John looked out over his first disciples- all once living on the streets of Lunson. Stithulf had been with him on the previous journey, but he and Fulton didn't stand out all that much. It wasn't that they lacked talent- all of John's disciples had worked hard in the decades since the founding of the Six Elements Crossroads and they had all stepped into the Consolidated Soul Phase at various points. No, they simply chose a more straightforward and less visually distinct path, that of the single element.

Ayhan, Barakat, and Lir had all taken upon themselves the less tested path of a cycle of core elements. Each started at a different point, and their styles were certainly quite different, but they now had the full cycle. John suspected they were stronger than he had been at the same rank, though that wasn't some sort of self deprecation. After all, he had guided them along their path with the knowledge he had gained from his own journey.

Furthermore, he hadn't completed his cycle yet. At the Consolidated Soul Phase, John had only a cycle of allied elements and air tied together. He made it work, but that certainly wasn't an optimal state. It worked primarily because none of his foes were expecting to fight any combination of three or four elements- even one that was imperfectly balanced. It had been a necessary step to get to where he was now, and he was more than pleased with his results. Even if he'd made more than a few mistakes along the way.

"I am proud of your progress." They should know that already, but sometimes it had to be said. They were practically another set of his children, just without any blood relation. He wasn't quite that close with them, but he had spent quite a lot of effort on his first disciples. "Each of you has chosen a path that properly suits yourself." Sthithulf and Fulton were no worse just because they didn't copy him. Not that anyone had precisely followed his path. None were going for the rather more difficult six elements path- even though it was named the Six Elements Crossroads that still wasn't the most prominent option.

John actively discouraged it, not to retain some sort of unique position for himself but because it truly was unnecessarily hard. Of course, it was quite possible that any of those that had the four core elements could add on a fifth element. It would just be a bit harder to branch into light or darkness. Obviously, the full Six Element path hadn't been completed even by John himself, so he couldn't say how possible it was. He knew in his heart it was possible, and simply had to hope that he had the talent, willpower, and luck to succeed. He did still have all of the Late Ascending Soul Phase to wrestle with first.

"You have battled many times before. Sometimes even in war. I have faith in your abilities, and I don't think our enemy is beyond our ability to overcome. Even so, I must tell you to keep each other in mind, and to protect yourselves first. Retain your confidence, but there's no need for you to rush to the frontlines. Even I will only be moving as a necessary part of the momentum. We're going to be there to support the people of the western sea, not the other way around. We don't need to appear domineering, or as a threat. Of course, I know all of you behave properly, but it doesn't hurt to have a reminder."

He also needed to remind them of how important they were becoming, representing the Six Elements Crossroads. Previously there had been him, Viriato, and other cultivators that had joined at a higher cultivation. They were no less true members than any other, but having a proper generation of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators from within the sect was a significant step. John was confident it could survive beyond him.

Not that he was planning on perishing anytime soon. Certainly not in the upcoming war- he had a justified confidence in that fact- especially with the allies he would have by his side. John wanted to at least test himself against the Exalted Soul Phase- even if he couldn't be certain of his success. That was probably another few decades distant. And if he survived that, he intended to live longer than any human in the current generation.

-----

Many members of the fleet were the same as the first expedition. Reliable cultivators were important, and those with a solid knowledge of ships even more so. The best of those were still from the Shimmering Islands of course.

Of special interest to John were a pair he knew well, finding an opportunity to support the goals of the continent. That pair was Harta Mulyani and Emilia.

The most important thing as he watched them was that Emilia was happy. She smiled even as her father needled her and Harta about something or other. Maybe he wanted more grandkids, or maybe he was commenting about those they had already made.

Emilia had been expected to marry Tirto. It wasn't an arranged marriage like John and Matayal, but it hadn't been far from it. She had taken those expectations seriously, but she had also fallen in love with Tirto. In turn, Tirto loved her- but not quite the same way she loved him.

They would have been fine together. Happy. She would have supported him in everything. But at some point, Tirto came to understand that his feeling for Verusha far outmatched the ones he had for Emilia. It wasn't his choice- nor Verusha's. It simply happened.

John remembered how tough those times had been for all of them. He could only say he gave the correct advice now, with the full benefit of hindsight. At the time, it had been murky, though John did believe that it wouldn't have been fair to Emilia to go forward how things had been.

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He had comforted his son, and of course the daughters of his friend. For a while, things had been tense. He had assured Emilia that it was possible to love another, to find someone who would be as good for her as she was for them. John had believed it, but he hadn't known.

But now he did. He glanced over at Yustina. "Should we go save them from him?"

"Be my guest," she smiled.

John approached with long strides.

"And that's why," Steve spoke with such passion that he literally created heat waves around him. "The training needs to happen in a volcano!"

John really wasn't sure who he was referring to. Himself, Harta or Emiliar, or some of their children. Either way, he smirked as he strode up. "I think that's enough of that, Lucanus," John said, using his friend's formal name. "Why don't you cool off for a second?"

Steve tilted his head as he turned towards John. "Huh?"

With a smile, John shoved Steve overboard. They weren't that close to the railing, so it took a proper effort involving spiritual energy. A bit of earth for force and some water for flow. John dusted off his hands. "That should settle that."

"Yes," Yustina agreed from behind him. "Except for one thing."

"What is-"

John couldn't even turn around before he too was thrown into the ocean. He didn't often experience chill fire, but Yustina didn't limit herself to conventional uses of the fire element. She had been a water cultivator in a previous life, after all. John did manage to fling a whip of water around Yustina, pulling her in after him instead of stopping his own movement.

What followed was a semi-serious battle where parts of the sea boiled, other parts froze, and no side truly came out on top. Yustina's excuse to shove John into the sea was of course to protect her husband, but she was just as likely to side against him if he was winning. At least, during a little skirmish like they were having.

Sometimes it was nice to just relax a little. To have fun. Even if they were heading towards something serious, keeping dour expressions on their faces all the time would just make them into sad old cultivators one day.

-----

The fleet had nothing to fear from seas, not before and certainly not with their greater numbers. While there might still be beasts of great power deep within the seas, none were foolish enough to challenge them this time. With a better understanding of where they were navigating, they reduced the journey by a few days.

Their initial target was the same as where they had previously arrived accidentally, Midnight Island. The reasoning was simple- the Glorious Veil favored the island. The fleet was fortunate enough to catch some of their ships there, likely drawn by word of the continental travelers visiting it. Perhaps they wanted to inspect their resources.

The fleet arrived in the middle of the night, finding a handful of vessels anchored around the island. The island itself was covered in a veil of darkness, but John was familiar enough with how things worked after the previous visit. Before landing, however, they surrounded the anchored ships, capturing those cultivators left behind to watch them. There wasn't much they could do when there was nearly a single Ascending Soul Phase cultivator for each of their vessels, along with the many others the fleet carried. Most of the cultivators were wise enough to surrender swiftly.

John led a team onto the island- he left Steve and Yustina to watch the fleet. He didn't expect to run into any of the sect's Ascending Soul Phase cultivators with the relatively small complement of vessels, and some quick interrogations confirmed his supposition. It was possible their captured cultivators were lying, but even then it should still be safe with two pairs of Ascending Soul Phase cultivators.

Once he was upon the island, John was reminded of the feeling he was underwater. Of course, he also remembered that he actually would be underwater in a few hours. The island wasn't so large that they had to be worried about that if they kept moving, but they would be able to handle it regardless.

Based on the locations of the ships, they had an idea where those on the island might be. It was actually quite simple to track them down, as they left behind obvious signs. While the continental expedition had been cautious to take only small samples of various resources, the current visitors were being far more thorough. They left only enough of various plants for them to grow back, tearing up over ninety percent of mushroom patches and removing spiritual energy infused soil and rocks. They also chopped down some of the trees that resembled kelp- though perhaps because of how plentiful they were or their lack of utility, it wasn't nearly as many.

"Do you think they're always this… meticulous?" John asked Astrid.

"Perhaps. If they were spooked by word of our previous presence, they might find this is their best chance to secure their resources. On the other hand, if this is the normal cycle they harvest on…" She let the word drag on.

John nodded. "Then they are foolish. If they left twice as much- just a fifth- then many of these resources they grow and harvest would come back twice as fast." That wasn't a perfect measurement. Obviously there were various factors that could influence things. However, if they left more spread out clusters, they should grow back more swiftly. That additional growth would likely pay off within two or three harvests.

It wasn't long before they spotted one of the crews. Each of the cultivators wore masks, led by a woman at the late Consolidated Soul Phase. Not a significant threat.

"If they fight, maintain a defensive perimeter," John said. "I'd like to observe their style in combat, if we could."

Since they would be fighting the Glorious Veil on their home turf soon enough, it would be best to gain some familiarity. John would prefer to have minimal casualties on their side. He didn't want to have to learn the fundamentals of their style while in combat with one of their Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. They were supposed to be surprised by his style, not the other way around.

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