There were a great many people visiting Elder Siekert for her ability to appraise enchanted equipnt, but she did not bother to look over them one by one. Everyone lined up with the various pieces they had, including Anton and the others. Quite a haul here, she said, Though they seem a bit weak. She picked up and handled the first thing in the line- a sword- before moving on. Interesting. Very interesting. As for what was interesting, it took her so ti to say. Such basic enchantnts, yet skillfully made.
Are they valuable? one disciple asked.
That depends, she said. If you wanted to enchant any of this to be usable as weapons and armor, youd do better to just start with a hunk of tal.
Oh, the disciple hung his head. I thought since they ca from an ancient sect
I didnt say they werent valuable, Elder Siekert continued. Just not usable. Ill buy them all! she declared.
One of her apprentices was standing nearby. Im not sure if the Order would-
If they dont think its worth it, the Order wont last long. In that case, Id do it with my own funds. She looked around, Ill offer everyone a fair price. Each piece seems more or less equivalent, barring the materials. And if there were any forging manuals or the like, the Order would also be glad to reward you for them.
What do they do? another disciple asked, If theyre not usable and cant be made that way
That, Elder Siekert smiled, Will have to remain secret for the mont. Nobody will be forced to give up anything if they dont wish to, but I swear to you they are no use outside of studying the technique for a situation that should never happen.
With little else to be said on the topic, people began handing over their equipnt one piece at a ti. Instead of tossing coins or the like to the disciples, Siekert simply handed out enchanted papers that could be exchanged for contribution points or equivalent value. If she actually had to hand out coins or the like it seed likely that even a few storage bags wouldnt be sufficient.
Anton turned in most of his goods as well, since he trusted the enchanter to deal with them all fairly- but he kept a well-balanced sword in hand and waited around for everything to be over. Once everyone else had left except Siekert and the apprentices running in and out with the piles of equipnt, she focused on him. You have sothing to say, I presu?
I have so insights to provide on the situation, he said. Anton held the sword level in front of him, gathering energy. Not just any energy, but the mixed energy of Fleeting Youth. As he brought it to cover the sword like any cultivator would be apt to do, his hand twitched and his energy dispersed violently. The sword dropped to the ground, where Anton picked it up with his other hand. I dont know if Vandale spoke to all of the elders about a technique Everheart left behind, but it purports to draw upon the power beyond ascension among other things. He didnt need to ntion it also involved post-reincarnation things. Those who had been cultivators for a long ti seed to be concerned about future lives to so extent, but Anton was already quite satisfied with the life hed had. If he could make this one better, he didnt need an unknowable future.
Your point being? Elder Siekert looked at him neutrally.
I just know the equipnt must be made to fight that. And of course, it should be obvious that its related to the downfall of the Luminous Ocean Society and perhaps others nobody can recall. Anton shrugged, I just thought it would be useful to have so confirmation of your assumptions.
Mmmn. No wonder Vandale took a liking to you. Quite straightforward. Elder Siekert shook her head, Its best if I dont confirm or deny anything at the mont. If the Order as a whole should know, the information will be distributed. And of course, whatever Vandale chooses to share is up to the Grand Elder.
I almost forgot, Anton said, pulling out the duality pill. We found so of these. They dont appear dangerous, but I was concerned about long-term side effects. Masozi likely wouldnt have been swayed by that possibility so he didnt bring it up- but Anton wasnt planning to give up so of his future in exchange for breaking through a month or so earlier.
She plucked the pill from his outstretched palm, looking at it, sniffing it, rolling it around between her fingers and then handing it back to him. Its safe, if a bit faded. As long as you can handle the energy you can sense youll be fine. Nothing deceptive about it.
Thank you, Anton said. I need to learn to do that at so point.
You want to beco an enchanting apprentice? Siekert asked.
Maybe soday, Anton said. I still have many other things to learn first.
-----
Anton held the first pill in his hands. He concentrated on where he would be distributing the energy, mainly around his head though of course so would disperse through his body as a whole. Once he finished breaking through to the twenty-first star, the second refinent of the head and the organs therein, his thoughts and senses would be yet another step clearer. He quite liked the thought of that, and was glad hed done the sa early on in his Body Tempering cultivation. But he could understand why others would prioritize differently.
He put the pill on his tongue, letting it begin to dissolve and run down his throat. As the energy hit his stomach and started to expand into his ridians and dantian he swallowed the pill. A quick flow of energy began to pour out of the rapidly decaying pill, and he circulated the flow through his body, concentrating on his eyes, ears, nose, brain, tongue, and little bits and pieces that connected everything. That included his spine, though so portions of that would better go along with marrow and bone refining.
Unlike normal cultivation, he couldnt just stop at any mont. He had to make use off all of the energy he consud, even when continued application made his body sore and his head throb with pain. He could distribute the focus to other parts, but deviating from the established technique of the Ninety-Nine Stars wouldnt benefit him in the long run. Most things were as they were for a reason, and one thing that was certainly correct was focusing on the completion of one portion at a ti.
As his body felt like it was reaching its limits, he directed the final portions of the energy into his dantian. It was quickly filled to maximum capacity, but he didnt want diffuse energy to make use of later- and he had more still to deal with. He began to compress it into a smaller ball. Each star was much the sa in that regard, creating formations of compressed energy that could be drawn upon as necessary. The initial construction was important, as even when the energy from them was depleted a structure remained behind to be filled up at a later ti. More density was preferred. Anton was able to make use of so of the energy to force the rest into a tighter ball, but it felt sowhat wasteful. But he had more he could make use of. A stronger energy that could help pull it together, the power of Fleeting Youth. The more he made use of it, the more proficient he would be with it in the future, and the greater his connection would be to the futures he would never have.
When the twenty-first star was finally finished, Anton inspected it and found it was the best yet by a significant margin. It was densely packed but he could draw on it as needed without worrying about it breaking down permanently. The more he could achieve similar results, the better he would do with higher tier techniques like Falling Stars and Horizon Shot.
-----
A variety of technique manuals and notes were splayed out on the table in Vandales observatory. He went back and forth between looking at them and looking up at the stars, either directly or through the telescope.
You dont have to just stand there, Vandale comnted to Anton. Its not like you havent already guessed at this secret.
I only surmised a few things, Anton said, Im not sure how accurate I was.
To be fair, Vandale waved his hand at the notes, Neither am I. What do you actually know?
Just that the Luminous Ocean Society should have been destroyed by ascended cultivators after they had prepared to fight them. Anton frowned as he thought, I wasnt aware that those who had ascended could return. Then again, I know little about it beyond that its possible, and that Fleeting Youth draws from that source.
My information is not as much better than yours as you might think, Vandale said. However, I can say one thing. If ascended cultivators were able to return whenever they wished and display their great power they would. For all that cultivators like to pretend to be above worldly matters, even the Frostmirror sect and those like them are more worldly than theyd like people to think. Those who ascend cut away their connection to their lives here, but its not possible to truly complete that and still remain the sa person. There must be circumstances where they can co back here or perhaps even to different worlds than the one from which they ascended. Vandale gestured at the sky. I told you about the other planets. It is perhaps possible that other worlds have cultivators like us, and that others carry those who have ascended. Or perhaps they are under a different sky entirely. Ill never know for sure.
These techniques Anton looked down at the notes about the techniques from the Luminous Ocean Society. Theyre geared at fighting ascended cultivators?
Indeed. For the mont, the Order has classified them as forbidden. Not because we believe they have no value, but because publicly practicing these might be problematic. We have no way to know if anyone is in contact with ascended cultivators. The one thing I do know, however, is that what happened with the Luminous Ocean Society and their peers will happen again. Likely soon. Anton swallowed. Not to worry, Vandale said. To a man my age, soon is quite a bit longer than what even you might consider it to be. A century, perhaps a handful. Maybe it could stretch out for a millennium. I imagine as the ti approaches it will beco more clear.
What should I do about it? Anton asked.
What indeed? Can you do anything about it? Vandale asked. Can I? It is unclear. But I think that you should continue what you are already doing. Vandale placed his hand on the table with the techniques. Though you had a different reason for it, we will need as many cultivators as we can get. Every person who can perform even the simplest of these techniques can disrupt the gulf of power, unbalancing those who use the power beyond ascension. In theory.
It certainly works, Anton said. I have access to a small sliver through practicing Fleeting Youth. The weapons, at least, are imnsely disruptive- even just holding one.
How hard is it to overco? Vandale asked.
Ill admit that I havent put that much ti into countering it. I presud I would simply not make use of such equipnt.
Understandable, Vandale said, But I think it would be best to try. Learn to counter it and then perhaps we can co up with a way to counter that counter. After all, the Luminous Ocean Society wasnt just sitting on their thumbs.
Anton nodded. I understand. Ill put it on my list. After smithing and weaving, he thought. He doubted he could master those in just a few weeks, but to get down the basic motions would be sothing else. If he could see what subtle differences in cultivation different crafts allowed for, he would perhaps be able to help many more people cultivate. And he really wanted to learn everything. Not just about cultivation, either.
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