Just a few days’ travel away from Helmfirth Rill the population density started to pick up. There was more farmland and each village and city seemed to increase in size. He began to notice cultivators in the cities. The way they carried themselves and how they were equipped made their status clear, but Anton noticed something else. He could feel them. It certainly wasn’t any of his normal senses, but nonetheless he clearly felt it.

About halfway through his journey, he came across a group on the road. Five cultivators walking in a loose formation. He thought to pass them, but as they were next to them on the road the leader turned towards him and spoke. “Are you from the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars?”

Anton took stock of the man. He had an average build, maybe a bit on the small side. Clearly young. However, his tone was friendly… and Anton sensed something from him. Not answering wouldn’t help him if they were enemies, because at the very minimum he could tell each of them were stronger than himself. “I am not, yet… but I am hoping to join. I was told I would have the chance if I reached the third level.” Anton’s eyes finally made their way to a subtle pin on the man’s cloak made up of nine stars.

The man smiled and nodded, “I thought so. Who’s your sponsor?”

“Vincent,” Anton responded.

“That’s usually the case. He’s quite a recruiter,” the man nodded pleasantly. “Good luck with the test. Perhaps we will be brothers in the future.” As they walked away, Anton became more certain of the sense of familiarity. Somehow, he could feel the resonance between his own cultivation technique and them. However, he felt they were all at least at the fifth level of Body Foundation, with the leader being… eighth or ninth. Pinning it down exactly was difficult.

Behind him, Anton heard a whispered voice from one of the others. “Why encourage him like that? You know how unlikely someone of his age is to be accepted…”

The leader responded, “That may be so… but there’s no reason to be discouraging either. Besides, Vincent seems to have a knack for such things. Perhaps the man will find a place for himself.”

Once they were quite a bit further away, Anton sighed. None of them appeared over twenty years old. Perhaps his estimations were slightly off, because it was said cultivators aged more slowly, but he knew it would be quite difficult to match them. Still, he had to try.

From that point on, he saw more patrols by members of the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars. Not all of them stopped to talk to him, but they were all quite pleasant when they did… though he could tell that they didn’t have much thought for his actual chances.

-----

It wasn’t long before Anton found himself at the end of his journey. Edelhull was just outside of the territory of the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars. It was the biggest city Anton had ever seen- not that he was that familiar with large cities. However, Alcombey was quite a large city for the region he had grown up in. It just paled in comparison to Edelhull. Anton noticed all sorts of cultivators- including many practicing the cultivation technique of the Order of Ninety Nine stars.

Though he would have loved to tour the city, he could only really pass through. He had no money, and would have to camp out nearby. As he passed through, he overheard some people talking. It was hard to ignore, especially with his hearing being enhanced- he was close to finishing the refinement and he’d already benefited greatly.

“I’m glad we made it so quickly. If we took a few extra days, we’d miss the recruitment period and have to wait a whole month for the next one!” The speaker was a young man who radiated a feeling Anton felt as the third level of the Ninety-Nine Stars, just like himself. They were likewise talking to another youngster. Anton was taken aback for a moment as he saw her face. She looked like a younger Tabby… or an older Annelie. But then the feeling passed. How many young women were there with dark hair, especially in a city of this size- or drawing from all of Graotan? He was just still sensitive about everything that had happened.

“Another month wouldn’t matter either way,” the young woman answered. “More training would be good for us.”

The young man sighed. “Come on Catarina. You can’t be satisfied with just the basic cultivation manual. They’ve got training grounds with abundant energy, special techniques, and masters to learn from! Every day we cultivate there will be so much more effective.”

The young woman seemed to not be overly excited at the thought of such amenities. “I suppose so. But I’d rather just not bother with the test.”

“Hmph. You might be able to make it in another month, but I’d still have to take the test. I’d at least like to get a chance this time.” The young man crossed his arms.

At that point, Anton was far enough away to not hear any more of them, and he pulled his eyes away. It was amazing how well they worked now. He could make out people from an entire city block away.

Outside of Edelhull, Anton found he wasn’t the only one who would be camping. There were a few other tents set up near the entrance posts declaring the land behind them belonged to the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars. He set up his tent away from the few others, for privacy in both directions. Anton thought to sleep to rest up for the morning, but he couldn’t. Besides… he had spent a month on the road cultivating. It was a habit that was hard to break, and he felt he was close to reaching the next level.

As he began cultivating, he felt the energy was much stronger than anywhere else he had been. Around Dungannon was actually fairly decent compared to many places on the road, but the natural energy in the area seemed twice as thick, though he wasn’t sure how to actually compare them.

Regardless, he soon found himself full to bursting. Besides successfully completing the initial body tempering, the fourth level had taken him the longest. Even with more experience in cultivation and tempered meridians, it seemed that he would be slowing down. But he could at least make this next breakthrough right now.

Energy flowed through him like a rushing river. However, Anton’s tempered meridians kept all of it exactly in line with his wishes, circulating from his dantian below his navel up through his torso and into his head. From there the energy was intentionally dispersed through his head. Eyes, ears, nose, tongue… all of them received a portion. His spine was left untouched- the cultivation method noted that a different technique was required for bones and the like. The upper portion of his throat received an inpouring of energy as well. The area he had to be most careful with was his brain. He felt the energy rushing into it, little rivulets that strengthened it bit by bit. Then everything reached its limits… and he was done. From his head flowed another star. His fourth star.

-----

In the morning, Anton found his way towards the gates of the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars. Or at least… the building at this border. There wasn’t a large wall surrounding the area… and as Anton looked into the distance, he could see why that might be. The Order of Ninety-Nine Stars didn’t just own a complex of buildings, but if he was correct they owned an entire mountain and the area surrounding it. A small mountain, perhaps, but the area was much too large to build a meaningful wall around. In the distance he could just barely spot the walls of a larger complex up the slope- even with his newly refined eyes. Then again, they were still slightly short of his peak when he was younger.

It was easy to figure out where he was supposed to be going. A conglomeration of newer cultivators were lining up in front of a number of cultivators at the fifth level of Body Foundation or higher. Anton saw an older man as well. The man appeared to be middle age, but the aura he gave off was much greater. Was he in Spirit Building? Somewhere even beyond that? Anton hadn’t been around Vincent since he started cultivating, so he had nobody to compare to but himself and the rest of those immediately present.

The elder in front was clearly part of the administration of testing, directing people in one way or another… but sometimes sending them directly away, hanging their heads. From what Anton could tell, that was because they hadn’t reached the third level of cultivation. He could tell some cultivated a different technique, but those who were of similar power at least were passed on somehow. The initial line moved fairly quickly, but there were many people and it took most of the morning before Anton was about halfway towards the front. At that point, one of the disciples in the area who was standing away from the line called out to him.

“You there!” the disciple pointed. “The… uh…”

“Old man?” Anton said in response, pointing to himself.

“Yes, you.” The disciple waved him over. “Come over here. You’re not supposed to be standing in that line.”

Was he not? Anton didn’t see anywhere else to go. What had he done wrong? He thought he would at least be given the chance to join since he’d reached the third level. Still, it was best not to cause a fuss in public. Perhaps he could talk to the man in private. He stepped out of the line towards the younger man. It would be unfortunate if he lost his spot, but if he had to wait a day or a month for his next chance, at least he would have one.