Recognizing the boundaries of formations was the bare minimum required for proper infiltration, and being able to at least determine the basics of what they did was the next step. Velvet had Catarina’s guidance to thank for her proficiency in that area, and also Catarina to blame for her worries she might stumble across something entirely undetectable. Knowing that the entirely undetectable type were expensive and difficult to make wasn’t necessarily comforting. Surely a large place like the Trigold Cluster could manage it. But given the outer defenses- would they? Especially for what felt like a simple military outpost?

If Velvet truly believed they might exist she would have left. Caution wouldn’t do any good against such things. As it was, she had to pick and choose what she did. Following any individuals for a longer period was the best way for someone to finally catch on to her presence, and she couldn’t take anything important. Or kill anyone. Not without letting them know that their alertness would have to turn inward, which would make any future efforts where she was and likely at other locations much more difficult.

Since she couldn’t take anything with her, she had to do her best to overhear what she could and memorize what she saw. That wasn’t difficult on a surface level, but she couldn’t just stand in offices shuffling through papers forever and expect nobody to notice.

It was unfortunate, but it seemed that aside from the uncomfortable revelation of diviners there was little of interest to be found. At least, Velvet wasn’t willing to risk overstaying to be thorough. Several hours of poking around the city and she had a pretty good understanding of how things were run. She didn’t want to wait too long and find out that things were all some elaborate trap, so she made her way towards the gates.

They still weren’t open, of course, but barriers seldom stopped anything exiting. These should be the same. Only when she passed through as she leapt from the wall was she able to relax- though being close enough that the Integration cultivators might find her was still a danger. She took a quick but circuitous route towards the ship, still nestled in the same place.

“How did things go?” Alva asked as she came to meet Velvet outside.

“It’s not terribly secure,” Velvet shook her head, “But they seem to have some sort of diviner. I don’t think I was noticed, but we should get moving. There’s not much more we can really get from here without a specific goal.”

With Velvet controlling the ship’s stealth- and them paying attention for anything that might get even vaguely close to crossing their path- they slowly rose away from the planet.

“Were you able to figure out where they might be targeting?”

“Vaguely,” Velvet said. “There were some names, but I didn’t find good star charts… and there’s no guarantee they use the same names. Nothing said Ceretos.”

“... It feels kind of bad leaving things like that, knowing they’ll attack some other world in the lower realms.”

“There’s an easy solution,” Velvet said. “Just get strong enough to stop them all yourself.”

Alva rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Someday, maybe. I think I might someday reach Augmentation, but who can really say? I’ll probably need a century more to even have a good sense of my path.”

Velvet nodded, “The Hundred Stars is about as good as anyone could expect up to Ascension, but the only experience we have beyond that is a handful of individuals for as many decades.”

“... Honestly we’re really lucky there are so many of us,” Alva said.

“Indeed. Even in the upper realms, so many individuals reaching Integration from a relatively small group is uncommon. Though the Trigold Cluster might be to blame here.”

“Because they came to invade us?” Alva nodded. “That was very motivational.”

The ship was out of atmosphere. No others were around, but they continued to pull away from the planet for a time, doing their best not to indicate their final direction.

“I don’t think we’ll find much in the next systems,” Velvet said. “Though I would like to probe a few to determine if they are indeed occupied, as this one. Then we should return for repairs, and to plan the next step.”

-----

There was a reason people liked to have two arms. Chikere knew this when she’d made her decisions, but it was still inconvenient to no longer have her dominant arm. Adjusting her forms to her single left hand was not terribly time consuming, but that part of her would be weaker. On the other hand, she now had a very good sword… and the limitation made her feel like her abilities were progressing more rapidly. She recalled when Rahayu had ascended he had intentionally wounded himself to achieve the same effect.

It would be nice if it were temporary. She still found her decision worthwhile, but she would have no complaints if her arm came back. Unfortunately, unlike swords, arms didn’t grow on trees. At least, not any trees she’d ever heard about.

“Do you know of any trees with arms?” Chikere asked the nearest individual, who at that moment happened to be the grandmaster smith Sadiq.

“Human arms? No. Some do grab people with limbs, however.”

“We have grasping willows that do something similar where I am from,” Chikere said. “I was just wondering how to get a new arm.”

“I’ve heard a phoenix bone poultice will do wonders. Though it might be too late for that- some things only work immediately.”

Chikere nodded, “I did not expect regrowing an arm to be simple. And I don’t know if I would make the choice to do so immediately even if that were the case. Perhaps I should do away with my other arm, instead, to benefit my abilities.” Seeing Sadiq’s raised eyebrow, she clarified, “I would only have to make it unusable temporarily. Simply choosing not to make use of my arm is insufficient if I could actually change my mind when danger approached.”

The man nodded, “I understand. Though… I tend to be less willing to improve my skills in such a manner. I’m not so young and hasty. Besides, a good blade takes years to forge and the effects on cultivation aren’t always positive.”

“Would not practicing your abilities help you improve?” Chikere asked.

“Not when you put some of yourself into a weapon. But I don’t care about my technical level, as long as I can make what I want.”

“Make me a good weapon,” Chikere said.

“You already have one.”

“I obviously meant another one. I would prefer to have at least a hundred high quality weapons.”

“Is that so? Then get me a hundred Worldhearts and the soul of either a new or dead star.”

“That sounds like it would take a long time,” Chikere commented. “And I do believe Worldhearts are not acquired in a tolerable manner.”

“You’re right about that, of course,” Sadiq nodded. “But if they come into your hands regardless, it’s a shame not to use them. If you want something more achievable… core metal is easier to obtain and doesn’t require the death of a planet. It’s also quite abundant, but if you want anything good you have to deal with a heavy gravity planet and combing the depths. Alternatively, kill someone higher than yourself in cultivation and bring me their blood to reforge their weapon.”

“... Why didn’t you tell me that last one sooner? I could have given you so many things.”

“First, because you didn’t know me. Or ask. Second… because I doubt you really have.”

“I kill people of higher cultivation all the time!”

“Killed any Augmentation cultivators lately?”

“Well… no. But I did kill an Integration cultivator in Life Transformation,” she displayed one of her top five.

“Hmm…” Sadiq frowned. “It had a small amount of its owners’ blood on it, but it’s far from fresh. I can’t do anything with that. If the killing blow had been done with his own sword, perhaps something would have lingered.”

“I see,” Chikere nodded. “I’ll let you know if I get anything interesting.” She paused as she turned to leave. “Does it have to be a sword?”

“Don’t you only use swords?”

“I meant… do I have to kill someone who uses swords? Do I have to do it in the upper realms?”

“I need a weapon that had a bond with an individual and their blood. Also, I don’t think you’ll find many Augmentation cultivators in the lower realms…”

“There will be at least a few,” Chikere said as she walked off.

Sadiq was an excellent smith, but he was not informed on all matters so he merely tilted his head in confusion. “Make sure you keep the blood fresh!” he yelled after her. If she really got something, it would be a shame to waste it with improper care.

-----

Anton looked down upon Edelhull, the large city just outside the Order’s borders. It still maintained its distance despite its increasing size and rapid development. Though as the sect head of the Order he could easily influence matters there, they were still not under his control. Though the policies he set in place were enforced throughout Graotan and even most of Ceretos. That was because they were quite sensible- and not just things he thought of on his own. He built upon his own experiences and the wisdom of others.

Rutera, specifically, had quite a lot to say about industrialization. With their knowledge and sufficient usage of natural energy it was possible to skip over some intermediate steps of machinery, some of which were apparently quite messy.

It was theoretically possible for Ceretos to catch up to Rutera’s technology within a few decades- but practically it would take much longer. Strictly cultivation based techniques already worked. Even if one were to mass produce things, smiths had developed techniques to rapidly hand craft weapons and armor. None were as good as the painstaking labor of years that could go into a masterpiece, but all were better than that strictly made by early machines.

Yet not everyone was a cultivator who wanted the very best weapons or armor. Some simply wanted comfortable clothing at affordable prices. Ruteran technology also didn’t run counter to usage by cultivators- all of it was augmented with natural energy that they simply hadn’t had much access to with the way their world developed. Anton saw jobs lost as efficiency increased- but he did not have to involve himself. With the advent of mass cultivation, everyone was able to extend their lifespans, being younger and healthier than they would have otherwise been. Finding new employment- such as working on machines that replaced some of them- was always possible.

For those that could not work, they were taken care of. In Edelhull, at least, nobody went hungry or without shelter. But those without family who truly couldn’t work were few in number. They might not receive food overflowing with natural energy, but nothing in Graotan and through most of the rest of the world now grew without at least providing some benefits to cultivators consuming it. A century and a half of effort had seen that sweeping change take place.

The world was still not a flawless utopia. There were always places where people took more than they ought to, leaving those with less power whether it be martial, political, or financial in a poor state. However, there were always avenues to seek relief available. There was little way to do better, and taking total control would simply turn Anton into a tyrant. Though he currently had no complaints about how he managed things, most of those who advised him would have told him not to take that step- if he ever seriously considered it or had asked. And if he didn’t ask or didn’t listen to them, then Anton knew he would already be the wrong sort of person to control everything.

So he limited himself to what he could manage and hoped prosperity would spread as quickly as possible from what he controlled. That general prosperity also had to lead to martial power- but it wasn’t any good to survive the invasion if the only people remaining on Ceretos would be just as bad. Fortunately, the strongest individuals who might cause issues were also the oldest- and as cultivators that meant they didn’t mind waiting a handful of decades for the invasion. Whether that counted as patient or not Anton was unsure.