The continent was in a time of relative peace. Their borders were well patrolled, ready for intruders from the outside. They would have more warning if there were further attacks and thus they would be able to provide a well organized response. They wouldn't give up any of their land just to have to retake it later.

They had peaceful relations with their closest neighbors to the east and west. They had suppressed their foes to the south. The Sovereign Primacy to the north had lost a significant number of powerful cultivators, so they were expected to be handled for some time. However, it was expected that they would likely strike again, in greater force.

Launching a counterattack would be the standard plan, but the continent hadn't been ready at the time. They didn't have the momentum after simply taking back their land. Furthermore, the only thing they truly knew about the Sovereign Primacy was their strength. It wouldn't do them good to get into an offensive war where their supply lines and reinforcements were the ones strained.

Besides, war wasn't profitable. Though it was certainly the tradition of cultivators, the net results was actually the destruction of resources rather than gaining them. One group might come out ahead, but often times it was simply that sects and clans cut down on their total number of members at any particular stage and thus there was less competition for said resources.

Nobody just sat around on vast stores of unused cultivation resources- though that was all relative to the size of the group. John knew the accounts of the Six Elements Crossroads quite well, and he had previously known those of the Tenebach clan. There was always more than enough resources to elevate a few people, but it wasn't possible to provide that same treatment to the whole group.

That said, naturally replenishing spiritual energy was the best resource any sect could have. The secret valley- not that it was a true secret anymore, not after so many people had visited- had both traditional cultivation resources and high levels of spiritual energy. Having disciples collect their own resources, even if it was more dangerous and less efficient, was generally seen as more fair. Besides, the danger was valuable in its own way. Cultivators needed practical experience, both to safely advance to higher ranks and to compete against foes that grew stronger with them.

It was an unfortunate state of the world that combat had to be considered first and foremost, but this world wasn't safe. John knew that. The continent was safe for now, but that wouldn't last forever. Even then, wild beasts cropped up on occasion- it was impossible for humans to settle everywhere, even if the spiritual energy was high. Except for more extreme sects, they tended to stick to somewhat more convenient locations. Like the foot of volcanoes and the peaks of windy mountains.

Cultivators certainly had a wider band of what was considered convenient. The Glass Hills certainly had far more lightning than most would appreciate. The Breathless Plains were full of deep gorges that could seemingly appear out of nowhere. And yet, these weren't considered dangerous in the same way. Maybe for visitors who were unfamiliar with the area, but the locals needed such things to temper themselves.

No, the true danger came from places like the Annihilation Strip- even Nik wouldn't live there. If for some reason the Tenebach clan became a clan of mixed light and darkness- which it certainly might given Nik and Ereli- they still wouldn't move there. At most, they would set up an outpost of some sort. John wondered if he should suggest that… though in that case, it would be best for the Tenebach clan to actually move back into the Darklands. No, they were well established in the Stone Conglomerate, and Ciaritzal had put in quite a lot of effort with the clan building out the underground.

As a darkness clan in an earth region, they actually had certain advantages that might not have been easily anticipated. Having less darkness element was of course a detriment, but the Tenebach clan had dealt with that long before John's arrival, and the development of a convenient underground instead of a remote cave along with improved techniques for elemental conversion had helped the Tenebach clan rise.

-----

The next tournament came and went. It gave people something to train for, gave the continent a way to resolve grievances in far less lethal ways, and kept people sharp for potential conflicts. It was also a good way to redistribute resources, with the various prizes offered mainly supplied by the strongest sects and clans. They accepted the slight expense for the various other benefits.

The months around a tournament were a time of great abundance for Astrein. Unlike how things had once been, Lunson wasn't desolate at other times but it was still less popular during off years. Even if one could convert spiritual energy from other elements, not everyone would want to bother separating spiritual elements from each other. John couldn't even recommend in good faith that everyone should do it.

They should know how, of course. There were many foreseeable scenarios where people would end up in elemental regions different from their own, where they might have little access to their preferred elements. However, that didn't mean they needed to spend effort day in and day out straining just to get the elements they needed. Unless, of course, their style depended upon it. A cultivator of the core elements needed such ability, even more anyone going for a full cycle.

Astrein was quite comfortable for John. As a place that had been thought of a wasteland even more useless than the actual Gloom Desolation, John was quite pleased with his discovery. Surely there had been more multi-element cultivators in the past that had known similar methods to what he had discovered, but for whatever reason they hadn't made it to the modern age.

John could think of many reasons that might have been the case. Not having strong bonds might be one. Astrein was quite easy to assault from every direction if the rest of the continent didn't like them. It was a good reminder that he shouldn't get a big head. And that he should have friends from everywhere.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

-----

John found Astrid in the gardens. They were nice gardens. Peaceful and relaxing, even without the abundant spiritual energy. Though the two weren't entirely separate. "Do you want to go on a beach vacation?" he asked.

"Is this one of your old world traditions?" she asked. "Or just an excuse to go somewhere for training?"

"It can be both," John grinned.

"I presume you need me."

"I might," John shrugged, "But I also want you there. I hope you know that."

Astrid took his hands gently. "I do. You make that quite clear."

John's smile grew even wider. It may have seemed a simple thing, but there were many layers to be had. Love wasn't always easy, but it helped to have a partner that was committed to working at it. For the long term, in fact. "You know," John said. "I would have been dead now."

Astrid made a face at the sudden leap in topic. "What?"

"On Earth. I've been here over a hundred years."

"Well, you were dead," Astrid pointed out.

"True. But even if I hadn't died, even if there were significant medical advances… I would likely be dead. Unless I had genes that made me predisposed to living a long time, but I think that wouldn't matter compared to how much I liked burgers."

"They are quite tasty," Astrid admitted.

"Imagine eating them almost daily while your body is getting older."

"Hmm. I don't really understand that, actually."

John paused. "Which part?"

"My body getting older. I've been cultivating since the cusp of adulthood. I've never ceased to be youthful. I don't think you have either."

John shrugged, "I do have to admit that my mid twenties wasn't old, but I did notice my body being less happy with everything I wanted to do. There was a significant gap between that and soon after supernatural fitness."

"... Do you want to go back?" Astrid had asked similar things occasionally. John had been rather fond of Earth, after all. It was possible some of that was just nostalgia.

John shook his head. "Not alone. But I would love to have the opportunity to show you some things. It was pretty amazing in its own way. But here, we barely even have freezers."

"Freezers are great," Astrid said. "Such simple formations provide great benefits…"

John shrugged. Despite being from Earth, he didn't have the expertise to reproduce technology. Nor did he have any particular talent for enchantments in this world. He could only provide ideas… and examples of what he meant in more transitory forms. He was quite decent with real-time spiritual energy manipulation, after all.

-----

The two of them could have taken an opulent carriage, but John turned the opportunity into something for the sect, and disciples needed to learn not to be lazy. Besides, it was relaxing to walk. Yes, they were going across half a continent… but half of that was across the ocean. They took a boat where required- it was a bit much to travel from island to island without one- but they walked everywhere else. Though John wouldn't have called it walking on Earth. After all, they easily matched the speed of cars. Maybe not highway speeds, but at least surface streets.

"What was the most impressive accomplishment you heard about?" Astrid asked.

John had to think about that. Some sort of building? The Great Wall of China was… actually something that could easily be replicated here. Skyscrapers might actually be feasible, but the overall population density was still lower in this world. More deaths through violence, among other things.

John looked to the skies. Planes? No, wait. "Space travel. Even if we only ever made it to the moon."

"Ah. You did mention something about that before, I believe," Astrid commented. "You saw some… recordings?"

"That's right. Sadly, there wasn't much benefit to it except to confirm some things we pretty much knew. No resources of note. So eventually the missions just… stopped."

John continued to look up at the sky.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" Astrid asked.

"... It's probably too far. But it depends on how much spiritual energy is out there. Maybe we would start from the Sky Islands? The Blustering Peaks might actually be higher, though."

"How far?" Astrid asked.

"At this pace? Most of a year. Though, actually, once we got into space we could accelerate quite fast. We'd have to begin deceleration at the halfway point though."

It was a silly thought. Before any of that, John would have to test how high he could go. Refreshing the air in his lungs should solve one problem, but he might need air density to fly properly. There was a significant area with low air density that still had mostly normal gravity- just a few percent off. The exact numbers were long forgotten in notes he might not even have taken in the first place. He could always have just looked it up.

As they moved along, they got closer to their destination a little bit at a time. They were headed to the Shining Coast. They were technically there right now, if one considered the region. But the actual coast was still over a hundred kilometers away.

It was the only pure light element region John had easy access to. The continent might be on decent terms with the western islands, but going to visit the Silver Mirror and asking if he could stay there while he made an advancement was a bit much.

Sadly, it wasn't the big one- not that John had expected to reach that far already. Instead, he was going to advance to the forty-third rank- the Late Ascending Soul Phase. It was still a non-trivial step, and John wanted to do it right. He could have taken the easy way, surrounded by all of the elements he had totems for. However, he wanted to prepare himself for the much more difficult task he knew was coming.

Astrid would be of great help with his advancement. She could prevent him from making any horrible mistakes, just as he had done for her recently as she advanced to the mid Ascending Soul Phase. The two of them would support each other and be stronger for it.

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