For the first time in a while, Ursel was involved with actual sect business. She wasn’t in charge of anything, of course. She was both too young, barely in adulthood, and not quite strong enough to provide a good impression. The Soul Expansion Phase was nothing to sneer at for someone of her age, but promise of future power wasn’t the same as current strength. Thus, Master Renato who was in the late Consolidated Soul Phase was a better option by far.

That didn’t mean Ursel had no purpose, though. Diplomatic missions between cultivators also ended up being demonstrations of might- and while a single person on top was a reasonable influence, having a good base of disciples to hold up the upper generation was also important. Strength wasn’t everything, but it would make people more likely to go along with suggested paths.

The first stop was Heavy Gold Mountain. They were a decently powerful sect, more or less centrally located in the Stone Conglomerate. Having developed several Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators in the recent rise, they were worthy of the Order of the Amber Heart’s efforts.

Ursel remembered one of their disciples fighting against Tirto in Astrein’s tournament, but though they’d been vaguely matched in cultivation, compared to the triplets even the best cultivators were significantly older. That included Nik- though he was closer to three years than something like six or eight. He’d also managed to keep the gap with Melanthina from changing significantly. He wasn’t born with light affinity, but he’d taken to cultivation early and developed rapidly.

All the diplomatic stuff Ursel could afford to tune out, but when it came time for some demonstrations, she was ready and focused. Her opponent was similarly at the upper end of the early Soul Expansion Phase, but he was about as old as they could get away with while avoiding embarrassment. Almost thirty, adding a good two-thirds of Ursel’s own age on top. Though if one counted experience, Ursel had sort-of eighteen years of cultivation experience, and Crenatus was probably similar- maybe a bit less. Though it also wasn’t quite fair to count Ursel’s time before she could walk or talk, even if she had cultivation.

After the necessary polite introductions, they got to the good part. Crenatus was of course decked out in shiny golden armor, with a similarly gaudy hammer. It was possible there was some sort of secret that made adding gold into their equipment practical- at the very least they seemed to have techniques so it wasn’t a drawback. But if it wasn’t a true benefit, it just seemed arrogant. Then again, Heavy Gold Mountain was one of the stronger sects in the region, so they could afford it.

Ursel didn’t feel like getting any cracked bones, so she made sure to dodge the initial wide swing. She was durable, sure, but that was no reason to take an attack head on. Unless she planned to get something specific out of it. A few years ago, Ursel would have had a significant reach disadvantage. Now, that gap had narrowed. Crenatus was still a large man, tall and with the reach that entailed, but Ursel had attained her adult stature.

Her stone club had a long enough handle that she could somewhat match her opponent’s reach, so she was able to get a glancing blow on his shoulder in one of the earlier exchanges. It didn’t seem like much, but for Ursel it was the start of her ultimate victory.

The ground trembled as her opponent stepped forward, and then she found herself flung into the air as he slammed his hammer into the ground. Ursel could have avoided it, but she let herself leave the ground without resistance. That was just energy she didn’t have to provide herself as she wound up for a downward assault. Obviously her opponent was ready, swinging his warhammer up toward her as she descended.

To save her ribs, Ursel altered her weapon’s trajectory to intercept his. A shockwave of energy scattered small rocks and dust everywhere as the two clashed. To the untrained eye, it would seem that they came out without anyone gaining an advantage. But Ursel was pulling ahead. More importantly, if she could match him blow for blow then he couldn’t build up the momentum the Heavy Gold Mountain was known for.

Her first touch had dug roots into Crenatus’ shoulder. They were small enough he might not even have noticed. Clashing with his weapon, more roots grew along the shaft and inside his arms, spiritual energy ready to cause trouble. If this were a grudge match, Ursel might invite another head-on clash and tear apart his weapon and maybe his arms to boot. Instead, she was simply going to build up the pressure inside him until it was obvious.

To that end, she chose to exchange blows, hammer striking her ribs as her stone club did the same to Crenatus. They were both flung away, the impact not crushing either of them. Ursel’s ribs were a bit sore, but it wasn’t a big deal. Though she was working with her father on an eventual improvement to Diamond Defense. The materials for such a thing wouldn’t be cheap though.

Ursel held her club out towards Crenatus, a steady smile on her face. He should be feeling the infiltration of the roots, and if he didn’t wrap his head around it soon she didn’t mind causing a little bit of internal damage. She could have probably beat him in a brawl as well, but why expand her knowledge of earth and not use it? Not using her new totem would be a complete waste.

It only took two more clashes for the man to realize he’d lost, and he could feel the tension inside his muscles and bones limiting his range of movement. He properly surrendered, and in turn Ursel placed a hand on his shoulder to dissolve the energy roots without causing any injury.

-----

The Stone Conglomerate was a wide country, and the next big stop was further west. The Marble Mountain Sect, perhaps a bit less prominent than Heavy Gold Mountain but more positively inclined to go along with the Order of the Amber Heart and thus indirectly the Tenebach clan.

The same general situation, with Ursel prepared to display her power. This time, it was against a guy named Rugg. He was closer to his mid or even early twenties, showing talent a level better than Crenatus.

This guy happened to use a halberd, which came with a proper expansion of his reach. He’d have great leverage, and having a proper blade made it riskier to intentionally take a hit. Ursel’s skin might be tough, but once that was chopped through it would get risky. She would have to make sure she kept up solid energy defenses to avoid injury.

Her opponent approached, his halberd clutched tightly in his grip. “L-let’s have a good match, okay miss?” The almost timid way he spoke and what Ursel thought was a light blush nearly threw her off. Was it some sort of trick?

It didn’t matter, because he followed up with taking a solid stance. “Let’s,” Ursel responded. She held her stone club at the ready.

The halberd came in wide sweeps, swift enough that she found it difficult to move in. Ursel was tempted to catch it below the head, but no doubt her opponent dealt with that sort of behavior all the time. She kept a cautious observation of his style, trying to pick out flaws while avoiding attacks. If she took a bad hit, it could shift the whole trajectory of the battle.

Her opponent seemed quite well grounded, steady on his feet and capable of covering pretty much any angle she tried to approach from. But Ursel had some other methods of approach to try. She stepped forward, seeming like she was leading into an upward sweep of her club. Then she was suddenly launched into the air by a projection of bamboo.

Rugg’s halberd came up, but he was slow in getting it behind him. Ursel couldn’t suddenly change her trajectory to approach, but her club tore into the stony ground beneath them, launching a spray of shards at his back.

He quickly spun around, but instead of raising herself up, Ursel did the same for Rugg, causing his halberd to swing over her head. No doubt if she’d simply raised a pillar of earth he would have been ready, but he seemed to be less sensitive to the plant focused aspects of earth cultivation.

Ursel was surprised he didn’t immediately topple as her club slammed into the side of his leg, but she kept herself inside his optimal reach pressing the attack. He shortened his grip on the halberd, taking advantage of its spearlike properties to attempt to fend her off. But ultimately, he couldn’t stand up to Ursel.

“I concede,” he said simply.

Ursel nodded. “Good fight.”

Rugg then got a dreamy smile on his face. “A marble statue, flying through the sky. A beautiful dove, alighting upon the dais.”

Poetry? “Uh, what?” Ursel tilted her head.

“Beautiful Ursel, might I ask for an opportunity to court you?”

Oh. That was what the poetry was for. Might as well make this clear. “I’m going to have to refuse.”

“Alas. May I ask, is it a weakness in my cultivation or my personage that you perceive?”

“Listen, Rugg. I’m sure someone would absolutely love your poetry. But I’m not interested in anyone regardless of flowery words or muscles or cultivation or whatever else. As for your cultivation… I guess you could shore up some weaknesses by expanding the breadth of your understanding of the earth. Maybe see if you can visit the Viridia Wildlands.”

“I understand,” Rugg nodded. “If your words are not just a kindness, it is not a fault in myself.”

“Look, I don’t know anything about proper courtship, but if you find someone you like but they’re not interested in you as you are, it’s probably not meant to be. Don’t assume you should change for someone else. Unless you’ve got a serious flaw, I guess.” Ursel shrugged. She literally just admitted she had no idea how any of that crap worked. Why was she giving advice?

“I shall contemplate your words, both as a worthy opponent and a guide in the matters of love.”

Should she repeat her warning? Eh, whatever. He’d probably be fine.

-----

“So, how’d the talking and stuff go?” Ursel asked Master Renato after they finished their tour.

“About as you’d expect. Nobody wants to get involved with the affairs of the Darklands or to step foot in Astrein. But with a bit of time we can get a few involved, and others will join out of momentum.” Renato nodded seriously, “I’ve also sewn the seeds of danger in their minds, so whether or not they’d been considering the Sky Islands and Molten Sea as threats, they’ll now be more aware.”

“Good to hear,” Ursel nodded. “I don’t know if I was actually that much help, though. I fought a few people, but that’s it.”

“It’s a good reminder for them… that in a decade or two you’ll be something amazing. Especially with how your training has been going. Speaking of which, I do have a reward for your progress.”

“Oh yeah? What is it?”

“You’ll have to follow me to the armory to find out.”

Ursel hoped it was a new weapon. Though she had also been looking at buying one on her own, either with saved up money or through the sect.

When she stepped into the armory, her eyes wouldn’t look at the various weapons and armor strewn about but instead they settled on an armor rack displaying a set of darkly shining armor. She was quite familiar with the material. That was Mountain Steel- and because it was settled into its form upon creation, that meant each section had to be formed exactly as it was and then attached to a structure beneath.

“I see you like it,” Renato commented.

“Wha?” Ursel came out of her daze. “Uh, yes. It looks nice.”

“It’s yours,” Renato said. When Ursel didn’t have the ability to respond, he grinned, “What, you didn’t think I was spending all that effort on making Mountain Steel for fun? Or so you could break it in training?”

“Uh… I didn’t think about it,” Ursel admitted. “But… shouldn’t you have made armor for yourself first? This is so valuable. I don’t know if I can accept it.”

Renato laughed, “You’re going to have to. Because it won’t fit anyone else. But don’t worry about me, I have my own plans.”

“... oh right,” Ursel said. This armor was made for her, and they couldn’t just adjust a few straps to make it fit someone else. Also, she did want it. “I will humbly accept. I hope I can prove worthy of the effort.”

“You already have. But if you want to do something more, just stay alive and help out the sect when we need you.”