After a mere two decades of being a cultivator, Anton was able to see a significant change in Graotan. He was only familiar with a relatively small portion of it throughout the duration of his normal life, but it had been much the same throughout. Good land worked by numerous hardworking individuals. There were of course some bad apples in every town or village, but Graotan was a good country. That was made possible by the Order. Even if they failed to perfectly protect the country, they had done their best. They could have used their position to exploit the country for more resources to increase their power- individual towns and villages weren’t much, but the numbers would add up to something real. Instead, the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars had given the people the opportunity to thrive in a world dominated by cultivators.

But while they had been unselfish, the Order’s actions hadn’t required any sacrifice on their part. The recent efforts, however, had cost the Order time, effort, and a not insignificant portion of their resources. And the country was different for it.

Nearly a generation since Anton began cultivating, and the country was changed. It wasn’t suddenly a beacon of strength, but every town and village had people cultivating. With the knowledge and training made freely available, people were able to improve themselves beyond human limits, amplifying what they could do in their everyday lives. While some were content to accept a limit in their crafts that they would not go beyond, even they were swayed by the ability to complete their daily work with more alacrity. Others devoted themselves to deepening their abilities, creating useful goods and deep works of art that they might have never imagined possible.

There were a number among every sect who devoted themselves to things practical for cultivators- forging weapons and armor, sewing herbs that filled with natural energy, and studying formations. Art of various sorts was popular as a meditative technique. There was nothing wrong with those pursuits, but with cultivators being the main practitioners it led to truly very few great masters.

The Order had several thousand disciples when Anton joined. Approximately half of them were in Body Tempering, clumping at the peak of Body Tempering where most lacked the talent to break through to a higher level. Though no other sects had a large sway in Graotan, there were various smaller sects. All told, the number of cultivators had been in the low tens of thousands, compared to a population of over ten million throughout the country. Exact numbers weren’t easily available with the current changes, but the new ‘common cultivators’ outnumbered those who cultivated as their primary focus. Hundreds of thousands at least, though still less than a tenth of the population. Those who were too young, too old, or too stubborn to make the attempt weren’t part of the numbers, and some simply hadn’t gotten the proper opportunity yet.

It was the problem of general education- people couldn’t afford to spend time away from their work, even if ultimately they would come out ahead. Not everyone who supported the efforts worked so closely with people to help them maintain their daily work. But every major city had at least one, sometimes up to ten people dedicated to teaching people to cultivate full time. Most were disciples of the Order who received a modest stipend for their efforts, though Anton suspected that the positions would be coveted in the future, if those fulfilling them made optimal use of them. Much could be learned from the perspectives of others.

Except for his regular visits to Windrip, Anton didn’t settle down in a single spot. The last handful of years had seen him constantly roaming around Graotan- and anywhere else on the continent that wanted him. Estary was the most receptive to the movement. While many sects throughout the countries would normally be against the efforts, the looming threat of a coming invasion made them willing to accept as many people who might have some effect on the war as possible. Nobody was sure if the invasion would happen in one decade, two, three… but four or five were the far limits. It had already been more than a decade since Everheart’s last tomb popped up, and it appeared as if it might truly have been the final one.

The recent years could be said to be a time of peace- but they could also be called a time of preparation for war. While a good number of the most powerful sects had formed an official alliance, there were always conflicts among people. For the most part they had lately been kept from as much violence, but it would take work to see a real peace last a generation or more.

Anton hoped that the rising levels of natural energy in Graotan would be a sign to others. The Order understood, but even inside the Order there were some who didn’t fully believe that everyone cultivating could possibly result in more natural energy throughout the land. Anton had to admit that a few years could be a random fluctuation, but he knew that the greatest changes were in the first areas he had established cultivators.

People worked at all of their tasks, taking in natural energy from their surroundings and putting it into crops and materials and finished products. The various pockets were beginning to merge together and feed into each other, and Anton knew that soon other sects would covet Graotan more than they had before. But if they were paying attention, a little bit of patience would allow them to produce similar results in other places.

Those who didn’t have the patience but still had enough self control to behave properly would still be able to benefit. Graotan’s borders weren’t closed, after all. Though those associated with dangerous elements were kept out, most sects were welcome to visit. A few even chose to move, re-establishing themselves within Graotan’s borders. And as long as they didn’t cause trouble, they were welcome.

-----

As Ayotunde was familiar with Anton, he sought him out first when he arrived at the Order. Even so, he was not present for a friendly visit but an official meeting. Along with Afi, the Matriarch of the Temitope clan, there were also other representatives of various portions of Ambati to the west.

“When are they gonna make you an elder, huh, Anton?” Ayotunde grinned. “You absolutely deserve it by now.”

“I would not want to chase any of those others deserving the title out of their positions,” Anton shook his head. “And I like the freedom I have now. I have no desire to leash myself here.”

“Is that so?” Ayotunde grinned. “You can do what you like I suppose, but I imagine they’ll foist the title on you when you reach Life Transformation regardless.”

“If I do,” Anton shrugged. “That would be at least a decade away still.”

Ayotunde clicked his tongue. “You’re gonna make the rest of us ashamed if you say it like that. Acting as if even being on the precipice in thirty years isn’t an accomplishment. When we first met I had more than a decade as a cultivator and was only in mid Spirit Building. Now I can’t even hope to keep up.”

“Proper access to resources has certainly accelerated your growth,” Anton commented.

“True, but some of that success we owe to you.”

“The same is true in reverse,” Anton pointed out. “I treat people like anything worth spending time on. I pay into them, and hope they pay back into me.”

“Swift growth of friends and swift death of enemies,” Ayotunde nodded. “It works well for you. Some are afraid of the risks.”

“It helps to hit the point where you have nothing,” Anton commented. “Then you’re not afraid of losing something.”

“That works until you get something important again. Then you become afraid again. How do you not?” Ayotunde asked.

“I got to the end, and was content. Even now, I think about what my legacy will be. I’m willing to die for any of it… but I don’t plan to make it easy,” Anton grinned. “But tell me about you. You have been gone for so long. Was your expedition successful?”

“To an extent,” Ayotunde nodded. “The exact details aren’t mine to share, but we found others. For the most part the ocean to the west is dominated by the Exalted Island Sect. They control the entire archipelago, which they renamed after themselves. The Exalted Archipelago. They were not terribly welcoming as a sect, but they did not forbid our passage- and the locals were interested to see foreign travelers, something they thought was an impossibility.” Ayotunde shrugged, “As far as we can tell, they have eradicated the Twin Soul Sect since the time of Everheart’s final tomb. Other than that, they prefer to be left alone.”

“A shame,” Anton said. “I’d like to visit… or more relevantly have another group to coordinate with. But peaceful contact is at least something. Our picture of the world is finally being repaired. Unless we’re missing large landmasses… the Twin Soul Sect has been driven to hide in far corners, if nothing else. Though I wouldn’t bet on full eradication.”

“Very cautious. But for good reason.” Ayotunde nodded contently, “Ambati has been holding together, but people have been growing weird potatoes everywhere. I hear that it is your fault.”

“We got the permission of the Temitope clan to spread those crops. And they grow quite well under the care of those with only a small amount of training in cultivation.”

“I looped around through Edelhull. It is almost difficult to recognize, with all the cultivators there. And most bearing the energy of the Order…”

Anton shrugged, “It’s a familiar and generally useful style. The ‘complete’ style is still secret, though mainly for the sake of differentiating proper disciples of the Ninety-Nine Stars. Identification tokens have become necessary. They have little formations inside of them that make them hard to replicate or steal. Though the gatekeepers can still memorize all the proper disciples… for the moment. Our actual numbers haven’t grown that much. Enough to bounce back from the wars, at least.”

“Except for the Life Transformation experts, I imagine. They are not so easy to replace.” Ayotunde shrugged, “Though your current generation makes that seem incorrect. All of the big sects have a handful of potential Life Transformation cultivators closely placed. And more following.”

“It’s a phenomenon that happens sometimes,” Anton replied. “A surge in those with cultivation ‘talent’. It’s said to be signs of trouble, and I have no evidence to refute it… especially since we know something’s coming this time. I just hope we have long enough. We’ll need every cultivator we can get. Life Transformation the most, obviously, but even the Body Tempering cultivators… I fear will be necessary.”

“That’s enough of that,” Ayotunde shook his head. “Or you’ll make me an old man before it’s my time. Tell me of the good things. Your cultivation… if I am correct you have surpassed the fiftieth star, correct?”

Anton nodded. “It sounds like it’s halfway, but it’s far from it. I have quite a distance to go still. What about you? Have you kept up with the shrimp and granny?”

“We work together from time to time,” Ayotunde nodded. “Perhaps we will all work together again sometime soon.”

-----

“This looks familiar,” Anton said as he stood in a circular room, about ten meters wide. “Much smaller though.”

“It’s for testing,” Catarina pointed out. “And for the intended use, it will be sufficient.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult you. Modesty and restraint are good features. Features that Everheart will never have.”

“Regardless,” Catarina continued, “Thank you for being here for this. It is good to have familiar faces around for the inaugural test of the teleportation formation.”

“Test?” Anton raised an eyebrow. “It’s already been tested, right?”

Catarina said nothing, but Timothy came up to assuage his concerns. “It’s already been successful with homing pigeons, larger animals, and then groups of beasts with cultivation. And some volunteer ants but… nothing happened with them.” Timothy shrugged, “Either way, Catarina isn’t the sort to be careless with this stuff. And neither are the rest of those she’s been working with.”

“Okay,” Catarina said as she clapped her hands. Everyone in the area turned to look. “We’re going now.”

That wasn’t an announcement to get ready. It was just her saying it was happening. A vaguely remembered flush of power washed over them… and that was it. Anton didn’t even feel his stomach leap like it had the first time.

Anton looked out the door, but of course instead of the location they’d set up outside the Order’s lands it was brilliant red stone hallways as far as could be seen. Anton felt himself sweating already, but less from the heat than worry about how careless Glorious Flame Palace seemed to want the teleportation pad to be inside their sect, merely for the sake of convenience. But it was just a test anyway.