Among other information Anton learned that those from the Exalted Archipelago- and anyone in the upper realms- would call the planet Ceretos. There were already other names in use, of course, but knowing how outsiders referred to it was important. And Anton couldn’t help but think of those from the Exalted Archipelago as outsiders regardless of them dwelling in the same world for their entire lives. And the sentiment seemed to be shared to some extent. People who hoped they would leave the world behind never really considered themselves a part of the world, and the Exalted Archipelago had a greater portion of their cultivators ascend.

Not that the numbers were particularly high. They were quite satisfied if it happened every few years. At least, if he could trust the words of Naamah. There was certainly truth among them, and things she wanted him- and thus the rest of the continents- to believe. Those weren’t necessarily the same, but Anton had determined at least some of their motives. As previously noted the Exalted Archipelago was much less unified than it put on- the two distinct continents were more united in certain matters- and some information was slipped in that would potentially be useful against some rivals of the Hardened Crown Sect.

Ultimately, Anton was glad for the information he received, and he believed most of it to be reliable. And the Hardened Crown Sect seemed to be open to further communications, which helped open up their options in the Exalted Archipelago.

The most important piece of information hadn’t directly been said, but Anton was certain that the current cycle of the tides of the world was shorter than normal. There was no confirmation if the approximately six hundred years of the previous time was standard, but it was at least closer to the norm. Comparing what he and others felt- though they were certainly new to paying attention to such things and thus could be in error- they had become more confident in the two hundred year timeframe measured from the invasion. They could be off by a few decades in either direction, but when the time got close it would likely become obvious again.

-----

There was a sort of curse that came with a very wide range of senses. It wasn’t that Anton would get overwhelmed by the feedback- that would only happen if he pushed himself beyond his limits. Instead, sometimes being aware of things was the problem. Private conversations of those he had no connection to were of little concern, and those of real importance were usually done indoors which he generally avoided intruding upon.

The biggest issue was when he noticed a conflict of some sort. There was always the desire to get involved, but he couldn’t necessarily judge which side was right. And then there was the fact that adversity allowed cultivators to grow. He had to think about the line between what was his responsibility because of his power and what he should let others deal with.

But sometimes he could determine a clear right and wrong, and assisting a losing righteous battle with an arrow or two certainly felt appropriate sometimes. He was often tempted to go further, but he restrained himself.

He couldn’t- and shouldn’t- try to influence everything himself. Even if he was on some level responsible for those weaker than himself, he’d learned many lessons from his time with generations of family. He certainly wasn’t a perfect father, grandfather, and so on, but he knew that sometimes people needed to face some consequences for their actions even if they had some justification. Most people believed everything they did was justified regardless, but he could safely set certain boundaries. Killing people simply to take what was theirs was the most common among cultivators, followed by the slightly more justified conflict over resources neither had a true claim to.

Anton certainly didn’t distance himself from the little things of the world. He just preferred to influence them through ways other than simply a high cultivation and violence. He wasn’t sure what the advice of a passing old man would do for people long term, but some immediate goals were easily accomplished. Making up after a fight as soon as possible was frequent advice, though it depended on whether certain individuals were still in a heightened state of emotion. Anton wasn’t sure he always gave the right advice, but Insight wasn’t perfect even at higher cultivations.

Sometimes he would take time to do small things like help someone harvest their fields. He had great compassion for places he passed by where someone was sick and unable to work. While the rise of cultivation meant farmers had somewhat wider margins, hiring an extra person to help could also be significantly more costly. So helping even with a few hour’s work- which was honestly more than most people could do in a day even with some level of cultivation- reminded him of the basic good things in the world. There wasn’t just war, even if that was the biggest looming threat at all times.

Working at many different scales put Anton in the right state for advancing his cultivation. It wasn’t necessarily as rapid as it could have been, but continuous forward advancement was more than some could even wish for. With no roadblocks before the peak of Life Transformation, Anton imagined he could reach the ninety-ninth star in something like three decades. He’d be a bit over two hundred then- which would mean he would have spent more time as a cultivator than not. For most cultivators, that tipping point came much more quickly since they started young.

-----

The pursuit of alternate methods of improving in power beyond Life Transformation brought Anton back to the Grasping Willow Sect. He didn’t expect Lev to have clear answers for him, but he knew Lev was working on something different. He wasn’t technically barred from ascension the same way Anton was, but it would not fit his goals, nor be as beneficial as it might seem.

Anton looked at the young man- as if nearly a hundred were young nowadays. Which it was, since Lev still looked young… for the most part. It was quite subtle, but his posture was off. Though that was to be expected, because he had no control of his limbs in the standard way. He had never really recovered after connecting to the Grandfather Willow, though Lev never made any complaints except that it was disappointing he was less useful if he ranged far from the sect. Though in truth he had access to power beyond Life Transformation while there- the simple issue being that it was not his own.

“I’m thinking of making my arrangement more permanent,” Lev said. “Not that I wish to embed myself in the Grandfather Willow again. I can, but that physical action is a bit away from the direction I intend.”

“I’m intrigued,” Anton admitted. “What, then?”

“It’s not that much different from Ascension, really. Integration, they call it. I would just not be integrating with ‘upper energy’, but that of the Grandfather Willow. More than just on a surface level like we are teaching all our disciples right now. Interestingly enough, it might expand my useful range somewhat. And if not… I wouldn’t mind being a guardian here.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying such old man things? I have had similar thoughts, but there’s nothing I have any sort of claim to that would be either strong enough or appropriate for the purpose.” Anton looked up at the Grandfather Willow, specifically towards the main trunk since up in every direction was part of the willow. “And though once I wouldn’t have concerned myself with being tied down to a specific area, I would prefer to range much wider.”

“Maybe you could find yourself a great tortoise?” Lev grinned, “I know you and Paradise get along well.”

“Certainly, but I wouldn’t wish to take something else’s power. Either that requires constantly wrestling something unfriendly for control, or weakening something for no good reason.” Anton thought for a moment, “Also I feel like Paradise would change his mind about me if I tried to take his power. He certainly didn’t seem fond of the Ponderous Turtle Clan making the attempt.”

“Right, right. That was one of the deciding factors in the war, wasn’t it?”

“Well, I can’t imagine that losing most of a sect’s most powerful cultivators all at once was good for them, no.”

Lev thought for some time. “Perhaps… you could nurture a secret realm? Use all of the power there for yourself? I know the entrances are usually static but…”

“Sounds expensive,” Anton said. “Like… more wealth than the Order has ever possessed kind of expensive.”

“Bah, you could throw together a secret realm. The Luminous Ocean Society made one and they didn’t make it past the invasion!”

“Perhaps this could work for some, but I’m not a specialist in the formations required. And I doubt I could justify making someone else do all the work- or pay them sufficiently. I also have no intention to spend decades hoarding wealth, either.”

Lev shrugged, “It was just a suggestion. It was the only thing along the same lines I could think of.”

“I appreciate it,” Anton said. “I’ve had certain ideas in the past, but they’re likewise a bit… extravagant. But about yourself, how certain are you that your plans might work?”

“Well, it’s a bit early to judge for sure. I still have to reach the peak of Life Transformation, after all. Otherwise, I’d definitely not be able to handle the process. Could easily find myself drained of energy in return if I mess up. Or maybe if I do everything right.”

“Yes, attempting to skip steps in cultivation rarely goes well for anyone. The Order’s technique makes that basically impossible since it involves forming stars. Just calling a star a different number doesn’t make a difference. Though I heard of people trying to skip prime temperings.”

“And?” Lev asked.

“... It technically worked. In short, they continued advancing at a marginal rate of power increase without ever accelerating. No advancing between stages even if they had the ‘right number’ of stars. Then they eventually hit a wall anyway, as they could only manage so many stars even with lesser power. I don’t think anyone has tried that since I joined the Order, though it’s possible.”

“I hadn’t expected much different. If you could skip steps and have the same power, then it would actually be the correct method instead, and those steps were simply extraneous and mistaken to consider all along.”

After that they discussed other insights into cultivation, some quite technical while others were simple yet sometimes profound. Perhaps neither of them would find the other’s insights of use, but the knowledge might find its way to the right person at the right time if they had it available to share.

-----

With ascensions suddenly more commonplace on the continent- that is, more than one every few decades- the number of individuals reaching their limits in Life Transformation or before also increased. In a way this was good for the various factions. They were steadily growing in strength, and even those who could advance no further were valuable. It was also the case that with more people cultivating, there was an explosion in the lower ranks of cultivation- Body Tempering and Spirit Building.

At the current time it was expected for people to reach Spirit Building at some point in their lives, though some found themselves limited by talent, free time, or simply desire. Some were content with reaching a certain level that allowed them to work as efficiently as they wished, allowing them some amount of free time.

There was still a disparity between people, even with free access to certain basic knowledge. Those who had wealth had more time to cultivate, pulling them further ahead. But the methods of cultivating while performing labor gave those lower on the ladder some chance.

Much of the world had adopted the policy of allowing energy to flow freely as well. Long term growth of a whole region worked best that way, even though an individual sect might see better payoff in the short term by gathering energy within their borders. In the long term, however, it would take more resources to improve every step, and better formations to resist an imbalance of energy. Some found it worthwhile anyway, but energy flowed freely through the wilderness in most places, promoting growth of all kinds.

That also came with some dangers, but having beasts that might attack people was also a benefit in a way. It allowed people a way to gain combat experience not against other humans, and to focus violence away from each other. And hunting beasts became another job, one for which hunters were paid to then spend their money in nearby cities where the money returned to the same hands once more. A prosperous cycle.