For basically as long as he could remember, waking up with the dawn had been part of Anton’s life. That hadn’t changed with becoming a cultivator, but when Anton awoke the sun was high in the sky. Resting for the night in Thuston hadn’t been enough to fully recover, and then hiking up the mountain, staying up late into the night looking at the stars, the hike back down… and he hadn’t thought a little bit of cultivating would be a problem. Instead, it wiped him out.

It didn’t actually matter that he awoke late, because he hadn’t planned to work in the fields or anything else that would constrain his time. The Hunt was still supposed to be continuing, if things hadn’t gone the way they did.

He had been able to fill his dantian with natural energy, but it was work. His body grew tired, and that included his meridians and dantian. Perhaps he had really needed the rest. The cuts along his arm and elsewhere didn’t help either. He’d applied salves and bandages, but the healing process had only just started. He’d lost blood, and while walking back to the sect had been fine he only now realized how weak he had been.

Once he finished Body Refinement, perhaps the problems wouldn’t be so pronounced. Refining his skin wouldn’t just make it more durable, it would heal more quickly along with his flesh. Refining his marrow would also allow for recovering blood more quickly, among other benefits.

Anton stretched, arms up above his head. Before he did any of that, he needed to finish refining his tendons. Some archery practice and some movement techniques would be a good start. Despite his fatigue, everything felt just a bit smoother. As Anton imagined a foe, he formed a Spirit Arrow at the same time as he determined where it would go. He hadn’t previously been waiting to draw the arrow, but this way it formed at the earliest opportunity but not too early. Holding a Spirit Arrow in its shape took some amount of effort and while over a single shot it didn’t matter, over a hundred any inefficiencies could add up. Anton now had practical experience avoiding attacks as well. Sparring had been something, but facing actual danger to his life was much more effective. Being reminded of his mortality was also good motivation.

After some time spent in cultivation, Anton pulled out the scroll of the Ninety-Nine Stars. Not just the first section, but the full technique given to him by Grand Elder Vandale. He reviewed the Body Tempering section, just to make sure it wasn’t any different. He didn’t expect that to be the case, but it wasn’t as if all copies of everything were exactly the same. People made mistakes or abbreviations or extra notes. Anton didn’t see any substantial differences, though the language was less elementary. Anton had learned to read well, more than just enough to get by, but that didn’t mean he spent a lot of time reading books with flowery language and certainly not cultivation before recently. It hadn’t even been suggested that it would be useful for farmers. It was for warriors. Though he knew better now.

The next section covered the segment of cultivation the Ninety-Nine Stars called Spirit Building. It was similar in nature to Body Refining, but of course tempering the spirit instead of the body. The next seven stars were the seven purifications, a much more abstract process where various facets of the spirit were tempered. Only one aspect could receive the prime tempering, though just like Body Tempering that didn’t mean the others couldn’t catch up given time. For a practical point of comparison, Anton considered a few of the elders he had seen in action. Mental Vision was strongly displayed by Elder Kseniya, and perhaps was a requirement for One Step Ahead. On the other hand, Grand Elder Vandale seemed to embody more of Spiritual Connection, with the way he interacted with the stars. Those were the most prominently displayed facets of those two, though he couldn’t be sure if they actually had those as prime refinements. Vandale in particular Anton had only interacted with for a short time, so Anton’s judgement might mean nothing.

The eleven orbits following the seven purifications were simply a revisiting of the various facets of body tempering and strengthening the connection between the body and spirit. On an individual level they were nothing special, but the whole process was important. The prime refinement was merely the completion of the task. Important, but not a decision that had to be made.

Beyond that was what the Ninety-Nine Stars called Constellation Formation. It was even more abstract than the previous level, and Anton could tell he wasn’t ready to truly dive into it yet. Maybe… never. He wasn’t sure if he could ever reach that far. Even if he could, he had to do more than just cultivate before then. Participating in The Hunt had been good not just for himself but because of protecting Thuston. Anton knew there were more dangers in the world, and there was also everything he still had to do. He found himself growing impatient with himself, which seemed like it would lead to harm. More than just getting in over his head in a battle.

He needed to properly prepare himself for the future. Among other things that meant continuing with his cultivation. Since he couldn’t be sure how long he would live even if he didn’t throw himself into danger, he also wanted to actually do things to leave the world a better place while he had the chance.

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Timothy breathed out heavily, swirling a small bit of excess natural energy he hadn’t absorbed around himself. “I was so close. I almost caught up to her.” He looked to Anton, “I wish I could keep you around all the time. Your advice is very helpful, Anton.”

Anton grinned. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Though I’m still planning to stay around for a while.”

“Oh, yes. I just meant… we’re planning to return to Carran for a while. So I’ll probably be away for a couple months.”

“Carran,” Anton nodded, “Your hometown. I’m sure they’d be happy to see your progress, and it might even help your cultivation to return.” Anton returned the topic to where it had been, “On that note, why are you concerned that Catarina reached sixth star before you reached fifth?”

Timothy sighed, “I wanted to catch up to her, at least for a bit. To be as strong as her again. I just want to keep up.”

“So you want to be as strong as Catarina?” Anton asked. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s quite understandable. However… to summarize the words of someone even older and wiser than myself… think about why you wish to grow. Why you want to be as strong as her.”

Timothy looked over towards the adjacent courtyard, which was currently empty. “I want to…”

“Protect her? Impress her?” Anton grinned, “Maybe you don’t even know yet. Whether you want to keep your friend safe… or show off your ability… I think you might have the wrong focus on your cultivation. Tell me, do you want to match her or be stronger than her?”

Timothy shook his head, “I’m not sure I can do either.”

“There is the core of the problem. It’s not so easy to fix.” Anton thought for a few moments, “I’ll say this. I know you can’t just suddenly become confident in your own abilities. That is a process that takes time. But it might do you good to reframe the way you look at your own strength. Whether you work for yourself or for someone else’s sake… ultimately I’m not sure it matters. It can even be both. The important part is that you-” Anton poked his finger into Timothy’s chest, “You, Timothy, want to be stronger. As strong as you can be. It doesn’t matter what anyone else’s cultivation level is. So you’re slightly more than a full star behind. That’s not an impossible gap. You almost did it… but lost focus on the fact that no matter what you intend to do with it, your cultivation is part of you.” Anton shook his head, “Like I said though, it’s not so easy. Don’t forget, she even used one of her tempering pills to break through to the fifth star. Prime ones aren’t so easy. You have contribution points still.”

“That’s right. Actually…” Timothy scratched the back of his head. “I thought with your guidance… maybe I didn’t need it.”

“You don’t. But it will save you time.” Anton had learned enough about those sorts of medicines to know that limited use of them was fine.

Timothy looked towards his home. “Actually, she gave me one before we started training for The Hunt. I just thought it was out of pity.”

Anton laughed, “I doubt she has any pity in her. But you should know her better than me.”

“Right.” Timothy nodded. “Tempering the meridians is important. I shouldn’t be stubborn about it.”

Anton left Timothy alone as he returned to cultivating. If Timothy took that pill, he could form the fifth star pretty much immediately. Anton had studied the pill Catarina gave to him. They were high quality, radiating energy similar to those costing a thousand contribution points in the rewards hall at least. The prizes for the entrance exams were certainly excellent. If she had used one herself and given one to him… then the last went to Timothy. Anton wondered if he should return his. Of course, practically he could not. It would make her think he didn’t appreciate it. But he didn’t need pity or help keeping up, not yet at least. At the rate things were going… he should be fine until the tenth star. He wasn’t sure how much more difficult that might be. Perhaps he would reach his limits there.

But Anton wasn’t likely to get more opportunities for so many contribution points before then, so if he didn’t want to spend the majority of his points on medicines, he should plan to use it at that point. And, there was something else. He wasn’t certain, but he supposed that having received it as a gift would make it more effective. Not in any practical way, but cultivation was a mental process. If nothing else… he could tell Catarina he used it to form the tenth star. He just had the next couple to complete first. If he could manage that.