All of the work preparing for the tournament had paid off with it going as smoothly as they could ever hope for and yet, it was years of work for just a few weeks. Now that they had some experience, however, the Six Elements Crossroads would most likely be able to run things more efficiently. They couldn’t afford to spend half of their time preparing for the tournament, or they would neglect themselves and their own people.

Speaking of personal neglect, John’s cultivation was at its current limits. The normal path was to attune to a totem, but he already had totems. He couldn’t just pick up more- he knew that trying would be a mistake he wouldn’t survive.

So far he had a pretty clear path to regaining his cultivation, which was recognizing important figures who he associated with certain elements. There was no doubt in his mind that Matayal was his anchor for the Consolidated Soul Phase and the water element. However, he also felt he would need to be in a proper location. There, the memories would be strongest. Hopefully, only good ones.

He had been to the Brandle clan recently enough, but while he had many memories of her there, that wasn’t what he needed. Instead he had to return to where they advanced to the Consolidated Soul Phase together- so it was back to the Blustering Peaks once more. Except this time, instead of visiting a relatively hospitable sect, he was off into a barely inhabited region at the origin of the Grandcliff River.

Rather than a wide variety of disciples, he only brought with him those who were in the Soul Expansion Phase. Perhaps others might benefit from the trip, but it was not an easy road and he didn’t intend to take it slowly.

Though of course ‘road’ was not the right word. The Grandcliff River originated at one of the highest peaks in the region, so rather than a road it was a more used hiking trail and then frequently scaled cliffs. There were no permanent climbing trails, as the frosty winds imbued with spiritual energy tended to wear pitons away quickly.

However, there were caves carved out along the way where cultivators could rest and get a bit of shelter from the winds. The path was easier than it had once been, but the trials of the climb were not the true goal of the climb.

Instead, the point was to reach the headwaters, where they could see the extremely odd waterfall that was the origin of everything. There, those with the water element could experience enlightenment… especially during the time of the Great Waterfall Reversal. The only issue was that it only happened every few years… and this was not one of those times.

Even so, John was confident that the trip would provide the results he was after, and that the disciples with him would benefit from the visit.

Being a sect head was not so different from being in a clan. Those positioned below him would give their lives on his behalf, and yet he felt a sense of responsibility for their safety. The only difference was that he was not born into this ‘family’, but instead had some input into who joined it. Joining and leaving a sect were both easier, but still not something to be done with great frequency. Loyalty was a highly desired trait.

Many of the best among the Six Elements Crossroads disciples were still those who had been street kids in Lunson. Now they were growing up into proper adults. John thought they had gained valuable worldly knowledge from experiencing the lows of their earlier life- not that he would wish for such struggles upon anyone. But since they’d seen how bad things could get, they were very appreciative of what they had now- and they worked hard. That was the most important part. He could spend his entire life putting together a ‘perfect’ cultivation method, but it wouldn’t be much good for even the most talented if the effort wasn’t there.

Ayhan, Lir, and Sthithulf were those among the first handful John had recruited that had water element totems. And the first two also had air element totems, making it easier for them to recover their spiritual energy during the climb.

But even in other areas, John and the other disciples could help convert air element spiritual energy for those who needed it. Bit by bit they climbed up the windy cliffs, with John watching over the disciples.

It took quite some time for them to reach the top, where they found a kilometer tall waterfall, at the base of which sat… only a handful of other cultivators training at the falls. After all, the area was only popular during the time around the Great Waterfall Reversal. At the current time, it was just a particularly impressive waterfall.

Noticing unexpected arrivals, the regular cultivators took a good look, sensing with their spiritual energy. Among them was one more powerful individual, and older man who looked familiar. The look on his face seemed to be calling John closer. Though there was no official sect in control of this place, it was always best to be ingratiated to the locals.

John approached the old man, trying to recall why he seemed familiar. Ultimately, the answer was quite simple- he had been in much the same place last time John visited, decades prior. Perhaps a sectless cultivator focused on a single source for his insights. It was not an unreasonable path in life, and John could think of far worse places to live than a waterfall, especially one so majestic.

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“Greetings, senior.”

The man smiled slightly at John’s courtesy. “Old I am indeed,” the man said. “But it is unclear to me if your cultivation is greater or lesser since we last met. So perhaps I should be the one calling you senior.”

“It is a bit of both,” John admitted. He took in the man’s cultivation. Mid Consolidated Soul Phase. The thirty-third rank, just short of the late Consolidated Soul Phase. “I am here to hopefully recreate my previous advancement.”

“I wish you fortune,” the old man said. “But I fear your timing may have failed you. The Great Waterfall Reversal is not for some time yet.”

“Waiting for it to reoccur was not in the cards for my availability,” John said.

He and the other settled into the area- there was plenty of room for them to fit in among the others without disturbing their cultivation. And as all were focusing on the waterfall, there was a bit of resonant harmony to be felt among them.

John focused on the waterfall, and how his disciples and the others reacted to it. He remembered, nearly three decades before, how he had trained with Matayal.

Passive meditation was valuable to some extent, but John wanted more. And the only way to get closer to the waterfall was to be in it. Not just standing at the base beneath the spray, but actually within the flow was best.

Swimming up a waterfall was not a feat possible with only the body- in fact, it was a pointless effort. But spiritual energy allowed such a task to be possible, even with the waterfall flowing downward. It required catching the water as it flowed past him, pushing off of it to propel himself upward. At the same time, he made the water above flow around him so that the force of it wouldn’t push him down.

Swimming a kilometer would normally only take John a minute or so with the amount of spiritual energy he was putting into the task, but obviously it was a bit more difficult to do so vertically. He had to constantly cycle the elements within him to keep himself replenished as much as possible while he struggled upwards over the course of an hour. Once he reached the peak, he briefly gazed into the opening from which the waterfall sprang.

Then he let himself fall. Down was easy, but he left behind traces of spiritual energy along the way. Hooks that held their place against the stone behind the waterfall and deeper within the towering spire of rock, waiting for him to activate them to achieve their purpose.

The water pushed him downward at an accelerating rate, until he was almost in a freefall- the water in front of him actually buffering his motion instead of propelling him from behind. He slowed himself as he reached the bottom, earth to anchor himself to the wall and air to lift him up.

As he reached the bottom, he activated the lingering spiritual energy. Water and fire twisted together. If there was not going to be a Great Waterfall reversal, then he would simply have to make one. That had been his plan all along.

Of course, he didn’t have the power to truly create a Great Waterfall Reversal. But he recalled the atmospheric conditions from his experience, and he knew he could recreate that for a few moments at least.

Water froze, both in the waterfall and the column of water rising within the stone. Fire elemental spiritual energy supported water in shifting between states, even though one would normally only think of it as useful for heating things.

As the phenomenon wasn’t natural, things didn’t happen quite as smoothly. But the rapid changes in volume within the flowing water briefly disturbed the column of water rising up within the stone, causing it to drop. With that, it began to pull in from the top. John had already connected the water in a sort of chain, tenuous as it was.

He felt it already, as it was happening. The rush of advancing cultivation, as he went from one rank to the next. His spiritual energy was overflowing even as he was expending it at a rapid pace. He swam upward, avoiding spikes of ice in the flow of water that sat just on the threshold of freezing.

He soon felt the drain, but he kept going. Up and up. Instead of a lengthy process, with the water working alongside him it was closer to a minute- he still had to tangle with gravity, after all. And just as he reached the peak, the effect fell apart, the pressure inside the pillar of stone that birthed the waterfalls once more pushing outward as it was accustomed to.

Nearly drained, John let himself fall back down, drawing into himself water element as he did so. He allowed himself to splash into the pool at the bottom, adjusting the properties of the water to arrest his momentum gradually instead of impacting it as a solid force. He floated a short way on the currents before climbing out.

All of his disciples were looking suitably impressed, but the old man was looking not at him but up at the waterfall with determination. While John thought it unlikely that such an elderly gentleman would manage to grow much further, given he hadn’t yet reached the late Consolidated Soul Phase, he also wasn’t going to tell him to give up. The fellow seemed to be resolved to something, and John saw that the efforts of all of the others were redoubled during his time as well.

Even if none of these fellows was officially allied with him, they all lived together in the greater region around them. If they could be at peace, he wished them well. And any with sufficient cultivation would help to limit the greedy hands of outsiders. That was the hope, at least.

John was glad that everyone was covered in water. While he found nothing wrong with men crying, it was still undignified to do so in front of his disciples. He could almost feel Matayal beside him still. Not actually, of course, but the memories were strong, especially for this particular step of his journey to regrow his cultivation. She should be here, beside him. They should have been wandering the world together, though they would of course have returned to check on their children… occasionally. But that time had never come.