Chapter 181

Pentra

The Boat

The trio made their way east, following trails and paths that no one would normally follow. Dungeons littered their path, but they decided to avoid closing down these dungeons. While they could be stopped relatively quickly, it was ultimately decided that stopping the red flare and the doom that the red flare signified was more important than shutting down the few dozen dungeons that could be found along the way.

The entire trip, Pentra found herself feeling like she was effectively cultivating for scraps of energy. While she was still new to cultivation, she knew that the way both Lykan and Brenna cultivated were leagues and bounds above her own ability to cultivate.

Still, she had her hopes. Her hope was that once they got out to the ocean, to her element of water that she would finally be able to cultivate as well, if not better, than her master and the first protégé.

Yes, this entire experience had been quite humbling for Pentra. She had at one point thought just like her masters had, that this world was so primitive that the native species could offer nothing in terms of personal advancement. That their planet was to be used for resources, that her being here had been a gift from the gods, for it would set not only herself up, but her future progeny up with a chance to excel far beyond what was previously thought to be the limit of her capabilities.

Yet, that was not the case, she had found herself. No, she hadn’t found anything. Her master had found her, with but a few glances he was able to see her. He was able to see the way for her to go forward.

To say that her master was a peerless genius would be an understatement. He had been able to not only teach himself, but two others how to cultivate. Yes, to cultivate, a thing that only the Masters truly knew, or at least what the masters were said to have known.

Still watching the young master, it was clear that if he was given enough time, he would easily outstrip even the peerless masters of the universe.

She watched as he took away his own second tier of advancement and replaced it with a stronger, and more robust form of cultivation. A form that incorporated all four elements.

The change happened almost instantaneously, one second he was a Tier II Air cultivator, then next, he was a Tier I Omni-cultivator. But despite going down a whole Tier level, he only seemed to increase in terms of power and abilities.

Now rather than just the Air being his element that always seemed to be near him, at his beck and call. Now he was seemingly in control of all element, even Earth. Though his wife still had him beat in terms of control over Earth, that was only for the moment. Pentra was certain that if Brenna paused for a moment, or hesitated even slightly, that Lykan would surpass her in terms of ability to control even the Earth.

Pentra was now experiencing the same exact problem. She had blinked, and he had surpassed her in terms of ability to control Water. Water, an element that was infused into the very core of her being. Water, the element that her species had grown up in.

For Earth and Air, it made sense that these two primitives would have developed affinities for Earth and Air, as those were the two elements they were both the most exposed to. But to take it one step further, to be able to grasp the nuances of not just Water, but of Fire as well.

There was something truly special about that, and Pentra was finding herself more and more proud of her decision to follow the native. He was what a true cultivator was supposed to be, one who knew themselves and took calculated risks based on ways to go forward.

The fact that her master was overpowered for this small planet was an understatement. It was clear that he was nearing the end of what one could do on a planet that was not integrated into the universal system.

The only problem was, that once this planet became integrated, he would likely be culled quickly. That or the spark that has forced him to keep pushing himself forward so relentlessly would likely fade.

That was what she had noticed with peerless geniuses from the past. That once their original inspiration had been stripped away, their core broke and they were as weak as anyone. Pentra did not want this to happen to her master. She was certain that he still had more he could teach her. The only problem was, how could she tell him about the incoming tide of cultivators. Cultivators who come from peerless families and lineages. Lineages that have countless backers, and treasures from different conquered worlds.

Worlds that likely also wielded talents like Lykan. While the top inhabitants were always culled, as a way to show the inhabitants of the world their place in the grad scheme of things, having an example like Lykan would be beneficial for the people of this world. At the very least he would show the masters that the people of this world were capable of grand scale cultivations.

But deep down in her heart, Pentra knew the truth. She knew that Lykan was born on the wrong side of history. If he had been born a few dozen years earlier, he might have had a chance to go on as a cultivator who managed to revert back his planet to the way it had been before Pentra and her kinds’ arrival. But as it was, he was just stopping one of many cracks within a dam. A dam that was set to break as soon as the planet was identified as being capable of sustaining both qi, and light in equal measures.

Even though Pentra had these thoughts, she did not bring them up. She was certain that Lykan was already well aware of his fate. That was the only reason she could imagine as to why he would continue to push himself so hard. The only reason she could see him not only push himself, but get others to join him and his cause.

As it was, Pentra felt conflicted.

She knew that ideologically she owed Lykan a dept that could never be repaid. She knew that he had made her a cultivator. That if the masters came, they would expect, no, demand that she join them to fight with them to quickly subjugate the inhabitants of this planet.

But Pentra also knew that this was her Master, her true master, someone she had pledged herself to. Such bonds were not to be taken lightly. They were made with the mind, body, and spirit of the cultivator.

After taking on the teachings of Lykan, she felt his soul. In fact the more she watched, the more she understood the emotional state of Lykan. How do you continue to push yourself when all known obstacles are hurdled? How do you continue to push yourself relentlessly forward, when all you have are concepts of what might be coming?

Pentra knew that she herself would not be able to keep pushing herself forward. As it was, the only reason she pushed herself so hard now was that she had not just one, but two monsters to keep up with. No, not keep up, but to catch up to. They had both surpassed her. Here she was, a being who had existed for thousands of years longer than either of them. She had been around when their great great ancestors fought to maintain their own independence. And now, here she was slowly losing to them.

This was all very humbling.

But even while being humbled, Pentra knew she needed to push herself forward. But as she did this for her own self, she wondered how Lykan found his will to continue pushing himself forward so relentlessly.

Not just him, but his own wife was also amazing as she seemed to keep in lock step with his ability as well.

Pentra found herself feeling a form of kinship with Brenna. Over their travels, she could see how she always pushed herself forward, all but willing a personal advancement at the same time Lykan found his own. It was clear that Brenna was afraid that Lykan would leave her in the dust, that he would outpace her.

After seeing his rapid growth to power, it was clear that if left unchecked Lykan likely would outpace not just Brenna, but a number of peerless geniuses that came before him.

Still for how great Lykan was, he was only able to grow so much. He was a big fish in a big pond. A pond that was cut off from the river, from other elements, and from ever growing. As it was, Lykan was on an unsustainable pace forward, one that would mean he would eventually be left standing alone as the undisputed ruler of the world. A world that would eventually be integrated into the universal system, whether actual beacons were sent from the different dungeons or not.

Penta thought about telling Lykan about this, that the supreme cultivators could just tell when a planet finally reached permanent saturation levels of qi. That they would likely come, despite there being no known maps, or indications that this planet even existed. That they could just feel the resonance of qi throughout the universe. At least, that was what the stories that she was brought up listening to told her.

Still, she found herself thinking these thoughts. Treasonous thoughts. Thoughts that if it got out, if she told anyone, then she would likely find herself abandoned. Not only would she be abandoned by her current master, but she would also be banned by the future Masters, the Masters who sent her to this planet in the first place.

This had been a chance encounter, one that she intended to take full advantage of as time went on.

“There it is.” The words of Lykan brought Pentra out of her own personal reflections.

Looking up, Pentra saw the first signs of the coast. There off in the distance was a coastal city, one with a harbor, and multiple wooden items that seemed to float on top of the water. From her past interactions, she knew these vessels to be ships, though the level and quality of ships had dropped off significantly since she last saw them.

Before the ships were metal constructs that were capable of firing death and destruction from a distance. These on the other hand looked like they would be broken apart by one good storm.

Still, this was what they had expected. They knew that these would likely be the most they could get to undertake this next step of their journey.

In all Pentra found herself excited by the idea. Traveling across the qi filled ocean. Even with Lykan near her, she was certain that she could gain more energy once they were fully out on her element, on the ocean proper.

This also meant that she could hopefully begin going to her own second tier of cultivation. She had many different ideas that she wanted to try. She knew from watching and listening to Lykan, that there were multiple ways to advance in cultivation. That the way she advanced was important as it was supposed to be fused to her concept, that the concept would be the way she would develop herself going forward. That was why Lykan had been so adamant that he restart. From his mindset he was still early in the process, he still had ways to improve. That was why he decided to strip away his cultivation and start over from scratch.

She had read stories about peerless geniuses who had undergone similar trainings. Though those peerless geniuses were students who had pledged themselves to masters. Masters who had far greater understanding of the forms of power. That was part of what made Lykan so unique and fascinating to watch, he had no master to go to. Honestly, he had no true way to tell if his assumptions of cultivation would be correct. He just believed in himself, and that the way he chose to go would be the best for him in the future. Then once he made that decision, he moved forward with reckless abandon, as if the very heavens themselves could not compete.

Pentra for her part was content to watch Lykan and Brenna work to get a boat. While many of the concepts of the native tongue were becoming more and more clear, the longer she stayed with Brenna and Lykan, she preferred her own tongue. The tongue of the true masters. A tongue she knew she would need to keep in practice with, for when the true invasion of this planet began.

This red flare would just be a warning of what was still to come. But Pentra opted not to tell anyone about this, about her doubts. Instead, she just sat and waited. Biding her time for when the inevitable end would come.