Soday, a battle to the death would go against John. That was simply inevitable. He didn't believe himself to be the strongest person in the world, as that would be quite arrogant. He hadn't even dared to face Empress Aldara… though her individual capacity wasn't as much of a concern as her entourage. It was tricky to catch wind of her and have forces available, otherwise the continental alliance would have likely had so success against her. An 'even' conflict might not have resulted in her defeat, but it would have been better than what they had encountered so far.
Because John happened to like his new life, he was doing his very best to keep it- while also living it. He had to admit that constantly being on the forefront of a war was not his idea of the best possible life, but it wasn't as bad as it seed. Astrid was always present- at most they were apart for a few days at a ti. Not for half the year, as things had been with Matayal. John did regularly get to interact with so of his friends, even if it was also within the context of the war.
And his children? Not quite as frequently as he would like, but it was probably better that they weren't constantly on the battlefield. They were called upon from ti to ti, and Ursel always wanted to test out her new training. Even if she had been away from the frontlines for a ti, she didn't seem able to stay away.
Once they won the war, John was spending at least a couple months with each of his children. Or maybe he could convince all three to stay sowhere with their families for a while. They had responsibilities, of course, but John also knew that the two clans would run just fine without them for a while.
But first they had to win, and for that John had to be stronger. Fire and water were drawn from the surrounding environnt, after which John moved the two varieties of spiritual energy through the cycle of elents- in inverse directions. Water beca air and fire beca earth, then each of those apportioned so of the energy to beco light and darkness. Converting elents was the norm for John, as he always wanted every elent and very rarely was in the perfect environnt for that.
Inside his dantians, the islands he had created were teeming with at least so semblance of life. It wasn't real, but it certainly resembled flora and fauna, and at least a basic cycle of existence. It was more raw, pure elents representing his totems, but it was all there. And there was sothing more- a trace of spiritual energy from Astrid. She had two totems each focused on fire and light, with her fifth totem also being fire- but with an emphasis on supporting earth. Even though fire was the dominant elent, it was still a functional totem. More proof that totems could be anything… as long as a cultivator could conceive of it.
Of course, just because a cultivator could think of sothing didn't an it would be stable. Incompatible desires were one of the causes of failed advancents and death. If cultivation insights were insufficient or just plain wrong then a totem simply couldn't work. At best it would be far weaker than intended, leading a cultivator to a dead end in their growth.
John let himself sink deeper, beyond where his spiritual energy lay into the sea of spiritual totems. The sixth layer was familiar to him now. All of his totems had grown with him throughout the Ascending Soul Phase, and they were nearly comparable to sixth tier totems now.
Surrounded by light elent totems, John didn't find himself straining as much as he used to. He carried more light elent now, and training with Astrid had helped significantly. He wasn't ready to attune a totem, of course. He still needed more growth. Attempting it before reaching the peak of the Ascending Soul Phase was a great way to beg for death. Still, John could observe. He wanted every elent- but the totem had to have a core of light. He kept his thoughts flexible, but he always kept coming back to a prism. What could better represent what he needed than that?
Though, there was one issue. Prisms didn't represent darkness. That was the biggest hurdle he had to overco, and so he had observed a number of totems that matched light and darkness. The other elents would handle themselves once that was set. At least, that was the idea.
Once he felt the strain, John withdrew back into himself and continued to let his energy flow, gathering more and developing himself. The culmination of years of work allowed him to confidently stride into the forty-fifth rank, the final step of the Ascending Soul Phase. Nothing montous happened along with it, which was honestly a relief. He still had to reach the peak of the Ascending Soul Phase- almost a full rank ahead still. Though gathering the necessary spiritual energy and stabilizing it inside of him was almost a secondary concern compared to the necessary insights and control.
"Congratulations," Astrid said once he finished his ditations. "You are… your talent is exceptional."
John had to accept the complent. Humility was good, but excess humility was pointless. "Thank you. But I couldn't have done it without you."
He truly ant it. Astrid had previously advanced to the forty-second rank, and it might not be long before she was in the late Ascending Soul Phase. She also had talent… and the two of them together acted as stabilizing forces so they could both grow more smoothly. If Matayal had been around after the first war with the Molten Sea, John wouldn't have nearly killed himself cultivating for multiple reasons. But even if he had tried to advance at the sa pace, he could have been successful.
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Astrid was much the sa. She was a different person who filled a different part of him. Any comparisons were unnecessary.
"Thank you for showing I don't have to remain alone," John said.
Astrid smiled. "I will admit I was a little bit selfish in my motives. But you are very welco."
-----
The confidence John felt upon reaching the highest rank of cultivation he had ever witnessed was significant… but he was reminded that Abritt had held that sa rank when she died. Furthermore, she had at least an extra century of experience. That was confidence boosting because he had been instruntal to her defeat- but it also reminded him that nothing was absolute.
Especially when facing talented foes. He hoped that it was rely false rumors at first, but several sightings of the Empress Aldara had resulted in reports of continued growth. Where she once appeared to be in the early Ascending Soul Phase- or perhaps the mid- she was now almost certainly in the late Ascending Soul Phase.
If she could keep growing like that… might she reach the Exalted Soul Phase? John was uncertain himself. There was sothing missing still, aside from the necessary spiritual energy. He wasn't going to bet on Aldara not having that sothing. Nor was the alliance between half of the Molten Sea and the western continent.
However, the more people they committed to the fight, the more the Empire of Elents countered with their seemingly limitless forces. Even if they were just matching one for one, it was still worriso. The war simply couldn't drag on for another decade- even half a decade might weaken the alliance too much. There were other enemies about… and they might splinter internally before that. Without a continental alliance, they would be completely at the rcy of any of their slightly strong neighbors.
Three years. No more, and preferably far less. That was what they could afford. They didn't need to defeat the Empire of Elents, just make them realize that it wasn't worth their ti. Even if it only got them a reprieve of a decade or two- small change by cultivator standards- it would be worthwhile. Unfortunately, all attempts at negotiation had repeatedly failed, whether by those of the continental alliance or the Molten Sea. Maybe the Empire of Elents really did want to conquer the whole world… but if so, they should probably also want a ceasefire to prepare themselves.
It was frustrating, to have no points of contact. At least with the Molten Sea they had managed to communicate with the Burning Delta after the war, and through them more of the area- even if it was only a small portion. But even now, they had no idea of the internal state of the Empire of Elents except for old records that listed the various elental regions. Those were generally lower quality than Yustina's recall, though every once in a while they managed to capture individuals willing to share such information.
Sadly, they couldn't even negotiate for prisoner exchanges- though it did appear that the Empire of Elents often took prisoners upon their victory in particular areas. Not always, but frequently enough. Successfully rescuing them was much more rare.
-----
Threats were constant in the Molten Sea. Once again, John received word of a threat to a nearby outpost. The only catch was that the ssage ca from a ship that had fled in the opposite direction, towards them. That ant the incoming attack could have already arrived.
Either way, their current outpost couldn't spare many people. Along with John, the leading pair of the Blistering Crest- Samuel and Jolana. There were no current threats, but diminishing their forces too much was a risk.
The three of them discussed the situation. It might be too late to provide assistance, though there were various factors involved. Ultimately, they needed to know what happened with that nearby force- and their neighboring outpost. The longer they waited, the more problems could arise.
"I'll go," John said. "It's close enough I can get there and back on my own. I'll be the fastest, and we'll still need to keep a presence here."
If he waited until Astrid was back from her own mission, they could guarantee there was no help for their neighbors. If John arrived and was too late, or found the threat to himself to be unacceptably large, then he could flee. Power and speed weren't entirely equivalent, but they were correlated. John also had the endurance to travel long distances, and he could be faster than a ship as long as his target was within a couple days of travel. Eventually, he would have to sleep- but being awake more than twenty-four hours wasn't as big of a deal for a well developed cultivator.
"I don't know that we would be any faster," Samuel admitted. "Do take care. Be safe. We can't afford to lose you. Especially since you're holding the alliance together."
John truly hoped that it would stand without him, but he had to admit a lack of certainty. So parts of it would surely hold together, and it was quite possible that soone else would take over the central position for their own purposes… but it might also fall apart.
Unfortunately, his own strength couldn't be discounted. Unlike in wars on Earth, individual leaders here were a significant military threat. It made certain risks much greater, but John didn't expect a scouting mission to be an issue.
If necessary… he would preserve his own life, abandoning others. He didn't like it, but John had understood that it was foolish to try to win every engagent. People died in war, and of course avoiding it when possible was the best outco. However, he'd been in many wars throughout his new life- fortunately a long one. Death was inevitable, and he wouldn't sacrifice himself for those he barely even knew. Friends and family were different, but sacrificing himself for a tactical advantage wasn't sothing that interested him- especially since his death would hit harder than a single fort.
John couldn't help but feel sothing ominous as he left. Gut feelings of cultivators didn't always an anything, but occasionally they could tap into sothing greater that not even they consistently understood. John decided he had better be fast, even at the cost of arriving a bit more tired.
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