡± ¡°They¡¯d fear for their lives?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°And what do cultivators do when they¡¯re afraid and feel like they have nowhere to go? They might run back to their sects and hope we never set our eyes on them. Or they might panic and try to convince the whole region that we¡¯re out to exterminate them and turn this into a full-blown war.¡± ¡°They could still do that while alive,¡± Tirto pointed out. ¡°They¡¯d just be weaker.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Verusha agreed. ¡°But they¡¯d also have to face us again for that to happen. Do you think that guy wants to come back? I would bet they¡¯ve already fulfilled any obligations they had to the Stormy Sea Sect. A little bit of fear is probably better than a great amount of fear and anger if we¡¯re trying to predict what people will do. Your father will certainly agree with our choices.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Tirto said. ¡°I feel more assured now.¡± Verusha grinned smugly. ¡°Feels good to be on this side of things occasionally.¡± ----- John hoped that their current debacle was almost over. Their initial assault showing off their might had led to the hostage exchange. Duha no doubt felt her hands were tied in that matter, as leaving her disciples to die would have tarnished her honor. However, the following direct clash had allowed her to compare the might of herself and her people against the continental forces. John was glad that they¡¯d managed to achieve decisive victories on all fronts, as that should hopefully accelerate the end of things. John let a small ship go with a message for the Stormy Sea Sect. Ruha hadn¡¯t exactly waited around to hear John¡¯s demands, after all. He directly sent his terms, including the specific amount of remunerations he demanded. The price was significantly more weighty than the prior hostage exchange, though it would come with the return of the recent captures of people and ships. Since they weren¡¯t meeting in person, John decided to make explicit some of the threats he might have merely implied with his presence. Further battle wouldn¡¯t be tolerated. The price of continued conflict might easily escalate to be the lives of all members of the Stormy Sea Sect and everything they had. John might not actually make this the final opportunity, but if the Stormy Sea Sect tried to delay and call in new allies, he would certainly increase the level of devastation inflicted upon their islands. Ursel had apparently toppled a nice coastal castle into the ocean. That hadn¡¯t exactly been planned, but John didn¡¯t know what else he should have expected from the orders to cause damage and gather loot. It was a worthy display of an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. John continued to watch from the skies. He was just barely able to track the progress of the messenger ship they sent, even when he focused spiritual energy on his vision. Perhaps he should find a specific enhancement technique for long distance viewing. Or get a good spyglass. It was strange that he considered supernatural solutions first, but that just showed he¡¯d gotten very used to the world. It was likely that a combination of both would be optimal. Maybe a light element technique would be best, though it would have to be low intensity as it was still difficult for him to use it. Without a totem and with the opposing element of darkness it was still quite difficult. But he had plenty of examples of the two elements living together in harmony, or at least tolerating each other. He felt confident in his continued growth, though the final step would no doubt be the most difficult. ----- A sizable fleet approached the meeting location, but John wasn¡¯t worried. Frankly, if Duha hadn¡¯t been taking things seriously he would have been disappointed. It was possible that she was planning to try one final, desperate battle. If she made that choice, she would meet more than her match in return. Ursel was holding Storm Rock Isle safe in case they missed approaching fleets, but that would still make it three-to-one against Duha. If she managed to bring another unknown Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, she would still be outnumbered. And if there were two, John would find himself confused at why she had come alone to assault Storm Rock Isle. After all, she would have known there were several of them to face, and even if her allies had met up with her she could have only hoped to match their forces with three.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. But all of John¡¯s information indicated that the Stormy Sea Sect shouldn¡¯t have any more Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, either part of their sect or easily accessible from allies. Nor did they have sufficient time to send far afield. John simply maintained what he felt was a healthy paranoia against cultivators who sought out trouble. Once again, they met on one of the former outposts of the Stormy Sea Sect. John kept his senses open for that darkness cultivator who Tirto felt slip away, but unless the man had gotten more skilled since the previous encounter John could fairly safely say he had not joined them. When they first met, John had kept his forces modest. This time, he made no secrets of bringing Tirto and Verusha as his backup to the island, a reminder of his advantage in the negotiations, such as they might be. Ruha was not happy, and she was either making no attempt to conceal it or she had never learned how to. John was frankly not pleased with the situation either. The Stormy Sea Sect had thrown their weight into a region and conflicts they didn¡¯t understand, and now they were suffering the consequences. ¡°Have you prepared the remunerations?¡± John began, bypassing all social niceties. ¡°We have brought valuable resources according to your overbearing demands,¡± Ruha said. That was somewhat of an acknowledgement, at least. ¡°In exchange, we expect you to return to your lands and stay out of our seas. Our alliance will not tolerate any continued foreign intrusion.¡± A brave stance, but not one she could back up at the moment. John could feel that it was more than just bluster, however. If John insisted on annihilating the Stormy Sea Sect, he would encounter more trouble than he wanted. Ruha didn¡¯t seem to fully understand that she would be dead before those consequences arrived, however. Or perhaps she was just lying to herself, thinking she could escape again if things went wrong. ¡°As long as the value is sufficient, we have no reason to remain here. We were quite comfortable managing our internal affairs,¡± John explained. ¡°Understand that anyone from your seas is likewise forbidden to approach the continent, except a single ship under a flag of truce. We are not entirely opposed to opening up diplomatic channels once tension from this squabble dies down.¡± If Ruha had felt any sort of shame, or seemed to have any regrets except that her people had been caught or that she was not strong enough, John might have been more polite. But from his current position it would be more strange if he weren¡¯t a bit overbearing and dismissive. As for it being a little squabble¡­ when he was young and had just come to the world he couldn¡¯t have imagined that so many Soul Expansion Phase cultivators would die, and how could Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators die if they practically didn¡¯t exist on the continent? Yet as things were now, he found that the words almost rang true. If the circumstances had been different- a mutual misunderstanding or a conflict over some sort of resource instead of straight up piracy while paired up with Morana- it might have actually been a minor matter. ¡°We will likely have no need for further interaction,¡± Ruha said. ¡°But we will keep your proposal in mind.¡± Her face still showed bitterness. John wondered if she knew that some people would find that disrespectful enough to attack her. John just happened to think ahead more than some others. He planned to live¡­ however long a cultivator could live. He had no doubt he could hit two hundred as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, even if he failed to advance further in rank. The following exchange went smoothly enough. Some of the disciples and elders were better at hiding their enmity than Runa¡­ and some were worse. But none were stupid enough to do more than say a few words that people could pretend weren¡¯t overheard as they began to exchange resources and people. John and Ruha signed a pair of official documents on behalf of their own people. Paper literally couldn¡¯t do anything on its own. It wasn¡¯t somehow magically binding. Then again, it also didn¡¯t do anything on Earth. Yet often enough, it provided a strong enough basis for trust. People had to act within a certain expected framework or no others would work with them. And unless they were capable of standing completely independent against the rest of the world, that meant honoring treaties to a certain extent. The terms were quite acceptable, and since the continent wished to be done with the conflict they accepted fairly easily. The exact region that the Stormy Sea Sect claimed belonged to their alliance might have been more in debate if the Gloom Desolation was interested in exploiting their coastal waters. John pushed Ruha to acknowledge their actual area of control to be a bit smaller than that- after all, John had come all the way to Storm Rock Isle without spotting a single local ship. That was already several hundreds of kilometers away from the continent. Surviving captives and ships were released a little bit at a time, and they departed. ----- Ursel kicked down the new harbor walls of Storm Rock Isle after their fleets withdrew from the harbor for the final time. ¡°These people don¡¯t deserve my artistry,¡± she declared. It made the island more or less unusable, unless earth cultivators came to sort things out¡­ or a much larger number of others willing to manually shuffle rocks around. John just found himself amused. She¡¯d done the majority of the work, so he couldn¡¯t be too mad. It was mostly funny. It also made some strategic sense, given that it would prevent them from easily making use of it as an outpost closer to the continent. ----- Returning to the Gloom Desolation, the fleets dropped off the local darkness cultivators who had participated in the expedition. Given the region¡¯s position, it was most at risk of retaliation, so in addition to providing their portion of remuneration John opened up discussions about joint defenses. If they wished, they could refuse aid- stationing cultivators of ships from outside might limit their own independence. However, given that they had previously faced the piracy of the Stormy Sea Sect, John expected them to be open to some level of cooperation. Tirto¡¯s first visits and Melanthina¡¯s current presence would no doubt help sway them further. John hoped that things would remain safe and secure for some time, but one could never fully predict the future. Chapter 395 Fortifying the Gloom Desolation was a delicate project that would take time. The expedition against the Stormy Sea Sect had united them in purpose with the rest of the continent, but developing long-term connections would take time. The continent had sufficient forces to spare to defend against any anticipated attacks, but the Gloom Desolation wouldn¡¯t necessarily want the defenders. Being safe was important, of course, but if that safety came at the cost of their independence, was it really worth anything? More importantly, they couldn¡¯t necessarily trust random people to be better for them. That issue would merely take time to resolve, as trust was built up. John couldn¡¯t even say they would be incorrect to be cautious, because the continental alliance wasn¡¯t perfect. Within his very lifetime, they had been little more than individual sects and clans squabbling against each other with only a token loyalty paid to larger elemental regions for purposes of mutual defense. Tying together diverse groups wasn¡¯t simple, though some of the greatest struggles weren¡¯t with the weaker sects but with those who already felt secure. What would they need help to defend against? Aside from maybe the Molten Sea or the Sky Islands. John didn¡¯t actually know, but he was glad for the threat of the Stormy Sea Sect- and Morana¡¯s inclusion in that. It was a reminder that threats still existed. Whether he should be glad for enemies was another question that John couldn¡¯t answer. There was only so much unity that could be fostered by promoting trades of materials and information, especially since most people were used to being insular. Having an outside threat simply made things easy. ----- As the sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads, more often than not people came to John if they had some matters of political import. However, that only gave him a limited impression of the true people of the continent. Only those who had matters that his influence could help with, connections, and the capacity to travel. John wasn¡¯t some mighty king that could solve everyone¡¯s problems under his own power, but he¡¯d found himself at the core of continental matters in several ways. He was a core pillar of a strong alliance, and head of an influential new sect. Little by little, he had become important. That left him with a sense of responsibility- to his friends and family first, then everyone else. He wanted the alliance to persist through his life, and hopefully after. Though he also hoped that his life would be long. That was what everyone around would want for him. John decided that the next step on his journey would be visiting¡­ everywhere. He figured he might as well start in the Gloom Desolation, since he was there. Melanthina had established her reputation in the area, so he relied on her guidance. ¡°Any luck figuring out why the area is so¡­¡± John pondered for a few moments, ¡°Desolation¡­y?¡± Darkness wasn¡¯t the first thing people thought of when they thought of a healthy ecosystem, but it wasn¡¯t inherently an element of corruption or death. The Darklands were proof of that, as they had a healthy and viable region where people lived comfortably with strong darkness element around them. ¡°A bit,¡± Melanthina admitted. ¡°Historical records indicate that things weren¡¯t always like this. Though details are sparse.¡± ¡°Anything I can help with?¡± John asked. ¡°Just keep your senses open. Maybe you¡¯ll spot something I didn¡¯t.¡± ----- The coasts of the Gloom Desolation were the most prosperous in all ways. Flora and fauna, wealth, and spiritual energy. Further from the coast had only relatively faint levels of darkness. It was like a desert of spiritual energy, so even though it rained the ground and plants remained thirsty. John couldn¡¯t quite tell if the spiritual energy was responsible for keeping things that way, or existed in spite of the surrounding circumstances. The local cultivators were used to getting by with limited spiritual energy, which actually made them develop interesting techniques for battle. Efficient uses of what they had, as much as possible. Melanthina was able to introduce John to some people who focused on small weapons- needles, wire, and the like. Such assassin-like implements actually fit well with darkness to begin with, and fighting in a constrained manner made them develop technique over everything else. Thin wire could be augmented by only a small amount of spiritual energy to not only be freely manipulated, but also resist attack and pierce defenses because the energy was focused. That was a principle every cultivator understood to some extent, but the Gloom Desolation took that to an extreme. John found himself quite interested, though he didn¡¯t intend to upend his personal style developed over a lifetime. But that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t add details. Thrown needles were not that different from his throwing daggers, and could be used with his free hand. The main difference would be that they would cause deep wounds instead of wider cuts. It was possible to precisely target weak points, or to generally try to puncture organs or damage joints. Even if a needle didn¡¯t hit a critical target, if it drove deep enough it either forced the enemy to take a moment to remove it or risk damage while moving around. Of course, they could also be used to deliver poisons. John wasn¡¯t strictly opposed to the idea of poison. If he was fighting to the death, could he really cry out about honor when everyone was trying to kill him? One might focus on causing many wounds to bleed him out, others might go for single powerful blows. Poison was much like the first, except more efficient. Using poison to kill someone wasn¡¯t any worse than any other method. Assassinating people by cutting them in half wasn¡¯t more morally upright than poisoning their drink. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Then again, maybe he was biased because he was resistant to poisons. He would never claim immunity, but he had trained the Pure Blood technique, one of his various methods of advanced body tempering. John didn¡¯t personally tend to use poisons because he was not trained in their various complexities. Carrying them long term while keeping them potent was important, and for the foes he was facing in particular he doubted that cheap or expired poisons would do much good. It was the same reason he didn¡¯t train in every type of weapon- just against them when he got the chance. Wires were¡­ also good. For non-cultivators they were mainly good for their ability to be concealed, but with spiritual energy manipulating their positioning and power was entirely possible. No doubt individuals could spend limitless time mastering various ways to attack people with them. John had time, but not unlimited amounts. He had to pick and choose what elements to focus on, and what techniques within those elements. Wires were a good addition to his off-hand arsenal, however. Distracting people with his sword while a true attack came from his free hand- or vice versa- was his standard method of battle. Adding another tool was worth looking into, even if he didn¡¯t specialize in such techniques. In exchange for teaching him some of their techniques- but certainly not their most valuable tricks- John taught people based on his own understanding of darkness. That was different even from Melanthina and the Tenebach clan, because John had a unique style- at least for the moment. There were more than a few disciples of the sect attempting to replicate his path, but the best disciples were only just reaching the Consolidated Soul Phase. Thus, John¡¯s experience with darkness and how it interacted with other elements was extremely valuable. What people wanted more was advice about the Ascending Soul Phase, but honestly John couldn¡¯t give anything useful unless people were at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase and he took time to get to know them. With the weak spiritual energy in the area, he couldn¡¯t do much for them. ----- The Gloom Desolation looked much the same throughout, scraggly bushes and bare trees where there was any vegetation at all. Sometimes, there were durable grasses. John hadn¡¯t seen anything quite like it, but he couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of somewhere else. However, he had difficulty tracing what that other place was. It certainly wasn¡¯t the Darklands. The Muted Crags didn¡¯t feel right either. That didn¡¯t leave many options. The Soulrot Bogs were unpleasant, but it was difficult to say they weren¡¯t¡­ lively. They were teeming with life and spiritual energy. That left nowhere else with the darkness element on the continent. What else could it be? Somewhere with low levels of spiritual energy? There weren¡¯t many of those- which was exactly what made the Gloom Desolation odd. However, there was the Annihilation Strip. The Gloom Desolation didn¡¯t have the destruction of clashing with light. But that did leave one place. The Deadfields. It wasn¡¯t quite like that, and the fact that the Prism Underfields were light element had thrown John off, but eventually he realized that was the vibe he got. But the Prism Underfields were vibrant, with the Deadfields atop them being even more barren than the Gloom Desolation. So while John recognized some similarity, he determined it wasn¡¯t a perfect analogy. Still worth noting. Maybe Melanthina could make something of it with her longer stay in the region. ----- John¡¯s next step was the Breathless Plains, where he met with more members of the Six Elements Crossroads who had not gone on the expedition. Combat experience hadn¡¯t been the necessary factor for some of them, and there were many sects besides the Six Elements Crossroads involved. But now that he was on his journey, he had sent for some of them specifically, with an allotment for other members who wished to join. Members of the Six Elements Crossroads could undoubtedly grow from exposure to every elemental region. That was part of his reason for the journey himself, after all. Among those were Lir and Ayhan, two of his first disciples and former street urchins. Now, after multiple decades, they had just completed a cycle of core elements, becoming Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators. This journey would be a good opportunity for them to get used to their new abilities and compare themselves to those of other styles. If all went well, they should match up against the best other sects had to offer. John wasn¡¯t willing to go so far as to say a cycle of elements was superior in every way to traditional single or dual element methods. Until a proper cycle was completed, such methods were notably lacking. But with a cycle of core elements completed¡­ he could feel the qualitative difference in the two of them. As long as they didn¡¯t neglect any of their elements, they would always be formidable opponents. ----- John of course wished to stop at familiar locations within the Breathless Plains, but only going to friendly sects he had good rapport with would undermine the point of his journey. He couldn¡¯t visit every sect and clan, but he could certainly try. Some places they would stay just for a day, but even that was enough to build a greater understanding of various groups. He didn¡¯t rely just on his own opinions, however. John also spent time on the road hearing from his disciples. They had always things to say about how they were treated and the styles of the groups they visited. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because my air totem isn¡¯t suited for it,¡± Ayhan began. ¡°But I feel that the last clan we met was¡­ inefficient with their techniques.¡± ¡°They¡¯re terrible,¡± Lir said more straightforwardly. ¡°If you can rip the air out of someone¡¯s lungs, you could have already killed them a hundred other ways. They take the name of the Breathless Plains too literally.¡± John nodded. ¡°If you can reach inside someone¡¯s body for any reason, there are more efficient things to do. It¡¯s mostly impressive with a cultivator of greater strength against many weaker opponents. More efficient is forming a vacuum around a cultivator¡¯s head to make breathing difficult, but even that¡¯s a bit¡­ difficult to maintain. A cultivator¡¯s strongest control is around their own body, after all.¡± Most of John¡¯s teaching was public to every disciple traveling with them, but John left some explanations for later in private. It was a small part favoritism, but also practicality for his own sake. He explained to Lir and Ayhan how he had removed the oxygen from air people were going to move into. It was a unique situation where he could predict the path of ships, but something similar could be done in wide scale combat. Against a single opponent, they had to be distracted from what was really happening¡­ or completely inept at refreshing their own air supplies and confined to a tight area. None of John¡¯s disciples would be so easily overcome, but it was possible for them to come across opponents with gaps in their knowledge. John expected to find some trips on this very journey he hadn¡¯t even considered, and while he could improvise a solution mid-combat, being aware of threats ahead of time was much better. Chapter 396 The possibility of a random fall into an unseen gorge was significantly less concerning when you knew you wouldn¡¯t really be injured by a fall. Even less so when you could actually fly. Thus it was that with only a small group, John found it much easier to travel through the Breathless Plains. If they came to a gorge blocking their path, it was often possible to leap over it- and if they couldn¡¯t, John could carry a handful of people with him while Lir and Ayhan were able to carry themselves and one or two others comfortably, depending on the distance. That left the local beasts as the greatest hazards, and they could be quite annoying. The local avians always found the most inconvenient timing to attack people, either when they were flying or split or having just settled down. Worse than that, fighting them was almost pointless. Real combat experience was important, of course, but fighting the same sorts of beasts over and over wasn¡¯t helpful. Once you knew their attack patterns, they were fairly easily dealt with. After a certain point killing them became routine and lost all its value. It wasn¡¯t like the world was a game where they could get experience and levels- even if that was the case, it would be a trivial amount. Nor were the bodies worth much, and nobody wanted to carry a pile of rotting birds. Obviously they had storage bags, but those only worked to a certain point. Their main value was providing more space- any preservative abilities were mainly coincidental. They didn¡¯t magically stop time or anything, they just provided a potentially sterile environment with consistent temperatures insulated from outside effects. It was already impressive enough to manipulate space on a relatively permanent basis. John had just recently seen Presha of the Silver Breeze Gorge, but he still made sure to stop by the sect. At least it felt recent, but it had been more than half a year since the trip to the Molten Sea. Then again, considering the distance between where they lived it wouldn¡¯t have been weird to interact even less frequently. Even on Earth, John wouldn¡¯t go visit a neighboring country yearly. Then again, if he had the money he might have. Travel here was not as fast as planes, but cultivation allowed even those on foot to keep a significant pace.if they were powerful enough. At least over short distances, John could outpace any car but keeping that up for a long journey was pretty much impossible, even at the Ascending Soul Phase. ----- No matter how much he trained, John would always need the guidance of others. If he thought he knew everything about every element¡­ he would only be fooling himself. He needed the specialists, and even if his cultivation was strictly higher than Lir and Ayhan, the two of them likely had some insights he¡¯d never come to understand. Of course, actually figuring out what they knew that he didn¡¯t would be rather difficult. Thus he still sought to train with people like Presha. She had a greater understanding of specific aspects of air that he might not reach in a lifetime, including the manipulation of vacuum. She didn¡¯t use that as her sole technique with rapid shifting in methods actually being her selling point. Her techniques with her sling almost made John swap weapons and styles. He could add slings techniques to what he did with his off hand- unwrapping a sling from around his forearm wouldn¡¯t be that difficult even in the midst of combat- but she gained the most of using it as her primary method of attack. Sling bullets could be carried along by an augmenting force of air element, or they could fly through a vacuum. The sling itself could be used to strike with great force, or the string could cut apart the air itself. The rapid shifting was what John thought he could best incorporate into his own techniques. Throwing off his enemies was part of his core style, and tricking people by not hiding the element he was using could be a great boon. That was what he tried to learn¡­ and starting with what he could see working wasn¡¯t a bad point. Even when he got close to Presha, he wouldn¡¯t be able to injure her with vacuum- not without overwhelming her defenses, at least. Obviously he wouldn¡¯t defeat her that way, but he wasn¡¯t trying to win but to learn. John augmented the movement of his sword, keeping it in continuous motion as he relentlessly attacked Presha. For her part, she humored his desire to engage in melee instead of retreating, twisting out of the way or knocking aside his sword with her sling, dispersing his own air element while using the mass contained in the pouch of her sling to great effect. It required precise control, but clearly she had the experience. John appeared to repeat the same series of moves over and over. Presha continued to humor him for training purposes, but his actual intention was to see if he could slip something past her notice. Little by little, John replaced the composition of the air around her, disguising his motions as part of his attacks. If a blade of any spiritual element failed to intersect with someone they would generally think themselves safe, not necessarily realizing the attack wasn¡¯t meant to land. Though if he could land a direct hit, John wouldn¡¯t mind. That made it more difficult to read into his movements as a form of feint, because they were meant to go along a particular path that Presha inhabited when he began his motions. If the path or her position changed, he simply accepted it and released the energy to do the other thing he intended.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Exactly once did John manage to bring Presha to the point where she staggered, her breathing labored as her body tried to figure out why it was lacking oxygen despite taking breaths. Presha¡¯s instincts were to create a great bubble of wind that pushed herself and John apart. Then she got a few clear breaths and readied herself once more. Once again John began to build up what he thought was a pretty good zone of depleted air, but Presha didn¡¯t slow down. He had just about exhausted his air element when he sensed the minor workings of her own air element inside her lungs. ¡°So you figured it out,¡± John said. ¡°When?¡± ¡°The moment I disengaged and cleared my head,¡± Presha said. ¡°That¡¯s a good technique. I like it.¡± ¡°I thought about using vacuum to draw air from someone¡¯s lungs and realized that would never be effective. But the idea stuck.¡± He could still incorporate vacuum directly as an attack, though. Against opponents who weren¡¯t prepared, they wouldn¡¯t expect a sudden lack of spiritual energy to be any sort of threat, but it could be an already moving vacuum of air. It could be surprisingly sharp, or somewhat explosive in its collapse. ----- Over the course of his weeks in the Breathless Plains John gained no stunning insights into the nature of air. No magical enlightenment. But he was a little bit better with his energy control, and he had ideas for how to further develop. That was about what he hoped for, and even if he¡¯d made no gains at all it was only a short period of time. Cultivation was a task spanning decades that could stretch into a few centuries, and the best thing that rushing would get him was another near-death experience. If he was lucky enough to survive, obviously. Next on the list was the Encapsulated Flow. Having only passed through the area on the way to the Burning Delta, John had little in the way of preconceived ideas of what he would achieve or where he would train. He figured he would ask his disciples what they thought was good and they¡¯d test out various ideas. Rather than simply bypassing the rivers, they focused on them. John wondered if they should have lingered more the first time, as he found something quite intriguing about the rivers. They didn¡¯t look much different from what he expected, but he knew they were quite potent- the fact that they didn¡¯t immediately evaporate upon collision with the Molten Sea indicated as much. But he wasn¡¯t interested in the interplay between water and fire at this exact moment. Just the water. His first attempts to walk on water had been pathetic, back in the past. He hadn¡¯t really had control over the water element, instead just using spiritual energy like a raft. It had been a clumsy attempt. Now, he could walk across a lake by temporarily solidifying a wide area beneath him- but a lake was still. Even an ocean tended to be relatively consistent, where all he had to do was adapt to an approaching wave. Doing the same thing atop a flowing river was difficult, but not impossible. A river was still fairly consistent, not randomly changing paths. In some ways, more consistent than the motion except that the way water flowed around and over rocks varied more widely in curvature than a simple rising wave. But those variations were also consistent. Water consistently flowed the same path around a rock or over a ledge. Even where separate flows crossed each other, the vortices they created sometimes followed a repeated pattern. Others were fully chaotic. John first considered how he might adjust some patterns to better fit him. However, he quickly abandoned that idea. That might work for a tame river where he needed little energy to control it, but in such a case even if he was slightly off and his platform was less stable than intended it wouldn¡¯t be much. Probably less disruptive than focusing his energy on taming chaos. Instead, recognizing what areas were naturally stable and relying on them would be a more valuable use of his effort. It might limit his movements, but that was true with any terrain. John wasn¡¯t intending to have a great number of battles while standing atop a river. In fact, if it ever became a serious issue he could simply fly. But when seeking understanding practicality wasn¡¯t always the most important. He might try to tame chaotic flows later, but not until he had pursued the path that seemed most fruitful. The first time he tried to move along a sharply angled section, he got a surprise, dunking him in the water as the platform shifted. He hadn¡¯t expected that, because his spiritual energy had followed the flow of the water. Even trying to figure it out, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever stopped that. So then why had it shifted? The answer was simpler than it had any right to be. He¡¯d solidified the surface of the water like a sheet of ice, which then changed the flow. When he began to unbalance, the flow of water was disrupted even more and his energy went wild. That had never happened before, but in combat he was usually¡­ less focused. His intense scrutiny of what he was doing had probably gone overboard. Normally, he was more concerned with getting it generally right, which would mean less adjustment and thus overadjustment. His failure caused John to reconsider his methods entirely. He hadn¡¯t exactly done a great amount of standing on water, except for fun. Was it wrong to solidify the surface? He was already extending his energy to achieve proper buoyancy, so perhaps he was doing more than he needed. He could create buoyancy that fit with the flow of the river, pressing against a wide area of water without actually needing a platform. Or if the river was narrow John could hold himself up with a thin bridge of earth element from the shore, but that was cheating. Like flying. At least, during training. In a practical situation, he¡¯d need a good reason not to fly¡­ or let himself simply be caught up in the river, because being underwater would hinder most opponents more than it would him. But standing on water was good training, probably. And it was also fun. Personally, John thought it was a hundred times cooler than being a supernatural swimmer. Chapter 397 Keeping the spark of excitement at learning alive seemed like an important part of cultivation. If nothing else, John thought that allowing cultivation to become too routine would lead to stagnation. Improving just for the sake of it was pointless. Some might strive for strength to feel secure. John¡¯s reasons were to keep himself and his family safe¡­ and because there were exciting discoveries to be made. It was one thing to understand intellectually how certain aspects of the world worked- it was another thing to make them happen. Even something so simple as a state change in water was quite fascinating if one paid attention to it. Still in the Encapsulated Flow, John watched light reflect off of the river in front of him. The pretty sparkles didn¡¯t provide him any insight into either water or light¡­ but ignoring the pleasant things in the world wasn¡¯t going to keep him motivated. Light was the final piece of the puzzle he¡¯d been putting together throughout his second lifetime, and he¡¯d only just begun to truly understand how it fit in. He needed to be able to fit light and darkness intertwined with the cycle of core elements to complete his cultivation. Though he had several ideas for how that might work, he couldn¡¯t perfect them without a totem. And once he chose a totem, he would be stuck with it- even if there was a flaw with his plans. Though it was a bit early to worry about that because John still had to reach the late Ascending Soul Phase and complete the last few ranks before he could truly be concerned with that. His focus returned to the rivers, walking along the surface and focusing on spending the minimal amount of spiritual energy to create a stable walking path. If he narrowed to just around his feet, he could easily sink but spreading himself too far resulted in wasted energy. The waste wasn¡¯t on a level that was particularly important anymore, but small efficiencies could add up over time. John eventually brought himself to the headwaters of the river he was following, which gradually had become a smaller stream. It began as a waterfall that poured out of the side of the mountain with significant momentum, arcing down into a pool from which the stream flowed. As John prepared to walk up the curved waterfall, something struck him as odd. He tilted his head left and right, walking around the spout of water. He looked down to make certain, but it was certainly splashing into the pond. But the rest of it looked¡­ paused. There was not a spray of droplets going every which way, but one pure stream of water with edges that did not shift, as if it was a still picture. Recalling the name for the phenomenon took some time, as he had to look into memories of Earth and videos shared there. The name was laminar flow, and it was truly odd to see in person and with such a sizable flow of water. From what John remembered, usually such flows were little more than the amount a hose could output. That was because it required a flat opening to create the conditions necessary to avoid turbulent flow. However, in front of John there was a clear example of the same phenomenon occurring at greater scale- the flow being more than a meter across. Not astronomically large, but quite significantly more than he¡¯d ever seen before. Carefully, he placed his hand in the flow- and it splashed about just as expected. But as soon as his hand¡¯s disruption went away, the water returned to its normal flow as it was replaced from up above. John wondered if the physical arrangement of the cliffs happened to be perfect to produce the laminar flow, or if it was tied to spiritual energy somehow. Either way it was something he wanted to investigate more in depth, and he would certainly be showing it to the disciples along on the trip. Even if there weren¡¯t any great insights, appreciating the beauty of nature was worthwhile. Walking along the surface was actually quite easy. He didn¡¯t have to account for a change in flow, after all. He did have to deal with the verticality, but as it wasn¡¯t fighting him it was relatively easy to ¡®stick¡¯ to it, even though in truth that would have dropped him with the water. His spiritual energy simply carried him along segments without actually being attached. Yet it was different from making floating platforms of energy because of the mere presence of the natural element. Reaching the top just a few dozen meters away, John wondered if the mountains had been crafted for this very purpose. Or maybe he was fortunate to find it. Either way, the shape of the opening the water poured out was just right for the pressure of the water behind it- another key component, as it would otherwise simply drop downward and turn into turbulent flow. The fact that it maintained until it hit the ground below was an amazing amount of precision that John expected couldn¡¯t be entirely natural¡­ though he¡¯d seen various other oddities without human intervention. Perhaps the water element wanted to be in this state of perfect flow and had carved out a perfect opening for itself. That was beyond speculation on John¡¯s part, given that spiritual elements weren¡¯t actually conscious as far as he was aware. They did act in consistent ways, however, and arranging for a sort of ¡®perfection¡¯ did make sense. But given that there was no active shaping from spiritual energy, he couldn¡¯t really know. At best, he could return in the future and see if the water had worn away the edges of the opening or if it remained an eternal flow. ----- Some of John¡¯s disciples were less enthusiastic about the phenomena than he was, though those who were neutral did their best to pretend interest. Others showed what he thought was proper interest¡­ but he couldn¡¯t force anyone to care. He showed them something amazing, and maybe some of them would take longer to recognize it.Stolen novel; please report. They moved on throughout the Encapsulated Flow, past many rivers and mountains. Eventually they found their way to the Winding River Sect, a local sect of some prominence. They had not arranged anything ahead of time, but the sect head welcomed them regardless. He was an older man named Sekar, with a cultivation at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. A respectable cultivation even by modern standards, and outstanding compared to what John had first seen upon his arrival in the world. ¡°I am interested in your perspective on the water element,¡± John said as he sat with the sect head at the head of the river island they inhabited, watching the river split around them. ¡°My main exposure has been ocean based water cultivators, and those who deal with the water in plants.¡± That covered the Viridia Wildlands and to a lesser extent the Soulrot Bogs, though the latter dealt mainly with stationary water. The old man nodded, his gray beard wagging slightly. ¡°I think you will not be surprised to find we focus on flow. We do not favor stationary forms, but movement.¡± ¡°The Shimmering Islands mainly center around waves and tides,¡± John said, demonstrating by swirling water element around him. Then he created a wave, pushing out then pulling back. ¡°Disrupting enemy movements is key.¡± ¡°We think much the same,¡± Sekar said. ¡°But we would be more likely to create a continuous stream.¡± He demonstrated, pulling his hands behind him then thrusting forward. His water element swirled around him like a true river, creating a continuous push around and then directly in front of him without actually going beyond a certain distance from him. He didn¡¯t send his spiritual energy beyond and let it fade away, but neither did he circle it back around. It simply went. That sparked something in John. To him, spiritual energy was a substance. Whether it was individual particles or a liquid or gas, to create movement he would perform that movement. Perhaps sometimes he subconsciously performed techniques like Sekar¡¯s, creating an effect with the energy simply in the area, but it certainly wasn¡¯t something he did consciously. It wasn¡¯t strictly an improvement, but to create a continuous effect it certainly had its upsides. The downsides were that while it never got away from a cultivator and faded out of their control, without the symbolic movement it might be somewhat weaker. But was that just the sacrifice one made for a continuous effect rather than a short term effect? John attempted to replicate it, attempting to feel the power. He expected he could do the same thing with both water and air, and he indeed formed a continuous gust. Then he compared it to a whirlwind circling around him. That was effective in both sustained power and efficiency, as the constant movement was efficient, if predictable. Then again, so was a constant flow in one direction. ¡°There must be more to it,¡± John pondered, mostly to himself. What if he created a sort of river going away from him, then whipped it back and forth? Yes, the fact that it didn¡¯t require a specific route and could move untethered to his actual flow of energy allowed for some versatility. Sekar nodded. ¡°As expected of an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. You have great intuition. Of course, your technique is yet unpracticed.¡± ¡°I would gladly receive guidance from you,¡± John said. ¡°In exchange, I can offer insights into other water element techniques you won¡¯t have much exposure to.¡± He couldn¡¯t give some of the core techniques of the Brandle Clan to a random stranger, but he knew other styles from the Shimmering Island and of course he had no reservations about sharing anything from the Stormy Sea Sect and the manuals they had gotten from them. Just because John had moved more quickly through the ranks of cultivation didn¡¯t mean he was a better cultivator in all ways. It just showed that he had access to sufficient spiritual energy and a decent understanding of elemental balance and totems. He could have taken longer to reach the same distance by focusing on particular aspects of control, and that was something Sekar excelled at. Each technique he showed was honed to perfection. Sekar also shared a number of training methods that made John wish a river flowed through Lunson. Then he had a rather insane idea to make that true, but whatever he did would require channeling a river through at least the length of a small country¡­ potentially more. If those places happened to be water element it would be reasonable enough, but at best he could bring in water from the Blustering Peaks or some of the mountains of the Stone Conglomerate. Trying to draw from the Frozen Heights would require going through either the Sunfields or the Phoenix Forest, which would likely result in excessive evaporation. A passing thought, but it was one that stuck with John. But putting aside massive terraforming projects, John had more practical and immediate things he could learn. If he required a river to practice some techniques he could travel¡­ just like he was doing now. Remaining stationary was a good way to focus only on the center of the continent instead of thinking of unity and shared prosperity, as far as such things could go. There was some tension between the Frozen Heights and the Encapsulated Flow, as they were neighboring water element regions that could both use the same resources. But that was true even when there were merely neighboring sects. As for enemies, Sekar mentioned concerns about the Molten Sea. Their sect had been out of the path of Gesine¡¯s march, but it still disrupted their region. Just because it had been many decades since the incident didn¡¯t mean that people had forgotten. The Breathless Plains also had many older conflicts with the Encapsulated Flow. Some of those had been settled, though John made some mental notes not to forget about the fringes of the continent in his push for peace. That was the other reason for this expedition besides training, finding the things that had been missed or considered less important. Just because he knew that some of the sects in each region were friendly didn¡¯t mean everyone worked towards the same ends. Chapter 398 After concluding his survey of the Encapsulated Flow, John returned to the Molten Sea- or at least the small segment which had the Burning Delta. He wasn¡¯t so reckless as to step into lesser known territory recklessly. Even if he could defend himself against most enemies with his strength, his presence might be seen as a threat by those who were unfamiliar with him. Even if the majority of the Molten Sea wasn¡¯t directly aligned with Gesine, that didn¡¯t mean they were friendly either. If he was to visit elsewhere, there would be special trips for that very purpose. Making use of remembered pathways through the less-molten portions of the Burning Delta, John brought their group to visit the Burning Delta once more, though many of the disciples had not been there on their previous visit. In the same manner, many who had been with them before were not, as they had not brought along any other clans or sects. Because it was not a scheduled visit, John didn¡¯t intend to burden the sect for long. Nor did he intend to explore more of the Molten Sea at the current time. Even so, there were things that could be gained or confirmed in a short time. John had a few ideas about how to test himself using the unique local terrain. Unlike Steve, he wasn¡¯t the sort to throw himself into a volcano¡­ but he was perfectly content walking along the surface of the perpetual lava. He wasn¡¯t looking to push himself for a breakthrough but still wanted to somewhat strain himself. Given the density and viscosity of the lava, John barely sank into the material even if he did nothing to stabilize himself. If he remained idle he would eventually sink about to his waist with a third of him under the lava. Obviously for a non-cultivator it would be a terrifying prospect, but to him it was akin to walking through heavy mud. He was more concerned about not getting stuck than anything else- though if his legs were buried he multiplied his usage of spiritual energy to protect himself severalfold. When just walking around, protecting himself was less draining than flying. The lava wasn¡¯t actually trying to kill him, it was just existing. The very elements he used to resist the heat were also omnipresent around him, as the Molten Sea carried high amounts of both fire and water element. Though somewhat strenuous, his traversal was for the most part quite peaceful. It lacked some of the variation in scenery he might prefer on a nature walk, but despite what it might seem the Molten Sea wasn¡¯t completely barren of life- it was just rare. This time, some of it came to introduce itself to John¡­ rather aggressively. The creature blended well into the sea below, so John only had a moment¡¯s warning to dodge its bite. Massive jaws clamped down where he had been standing a moment before as a rain of molten particles fell around him, the surface rippling. A massive turtle head as big across as John was tall- or a bit bigger- quickly retracted back into the liquid below. Clearly there was some manipulation of viscosity, or such a turtle couldn¡¯t swim at any decent speed. However, even taking some quick steps along the surface John found it continued to nip at his heels- or attempt to swallow him whole, which was effectively the same thing. Normally, John was an advocate for leaving the local wildlife alone- but that was mainly with regards to the peaceful or at least less aggressive inhabitants. He took a moment to consider if the Burning Delta had expressed any opinions about the local turtles. He didn¡¯t want to slay some sort of sacred beast¡­ but he recalled they were listed among the potential dangers. Though he had the feeling this one was an exception in its strength, to dare to attack an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Perhaps it mistook him for an easy target. John decided to display his strength, in case the neatly cycling elements had thrown off the beast. But it continued to display aggressive behavior, swimming around to cut off his attempts to retreat. Still not wanting to kill it, John leapt into the air and held himself aloft. He thought that once it couldn¡¯t reach him that it would grow tired and leave him alone, but it clearly had experience with hard to reach foes. Perhaps there were some flying beasts in the area it liked to snack upon. John was able to sense the shaping of spiritual energy before a massive ball of lava flew up towards him, spreading outward and thinning to cover more area. It was infused with spiritual energy to fortify it, but John managed to cut a thin path through with a mix of air and water elements. The turtle had power, but not the finesse necessary to overcome dominant elements. Flying higher didn¡¯t dissuade the beast, and frankly John wasn¡¯t sure if he should avoid fighting it. This wasn¡¯t far from the sect grounds, and the locals could easily be attacked if they sailed into this thing¡¯s territory. John still attempted to keep ahead of it, flying up and away, but it continued to follow far beyond what he thought was a reasonable domain. It was fast, too. He tried to leave it behind, but John thought he might exhaust himself if he was careless. If he flew back towards the sect he could be certain that he would be safe, but at that point he might just draw others into trouble. It persisted in its pursuit, so it would be a fight. John had been cycling his elements inside of him, as he¡¯d been defending seriously. Now, he¡¯d look into offense. The turtle launched another wide area attack, and John launched himself further upward. Already, the turtle could attack over a hundred meters into the air- he might be able to outrange it eventually, but sudden movements seemed effective enough in avoiding its attacks. He charged a single throwing knife with as much lightning as he could, coating it in a layer of water to augment that capacity. When the turtle launched another ball of magma he waited for it to spread out before throwing his attack through the center. He could have curved it around or waited to dodge the attack, but he wanted to hide his intentions and it would take more energy to redirect his attack. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The dagger pierced through where the incoming attack was thinnest, striking downward like a bolt of lightning. The turtle¡¯s mouth hung slightly ajar, and his attack exploded inside it. Air overcame water, and his water nullified its fire. The beast had some energy defenses inside of its body, but its actual flesh was weak- that was what its scales and shell were for. The inside of its mouth and throat were quite vulnerable once the spiritual energy was bypassed. The creature was tough, however, and did not go down after even a powerful blow such as that. It did retreat its head under the surface, but continued to launch attacks at John. Flying in combat was beginning to wear at him- along with using air element in his attack- but he figured it was still the best method he could use for the moment. Rather than attempting another counterattack, John focused on defense as the turtle continued its attacks but with several meters of lava between its head and the surface. Its accuracy didn¡¯t seem particularly tied to its sight, but John slowly continued to increase vertical distance. He then used his darkness element as a distraction, creating a sense of his mixed elements some distance away from his actual body. If he remained in place too long the turtle picked out his actual body, but he made it waste more than a few attacks- and the spiritual energy it put into them. Each attack was serious, and no matter the stamina of such a large beast it would soon weaken. When John judged that it had expended itself enough, he let himself drop carefully. His descent speed was carefully controlled. Seemingly thinking it had felled him, the great turtle waited below. John was gathering together his various elements as he approached. When the turtle gathered power for another attack, he struck out with earth, solidifying the molten lava for a single instant. The attack was blunted, the lava scattering and only loosely held together where it was missing its core. The creature¡¯s fire element rapidly overcame his earthen restriction, but by then the damage was done. John landed on the surface of the magma with a flash of lightning, driving it through the mixture of water and fire beneath him. It flowed easily enough, striking the turtle on the nose as it lunged for him. He merely weakened the spiritual energy around its head with the attack, but John had fire and water still gathered in great quantity. Fire augmented water, allowing rapid changes in temperature. John wasn¡¯t so foolish as to try to overheat a lava turtle of some sort, but he was willing to try something he expected it had never encountered. Ice expanded inside its open maw as it bit down. John shoved every bit of cold he could gather into the beast. Then he heard a crack and the creature cried out in a horrible whine as steam billowed out of its mouth. The steam wouldn¡¯t be a problem for it, but the thermal shock certainly was as some of its body broke. He couldn¡¯t tell exactly what- perhaps its jaw or some other piece that was rapidly cooled. Either way, the turtle flailed wildly. John¡¯s senses reached inside it and pushed more spiritual energy to the most vulnerable point- through its upper palate into its brain. Literal brain freeze was probably a terrible way to go, but it had more than a few chances to leave John alone- and frankly with it being so willing to attack him leaving it would have been a danger to others. The turtle perished, its slight buoyancy relative to the lava slowly causing it to rise to the surface and revealing something unexpected. Obsidian patches covered cavities in its shell, beneath which he sensed well protected eggs. Observing more closely, John found that it was a male. It was uncommon but not unique for males of a species to carry their young. The aggression seemed now both understandable and ill-suited. Then again, the beast was sufficiently strong that it seemed likely to defeat most threats, so perhaps a proactive defense was preferable. Now that the beast was dead, John had to deal with the consequences. And since killing it and then letting it go to waste was shameful, he wondered if he had to cook it. Certainly most parasites would not survive the temperatures the creature lived at, but the ones that did would be exceedingly dangerous. Not knowing what to do, the best thing he could think of was to bring it back to the sect. Carrying the turtle was out of the question, so he floated it along. Using it as a boat seemed disrespectful, but he wasn¡¯t sure what else he could do. He idly wondered if this was related to the lava tortoises he¡¯d seen in the hands of the Molten Sea previously- though that was a land dwelling sort. Most likely, the main connection was living in the same region since any genetic relation between land tortoises and sea turtles would be at a higher level. John shaped the lava ahead of the beast, trying to replicate what he¡¯d felt from its motions. It was a similar approach to what the local ships used, though they preferred to minimize their profile while this turtle was still quite bulky. Clearly the turtle had been specialized for its own use of spiritual energy, because John found himself fatiguing on his journey. When he arrived, he found people waiting. Not that he was surprised, given that he¡¯d had a serious battle as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator- a few kilometers wouldn¡¯t be enough to conceal that something happened. He wasn¡¯t hiding anything as he approached, so his disciples and Sect Head Zdislava were waiting. The old woman inclined her head. ¡°Congratulations. You have slain a mighty beast.¡± ¡°Only because it was necessary,¡± John said. ¡°It was not willing to give up the fight.¡± ¡°Indeed, they can grow quite dangerous during their season. We had not been aware of this particular specimen, or we would have done something to protect our sect.¡± ¡°What can be done with the eggs?¡± John asked. ¡°Can you tame lava turtles?¡± ¡°Some can,¡± she admitted. ¡°We¡¯ve seldom had an opportunity to try.¡± John nodded. ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think I will. I doubt they¡¯d be happy to be raised in a pot of boiling water. If you are interested, I will sell you any of this at a reasonable price.¡± The Burning Delta would no doubt be able to make better use of this than he would, and he didn¡¯t want to carry it back. They did cook and eat it- using a special acidic broth that was used for a number of Molten Sea beasts. It softened the meat, turning it into a sour but pleasant soup. It was also quite potent, and John wouldn¡¯t have suggested that weaker cultivators even attempt to consume it both because of needing to neutralize some of the acidity and because the spiritual energy the meat released was quite wild. If John could eat something similar every day, he thought he¡¯d be in the late Ascending Soul Phase by the end of the month¡­ but even though there was enough of the beast for him to manage that if he was selfish, it probably wouldn¡¯t last. And merely pushing for a higher cultivation rank wasn¡¯t always the best idea, as he needed experience and insights to make proper use of it. Chapter 399 While traveling further into the Molten Sea might provide valuable insights, it was also likely to provoke unwanted responses. If the groups associated with Gesine had forgotten about their losses, it was better to leave things that way. Without knowing the full extent of associations, it was too much risk. Traveling further than the Burning Delta would require specialized knowledge or proper ships, which was a far greater investment of time and resources. No doubt John would find it worthwhile some day, but for the moment the Six Elements Crossroads would be gaining sufficient practice where they were. After the battle with the lava turtle, John focused more on improving his understanding of the Molten Sea itself. Whatever the source of its power was likely deep below, but observing the way it behaved would reveal useful insights related to the overlapping effects of spiritual energy. John had long been aware that various elements tended to bleed into each other. That did not make the elements any less real, it simply meant that purely rigid thinking would limit a cultivator. That might be especially true for those who practiced only a single element, as they would miss out on various methods of control if they were unwilling to try new things. The insights John himself could achieve in a short time weren¡¯t likely to be extraordinary, but the visit was more valuable for lower ranking disciples, or even those who were the most experienced, having reached the Consolidated Soul Phase. John wasn¡¯t trying to make any huge leaps with just this, but instead to take in the overall journey and secure the first step into the late Ascending Soul Phase. ----- The return journey from the Molten Sea brought the group back through the Encapsulated Flow. Water cultivators were no doubt going to benefit the most from the current leg of the journey, because the Molten Sea, Encapsulated Flow, and the Frozen Heights were all water element dominant regions. The Frozen Heights were their current target, and though they had a frosty relationship with the Winding River Sect, Sekar had been able to provide some valuable maps of the various passes into the mountains. They would be approaching the Frozen Heights just on the tail end of winter, and while that was not the optimal time of year there wasn¡¯t particularly a good one. The climate there only ranged between more frozen and less frozen. Hopefully, people brought some warm jackets. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± John said as they came to the foot of the mountains from which the Encapsulated Flow got its many rivers. ¡°Remember to keep careful track of your group. If we end up in a storm, we need to make sure everyone has partners of relevant elements. Fire cultivators to provide heat, water cultivators to dry everyone. Air cultivators, temper the winds and keep the visuals clear. Earth cultivators, be prepared to create emergency shelter. We should be able to feel each other¡¯s spiritual energy, but I¡¯m not interested in losing anyone for the sake of ¡®realistic training¡¯.¡± Even if people could cover multiple elements they were assigned to a group of four, and John himself was no different. Those with him might think they would have the easiest time, but he would be supplementing their efforts only as necessary. John ended up with two Soul Expansion Phase cultivators- Tlaloc from the Shimmering Islands and Rachana who cultivated the minor cycle associated with light. Then there was one more, Christoforo, who was in the late Foundation Phase with a pure darkness cultivation. Disciples were not required to practice multiple elements, just encouraged to strongly consider it. If they didn¡¯t choose to try to practice a cycle, that required a conscious choice. Many darkness cultivators used quick weapons to take advantage of darkness¡¯ deceptive abilities, but Christoforo carried a battle axe that was less swift than typical options. However, if he could manage to land a single blow to his enemies he was quite effective. Against cold and wind, however, he was not particularly effective. As John led the way through his chosen pass into the mountains, the man was only able to insulate himself against the rapidly deteriorating weather. The other two were able to insulate the group more efficiently with air and fire, with Tlaloc whisking away any water that clung to them. They included John in their efforts while John focused on the path in front of them- and most importantly making it a path. The snows were deep, and even though they traveled atop the most densely packed snow, the more recent loose snowfall atop that was more than head height. John¡¯s efforts were focused on pushing aside the snow and creating an easier trail for those who followed. His feet tested the ground beneath, making sure there were no pitfalls for those coming after. The leaders of the following groups should be focusing on keeping track of their own groups and the trailing member of the one in front of them. So far, that wasn¡¯t necessary as the skies were clear- but if a storm came they might only be able to see people at arm¡¯s length. With intense water elemental spiritual energy, it could be possible to lose track of the others. In theory, at least. In practice, it would be difficult for anyone to lose track of John if he was attempting to make himself known. And he did, both for those following him and for any cultivators ahead. He didn¡¯t wish to sneak up on the mountainous sects, as startled cultivators might act rashly. At the end of the first day of travel, they picked out an area on the leeward side of a cliff and set up a camp, complete with ice walls. Something like igloos, but without carved blocks of ice. Instead, the water cultivators simply condensed the snow into proper ice, attaching their half dome to the stone cliff. They of course made certain to leave a hole for smoke to escape as they began to heat the area.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. There was very little fuel to be had locally, but they had acquired some dried firewood in the Encapsulated Flow that they carried in their storage bags along with other supplies. It wasn¡¯t strictly necessary, as they had fire cultivators who could cook everything and heat the area, but it was best to ease the burdens on everyone. ----- In the morning, they awoke to see that a storm had dumped a meter of snow atop their shelter- something easily enough managed- and that two people were missing. Their groups reported that as they were forming up and about to head out. ¡°Who saw them last?¡± John asked, looking around. One disciple caught his eye. ¡°Did you see either of them?¡± The woman tensed. ¡°I saw them sneak away, but I thought they were back already when my watch ended.¡± ¡°Together?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± she shrugged. John sighed. ¡°If people wanted privacy they should have added to our shelter. I¡¯ll go look for them. Hopefully they weren¡¯t stupid enough to go particularly far.¡± Two cultivators could have snuck off quite a distance even through dense snow, especially if it was before the storm. Their passage might have left signs, though. There wouldn¡¯t be any footprints given the massive amount of new snow, but there could be other signs. John pushed his way out of the shelter, his senses slipping through the snow to feel for¡­ anything. It was difficult to sense through any material particularly far, and with the many individual particles of snow it was even more so. Except¡­ why should it be? John could sense through the air just fine. And water. Liquid water, but still. Was it so different what state of matter things were in? He had more experience sensing underground than through snow, but they should be quite similar. And if he tuned out the water element¡­ there was nothing for over a hundred meters. Except their own camp and the cliff, and somewhere around ten meters below them the actual surface of the ground. John tried to remember which elements the two were. The pair were¡­ Fedel and Chi. Fire and Earth, if he recalled correctly. He could at least keep track of that much for people on the same expedition, even if he didn¡¯t have a personal connection to every disciple. At least he wasn¡¯t likely to miss them. If there was a fire cultivator¡­ he sensed for any concentrations of ice. Footprints, buried under the new layer of snow. Eventually, he found some irregularities that he followed after digging himself to the surface. This wasn¡¯t time for him to practice snow swimming techniques. If the two were lucky, the storm was the only thing that got to them. It was likely even two weaker disciples could survive overnight in the cold. They weren¡¯t even in the coldest part of the mountains yet, after all. The trail continued for a good kilometer, winding around ravines. It was a good thing they¡¯d paid attention to their feet, or they could have fallen into a crevasse. It took John about twenty minutes to finally sense a weak flicker of spiritual elements. Creating a whirlwind, John blew away layers of snow, revealing an icy shell surrounding two huddled figures. Heat flared around him as he walked up to it and cracked it with his fist, shoving chunks to the side. His hands reached out, grabbing the two by the throats. Heat flowed into them from his hands, and air was forced into their lungs. They coughed and sputtered, their skin blueish. John dangled them upright until they got their footing. ¡°If either of you pull anything like this again you¡¯re expelled from the sect and we¡¯re leaving you behind,¡± John said. ¡°You two do realize your body warmth would have been more or less sufficient on its own? You didn¡¯t have to burn through your spiritual energy. And I realize that neither of you are air cultivators, but you do have to breathe. Next time leave room for that.¡± John had already had his say by the time the two of them could talk. They looked properly dejected as he pushed them ahead of him towards the rest of the expedition, shamefully walking into view of everyone. ¡°These two are transferred to my group. That still leaves Chi¡¯s group with four, right? Tlaloc can replace Fedel,¡± John declared. The group leaders nodded. They happened to be some of the odd ones out with a greater number, since the group hadn¡¯t been perfectly divisible. ¡°Good. Then we¡¯re leaving.¡± John did shove food into the arms of the two lovers, which they ate in a daze, having hardly slept. For the duration of the morning, Rachana was busy keeping their group somewhat warm, with John responsible for keeping them dry as he led the pack. When they stopped for lunch, the two immediately fell asleep. They got a good half hour of rest before the group was moving again. As they continued into the afternoon, John began to hear something up ahead. It was an irregular sound, but he couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was until they rounded a bend in the pass. There, the overhanging cliff was dangling with thousands of icicles, some of which were cracking off in the midday sun. John watched as one fell, accelerating until it pierced through the snow, disappearing into nothing. They couldn¡¯t avoid the area without wandering off track, and John didn¡¯t like the idea of becoming lost. Even if they could climb¡­ not all of them were up to the task- and he didn¡¯t just mean the two sleepy fools. ¡°Keep your eyes up!¡± John said. ¡°We¡¯ve got clear skies and spikes of ice. Remember to protect your group.¡± Keeping his senses above and below- because he didn¡¯t want anyone to get dropped into the snow- John continued forward, doing his best to create a trail by acting as a snowplow. He wasn¡¯t just responsible for his own group, but also for all of the disciples. That was made most clear when a group halfway back missed an incoming spear of ice. John¡¯s spiritual energy was already raised as they moved along, and he focused water and earth into the snow next to the disciples, sending a burst of power to smash into the incoming projectile, causing it to explode all over the group. They wouldn¡¯t sustain any injuries from that, but it would certainly catch their attention. ¡°Pay attention!¡± John warned, his echoing voice causing a few more icicles to fall early- though most of them fell safely away from the group. If anyone had suggested that they just knock down the icicles before they went under, John would have gladly let them do so. But everyone seemed more inclined to be reactive rather than proactive. Except for the two exhausted individuals in the front group who could barely keep their eyes open as they trudged forward. Chapter 400 Though they had experienced cold already, the Frozen Heights were only just beginning to show their true character. It wasn¡¯t long before a storm blew in during their daily travels and they actually needed the whiteout protocols that had been established. It rapidly went from the cold of ice to a bitter cold that gnawed at the bones, even though spiritual energy. John had to carefully monitor the remaining spiritual energy of the weaker cultivators in their group as the fire cultivators rapidly began to dig into their reserves to keep their groups from freezing. Even if they were able to prevent the windchill, the aggressive cold of the Frozen Heights stole away any heat they generated in mere moments. Eventually, John had to give in. ¡°We¡¯re going to establish a shelter!¡± he called behind him, boosting his voice with air element. Up ahead, John could sense some cliffs that he hoped were made of a more moldable material. They would have to carve their way through meters of ice before they could do much of anything, but John could already tell their previous efforts wouldn¡¯t be sufficient. Some of their members were nearly collapsed by the time they made it just a couple hundred more meters through the storm. That included the pair of lovers Fedel and Chi, who hadn¡¯t fully recovered from their previous exertions. However, along with the support of their groups they still managed to trudge along. John supported the efforts of the air cultivators keeping away the winds while water and earth cultivators began to carve through the ice and stone. Reforming a natural element was a basic task that cultivators learned, though the circumstances were more difficult than usual. They had to widen the opening of their improvised cave to move out material more quickly. When the work began, John saw great ambition within the disciples- but soon the thought of high ceilings and a roomy cavern fell away. They dug out an area where it wasn¡¯t quite possible to stand less than ten meters on a side. Not a miniscule space, but quite cramped for a group of their size. John personally contributed some of his energy to closing up the entrance- leaving a small amount of space for smoke to escape from the cave and air to circulate in general. Proper construction should minimize heat loss. As the disciples huddled together around a central fire, warming their rations, John sat out front in the storm. He¡¯d had various opportunities to train in colder places- like the Blustering Peaks and the deep sea- but nothing had quite reached this level. It wasn¡¯t just cold. John could feel the spiritual energy attempting to draw away heat. Bundling up wouldn¡¯t be enough, and neither would their insulation. Even sheltering in the mountain wasn¡¯t completely protecting the disciples, but with a central area to protect they were managing. Some of the earth cultivators were actually fortifying the insulating properties of the stone to aid the fire cultivators in keeping warmth. Meanwhile, John accepted the cold. Not directly on his body, of course. He was not interested in turning the blood in his veins into ice. That might technically be a unique method of body tempering, but transforming into his body into a dead state wasn¡¯t particularly something he was interested in. Water element seeped through his normal defenses, grasping for his heat. Warming himself worked to some extent, but John knew he had to resist. He first tried blocking the spiritual energy with his own water element- and that worked to some extent- but it didn¡¯t feel particularly productive. If he was here just for survival, he would go inside the shelter. He wanted to grow. He kept his eyes closed to avoid the beating of the winds and to prevent his eyeballs from freezing. John considered how he might have been able to temper his body with fire to produce more internal heat, but that wasn¡¯t going to be beneficial in all situations. It was certainly too late to practice such a thing here. After a few moments, he realized he wasn¡¯t here to learn how to resist cold. He was here to learn how cold worked. So he would fight ice with ice. Or something like that. There was plenty of water element spiritual energy around, so John wasn¡¯t shy with his usage. He created steam, but it rapidly froze around him, forming an uncomfortable layer of ice on his skin. He carefully melted that away as he considered alternative options. Then it came to him. It was simple, really. He just needed to copy exactly what the world around him was doing. It was trying to draw away his heat, so he did the same in turn- making sure not to bother the shelter behind him, of course. It was more difficult than he imagined. John was used to state transitions with the water element, and it was easy enough to boost those with fire, but directly drawing heat was outside his area of expertise. Yet he had an example all around him. Even with his higher cultivation, he found himself losing a battle of tug-of-war for the heat. He wasn¡¯t really sure where it was going when it was taken from him, since the surroundings clearly weren¡¯t actually getting hotter. Too many minutes were spent wrestling with the water element for John to remember that even in this new application, standard water element rules should apply. He stopped fighting and just went along with it. Not the heat being stolen from him, but instead just lightly encouraging the transfer to be towards him. He worked with the surrounding water element instead of against it. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. It wasn¡¯t as if the Frozen Heights were some sort of evil lair that actually wanted to kill him. That was just what the natural elements did here. So pointing things in the right direction was fairly easy, if he was gentle. He almost became too warm after a few moments. Soon, he found himself going through cycles of heating and cooling, making sure not to let his internal temperature actually change too much. Bodies were sensitive things, even the bodies of cultivators. A few degrees wouldn¡¯t be a problem for a cultivator, but a few tens of degrees would still be a serious issue. John took a breath in- letting in the cold. His lungs froze and ice spread throughout his body- or at least the feel of ice. Then he contracted his diaphragm, breathing out the cold. Ice was gathering on his face, and he shook it off. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how long he¡¯d been cycling temperature in and out, but most of the disciples inside were beginning to nod off, except those chosen to keep watch. John could sense Ayhan and Lir, two of the strongest among them. They had clearly been watching him. John made his way inside, directing his words to the two of them. ¡°If you want to take the opportunity to train, I can handle the camp.¡± They inclined their heads. The two of them had each completed a cycle of core elements, stepping into the Consolidated Soul Phase. Training with the icy cold of the Frozen Heights would be good for them. When things were a bit less terrible, John would encourage the other water cultivators- and those who were planning to pick up a water totem in the future- to do the same. ----- Fedel and Chi awoke properly recovered. The two of them looked so cute snuggling together that John almost allowed them to swap groups to stay together, but he wasn¡¯t going to reward foolish behavior. After watching over their exhausted forms for a day, he had transferred them back to their own groups during the marching day, and they would remain in them for the remainder of the time in the Frozen Heights, however long that was. John imagined they had likely experienced the worst of it, or at least close. After the storm, they hiked for a few hours in the early morning- since they had gone to bed early. About the time the sun was coming up, they crested a rise and were able to see down the other side of the Frozen Heights. Ice glittered in the sun, sparkling with the colors of sunrise. It couldn¡¯t have been timed better. John smiled. This was what cultivation was about. Facing adversity and surpassing it to find the beautiful things in the world. If one grew more powerful only to lack enjoyment, it would be all for naught. Traveling down the far slopes wasn¡¯t necessarily easier. They were on the route of one of the best passes, but that didn¡¯t mean it was perfect. The west side seemed far steeper, which meant less buildup of snow and more ice. The disciples had to split their attention between keeping their own footing and performing their other elemental techniques. Proper shoewear might have helped, but it was good training. As always, they were made to watch out for each other. The groups remained within arms length of each other, so that when one person slipped another one or two could catch them. Earth and water cultivators did the best at keeping their footing, while fire cultivators only tended to make the surface more slippery if they were careless. Air cultivators could cushion their movements if they were strong enough, though supporting their weight with wind would rapidly drain their energy. Not as much as flight, of course, but they had to last all day. The landmark John focused on was a particular spire of ice standing above all else about half a day¡¯s travel down the slope. It took them a bit longer than intended as they had to cater to the weakest among them, choosing easier routes that wove back and forth instead of more direct ones. It was still enough to challenge everyone, as the groups were balanced with that intent. As they drew closer to the intended destination, John sensed people waiting. They were hidden, but John thought it was more a matter of habit than of malice. He warned a few of the higher ranking disciples just in case. They might need to act, either to protect their fellows or to stop them from doing something stupid if people suddenly appeared. Once they were closer, the waiting cultivators were visible in the distance, standing out in the open. It would still be possible to miss them given their garb that blended well with the ice and snow, but they weren¡¯t skulking behind anything. They waited at the base of the spire, a young man standing at their head greeting the Six Elements Crossroads as they approached. ¡°Welcome, travelers. Do you wish to take the challenge of the spire?¡± John had vaguely heard about this place, but the Encapsulated Flow didn¡¯t know much besides its existence. ¡°We would first hear what it entails,¡± John said. ¡°We of the Six Elements Crossroads are open to any beneficial cultivation exchanges.¡± The young man inclined his head. ¡°We represent the Lone Spire. It is a straightforward but difficult challenge that we offer. We ask cultivators to carry water element up the spire as high as they can go. Those who reach the top obtain the satisfaction of building the spire ever higher. Those who push too far¡­ usually find themselves tumbling downward.¡± John nodded. He needed to probe into the etiquette surrounding the challenge. ¡°Are cultivators meant to work alone?¡± ¡°The challenge is meant to be just that. Working in groups is acceptable, as anything that contributes to the spire is valuable.¡± ¡°I see. And is this challenge intended for only disciples? What of elders and others?¡± ¡°Of course we encourage the strong to ascend. It would not grow so tall otherwise.¡± John looked up at the spire. With nothing else around it on the slopes, it had been hard to judge its height. Something like a few hundred meters, rising sharply upwards. John could see how a steeper vertical form would increase the difficulty and force cultivators to place their contributions at the base, maintaining a solid structure- though likely only one that could survive in a place with such strong water element. ¡°We will gladly contribute,¡± John said. ¡°Will you be challenging at the same time?¡± ¡°We would be happy to,¡± the young man said. Chapter 401 Relationships between neighbors often tended towards the extremes, either becoming enemies or steadfast allies. The particular relationship could change over time, but wherever competition might arise usually there were strong opinions. The Winding River Sect had not gone over their conflicts with the Frozen Heights in detail, but the Lone Spire hadn¡¯t seemed to be part of that. Either way, John intended to take their challenge at face value. John didn¡¯t know what actual value growing the spire provided for them, but as long as it was not harmful to his disciples it hardly mattered. The young man who was leading the Lone Spire disciples, Akkat, suggested that lower phase disciples go first. John could understand the merits there, because even if another disciple got higher up the spire they wouldn¡¯t necessarily have better technique. And if they did, it would be fine for the weaker disciples to take that into account next time- though if such a time would exist for the visiting Six Elements Crossroads was rather nebulous. Those cultivators who didn¡¯t have any water totems were looking at the spire with significant trepidation. Fedel and Chi were among that group. The former gathered a large pile of snow in his arms while the latter prepared for the climb. Fedel¡¯s control of his spiritual energy was at least sufficient to not melt the snow unintentionally, but he didn¡¯t seem to know what else to do with his energy as Chi began to walk them up the slope at the bottom of the spire. She treated the spike of ice like solid earth, attaching to it with her own earth energy. Not everyone would be able to properly accomplish that task, getting hung up on it being ice and thus made out of water element. Of course, there were other limitations if one took only solids as ¡®earth element¡¯ but flexibility had to be learned over time. The slope quickly increased from merely a steep incline to something like a forty-five degree angle. Even using earth element to attach them to the spire, its slippery nature began to get to the pair. More than that, weaker parts of the spire were prone to crumbling away, where previous challengers hadn¡¯t managed to make solid attachments. The shape of the spire also became more irregular the further they went. At ten meters the two were struggling, and at twenty they looked to be at their limits. As the two were using Chi¡¯s earth element to walk up the slope, they were finding themselves having to use more of their energy to support their torso, which wasn¡¯t meant to function at such angles for long. For stronger cultivators it might not have been such an issue, but with all the other factors it was holding them back. Fedel tried to shift forward to a more vertical position, but his movements squeezed some of the carried snow out of his arms. Desperate attempts to catch some actually lost him more before he realized he had to give up. Then the two of them came to a particularly unstable bit, which slipped out from under them. Fedel had the presence of mind to toss his armful of snow in front of them- melting a portion of it only for it to immediately refreeze to the spire. With the two having lost their attachment, they then tumbled down the spire. Fortunately they had some training in how to properly take a fall, and they turned their bodies so they weren¡¯t going to land headfirst or otherwise snap their necks. Their spiritual energy did the rest of the job to protect them from serious injury. Subsequent attempts were allowed, but it seemed the pair had already exhausted much of their efforts on their first time. John knew quite a few ways they could have been more efficient without even needing particular training, but he thought they did alright. Either way, they could learn something from this. Disciples of the Lone Spire with similar cultivation performed a bit better, though they had the advantage of prior experience and being water element. Relevantly, very few of them chose to carry snow, either forming it into ice around them or letting water flow within their spiritual energy, carrying it without use of their arms- which they used more to climb the spire than walk up it. Some formed handholds in the spire, but every expenditure of energy had to be carefully calculated. John saw another technique that looked much more efficient, though it required a higher confidence. That was to effectively freeze one¡¯s hands or feet to the surface with each motion, creating an attachment much like a tongue could get stuck to a frozen dessert. Or to a flagpole in winter, though John hadn¡¯t lived somewhere that got cold enough for that- though he had known a few people who would have been dumb enough to do it. Freezing just a thin layer was remarkably effective, and if there were no other factors at play John thought even some of the weaker disciples could have climbed almost any distance. However, no matter the method they used they had to carry extra weight with them. Furthermore, the higher they got the more wind became a factor, forcing them to have a stronger connection to the spire. The spire itself was also less structurally sound above a certain point, in large part made by hastily attached depositions of water as people tried to reach as high as they could. John saw some examples of that with disciples flinging water up the slope as they felt themselves nearing their limits. The Lone Spire disciples were also aware that they had to conserve their energy for the descent, as tumbling down was not a pleasant prospect- and on the steeper slopes could result in significant and unpleasant drops. Fortunately, the weaker disciples who were the most at risk were also less capable of reaching the more dangerous heights. And while there was hard packed ice under the snow at some points, there were many meters of fresh snow to help out if someone actually fell off.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Plus watchers like John and Akkat, though their efforts would be entirely for emergency. The disciples had to learn to take care of themselves, after all. The best of the weaker Lone Spire disciples only made it thirty or forty meters out of several hundred, mainly for reasons of technique and endurance. Still, John thought they did quite well overall. The next batch of disciples made it a bit further, and Soul Expansion Phase cultivators made it to around the hundred meter mark- though it wasn¡¯t actually marked so John had to rely on his spiritual energy senses to estimate. Eventually, it came to the few Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators among the bunch- the last of those around except Akkat and John. Akkat was still in the Consolidated Soul Phase, but he was looking out for one side of the spire. John had naturally taken position on the other, and he¡¯d only had to catch a few disciples. The climbers John paid the most attention to were Lir and Ayhan, some of his first disciples. The two of them now had a cycle of four elements, so he had high expectations for them. At the very least, they appeared to have learned from those who came before them. The two of them wore something like jackets of ice, evenly distributing the weight around their torso and requiring little active upkeep. Mainly, they had to protect themselves from the cold of the ice, which went along with the supernatural cold they would have to deal with higher up the spire. They used their hands to climb, using a variation of the freezing technique where they used fire element to melt just a tiny portion of the surface, being more efficient with the process than using pure water element. From the way they were using air element, John suspected it was becoming rapidly more difficult to breathe during their climb. A distance of just a couple hundred meters shouldn¡¯t have normally had such a change, but when dealing with supernatural forces it wasn¡¯t always so clear. The two insulated themselves from the wind with a combination of earth and air, redirecting larger gusts and simply blocking weaker ones. With their momentum John almost thought they would reach the top, but they were caught up at a particular section he had previously missed. There was a particular lump sticking out that overhung the section below it. That appeared to be a symbol of significant improvement as a group, and John understood it would naturally smooth out as cultivators reached just beneath that area and added more material- but for now it was a difficult limiter. The two climbers didn¡¯t seem willing to lose to it, however. They dangled from the ice, creating solid grips. Ayhan climbed over first, followed by Lir. John could see the way their spiritual energy was being drained from the deep cold and other exertions. Shards of ice were whipping around in the wind. But they surmounted the obstacle, standing atop the odd lump. The two of them immediately placed their carried ice in front of them, lessening their own burden and beginning their way back down. About half of the other climbers had already concluded their journeys, some of them smoothing out the path at a level beneath them, but several disciples of the Lone Spire seemed to take them surmounting that point as a personal challenge. A few simply looped their carried water element around the blockade, while others wanted to make the climb in person. Either way, their competitive spirit was strong. One woman got caught up in a gust as she was on the furthest out point, losing her grip and being pulled away from the spire. She flailed her arms as she tried to push herself towards the spire with her spiritual energy, but in her disoriented state she actually flung herself further away. Akkat immediately moved, rushing to follow her downward trajectory. Snow spiraled around him, turning into something like a fluffy cloud with a lake of water beneath it. The woman crashed into the safety construct, and when she finally impacted the ground icicles were immediately forming in her hair and everywhere else it was dripping off of her. But worst of all- at least she seemed to take it the worst- was that she¡¯d lost her package of ice and hadn¡¯t even placed it on the spire. John had to assume that the Lone Spire knew how to prevent hypothermia, as the woman was rapidly being de-iced. Lir and Ayhan were only about halfway down from their final position at that point, but the last part of the descent was far easier and like most they arrived without incident. John was quite certain that the woman who fell this time would either learn a lot- or her life as a cultivator wouldn¡¯t last much longer. Even if it was a difficult situation to react to, it could have been anticipated. Surviving against the odds over and over was how cultivators rose to the top. Finally, it was time for John and Akkat. While nobody would be around to catch them if they fell, John wasn¡¯t worried. It wasn¡¯t even that high, and relevantly¡­ he could fly. He figured that would be against the spirit of what they were doing, however, and resolved to climb the spire properly. Akkat formed a bubble of water around himself, with a shell of ice atop that- sticking out the back like that of a turtle. John could immediately see how it would help deflect wind while not restricting his movements- though at such a large volume it would still increase his profile and thus at the same time make wind worse. The shape was meant to minimize that. John visibly gathered slightly more than Akkat, making his own personal adjustments to how he carried it. He went for a flatter, wider shape that he intended to conform to the shape of the spire as he climbed. And there was one further component he included. According to the spirit of the rules he was supposed to gather all his water element before starting the climb, so John reached out into the air. The cold allowed very little humidity to remain in the air, but over a wide enough area it still had a significant amount. John spread out his ¡®grip¡¯ to include a large amount of airborne water. He might find that he had to drop if things proved more difficult than anticipated, but he hadn¡¯t seen anyone else make use of that particular state of matter. That made sense, as it was by far the most rare form of water in the climate. Chapter 402 Climbing up the first hundred meters of the spire was relatively easy, and even when it became nearly vertical John had plenty of techniques to handle the difficulties. It was kind of cheating since he¡¯d already seen everyone else either succeed or fail, but in this sort of event it was best to have a crescendo at the end, reaching the highest points. In this case, that would be literally. John kept pace with Akkat, not because he couldn¡¯t outdo the other man but because he didn¡¯t see a need to rush things. Even with his cycle of elements he did have limits to his spiritual energy, so a steady pace that wouldn¡¯t tire him too quickly was optimal. Forming handholds was allowable, but John actually found that to be more energy intensive than simply sticking himself to the outer surface of the ice. It was interesting to consider how ice could be one of the slickest things or the most ¡®sticky¡¯ with only slight changes in circumstances. The large quantities of water he was carrying with him were the biggest drain, but he spit the load between various elements. Earth to keep the layer of ice solid and wind to lighten the burden of the whole thing. John knew he could just fly, but part of the whole challenge was to leave his mark along the spire itself as he climbed. The extremely limited gaseous water John had was put to use along the way, adding small amounts of material to smooth out troublesome patches. John also did a bit of reshaping to the odd lump, while making sure to keep the material at more or less the same height to respect the work of those who came before. Akkat seemed like a reasonable fellow, but John could tell he had a bit of a competitive streak. The ice cultivator climbed with determination, working hard to try to outpace John, which he allowed only briefly during certain stretches. When the other cultivator got a lead, he tended to slow down¡­ and John slowly increased his pace to close the gap. If this whole exercise was about improvement, he couldn¡¯t make things too easy. Soon the winds picked up, a troublesome issue for water cultivators. Akkat seemed to only be able to directly resist the wind, and with his profile greatly widened by the package of ice and water he carried around himself and on his back the wind had more of him to rip and tear at. That meant making better handholds or otherwise keeping a more firm grip. John felt the wind too, but it wasn¡¯t anything compared to Abbritt¡¯s windstorms. He could easily deflect it away from himself, and the spire in general. He could have let it circle around the spire, but even if they weren¡¯t climbing together that didn¡¯t mean he was going to hinder his fellow climber. They soon reached the last hundred meters or so, where the spire began to rapidly narrow into a spike that Akkat could reach his arms around- and did. Using his arms on one side and his feet on the other, he actually increased his pace quite significantly, not letting the slick surface hold him back. Akkat actually reached the top of the spire about ten meters ahead of John, and quickly began to deposit his package of water element, extending the spire upward and outward. He focused too much on expanding upward, however, and didn¡¯t pay enough mind to stability. As he placed the last of his package, the ice- even when it was up to half a meter thick- cracked. Akkat was still holding onto the peak of the spire as it tipped, bringing him several meters away from the center- a distance that was rapidly increasing. In perfect form, the man could have likely formed bonds at the base of the cracking section, but he¡¯d put much of his effort into the last burst. With the strong point of the spire, he could easily fall a hundred meters or more before having anything to catch himself. John wondered if he would resent being caught. It was possible¡­ but there was a better method that fit the spirit of the exercise just fine. He rapidly unfolded his ice and water, pushing it into the crack just above him and sealing it to both sides, calling upon his various spiritual elements to strengthen the material and rapidly freeze those parts that were liquid. The tip of the spire jerked to a stop when it was horizontal, Akkat maintaining his grip with what remained of his spiritual energy. At that point John began to reshape the spire, straightening the tip above him while forming a new segment in between the main spire and the broken point. Thus he completed the goal of adding to the spire while happenstantially bringing Akkat into a more conveniently oriented position. John was tempted to just jump down at that point, but instead he began to climb back down. He felt extremely light without several hundred kilos of ice and water, which was unsurprising. He¡¯d used up a good portion of his spiritual energy, and that last burst had pushed him beyond the total amount Akkat had used. Technically, he hadn¡¯t reached the highest point- but he didn¡¯t care. He was sure that his disciples would understand, and he didn¡¯t intend to make a big deal of anything. If Akkat wanted to mention it, that would be his choice. The other man had seemed like he wanted to say something, but now John was far enough he would have to shout and it would be awkward. So he just began to climb back down. Fortunately for him, things got easier, so even as he was getting extremely low on spiritual energy, he could absorb enough water element from the surroundings to keep him going- and he likely was even recovering on the last hundred meters, approximately the bottom third of the spire.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. John reached the bottom first, and was prepared when Akkat arrived. He took the initiative to speak. ¡°The Lone Spire¡¯s work here is impressive, and we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute, and to face a worthy challenge.¡± Whatever else Akkat have wished to say, with such an opening there was more or less only one way to respond. ¡°As a representative of the Lone Spire, we were glad to have you and your disciples experience the challenge along with us.¡± ¡°We must continue our journey into calmer climates,¡± John said. ¡°We will need to find somewhere to rest for the night.¡± From what John understood, the disciples of the Lone Spire lived somewhere nearby in a secret location. As for the true level of secrecy, John didn¡¯t know, but he didn¡¯t wish to push to stay with them regardless of whether Akkat felt grateful or mortified. ¡°Good fortune on your journey,¡± Akkat said. If he had offered for them to stay, John would have accepted¡­ but departing might be the easiest for the moment. ----- Just like descending the spire, descending the far side of the Frozen Heights was generally easier. It wasn¡¯t exactly trivial even with the chosen pass, but that was why it was an appropriate part of a training journey. Those who were stronger took on more of the burden for those with lower cultivations. John himself was quite happy to be done with the mountains when they got out of them, even if they hadn¡¯t met with many sects. A peaceful interaction with a relatively unvisited region was a good enough start, and hopefully they would see more people from there at the next friendly tournament. Cultivators couldn¡¯t help but challenge each other, and growing more in tune with their elements was a worthwhile goal, but John preferred it be done without people actually trying to kill each other. They did need to remain ready for those who would, however. Their descent brought the expedition onto the border of the Rolling Dunes and Muted Crags. There had previously been a conflict between the latter and the Phoenix Forest, but it had been long enough for tensions to settle somewhat- though John certainly didn¡¯t intend to stop by the Black Peaks. They might not appreciate how he reshaped their topography, and it hadn¡¯t been that long. Still, he hoped to make peaceful contact with another portion of the region. He planned a route that would angle northward before curving back around into the Rolling Dunes, continuing due west into the Boiling Springs. Before any of that, however, they would be taking a rest in the more peaceful area. The Muted Crags had their own dangers, but the environment itself wasn¡¯t constantly oppressing the inhabitants. Even water element cultivators had to protect themselves from the cold. Permanent structures would help, but without the right contacts they¡¯d been stuck with camping in whatever shelter they could make. Everyone also needed some time to digest their insights before moving onto another elemental region. Even those that didn¡¯t cultivate the water element had lessons to learn about dealing with it. That was something the Six Elements Crossroads strongly promoted. Mastery of your own element was all well and good- but it wasn¡¯t true mastery if you could only deal with one element against that same element at optimum levels. ----- The Muted Crags were calm. That was their very nature, limiting sensation of all sorts. In some ways it could be considered oppressive, but darkness had its purposes. There was a reason most people slept in the dark- a lack of sensation was relaxing in appropriate circumstances. Darkness had been a familiar friend to John ever since his arrival in this world, in some cases literally with Ciaritzal. It was a useful part of all of his interactions, the first element he¡¯d ever attuned to- twice, even. Though the first time was in the memories of another person. Personally, John found the Muted Crags much more relaxing when there weren¡¯t armies waiting along the way, preparing to ambush him at every step. There wasn¡¯t exactly a large amount of wildlife to appreciate, and plants were quite sparse, but it wasn¡¯t as barren as the Gloom Desolation. It was simply a rocky area, but the few patches of fertile soil were brimming with native life. Not that it was always easy to spot them with reduced senses- even energy senses- and the fact that anything in the area was all darkness aligned and thus inclined to hide. There were a few grabbing vines that might be dangerous to lone travelers, but to a group of their size they didn¡¯t have to deal with frequent wildlife or other risks. Soon enough they found themselves on a proper road, on which they occasionally encountered passersby. Nobody showed hostility, at least not openly, and more than a few were quite friendly- beyond the standard respect for passing cultivators, of course. John¡¯s maps showed that they should be approaching Urdcliffe, a city of lesser influence than the Black Peaks but an important part of the Muted Crags still. They¡¯d even gained some influence after the incidents, though it hadn¡¯t yet been long enough to see where the balance of power would end up. Most likely, John¡¯s presence would end up shifting that balance somewhat, at least in minor ways. He didn¡¯t intend to overturn their way of life, but he wanted to connect all of those he could to the rest of the continent. Even if groups refused to be part of an alliance, having proper peaceful interactions would be a good step up from how things had been when he first came to the world. It hadn¡¯t been one of constant war, but it was still possible that it would break out at any time for any reason. Now, John would be surprised if there was a war from within the known regions. There could still be trouble from the Molten Sea or beyond, but the Sky Islands were firmly in a place of peace with Morana dealt with. Abritt had personal and political power, but not enough to override the other peaks, especially with the loss of her lackey. Besides, even she didn¡¯t have a good reason for war- she just had a general disdain for continentals. There might be more trouble like the Stormy Sea Sect, though if their alliance became known outside the continent then groups like that would be more hesitant to engage in hostilities. That was why they had responded so aggressively the first time. John hoped that the Muted Crags, covering much of the northern border of the continent, could be brought into a position that was closer than merely being another neighboring region. Though it might take effort to sort through local politics and old grudges. Chapter 403 Traveling through the Muted Crags reminded John how much he relied on spiritual energy senses to feel the world around him. Even just walking along a main road, which had the greatest distance to the crags in question, he felt an almost oppressive lack of sensation. It wasn¡¯t just spiritual energy senses that were suppressed but natural senses as well, though since spiritual energy was used to enhance the latter the overall effect was greater. Even during the middle of the day, it felt like walking around at twilight. John had enhanced darkvision which still retained some potency, but could still feel the relative difference in visual clarity. John¡¯s natural instinct was to try to pierce through the limiting energy, bringing himself back to full clarity. He could do it, for an increasing cost based on distance. It might even be worthwhile training to some extent. However, that didn¡¯t seem to be the most useful approach. Even as he got better at it, it still remained energy intensive and obvious. Focusing on the sensations he did get was far more valuable. The sounds around him being dull actually made it easier to pick out more distant ones, if he kept his ears focused. Small movements became more meaningful, especially from his position in front where he couldn¡¯t see his own group. John couldn¡¯t be entirely certain if that path was practical either, given that nothing came to threaten their expedition on their approach to Urdcliffe, but it was a worthy alternate pursuit. ----- Unlike the Black Peaks, the people of Urdcliffe didn¡¯t seem to feel the need to be reminded about the features of their elemental region at every moment of every day. The cliffs in question were a good distance outside the city, with a significant distance around the city being cleared of the natural darkness element material that hindered senses. There was still a small amount of the same effect in the area, likely due to the more distant crags and underground material, but it was a breath of fresh air. John felt color return to everything he hadn¡¯t even realized was missing. It wasn¡¯t like everything had become black and white, just less than it was before. The gates of the city stood open in front of them, but the group still approached cautiously. They did not have any long-established relations with the citizens of Urdcliffe, and the Six Elements Crossroads had previous conflicts with the Muted Crags. Just not this section of the Muted Crags, which was the whole point of trying to establish rapport with them. Before John thought they were even at a comfortable distance to speak, a guard atop the wall called out to them. ¡°Halt!¡± she demanded. ¡°From where does such an army come?¡± ¡°We are no army,¡± John replied, projecting his voice back towards the city. ¡°Merely a contingent of cultivators from the Six Elements Crossroads. I am the sect head, John Miller. We wish to exchange insights with the residents of your city.¡± ¡°Have you been invited?¡± the woman asked. ¡°Not by any in particular,¡± John said. ¡°But we have no intention to cause any trouble. Is the city not open to visitors?¡± ¡°No trouble?¡± the woman replied. ¡°I recall the last time you came to the Muted Crags, you destroyed an entire mountain. You are not welcome here.¡± It was rather bold of the gate captain to say that, if she truly believed he was responsible for destroying a mountain- technically, he just topped a small part of a peak onto a city. She also likely didn¡¯t have complete authority to reject them on her own¡­ but her attitude was sufficient for John to make a decision. ¡°You are quite fortunate that we are not here to cause trouble,¡± John said, immediately turning his back on the city while making sure his energy was clearly displayed. ¡°Come, we are leaving.¡± It was a decision made in the moment. Some might interpret it as a lack of persistence, but it was meant as a show of strength. He didn¡¯t need them. Even a casual rejection was enough reason to move on. He had no intention to plead for entry to the city or engage in prolonged persuasion. Instead, he would bring an offer to another city instead. There was some hope in John¡¯s mind that someone would come to fetch them as they walked away. He would gladly return if they sought him out, but Ascending Soul Phase cultivators weren¡¯t so plentiful that they could be casually turned away. ----- None from the city seemed to recognize the opportunity they missed. Perhaps they simply lacked curiosity or awareness. Either way, that was the end of things. John thought he was easy enough to get along with. The Lone Spire had been a perfect example. Even if it was meant as something like a competition and a way to show off strength to outsiders, it had been a sensible way to interact. Even among warlike cultivators, hospitality was usually a given. And though John had a longer lifespan now, he also had more things taking advantage of his time and thus less patience. The intention was to seek out the next available opportunity without getting too close to the Black Peaks. After all, the sect in the area likely still held grudges about the war, regardless of where they ended up in the hierarchy afterwards. After all, many people would have been counting on Rezso and the Swirling Shadow Sect to improve their own positions. Though in that case, John thought they should have thought a few more times about provoking their neighbors. But they weren¡¯t the first who hadn¡¯t expected such an organized response, and the Stormy Sea Sect wouldn¡¯t be the last. To avoid the Black Peaks, they had to either travel north to the coast or stick to the area near the Rolling Dunes to the south. Because of the uncertain nature of the situation, John preferred to avoid the northern route as that could potentially cut them off from reinforcements. While it was unlikely anyone would actually attack them, the Muted Crags most likely had the most people with current grudges against John, his sect, and their allies. Thus, the southern route was the best choice- and fit well with the rest of the planned route through the various elemental regions.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ----- After several more rejections from various smaller cities and sects they found along the way, John determined that the attitude of the guard captain at the Urdcliffe gates was not an entirely unique one. It was just that most people had the decency to be more polite about it. It didn¡¯t take much insight to surmise what the possible reasons might be, and a short investigation revealed that the influence of the Black Peaks was still stronger than it appeared. It was not enough for anyone in the eastern region of the Muted Crags to act against John and his people, but they also would not associate with him. That was fair enough, because he would be gone soon and they would have to live with the remains of the various sects that still held the power within their region. Even so, John had been led to believe that the Black Peaks¡¯ influence was weaker than it appeared to be at the current moment. That was something he had to pay mind to in the future. The Six Elements Crossroads would be insulated from any attempts to reach them, but the Phoenix Forest would be less so. They were stronger than they had been, but the Rolling Dunes still had little power of their own. In his quest to determine if any part of the Muted Crags might be more open to interaction, the best John could discern was that the western portion of the region could be different. Which based on the route meant passing through the Rolling Dunes first, since even if he wasn¡¯t avoiding the Black Peaks he wanted to make sure to visit even the less significant regions. ----- The Muted Crags quickly faded away into dry dunes- but the Rolling Dunes were an earth element region, not one of fire. At best, they were relatively hot during the day, but there was nothing supernatural about it. Despite being a bit dry, however, they were quite pleasant. Traversing sand could be unpleasant without the right mindset, but John could find ways to enjoy it both as a cultivator or as a person. Stabilizing the ground under his feet, even with distinct grains, was a fairly trivial task of earth elemental spiritual energy. When John came to the far side of a dune¡­ he leapt off. He didn¡¯t do anything special with his spiritual energy, not boosting himself any more than his muscles could manage on their own. Even though he could fly, he still managed to draw upon memories of youth and enjoy it quite a bit. Some of the disciples likely assumed it was a form of training and copied him. With boosts from spiritual energy, some flung themselves quite far, falling more than a handful of meters once they surpassed the whole measure of the slope. That would be a rough landing when just counting on the body, but a cultivator could easily distribute their impact in sand. Nobody asked John, so he provided no explanation. Frankly, if he had to tell people why they were doing every bit of training they might need to learn to figure it out on their own. And of course, that also meant that if he had to tell his disciples when it was appropriate to have fun they might need to learn to be more independent. This wasn¡¯t like the Frozen Heights where he had lectured them on the dangers before approaching. The Rolling Dunes required practically no introduction, since the greatest dangers were snakes and cultivators already knew not to get bitten. The local pests weren¡¯t particularly stealthy, either. Having been outdone by some of the disciples, John added a boost of air element to his next leap- happenstantially also throwing sand in people¡¯s faces. He carried himself higher and further than any others, while trying to keep his use of spiritual energy efficient. When they came to areas that were actually occupied by people, specifically their hillside herb patches, John did make sure that he and his disciples acted more carefully. He was pleased to see that there were more actual people around, since last time he had been through most of those living locally had fled from the cultivators of the Muted Crags- or been their members waiting in ambush. A significant portion of those in the area had fire element cultivation, or fire mixed with earth. They would be representing the interests of the Phoenix Forest in the area, though John felt more than a few he thought were locals. He wondered how much might have changed in the last couple decades. If nothing else, he learned of a proper sect that had been established quite recently- the Succulent League. Altering the route to touch upon their particular segment of desert wouldn¡¯t lengthen the planned route by any significant margin, and John¡¯s whole goal was to make sure he had established contact with every group. Even if this sect likely worked with those of the Phoenix Forest, that was simply one step more removed. They controlled a relatively small territory, but it was extremely simple to find their border. They had an actual wall of cactus grown around their border. It seemed to be made of many large cacti braided together. It was only a few meters tall, so it would only keep out weaker cultivators, but it was an excellent marker. It also made it quite obvious where people were meant to come and go, as John quickly found one of the gates. There wasn¡¯t a proper road through the sands, but the opening in the cacti was apparent enough. It also happened to be guarded by somewhere around six Soul Expansion Phase disciples. At the beginning of his journey, John would have said their presence alone could mark the sect as significant, but the current cultivation boom made their presence more ordinary. ¡°Greetings, stranger,¡± said one of them upon approach. Perhaps John was just biased, but he much preferred the polite approach- even if it might lead to an equally polite rejection later. ¡°What is your business with the Succulent League?¡± ¡°We represent the Six Elements Crossroads, and we are on a training journey,¡± John stated. ¡°I heard of your sect nearby, and my interest was piqued. There were previously no sects of note in this region.¡± ¡°Maybe you just missed us,¡± said one of the younger guards. ¡°We¡¯ve been here for decades.¡± Another one smacked the younger on the head, whispering- though not quietly enough for John to not pick up what was heard. ¡°Don¡¯t you have eyes? That¡¯s the sect head. Just because he looks youthful doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s young like you. To reach the Ascending Soul Phase, he¡¯s probably hundreds of years old!¡± It turned out both of them were underinformed. John wasn¡¯t exactly young, but he wasn¡¯t quite a hundred years old yet. At least, chronologically. Adding his total lifespan together between worlds put him a bit over a hundred instead. Still short of hundreds, though. Pretending he didn¡¯t hear any of that, John continued to speak with the first guard. ¡°We were hoping for an exchange of insights, or to at least arrange for such at a later date if your sect is unavailable.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make such decisions,¡± said the guard. ¡°But I can send a message to the sect head and- ah.¡± He turned slightly. ¡°I believe she has already become aware of your presence.¡± John saw a woman with the appearance of middle age striding towards them. He¡¯d been vaguely aware of her presence to begin with, though he hadn¡¯t precisely felt her approach as she fit into the surroundings quite neatly. She was less intentionally hiding and more camouflage. Then again, John would hope that any sect head should fit so neatly into their sect. He looked forward to seeing what she had to say. At least she came to answer in person. Chapter 404 A woman who looked neither young nor old, her skin surprisingly darkened by the sun instead of its natural shade, stepped up to the gap between the twisted cactus walls. ¡°The Succulent League had not expected a visit from the Six Elements Crossroads, but we welcome you regardless. I am Anna Evensen.¡± ¡°If you did not expect us at some point, perhaps that is my fault,¡± John said after he properly introduced them. ¡°The Six Elements Crossroads is intended to interface with everyone, even those sects that are not yet noteworthy.¡± That was nicer than saying small or unimportant. The size of a sect hardly mattered, and it was quite difficult to say which would grow to importance someday. ¡°I know we have not been invited, but we would like to exchange insights- either now or at a later date.¡± Anna nodded. ¡°You are here now, so I see no reason we should turn you away. Though I am uncertain if we have anything of value for your disciples to learn.¡± John smiled. ¡°I think it would be quite difficult to find a sect that had nothing valuable for us to learn. We practice all six elements, after all. Even if particular methods are focused on an individual element, it¡¯s still valuable to understand. I have personally learned much from other plant focused cultivators, such as the Emerging Bamboo Sect. I should expect some of our members to have valuable insights of their own to offer in discussion.¡± ¡°We welcome you gladly,¡± Anna said. ¡°Let us display our humble surroundings.¡± ----- A tour of the sect grounds of the Succulent League at first seemed as if it might be limited in scope, but it was clear that the sect didn¡¯t focus solely on the type of cactus that made up their outer perimeter. That type merely seemed to be the best for interweaving into a spiked wall, suited for that particular purpose as should be expected. Other directly practical plants were available in the herb garden, which was perhaps not surprising as that was where the Rolling Dunes gained the primary draw that had led to the conflicts with the Muted Crags. Aloe had medicinal value even on Earth, and in a world with spiritual energy the properties were significantly stronger. There were more than just that, and of course some non-succulents that fit into the medicinal fields. Most of the sect grounds were arranged as gardens, displaying what proper cultivator care could do for plants. In the middle of a desert they didn¡¯t have any massive trees, but what they did have was all far larger than expected. There was a barrel cactus as tall as John himself, sitting proudly in its own little section. Then there were the training grounds. Some were bare and open sand, either with protective formations for group training or simply empty for solo cultivators. Those that were occupied had disciples sparring or sitting in quiet meditation- often with a plant next to them. John saw a few people carrying around their plant of choice, dry roots dangling in the air. It didn¡¯t seem particularly safe, but he supposed that one of the main draws of certain succulents was their hardiness. It would be far easier for a cultivator to get a plant situated somewhere new as they could help direct the roots underground, instead of vaguely putting them in a hole. ¡°Many of the disciples also tend to particular sections of the garden, even if that is an individual plant,¡± Anna explained. ¡°However, those areas are not suitable for combat training.¡± She gestured towards a disciple standing next to a gangly cactus, whipping his arms around while at the same time directing the cactus in the same motions. ¡°Do you ever perform combat with energy projections of your chosen plants?¡± John asked. If they remained local, they could use exclusively physical plants, but he imagined it would be quite troublesome to lug a full live plant around with them. ¡°If it is necessary,¡± Anna confirmed. ¡°But we find it weakens the connection too much, so we avoid that if at all possible.¡± It made sense. John couldn¡¯t feasibly carry everything he might want with him, but cultivators were usually more effective around a physical source. It was simply impractical for most cultivators to bring their element with them. Typical earth cultivators who used the ground were fortunate that most of the time they had their element, and air cultivators who used winds almost always had something to work with- though they would be better with actual winds. Fire cultivators could set their surroundings alight for an advantage if they were willing to do so. Light and darkness cultivators usually had access to at least some of their element, as the sun or moon and stars were always in the sky, and light made shadows. Water cultivators couldn¡¯t exactly carry enough water to matter most of the time, though he supposed most cultivators could carry something in a storage bag. Except for something living like a plant. It wasn¡¯t that living things couldn¡¯t enter a storage bag, but it was quite lacking. Air wasn¡¯t exchanged with the outside unless the bag was opened, and plants needed light and space. John imagined someone carrying around a tree, or a giant pot. It was a humorous image, and its practicality was in question. Would tiring yourself out for a potential advantage be worthwhile? It would at least be an interesting training method. -----The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Despite both being plant cultivators, the Emerging Bamboo Sect and the Succulent League could hardly be more different. It wasn¡¯t just the difference between desert and an area sharing the water element, though certainly that influenced their styles. Bamboo grew rapidly while maintaining strength and flexibility. For that purpose, it needed sufficient resources. Many succulents were about resiliency with limited resources. Cultivators would never perfectly embody the spirit of that which they trained with, and in many cases combat style became a larger factor, but it did influence their fundamentals. John could sense the health and growth of the plants around them, but unsurprisingly nothing was growing as quickly as his eyes could see. The Emerging Bamboo Sect had particularly extreme circumstances as well as a particular form of giant bamboo that almost seemed to appear from nothing, but even so their combat style didn¡¯t involve giant bamboo. Just regular sized bamboo, which they could use to propel themselves forward, block attacks, or use offensively. The combat style of the Succulent League was unsurprisingly based far more around thorny exteriors. It was a more stationary method, not involving so much pushing themselves around with energy- though that certainly didn¡¯t make them immobile. It focused on the durability of the earth element, either making use of ¡®spears¡¯ as long spines and fighting in formations or making actual use of local plants to stab or cut, augmenting their natural sharpness with energy. John and his disciples sat in on the basic lessons, not because the sect head was unwilling to share more advanced information but because it was important to learn the basics. That way, they could have a firm understanding of the differences between their own understanding and that of those around them. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about their methods, but they were solid and John saw how the sect had taken root in just a few decades. Their growth was less than the Six Elements Crossroads which had outside backing and an excellent location, but they made good use of their circumstances. The earth element in the area was vibrant enough, and John soon found himself surrounded by a small collection of growing things. Even with the application of spiritual energy he barely saw any growth by the end of a day of training, but in some ways it was more satisfying. He wouldn¡¯t be able to shelter inside any of his new little plants, but the best part was how they were planted. It just took a leaf from any donor, and with a little preparation it was ready to grow into a whole new plant. John already had some ideas for how that might benefit the cultivator themself at a higher level. Perhaps with training they could accept portions of their spiritual energy being severed without issue. Or they might intentionally sever them to allow for something to grow. That likely wouldn¡¯t be a whole proper plant¡­ but John could imagine someone being quite surprised when a cactus they cut in half simply continued to come at them from two directions. Then he considered insights that the sect would likely find less useful for themselves. Such as the addition of water element to accelerate growth. Air element was of course the natural amplifier of earth, but especially in the case of succulents which stored up water in their leaves plants could use a greater injection. And allied elements feeding into each other was nothing new. As for why the Succulent League might not make use of that, it was simply because the natural water element in the area was limited. Was it worth it to spend time learning how to convert their primary element into another element simply to accelerate the primary? That time could very well be spent training with their native element and bringing it to a higher level. Though John would suggest the option, at least as something that more experienced cultivators might consider. ----- John looked at a small, fuzzy cactus. Except he knew that it was anything but fuzzy. Some cacti had actual hairlike fuzz, but this one was a variety of prickly pear. It looked like the broad leaves had little soft spots, but in reality those were tight clusters of specialized spines that looked almost like patches of yellow velvet. No softness would be there, just sharpness and pain. But it looked so soft and he wanted to touch it. And what was the point of being a cultivator if he couldn¡¯t do something like that? He reached forward, gently touching the plant. At least a dozen miniature spines broke off, but because his skin was strengthened with Diamond Defense they didn¡¯t actually puncture and stick into John¡¯s finger. He could touch them, but they weren¡¯t soft. It might have been a waste of effort, but he probably could fix that. Changing the properties of an object was possible. Temporary changes were often easier, though sometimes spending the time to permanently change properties bit by bit was required for the greatest divergences. It simply wasn¡¯t possible to change something¡¯s properties to be unnatural all at once, not without an excessive amount of spiritual energy. The material of the spines did not easily lend itself to softness, however John spent a significant amount of time studying it to grow more in tune with how it functioned. He was fairly certain that if he nudged things in the right way, he might turn them into something actually soft. After all, hair and fingernails were made out of the same substance- just put together very differently. And some actual fuzz on cacti appeared to be made out of a similar substance. Perhaps the pursuit of a trivial objective was a waste of time, but John didn¡¯t think so. Other cultivators might disagree, but he would argue that anything a cultivator was willing to pursue that involved the study and manipulation of their element would be beneficial in some way. Conversely, if a cultivator found a particular topic uninteresting it wouldn¡¯t matter how many thousands of hours they spent meditating on it. They might still learn something, but it would mostly be a waste of time. It might be a bit of a fallacious appeal to authority to say that because he was an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator he must be right¡­ but it certainly had some truth to it. What he did worked. Very carefully, John transformed just one small patch of spines. It wasn¡¯t a continual project, but instead something he went back to daily when he wasn¡¯t doing something ¡®more important¡¯. And at the end of things, John touched the plant and found the fuzz even softer than he imagined. He wondered if anyone was willing to invest in a cultivar that permanently remained soft. There might not be a huge market for cuddly cactus, but what were profits or practicality next to turning childhood mistakes into joy? Chapter 405 Some training took place in quiet contemplation, and some took place on the field of battle- or at least a representation of true battle. Sparring never quite hit the same heights due to the lacking necessity, but it was still a valuable tool. As the stronger side of the exchange, John felt like it was important for him to act in a manner that promoted learning. Anna Evensen would receive little value from a swift victory, and it could even be perceived as insulting to her and the sect. John intended to take a more measured approach, unless she made a mistake so critical that it would be more rude to ignore it. Though there was the slightest chance that Anna was able to fight above her cultivation level, it was unlikely she could stretch so far ahead that she could defeat John while still in the Consolidated Soul Phase. The circumstances with Ursel and Abritt were an exception. Not only was her equipment extraordinary but her totems were extraordinary from third on. Finally, she even had an elemental advantage. None of those appeared to be true of Anna. Her equipment was fairly ordinary, her totems mainly in the third and fourth tier, and she had at least a partial elemental disadvantage. The battlefield itself did bolster her abilities somewhat. Not only did it possess the naturally high earth element levels of the region, but placed strategically throughout were a number of plants to be used by cultivators on either side of the battle. John knew more than a few things about plant control both before and while training with the Succulent League, but he wasn¡¯t a specialist by any means. It was simply expected to use whatever the locals did. The two faced off against each other. John was tempted to begin with a volley of fire, but aside from that being outside of his usual repertoire, it might actually be expected. Instead, he used wind to whip up a sandstorm, limiting vision inside the arena. Anna countered by taking control of the earth in her immediate vicinity, but anything more than that would likely take more of her spiritual energy than she wanted to commit. Anna¡¯s energy spread through the ground around her, doing little to hide her intentions. Not that everyone needed to do so. Knowing that she was going to take control of a cactus next to him and whip it around didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t have to dodge. Or he could take the hit directly, but he wasn¡¯t interested in direct clashes unless they served a purpose. John had concealed his spiritual energy to go along with the sandstorm, or it would do very little. Anna still had a good estimate of his position before that, so she was able to sweep the cactus through waist level attacks, which seemed optimal given her lack of knowledge about his exact position. She didn¡¯t simply stop with that, however. The various limbs of the cactus were manipulated to sweep high and low following the first few rotations as the plant spun through the sands. Her spiritual energy stretched the reach of her attacks, and though she barely grazed John that was all that she needed. The feedback from the clash let her more precisely determine his location. John did use flames, then. They swept over the cactus as Anna diverted her attention to other plants in the area. She could have easily resisted his assault, but John¡¯s ethereal flames didn¡¯t immediately reveal their effects, even as it burned through her energy and began to destroy the plant. Most likely in her distraction she would only feel a slight numbing of the energy. Once his attack reached the cactus itself, it was already too late for her to quench the flames. With his location revealed, John moved quickly across the sands. He continued to maintain the winds, as that would likely be his most effective use of his air element. Darkness was infused throughout his actions, keeping Anna guessing as to his exact location even after she briefly spotted him. Low to the ground plants with serrated edges on their leaves began to whirl towards John from multiple directions. John disrupted their movements by heaving the sand upwards beneath a select few, disrupting the attacks. There was a nice barrel cactus ahead that Anna had not yet exerted her dominion over, and John began to infuse it with his water and earth element. As he danced around it, it blocked some of the incoming plants without revealing his actual location. Anna was searching through the area for him not just with her control of energy but with her body, knocking the sand down around her. That constantly revealed her location to John, though not much more than the rest of her efforts. John could have likely avoided her completely, but he allowed her to pick out clues. This was for the sake of learning, after all. If she took control of just a thin layer on top of the sand, for example, his whirlwinds would immediately cease to create a sandstorm. She was simply focusing too much immediately around her. Destroying too much of the arena¡¯s features was a bit rude, so John limited the number of plants he set alight. He didn¡¯t completely stop, and even became more blatant about it with a few. Anna needed to be able to react once they actually clashed. Earth and water were still locked up in the single barrel cactus, and the intensity was actually increasing. John was actually drying out the air, storing up the water so that it couldn¡¯t be used against him. Even if Anna wasn¡¯t a water cultivator, having moisture in the atmosphere would still benefit her. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Anna caught a glimpse of John as she nearly passed him. She immediately sent a crashing wave of earth element to knock down the sands around him, revealing him to her eyes. At that point, John let his whirlwind drop. That was his inevitable intention, as the disciples needed to be able to watch at least some of the match. John turned his winds into personal deflections, redirecting cacti that were launched through the air at him. He dodged and twisted around them while focusing darkness directly on Anna. She didn¡¯t know quite what he planned, but she struggled against the fog he put around her even as she continued her attacks. All at once, John swapped his efforts to a different element. The veil of darkness was pushed away by Anna¡¯s efforts, and John reached towards her. He had the intention to make use of every element¡­ including the one for which he had no totem. Anna looked straight at John as he released a burst of light she wasn¡¯t prepared to defend against. Her defenses were tuned to push away exactly the opposite, after all. In her moment of blindness, John tossed several throwing daggers coated in ethereal flames, impacting her defensive energy. From a previously passive stance, John began a series of attacks to overwhelm her, cycling through his various elements. Even as she was doing her best to divest herself of the flames, John created a lightning strike. He followed up by creating a layer of ice on the sand around her. Finally, he launched his prepared barrel cactus at her. The cactus was infused with a large amount of spiritual energy, but mainly to increase its solidity. As Anna felt it coming, she raised her own defenses. Her earth element formed a solid defense around her, but the impact sent her sliding backwards on the ice, tossing her into the sand. During the continuous assaults, she had lost her control of most of the surrounding plants, as she only had so much spiritual energy she could rally at once. Thus, there was very little to stop John from continuing his attacks. She was still trying to blink away the images in her eyes instead of completely giving up on sight as John entered melee range. Her defenses weren¡¯t completely negated, and her energy shaped itself into spines just about as long as his own blade, but the precision of the angles was off, giving him an opening to stab through. Shortly after his first strike hit, Anna admitted defeat. ¡°I surrender. You have bested me.¡± ¡°It was a good match,¡± John said. He had an overwhelming advantage in cultivation rank, so a different outcome couldn¡¯t be expected. He just hoped she would learn something about how different elements could cause her trouble, even if they didn¡¯t seem as threatening as fire. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the light,¡± she admitted. ¡°You don¡¯t even have a totem for it.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± John agreed. ¡°But someday, perhaps.¡± He still had to reach the late Ascending Soul Phase, which was proving to be quite stubborn on its own. Then after advancing three ranks, he actually had to be capable of breaking through to Exalted Soul Phase. He didn¡¯t exactly have any prior guidance on that step. In fact, he hadn¡¯t seen or even heard of one in the modern age. ----- ¡°If you find the opportunity, I would suggest coming to see or perhaps participate in the tournament,¡± John said. ¡°You will find a great variety of styles there, and there are many connections to be made.¡± The tournament was a good way to gather people together in Astrein, and John still believed that having people interact in positive ways was helpful. Yes, they were still there to battle- but it wasn¡¯t an actual war. Obviously people sometimes got a bit too into competitions, but there was more than just the tournament. During the months around the ten-year tournament schedule, people from all over were gathering and interacting mostly peacefully. It helped that the Six Elements Crossroads was supported in the endeavor by many other sects and clans, both large and small. It might not be able to last forever, but for now there was internal peace. Adding more people to that was the goal. While gathered together, people were able to trade for a wide variety of different resources. Some were more highly coveted than others, but with sufficient quantity and variety of cultivators everyone had some opportunity to get what they were after through peaceful means. A few decades prior, people might not even speak about what they had, even if they didn¡¯t want it for themselves. That meant many things languished and went unused, providing no benefit for the possessors or anyone else. Anna nodded to John¡¯s invitation. ¡°We will take the opportunity to attend the next one.¡± John liked the Succulent League. Was he biased because their sect head had been polite coming off of a rejection in the Muted Crags? Potentially. And the fact that he got to keep his now-fuzzy little cactus certainly helped as well. But mostly, he was just glad to find people that were decent human beings again and again. It was easy to believe more people were troublemakers than not, but really it was just that trouble was more obvious and stuck in the brain for far longer. The continent had still needed a shift from infighting to cooperation to stand up to various threats, but things could have been worse. Even in the early days of his time in this world John had traveled frequently and remained generally safe, it was simply that the few negative encounters stood out far more. Returning to the rest of the Rolling Dunes, John didn¡¯t expect to encounter particularly many sects on the level of the Succulent League. It was recently founded in the grand scheme of things, but it had clearly developed rapidly. He wouldn¡¯t pass by others simply for being weaker, but neither he nor his disciples would gain as much from a protracted stay. After they finished their business in the Rolling Dunes, the plan was to head north and west back into the Muted Crags. It was possible the other groups would similarly reject any interaction, but there was some hope that the previous conflicts with the Black Peaks hadn¡¯t permanently tainted their relations. And if he never tried, there wouldn¡¯t be any chance in the region. Chapter 406 There hadn¡¯t been any border security to speak of on the east end of the Muted Crags, where the Frozen Heights came down upon them. It had been too large of an area to cover without proper roads to cover. More importantly, the people that were of the greatest concern wouldn¡¯t need to precisely follow roads. Because of that, the major cities and sects generally saw to their own security while only occasionally having checkpoints along the roads. The Rolling Dunes side of things was guarded by the sects with particular interest in the area- or the few locals like the Succulent League. There was simply far too much area to cover, especially with the lack of blocking terrain features. The western Muted Crags only had a small checkpoint upon entering the area that didn¡¯t even have gates to block the road. It would have been possible for John¡¯s group to simply walk past. However, he was curious so he stopped to take a look. It must have some purpose. The strongest cultivator in the outpost was only in the Soul Expansion Phase. In the current era, that was respectable. A decent cultivation level without being threatening. The woman was making her way out to see them. John¡¯s senses swept the area but found nothing else of note. Just the woman and her small contingent of assistants or disciples. ¡°Welcome, senior,¡± she said. ¡°If my knowledge does not fail me, you should be the sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads, John Miller.¡± As far as John was aware, there weren¡¯t any other Ascending Soul Phase cultivators with five different elements. Thus, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to recognize him. ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± he said. ¡°May I ask what the purpose of this place is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. We like to keep track of who comes and goes throughout the area.¡± John frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything like this on the eastern end.¡± ¡°The region isn¡¯t precisely unified.¡± John understood that, but it was nice to get confirmation- especially that this part might be different. ¡°I represent the interests of the Shadowed Union.¡± ¡°We get very few travelers from the Muted Crags. I¡¯m afraid I haven¡¯t heard of this league.¡± John tried to stay abreast of the political side of things, and it was strange that something like that could go entirely unknown. ¡°We formed but a few years ago, a collection of smaller interests. Most visitors would attend the Black Peaks.¡± John gave a half smile. ¡°They¡¯re not fond of me there for some reason.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine why that would be,¡± the woman said. Her tone of voice indicated she knew very well. It wasn¡¯t like the Black Peaks had been able to cover up part of their three grand peaks falling onto the city. ¡°May I ask who you are visiting?¡± So that was her purpose here. Non-confrontational information gathering. John didn¡¯t mind that. ¡°I actually don¡¯t know,¡± John admitted. ¡°We¡¯ve had little contact with this region, and thus I haven¡¯t been able to send ahead. I was thinking the Silver Haze Sect or the Honorable Lake Compact.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure either or both would be glad to receive someone of your stature,¡± the woman said. ¡°Good. Can you send a message ahead to let them know we¡¯re coming?¡± ¡°I am able to contact them,¡± she said. ¡°But it might not arrive much before yourselves.¡± That was a lie. Interesting. John could make some assumptions about why it was a lie, but he the woman wasn¡¯t so easy to read that John knew for certain. However, it would be extremely odd if she didn¡¯t have methods of communication that would outpace them- so John¡¯s assumption was that she might be underselling the speed. ¡°Excellent,¡± John said. ¡°I believe the Honorable Lake Compact is closer, so I think we shall visit them first.¡± After the conclusion of that business, John still had some questions to answer. Was a border guard of that sort actually effective? He supposed if a dangerous group came by they could be noticed, but it would be problematic if they wiped out the outpost. It was fairly poorly defended. Then again, there weren¡¯t a great number of marauding bandits to be had. The continent wasn¡¯t entirely free of such groups, but they didn¡¯t last long in the central territory. Perhaps that made the Muted Crags even more vulnerable. John watched as a bird was released from the outpost. Not a shadowhawk or anything so impressive, but a decent flier nonetheless. Was that all there was? Perhaps they expected a regularly scheduled arrival, and receiving nothing was actually also a message. No. The bird was a distraction. Perhaps it might indeed carry a message, but that wasn¡¯t sufficient. He focused his energy on his eyes, looking at the top of the crags. All senses were limited by the local environment, but overcoming such a restriction wasn¡¯t impossible. Even if John¡¯s eyes of darkness weren¡¯t sufficient on their own, temporary focus provided clarity. He picked out one or two people, and he expected there were more hiding. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. The genius part was that they weren¡¯t blending their spiritual energy with the surroundings, they were just hiding normally. No active use of spiritual energy at all, so only a few faces could be seen staring down at the road. No doubt they would catch people on alternate routes as well. As for how they communicated, a relay system like the Sunfields would be a bit more difficult given the natural terrain, but they had to be able to make use of their height somehow. ----- Personally, John thought that putting terms like ¡°Honorable¡± in the title of a sect was a bit pretentious. However, it did give a hint towards their potential attitude. He expected either quite decent people or self-righteous jerks. To be the former, the name would have to be chosen because Lake Compact was a bit too plain. At least they weren¡¯t the Shadowy Sect of Dark Shadows and Darkness. As far as John was aware there wasn¡¯t an actual sect with precisely that name, but darkness cultivators tended to be quite limited in their adjectives. Choosing to tie oneself to a geographical feature was limiting, but at least more original for that particular element. To John¡¯s understanding they were pure darkness cultivators, not mixed with water despite the lake aspect. A late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator was waiting when John arrived. It was unsurprising that they were able to pick out the approaching group at a distance, as the road was long and straight on approach to their domain- most likely on purpose, given how it curved oddly just before that straightaway. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to assume that it was the Six Elements Crossroads given the timing, but they shouldn¡¯t have actually been able to pick out spiritual energy until they were closer. Either option showed a form of preparedness, whether they had confirmed it was them in particular or they simply chose to have a proper greeting for any incoming group. ¡°The Honorable Lake Compact welcomes the Six Elements Crossroads,¡± said the relatively youthful man. ¡°I am the sect head, Cyrille.¡± ¡°John Miller,¡± he confirmed his own position, as if it was in question. ¡°We appreciate the hospitality of the Honorable Lake Compact. We hope you are open to an exchange of cultivation insights.¡± John was primarily interested in establishing contact with the sect, but training was always valuable. Some were more hesitant to display their abilities around others, but the versatility of the Six Elements Crossroads was such that displaying general abilities was standard. Each disciple might have some individual techniques they specialized in that they could keep secret or not, but it was difficult to counter the main core of their techniques. It would be possible to destabilize an elemental cycle, but only for inexperienced cultivators. Those at the Soul Expansion or Consolidated Soul Phase should have already learned more stability. Any sort of counter technique would have to be specialized for multi-element cultivators, which weren¡¯t exactly the most populous opponents. Even with the rise of the Six Elements Crossroads, the vast majority of cultivators still focused on a single element, or at most a specific regional pair. ----- The lake was beautiful and calm, yet at the same time quite odd. It was perfectly still, such that John would have expected it to reflect the sky like a mirror. Indeed, it did, but the local darkness element weakened the effect such that it was barely visible. Instead, the lake appeared quite dark with only a few patches reflecting the brightest parts of the sky. The crags surrounding the lake were nearly indistinguishable from pure darkness. Yet when John drew closer, the dark segments actually faded away to reveal clear waters, with figures of fish swimming in the depths. As for whether others could actually make out their forms, John wasn¡¯t quite sure. Unlike with the Succulent League, the Honorable Lake Compact didn¡¯t have their disciples train fundamentals together. Perhaps they were concerned about particular aspects of their style getting out, or just generally more cautious. Either way, the pieces of information John learned were all based around what he witnessed instead of any actual instruction. There was no surprise that they drew upon the local terrain to power their darkness elemental style. Their form of darkness manipulation was not focused solely on concealment, but also adding to the surroundings, creating false impressions of terrain and the positions of people and objects. Only some of the more experienced disciples participated in sparring sessions, demonstrating the technique with some proficiency. With the natural restrictive effects, John could see how effective the technique was. However, there were some flaws he picked out that didn¡¯t seem as if they could be easily overcome. Then again, most people weren¡¯t used to sensing extremely low levels of spiritual energy, so they wouldn¡¯t miss a small fraction of air element or notice the faint earth element where a boulder appeared to be open air. Rather than immediately inform his disciples of the weakness, John let them figure it out on their own. He could give some hints, but ultimately he thought it was something all of his disciples should be able to manage on their own. Some of those with earlier matches didn¡¯t figure it out until they were able to observe from the outside, but soon enough word began to spread. Not every disciple could make practical use of the information, and indeed some focused too much on looking at the minute details of the surrounding spiritual energy that they missed more obvious signs, but for the most part they were proficient enough to reduce the enemy¡¯s effectiveness. Any light cultivators did very well, as they were experienced at fighting against darkness cultivators while the Honorable Lake Compact didn¡¯t have easy access to their opposite element. In such circumstances, the individual with the appropriate experience had a very significant advantage. ----- Somewhat disappointingly, none of the elders or Cyrille participated in any of the matches. That meant John also didn¡¯t get an opportunity. He could have requested a match, but that might pressure the sect head into complying. If they didn¡¯t want to reveal too much, they also wouldn¡¯t learn as much in return. At least John was successful in establishing contact, and Cyrille seemed open to future interaction. It was possible that he was just concerned about opening up to new individuals too quickly. Personally, John thought that the opportunity to witness an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator in action might have tempted him, but maybe John was just biased about his own abilities. He did learn more about the situation. The Black Peaks still retained influence over the middle and eastern sections even if they only actually controlled their city-state, but the Shadowed Union had been formed in the west. They weren¡¯t exactly enemies, but they certainly weren¡¯t aligned with the rest of the region. John hoped that the Silver Haze Sect would be more open, though if he had to wait for a longer term relation to be established before anything came of the contact he could accept that. At least having some connection to the region aside from the legacy of battle should be worthwhile. Chapter 407 The Silver Haze Sect practiced fairly typical darkness element stealth techniques, but at least they didn¡¯t focus on flooding the area with spiritual energy. Such techniques had their place, but it was more efficient to let people fool themselves. However, completely controlling the feedback of spiritual energy senses required reaching a depth of control at which the enemy might as well already be incapacitated, so replacing sensory information of that sort required some manual input. Thus the likelihood of finding an improper arrangement of elements, among other things. Unlike the Honorable Lake Compact, the Silver Haze Sect was fairly open with their exchanges of insights. Obviously they wouldn¡¯t be sharing certain core methods at the heart of their sect, but they were willing to demonstrate many of their techniques for the Six Elements Crossroads. The initial approach to the sect had been something like that, settled into a permanent form by the formations. Ultimately many of their techniques relied on the local terrain, but their dependence on the Muted Crags was thinner. Or at least, John thought they would likely better adapt to other terrain, though they might need time to pick up the local idiosyncrasies so that they could create functional illusions. Being timid with their sharing like the Honorable Lake Compact would mean that the Six Elements Crossroads would be limited with their sharing in return. Conversely, being more open came with greater risk. But as long as both sides were sincere with their intent to help each other grow, everyone would reap benefits. ----- Arkaitz was just a single step short of the Ascending Soul Phase. John knew himself how difficult that step could be, yet the ability Arkaitz displayed indicated to John that the other man would likely be successful. He just needed a decent push. John couldn¡¯t give any straightforward advice for a mono-element cultivator to break through, but he could at least allow his host to experience the Ascending Soul Phase from the outside. Their duel was likely to end up fantastically uninteresting to most observers, though those who managed to pick out the subtle details might have much to learn. Their weapons were only a relatively small part of the battle, with them focusing on manipulating their surroundings. John¡¯s goal was to win not by overpowering Arkaitz, but instead by outmaneuvering him. Almost immediately the battlefield became a place of illusions where John was uncertain if left was right or front was back. The arena did have several obstacles, but aside from his knowledge of their initial positions it was difficult to keep track of them. Each time he took a step, his understanding of whether the pillars had been evenly spaced or how he was oriented with regards to them began to slip away. John could have tried to hold onto the feeling of Arkaitz, but instead he created a whirlwind around him. Omnidirectional attacks meant that he didn¡¯t have to know where his opponent might come from, as long as he didn¡¯t exhaust himself. The long spear that Arkaitz wielded was meant to make it difficult to launch counterattacks, but the other man would have to get close enough for that to matter in the first place. The winds weren¡¯t so simple that he could simply stride up to John. Of course, John wouldn¡¯t limit himself to a single element. That would be bad for him, and wasteful for Arkaitz as well. Not to toot his own horn, but there weren¡¯t many people who could demonstrate the same things John was about to. Two of those who were closest also happened to be his disciples. The ground wasn¡¯t made to be dismantled and turned into a weapon- it was one solid, durable slab- so John left it alone. He used earth to boost fire, forming a fire tornado around him that might have even been too much for him if he didn¡¯t keep himself cool with water element. John knew that fire cultivators had ways to protect themselves from the intensity of their power, but then there were people like Steve- Lucanus- who made use of the intensity for even more power, with some side effects. John figured he could make pretty good use of his spiritual energy by attacking with boiling water element. And though it was a bit unfair to Arkaitz, he wasn¡¯t using so much spiritual energy that his opponent should be unable to overcome it. He¡¯d just have to find a weak point in John¡¯s seemingly omnidirectional defense and exploit it- without tipping off John. That meant to everyone else, it looked like a lot of standing around. Arkaitz circled around John, if anyone else could even feel him, occasionally testing his defenses. Though the intensity of the whirlwind seemed like it would exhaust John quickly, he was actually able to maintain the momentum of the system such that it was only a slow drain on his spiritual energy, unless anything acted upon it. A longspear came in from various angles, finding areas that John had left open- intentionally or not. But John was able to tighten up the flow of his energy, focusing on Arkaitz¡¯ attacks and sending him back. He would even fling a few throwing daggers out of his whirlwind to make sure the other man didn¡¯t forget about defense. Arkaitz seemed enthralled by the challenge and was unwilling to give up. He continued to poke and prod at John¡¯s defenses, his spear flashing forward, effectively extending its length with spiritual energy whenever he thought he had an opening. John had to go beyond the allotment of spiritual energy he¡¯d been intending to use, not because he was so concerned about winning against someone of a lower rank but because he could see the other man was getting something out of the process. He wasn¡¯t annoyed at his lack of progress, but intensely focused on the flow of spiritual energy, both his own and John¡¯s cycle of elements. That continued until he completely exhausted himself, stumbling forward and just barely catching himself with the butt of his spear to hold him up. The slight grin on his face spoke volumes.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ----- ¡°Your totems are amazing,¡± Arkaitz commented later. ¡°None is weaker than any others, not the new or the old.¡± John nodded. ¡°It seemed especially important for what I planned to do,¡± John explained. ¡°Some styles can handle the earlier totems remaining at whatever rank they were naturally present, but I would lose balance if I did the same.¡± ¡°Did it help?¡± Arkaitz asked. ¡°I mean, with your advancement to the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± That was the man¡¯s chief concern- and why shouldn¡¯t it be? That was likely true of every cultivator who had the potential. Arkaitz was quite close, as his cultivation was at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. John took some time to think about his answer carefully. He had already had strong totems when he made his first attempt at breaking through, with disastrous results. ¡°It¡¯s helpful,¡± John said. ¡°But not sufficient on its own. You need to be ready to accept the power that comes with the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± It was possible his own advancement was a bit harder as he¡¯d also been completing the cycle of core elements- the last piece was certainly the hardest. But nobody else had ever claimed the final step was easy. Even those who made it look easy. Ursel had advanced her earlier totems, but her first totem still wasn¡¯t fifth tier even though she was in the Ascending Soul Phase, so it wasn¡¯t a strict requirement. Then again, the total balance of her totems was certainly above that level. John provided the best advice he could to Arkaitz, reminding him not to underestimate how much power he would need. Beyond that, improving totems was certainly useful. ¡°Try to pick a location that is both powerful and meaningful to yourself,¡± John said. ¡°Perhaps your sect has some sort of sacred ground. That would likely be better than an unfamiliar location, even if it contained more power.¡± ¡°How much of a factor would you say that is?¡± Arkaitz asked. John pondered. Lucanus and Yustina certainly went with something familiar, but Zolvolj was also the strongest source of fire element they would have access to. Tirto and Verusha didn¡¯t go anywhere particularly special, but choosing totems for each other was part of the difficulty. ¡°Perhaps it seems like I am deflecting,¡± John said, ¡°But you¡¯ll have to decide what is important for yourself. Put in careful consideration. Above all else make sure you are in a good state of mind. There¡¯s no need to rush, with your age.¡± John hadn¡¯t needed to rush either, but in the years after Matayal¡¯s death he hadn¡¯t been entirely stable. He still felt the other factors were important to his failed advancement, however. Perhaps if some other things had been just right, his hasty push for power would have been successful. ----- It was time to move on from the Muted Crags to one of the final regions John simply hadn¡¯t been to. It wasn¡¯t like he had been avoiding the area, he¡¯d simply never had an occasion to visit the final region. Traveling along the northern shores of the Muted Crags, John once again thought it was a waste that no sects of note seemed to live precisely on the sea. Frankly, even if the ports froze up part of the year, it wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal. Then again, it hadn¡¯t been terribly long that they would have wanted to trade with anywhere else. Even with the efficiency of water travel, shipping to the Darklands directly was still almost as good as going all the way around the western end of the continent and then back into the Shimmering Islands to then end up in the Darklands. The Gloom Desolation was not much further on land, though that would take them through the Frozen Heights and Breathless Plains, neither of which were good for a caravan. The Frozen Heights were not friendly to any travelers, and the Plains were difficult to navigate with pack animals. Some amount of resources could be exchanged by cultivators carrying storage bags, but they¡¯d have to have actual connections. For most of recent history, they simply wouldn¡¯t have. After the conflict with the Rolling Dunes, people weren¡¯t particularly eager to see Muted Crags cultivators. John did intend to push things further with the western region, though. The Shadowed Union seemed like they would be at least tolerable trading partners. The Honorable Lake Compact was fine, and John quite liked the Silver Haze Sect. The northern coast reminded John of looking out over the ocean on a foggy day- except without there actually being any fog. His senses were simply dulled enough that he couldn¡¯t even quite pick out the horizon. The black sand beaches were nice, too. John thought that he might just walk along the beach into the Boiling Springs region, but alas they had set up a clear dividing wall where the Muted Crags began to fade. There weren¡¯t many guards who would see them right at the end, but he really didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble. Thus, he approached and asked where a proper gate was. About a day¡¯s travel south, apparently. They were lucky John wasn¡¯t actually an enemy because their defenses were pretty thin, spread out over such a large area. The terrain wasn¡¯t to their advantage, as the Crags faded away rapidly. But they had some sense of sovereignty, and John didn¡¯t intend to walk all over it. They took the extra time to reach a proper border crossing. The first thing John noticed after they crossed the border properly were the Boilings Springs themselves. John had figured that the region was named after a mountainous region that had some hot springs, but he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. There were a few higher peaks, but they were at a fairly low elevation and there were just random hot springs strewn about- in the sorts of places he might expect to see regular ponds. There were even a few steaming streams, and John almost wondered if they¡¯d ended back up in the eastern end of the Encapsulated Flow. Then again, why shouldn¡¯t there be some similarities between two water and fire element regions? The Boiling Springs was far more on the tolerable end of what could happen when one mixed fire and water, however. Even if some of them were actually boiling, that might still be a thousand degrees cooler than actual lava. Chapter 408 The Silver Haze Sect practiced fairly typical darkness element stealth techniques, but at least they didn¡¯t focus on flooding the area with spiritual energy. Such techniques had their place, but it was more efficient to let people fool themselves. However, completely controlling the feedback of spiritual energy senses required reaching a depth of control at which the enemy might as well already be incapacitated, so replacing sensory information of that sort required some manual input. Thus the likelihood of finding an improper arrangement of elements, among other things. Unlike the Honorable Lake Compact, the Silver Haze Sect was fairly open with their exchanges of insights. Obviously they wouldn¡¯t be sharing certain core methods at the heart of their sect, but they were willing to demonstrate many of their techniques for the Six Elements Crossroads. The initial approach to the sect had been something like that, settled into a permanent form by the formations. Ultimately many of their techniques relied on the local terrain, but their dependence on the Muted Crags was thinner. Or at least, John thought they would likely better adapt to other terrain, though they might need time to pick up the local idiosyncrasies so that they could create functional illusions. Being timid with their sharing like the Honorable Lake Compact would mean that the Six Elements Crossroads would be limited with their sharing in return. Conversely, being more open came with greater risk. But as long as both sides were sincere with their intent to help each other grow, everyone would reap benefits. ----- Arkaitz was just a single step short of the Ascending Soul Phase. John knew himself how difficult that step could be, yet the ability Arkaitz displayed indicated to John that the other man would likely be successful. He just needed a decent push. John couldn¡¯t give any straightforward advice for a mono-element cultivator to break through, but he could at least allow his host to experience the Ascending Soul Phase from the outside. Their duel was likely to end up fantastically uninteresting to most observers, though those who managed to pick out the subtle details might have much to learn. Their weapons were only a relatively small part of the battle, with them focusing on manipulating their surroundings. John¡¯s goal was to win not by overpowering Arkaitz, but instead by outmaneuvering him. Almost immediately the battlefield became a place of illusions where John was uncertain if left was right or front was back. The arena did have several obstacles, but aside from his knowledge of their initial positions it was difficult to keep track of them. Each time he took a step, his understanding of whether the pillars had been evenly spaced or how he was oriented with regards to them began to slip away. John could have tried to hold onto the feeling of Arkaitz, but instead he created a whirlwind around him. Omnidirectional attacks meant that he didn¡¯t have to know where his opponent might come from, as long as he didn¡¯t exhaust himself. The long spear that Arkaitz wielded was meant to make it difficult to launch counterattacks, but the other man would have to get close enough for that to matter in the first place. The winds weren¡¯t so simple that he could simply stride up to John. Of course, John wouldn¡¯t limit himself to a single element. That would be bad for him, and wasteful for Arkaitz as well. Not to toot his own horn, but there weren¡¯t many people who could demonstrate the same things John was about to. Two of those who were closest also happened to be his disciples. The ground wasn¡¯t made to be dismantled and turned into a weapon- it was one solid, durable slab- so John left it alone. He used earth to boost fire, forming a fire tornado around him that might have even been too much for him if he didn¡¯t keep himself cool with water element. John knew that fire cultivators had ways to protect themselves from the intensity of their power, but then there were people like Steve- Lucanus- who made use of the intensity for even more power, with some side effects. John figured he could make pretty good use of his spiritual energy by attacking with boiling water element. And though it was a bit unfair to Arkaitz, he wasn¡¯t using so much spiritual energy that his opponent should be unable to overcome it. He¡¯d just have to find a weak point in John¡¯s seemingly omnidirectional defense and exploit it- without tipping off John. That meant to everyone else, it looked like a lot of standing around. Arkaitz circled around John, if anyone else could even feel him, occasionally testing his defenses. Though the intensity of the whirlwind seemed like it would exhaust John quickly, he was actually able to maintain the momentum of the system such that it was only a slow drain on his spiritual energy, unless anything acted upon it. A longspear came in from various angles, finding areas that John had left open- intentionally or not. But John was able to tighten up the flow of his energy, focusing on Arkaitz¡¯ attacks and sending him back. He would even fling a few throwing daggers out of his whirlwind to make sure the other man didn¡¯t forget about defense. Arkaitz seemed enthralled by the challenge and was unwilling to give up. He continued to poke and prod at John¡¯s defenses, his spear flashing forward, effectively extending its length with spiritual energy whenever he thought he had an opening. John had to go beyond the allotment of spiritual energy he¡¯d been intending to use, not because he was so concerned about winning against someone of a lower rank but because he could see the other man was getting something out of the process. He wasn¡¯t annoyed at his lack of progress, but intensely focused on the flow of spiritual energy, both his own and John¡¯s cycle of elements. That continued until he completely exhausted himself, stumbling forward and just barely catching himself with the butt of his spear to hold him up. The slight grin on his face spoke volumes.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ----- ¡°Your totems are amazing,¡± Arkaitz commented later. ¡°None is weaker than any others, not the new or the old.¡± John nodded. ¡°It seemed especially important for what I planned to do,¡± John explained. ¡°Some styles can handle the earlier totems remaining at whatever rank they were naturally present, but I would lose balance if I did the same.¡± ¡°Did it help?¡± Arkaitz asked. ¡°I mean, with your advancement to the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± That was the man¡¯s chief concern- and why shouldn¡¯t it be? That was likely true of every cultivator who had the potential. Arkaitz was quite close, as his cultivation was at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. John took some time to think about his answer carefully. He had already had strong totems when he made his first attempt at breaking through, with disastrous results. ¡°It¡¯s helpful,¡± John said. ¡°But not sufficient on its own. You need to be ready to accept the power that comes with the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± It was possible his own advancement was a bit harder as he¡¯d also been completing the cycle of core elements- the last piece was certainly the hardest. But nobody else had ever claimed the final step was easy. Even those who made it look easy. Ursel had advanced her earlier totems, but her first totem still wasn¡¯t fifth tier even though she was in the Ascending Soul Phase, so it wasn¡¯t a strict requirement. Then again, the total balance of her totems was certainly above that level. John provided the best advice he could to Arkaitz, reminding him not to underestimate how much power he would need. Beyond that, improving totems was certainly useful. ¡°Try to pick a location that is both powerful and meaningful to yourself,¡± John said. ¡°Perhaps your sect has some sort of sacred ground. That would likely be better than an unfamiliar location, even if it contained more power.¡± ¡°How much of a factor would you say that is?¡± Arkaitz asked. John pondered. Lucanus and Yustina certainly went with something familiar, but Zolvolj was also the strongest source of fire element they would have access to. Tirto and Verusha didn¡¯t go anywhere particularly special, but choosing totems for each other was part of the difficulty. ¡°Perhaps it seems like I am deflecting,¡± John said, ¡°But you¡¯ll have to decide what is important for yourself. Put in careful consideration. Above all else make sure you are in a good state of mind. There¡¯s no need to rush, with your age.¡± John hadn¡¯t needed to rush either, but in the years after Matayal¡¯s death he hadn¡¯t been entirely stable. He still felt the other factors were important to his failed advancement, however. Perhaps if some other things had been just right, his hasty push for power would have been successful. ----- It was time to move on from the Muted Crags to one of the final regions John simply hadn¡¯t been to. It wasn¡¯t like he had been avoiding the area, he¡¯d simply never had an occasion to visit the final region. Traveling along the northern shores of the Muted Crags, John once again thought it was a waste that no sects of note seemed to live precisely on the sea. Frankly, even if the ports froze up part of the year, it wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal. Then again, it hadn¡¯t been terribly long that they would have wanted to trade with anywhere else. Even with the efficiency of water travel, shipping to the Darklands directly was still almost as good as going all the way around the western end of the continent and then back into the Shimmering Islands to then end up in the Darklands. The Gloom Desolation was not much further on land, though that would take them through the Frozen Heights and Breathless Plains, neither of which were good for a caravan. The Frozen Heights were not friendly to any travelers, and the Plains were difficult to navigate with pack animals. Some amount of resources could be exchanged by cultivators carrying storage bags, but they¡¯d have to have actual connections. For most of recent history, they simply wouldn¡¯t have. After the conflict with the Rolling Dunes, people weren¡¯t particularly eager to see Muted Crags cultivators. John did intend to push things further with the western region, though. The Shadowed Union seemed like they would be at least tolerable trading partners. The Honorable Lake Compact was fine, and John quite liked the Silver Haze Sect. The northern coast reminded John of looking out over the ocean on a foggy day- except without there actually being any fog. His senses were simply dulled enough that he couldn¡¯t even quite pick out the horizon. The black sand beaches were nice, too. John thought that he might just walk along the beach into the Boiling Springs region, but alas they had set up a clear dividing wall where the Muted Crags began to fade. There weren¡¯t many guards who would see them right at the end, but he really didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble. Thus, he approached and asked where a proper gate was. About a day¡¯s travel south, apparently. They were lucky John wasn¡¯t actually an enemy because their defenses were pretty thin, spread out over such a large area. The terrain wasn¡¯t to their advantage, as the Crags faded away rapidly. But they had some sense of sovereignty, and John didn¡¯t intend to walk all over it. They took the extra time to reach a proper border crossing. The first thing John noticed after they crossed the border properly were the Boilings Springs themselves. John had figured that the region was named after a mountainous region that had some hot springs, but he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. There were a few higher peaks, but they were at a fairly low elevation and there were just random hot springs strewn about- in the sorts of places he might expect to see regular ponds. There were even a few steaming streams, and John almost wondered if they¡¯d ended back up in the eastern end of the Encapsulated Flow. Then again, why shouldn¡¯t there be some similarities between two water and fire element regions? The Boiling Springs was far more on the tolerable end of what could happen when one mixed fire and water, however. Even if some of them were actually boiling, that might still be a thousand degrees cooler than actual lava. Chapter 409 The Silver Haze Sect practiced fairly typical darkness element stealth techniques, but at least they didn¡¯t focus on flooding the area with spiritual energy. Such techniques had their place, but it was more efficient to let people fool themselves. However, completely controlling the feedback of spiritual energy senses required reaching a depth of control at which the enemy might as well already be incapacitated, so replacing sensory information of that sort required some manual input. Thus the likelihood of finding an improper arrangement of elements, among other things. Unlike the Honorable Lake Compact, the Silver Haze Sect was fairly open with their exchanges of insights. Obviously they wouldn¡¯t be sharing certain core methods at the heart of their sect, but they were willing to demonstrate many of their techniques for the Six Elements Crossroads. The initial approach to the sect had been something like that, settled into a permanent form by the formations. Ultimately many of their techniques relied on the local terrain, but their dependence on the Muted Crags was thinner. Or at least, John thought they would likely better adapt to other terrain, though they might need time to pick up the local idiosyncrasies so that they could create functional illusions. Being timid with their sharing like the Honorable Lake Compact would mean that the Six Elements Crossroads would be limited with their sharing in return. Conversely, being more open came with greater risk. But as long as both sides were sincere with their intent to help each other grow, everyone would reap benefits. ----- Arkaitz was just a single step short of the Ascending Soul Phase. John knew himself how difficult that step could be, yet the ability Arkaitz displayed indicated to John that the other man would likely be successful. He just needed a decent push. John couldn¡¯t give any straightforward advice for a mono-element cultivator to break through, but he could at least allow his host to experience the Ascending Soul Phase from the outside. Their duel was likely to end up fantastically uninteresting to most observers, though those who managed to pick out the subtle details might have much to learn. Their weapons were only a relatively small part of the battle, with them focusing on manipulating their surroundings. John¡¯s goal was to win not by overpowering Arkaitz, but instead by outmaneuvering him. Almost immediately the battlefield became a place of illusions where John was uncertain if left was right or front was back. The arena did have several obstacles, but aside from his knowledge of their initial positions it was difficult to keep track of them. Each time he took a step, his understanding of whether the pillars had been evenly spaced or how he was oriented with regards to them began to slip away. John could have tried to hold onto the feeling of Arkaitz, but instead he created a whirlwind around him. Omnidirectional attacks meant that he didn¡¯t have to know where his opponent might come from, as long as he didn¡¯t exhaust himself. The long spear that Arkaitz wielded was meant to make it difficult to launch counterattacks, but the other man would have to get close enough for that to matter in the first place. The winds weren¡¯t so simple that he could simply stride up to John. Of course, John wouldn¡¯t limit himself to a single element. That would be bad for him, and wasteful for Arkaitz as well. Not to toot his own horn, but there weren¡¯t many people who could demonstrate the same things John was about to. Two of those who were closest also happened to be his disciples. The ground wasn¡¯t made to be dismantled and turned into a weapon- it was one solid, durable slab- so John left it alone. He used earth to boost fire, forming a fire tornado around him that might have even been too much for him if he didn¡¯t keep himself cool with water element. John knew that fire cultivators had ways to protect themselves from the intensity of their power, but then there were people like Steve- Lucanus- who made use of the intensity for even more power, with some side effects. John figured he could make pretty good use of his spiritual energy by attacking with boiling water element. And though it was a bit unfair to Arkaitz, he wasn¡¯t using so much spiritual energy that his opponent should be unable to overcome it. He¡¯d just have to find a weak point in John¡¯s seemingly omnidirectional defense and exploit it- without tipping off John. That meant to everyone else, it looked like a lot of standing around. Arkaitz circled around John, if anyone else could even feel him, occasionally testing his defenses. Though the intensity of the whirlwind seemed like it would exhaust John quickly, he was actually able to maintain the momentum of the system such that it was only a slow drain on his spiritual energy, unless anything acted upon it. A longspear came in from various angles, finding areas that John had left open- intentionally or not. But John was able to tighten up the flow of his energy, focusing on Arkaitz¡¯ attacks and sending him back. He would even fling a few throwing daggers out of his whirlwind to make sure the other man didn¡¯t forget about defense. Arkaitz seemed enthralled by the challenge and was unwilling to give up. He continued to poke and prod at John¡¯s defenses, his spear flashing forward, effectively extending its length with spiritual energy whenever he thought he had an opening. John had to go beyond the allotment of spiritual energy he¡¯d been intending to use, not because he was so concerned about winning against someone of a lower rank but because he could see the other man was getting something out of the process. He wasn¡¯t annoyed at his lack of progress, but intensely focused on the flow of spiritual energy, both his own and John¡¯s cycle of elements. That continued until he completely exhausted himself, stumbling forward and just barely catching himself with the butt of his spear to hold him up. The slight grin on his face spoke volumes.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ----- ¡°Your totems are amazing,¡± Arkaitz commented later. ¡°None is weaker than any others, not the new or the old.¡± John nodded. ¡°It seemed especially important for what I planned to do,¡± John explained. ¡°Some styles can handle the earlier totems remaining at whatever rank they were naturally present, but I would lose balance if I did the same.¡± ¡°Did it help?¡± Arkaitz asked. ¡°I mean, with your advancement to the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± That was the man¡¯s chief concern- and why shouldn¡¯t it be? That was likely true of every cultivator who had the potential. Arkaitz was quite close, as his cultivation was at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. John took some time to think about his answer carefully. He had already had strong totems when he made his first attempt at breaking through, with disastrous results. ¡°It¡¯s helpful,¡± John said. ¡°But not sufficient on its own. You need to be ready to accept the power that comes with the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± It was possible his own advancement was a bit harder as he¡¯d also been completing the cycle of core elements- the last piece was certainly the hardest. But nobody else had ever claimed the final step was easy. Even those who made it look easy. Ursel had advanced her earlier totems, but her first totem still wasn¡¯t fifth tier even though she was in the Ascending Soul Phase, so it wasn¡¯t a strict requirement. Then again, the total balance of her totems was certainly above that level. John provided the best advice he could to Arkaitz, reminding him not to underestimate how much power he would need. Beyond that, improving totems was certainly useful. ¡°Try to pick a location that is both powerful and meaningful to yourself,¡± John said. ¡°Perhaps your sect has some sort of sacred ground. That would likely be better than an unfamiliar location, even if it contained more power.¡± ¡°How much of a factor would you say that is?¡± Arkaitz asked. John pondered. Lucanus and Yustina certainly went with something familiar, but Zolvolj was also the strongest source of fire element they would have access to. Tirto and Verusha didn¡¯t go anywhere particularly special, but choosing totems for each other was part of the difficulty. ¡°Perhaps it seems like I am deflecting,¡± John said, ¡°But you¡¯ll have to decide what is important for yourself. Put in careful consideration. Above all else make sure you are in a good state of mind. There¡¯s no need to rush, with your age.¡± John hadn¡¯t needed to rush either, but in the years after Matayal¡¯s death he hadn¡¯t been entirely stable. He still felt the other factors were important to his failed advancement, however. Perhaps if some other things had been just right, his hasty push for power would have been successful. ----- It was time to move on from the Muted Crags to one of the final regions John simply hadn¡¯t been to. It wasn¡¯t like he had been avoiding the area, he¡¯d simply never had an occasion to visit the final region. Traveling along the northern shores of the Muted Crags, John once again thought it was a waste that no sects of note seemed to live precisely on the sea. Frankly, even if the ports froze up part of the year, it wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal. Then again, it hadn¡¯t been terribly long that they would have wanted to trade with anywhere else. Even with the efficiency of water travel, shipping to the Darklands directly was still almost as good as going all the way around the western end of the continent and then back into the Shimmering Islands to then end up in the Darklands. The Gloom Desolation was not much further on land, though that would take them through the Frozen Heights and Breathless Plains, neither of which were good for a caravan. The Frozen Heights were not friendly to any travelers, and the Plains were difficult to navigate with pack animals. Some amount of resources could be exchanged by cultivators carrying storage bags, but they¡¯d have to have actual connections. For most of recent history, they simply wouldn¡¯t have. After the conflict with the Rolling Dunes, people weren¡¯t particularly eager to see Muted Crags cultivators. John did intend to push things further with the western region, though. The Shadowed Union seemed like they would be at least tolerable trading partners. The Honorable Lake Compact was fine, and John quite liked the Silver Haze Sect. The northern coast reminded John of looking out over the ocean on a foggy day- except without there actually being any fog. His senses were simply dulled enough that he couldn¡¯t even quite pick out the horizon. The black sand beaches were nice, too. John thought that he might just walk along the beach into the Boiling Springs region, but alas they had set up a clear dividing wall where the Muted Crags began to fade. There weren¡¯t many guards who would see them right at the end, but he really didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble. Thus, he approached and asked where a proper gate was. About a day¡¯s travel south, apparently. They were lucky John wasn¡¯t actually an enemy because their defenses were pretty thin, spread out over such a large area. The terrain wasn¡¯t to their advantage, as the Crags faded away rapidly. But they had some sense of sovereignty, and John didn¡¯t intend to walk all over it. They took the extra time to reach a proper border crossing. The first thing John noticed after they crossed the border properly were the Boilings Springs themselves. John had figured that the region was named after a mountainous region that had some hot springs, but he couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. There were a few higher peaks, but they were at a fairly low elevation and there were just random hot springs strewn about- in the sorts of places he might expect to see regular ponds. There were even a few steaming streams, and John almost wondered if they¡¯d ended back up in the eastern end of the Encapsulated Flow. Then again, why shouldn¡¯t there be some similarities between two water and fire element regions? The Boiling Springs was far more on the tolerable end of what could happen when one mixed fire and water, however. Even if some of them were actually boiling, that might still be a thousand degrees cooler than actual lava. Chapter 410 The last time John had come to the Blustering Peaks seeking new connections, his vision was still limited. He¡¯d simply wanted to make sure everywhere adjacent to Astrein was allies, he hadn¡¯t even been thinking of the full continent. Now he wasn¡¯t willing to accept anything less. They weren¡¯t really that far. Uniting the whole planet would be interesting, but John wasn¡¯t certain that was reasonable even at his current strength. While strength wouldn¡¯t be the only determining factor in such things, it was quite important. Even after all he¡¯d done with the alliance, cultivators outside of it respected strength first and logic second. The other difficulty with expanding beyond the continent was that not everyone was even properly part of the alliance. There were various layers to things, with the basic level being more of a peace pact than a defensive alliance. People would need to be convinced that following the rules would be best for them both short and long term. Despite the surface level similarities with the Frozen Heights, the Blustering Peaks were air dominant. Any cold and ice was simply coincidental. In truth, there actually was a significant quantity of water elemental spiritual energy on the side adjacent to the Shimmering Islands. The ratio was about one third and two thirds, which just met the standard threshold for a region being traditionally multi-element. In the rest of the Blustering Peaks, the water element generally didn¡¯t go above one tenth, which was sufficient to augment the air element but difficult to use directly. Astrein had proportionately half again as much of every element and nearly triple in total quantity, though the even proportions of elements made it difficult for those not trained to make use of the spiritual energy at all. In many ways, cultivators thrived in imbalance. The Six Elements Crossroads expedition took a mixture of proper roads and more difficult pathways through the mountains meant to challenge some of their members. They took some time to visit various different groups to not show too much favoritism, but John did have a particular destination in mind. He returned to the Rising Storm Palace not just because they were familiar, but because he specifically intended to train with one of their elders. Bahadur had been helpful with his previous attempts to develop air element body tempering methods, and while John hadn¡¯t taken that as far as he had Diamond Defense, the various small improvements had still been valuable for him. Since the sect head had been away during the first visit, John hadn¡¯t interacted with Ronan as much. If John was just a senior disciple or elder, perhaps even head of a smaller sect, then focusing on a particular elder wouldn¡¯t be odd, but he¡¯d need to show sufficient face to Ronan as well. Not that John had anything against the man, it was merely that they had less history together. ----- When John was seeking out insights to help him combat Abritt, Ronan had unfortunately fallen short of the list. He simply hadn¡¯t been strong enough, and even now he wasn¡¯t quite at the Ascending Soul Phase. With the ravine of nearly an entire phase between them, he wouldn¡¯t be matching up against Abritt any time soon. John hadn¡¯t been planning to gain any massive insights on his journey. He understood that most people would be in a lower phase than he was, and ultimately the small insights he gained often resulted from teaching others. In time when he gained nothing of value, the exchanges of insights were hopefully at least beneficial to the disciples he brought with him. Ronan wasn¡¯t trying to replicate the style of the Sky Islands, but he was interested in the wind techniques that Abritt used. John had little hesitation sharing what he had learned from the conflicts he had seen and experienced. He wasn¡¯t quite capable of producing the same results himself as he had less focus on air, but he could create a sufficient whirlwind to suppress even a late Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator for quite some time. Ronan¡¯s attempts to assert a small area for himself were never able to gain a foothold, as John bolstered his air element with the core cycle to boost his power. With a handful of ranks advantage to begin with, the fact that he wasn¡¯t a pure or dual element cultivator didn¡¯t particularly weaken the effects. Even to move around, the sect head needed to advance his insights. While they weren¡¯t fighting in the air on small platforms, the Blustering Peaks did have large cliffs that one could fall off of. At Ronan¡¯s cultivation level he wouldn¡¯t die from a fall, but it would be embarrassing to be blown away. He managed to hold his ground, but couldn¡¯t do much more than shuffle his feet for the first few sessions of training. Eventually he was able to carve off a small area for himself that John¡¯s influence was weak enough, and he was able to move at a reasonable walking pace. Still slow for a cultivator battle, leaving him vulnerable to additional attacks, but promising. If he could gain a bit more insight and potentially reach the next phase, he could at least fight back against someone like Abritt. John didn¡¯t know if Abritt herself would continue to be a problem- if she was, Ursel would have grown far more- but helping an ally improve their own abilities was worthwhile enough. ----- John was quite glad to help Ronan train, but he was glad to get some time with Bahadur once such political obligations were fulfilled. ¡°I¡¯ve been partially successful with multiple methods of air element body tempering,¡± John declared. ¡°They may not be so visibly striking as Diamond Defense, but they¡¯re a worthwhile investment I think.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Bahadur said. ¡°Did you successfully improve your speed?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. John nodded. ¡°My reaction time is noticeably improved. Compared to other Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, I can feel a real difference.¡± It was a very slow process John was still undergoing, since he had no desire to permanently screw up his nerves somehow. It also wasn¡¯t quite as visible as something like Diamond Defense, because he couldn¡¯t just stab his reflexes with a sword. Nor could he expect that he would have an improvement of similar proportions. John¡¯s skin was more than a few times sturdier than normal. To withstand any level of attacks from spiritual energy, it had to be tens or hundreds of times. His reaction speed wasn¡¯t twice as fast- or at half the delay. Not even close. But shaving off any fraction of time was significant. Measuring exactly how much wasn¡¯t possible with the technology level of the world, though he could compare to others. ¡°Have you formalized it?¡± Bahadur asked. ¡°I¡¯ve created elementary forms of various body tempering techniques,¡± John said. ¡°It seems to be a worthwhile investment for any cultivator to find at least one area they wish to improve.¡± More wasn¡¯t always better, because the time and resource investments could allow a cultivator to simply improve their rank being generally better in all ways. However, spiritual energy did better with a stronger base, amplifying the body to greater heights. As with everything it was a balancing act. Diamond Defense was most useful if attacks frequently got through energy defenses, and unless a cultivator was exhausted and thus in a state where they had already lost, that usually meant being able to measure the threat of an incoming attack and resist accordingly. Most people weren¡¯t willing to take such risks. That said, it wasn¡¯t too uncommon for part of an attack to slip through energy defenses in battle. Some of the other techniques John had developed were also situational. He didn¡¯t need to purge his body from toxins in the vast majority of battles- in fact, those particular adjustments had been pretty much useless so far. But improved reactions were pretty much always useful. There might be an exception of going too far and being twitchy or overreacting to feints, but in general John had just sped up responses he was already performing. Rather than being faster, he usually felt like his body responded better. ¡°I don¡¯t mind sharing the basic version with you,¡± John said. ¡°And the sect. Anything beyond that simply isn¡¯t ready for use without personal guidance, so it would be detrimental.¡± ¡°We would appreciate whatever you feel comfortable sharing,¡± Bahadur said. ¡°And I¡¯m certain that the disciples will be more confident knowing it came from someone like you, with powerful cultivation.¡± ¡°Even Ascending Soul Phase cultivators have our flaws. We might not know of them because we do our best to eradicate them, but if I hadn¡¯t taken a personal interest in body tempering these techniques would be no better than random speculation,¡± John said. ¡°Or perhaps worse, since there are fewer things to compare to if one is trying to determine if the technique is flawed. Most people would have to make the attempt and experience the flaws themselves to have any idea. At that point, it¡¯s a bit late.¡± Bahadur¡¯s contributions hadn¡¯t been much more than theory, but being taken seriously had been good enough at the time. Because of that, John had remembered him fondly all this time. ----- From the Blustering Peaks they came to the Shining Coast. It was the first light element region they had been in on the entire journey, partially because the core elements were more common and partially because that was just how the route worked out. They had gone past the Sunfields and simply hadn¡¯t been on the southern end of the continent except for their start in the Gloom Desolation. Light was the one element John was truly weak with, and thus the one he needed to train the most. If he didn¡¯t have any other responsibility, he thought that he would probably do best by spending as much time as possible in light element regions- within reason. He did still need to maintain his balance with other elements, after all. The previous journey to the Shining Coast had resulted in unfortunate conflicts. This time, John knew the area better and was expected by groups that were ready to welcome him. Even if there were some bitter thoughts left over, few would be willing to act on anything. The ultimate goal was to reach the Lunar Island on the far edge of the region, but John and the others had plenty of training they could do along the way. For those who had a cycle of core elements, balancing light and darkness in the future would be critical. Personally, John would recommend that any who started with the core elements would stick with them into the Ascending Soul Phase instead of trying to pick up one of the outer elements so late in cultivation, but he had to admit his personal bias. After all, he had begun from darkness with a rather ambitious plan. If things had gone as most of those around him would have expected, John would have bound totems for Darkness, Earth, and Air before stagnating in the Soul Expansion Phase. His ambitions required him to go beyond the expected limits of the time even for the most basic form. However, he hadn¡¯t wanted to make a small cycle of allied elements before trying to bridge the gap. That sort of reach felt like it would have been unbalanced. Certainly, it had not fit him. It might be survivorship bias that made John think his way was better, but there were at least logical points and various insights to go along with his feelings. It likely would be difficult. Now, John was near the end of the journey- but he had the most difficult step yet. In that way, Viriato might have an advantage, having overcome the light and darkness divide early on. Though personally John thought that was an insane risk if people had a choice. Ereli might agree, though her choice had never been there to begin with. Light reflected off of the sands into his eyes. It was unpleasant, but not as much as it would have once been. John absorbed light element into his dantian, carefully setting it aside. Yet it wasn¡¯t walled off from his darkness element, despite the potential dangers of them reacting. If John wanted to carry elements separately, he would just invest in light element objects or bring a light cultivator with him. No, he wanted a healthy ecosystem. And if he got light placed just right, it kept a balance with darkness. It was all about letting it orbit the core without being too close- and thus drawn in- or too far and thus drifting away. John pictured it like planetary rings. Or a halo. Both were wonderful pictures, but actually achieving such a state proved difficult. Especially without a totem. But to properly bind a totem, he needed a sufficient level of control of light to begin with. And greater cultivation. Thus, everything had to be built piece by piece. John hoped he wasn¡¯t missing some critical component. Chapter 411 Most of the Shining Coast was unpleasant for John, and not just because he had to spend time with sects that had previously rejected his presence. There was also the whole light element thing. Though it was merely unpleasant instead of excessively burdensome. In fact, John thought he was more comfortable living among the antithetical spiritual energy than he had been with fire during his first visit to the Green Sands. Being able to focus on training how he attracted the spiritual energy during certain social encounters was actually quite nice as formalities went on for far too long. The Solar Palace had been accommodating on his first visit, when he was still recovering his cultivation and hadn¡¯t yet properly stepped into the Ascending Soul Phase. Now, the triumvirate was almost smothering. John understood that he was someone important, but he really didn¡¯t enjoy it. People took him seriously, which was good, but they also didn¡¯t always see him as a person. That was what he had true friends for, though. And his close family, but John didn¡¯t have strong ties with the majority of the Tenebach and Brandle clan members. Mostly a handful of those from his own generation plus his children and grandchildren. He still wanted things to go well for the clan members, but he wouldn¡¯t even be able to name them all. His ultimate destination was his favorite part of the Shining Coast. He did his best to not openly display favoritism in front of his disciples, but they would be able to tell. Any darkness cultivator would be more relaxed around the nocturnal cultivators of the Lunar Island. There was still plenty of light element, but it was less harsh than the rest of the region. At least during the time they were expected to be active. Unlike previous visits, John came with a large number of disciples who did not have light element totems. The sect head regarded them with curiosity, but John¡¯s ultimate intention to reach a full cycle of elements wasn¡¯t unknown to the world. And there were light cultivators among the mixed group. Szabina¡¯s face showed some of the weight of years that had passed since their last in person encounter. Small wrinkles had expanded just slightly. The years weren¡¯t catching up to her as quickly as they would otherwise due to her cultivation, but said cultivation wasn¡¯t advancing at a pace that kept her young. It was a shame, really, that decent people didn¡¯t always have the best talent. The world would likely be a better place, where people didn¡¯t have to reach for every scrap of power they could get. John thought that they¡¯d achieved a decent balance in the current age, but he was aware that it wasn¡¯t necessarily going to outlast him without some work. Or himself and his best allies, hopefully. The ¡®club¡¯ all got along with each other and had significant influence of their own. ----- John had rooms on the far side of the tower, as before. The simple reason for that was because during the day he was less inclined to deal with excess light element, so dealing with light reflecting off of the bay would just impede his rest. He could have kept a diurnal schedule and trained with the stronger light element, but he wasn¡¯t at a stage where he wanted that intensity. At some point before he tried to bind a light element totem? Absolutely. But he still had fundamentals that needed work even after all these years. At night, the bay in which the Lunar Island¡¯s central tower sat was gorgeous. Luminescent fish and other sea life lit the clear and shallow waters. The light of the moon and stars reflected off of the shores, focusing on the tower itself. John¡¯s current limits for storing light element were about a quarter as much as any other element. By comparison, a region rarely got counted as having a secondary element if that element was a quarter or less. Even if John had exactly two elements, light would have been a fifth of his total, barely significant. Instead, it was less than five percent of his total spiritual energy. But even with that limit, John actually found it difficult to do much more than store it. He rarely used it in combat, because it was doubly limited by his quantity and his lack of control. However, if he let himself keep those habits he might never properly use light element. John considered how to properly implement it without reinventing his fighting style. It would be a decent long range attacking option, forming light beams. He¡¯d used it to blind people a few times. As part of an allied cycle, he could use it to enhance fire and air. All of those options were good. The last thing he did every once in a while was cause detonations. Light and darkness mutually annihilated, which was an excellent offensive measure if he didn¡¯t hurt himself. Blinding people concealed the battlefield as much as directly hiding something, if not more- though people didn¡¯t just leave their eyes unprotected. A bright flash might provide temporary results, but flooding an area with light could limit perception without having to overcome defenses. That was more difficult to do when John simply didn¡¯t have that much light element, but it was an area to explore. ----- John sat out in the middle of the bay. He was fairly certain that his need to control water element was actually detrimental in such a situation as it took his focus away from other training, but it was worth it. After all, he was sitting on the surface of water, and that was fun. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Perhaps he was supposed to become a serious old fogey once he¡¯d become a sect head, but if he stopped deriving enjoyment from his control of spiritual energy he¡¯d doubt he would get far. He was taking his training seriously. He wanted to be strong so that he could fight as much as he wanted to be strong because sculpting hills and walking on water and flying were all thrilling. John¡¯s secondary excuse for sitting directly on the water was that a boat would have blocked the light. A perfectly clear boat with the same refractive index as water would be best, but he didn¡¯t actually have one of those. Light was constantly shining on John, and he was determined not to push it away. That was an instinct he¡¯d built up over long decades of having practically no control of light. He was used to it eating away at his darkness element, even if it didn¡¯t have explosive results. But now, his darkness was kept in his core. His elements were carefully mixed, but he was doing so intentionally. It wasn¡¯t one big soup or smoothie. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have islands or oceans or anything recognizable. He¡¯d have¡­ warm, chunky, aerated mud. Not a particularly enticing prospect, since he spent so long separating elements into usable proportions. With darkness kept deep down, the way it drew in light was more constrained, and the other elements could provide a useful barrier between the two. But if that was all they were, John would be spending entirely too much effort keeping his elements in place and not enough making use of the power they could provide. He¡¯d had the most success with forming light into a sort of orbit around him. Light had the natural instinct to fly away, so matching that with the pull of darkness provided an enduring balance. Even if the orbit was imperfect, it would take a while to decay which meant it didn¡¯t require constant upkeep. John was simply trying to get used to adding more to that orbit- and drawing from it without destabilizing what remained. Those watching from the outside would have seen him fade from view as light was captured, then glow much like the creatures of the bay below as light was released. Just like the cycles of the moon that the Lunar Island was built around, he made his own small cycle. Though he didn¡¯t think it was the ultimate form of what his control of light would be, it was valuable practice nonetheless. ----- Twilight hours was where the light was most intense- while still being part of the local schedule. Nobody had exactly the same schedule, but in general a nocturnal sect would avoid the hours around noon the most. Being awake at that time was much like people being awake at midnight or early hours of the morning in any other sect. There were always a few, but the majority was fairly predictable. John sat atop the peak of the tower with Szabina at dawn, watching the sunrise. This was as important of a transition as the phases of the moon. ¡°Did our arrival this time have any special meaning?¡± John asked. She¡¯d commented on their arrival date the first time they met, after all. ¡°None that you need to hear,¡± Szabina commented. She seemed to have more to say, so John waited patiently. ¡°You can draw your own conclusions. Hundreds of cycles of the moon have passed, during which you grew more powerful than most would have anticipated, while I grew hardly at all. Just a few small ranks closer to the end of the Phase.¡± ¡°Do you see yourself reaching the Ascending Soul Phase?¡± John asked. ¡°I think you have the potential.¡± His previous experiences made him believe she had the necessary traits, but obviously he couldn¡¯t say for certain. ¡°No,¡± Szabina said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it is likely. My ambitions do not lie in that direction. Perhaps when I give up the mantle of sect head, I will make the attempt. But I think I would be better served teaching the next generation. And improving the beacons.¡± ¡°Are there any problems with them?¡± John asked. Communications infrastructure was one of the things he was using to bring the continent together, when they could. Light cultivators were particularly suited for the task. ¡°Here? There are not. Light also travels fantastically between the peaks to our east. But the communications break down among the winds, waves, and trees of many of our neighbors.¡± ¡°I see,¡± John said. He was glad she was serious about that. ¡°What is your intention, then? Should you have specialists operating your communications towers?¡± ¡°I do not think that would be a bad option,¡± Szabina said. ¡°A stable position that students could take for a time. However, I would prefer something that could be the same in all regions, as impossible as that might be. No matter which element one has, it might be corroded somewhere else.¡± ¡°Pairs of elements might be better,¡± John said. ¡°Except for light and darkness. And if you pair them with one of their allied elements, you might have even more options than just one for each element.¡± Maybe something like radio? John didn¡¯t know how to make radio work, though. But something not relying on the spiritual elements might be best. Or alternatively, relying on all of them. Though that thought might be biased towards his own particular cultivation style. ¡°It works now,¡± Szabina said. ¡°A message from Astrein takes only a few days to reach us instead of a month. Not many messages are sent, but enough.¡± What about telegram? Surely they could make sturdy wires that could survive underground. As long as they weren¡¯t reactive to too much earth element, it should be fine most places. Not the Molten Sea, obviously, and the Sky Islands couldn¡¯t be connected to in that manner, but most places would be fine. Maybe not the Green Sands. And did anyone really live in the Soulrot Bogs? Sure, the Glass Hills dealt with constant lightning but if they dug deep enough¡­ Alright, so a universal communication method was a bit unlikely. But if each region had their own system that worked expediently they merely had to come up with methods that crossed the borders more efficiently. Days happened to be fast compared to sending a letter, but if they had light relays the whole way John should expect a message to take less than a single day to cross the whole continent instead of going half that distance and taking several times as long. Message security would be an issue still, but that was a problem people could figure out how to solve to within tolerance once they had a long term system. As it was, John didn¡¯t know how his messages reached different sects half the time, he just told people to send a message and they figured it out. That was the best part of having competent subordinates instead of trying to manage all the details himself. Chapter 412 The Viridia Wildlands. As their name implied, much of the area remained untamed even in this era of great cultivation. Powerful water and earth element infused into the region, causing rapid growth of vegetation and similarly rapid growth of animals that ate said vegetation- or those other animals. One day a huge swath of grassland could be chewed up by a herd of grazing creatures, and the next the grasses would overtop even the tallest humans. In different parts, forests and jungles reigned supreme but no matter where in the Wildlands people were, it was brimming with life of some kind. John remembered tracking down Ursel, who had been battling a monumentally huge rhinoceros. There was some chance she was here now, though John didn¡¯t keep track of her projected training schedule. She was liable to change her mind on a whim, as long as nothing important was going on. Their expedition had already stumbled across a number of beasts. Disciples were tasked with battling them- and following orders was important. If John, Ayhan, or Lir judged that certain disciples should not join a battle they meant it. They wouldn¡¯t accept people jumping into battles far outside of their capability. Unless John blunted every attack of the beasts they faced, he couldn¡¯t guarantee the safety of everyone. Thus, it was better to only have to watch for risky patterns. He could react to situations where people failed to perfectly defend themself, instead of worrying about someone being completely blindsided. Along the way they had come across a hippopotamus- relatively small as far as the Viridia Wildlands went at less than two stories tall. That battle had torn up an area a few kilometers across, though a similar amount of vegetation would have been damaged throughout the day if the beast continued eating. Later, they had come across a flock of crows that thought humans looked like a tasty snack. After paring down their numbers slightly, John let the rest of the disciples match themselves against airborne opponents. He had an idle thought that if they could tame such crows they could be great messenger birds¡­ if they could manage to find enough to eat outside of the Wildlands. Most places they would either cause ecological devastation or rapidly starve. Potentially both. Even herbivores in the Viridia Wildlands tended to be unusually aggressive. It was necessary for their survival, so it made sense. Some learned to rapidly run and hide, though fighting back was often necessary. Just because his disciples had experienced that didn¡¯t mean they really understood, it apparently. They came across a creature that could only be called a bunny. Not a hare or a rabbit, but a round ball of fluff that happened to be house sized. Everything was fine until someone tried to pet it. Fortunately for the fool involved- a different fool than the others so far on the journey- Ayhan had anticipated some risk and was nearby. A sudden wall of earth in the bunny¡¯s jaws kept the disciple¡¯s arm from being cutely snipped off. John reacted as well, but he was significantly further away and thus took a moment to push the disciple away with a burst of wind. The floppy eared ball of fluff couldn¡¯t be blamed for reacting to a perceived attack by an insect. Whether the bite was to defend itself or to sample the thing in front of it hardly mattered, it was simply acting on instinct. What followed was chaos. The power of the bunny wasn¡¯t so vast that it could actually give their group trouble¡­ but some disciples refused to attack even if they were in danger. That might have been fine, as choosing whether or not to kill something was their prerogative- but they also didn¡¯t always defend themselves appropriately. John let someone a bit too fascinated with the round flying form get squashed into the ground- their defensive energy was solid and the ground was soft enough John knew they¡¯d mostly get a fright and make an impression in the ground. Perhaps a few broken bones, if they took the hit wrong. He added some of his own energy into the earth beneath them just to make sure nothing went too wrong. Those disciples that were willing to attack the bunny found it surprisingly sturdy, empowered by earth element. Its fur was durable like iron yet soft and yielding at the same time, protecting it against crushing and slashing blows alike. John was trying to scare the creature away with a series of attacks when it kicked its hind leg out at one of the disciples. Lir chopped the offending limb off with her glaive, not taking any risks. With an injury like that, John didn¡¯t expect it to last long so he thrust a lightning and water empowered sword into its neck. Better for it to die quickly. He drew out its blood as he pulled away so that nobody would get hurt with its dying throes. ----- ¡°What have we learned today?¡± John addressed the disciples. There were a number of valid answers, but having just skinned the animal and carved it into segments that could be roasted over a fire, most people weren¡¯t especially talkative. The few that didn¡¯t really care might have been amused at the situation, except for John¡¯s serious tone. ¡°Don¡¯t try to pet wild animals. Or if you do, make certain you are much stronger than them first. Even generally docile creatures can be dangerous when threatened.¡± There were other lessons that could be had about not underestimating an opponent in combat, and John would probably bring those up eventually. But ultimately, the important thing was that they not let the situation go to waste. That included the food and materials that the body of such a beast could provide. Not eating it would be rude. At best, it would have been feasted on by scavengers.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. As its juices dripped onto the fires, it smelled delicious. That meant they had to have guards prepared, just in case anything was drawn to them. The presence of the stronger cultivators among them should be a decent deterrent, but that didn¡¯t mean they could ignore the potential danger. An ambush could easily result in a weaker disciple being injured or killed, and John wasn¡¯t perfect no matter what some people probably thought. It was tasty. The bunny had an intense flavour from its active life and the infusion of earth elements. Properly cooked by infusing various elements throughout, the meat was tenderized to the point it was at least edible. Not exactly easily chewed, but the effort was well worth it. John still would have preferred not having to kill it, though. ----- If John had only needed to visit the Emerging Bamboo Sect, and maybe Great Ring City, he would have been happy with his time in the Viridia Wildlands. However, the places he visited were just as important as where he did not visit. He couldn¡¯t reasonably avoid the Indestructible Kapok Grove. Not when they had an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Worse, Abritt was fairly certain that Mandlen was a reincarnator. In truth, John had little opinion about the man himself. The Indestructible Kapok Grove had been a source of trouble long in the past, especially for Ursel, but he shouldn¡¯t judge a whole sect for a few bad disciples. Or should he? After all, the behavior of disciples was a representation of those above them. It was either behavior patterns they saw, or whatever they were allowed to get away with. But it had also been several decades since there was actually any trouble, so John had to start with a reasonable position. As they approached, John had to say he was at least impressed with their sect grounds. Grand trees surrounded one individual that nearly rivaled what Great Ring City was built within. Interestingly, that one tree¡¯s roots grew outward in tall ribbons, forming walls that naturally divided different districts- eventually surrounding the whole sect with a barrier at least ten meters in height. Interestingly, the spines that John took to be one of the signatures of a kapok were not present on the largest tree. Their group approached the gates- the first of a series of them, placed between tall and relatively thin roots. Though they were proportionately thin, there were at least a few meters of solid wood, brimming with spiritual energy. The gates stood open, five in sequence finally leading through the outer barrier. John suspected that attempting to go over the walls would be met with great difficulty- more than just the guards he saw keeping watch. He was met inside by the woman he knew to be the current sect head, having seen her previously. John was actually surprised that Zorana still retained the position, given Mandlen¡¯s cultivation. Most likely, he didn¡¯t want to be saddled with the responsibility. ¡°Welcome to the Indestructible Kapok Grove,¡± Zorana said. ¡°Your journey has been long. Rest within our safety.¡± John would be happy to rest. He kept his face positive, while inside reminding himself not to relax too easily. People had taken great offense to less involvement than simply being the father of an individual in conflict mere decades in the past. He didn¡¯t intend to go anywhere alone- or at least not entirely. If privacy was required, he would still wish his foremost disciples to remain within earshot. The kapok tree was a good choice for a sect to center itself around. A balance of offense and defense combined with the ability to grow to a great height were excellent core tenets. If that turned into people with prickly personalities, perhaps that was an acceptable side effect. Though it seemed like Zorana could at least be polite when she wished to. John would judge further based on how people of all levels interacted with his disciples. Zorana took them on a winding tour of the sect- though it might have also been the most direct route to the central areas, given the prevalence of roots from both the mighty central tree and its smaller counterparts. John hadn¡¯t been certain at first, but eventually he determined with certainty that Mandlen wasn¡¯t present. That might be for the best, because while interacting with the man would be useful, it could also go wrong. Still, John did have to mention that he would wish to meet with the man if he were present. ¡°Elder Mandlen is currently on a training excursion,¡± Zorana said. ¡°However, you are welcome to stay as long as you wish.¡± John thought for a few moments. ¡°If you do not know when he might return, I think we will likely limit our stay to a week so as to not be burdensome. Furthermore, we have far to travel still if we wish to traverse the entire continent.¡± They were somewhat more than halfway done, but they didn¡¯t have truly unlimited time. ¡°We will gladly host you,¡± Zorana continued. ¡°I would send word, but his current training location is secret even to me.¡± She sounded slightly disappointed, but accepting. ¡°It is not a problem,¡± John said. ¡°Cultivation must be a priority.¡± John had sent word ahead, but it was entirely possible Mandlen had been in private training for several months. Or maybe he simply didn¡¯t wish to meet John, in which case he would happily accept that without it needing to be said. Either way, they would eventually move on. ----- John found a surprising number of disciples tending to the trees. He didn¡¯t expect them to be neglected, of course, but he doubted that such well established trees needed human intervention. At best, encouraging them to grow where they wanted- and to not grow in a way that would box in any of the districts- seemed like the only requirements. Yet John found the disciples tending to the ¡®smaller¡¯ trees- the ones only a hundred meters or so tall that were dwarfed by the central one. They were especially focused on the spines. John saw fallen spines be returned to the tree and sealed back on. Furthermore, some of the spines grew out of other spines in fractal-like patterns. He couldn¡¯t determine exactly why such work was important, but it was done with just as much care as the harvesting of the seedpods. Speaking of the seedpods, in contrast to the spines they were filled with soft fibers. John had felt their exceptional quality in the sect furniture. Perhaps he would ask about the spines. Nobody should begrudge him a bit of curiosity. Chapter 413 The thing about spines was less secret and far less exciting than John thought it might be. Apparently, only younger and more vulnerable trees usually grew the spines. They were meant to protect them against certain sorts of herbivores and to help store water until they reached a certain level of durability on their own. If John were to extrapolate that, then the members of the Indestructible Kapok Grove that made use of spines would still be immature. Which wasn¡¯t necessarily true, because humans who could choose when to form such defenses weren¡¯t really all that similar to trees that had to grow for the long term. As for why they wouldn¡¯t use their spiritual energy to make the largest tree continue to grow spines, the answer wasn¡¯t given clearly but John was able to surmise that it was for defensive purposes. The durable roots were good walls, unless they happened to have plentiful handholds and footholds to help scale them. The scale of the spines would simply become too large to be a threat for most cultivators. Based on what he saw with the other trees, the trees that continued to grow spines didn¡¯t concentrate them in any specific location. In addition to the fact that the grand tree was durable enough to not need it, most likely it would cause more harm than good to continue to force it to grow thorns. After all, they would have to be removed from certain locations like the outer wall. ----- There seemed to be some sort of internal sect debate about whether the Indestructible Kapok Grove should be pure earth element, or if they should mix in water element to take advantage of the surrounding spiritual energy. If John had been asked for his opinion, the result would have been quite obvious. More elements wasn¡¯t always better, but if there was a good reason and a proper connection to be made, he was certainly for elemental addition. Half of the point of the thorns on a Kapok was to store water for times of trouble, so aside from John¡¯s general feeling that the field of plants could include both water and earth, there was a specific reason. The grove didn¡¯t shy away from displaying techniques, but John didn¡¯t find he was gaining much in the way of insights. Zorana, the sect head, was barely more advanced in her specialization than John was. He¡¯d studied with several plant focused groups already, so he could use related abilities at a level of proficiency he found acceptable. Zorana was doubtless more skilled, but that was mostly training time and less special knowledge. John found her to be very traditional and lacking in innovation. That might be good for holding together a stable sect, but John didn¡¯t think it was as valuable in times of great change like they had been experiencing lately. ----- About three days before John and the others were set to leave, Mandlen appeared. It wasn¡¯t something that could easily be mistaken, with his energy clearly displayed as he approached the outer walls. Apparently, he was the sort that didn¡¯t bother with official entrances, making his way directly inside. That meant leaping over the wall. The defensive formations seemed to not react to his presence. It seemed like it could be a security flaw, though it was also possible that Mandlen was simply familiar enough to suppress them. That was its own sort of flaw, but John thought it would be easier to disguise his aura so the former was more easily exploitable. Until that point, John had continued to believe that Mandlen¡¯s absence was a convenient excuse not to interact with John. However, he should have easily received information on when they planned to leave. John was a little bit surprised that he showed up, but more surprised that the other man had reached the forty-second rank. He wasn¡¯t quite in the late Ascending Soul Phase yet, but at least in terms of pure rank he had surpassed John. He was able to make that assessment as Mandlen strode purposefully towards John, who happened to be sitting on one of the tall and thin buttress roots of the central tree. It gave a good view. Mandlen leapt next to John, his energy on full display- earth element with a background of water. His totems seemed to be purely earth element or close to it, however. ¡°Greetings.¡± Before John could stand, Mandlen sat next to him. ¡°Greetings,¡± John said in return. Could he really say ¡®welcome¡¯ to someone in their own sect? ¡°I hadn¡¯t been sure if you would be here.¡± Some portion of John thought that perhaps Mandlen had been intentionally kept away, but in that case he would have to reassess his opinion of Zorana¡¯s lying skills. ¡°It seems your training has been productive.¡± ¡°For those with proper insights, an advancement in rank is only natural. What do you think of the sect?¡± John wasn¡¯t entirely sure what Mandlen wanted. ¡°It had quite a solid foundation. I can see it lasting far into the future.¡± ¡°Or until someone chops down this tree,¡± Mandlen shrugged. John seriously doubted many people could ¡®chop down¡¯ the tree. If it were completely undefended, he expected it would take quite some time even for a dedicated team of cultivators. And it was entirely possible that below a certain cultivation, people might never succeed. ¡°What do you think about the contradictory aspects?¡± Mandlen sure went directly into things. Was he trying to learn something? John didn¡¯t really have any secret motives here. ¡°Like, the use of thorns in your cultivation while the actual trees shed them upon maturity?¡± John gestured to the very tree they sat on a tiny part of. ¡°Honestly, easily enough resolved. Though it does mean that one must make anew the concept of thorns with each use, I¡¯d imagine.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I doubt many people would want permanent thorns.¡± ¡°I thought the same,¡± Mandlen said. ¡°But by that point, I was already rather deep in things.¡± ¡°Do you regret choosing this sect?¡± John asked. ¡°Given the available options, I have no regrets,¡± Mandlen commented. ¡°The rapid growth of the Emerging Bamboo Sect didn¡¯t appeal to me. What about you, John?¡± It was strange to be called his name by someone he didn¡¯t really know, but it wasn¡¯t inappropriate for another Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, either.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Cultivation has been going well for me. I¡¯ll admit it was a pretty audacious plan when I set out, though.¡± ¡°When you began again, you mean.¡± John nodded. ¡°Clearly, mistakes had been made. A different path seemed more appropriate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to be able to make such decisions.¡± With that, Mandlen stood, leaping down from the root and making his way off. How odd. Not at all what John had expected, for various reasons. John wondered how much Mandlen knew, and how much the encounter supported Sitora¡¯s information. There was certainly something different about Mandlen, though perhaps he was simply an eccentric genius. That wasn¡¯t unheard of, after all. ----- If Mandlen could randomly come up to John and then leave when he felt like it, John thought as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator he should share the same privileges. He did take his time to prepare some talking points first. Frankly, missing any opportunity to exchange insights with another Ascending Soul Phase cultivator would be criminal. Especially one who might be reincarnated. Truthfully, the fact that he had become powerful was more important than why. At least, if it was a battle between genius or reincarnation. If there were more nefarious methods involved, that was where there would be a concern. The next day, John found Mandlen at the very top of the central tree. Most people didn¡¯t seem to have the necessary audacity to climb, but John doubted it was actually forbidden. Either way, the rules applied less to the strong regardless of whether that actually made sense. He could have flown up, but John leapt from branch to branch or climbed where it was convenient. ¡°Planning to cultivate air or light?¡± he asked. The view was astounding, revealing a broad picture of the world around them. Mandlen looked at the sky around them. ¡°I¡¯m just getting some sunlight.¡± ¡°Is that useful for cultivation at all?¡± John asked. It hadn¡¯t been one of his prepared questions. ¡°It definitely works for me, but your elements are both on the darkness side. Though I suppose you could empower your water with fire, that doesn¡¯t sound efficient.¡± ¡°It improves my cultivation as much as having a good breakfast after sleeping well,¡± Mandlen said simply. ¡°Mental state is important.¡± John couldn¡¯t help but agree. He had found that cultivators who stressed out about their growth often performed more poorly. Unfortunately, just telling people to relax didn¡¯t always make that possible. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of time. People don¡¯t need to rush. Though of course, that only applies to this current generation. Growth wasn¡¯t as quick before.¡± ¡°Spiritual energy levels improved.¡± ¡°You know that for sure?¡± John asked. ¡°By the time I realized, it was already too late to do many tests. In the last couple decades they¡¯ve seemed overall quite similar. Any changes could be explained by random fluctuations.¡± ¡°You live where there are more people,¡± Mandlen stated simply. ¡°I do. But hasn¡¯t the Indestructible Kapok Grove gained membership as well?¡± ¡°Not as much.¡± That seemed to be the end of that conversation, so John wanted to ask something else. ¡°How much have you studied light and darkness? I¡¯m trying to balance them, and I keep losing the light or risking disaster.¡± ¡°Do I look like I cultivate light or darkness?¡± John moved his eyes up and down Mandlen. ¡°Nope. So what¡¯s your opinion?¡± ¡°Nobody successfully balances them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I believe that,¡± John said. ¡°There¡¯s Viriato and my granddaughter Ereli for sure.¡± ¡°Why not ask them?¡± The words could have implied Mandlen was annoyed, but John didn¡¯t feel it yet. ¡°I already have. Viriato stumbled into it by accident. Ereli has created a great mental construct.¡± ¡°Use that then.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t fit me,¡± John said. ¡°Then don¡¯t. You¡¯re probably just trying too hard.¡± ¡°If I screw this up, I die,¡± John reminded him. ¡°You¡¯ll die anyway. Just later.¡± Was that some great insight about the world, or just morose musings? ----- Ultimately, John couldn¡¯t determine with certainty any details about Mandlen being reincarnated or not. He was alright, but not amazing. So he wasn¡¯t going to be invited to the club anyway. Not that they got to meet often. The stronger they grew, the less freedom they generally had. How weird was that? Soon enough, John and the disciples were traveling again. That meant walking along a road while at the same time actually turning it into a road. The Wildlands tended to reclaim the land in days or weeks, so there could have been a group passing just ahead of them and they would have hardly noticed. It was a good way to practice plant cultivation, nudging them away from the roads instead of incinerating or squashing everything. If done right, John wondered if they could convince the roads to stay open. Probably not, but they might be able to plant some sort of groundcover that would keep away everything else. The difficulty was preventing that from spreading into the surrounding forest if it was vibrant enough. Then again, sometimes problems didn¡¯t need a better solution. Everyone passing through the area could get mandatory training just from the act of travel, and it didn¡¯t have to be anything more special than that. Great Ring City felt smaller. It wasn¡¯t, obviously. The remains of the old stump wouldn¡¯t just shrink, and it probably had more buildings. But John felt that after a number of decades, things just didn¡¯t seem as impressive as they once were. It was probably all of the flying. Even if the Emerging Bamboo Sect wasn¡¯t the best in the region now, John still had plans to visit them again. There was no reason to cut off old relationships when they were still friendly. In fact, leaving groups behind just for being less strong was exactly the opposite of his intentions with the alliance. And it was possible to help promote the strength of those who hadn¡¯t quite made it to the next Phase. Chapter 414 John found himself back at the Emerging Bamboo Sect. ¡°It is a pleasure to see you once more, Chandra.¡± The woman who had previously been a promising disciple in the late Soul Expansion Phase had reached the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Somewhere along the way, she had become the Sect Head. She inclined her head. ¡°You as well. Welcome to the Emerging Bamboo Sect.¡± She looked around. ¡°Your daughter is not with you. A shame.¡± John shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s not a disciple of my sect, but the Amber Heart. Not that she often remains on sect grounds there either. At any time, she could be stomping around the Viridia Wildlands or the Rolling Dunes as much as the Stone Conglomerate.¡± While various disciples were responsible for the rest of the Six Elements Crossroads, John merited Chandra¡¯s personal attention. After all, his cultivation was significantly ahead of her, the sect head. Besides, John had fond memories of her instructive efforts. Perhaps he might learn more of the Emerging Bamboo Sect¡¯s style, but he also intended to teach as well. ¡°Have you had the opportunity to visit the Succulent League?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe I am aware of their location,¡± Chandra admitted. ¡°They¡¯re a new sect in the Rolling Hills. They are not yet firmly established, but there is much potential to be had. Furthermore, they are quite open with their methods. I¡¯m certain your sects could learn much from each other.¡± More than just how to manipulate plants in both wet and dry climates, though that by itself was a valuable area of study. ----- Chandra hadn¡¯t expected the founder of the Six Elements Crossroads to recall the details of their first meetings. It had been sufficient that she had been remembered later, upon attending the tournaments. The man had changed his name after the death of his wife. He wasn¡¯t the first cultivator to sever old ties after a traumatic moment, nor would he be the last. Chandra had merely been surprised at how simple of a name he took, instead of picking one filled with grand meaning. Or perhaps she simply did not understand it. A cultivator like him needn¡¯t have bothered to remember the details of every encounter he had with others. However, he surprised her by bringing up something particular. ¡°How have you kept up with your training for sensing darkness cultivators?¡± John asked. ¡°As much as it is possible, given our location,¡± Chandra said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to put that to the test,¡± John said. Before she could even agree, he disappeared right in the middle of the pathway. Chandra immediately extended her senses to where he had been standing, trying to determine if he was going to pull a similar trick to the past. Just because her senses couldn¡¯t pick out anything didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t there, but she couldn¡¯t make any declaration with certainty. She followed every ripple through the leaves of the trees, the movement of the fallen bamboo husks, and everything that could be a sign of John¡¯s presence. The man had five elements now. That gust of wind could have been him, but it didn¡¯t show signs of spiritual energy. Then again, nothing did. And unlike before, her natural senses didn¡¯t feel dulled at all. Chandra wasn¡¯t sure how to tell whether that was true. She strode forward confidently, walking through the space he had been standing in. Or at least she thought she did. When she took a moment to assess her position, she had ended up behind where she thought she started. Determining she wouldn¡¯t find anything standing still, Chandra began to move. Perhaps she would break out of the area of John¡¯s control and find some perspective. Except even as she broke into a run, the path looped around on itself. ¡°No need to rush. I¡¯m not far,¡± John¡¯s voice came from behind her. She reached out her arm to grab him, not expecting him to actually be there. And he wasn¡¯t. Chandra was stronger now. Even if her senses weren¡¯t able to pick him out directly, she should detect some signs. An imbalance in the local water and earth from where a person stood, for example. She felt something, for a moment. A void, like the local ground spiders left. Chandra lunged, propelling herself extra distance with a projection of a bamboo shoot. However, when she reached the area she felt herself splashing into a balance of various spiritual elements, no physical form. She knew the trick those spiders used, and he knew that she knew about them. They were common here, and they must have encountered them on his visit. He used her talents against her. Chandra took a step, trying to get closer to something. Her foot refused to move, as if hooked to the ground somehow. Had that always been the case, or had it happened just now? She didn¡¯t know which was worse. She thought for a moment, then threw herself forward, allowing her feet to remain planted. She managed to grab a handful of cloth, though she could barely feel it. ¡°I got you.¡± She sighed. ¡°You didn¡¯t move, did you?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°An interesting question, isn¡¯t it?¡± John said as the world returned to normal around her- though she hadn¡¯t noticed most of the inconsistencies in the moment. ¡°When you were running around earlier, where was I? I think revealing my tricks would be too much.¡± ¡°... Maybe I should have shaken the whole area.¡± ¡°Or filled it with thorns,¡± John said. ¡°There are plenty of good thorns to be had as examples. You could make cute little cacti.¡± ¡°I doubt it would have helped much,¡± Chandra said. ¡°Given the gap in our cultivations.¡± ¡°You presume I used my maximum power. Just one last question¡­ how many elements do I have?¡± Chandra frowned. He had five totems, right? Or had he somehow fooled the whole world and already reached the Exalted Soul Phase? No, his cultivation was almost certainly as he revealed. Chandra felt five totems, with elements mixed together in a way that made them feel like nothing at all. However, there was something missing. Was the balance slightly towards darkness? Yet not completely, which meant there was actually some light. She thought. She still wanted to say five. ¡°Six,¡± she declared. ¡°Correct. But five is also correct, in its own way,¡± John said. ¡°Either way, the light is there. You likely weren¡¯t expecting additive illusions. You could likely spot most darkness element cultivators, unless they were specialized against earth element seekers. But the Silver Haze Sect might be difficult for you. I might add them to a future journey. The western Muted Crags aren¡¯t so unfriendly as the rest.¡± ¡°I will take that into consideration.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not far from the Succulent League, so it would be fairly convenient. You wouldn¡¯t have to walk around the whole continent.¡± ¡°Should I?¡± Chandra asked. That was what he was doing, after all. ¡°Not unless you have a good reason. Stick with the element you train, then any areas of weakness you want to cover.¡± John shrugged, ¡°I simply happen to have all the elements, so I need to see everything.¡± ----- This time, John was able to grow himself his own bamboo home. It wasn¡¯t just his greater power. Indeed, if that had been the case he would have done it just fine the previous time. He had the necessary power, but hadn¡¯t been able to put it to good use. Now he had a full cycle of elements, able to feed each element into the next. Growth was natural, even if plants were only a small portion of his training- though they¡¯d been unusually heavy in the latest journey. Then again, he hadn¡¯t needed much in the way of traditional soil and stone based methods, since both he and the disciples in Astrein were never terribly far away from the Stone Conglomerate. Despite the insane speed that the bamboo grew, it wasn¡¯t sufficient to complete it in one session unless he wanted to accept that the bamboo wouldn¡¯t reach its full potential. In one afternoon it was a meter and a half wide and easily three meters high. That was more than sufficient to carve out for use¡­ but it would forevermore be just a small hut. However, it had surpassed the necessary standard to continue growth into the next day. John found that constantly monitoring the bamboo was unnecessary. He could spend a few minutes providing spiritual energy and encouragement, then spend an hour or more elsewhere while the bamboo greedily drank up the spiritual energy. He added earth element, of course, but also air. It was going to be a physical plant, so it needed to pull in far ranging carbon dioxide. Once he had two elements, John figured he might as well complete the cycle. Water and fire were the last, feeding into the others to end at earth. There wasn¡¯t any actual fire, of course. Just a source of heat. Living plants didn¡¯t burn easily and the Viridia Wildlands were soaked through, but it was still better to keep proper control over things. ¡°Not bad,¡± Chandra commented when she saw John looking at his work of several days, a bamboo cane large enough to house a half dozen people, at least according to the standards of the Emerging Bamboo Sect. ¡°Are you looking for a job? We could use more people with your talents.¡± John grinned. ¡°I¡¯m just a hobbyist, actually. And you don¡¯t seem to be particularly lacking.¡± The borders of the Emerging Bamboo Sect had widened considerably, and the number of disciples swelled. They weren¡¯t a massive sect, but they had enough people to fill a small city. Even with the rapid growth of the Six Elements Crossroads, they didn¡¯t have as many people as a long established and stable sect like them. ¡°It would be a waste of your talent anyway,¡± Chandra shook her head. ¡°An Ascending Soul Phase cultivator shouldn¡¯t be tied down to a remote place like this.¡± ¡°Perhaps. Though if you grew one of your own¡­¡± He looked at her meaningfully. ¡°You really think I can?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± John shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not going to say it¡¯s an easy task. Nor will I exaggerate and say I can pick out people with the necessary talent at a glance. But I can say you have sufficient potential. It¡¯s just difficult to make that last step, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid,¡± Chandra admitted. ¡°What happens to the sect if I¡¯m gone?¡± ¡°I imagine they continue to grow,¡± John smiled. ¡°But if it bothers you, make sure you have someone to take over for you.¡± Everyone he knew who¡¯d been successful had a stable sect or clan to help ease their worries. Except for himself on his first attempt, during which he¡¯d been in a time of turmoil and nearly killed himself. It had been a half success. The resources from a stable base would obviously also be helpful, so John couldn¡¯t say that was the only reason for the successes. Ultimately, everything built together towards the result. Maybe once the continent had another couple centuries of history they might have better insights on reaching the Ascending Soul Phase. ¡°Alternatively,¡± John said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with accepting the life you have now. Not everyone has to reach for the peak of cultivation.¡± ¡°So why do you strive for it?¡± Chandra asked. ¡°If it¡¯s not too much.¡± ¡°If you asked me that question at different times of my life, I would have given different answers.¡± At first, he just wanted to see what came next in cultivation. After ending up in this world, it only seemed natural to explore the possibilities. ¡°I needed power, for family and friends. Now I have responsibilities to a wider group.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Chandra nodded. ¡°Do you think¡­ that you might reach the Exalted Soul Phase?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit too early to say,¡± John said. ¡°I¡¯m not even in the late Ascending Soul Phase yet. But¡­ I intend to make the attempt.¡± He would. But if he didn¡¯t know why, he might not survive. Somehow, that rang more true than whether or not he had sufficient control of light. Chapter 415 There were various locations that the Six Elements Crossroads planned to visit in the Shimmering Islands, but John was only really interested in one of them. It was a bit selfish, but after so long traveling he just wanted to see family. The first one to come greet them was Carl, much to the surprise of most of the disciples and the captains of the vessels they were riding upon. The young leviathan was far smaller than its parent had been, but still larger than most ships. A face poked above the surface rather suddenly. John leaned over the railing and waved. ¡°Good afternoon, Carl.¡± Her parents letting Nitza name the leviathan had resulted in endless amusement for John. He imagined Tirto and Verusha alternated between amusement and regret. Cute names were good when you wanted warm and cuddly, but if you were offering a threat it just didn¡¯t hit the same. Then again, two early Ascending Soul Phase cultivators saying they would send Carl after someone might be somehow more intimidating. It sounded so plain, but how could anything related to them be ordinary? Perhaps it could be a codename. And of course, once people saw the leviathan they would be quite appreciative of the danger. As a beast, he could not be directly judged by the standards of cultivation phases. In some ways he would be inferior to an early Ascending Soul Phase cultivator- specifically finesse and special techniques- but in raw power and durability he would outclass them. Tirto or Verusha after their advancement could certainly defeat him together or individually, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Not that they¡¯d ever need to. Carl was a good boy. Which wasn¡¯t to say he always listened, but he never hurt anyone he considered a friend- even accidentally. Potential foes, however, were at greater risk. John jumped down onto the water to pat Carl on the head. His actions served the dual purpose of calming the worries of the disciples and ship captains and also being fun. How often did one get to pet a giant sea beast? For John, it was every time he came to visit the Shimmering Islands which was¡­ not often enough. When they were young he¡¯d managed to spend more than half the year with his children- even if only two months of it also included Matayal. Now they were fully responsible for their own clans- or Ursel. So he didn¡¯t even see them all every year. Why had he even founded a sect? To grow strong? What was the point of that, if he couldn¡¯t spend time with those he cared about? John knew the answer, though. He¡¯d rather have infrequent contact with those he loved than none at all because either he or they perished in battle. As cultivators, it was far and above the most likely result even if they never sought out conflict. ----- Nitza didn¡¯t jump into his arms. How disappointing. John supposed she might be going through a phase. It could also have something to do with the fact that she wasn¡¯t a little kid anymore, but a young woman. At least she hadn¡¯t lost her youthful enthusiasm, even if it didn¡¯t include her poor grandpa. ¡°Carl!¡± She jumped into the water next to the leviathan. ¡°You went and found them coming in. Good job!¡± Carl did not fit in the inner ring of Pualani. He very much wanted to, but it was too shallow even for the parts of him that were more flat. There were some clear gouges in the sea floor where he had tried to maintain a path as he grew larger, but ultimately he was limited to the outside of the island. It was probably for the best, because he wasn¡¯t meant to be just a pet but a defender. He would protect the Brandle clan, and all the others around them. Not that any threats would easily reach them in the current circumstances. ----- The one good thing about visiting on official business is that John had a good excuse to see Tirto. There wasn¡¯t anything they actually had to talk about, but taking time out of their schedules together was simple enough. ¡°How are you settling into life as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator?¡± John asked. Tirto and Verusha had advanced because of the initial Stormy Sea Sect trouble, and Morana¡¯s involvement. Without that, they might still be a few years short of making the leap forward instead of just past it. ¡°It¡¯s about what I expected,¡± Tirto said. ¡°Which is to say¡­ not different at all. Except more people want to visit.¡± John nodded. ¡°It turns out being stronger doesn¡¯t make the world fundamentally different. I trust that means your¡­ totem swap¡­ worked out well?¡± Tirto nodded seriously. ¡°Our combat synergy has increased to an even greater level. We might even be a threat to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d actually be quite interested to see that,¡± John said. There were four ranks of cultivation between them, after all. Advancing from the early to mid Ascending Soul Phase wasn¡¯t a small increase in power. In theory, John should be able to overpower the two of them at the same time. Most likely, he¡¯d actually find it more difficult than that if he focused on raw power. Not that he ever did, especially not since coming up against Abritt. He¡¯d been reminded at how far the gap between people could be, though he had made up a significant section of ground since then. He still had reservations about any late Ascending Soul Phase opponents. And while he hadn¡¯t heard of any Exalted Soul Phase cultivators even in surrounding areas, the potential for their existence was plenty of reason not to get complacent. ¡°Before we get into sparring,¡± John said. ¡°How¡¯s Nitza doing? She certainly seems happy, but it¡¯s hard to really say with just a short time.¡± ¡°Her main complaint is not spending enough time with her cousin,¡± Verusha commented. ¡°However, she has found some local friends beyond Carl. Hopefully they last this time.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What about previous friends?¡± John asked. Verusha shrugged. ¡°You know how it is. Power imbalance makes people feel intimidated. Those who aren¡¯t afraid of her might want something from our clan. And while that is acceptable to a certain extent¡­ it is difficult to build certain lasting friendships. Like yours with Steve.¡± John nodded. ¡°We hit it off surprisingly well right away. It helped that he didn¡¯t have any idea about clan politics, among other things.¡± ¡°His strength?¡± Tirto asked. ¡°It certainly made it easier to maintain the friendship,¡± John admitted. ¡°Though I suppose it was most important that we were closely matched. We also had certain common interests.¡± Like food. Though they hadn¡¯t actually been able to indulge in most of Earth¡¯s ¡®delicacies¡¯ since they didn¡¯t quite exist in this world. Now that John had popularized burgers in Astrein, however, he was thinking he should find an opportunity to promote pizza. There were other flatbreads with various toppings, but the exact combination of a good pizza was hard to replicate with merely similar ideas. ----- The duel took place on Brandle clan grounds, set up among various pools of water. It was advantageous for local cultivators, but that was to be expected. A deep sea battle would probably be better for John, but they wouldn¡¯t have the available protections. Even if cultivators with deep control over their power intended to not cause real harm, accidents could happen in the heat of combat. The battle would be displayed for the edification of the disciples and clan members. John wouldn¡¯t have to hold back, because the battle was more or less fair. Everyone would learn best if he maximized his efforts. If they were wrong about their assumptions, future attempts could be adjusted. When the battle began, Tirto immediately pulled the water from one pond to him. In turn, John leapt at an angle onto the surface of the next closest source. Rather than draw upon the water himself, he circulated his energy to draw from it. Heat, which he turned into a blast of fire. Verusha split the flames easily, but John had pretty much expected that. What he did not expect was Tirto¡¯s immediate response, sending a gout of water through the flames before the torrent even ended. The couple¡¯s mixed energy allowed the water to be superheated. John threw up a wall of earth in front of him, not wanting to test a direct hit. Previously, John had thought he would feel the flow of energy between them to predict their actions, but their mixed totems made that difficult. There was a connection, but it was difficult to discern what they were going to do through it. The impact created a steamy fog even as the wall crumpled, and John called upon his stealth skills to drop from their perception. He made as if to move towards another pool to cut off their access to the water, but he actually moved towards them. He had to separate them somehow. He rapidly gathered elements creating a concussive burst of water and air between the two of them, by their feet. Such undirected force was not terribly dangerous, but difficult to avoid. That meant that simply letting it push them apart was the simplest option, as fighting it would strain their defenses. Their hands slipped apart as they allowed it to happen. John prepared water to counter Verusha, and lightning to counter Tirto. That left fire, earth, and darkness flexible. That was good, because John immediately found himself in the middle of clashing fire and ice. His lightning chained through shards of ice Tirto was launching in a continuous stream, trying to find their way to their ultimate target. John knew Verusha was familiar with water so he hadn¡¯t expected a perfect effect, but he was surprised at how quickly his own assault was vaporized. The flames continued forward, and he was just barely able to counter them with his own fire. He had to block the shards of ice with another temporary wall of earth, but John found his energy being worn faster than he could bring it to bear. His saving grace was creating a flash of light that neither of the two were expecting, creating a moment where he could slip out from between the two of them with a burst of darkness energy shielding him. It turned out separating them wasn¡¯t as useful as he thought. Or more specifically, standing in between them was clearly not the right way to go about it. John decided to change his plans entirely. His earth element gathered, a bamboo shoot rocketing him into the sky where he remained. The move had been too fast for either of them to counter, and now he was lingering out of easy reach for them. He also wasn¡¯t trapped between them. The two of them moved back together, holding hands. John had no idea if that was actually at all functional anymore, or simply a false flag. Certainly, it had led him down a dangerous path. Returning together was either an admission of some actual flaw, or a secondary ploy. Either way, John wouldn''t be attempting to separate them again just yet. Twisting flames and water shot towards him. Gravity pulled it down, but that wasn¡¯t sufficient to negate the attacks of a cultivator- just weaken it slightly. That was good enough for John¡¯s purposes, and he had a wide degree of mobility. He used a portion of his earth element to feed into air, boosting his movements even further. That left him mainly water and fire to attack the two cultivators, which wasn¡¯t optimal. However, he felt he was using his true weakness against them well enough. Air defeated water, and even water elemental spiritual energy was ¡®heavy¡¯, forcing Tirto to expend more energy to attack. Until the couple changed their tactics, creating blasts of steam that rapidly rose into the sky. They were invisible to the naked eye, but the spiritual energy was obvious enough for John to avoid them. However, he was forced to maneuver rapidly. He didn¡¯t have so much air element that he could fly at a combat pace forever, even when he drew upon the local air element of the Shimmering Islands. John was going to have to cause some damage. He gathered a portion of each element to prepare for the attack. With a wave of his hand, John sent a rain of water sprinkling down over them, each drop infused with lightning. Tirto caught it, but he had to hold onto it to prevent the lightning from breaking out. That was when John dropped a boulder on them. It wasn¡¯t a real boulder, obviously. If he¡¯d had the opportunity he might have liked to try that, but it was just an energy projection. Verusha blasted it out of the sky, cracking it in half. That was exactly what John had wanted, as the concentrated fire element inside burst out, the rapid change in elemental balance destabilizing Tirto¡¯s grip on the falling water. A few zaps wouldn¡¯t stop the two of them, however. John gathered what remaining light element he had, creating a thin film of core elements to keep it from his darkness. That twisted mass was dropped in front of them, creating a blast that triggered the formations to protect them. John was already preparing tactics for the next round, as the two of them wouldn¡¯t likely accept a single match- nor would they fall for precisely the same tactics twice. If John could consistently create attacks that made use of annihilating light and darkness it would be difficult to counter, but he was limited in both quantity and control of light element. Then again, if he stuck to just one thing- even if it was quite powerful- he¡¯d become far too predictable. Chapter 416 There were no major insights John gained from his battles with Tirto and Verusha, but the training was doubtless valuable for both sides regardless. Incremental increases were the very basis of progress in cultivation, after all. Sudden improvements were few and far between, and they became less and less regular the further along the path of cultivation one went. One had to endure extreme circumstances for a significant time to even have a hope of a leap forward. Currently, John was in no rush¡­ but he still felt a drive pushing him forward eternally. Power was enticing, whether it was to protect allies, defeat foes, or simply for his own edification. Mastery over the elements was its own reward. Though their next ultimate destination after the Shimmering Islands were the Soulrot Bogs, they continued directly east to Pearl Landing. There, further Six Elements Crossroads disciples waited for them- and others who had different engagements were able to depart and return to the sect, or wherever else they wished to go. Notably, they picked up the most prominent disciple to come from the Soulrot Bogs, Taurai. The Soulrot Bogs produced very few people, cultivators or not, so there weren¡¯t many others. Unlike most previous interactions with the Soulrot Bog, this time John actually was going to the region instead of merely passing through. That meant spending more time there, though it wouldn¡¯t be one of their longer stays. Among other things, there were very few resident sects, and even fewer things resembling cities. With little diplomacy to accomplish, the main goal was training the disciples. What they were expected to learn was not combat prowess, but how to efficiently handle smaller threats. After all, the greatest threats in the Soulrot Bog were not usually the larger predators, but the smaller insects. More powerful creatures could be avoided, but mosquitoes were constant. And some of them bore plagues that even cultivators found difficult to cure. Of course, dumping disciples into such a place without protection would be an unnecessary risk. John wasn¡¯t interested in culling the weak, he¡¯d simply prefer to make them strong. Just like in the other danger zones, each disciple was part of a group, with more experienced cultivators taking on the task of keeping everyone ultimately safe. But safe didn¡¯t mean comfortable. It was enough for the disciples to want to handle things themselves when insects were constantly buzzing around. Furthermore, identifying the ones carrying more troublesome diseases was part of John¡¯s duties. Taurai was extremely useful in that regard as well, since she had survived living in the Soulrot Bog growing up. Disciples with some amount of defensive body tempering were the safest. The Six Elements Crossroads had access to a number of minor techniques, though John thought the field was still underdeveloped. Regardless, the main dangers were small insects that could pierce through defensive energy, at least any raised casually. It was possible for a cultivator to simply raise the intensity of their energy to resist them, but that wasn¡¯t viable as an all day measure. Furthermore, unimportant insects impacting a cultivator¡¯s defenses might strain their attention over the course of time. Previously, John had learned some minor insect control techniques. Insects had simple brains that were easy enough to influence with darkness energy, and the local insects were no exception. In fact, as one of the local elements they seemed fairly comfortable with it. John created a thin haze to try to drive away the worst offenders, but he also experimented with different techniques. The first thing he thought of was bug zappers. The principle was sound. Active defenses would be more difficult to slip past than passive ones, and a flow of current would only drain a cultivator when it encountered something. At least, if done properly. John created a small electrical field around himself, though he had to constantly modify it to not interact with the ground and plants beneath him. It certainly zapped bugs, though. And disciples who accidentally got too close when they weren¡¯t paying attention to the air element in front of them. It wasn¡¯t strong, so they got nothing more than expected of a static shock- and that a deserved one, since it was a standout element in the surroundings. The problem John found was that the plants and ground were excessively watery, drawing away some of his power. In this case, the word ¡®ground¡¯ was doing a lot of heavy lifting, since, it was rarely if ever completely solid. Either way, he maintained his darkness element dissuasion field to keep things around him to a minimum intensity while trying different methods. Simple blocking everything was draining. He could create an impermeable barrier that only air passed- which wasn¡¯t quite as perfect as it sounded- but it wasn¡¯t the sort of thing Foundation Phase cultivators could maintain, and it might have been too much even for some Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. A fire barrier was his least favorite, as the main thing worse than being swarmed by insects was being swarmed by flaming insects. Obviously it still killed them, but there was too much potential for chaos. The electrical method made some of the insects pop, though, so perhaps it wasn¡¯t that different. If John was being conservative with his usage, he had one more possibility. It would even be good training. It took a while for him to properly form a barrier of light, since he had to keep the natural darkness element away. It didn¡¯t have to be powerful, as he wasn¡¯t planning to block a proper attack. Just deal with insects. And the vast majority of them, it absolutely dealt with. Most of the local insects carried darkness element inside of them. Combining that with light resulted in much more energetic explosions than the other sort. Individually the insects were tiny, and light-darkness annihilation wasn¡¯t particularly draining on John, but it was still uncomfortable to be around constant events of that sort. It was like visiting the Annihilation Strip- which was the only area not actually part of the plans to visit. Very few disciples would learn anything of merit there.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. John didn¡¯t just practice his own abilities, of course. He spent most of his efforts watching over the other disciples. He was also responsible for one of the nightwatch shifts, because it was impractical to have a sufficient number of enchanted tents to keep out insects- and they weren¡¯t perfect anyway. Active protection was better, but obviously nobody could just forgo sleep forever. Thus, they had shifts among the more qualified individuals. ----- ¡°How is it, being back for the first time in¡­ a while?¡± John asked Taurai. ¡°I have not returned since my early cultivation, sect head,¡± Taurai admitted. ¡°Actually, I was afraid to return. It was not such an easy place to escape. One might think that simply walking out would be enough¡­ but that is only partially true.¡± ¡°Not much love for the people?¡± ¡°They think we bring plague. At least, those who live close by. Not everyone in the Darklands feels that way, but that is the only practical direction to go unless one wishes to traverse the entirety of the Deadfields. Acquiring sufficient supplies to pass through there isn¡¯t a simple task.¡± ¡°Which way did you go?¡± John asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I ever heard anything about before you arrived at the Crossroads.¡± ¡°The Darklands. I hid my water element and poorly pretended to be a native,¡± she explained. ¡°There wasn¡¯t much else to it. I spent some time doing menial work for the Calamitous Swarm. That¡¯s where I heard about the Crossroads, actually.¡± ¡°Ah. I somehow expected us to be more famous,¡± John admitted. ¡°There was practically no contact with the outside.¡± ¡°I see. Do you¡­ are there any places in particular you wish to try to contact?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I took everything I could with me. But perhaps we could provide some opportunities for the few individuals unfortunate enough to survive here.¡± ¡°Survival is unfortunate?¡± ¡°You have to live with this every day. It doesn¡¯t get better. You¡¯re trapped in a small zone you understand well enough not to die right away.¡± ----- In his new life, John didn¡¯t particularly perform a lot of charity. However, when pitiful individuals were in front of him, he couldn¡¯t help but show something. Most of those who lived in the Soulrot Bog were descendents of those with poor decision making. It had a powerful enough spiritual energy for sects to set up, but nobody had yet developed any sort of infrastructure. The only hope for some was to remain in their sects. Ironically, John was certain some groups would be upset if he took away those who wanted to leave- but none of them would be relevantly powerful. Otherwise, they could have raised their disciples to be strong enough to leave the Bog on their own. Then again, John knew that not every sect shared even the most basic cultivation information to those without a certain status. John let Taurai pick out those who should come with them. They were going to have to take the long way through the Deadfields, but the Six Elements Crossroads had storage bags. The Soulrot Bog wouldn¡¯t notice a few beasts if they were hunted for food. They might not be tasty, but that was something people would just have to live with. As for water, it was easy enough to purify it. John didn¡¯t fully trust it until water had been drawn up, frozen, boiled, and then carefully separated once more, but for a group with a large amount of high phase water cultivators, it was easy. If they needed to, they could also condense water from the atmosphere. Ultimately, they invited a few sects to the tournament. They found one ¡®village¡¯ of a few people struggling to survive, and none of the others anyone remembered still existed. Those few people, plus some outer members of the other sects, came with them. John didn¡¯t expect them to swear undying loyalty to the Six Elements Crossroads or anything. Keeping people alive was the most basic thing cultivators could do. Anyone who required great return for minimal survival resources was a terrible person. ----- The Deadfields were sad. Devoid of spiritual energy, except small amounts of light element that funneled up from the Prism Underfields. Not even the normal background amounts that one would expect of various mixed elements. The lack of plantlife was likely related to said issues, though whether it was the cause, effect, or both was unclear. Being next to the teeming bog indicated there were some more factors at play. The Combining Luster Sect had a good relationship with the Six Elements Crossroads, due to previous interactions. Nik still kept his own connections to former sect mates, and John was obviously well acquainted with his son-in-law. Many but not all connections from the Tenebach Clan had come with John to the Six Elements Crossroads. There was nothing new about their techniques for John to see, but a reminder of the way they functioned was still good for his future plans. It wasn¡¯t even as unpleasant for him to be in an area suffused by the light element as it had once been. John was inspired to search for potential totems, surrounded as he was by the spiritual element. He easily slipped deep into the sea of spiritual totems. The sixth layer was the deepest, as far as anyone was aware. John had the necessary ability to sustain his presence in those depths since before he reached the Ascending Soul Phase, with some caveats. Searching out light element totems was more difficult, as he was as-yet incompatible. The totems would make him compatible, unless he picked something wrong, but he still needed to nudge his affinity more in the right direction to make his search efficient. He spent a lot of time looking at shining crystals, inspired by his surroundings. None of them were right. Light and darkness, or light and some other combination of elements. Some of them almost fit. One was a perfect prism that separated light into a rainbow- no doubt similar to the sort of totems found- or created- on earlier layers. It wasn¡¯t bad, but John didn¡¯t need a totem that was acceptable. He needed perfection, not because he was picky but because he wouldn¡¯t count on his chances of survival without. Chapter 417 The Prism Underfields contained more sects than just the Combining Luster Sect. Though they had benefited greatly from their connections to the Tenebach Clan and ultimately the Six Elements Crossroads, there were some older sects that were equally well established. The most interesting of those to John was the Radiant Soul Sect. They focused not on longer ranged light techniques like the Combining Luster Sect, nor on close range light element combat like the Golden Tomb Guardians. Instead, their style was based around battle formations, augmenting the flow of power through their ranks rather than focusing on any individual cultivator. In fact, the strongest among them focused their power on their weaker allies. John at first thought that would make them less capable of taking on stronger cultivators- if the top level cultivators weren¡¯t particularly, a powerful enemy could take them out one at a time. That was true to some extent, but of course their methods compensated to mitigate that. They didn¡¯t simply leave their power distributed evenly among the battlefield, but also made use of middle and back ranks to support those in front. The difference there was that not all of the energy flowed through an individual. Decision making was based on the judgment of the whole group. Without practice John could imagine that they might work towards different ends- but of course they did practice. All of their training was accomplished in groups, so they became more familiar with group combat than individual combat. It was good, but it lacked some amount of flexibility. As long as the majority properly judged the situation, choosing where to attack and where to defend, few could overpower them. The issue was when they faced unfamiliar situations¡­ such as battling against those with unusual combinations of elements. In their case, that included those with a cycle of core elements. Aside from John, the first he was aware of on the continent had reached that level within the past decade. It wasn¡¯t an overwhelming advantage for the Six Elements Crossroads. Among equivalently ranked disciples they won skirmishes barely more than sixty percent of the time. That was good, but the interesting part was that number was going down the more the Radiant Soul Sect battled against them. It wasn¡¯t an immediate jump- over the course of weeks it merely moved closer to fifty percent, which could have simply been a statistical anomaly in either the early or later matches. Even so, John believed he could pick out the general trend in their effectiveness. Meanwhile, his disciples were also trained in group battle formations, but not to the same extent. John wondered if they should focus more on that area in the Six Elements Crossroads. After all, winning individual tournaments wasn¡¯t really important. Winning wars was. He didn¡¯t plan to get into any wars, but given the track record of the continent, he couldn¡¯t expect the troubles to simply end. Not everyone was suitable for group combat, nor did John think that one solution solved every problem. Instead, making certain they had specialized squads that made the best use of individual talents in that regard would be best. Obviously they couldn¡¯t use precisely the same techniques for battlefield harmony as the Radiant Soul Sect, but they could take advantage of the cycle of elements for significant power. Normally they had focused on smaller groups of close disciples, but they could expand to somewhat larger forces. John decided that they would try swinging more in that direction to see how well it worked. They might even want to promote inter-sect battle formations, just in case. Never again would they simply have to accept an invasion and its consequences. ----- The Wuthering Steppes. It had not been terribly long since the Brandle Clan and others from the Shimmering Islands had come to help them with the piracy issues- enacted on by the Stormy Sea Sect and spurred on by Morana. The fourth out of five air element regions they would be visiting. John did intend to visit the Sky Islands at some point, but not on their current expedition. It was simply too troublesome to bring large numbers of cultivators to the Sky Islands¡­ nor would they necessarily be receptive. Ten or twenty was one thing, but the numbers with John currently were over a hundred. Either way, it was best to save it for a later date. Air was wind, air was lightning. Air was the breath inside people¡¯s lungs. Air was oxygen, nitrogen, even carbon. Air was each of those things, yet to different people it might be only some. The same was true of other elements- perception mattered. Completely inaccurate or self-conflicting perceptions might not work, but many techniques could be made that would make use of spiritual elements of any sort. John didn¡¯t try to push his perception of how things should be too far. If he could control oxygen or carbon with air element, couldn¡¯t he affect the oxygen in water or the carbon in plants? He certainly could, but air elemental spiritual energy wasn¡¯t necessarily the best method. If he wanted to move water, he could blow it around with air or control its movement directly with water elemental spiritual energy. He could try to freeze it with air element, but pulling away heat would get exponentially more difficult since he would be using an element for a purpose that didn¡¯t really fit. If he wanted to break water into oxygen and hydrogen again¡­ perhaps air might work, calling upon the elements to become air. As they were currently water, that sort of spiritual energy might be best. He could also imagine fire breaking bonds. Ultimately, it came down to what felt most correct. Perhaps not a particularly scientific approach at first, but considering things were being controlled by a human mind it was best that it worked that way. If John had to consciously control every tiny detail of everything he did, then he might never get anything done. Even if he could perfectly accomplish what he intended, it wouldn¡¯t matter if someone could undo half his work with a sweep of the arm. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The point was, there was only a certain level of practical depth that he could think his way through. He had certain insights that he couldn¡¯t even put into words that went beyond normal human thought. That was a part of this world that came naturally through contact with spiritual energy, if not necessarily rapidly. Cultivation spurred that process to greater heights, so that one could gather and contain more spiritual energy safely. ----- The Darklands were the next stop on their route, curving north and west. It wasn¡¯t the most comfortable route, but they would go through all the remaining regions and end up in Astrein at the end. They would be heading along the southern and then western end of the Darklands, where there were more traditionally friendly factions. That would also set them up to move through more of the width of the Stone Conglomerate, where they would doubtless meet with many Quartz Clans. Before then, they were finally in a tolerable darkness zone again. The Soulrot Bog was quite unpleasant, whereas the Muted Crags were strange- and dangerous, when the natives were setting up traps against you- but not inherently negative. That was the one proper darkness zone they had visited since John first left the Gloom Desolation to begin the journey. Darkness was the opposite of light. Hidden attacks and secrets. The domain of assassins and not true warriors. At least, that was the conventional wisdom of those who did not use the element of darkness. Other cultivators could be just as duplicitous, they just weren¡¯t always good at it. Ultimately, it was just people being obtuse about what they didn¡¯t understand. It would be possible to create a darkness style that didn¡¯t rely on deception at all, just as it would be possible to create a rigid water style, a heavy air style, or a fire style that didn¡¯t burn people. John didn¡¯t think any of them were necessarily the best idea¡­ but darkness wasn¡¯t light¡¯s opposite for nothing. It wasn¡¯t just the absence of light, but a tangible thing that he could use to attack. A beam of darkness was just as real as one of light. John wondered if he could make his attacks freeze where they landed as well. That was probably a better direction than gathering swarms of bugs. Relatedly, the Calamitous Swarm was one of the locations they were visiting. They had been on good terms with both the Tenebach Clan and that had transferred through John to the Six Elements Crossroads. John had nothing against their techniques. He thought they were neat. He didn¡¯t even mind insects when they were in their proper places- the denizens of the Soulrot Bog being an exception, as they carried disease. It would just be a massive departure from his current abilities. John had tested out their techniques his first time through the Bog and found them effective, but you didn¡¯t really use that as part of your fighting style. It was the whole thing, or not present at all. After all, any cultivator of anything beyond the Spiritual Collection Phase could trivially wipe out a swarm of free-roaming insects. They had to be imbued with spiritual energy from a cultivator, and at that point it was all that you were doing. There were two sorts of cultivators in the Calamitous Swarm- those who you could see, and those who you couldn¡¯t. Bodana was the latter sort, though it wasn¡¯t hard to find her. She was simply surrounded by a cloud of insects so dense that it was impossible to make out anything about her features. Even her voice was distorted by the buzzing of millions of wings. That was an estimate, of course, since John couldn¡¯t exactly count a swarm. ¡°I see you are doing well,¡± John said. He had first met her as a guide through the Soulrot Bog- but even the Calamitous Swarm didn¡¯t prefer to dwell in the area. John imagined they had their origins there, however. ¡°You might even reach the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°Kind words,¡± Bodana said. ¡°But I am aware your daughter has already surpassed me. Alas, though she showed signs of interest, she did not continue her technique learning in our direction.¡± ¡°It simply isn¡¯t practical without taking advantage of native insects,¡± John said. Unimbued insects could still be controlled by the Calamitous Swarm¡¯s techniques, but they would have difficulty with insects imbued with elements other than darkness. ¡°Perhaps she might renew her interest, if certain eventualities come to pass.¡± The Tenebach Clan¡¯s home as in the Stone Conglomerate now- though John wasn¡¯t certain they intended to stay forever. There were certain rumors that Melanthina had plans to move back, after a couple centuries gone from the Darklands. Just picking up and moving a clan wasn¡¯t an easy process, though. The Tenebach clan had lost much when they fled- Ciaritzal being the factor that allowed them to recover and grow to be a prominent clan in a zone that was merely allied with their element. ¡°I¡¯m sure we would be quite pleased to have new neighbors,¡± Bodana said. There didn¡¯t seem to be any indication she thought the Tenebach clan might actually be close- the Darklands weren¡¯t a small country- but she was merely being polite. ¡°Do you wish to sample some of our techniques?¡± ¡°I am quite interested in some more formal conversation on that matter,¡± John agreed. ¡°Though I do have some questions. How do you spar?¡± ¡°Much like anyone else, I would imagine,¡± Bodana said. ¡°And you¡­ never lose any insects?¡± ¡°There is a certain expected rate of replacement. We are able to select for those that are more likely to expire in the near future. And we don¡¯t fight fire or light cultivators.¡± ¡°Good thing the Sunfields are so far, hmm?¡± John grinned. ¡°Not far enough,¡± Bodana turned up her head. ¡°The other option is to have one-on-one matches.¡± ¡°A battle without insects? It would certainly place your sect at a disadvantage against others.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be silly,¡± Bodana said. ¡°Why would we exclude insects? We just remove the people from the equation.¡± She held out her hand, the layers of insects peeling back to reveal pale skin- and a single beetle in her palm. ¡°Finely tuned control is also a valuable skill to have.¡± That was something John could get behind. Though generally, he understood bugs to be a weak type. Chapter 418 It was actually nice to not be engaging in a contest where power ruled supreme. The first handful of beetle battles were a bit unfortunate for John as he was unpracticed, but he quickly got the hang of things and managed to at least make the matches interesting. Technically, the combatants didn¡¯t have to be beetles, but in the interest of not actually losing any bugs, they were one of the best options. There were some larger sorts like the praying mantis that were able to provide interesting results when controlled by humans, but the number of things useful on an individual level were limited. A mosquito would never be effective against anything with an exoskeleton, no matter how large it was. The Calamitous Swarm also didn¡¯t have an unlimited selection. Certain bugs were permanently bound to their members, and they weren¡¯t able to gather literally whatever they wanted- though recently they¡¯d been able to cover most of the continent, finding new options. That said, they couldn¡¯t always make a proper environment to raise all of them, and having individual enclosures for each particular type of insect was strictly impossible due to the sheer quantity of insect varieties, even if the sect could generally keep them from killing each other and thus keep those from a similar environment together. Maybe if they had some more cultivators from other elements, they could widen their variety of kept bugs. Though the Calamitous Swarm only really used a few handfuls for their actual combat, so the extras were just for fun. John maneuvered the mandibles of ¡®his¡¯ beetle under the front legs of his opponent. He honestly had no idea how his guy would naturally fight, and it didn¡¯t matter. He just picked a method that worked for him based on the limbs he had available. He lifted, flipping the other one on its back. Then he climbed on top, clamping his mandibles around the neck. That was the best method to achieve a victory without killing anything unnecessarily, though it had to be maintained for a few seconds like a pin. If they were empowering their bugs with spiritual energy, John would have had different tactics. Then again, he would either win handily against lower disciples, or have to use other more kinds of spiritual energy against more experienced ones. He only had a limited quantity of darkness, after all. Perhaps enough to match an early Consolidated Soul Phase pure element cultivator. At some point, they would just be sparring through proxy, which would erase all the benefits of novelty and small scale control. So the rules were that spiritual energy only controlled the insects¡­ a rule which most of the disciples followed well. A few thought that because they were using darkness element already, they could try to sneakily cheat just a little. Nobody was foolish enough to do it against him, but a few did it against fellow disciples. When they got caught- and they always would eventually- they received the harshest punishment imaginable. No more bug battles. At least, for a while. Being banned was one thing, but there was also social ostracization. Perhaps darkness cultivators were ¡®supposed¡¯ to cheat, but in that case they¡¯d better not get caught. Personally, if John wanted to make optimal use of his abilities he just wouldn¡¯t agree to any rules to begin with. If you were going to agree to something and then break the rules to win, you didn¡¯t actually win. ----- John was taking notes, both for his own future interest and also because he saw how engaged the disciples were with their training- and it was training. It was one more weight on the ¡®cultivation should be fun¡¯ side of things. Cultivation as military training only went so far unless disciples chose to learn on their own. Especially since it had to be maintained not just for a few years, but for a lifetime. Of course, the military style cultivation training did work well enough to raise the general power of a sect, but the exceptional talents were always enthralled by particular aspects. There was some possibility that deeper interests were inherent to a person, but John thought that exposing people to various opportunities served better at finding some manner in which people could excel. It seemed to be working well for the Six Elements Crossroads so far, their lack of a strict style not hindering them in the ways it might have. ¡°Battles are good,¡± John commented to Bodana. ¡°But have you tried races?¡± The swarm around her tilted with her head. ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re quite interested in this aspect of things aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It seems like there are more aspects of small scale control that would be valuable to learn.¡± ¡°Perhaps. But races merely require an inherently quick sort. A fast flier. Certainly it would be good to have optimal control over wing speed or the like, but it can only go so far.¡± John shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s why you need something like an obstacle course.¡± ¡°Flyers would still win.¡± ¡°Perhaps. That would depend on the rules. You could exclude them, or require some sort of interaction with the obstacles. Passing through a tight tunnel might limit the size of things. You could have numerous different setups,¡± John explained. ¡°Flying stunts, climbing, running¡­ rolling.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Rolling?¡± ¡°Well, most don¡¯t usually move while rolled up, but you could create a downhill obstacle course for pillbugs.¡± The other option for rolling wasn¡¯t so much movement based. Dung beetles rolled stuff up, but humans might not want to gather dung. Then again, humans came up with all sorts of ideas for sports, so coming up with some meant to be played by insects would be pretty easy. ----- It was a shame that John couldn¡¯t stay to develop bug based games indefinitely, but both he and the other disciples needed a variety of experiences to continue growing. There was much more to the darkness element than what the Gathering Swarm did- though theirs was particularly unique. They had several stops to make in the Darklands, then they were back in the Stone Conglomerate. Rock based earth cultivators were everywhere, but just because they were common didn¡¯t mean they were ineffective. Their styles were often straightforward matches of power, daring an enemy to try to break through their defenses first. Some could be mistaken for being slow, but truly slow earth cultivators usually didn¡¯t make it very far. The exception was those who trained for siege warfare, where their opponents weren¡¯t other cultivators but walls and towers. The Flinging Boulder Sect were such specialists. They made their home next to cliffs which they used as target practice- and John thought they actually had a fair chance of running out of cliff, if they weren¡¯t also fortification experts. At the very least, they were able to fuse rock together to build up the cliffs after they knocked chunks out of them. They certainly had a handle on the physical part of things, but they didn¡¯t do much with defensive formations that used free spiritual energy to bolster fortifications. Instead, they made much of their home underground, where invaders would have to fight through tunnels or dig them out bit by bit. Sturdy tunnels that would be difficult to collapse- at the very least cultivators would have to penetrate deep underground to potentially threaten them, with the threat of earlier tunnels being collapsed on top of them. John didn¡¯t know if the Flinging Boulder Sect had actually needed to make use of any such tactics, but he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it had happened in centuries past. Their methods were perhaps the most straightforward. Find or make a sufficiently sized boulder and launch it. Some focused on faster attacks that would be more usable against people, effectively punching rocks at people. That scaled up to larger boulders that required a significant buildup of power to fling, all the way up to launching ramps manned by multiple people. They also had methods to create something like stone cannons, using counterforce from opposite pairs of cultivators to effectively build up pressure inside large stone tubes. When one cultivator then swapped their efforts, the other was already pushing with maximum power and could launch a moderately sized boulder a great distance- and at great speed. In terms of personal combat, they were about average. John found nothing special in that regard. They could block attacks and they could hit hard. Their best techniques simply took too much time or setup to be maximally effective against individuals. That said, John wouldn¡¯t want to be part of a sect that made enemies with them. With their combined efforts a rain of rocks could prove quite dangerous to individual cultivators, and if they were ignored¡­ well, they could probably flatten a city from a significant distance. The Six Elements Crossroads could learn from their techniques. Not just their earth cultivators, but also others. John saw quite a variety of clever modifications that different disciples attempted. Some worked better than others. Fire cultivators could temper ¡®ammunition¡¯ so that it was more durable. Earth cultivators could also spend extra time to achieve similar results, but a rapidly formed ball of rock was usually as far as their efforts went. Water cultivators could lessen friction where it wasn¡¯t supposed to be, specifically on ramps or within launching implements. Air cultivators could do the same for air friction, though they couldn¡¯t usually reach the full distance some of the projectiles would launch. They did have the ability to directly control pressure in the various forms of cannons, increasing the efficiency there. Sieges weren¡¯t a field which John thought light and darkness cultivators specialized. Both sorts of spiritual energy could be used to simply push things harder, but that wasn¡¯t any better than other methods. The best options he thought of were infusing the ammunition with light or darkness, blinding enemies on the other end. It would only happen after the attacks began, but anything to disrupt the enemy could be worthwhile. For those rare cultivators who could fuse light and darkness together they could create extreme destruction when the balance collapsed, but those were very easy to strike midair. It was still interesting to see that he could infuse the elements into a stone core for at least the duration of such a volley, however. If John had a proper light element totem, he might cause some serious damage. However, he didn¡¯t- and he didn¡¯t want to display too much of what he might actually be able to do, even in front of allied sects. He didn¡¯t want to risk details spreading to future enemies. John thought they could have used this sect against the Black Peaks. Or if they were fighting something like a leviathan. In fact, they would be generally effective in large scale battles, since they could attack with near impunity from a large range. They weren¡¯t tireless, of course, and they would either need to reserve some portion of their forces to make a frontline or have allies who could fulfil that role, but that was how everyone worked. No sect had such perfection that they wouldn¡¯t be better suited with the right sorts of allies fighting by their side. Not even the Six Elements Crossroads that could provide most of that variety on their own- they could still take advantage of larger populations of specialists. John wondered if they would be good against enemy ships. From a port, maybe. From allied ships? Only if they were willing to carry hundreds of tonnes of stone with them. Ships were just at the right level of mobility that siege weaponry could be used against them. Precisely when war would come to the continent again John wasn¡¯t quite certain¡­ but he somehow doubted it would be never. If they were so fortunate that the planet never had conflict again, then at least the Flinging Boulder Sect would be really good at shot put. Maybe they should add that to the tournament. Making it more like the olympics instead of just battling would be good, but the number and type of events could be quite unbalanced for different groups, which could still be a source of conflict. It was still worth considering. Chapter 419 Finally, John had returned to the Tenebach clan. Despite the route that John took around the continent, Melanthina had only arrived back slightly before him. There was much business to manage with the Gloom Desolation, and it was better to resolve as much as possible in a single trip rather than journeying back and forth or trying to communicate long distance. There was a certain amount of formality that had to be observed even if John was Melanthina¡¯s father, but once they got past that stage they were able to talk normally in private. ¡°How did things go?¡± John asked. ¡°We made some progress analyzing the state of spiritual energy in the region,¡± Melanthina explained. ¡°Furthermore, we came to some agreements about how ports might best be protected. A contingent of allied forces at each port was deemed to be a sufficient deterrent. The show of force would be greater at first, and diminish to a more reasonable number over time- depending on whether there is any indication of trouble. They would be responsible for the pay of the cultivators, but they would be considered inactive most of the time. That should be offset by any gains with increased trade, as we worked out what unique resources they had available.¡± ¡°Sounds like a complete success to me,¡± John said. Nik nodded to her side even as Melanthina replied. ¡°There were a few difficulties, or it would not have taken so long. However, that is usually the case with less familiar groups. They wanted a guarantee of sustained cooperation. Now I must return the question, father. How did you fare on your journey?¡± John explained how the journey had gone, focusing first on the disciples. They were the ones to make the greatest strides in their techniques, and a number of them had increased in rank. Of course, the cultivation advancements weren¡¯t the only things that were of note. ¡°That couple seems like trouble,¡± Melanthina chuckled when John talked about Fedel and Chi. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they even keep themselves in check for a few days?¡± ¡°They are young still,¡± Nik commented. ¡°Immature.¡± John grinned, ¡°I¡¯m not certain that age always makes a difference. From what I have seen, the frequency of intimacy doesn¡¯t decrease with age for most cultivators. At least, not if the relationship is going well. Wouldn¡¯t the two of you agree?¡± Neither of them would commit to an answer, but they also weren¡¯t able to deny John¡¯s words. John didn¡¯t think it particularly odd that things would end up that way, since cultivators retained their youth for far longer. While cultivators could excel at controlling their own feelings, they could also indulge in their experiences to a greater degree. John was certain that he had only a single granddaughter from the pair because cultivators were better able to control their conception. ¡°What about your own cultivation?¡± Nik eventually asked. ¡°There are limitless depths I could explore for any single element, let alone a mix of every element,¡± John said. ¡°I have no lack of avenues for potential improvement. All I really have to do is choose which things I will practice. Of course, there is still the matter of picking out a light element totem that would fit me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t relish your struggle,¡± Nik said. ¡°Choosing something compatible with darkness was struggle enough. Also including compatibility with the four core elements seems¡­ difficult.¡± ¡°In some ways,¡± John agreed. ¡°Though my biggest issue is simply spending time contemplating totems. I think a balanced totem shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to secure compared to others.¡± He just needed to know the right concepts he was searching for, and of course get comfortable enough with the combination of the sixth layer and light element. Even if he picked out a proper totem if he couldn¡¯t comfortably create a connection upon breaking through, it could lead to disastrous results. John needed to be prepared for how his own energy would respond to the new inclusion. If all went well, it would balance on its own- but he might have to bring it into balance properly and let the mix of totems sustain things. Otherwise, he could be pulled off kilter and he wouldn¡¯t bet on surviving again. His past experiences were about fifty-fifty in that regard, but he expected the chances of survival were actually much lower and he¡¯d been lucky. Certainly, John didn¡¯t hear of many people who failed a breakthrough and survived- except when they backed down early and didn¡¯t actually push forward. Sometimes such caution was warranted, but it could lead to future timidity. That was why it was best to be certain before making any actual attempts. ----- John found Ereli in a place she often frequented- the belowground where Ciaritzal now made his lair. Though Ciaritzal was a dangerous spirit beast and the clan in general were restricted in their ability to enter and remain, Ereli was one who had never been in danger. She had a great compatibility with Ciaritzal despite the light element within her, and she was the young mistress of the clan so even if they hadn¡¯t been personally compatible Ciaritzal would have restrained himself. She turned towards him as he approached. ¡°Greetings, grandfather.¡± She was sitting on the ground with her back to a lounging Ciaritzal, scratching him behind his shadowy ears. ¡°I had heard of your arrival.¡± ¡°And yet you didn¡¯t come see me,¡± John said. ¡°Nitza always comes running to me, you know.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ereli nodded. ¡°But I doubt you would wish the same of me.¡± ¡°Why not? I love you just as much as her. I like to know you care in return.¡± ¡°Yes. But you would know it was false. The enthusiasm. Not my fondness,¡± Ereli corrected herself. ¡°I just don¡¯t display it the same way.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Hmm. Are you still¡­ concerned about losing balance?¡± Ereli shook her head. ¡°A second totem was sufficient to secure my balance. My third totem would make it difficult to unbalance myself, even intentionally.¡± ¡°I am glad to hear it,¡± John said. ¡°May I observe your totems?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± The first was the same as before, obviously. Totems couldn¡¯t be changed¡­ circumstances like John¡¯s arrival in the world being an exception. A complete cultivation reset, and not an intentional one. Ereli¡¯s first totem was the moon shining in the night sky. A source of light that outshone the stars, even if its light wasn¡¯t its own. The totem had grown showing proper care in Ereli¡¯s efforts, though it was still behind her later ones. Someone like John who improved all his totems to match the next layer was quite rare, and that had required an intentional choice. They had been slightly weaker at first, and it took dedication. Her second totem John had observed only from afar. It was less profound in some ways. It was a simple scene, bringing to John¡¯s mind resting in the shade of a tree during the middle of the day. With the first two, it was light in darkness then darkness in light. The third totem was a divergence from the others. Rather than a scene from nature, the third totem was simply a pair of eyes- one open, and one closed. Light and darkness, of course. But there was more to be seen. John looked closer, and subtly felt a glow behind the closed eyelid. In that way, light went into the open eye and came out of the closed one? Except it didn¡¯t, exactly. That totem certainly wasn¡¯t one that others had formed. Ereli must have come up with the idea on her own. An idea unique to her. John imagined it was more difficult to solidify into a proper totem, but clearly she¡¯d been successful. Her spiritual energy was quite stable. ¡°Grandfather. Honored Aunt is preparing to ambush you.¡± John refocused his senses in time to pick out Crystin¡¯s approach. If he didn¡¯t know who he was looking for, he might not have been so easily successful. He smiled, sensing how she had grown. ¡°I was going to come find you, soon enough.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t so many nosy people here,¡± Crystin said. ¡°Is that a problem?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not fond of being a public figure.¡± John shrugged. ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have advanced to the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± Crystin sighed. ¡°Even so, I¡¯ve fallen behind.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that sort of talk that will get you in trouble with everyone who hasn¡¯t reached the Ascending Soul Phase. Which is everyone we are aware of save a couple dozen individuals.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about that,¡± Crystin said. ¡°I just need to be strong enough to protect the clan.¡± ¡°You are,¡± John said. For the first time since John¡¯s arrival, Ciaritzal spoke. ¡°And you are not alone. Even if we would not find it pleasant to combine our energies directly¡­ I would still fight by your side.¡± He had removed himself from underneath Ereli¡¯s hand, his indistinct form walking around the two standing cultivators. ¡°You sure enjoy your mysterious pacing, don¡¯t you?¡± John teased. ¡°Hello to you as well. You seemed to be in quite a meditative state, so I left you to your thoughts.¡± ¡°Ereli is excellent at smoothing out unstable energy flows.¡± ¡°Is that a serious problem for you?¡± John asked. It would be a problem if the Tenebach Clan¡¯s guardian beast were in poor health. More than his martial prowess, the clan relied on his ability to empower their younger cultivators to provide them a smooth start to their cultivation. After he had recovered his full power the older generation had no longer needed to give up some of their own cultivation, but if something was wrong with Ciaritzal¡­ ¡°Worry not,¡± Ciaritzal said. ¡°It is merely a small thing. A hindrance to growth. I have never been stronger, nor in better health, at least since old conflicts.¡± ¡°Do you ever have opportunities to spar with Cuah¡¯arn?¡± John asked. For all that the two were ancient enemies of opposite elements, they hadn¡¯t really wanted to be. At least, not at the behest of humans. Maybe they would have enjoyed it for their own sakes. ¡°I am sure you know Cuah¡¯arn likes to fly all over the place,¡± Ciaritzal commented. ¡°Every time she lands near the sect, she disrupts the whole balance of the clan.¡± It sounded like a complaint to John, but he also felt like it was the sort of complaining people did about their friends. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected much different. Thank you for taking care of the sect.¡± ¡°Of course. It is to my benefit as well,¡± Ciaritzal said. John believed that was true, to some extent, though currently he might be able to grow more quickly on his own. Growth wasn¡¯t the only thing valuable to a cultivator- and that included spirit beasts. Stability and safety to ensure the long term were also important. Ereli had picked herself up off the floor. ¡°Grandfather. I have heard you were on a training journey. Could you demonstrate what you have learned?¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± John said. ¡°But not here. Especially if you want to see my efforts with light and darkness. Though¡­ perhaps you won¡¯t be impressed by my capabilities in that field.¡± ¡°Everyone is different,¡± Ereli said. ¡°And you are the strongest person I know. You are always unique.¡± John noticed she didn¡¯t say the best, though. ¡°And what about you, Crystin? Anything you¡¯d like to see? We could also spar.¡± ¡°There is too much of a gap between us.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll suppress my rank, of course,¡± John said. ¡°It would likely still be too much.¡± John thought she could still learn something. But he supposed she already knew that. ¡°Perhaps you should visit the Silver Haze Sect. Arkaitz has quite some talent¡­ but I still believe you could outmatch him.¡± ¡°Is he in the Ascending Soul Phase?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± John admitted. ¡°But he will be soon, I think. Perhaps you could be helpful, there, as a pure element cultivator. And a difference of a couple years is so minimal that he would be a fair match for you to test yourself.¡± Crystin nodded. ¡°Thank you. I will look into this opportunity.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re worried about causing harm to the sect grounds,¡± John returned to another topic for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re always welcome at the Six Elements Crossroads. Our arena is becoming ever more suited for Ascending Soul Phase combatants.¡± ¡°Impressive,¡± Crystin said. ¡°Maybe I will take you up on that¡­ eventually.¡± Chapter 420 The final stretch of the journey would bring the Six Elements Crossroads through three fire element regions- though only the Green Sands was pure fire element. The Sunfields were as much if not more focused on light, while the Phoenix Forest was a fusion of fire and earth. It was an opportunity for various fire element cultivators¡­ and yet it was also rather mundane, since they were now circling around Astrein. These were some of the regions that were easiest to take a training expedition to. However, that didn¡¯t mean disciples could just go whenever they wanted- at least not paid for by the sect. The Six Elements Crossroads would also make certain they actually got full access to facilities. Allies might accept visiting allies at all times, but they wouldn¡¯t necessarily be willing to share some of their better training grounds year round. John watched with hidden glee as some of the lower ranking disciples nearly melted in the heat of the Green Sands. Mainly, it was the earth cultivators since they were all at least Foundation Phase. Without an elemental weakness, cultivators should be able to resist the general heat of the area, even if it was somewhat supernatural. Chi would have been one of those melting if not for Fedel. He kept the fire element from growing too strong around her- though John was pleased to see that he didn¡¯t completely negate it. She would still need to train active resistance herself. If they thought things were hot now, John wondered what the weaker disciples would think when they got to the Furnace Sect. He wondered what he would think, actually. It had been quite some time since he actually interacted with the sect. The last time was probably before he had a fire totem, at least as far as he could recall. The trick of the Furnace Sect was that they amplified the already powerful heat around them to an even higher degree inside their sect, containing power like a furnace. It wasn¡¯t just fire element that they built up but actual heat, creating a rather unpleasant environment- even for some fire cultivators. That was why it was good for training. The walls appeared a bit higher than last time. Perhaps they felt like they were capturing an inadequate amount of heat previously. It wasn¡¯t strange that they would have been some development in that regard, as a cultivation sect that stagnated for so many decades wouldn¡¯t have lasted. Even if they weren¡¯t destroyed by their enemies, no disciples would have joined and they would have lost their base. John noticed a significant change in the grounds. It was certainly a bit hotter than the already high ambient temperatures of the Green Sands inside the first wall, but after that there were additional layers. Generally, he felt stronger disciples in the inner layers. Most of their disciples were given temporary residences in the outer layer- only fire cultivators were given deeper rooms to begin with. The elder escorting John- an elder more by title than actual age, as he retained his youth- explained the process to John. ¡°We¡¯re not quite sure what to do with multi-element cultivators,¡± he explained. ¡°Water and fire cultivators should be placed at the same depths you would arrange for one of your disciples of similar rank,¡± John explained. Water was empowered by fire, so they would have no issues. That didn¡¯t mean they would want to dwell at a more powerful level, of course. ¡°Other mixed cultivators would likely be counted a few ranks lower, at least for constant endurance. The exception would be those who have a full cycle- like myself, Ayhan, and Lir.¡± John gestured to the two of them. ¡°I see,¡± the elder nodded. ¡°We don¡¯t have any areas meant for mid Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, so we will place you in our strongest residential areas. Or we can make room for you anywhere else.¡± ¡°Thank you, Madoc,¡± John said. ¡°The Six Elements Crossroads appreciates the hospitality.¡± Individual disciples might not, but they were here to train, not to relax. If people wanted a beach vacation, they should have made certain they were there for the Shimmering Islands. The core of Pualani, at least, was devoid of the frequent storms. ¡°There was a disciple I remember from long ago. A fellow with a chain¡­ Karolis, I believe. Is he still around?¡± There was silence for a few moments before Madoc replied. ¡°His journey ended during an attempt to reach the Ascending Soul Phase.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. The Sect lost a great man.¡± John barely knew Karolis, but it was the right thing to say. He wondered how much Karolis had remembered him. Most likely he would have heard about John¡¯s various activities- he had become quite famous under the name Fortkran and that continued after he ¡®changed¡¯ his name- but when they met John was barely into the Foundation Phase, and not all that impressive. He¡¯d barely managed to pull off a win because of his opponent¡¯s unfamiliarity. John realized why Madoc had offered him another location when they reached the innermost layer of residences. There were a few carefully constructed stone buildings¡­ all devoid of residents. It seemed that Karolis would have been the first Ascending Soul Phase cultivator from their sect, if he had been successful. A reminder that not all were as fortunate as those John knew. The fact that many were reincarnators and transmigrators was a significant factor, no doubt. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ----- It was swelteringly hot in John¡¯s room. That was by design, but he thought maybe they had gone a little bit overboard. Or maybe the Furnace Sect was secretly trying to kill him. Not likely, though, since he knew they had hotter areas- they just didn¡¯t have any dwellings. Just to see how hot things got, John wandered another couple layers further into the sect, the heat intensifying to the point of a constant haze filling the area as air distorted. It was excellent for training. John had more than a few days to disperse or control heat now, the simplest of which was to absorb it as fire element. That would only work up to a point, though. Once he absorbed all that he could bear, he needed other techniques- the same would be true even if he was a pure fire cultivator. Alternatively, he would need to release some of his stored energy. John opted for a mix of both. He was cautious about transmitting heat into the ground as at some point it would actually start to melt. With the kind of temperatures he was working with, that wasn¡¯t actually impossible. With nowhere else for it to go, it would probably just build up if he did it for too long. That was why John used some of the fire element he absorbed to actually reverse the changes in temperature. It took a lot of active control and seemed contradictory, but spiritual energy wasn¡¯t limited to just one thing. Fire element made things hot, of course, but John had already used it to help freeze water many times before. A change in temperature, rather than temperature itself. Spiritual energy could usually be divorced from the things that birthed it, though not with only basic experience. Along with some amount of dispersal into the ground, John also reached up into the skies, using air element to blow heat away. Then he transformed some of the excess fire inside of him into the spiritual energy he used by converting though his cycle of elements. John stood at the very center of the sect, where they had a dueling arena. Temperature was the highest there, but as John stood at the center of the area with his blood threatening to boil, he gathered the energy around him. Then he shot a burst of fire element straight up. The heat rose¡­ and much of the surrounding air followed it, providing a cooling breeze. For a few glorious moments, the central courtyard was a pleasing temperature before the sweltering heat began to build once more. ----- Back in his room, John had to figure out how to sleep. He doubted that members of the Furnace Sect were meant to stay up all night meditating. At least, not usually. That meant there were supposed to be passive ways to deal with the heat. As far as John was aware, they didn¡¯t perform any sort of advanced body tempering. Subconscious control, perhaps. It wasn¡¯t a bad thing to have your spiritual energy ready to respond to specific circumstances. John doubted they were supposed to disperse the heat, so he focused on using his cycle of elements to use up some small but constant amount of spiritual energy while drawing in the fire element around him. Soon enough, he had a cool breeze¡­ but it required a bit too much active control to remain while he was unconscious. He focused on his breathing. Normally, blowing through narrow lips resulted in cooler air¡­ but that was only because it pulled along ambient air with it. With the surrounding temperatures being so high, the way he breathed in and out didn¡¯t change. John had considered altering his body for the sake of temperature regulation in the past. He wasn¡¯t going to suddenly try to push that technique here, but it certainly made him consider it. Rather than any of that, he took stock of the room around him. It was made to focus heat inward, but there must be some sort of release. Otherwise, it might actually build up indefinitely depending on the mechanisms. In the case of formations, they could absolutely push fire element and heat into the room until something caught on fire- probably his clothes, then himself, then the specially formed mattress and bed sheets. Considering the design of the sect as a whole, John focused on the ceiling. It seemed as if it was solid brick, but rather than reflecting heat onto him like the rest of the room, he actually found it to be¡­ relatively cool. John focused his spiritual energy around him, turning himself into something like a bonfire with the flame around him rising. Somehow, he felt slightly cooler afterwards with the heat focused upwards. John flew up to make certain his spiritual energy senses were picking up the correct temperatures, but it was still relatively cool up above. Barely hotter, if at all. So it wasn¡¯t an entirely incorrect method. That said, it still required active thought. John focused once more on drawing in heat- though it formed around him naturally enough- then letting it flow upward. With purely fire, he couldn¡¯t find quite the right flow unless he wanted to nearly set himself on fire¡­ which might have been correct, from what he had seen. Personally, he was more comfortable with something related to the cycle of elements. When he let it, his own spiritual energy actually solved most of the problem naturally. The elements in his dantian were constantly exchanging with each other like the natural cycles of a planet. None of it was real, of course, but the exchange of elements could withstand a certain level of instability and balance itself out. All it needed was a nudge in the right direction, a recognition that there was going to be a constant input of heat¡­ and as long as he let his spiritual energy react naturally, he was actually quite pleasant. After stripping down to his underwear, at least. He was still sweaty from previous exertions and it wasn¡¯t cool, but it was manageable. He found that the sheets actually drew away excess heat rather than trapping it, so that took him most of the rest of the way to a comfortable- or at least tolerable- time of rest. He was going to appreciate normal sleep after this, though. Chapter 421 Moving on from the Furnace Sect, the Six Elements Crossroads disciples were far from done with the Green Sands. Technically they could have cut straight north to the Sunfields, but they would have given up the opportunity to learn from the variety of styles that could exist in a single region. Since they were trying to cover as much ground as possible, they would be making their way to Zolvolj to learn from the various clans and sects there- the Milanovic clan chief among them. Nobody was foolish enough to bother their group along the way, nor did they happen to run across any ongoing conflicts. John hoped that was because the continent was becoming more peaceful in general, but of course their particular group wouldn¡¯t be the target of most trouble. Anyone with actual grievances against them would have to find their way through a significant distance of allied territory, which made it quite unlikely. John didn¡¯t entirely relax, though he did find the Green Sands quite pleasant to traverse overall. The dangers were quite limited along the established roads, and the heat was extremely consistent. No dangers of ice falling on people¡¯s heads. Then the sandstorm came. It was rather interesting to see his vision filled with a green veil. John had only encountered sandstorms a few times in his travels through the Green Sands, and they were usually a lesser threat than the heat. Sadly, they didn¡¯t reduce the temperature even by blocking out the sun- much of the heat was stored in the sands themselves, and the ancient fire element throughout the region. John wasted no time giving orders. They had already established squads in case of emergencies, so people merely had to gather together two groups wide, spilling slightly over the edge of the road. ¡°If you can¡¯t feel the groups behind and in front of you, or the one to your side, you need to call it out,¡± John warned. The swirling sands would limit the senses of lower ranking cultivators. Some of them would have to work to remain together. John didn¡¯t find it necessary to inform them that he could feel all of them. A little sense of danger would improve the training potential of the situation. As long as it mainly stuck to that sensation while minimizing actual risks, it would be quite effective. John watched as some of the groups tried to retain visual contact by deflecting the sandstorm around them. Everyone had to defend themselves to a certain extent, as the sands were hot enough to burn. Some water cultivators created bubbles of water to protect from both heat and grit. Air and earth cultivators alternatively blew against the sands or caught the sand and forced it away. Those who acted so blatantly would certainly tire themselves early. John saw a few more effective methods, in his opinion. It could be as simple as huddling closer together and splitting the load among the squad, though inefficient techniques would still tire people out. At least that way, the senior disciples would bear more of the burden, so it was reasonable enough to expect them to keep it up for however long the storm lasted. John still preferred the other methods. Air cultivators were better served not by fighting against the wind but by more subtly redirecting it. John expected most people to recognize that method as superior fairly quickly, though that somewhat depended on how far their senses went. Most squads should have air cultivators of their own, and if they didn¡¯t then one of the five neighboring squads certainly would. Obviously those who didn¡¯t have air cultivators had to come up with other methods¡­ or be very efficient with their cross-element techniques. Technically the sand was not so powerful as to require a totem to counter it, though that still depended on the stronger disciples. The best thing John saw from water element cultivators was spreading their energy thin to create a fog. It seemed at first that further blocking vision would be harmful, but the widespread water element was good at catching the sand and weighing it down. That could create a dead zone in the sandstorm that would last long enough for their group to pass, though much of that depended on the precise angle of the winds. It also served the secondary purpose of minimizing the heat of the sands, so at most they were annoying instead of able to cause burns. The sandstorm was bringing more of the surrounding area onto the proper roads. They would eventually be cleared, but earth cultivators were bulldozing sand out of the way- making it easier for those behind them to walk. John took some time to rearrange some of their groups that had good techniques in the wrong location. The earth cultivators would always be best out front, while the water cultivators would do best in whatever direction the wind was coming from. Air cultivators were best distributed among everyone. Light and darkness cultivators weren¡¯t particularly useful against the sandstorm. Since the visual impairment came from physical blockage, they couldn¡¯t see better than anyone else. Mostly, they could protect themselves or those around them in primitive ways. A few darkness cultivators had ¡®gravity¡¯ techniques like John¡¯s Gravity Blade, and those clumped the sand into larger chunks that couldn¡¯t be blown about so easily. The light element cultivators at least made it so that their group could be spotted by others even if precise forms wouldn¡¯t be clear. They also helped negate some of the darkness that came from the sunlight being blocked. That left fire cultivators. One would think that in a region full of their spiritual element they would be most effective, but that was not the case. They were able to draw upon the heat in the sands, counterbalancing what they used to shield themselves from the sand impacting them. However, there wasn¡¯t much else they could do. A few enterprising individuals began to melt some of the surrounding dunes to glass- or began that project. However, as they were on the move it was quite impractical to keep the sands held down in that manner. That method would be beneficial if they were to stop, giving them the ability to form some sort of shelter along with the work of earth cultivators. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ultimately, as some of them found out, they were most effective supporting the water and air cultivators. Simply amplifying their allied spiritual energy was enough to help people shelter, and fire could also boost water as it was a supportive element in the cycle. The fire cultivators would have been helpless alone- it would have been a rather unpleasant slog but they wouldn¡¯t have been in any danger since they could constantly replenish their spiritual energy. They just weren¡¯t anywhere close to the most effective individually. Fedel and Chi didn¡¯t do anything stupid during the march, nor when they camped out in a temporary cave for the night instead of pressing on to reach the next city. John doubted they were far, but people were draining quickly. John saw Chi messing around with the sands- the two lovers absolutely considered burrowing deeper in the sands to get some privacy. However, it seemed they decided against it. Probably best to wait another day or two, and John would have had to stop them if they went through with it. They¡¯d either be too close, or too far. ----- In the morning, they woke up in a shell of hardened sand and glass. The dune they¡¯d burrowed into had grown several meters taller above them, but it didn¡¯t take the earth element disciples long to open a tunnel. John collapsed the little cavern behind them to minimize the long term impact on the topology. The little bits of fused sand would break apart well enough, but the larger shell would have taken months or years to break down. The sandstorm still continued, but the Six Elements Crossroads disciples had plenty of practice converting elements. This was where the fire element cultivators had been most effective at extracting fire from the surroundings and filtering it in measured doses to their allies. As John had suspected, they were only a couple hours from the nearest city. The guards were a bit surprised to see travelers arriving, but it wasn¡¯t unheard of. Sandstorms weren¡¯t exactly something you could look up in the weather forecast, and not everyone would be comfortable sheltering long term. They spent the next day and a half in the city until things settled down. That slightly increased their expected expenses, but they weren¡¯t paying for expensive rooms. Even the fire cultivators didn¡¯t need slightly denser spiritual energy to cultivate with. As they continued along the roads, they did the polite thing and helped clear them. The actual roads were made of solid stone, partially melted together by fire cultivators and finished by earth cultivators from the Stone Conglomerate. It might have been impossible to find the roads without spiritual energy senses, as they could be buried under significant quantities of sand. Normally, they were traveled well enough that any cultivator could flick away thin layers of sand with any sort of spiritual energy. This took a bit more effort. John joined his disciples, blowing some of the sand onto lower slopes with wind shoveling larger quantities away with earth element. He probably could have gotten all the way down to the road himself, but he arranged things so that they went through the layers a bit at a time. They didn¡¯t fully uncover the road, but they made a clear path for any other caravans to work with. They would be a bit late to their next destination, though certainly the locals would be the ones who could best understand how much sandstorms slowed down travel. And except for particular events, the world wasn¡¯t so tied down to things happening on specific days that anyone would have made much fuss even if they were a more minor sect that was simply late for no reason. That was the best part about being out on a journey. Because when he was back home at the Crossroads, John didn¡¯t have an excuse to not be ready for things when they came about. It was easy for days to be bogged down with social and political visits with no time left for cultivation¡­ or at least any of the interesting cultivation. ----- They arrived around Zolvolj at a particularly normal time. That meant the volcano wasn¡¯t due to erupt anytime soon. It wasn¡¯t smoking or rumbling or anything of the sort. There was a reason many of the locals lived there. That was the best way to take advantage of any events that came up. It was dangerous, of course, but quite beneficial to their long term growth if they managed to withstand it. The Milanovic clan¡¯s compounds had expanded significantly since John first saw them. Perhaps that should not have been surprising- it had been many decades of constant growth, after all. Even if they were conservative with how many children they had and there were some deaths to violence, they were simply going to increase. ¡°Yo!¡± Steve called out to John. Lucanus was his local name, but John thought his older name suited him just fine. He was a pretty casual cultivator. Casual as a person, anyway- he did take his power seriously. ¡°You¡¯re late!¡± ¡°Sandstorm,¡± John said. ¡°You should have punched your way through it!¡± Steve said enthusiastically. John looked at Yustina, raising an eyebrow. ¡°He¡¯s been looking forward to meeting again,¡± Yustina explained. ¡°He¡¯s got some new techniques.¡± John was quite interested in seeing said new techniques, and also certain they would test his ability. Personally, while John thought that a cycle of elements was stronger, there were also mono-element cultivators like Steve who pushed the envelope. You didn¡¯t always need flexibility when you were the very best at solving particular problems. And even if Steve was lacking in some areas, Yustina would cover for his weaknesses. John absolutely wouldn¡¯t win a fight with both of them. He¡¯d have to surpass them at least by a couple ranks to even think about it, and he¡¯d only just recently caught them at the forty-first rank. Chapter 422 The most naive way to view the fire element was that it only burned things. Such a surface level understanding would ruin cultivators who thought that was a sufficient explanation. The element of fire was an embodiment of temperature and in some ways power itself. John prepared himself to face off against Steve. He wasn¡¯t sure precisely what new tricks might imply, but at the very least his opponent would be stronger than last time they¡¯d had the opportunity to spar. He was as well, of course. The match would come down to which of them managed to leverage their power most effectively. Against lesser opponents, John expected Steve to open up with a powerful barrage of attacks. That didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t capable of sustaining long battles, but why bother with one if you could be done early? That left fewer opportunities for somehow slipping up. John could only ready himself for both a rapid brawl and an endurance battle. The two of them were familiar enough with each other that when including the safety measures of the local formations they could use the majority of their power. As the battle began, John flung one of his throwing daggers in a wide arc. It wouldn¡¯t be particularly powerful, but it was infused with water element. If Steve neglected his own defenses, he could find himself in serious trouble. The dagger never arrived. Not because Steve melted it along the way or something of that sort. Instead, his opening move was to flood the area with flames. That shouldn¡¯t have stopped John¡¯s attack unless he focused on it, but the domain of fire Steve created around him disrupted John¡¯s energy control instead of directly counteracting the spiritual energy itself. John found himself instinctively pulling back as if touching a hot stove, an instinct he later determined to have been exactly correct. Quite often Steve was armed only with his spiritual energy- fire was one of the better elements for offense, and adding a blade into the mix wasn¡¯t as much of a force multiplier as it might otherwise be. However, this time he carried a spear. Any change in style made John quite wary, and he took a defensive stance. He parried the first incoming attack with his blade. Flames caught onto him and rushed inward- not burning around the outside of his spiritual energy but through his water elemental spiritual energy. John had to once more pull back, manipulating the ground in front of him as he retreated backwards. He could only delay Steve for a moment using those methods, but it gave him time to steady himself. The next clash, John responded with mixed water and fire, forming a coating of ice around his own spiritual energy. That slightly held back the rush of heat, but he still found he couldn¡¯t engage in a contest of power for more than a moment. His spiritual energy wasn¡¯t being burned away bit by bit, but infiltrated and passed through. A single careless move and he could find his body under direct assault, which would pretty much be a death sentence even with his body tempering. Steve wouldn¡¯t kill him, of course, but it would be John¡¯s loss without even having much to show for it. Freezing his spiritual energy didn¡¯t work. John still had to discover how the new technique worked, so he threw various different elements at it. Even earth, though he wasn¡¯t confident on overcoming a dominating element. John was continuously pressed back, but he slowly learned that layering his spiritual energy with different elements was providing a better defense against the intrusion of energy. He determined the spear wasn¡¯t there for any reason except to extend Steve¡¯s reach- which was reason enough to have it. If just touching Steve¡¯s energy caused him to be at risk, an extra meter could make all the difference. And the initial opening had shown he didn¡¯t lose out where both cultivators were extending their energy further beyond the physical. Soon enough John determined that he was better off creating effects that didn¡¯t require his spiritual energy to maintain, so he wouldn¡¯t come into conflict. Tilting a tile or roughing up some of the arena floor was good. He condensed a small amount of water out of the air- it was instantly vaporized into steam, so it wasn¡¯t much good for slipping. It didn¡¯t create a visible fog, but it was worth considering. John tried to get a good cycle of elements going even as he was on the back foot, and he found he actually was countering Steve¡¯s new technique better. If he used unusual combinations of elements rather than single elements, the fire element didn¡¯t penetrate very well. That probably meant it was actively controlled by his opponent- not that it was surprising. If Steve could do that without consciously breaking through defenses, he might be unstoppable. Just to test, John attempted to see if he could overcome Steve¡¯s aura with a whirlwind. He found that his energy was almost instantly traced back towards him, the flames riding through the winds without issue. John cut off his connection, well aware of Steve¡¯s primary concern. His next attempt was to use fire to counter fire. Not usually optimal against a pure element cultivator when he was mixed, but he wasn¡¯t actually going to use pure fire. His sword clashed with the incoming spear, energies mixing. Flames pushed towards him, but he left something behind on Steve¡¯s weapon as well. His Ethereal Flames were nearly invisible¡­ but John still wasn¡¯t surprised when they were quashed in just a few moments. His friend already knew that trick. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. John was beginning to wear himself out, but the same was true of Steve. There weren¡¯t any techniques so miraculous that they could overpower other techniques without some tradeoff. It was good at piercing defences just like Ursel¡¯s Roots Cracking Boulders. Her technique didn¡¯t take much energy all at once, but it took multiple applications. Steve¡¯s took a significant amount of force and concentration. It still seemed more efficient than simply battering his way through John¡¯s defenses, though. And even if Steve was close to his limits, John knew better than to assume he¡¯d get weaker. That was the best part of his friend. Steve held back for just a moment, taking a deep breath before spitting out blue flames. His entire body was bursting with fire element, now. If John could last for a couple more minutes he¡¯d come out on top, but the match devolved into a more direct match of power. Rather than trying to win, John tried to familiarize himself with the technique. He doubted he¡¯d ever have to seriously fight Steve, but he might have to face a similar technique or support him in battle. If he knew how to disrupt it even a little, he could avoid doing so when they attacked a mutual foe. Mixed elements were good. Constantly shifting was even better- but not in a pattern. John learned that the hard way as Steve nearly broke through his defenses. He stopped before the formations took over out of caution since it was an unusual form of attack. John knew he had been defeated, however. ¡°I accept defeat, Lucanus.¡± Steve didn¡¯t mind his other name being used, but in a formal location like the clan it was best to stick with his name from this world. Steve grinned, then flopped onto his back, panting and spewing flames everywhere. ¡°Most people fall far earlier. I should have known you would be the one to push me this far.¡± John nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± It seemed like Steve also understood his weaknesses- but he¡¯d rarely ever have to fight someone using five and a quarter elements. Steve could reasonably anticipate about a dozen different combinations of one or two elements, and that would cover the vast majority of cultivators. John could manage several times as many combinations, and even if they weren¡¯t all extremely effective if they could throw off Steve¡¯s technique they were good enough. In the coming days they would spar a few more times, but John already thought that Steve was ready to go up against someone like Abritt. With just a couple ranks between them, she might be seriously surprised. John suspected she would focus her efforts on countering people like Ursel- which might be only Ursel- but she might not be ready for how many people that could counter her. Hopefully they wouldn¡¯t need it, but Steve would do well against most other cultivators too. And if they happened to be especially resistant to his new technique? He could still just burn them to ash from outside in, as normal. It wasn¡¯t like he was locked into only using his new method, after all. ----- John had no new and startling revelations about fire, but he wasn¡¯t surprised. He¡¯d already spent the most time with Steve of any fire cultivators, and he¡¯d long since solidified his fifth element. Otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have truly stepped into the Ascending Soul Phase. The next stop on the journey should hopefully be enlightening. John still had quite a distance to go before he could even think about reaching the Exalted Soul Phase, but much of his focus needed to be on light- and how it interfaced with his other elements. With light element only showing up in a few places, this was the last of three locations. The star attraction for most of the expedition would be the Golden Tomb Guardians, of course. Ever since Cuah¡¯arn made herself publicly known their options for training were far improved. Technically the founding need for their sect had passed, but Cuah¡¯arn was not ungrateful for those who had spent so long caring for her when she was weak- even if they in turn benefitted from her presence, some cultivators might have taken undue advantage of the situation by attempting to take all the power of the spirit beast. John was certain he could learn more about light from the Guardians, but he was looking forward to visiting the Summer Sun Sect first. They were closer to the border with the Green Sands and took advantage of both the fire and light elements in their region. John didn¡¯t expect them to have insights into how to combine light and darkness, but combining light with another element was still a step ahead of most. The Summer Sun Sect¡¯s boundary was made clear by the sudden presence of constantly burning grass. No, it was more like the grass itself was fire. It was similar to some things John had seen in the Phoenix Forest, but quite different in practice. For one thing, the secondary element was light instead of earth. As they got closer they managed to see some of the mechanisms in practice. When their shadows began to cross over the knee-high grass by the side of the road, it slowed its flames. As their group continued to cast a shadow, some of it burned out, turning into wilted stalks- however, only while the sunlight wasn¡¯t shining on the grass. In short, they absorbed the power of the sun and augmented it to become flames, or flamelike. Interesting, but a bit impractical. They outcompeted all other forms of plantlife, since they would burn away everything around them. Fortunately, the grass didn¡¯t seem to be able to spread any further from the sect itself, and the other natural grasses weren¡¯t so flammable that small embers would catch everything alight. The stalks of grass wouldn¡¯t be much good at providing light at night, since John presumed the grass would be dormant. Still absolutely worth studying, though. If John could augment his fire element sufficiently with light, it would be great. He didn¡¯t need to use all of his elements directly. In the best case scenario, he would be using light element to fight darkness cultivators directly and rarely other times. Soon enough they approached the sect itself. Even though Ascending Soul Phase cultivators had been produced throughout the continent, most sects still didn¡¯t have one. That wasn¡¯t a condemnation of their style- it simply took time. Those sects that had been a bit weaker before the recent surge in cultivation and especially new sects could hardly be expected to have reached the very best cultivation on the continent already. It also didn¡¯t mean that their potential was any lower. John had heard good things about Astrid, the Sect Head of the Summer Sun Sect. Like many others, even if she didn¡¯t outrank him in cultivation he could still learn something of value from her. Chapter 423 The flickering flames of the perpetually burning grass continued deep into the core of the Summer Sun Sect. Most of the sect was kept open, so as to maximize the area that sunlight reached. That continued even into their core. As he observed more of the flickering grass in shadow, John decided that the wilted stalks not in direct sunlight weren¡¯t as pathetic looking as he¡¯d first imagined them. Instead, he considered them to be waiting eagerly for their next opportunity to thrive. The disciples of the sect stood among the fields in the center of the sect, surrounding an individual who could only be their sect head. John found something odd about the view. A grand presentation for a visiting sect wasn¡¯t abnormal, so that wasn¡¯t the issue. It was something he recognized only subconsciously at first. Then he realized that the disciples seemed to cast no shadows on the area around them- allowing the sunlight to reach all of the sun-dancing grass. It was an eerily unreal picture, but once he recognized what it was it was fairly easy to reconcile. ¡°Greetings to the Six Elements Crossroads.¡± Astrid¡¯s voice was filled with supernatural warmth and her hair moved like tendrils of flame, similar to the grass around her. ¡°We of the Summer Sun Sect welcome your presence. May the light of the sun bless your path.¡± John hadn¡¯t been prepared for that exact greeting, but his years of diplomatic experience allowed him to come up with a passable response. ¡°We feel the warmth of the sun, and bring in turn each spectrum of spiritual energy.¡± That was passable enough. ¡°We look forward to exchanging insights on the nature of cultivation.¡± Astrid strode forward, reaching out to clasp his hand with both of hers. ¡°You are just as seen and heard previously. Powerful, and full of a stable flow. I even sense within you the building blocks of light element. A talent like yours is perhaps seen only once in a century.¡± Though her words seemed sincere, John thought they were perhaps too complementary. He didn¡¯t quite know how to respond. ¡°You are most kind,¡± he bowed slightly. ¡°I have heard of your successes as well, and see around us a thriving sect.¡± ¡°Your words are most appreciated. Come then, my disciples will lead yours to their temporary lodging. Guests of your caliber must of course be placed among the elders.¡± She gestured to Ayhan and Lir as well- even if they were a handful of ranks lower than her, they were still in the Consolidated Soul Phase. It was expected that the strongest of any group would be treated with utmost respect, and their cultivation likely matched many of the sect¡¯s elder¡¯s regardless. Buildings were carefully placed with segments of grass to the south, such that they would not block the light of the sun from reaching the grasses. Though it seemed quite common for members of the sect to trod through the grasses, the guest houses had a greater proportion of paved paths- likely to accommodate those of different elements. The flames were, after all, a real enough hazard for those who were not using them as a source of inspiration. At the very least, many would have to expend extra energy on their own protection. They were settled into their rooms, though none carried heavy burdens they needed to divest themselves of. The rooms themselves were quite comfortable, with accommodating formations for those who might wish to minimize the intrusion of spiritual energy. ----- Rather than having any sort of sacred ground, the Summer Sun Sect¡¯s potential was evenly distributed throughout their territory. It seemed everyone was able to select whichever somewhat private patch of long bodied flaming grass they wished to train among for the day, with little more to it than that. There were probably still social pressures that kept people in particular groups, but the structure wasn¡¯t particularly rigid. Astrid was happy to share her understanding of the sect¡¯s techniques, while at the same time John shared any relevant insights of his own. The basics were fairly simple. As allied elements, light could easily support the more destructive fire. Going slightly deeper, it could provide a sort of lively vigor, an on demand fuel source. Obviously if John only thought about things in terms of old world physics, it made little sense. Light wasn¡¯t flammable, and even if it was there was so little of anything there that it wouldn¡¯t have produced flames of any merit. But here, in this world, fire elemental spiritual energy could form a flame without any source but the spiritual energy itself. The energy wasn¡¯t fuel for the flame any more than other spiritual elements were fuel. They contained a certain amount of power that was transformed into another sort of power temporarily. Anything that remained long term was an aftereffect of spiritual energy. Water conjured by spiritual energy wasn¡¯t real, though water element could condense actual water out of the air just as well. Likewise, a wall of earth or a plant energy projection lasted only as long as the spiritual energy- but a boulder that was given momentum by earth element acted according to the laws of inertia. None of these were astounding insights, but rather some of the very basics of cultivation. However, John found he had to review some of the concepts as he moved along, to keep himself grounded. John watched as Astrid sat in meditation. Sunlight was both absorbed by her and passed through her to the grasses beyond, flickering them into living flame. John did his best to replicate the effect, and didn¡¯t find it too difficult to somewhat manage. Light element already liked to be free, so in the worst case he sort of absorbed and released sequentially. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The flames around him were individually weak, but intense together. It was strange to interact with the grass, as it was so tangible. Solid flame, if he had to describe it. The structure of the grass bent and twisted like a flickering fire, but it never stopped being both things- except when it lacked sunlight. Then it was somewhat like a burnt out wick¡­ just waiting to be lit again. Astrid didn¡¯t convert the light element she absorbed into fire element. If that was the sect¡¯s style, they would have likely been considered a pure fire sect. As he had observed earlier, she used her light element as fuel, augmenting not the quantity of fire elemental spiritual energy but its instantaneous power. That required manipulation of both elements simultaneously, but she performed the task with perfection. As she continued to meditate, John saw flames grow around her. They were brightly colored as they continued to grow taller until she resembled one of the stalks of grass around her. From what John could tell she didn¡¯t seem to be uncomfortable. He could feel the heat from where he was positioned, but the flow was constantly away from her- out and up. John was quite pleased to see such technique in action- even in the more passive form of meditation compared to combat. He had practice with allied elements supporting each other, but very few sects focused on that as a primary function. With light and darkness being the rarest elements, it wasn¡¯t that surprising, but John wanted to promote such techniques. He frequently used darkness to hide his intent, and while that was a good use of the spiritual energy it wasn¡¯t directly supporting another element. John figured he could do more of that himself, potentially. He liked to explore every possibility, even if it wasn¡¯t something he would ultimately use long-term. And while he might be cautioned that he couldn¡¯t do everything, he had kind of committed to that to a certain extent. At least, some portion of every element. Learning every technique in the world would be more of a burden than a blessing, as he would likely subject himself to choice paralysis, but taking time to pick out ones he thought suited him was an excellent idea. Using light element to bolster fire was great. He couldn¡¯t accidentally hurt himself by including darkness if it was all used up. He might change his mind about whether he wanted to do things that way when he was closer to actually selecting a light element totem, but he had four ranks before the peak of the Ascending Soul Phase. John focused his thoughts, offering up light to be fed upon by fire. It wasn¡¯t as easy as Astrid made it look. John had to pass through a whole lot of hoops before he got a mental construct that worked for him, and he was a hundred percent certain that it was unrelated to the typical understanding of the sect. Sunlight originally was produced from fire- or plasma, if he were being technical. It produced more than one form of light- far more. A broad spectrum of light, including of course visible light, but also infrared and ultraviolet. Some portion of that light was then absorbed on the planet as heat, especially some of the higher intensity infrared. Thus, in terms of spiritual elements, it became fire again. Forcing concentrated infrared light together was supposed to build up heat, but it didn¡¯t quite work. John recalled it needed to be absorbed by something to transform into heat. He added some earth element which he then combined with flame created directly by fire element. It certainly wasn¡¯t the same method as Astrid had used, but it was still an amplification using mostly light element. As he looked at the flames held in front of him, he also noticed Astrid watching. ¡°An interesting result,¡± she said. ¡°I can¡¯t tell exactly how it works, but you¡¯ve certainly made impressive flames.¡± John held it for a few moments longer, but he wouldn¡¯t take long to run out of light element. He only had about a quarter as much compared to anything else, even if that proportion was very slowly increasing. ¡°It¡¯s not all that practical until I can get a totem,¡± John admitted. ¡°Even so, it is noteworthy. Can you explain how you achieve those results?¡± ¡°A certain sort of light is more easily absorbed by common materials to rapidly generate heat,¡± John explained. ¡°I added a fragment of earth to be the catalyst. I doubt that would be of much use for you in that manner, but if you wanted to light something in particular on fire¡­¡± John shrugged. ¡°It might be faster.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even sense the earth element,¡± Astrid admitted. ¡°It was a small amount. Most cultivators can¡¯t distinguish anything below a certain proportion without active effort.¡± ¡°Is that a technique you had before?¡± she asked. John shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s new. Inspired by you.¡± ¡°Amazing.¡± ¡°You may say so, but I think your method is far more interesting,¡± John said. ¡°I don¡¯t understand it very well. Is there some secret I¡¯m missing?¡± ¡°The secret is all around us,¡± she gestured. Of course, it was the flaming grass. John had inspected it, but he couldn¡¯t figure out how it functioned. ¡°We create light reactive flame by watching its behavior.¡± John watched as she formed some in her hand, the brightness increasing rapidly, before it darkened slightly and the heat intensified. He understood the general idea, but it was more difficult than she made it sound. ¡°It will take me some more time to familiarize myself with the surroundings before I can actually use a similar method, I think.¡± It was pretty much impossible to see anything relevant from looking at the grass. It was visually just flames- nor did it look like a stalk of some sort on fire, but like a flame with its own shape. The solid core almost completely faded away when exposed to sunlight. John wondered if he should wait until night to study the structure, but he realized he was sitting on some. And despite his best efforts to minimize his visual blockage, some of the grass directly below him wasn¡¯t getting much light. It was long and thin, but rather than being a single flat blade three seemed to join together around a central stalk. When it wasn¡¯t alight, it sort of curled in on itself. John didn¡¯t know what those features might have to do with how it functioned, but he was certain he could familiarize himself with it given time. Chapter 424 Stalks of firegrass curled and uncurled as John watched. It was something he could watch over and over just for fun, but implementing cultivation brought it to an even greater level of interest. That was the thing about cultivation. When it was going well, it was something like an obsession. Who would want to stop learning the mysteries of the universe? John was brought out of his reverie by a soft voice. ¡°Is it alright if I join you?¡± He raised his head to see Astrid, her hair flickering just like the firegrass. ¡°Feel free. I¡¯m just studying the movements here.¡± She sat facing the same patch he was working on, seated at a slight angle. Notably, her shadow wouldn¡¯t block the patch John was observing. ¡°Thank you. What are you studying?¡± ¡°Just the way the firegrass coils.¡± John demonstrated, though he imagined she was already well aware of the details. ¡°The twisted blades all contract when it is in shadow. But when it is in sunlight, the stalk twists and turns in sequence, the three blades receiving relatively equal sunlight. As close as it can get without full rotation, though that would require something like loose roots or complex systems. They probably wouldn¡¯t be durable enough to be walked upon.¡± Astrid nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve thought much the same. It might seem a bit excessive at first. Most plants share the energy throughout them just fine without doing more than a slow twist of their leaves or flowers to catch the sunlight. However, it appears that firegrass has energy in excess. Perhaps it is trying to avoid overheating, in fact.¡± John hadn¡¯t considered that yet. ¡°It seems to me that it thrives in the sunlight. Perhaps the line between that and being harmed is thinner than it seems. Would it be unreasonable to experiment on a few stalks?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Astrid said slowly. ¡°We barely have any firegrass.¡± Her grin spread from ear to ear as she looked around the fields that encompassed the majority of the Summer Sun Sect¡¯s domain. ¡°I can see that,¡± John said. He still presumed that they didn¡¯t want people destroying things wantonly, though. Having received permission of a sort, he considered the optimal way to hold the stalks still while minimizing the side effects. Just grasping it wouldn¡¯t do much to stop the twisting. Most spiritual elements would interfere with its functionality. Going on the assumption that he was already going to kill some stalks of firegrass, he supposed he could use some slightly harsher methods. He pulled out a few throwing daggers and pierced them through the stalk in several different points. More direct physical interference, less spiritual energy influence. He then held those throwing daggers in place and allowed light to fall on the stalk. It rippled in between the static points, straining against the daggers, but not hard enough to twist apart its own fibers. It sort of wobbled and flopped as it burned until finally it burned out in a very unspectacular manner. ¡°I was kind of hoping for something more impressive,¡± John admitted. Astrid shrugged. ¡°Such is life. Sometimes, things are unspectacular.¡± John placed the remains in shadow, extracting the daggers. It seemed a bit much to separate the thin stalks, but he couldn¡¯t just grab it with his hands. Well, maybe he could. That would be his next attempt, he supposed. He held his hands at about two thirds up and one third along the stalk respectively. That left room to move at the top, but the majority was relatively stable. Flames erupted as he allowed sunlight to fall on it. Firegrass didn¡¯t really burn that hot, so even if it was fire element the amount was insufficient to overcome Diamond Defense. And because that was a passive effect, John managed to avoid causing too much physical harm to the stalk or interfere with his spiritual energy. The second stalk flared more brightly for a few moments much like the first, though it took a bit longer to sputter out. Neither was actually particularly charred, but close inspection indicated that whatever it was that made them gain energy had indeed been overloaded. ¡°Well that¡¯s one theory confirmed, at least. Did you already know?¡± Astrid slid slightly closer. ¡°I hadn¡¯t tried it quite like that. We were aware that it heated and cooled as it moved, however.¡± She looked from the latest stalk to John¡¯s hands. ¡°You are unhurt. I didn¡¯t sense any energy defenses, however.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a body tempering method,¡± John explained. ¡°Truly? That is¡­ not common. But I do believe I heard such things mentioned with regards to yourself.¡± It didn¡¯t surprise John that people talked about his cultivation. He was rather famous. ¡°Can I ask about it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called Diamond Defense. The original method required some expensive materials. Well, expensive for the time at least. My daughter and I have expanded upon it, lowering the required costs in the early stages.¡± ¡°That would be¡­ Ursel?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°Assuming it is an earth element technique.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± John nodded. He smiled fondly as he remembered the past. ¡°She was a little rascal, you know? She snuck in and stole some of the materials for Diamond Defense before the age most people began cultivating.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s¡­ surprising. Though I did hear about your children being geniuses.¡± ¡°The triplets were born elementally infused,¡± John explained. ¡°It would have been more difficult to get them to not use the spiritual energy within them than it was to teach them to use it responsibly. Semi-responsibly.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I have heard only great things about them as of late,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Leaders of two clans, and a valiant warrior that defeated Abritt while only in the early Ascending Soul Phase. It seems they turned out quite well.¡± John didn¡¯t correct her about Ursel. Technically, she¡¯d been at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. That was what made her victory so particularly astounding. Of course, every factor that led to her victory had been necessary. Her tenacity, her particular totems, the extremely durable armor she had, and even her body tempering. And probably a healthy dose of Abritt underestimating her, or she would never have gotten a grip on the woman. ¡°The triplets were a serious surprise,¡± John commented. ¡°Both in how they turned out and just¡­ them. Matayal and I were trying for a child, of course, but we were planning to stop at two. One to take over leadership of each clan when the time came. Less potential for conflict.¡± ¡°A reasonable plan,¡± Astrid agreed. ¡°Internal conflicts are the greatest causes of instability. I sometimes worry about what the future generations of the Summer Sun Sect might have to face. Though I do have competent elders, and I believe they would properly follow a designated successor.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect that to be necessary for a very long time,¡± John pointed out. ¡°Unless you¡¯re worried about the Ascending Soul Phase?¡± Astrid shrugged. ¡°It is impossible to shake some worries. I have just myself to rely on, with no predecessors or contemporaries I expect to go ahead of me. But there are also other factors to consider. If I married, I might end up leaving the sect behind.¡± ¡°Surely a husband could join you, could he not?¡± John suggested. ¡°Possibly. That would depend on our relative cultivation styles. Perhaps I would do better in another region than he would here.¡± ¡°A fair enough assessment,¡± John said. ¡°I also wouldn¡¯t suggest trying to manage a long distance relationship. It might seem reasonable for a few years, journeying back and forth. But if you both have responsibilities, that means neglecting said responsibilities for longer, or separation from your spouse.¡± Astrid nodded slowly. ¡°I had considered that.¡± Astrid turned to look off towards another part of the sect. ¡°Your disciples, of the Six Elements Crossroads. They have learned to train energies together in dual cultivation.¡± ¡°Well, yes. Though actual dual cultivation is not performed casually. The conversion of elements is the base form of everything,¡± John explained. ¡°There is no sharing of energy for normal training. Though once someone picks out a long term partner, they can take the next step. It is very important to be aware of elemental compatibilities. Not all of them work out.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°Because I had heard that even light and darkness were compatible. I believe you even have family from such a union.¡± Astrid had really done her research. Though, it was a rather significant circumstance so it made sense to be aware of it. ¡°Nik and Melanthina are a rare exception. Were they not so compatible in other ways, their elements would never match. The troubles weren¡¯t just delayed cultivation, either. Ereli¡­ was not in a good state as a child.¡± ¡°I am sorry to hear that,¡± Astrid replied. ¡°But it sounds like she is alright now? A solution was achieved?¡± ¡°Once she finally got her first totem, yes,¡± John said. ¡°Before that, it wasn¡¯t known if she would survive.¡± ¡°At least it all ended well. It shows you and those around you have great promise.¡± Astrid stood. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have duties to attend to now, but I would love to continue our conversation later. Perhaps over dinner?¡± ¡°That sounds lovely.¡± ----- Though he might prefer to avoid such situations, John was not socially incapable. At some point it became quite obvious what Astrid¡¯s intentions were. Friendly intentions, some might say more than friendly. But just because he understood didn¡¯t mean he knew how to react. When John returned to his room after a lovely dinner, he had some serious considerations to undertake. Though he really just wanted to figure out how to reject Astrid in a gentle manner. There was nothing wrong with her, really. She was kind and intelligent. Talented in cultivation, and while John didn¡¯t want to consider that humans only had value as cultivators it certainly helped tip the balance of things. The only real issue that John could think of was that she was too young. She was probably younger than his own children! Except¡­ that wasn¡¯t as relevant of a factor as it might have seemed. Because while he was probably a good thirty or more years older than her, it wasn¡¯t as weird as it seemed. She wasn¡¯t a young adult- she was probably between fifty and sixty years old herself. And based on their cultivations, they were still both considered ¡®young¡¯. A few decades previously their relative ages might have been awkward, but at a certain point it just didn¡¯t matter. Perhaps the largest problem John saw was that he was thinking about it. No matter what happened it wasn¡¯t something he would jump into easily- considering all the political and personal factors it was quite a serious decision. That was why John wanted to cut things off early, so as to not unintentionally lead her on. It would have been fairly simple, if he knew for certain that he truly didn¡¯t want it. But because he thought about it, the idea wasn¡¯t easily leaving his head. It was an issue more troublesome than cultivation. The matters of the soul were relatively straightforward compared to matters of the heart. And it would have to be a matter of the heart. John wasn¡¯t interested in any of the political benefits. If he was, with no offense to Astrid, she probably wouldn¡¯t be his first pick. The Summer Sun Sect was nothing spectacular, and her personal power wasn¡¯t yet anything unique. That said, the potential in both wasn¡¯t to be underestimated. But none of that mattered, because John had no intention of political marriage. It would just be too complicated. Not that love would be much better. John didn¡¯t believe that he loved Astrid after just a couple days, of course. That would be a bit much. It was just that he was a woman he could see himself growing closer to in the ways that would eventually lead to love. Like Matayal¡­ except the two of them started with the premise that they were getting married. Her elemental cultivation might be a problem. Maybe that would be the easiest way to end things. But of course, she hadn¡¯t brought up light and darkness just for fun. It could work. And if it did, it might be good for his theoretical try for the Exalted Soul Phase. Using someone for his own cultivation advancement wasn¡¯t something he wanted, but if it was mutually beneficial it had to at least be considered. It would have been so much easier if she seemed like a terrible person. He wouldn¡¯t have had to think about it at all. He just hoped he wouldn¡¯t lose too much sleep. Chapter 425 When the time came to depart the Summer Sun Sect, John was no closer to reaching an answer on whether remarrying was something he wanted or not. A decade or two prior the answer would have been entirely clear, as he wouldn¡¯t have even considered it. Many things had changed in that time, and John was among those things. It would have been convenient if he could simply continue to reject the idea on its face, but he couldn¡¯t. Even if he came to the conclusion that he would like to remarry, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be to Astrid. With no offense meant to her, it wouldn¡¯t really make sense to jump at the first viable options. She had a number of features that attracted his attention. He liked her gentle but not timid nature. Her intelligence and determination reminded him of Matayal. The cultivation talent of any future partner was important to consider, as it would impact his ambitions if things were unbalanced, but Astrid in particular met that threshold. She was also physically attractive but¡­ that was hardly worth considering. Pretty much every cultivator was, depending on the particular tastes of those judging, since they would be at the peak of health. John kept his departure polite but pleasant. He couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t promise anything to Astrid at the current point except future consideration. Since the subject had been broached, she¡¯d been quite patient¡­ and as a cultivator she could afford to wait a few years if it took that long. Not that all cultivators were actually patient in proportion to their lifespans. ¡°I look forward to future encounters,¡± John said truthfully. If nothing else, they could discuss cultivation and mutually benefit. A handful of days of interaction was only enough to open his eyes to certain possibilities, leaving him with a significant amount to think about. Using light to empower fire wasn¡¯t unheard of, but John had found a few insights relative to himself. Having good relations with neighbors regardless of other details was part of the reason for the current journey, and John thought things had been going well. The traveling group departed for the Golden Tomb Guardians, where they would be met by additional disciples now that they were closer to the Six Elements Crossroads. Not all disciples were willing or able to take a months long journey based on their current flow of cultivation or duties to the sect, but if they could join for at least part of it the benefits would be significant. ----- John¡¯s approach to the Golden Tomb Guardians was far less formal than the Summer Sun Sect. Both he and the sects had a longer relationship, so it didn¡¯t seem strange to walk up and hug Deirdre. But after he did so, John had to take a look inside himself. Silently, Deirdre was rejected inside John¡¯s heart. Or something like that, anyway. It wasn¡¯t like she had ever shown interest, and John was fairly certain she had something going on with Zacharie. There was the matter of her being part of the club, but that wouldn¡¯t have been an insurmountable obstacle. While there were risks to becoming romantically entangled with a friend, it didn¡¯t hurt to have a basis to the relationship. The main reason, however, was simple. That long relationship was certainly one of friends, but Deirdre also reminded John of a sister. He cared about her, but not in that way. John shook his head to clear it, moving to give a respectful bow to Cuah¡¯arn. She inclined her head in return. He would have gladly hugged the bird if she wasn¡¯t so powerfully light infused. A light cultivator could control that, but Cuah¡¯arn was more like a source than a vessel. ¡°It is good to return once more unto your watchful gaze,¡± John said. ¡°The whole of the Sunfields has become more prosperous with the guidance of you and the sect.¡± ¡°And the continent has prospered with the heart of unity your Six Elements Crossroads had provided,¡± Cuah¡¯arn replied. ¡°Welcome once again.¡± John was glad for the interaction, as the subject of marriage had somehow reduced his thoughts to that of a teenager. Perhaps a bit more constrained than that, though he hadn¡¯t actually been a teenager in over seventy years. Though he had double the memories, so maybe that counted for more. Even if John wasn¡¯t sure if he actually wanted a romantic partner, his mind was still looking and assessing, something it hadn¡¯t done in forever. Practically since coming to this world, since he¡¯d been tied to Matayal already. That said, the growth of their relationship into something more than a political marriage was something akin to a late courtship. The sect grounds of the Golden Tomb Guardians were far more strongly light element than the Summer Sun Sect. It was still a bit oppressive, but it gave John an excellent opportunity to focus on his various adaptation methods. The stronger the light was the more difficult it was to let it evenly flow around him without forcing it. It was like training just for walking around, which wasn¡¯t always what John wanted but now it was quite nice. ----- Sitting down for a discussion somewhere private was nice, but John could have done without the light streaming in from above, seemingly amplified by the glass windows. The difficulty was worthwhile, however, as the discussions involved the light element and being bombarded by it while discussing techniques was technically good for John, even if it hurt. Like exercise, as long as it wasn¡¯t taken too far. ¡°What do you think about my spiritual totem options?¡± John asked Cuah¡¯arn. Even if she didn¡¯t cultivate like humans, she came with some natural insights into light- and she had been around human cultivators for ages. She had more knowledge than any of the current members of the sect. Cuah¡¯arn pondered for a few moments, her reverse-silhouette shifting. John never tried to make out details beyond that profile, because it just hurt his eyes. It was probably as bad as staring at the sun- not that she was equally bright, but Cuah¡¯arn did happen to be some tens of millions of kilometers closer. Depending on how far the local sun was precisely, which John didn¡¯t quite know how to calculate nor care to. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I think, John, that you have already rejected those totems that would be problematic for you. Your reasoning for each of your current candidates is solid. You need light to work with your other elements, and the totems reflect that. However, I suspect that the attunement process will be extremely difficult.¡± ¡°I know what you mean,¡± John said. ¡°Entering the sixth layer isn¡¯t too burdensome for me, but drawing close to light totems is strenuous.¡± ¡°And yet, I imagine that is insufficient. Will you not need to face light both inside and out?¡± Cuah¡¯arn asked. ¡°This is why I asked you to meet me in the central chambers. Here, it will be most difficult¡­ but I will be watching over you. No serious harm would come to you in your meditations.¡± ¡°How reassuring.¡± It was actually a good offer, though. It would be like a precursor to his actual advancement. He still needed to surpass four more ranks of cultivation, as he wasn¡¯t even in the late Ascending Soul Phase yet, but based on his experience with advancing to Ascending Soul he really couldn¡¯t begin preparations too soon. ¡°I will gladly take you up on that offer.¡± ¡°Let us begin now,¡± Cuah¡¯arn said. ¡°I know you would normally stabilize yourself first, but diving in a bit off balance might be good for you.¡± ¡°Right,¡± John agreed. ¡°In that case¡­¡± He closed his eyes- though that only slightly reduced the brightness of the scene in front of him- and took a deep breath. He could feel the prickling light element dancing around him. His instincts told him to reject it, but that wouldn¡¯t be much good for his future advancement. He would need to draw it into him even as he bonded to his final totem. At the moment, he was at his capacity of light element so he wasn¡¯t planning to try that step. Cuah¡¯arn couldn¡¯t protect him from internally damaging himself with his own foolishness. John thought about how he should best handle it¡­ and decided that letting it flow into and through him while at the same time he pushed out a steady flow of light element might be best. Normally he would have already been diving into the sea of spiritual totems, but keeping a conscious focus on his cultivation would make that more difficult. He at least wanted a steady rhythm first. John suspected he was glowing as he released light, at the same time allowing more to enter him. His internal energy was already arranged in such a way that the darkness would not come directly into contact with the light- or close enough to collapse into each other. Once he had a flow that he could have kept going all day in other circumstances, John split off a portion of his consciousness. There was a bit of a trick to diving into the sea of spiritual totems, but he¡¯d done it many times before. Traversing the earlier layers wasn¡¯t difficult, even with his attention split. Around the fifth layer, he was feeling the weight of the spiritual pressure and the draw of the various spiritual totems. He could easily chase after them, but he would lose his concentration on the flow of energy. His health should be fine if he simply stopped absorbing and expelling light element, but if he slipped and his control went haywire he could foresee all sorts of dangers. He¡¯d let himself be thrown out of the sea of spiritual totems first- though he couldn¡¯t afford that during his potential advancement. The sixth layer was heavier still. The totems there were powerful, representing concepts that he and others strove for. Whether there was direct influence or not, he didn¡¯t know. It was impossible to perfectly describe a totem to another without them seeing it- and if it was they would certainly be able to find it simply by ¡®knowing¡¯ it existed. John didn¡¯t care how much they existed on their own. Totems had real effects. He searched out totems of the light element- not necessarily those he intended to bond to but any that seemed as if it could support multiple elements. He was already sweating when he looked at the first one. A room full of light, with shadowed corners. That particular construct at least balanced his worst fears, but he felt only a weak mental connection to it. Light and darkness had to learn to get along, but simply being separate wasn¡¯t good enough. He didn¡¯t want to dip into six small buckets of elements and use them one at a time. They needed to be a single harmonious whole. He was drawn towards a field of firegrass, likely due to his recent interactions with a physical version. They stretched limitlessly onto the horizon of his mind, strong and powerful. But John didn¡¯t want to just turn light into another element. The flow of energy through him was turbulent. Controlling that while resisting the pressure of the sea of spiritual totems was like marching in the desert in military gear. He knew he would have to endure far more for his actual advancement, however. He pushed onward. For a moment, he thought he¡¯d withdrawn from the sea of spiritual totems, for he saw only his own closed eyelids. But he could still feel the pressure around him, and when he turned his perception he could still observe the rest of the element infused void. Certainly, closed eyes surrounded by light represented light and darkness. It being his own eyes said something of his self confidence, perhaps. He was not disappointed, but it wasn¡¯t a particularly inspiring totem. He began to reach for another, feeling around for the right mixes of spiritual elements, but he felt a discomfort coming from inside his body. He withdrew from the sea immediately, the release of pressure a great relief even as he found he¡¯d absorbed more light element than intended. He instinctually released it in a widespread beam. Even diffuse, it was sufficient power that it might have harmed another structure. Then again, he wouldn¡¯t have overindulged if he was anywhere else. Gathering too much light element wouldn¡¯t actually be a huge issue during his actual advancement, as that was the time to let loose, but he needed to maintain some balance. He was briefly dripping with sweat¡­ but it evaporated rapidly in the concentrated light. ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s quite difficult,¡± he commented to Cuah¡¯arn. ¡°I think I am finished for the day, but if you are available tomorrow I would appreciate you watching over me once more.¡± ¡°Of course. You have been a steadfast ally¡­ and I am interested in your potential.¡±