Nas were sothing Everheart couldnt say he was an expert on. Oh, sure he could na a technique if he needed to, but those just required descriptions with a bit of flair. When naming a star system, one had to use actual nas. Most nas didnt carry their original anings anymore and were just conglorations of sounds, and it didnt make much sense to him to call it sothing practical. Like The System the Wonderful and Powerful Genius Everheart Took Over to Have a Base of Operations didnt exactly roll off the tongue.
Did it even need a na, if he wasnt even going to use it?
Of course, said Everheart. It makes it easier to refer to.
Were not going to take over another system, pointed out another Everheart.
Lets not be hasty, said a third Everheart. But if we take over sothing established its already nad.
Of course, the real Everheart was capable of having all of these thoughts on his own. They just wouldnt necessarily happen right away. It was easier to have a discussion, and while he would eventually gain all the knowledge and thought processes of his projections, it was an energy intensive project to form them. That was especially true until he was more established throughout the system and had formations set up for their maintenance. That ultimately ant talking turned out to be the easiest.
Its just the Everheart system, then, one of them pointed out. Nice and concise.
Everyone had to agree. And it was a good na, obviously.
He still needed a lot more in the way of materials if he was going to properly set up the system with all of the requisite formations, which ant so raiding. He had plans for the Harmonious Citadel, the Trigold Cluster, and the Exalted Quadrant.
He thought about gathering resources from the other groups in the Scarlet Midfields- especially those punks who took over Xankeshan- but they simply didnt have the resources to make it worth his ti. Hed probably get them back for that eventually, but for the mont his niece was living among them and he had higher priorities. So, east or west?
There were pros and cons to all of the options, but ultimately it ca down to the Exalted Quadrant not facing nearly enough adversity as of late. Which ant they would have more free resources to snatch. Yes, that would be good. He just had to stay mobile. He couldnt let them catch him with a group of Augntation cultivators- or worse, accidentally run into a Domination cultivator. Unpredictability was his best option, which ant that whatever plans he made now would have to be fluid.
Everheart waved his projections goodbye. They could continue their toil while he went off to get a small mountain of goods. Then he would absorb all of them- mories of mind-numbing labor and all- so that none diverged to the point theyd want to cause trouble. Ugh, it was almost worth it to just pay soone to do all the work. But then hed have to kill them, which could be a lot of work in its own way. Or trust them, but that wasnt going to happen.
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Rumors had it that Torthunes had once been a standard blue-white color of water and ice. Now it was red. Nobody could say for certain what it had actually been like, as the damage had been done lifetis ago even for the oldest cultivators. Once a prosperous planet in so manner, now just another casualty of the conflicts between the factions surrounding the Scarlet Midfields.
The planet had many features to dislike. Over the course of its two month trip around the local star, half of it was always freezing and the other half boiling, a constant cycle that made any permanent settlent difficult. The next extrely relevant feature was how much gravity it had. It was only several tis the radius of standard terrestrial planets, but it had forty tis the gravity. Anyone below at least mid Spirit Building would simply die, and ships found it difficult to land safely as well as to later take off.
These were also the sa features that made it desirable. With extre circumstances ca great natural energy, usable to empower formations and cultivators alike. It also made it particularly difficult for cultivators who were not used to the local environnt to battle. Since most battles in the upper realms took place on the surface of planets, those features and its location made it a reasonable environnt for use as a staging ground against the Harmonious Citadel.
The Scarlet Alliance- encompassing Xankeshan, the Dark Ring, and various others flocking to their banner- had been setting up on the planet for a few years now. Catarina found it particularly interesting and frustratingly difficult to manage formations in such a place of constant change. The flow of energy was strong, but inconsistent and the freezing and thawing ant there werent exactly solid points to anchor anything, not forever. Layers of ice grew on anything that stood around, blocking formation markings from each other. And the composition of that ice- which might have included a large amount of salty blood- ant that most construction corroded quickly.
Engineer Uzun had dropped by a few tis, but ultimately deed it infeasible to make use of Ruterran technology on-surface. Making use of their ships to deal with incoming enemies would only be viable with more decades of developnt- even with a good amount of planning and nearly unlimited resources it was impossible to recreate centuries of technology and infrastructure supporting it in a few years.
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Tauno found that he did not like the planet Torthunes. It wasnt just the extres it went to- he was an Augntation cultivator and could handle things like that- it was the lack of any sort of life. The Dancing Slayer Sect preferred to hunt great beasts to improve themselves- and their equipnt- and this was yet another stretch of ti where he was forced to maintain traditional cultivation. A few years wouldnt hurt in the long run, but just waiting wasnt comfortable.
How certain are we that they will attack? he asked the council of Xankeshan. The core group was mostly from the Order of One Hundred Stars, but they had many supporters not just from their own world but also neighboring ones. Like that Engineer. Tauno did not doubt the man was highly effective, he just didnt understand the strange cultivation tools. Or the ones that worked entirely without cultivation- though there were few of those.
They cant afford to ignore this system, the spymaster Velvet explained. If they try to bypass it we can cut off their routes for supplies, causing them to have to send their limited ships that can hop multiple systems without stopping. The alternative is for them to take over several nearby systems to secure a foothold, but we would be able to react to that.
From the perspective of morale, Prospero spoke next, They need a significant victory. Preferably slaying one of our few augntation cultivators, he looked towards Tauno. News of your presence leaking would attract them here.
And of course, Velvet ntioned, We are keeping track of the movents of the saints. We should have so idea what were up against. In the worst case where they attack with most or all of their saints, we will have to abandon the planet.
But I have the option to turn the formations into traps, in that case, Catarina added.
Tauno nodded. This was not the only important position. There were several key systems and planets along the western borders, and other mbers of the alliance had their own concerns. Tauno felt confident in dealing with a single saint, and with the benefit of formations and sufficient Integration cultivators two of them. But without another Augntation cultivator supporting him, three would be pushing it. He had felt the consistent advancent of those from the Order, and they truly might have people beginning to advance within a century or two. But the war probably wouldnt wait for them, and it was impossible to say who would be able to take the step from Integration to Augntation. Perhaps all of them or perhaps none of them.
-----
Soone was watching Chidi. Watching over him, he supposed, but it was still weird. So Integration cultivator he didnt know, because his parents and Aconites parents and pretty much everyone else was away. That old archer lady was still around, in charge of the formations and letting people through the barriers, but Chidi didnt really know her. She was weird and confusing even when she was talking about archery.
I cant believe they just left us behind, Chidi sighed.
You are now a proper adult human, Aconites growls and barks conveyed. Should you not expect to be on your own?
But Im not, Chidi pointed out. Were still being watched, and I havent gone off to war. Whats the point of being the age of an adult if I dont get to fight in the war?
Do you want to? Aconite asked, War doesnt sound like fun.
I dont know, Chidi sighed. But the fact that I didnt get the option annoys . There are plenty of Spirit Building cultivators fighting.
There are, Aconite agreed. Do you wish to be a standard footsoldier in a war? Or would you rather do sothing notable?
Stop asking hard questions, Chidi complained. I know Im not going to kill a saint or anything, but I just feel like I could do sothing.
Yes. You can train, Aconite said. I, for one, find my ti quite filled with such things.
Thats because theres like, a billion poisons. And you insist on being immune to all of them.
So that I can make use of them, Aconite agreed. Are there not as many sword stances and styles?
Yeah but reading is Chidi shook his head. Its awful, picking out the ink against the paper. And you dont have arms or legs to demonstrate what things are supposed to look like.
And the instructors?
Oh yeah, theyre so helpful. Watch your opponents eyes, they say. As if thats easier than feeling the tension of their muscles or the flow of their energy.
Aconite was quiet for a few monts. It is the only way they know, Aconite finally said. It is unfortunate you are deprived of such a useful sense.
Whatever, Chidi shrugged. Mom and dad are better at explaining, even if they arent swordmasters. Chidi slapped the hilt at his waist, But I can train still, I get it. We can go patrol the Gardens and root out trouble. And maybe in another decade or ten people will let do sothing real.
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In the lower realms, Antons return was t with far more visitors than he generally preferred. The affairs of the Order hadnt exactly piled up- there were people qualified to manage anything required- but many people wanted to see the Sect Head himself. Anton was quite famous, after all. So of those people were his friends, and he was quite glad for them.
The news of the various planets- and the people living on them- was of great interest to the whole Trifold Alliance. Inistra was too far to establish any sort of proper diplomacy with at the current ti, and the issue of the Twin Soul Sect among them ant it wasnt necessarily safe. Tenouna and Shrenn were interesting as potential allies, though still rather far. However, if things went well with Ekict then they would be a good step closer.
That final system was the cause of most of the interplanetary hubbub, just as big of news as the Sylanis Cluster but without the whole war component. They werent exactly neighbors, but there was so much they could learn from each other. The details on how they repelled the invaders from the upper realms would be useful for other systems, including Inistra, to hopefully break them out of the cycle.
Of course, there were many complications of interstellar diplomacy that Anton hadnt even considered. But the information he brought back would be useful for kicking things off. While it would take a long ti to get a proper web of systems and peoples, Anton looked forward to a ti where they were their own thing, instead of the lower realms being the playground for the upper realms to do as they pleased with on a galactic schedule.
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