It was entirely possible that searching for valuable body tempering methods for each element was a waste of time. John could be spending that time focusing on his primary cultivation of spiritual energy, or refining different techniques. And yet, he couldn’t help but want to continue with his methods. The knowledge would be useful for the Six Elements Crossroads, and he could save many people a large number of hours if they simply knew what methods worked and what didn’t. And if everything was bad, he could definitively state that.

He also continued with it because he had been inspired by Ursel, who was continuing her efforts with body tempering using solely the earth element. The methods there were more straightforward, but that didn’t necessarily make it less effort to achieve worthwhile results. That connection to his wandering daughter made it worthwhile, regardless of any power it did or did not bring to him.

He still couldn’t say he’d mastered his air element body tempering technique, neither the lung filtering nor reaction increasing… but he was improving them slowly and steadily. As for Diamond Defense and his Eyes of Darkness, those were difficult to improve at the current time.

His next goal was a water element body tempering technique. Water’s main features were flexibility and adaptability. But as for being actually flexible, John didn’t think he needed to improve that much more unless he was planning to become a contortionist. Actually, if he cared to, he could probably achieve that level of flexibility without any further supernatural involvement. And while it might seem cool, he probably didn’t need to bend his spine ninety degrees in combat. There was some value to rigidness as well.

If there was one actual liquid within the body that came to mind, John would first think of blood. Improving the flow of blood could be valuable, potentially raising endurance as long as it was still able to properly exchange oxygen and nutrients with the cells throughout the body. As for what exactly he could improve, he was still figuring that out. However, the process was less delicate than his attempts to enhance the transmission speed of signals within his body, so he was certain he could figure something out. Though his current surroundings weren’t optimal for that sort of development, he could still test the process at a basic level.

-----

After their time with the Abiodun clan, the group from the Six Elements Crossroads was moving on to their next stop, the Mozdar clan. They had quite a different combat style, though it was also lightning based. Very few in the Glass Hills would focus on anything besides lightning.

And why should they? With such frequent examples of powerful splendor, it was an excellent place to train. If you had the tenacity to live in such a place. The Six Elements Crossroads brought with them a significant supply of rations. That was easy enough with storage bags involved, but it was still a difficult place to travel.

Lightning during the day was the primary concern. John was slowly increasing the burden on the disciples who were helping to maintain their diverting fields, though he still kept a layer of his own power underneath should they slip up. But hazards during travel were actually relatively easy to manage. It was during downtime when they were supposed to be resting that things became difficult.

Unlike most everywhere else, there weren’t frequent towns or cities. Over five days of travel between the two clans, there was only a single city on their route. That meant they couldn’t rest in inns, and while cultivators could certainly handle a few days of sleeping in tents under normal circumstances- in many places they would probably be fine sleeping directly under the stars- that wasn’t the case here. Rains were a frequent annoyance, but lightning could be quite an issue for those trying to sleep.

They could have shifts of people watching over them, and that was indeed a valuable partial solution, but something more was required. Either finding or creating a more effective shelter such as a cave was required. There were remnants of some such found frequently along the way, but repeated lightning strikes ground down much of the surroundings to a smooth gradient, though temporarily pitted in various locations.

The earth cultivators among them got the most experience with practical things such as reshaping earth, while the air cultivators were generally left with the tasks of deflecting any incoming lightning. Fire and water cultivators were not left out of the process, helping to soften and reshape the shells of gritty glass on the surface. Breaking them apart was all well and good, but they could be a valuable part of a temporary structure if reshaped.

A significant quantity of earth had to be moved to fit their numbers even in a cramped den, but as cultivators they were up to the task. John contributed his own part, wanting to make sure to continue to impress upon his disciples that nobody was above menial tasks. Indeed, greater power led to greater responsibilities. The same tasks needed to be completed, just with higher requirements for efficiency.

With only a small entrance to their underground burrows, it took a smaller set of disciples to watch over them, which meant they could have fewer shifts and spend less time resting. And while they could have technically condensed the whole five day march into a couple days without stopping, such reckless tests of endurance were not on the menu for this trip. Though perhaps they should have excursions of the sort, beginning in a less hostile environment.

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The sound of lightning had long ago become normal, fading into the background- even when it struck surprisingly close. Instead, the most noticeable part was how it disrupted the general balance of elements their group carried with them.

-----

The construction of the Mozdar clan appeared surprisingly modest on the outside. Rather than tall towers supplemented with lightning rods, they had low buildings- though they weren’t unimpressive. Indeed, they were made of finely worked glass, quite different from the gritty and opaque glass produced by random lightning strikes. John at first thought their walls seemed small, but upon properly entering their territory he discovered the truth.

They didn’t have tall walls, because that wasn’t what served their best defensive purposes. Instead, they would fend off their enemies elsewhere- at the entrances to the tunnels which served as the proper core of their clan. John supposed he should have expected that, because unlike the Abiodun Clan, the Mozdar clan was known to practice both the earth and air elements that permeated the Glass Hills.

Though they were greeted outside by a waiting elder, John was swiftly brought through their tunnels- where he confirmed how secure they were, considering how many guards he had to pass on the way. Being underground also had the benefit of shielding them from probing senses, as even John could barely sense around a corner or two. He certainly couldn’t pick out their core areas from a distance, and navigating to their vaults without knowing where they were would require a great bit of luck or time.

As the Mozdar clan was on the very edge of the local region, John had only previously had minimal interactions with them. His first time had been decades ago at a previous tournament, and he’d mainly watched some of their younger cultivators. Their current sect head had not come to the first tournament hosted by the Six Elements Crossroads, though they still sent disciples and the clan head had sent a letter with her regrets about not being able to attend. That could have been just an excuse, but he was inclined to believe it was true due to their receptiveness when he had been arranging this excursion.

Zelma Mozdar was nearly the same age as John- barely a decade older. While that might have placed them in different generations earlier in life, simply due to how quickly cultivation advanced early on, they were now much closer to each other.

She had an impressive bearing, and an equally impressive cultivation in the late Consolidated Soul Phase. It reminded John that he needed to pay attention to even those on the periphery of their understanding- and indeed, learn more about their further neighbors as they could, before they might turn into threats.

“Greetings, Sect Head,” she bowed, and John responded in kind. “The news about the depths of your cultivation does not do you justice.”

“The same with yourself. You are striving for the Ascending Soul Phase, are you not?”

“Indeed. But I still have an entire rank before I can even touch the threshold. I would not describe my own achievements in the same way as your spiritual energy transcends your own rank.”

They could only complement each other so much, sincere as they might be, so they soon moved on to other topics. Zelma did not seem opposed to the idea of a wider unification, but the idea was still growing to fruition. Ultimately, however, John hoped that they could stop any unnecessary infighting, at least within the scope of their region. He might eventually hope for worldwide peace, at some point, but even with his current significant cultivation he felt just as far from accomplishing that as when he was a burger joint manager back on Earth.

“How are things with your neighbors?” John asked.

“Well, those from the Breathless Plains are uninterested in anything here. Otherwise, they would have migrated here long ago.” She shrugged, “The Crystal Sea to the southeast hasn’t changed to any significant degree. And east of us, the Gloom Desolation… I can’t imagine we’d have much they would be interested in. Though keeping track of darkness cultivators isn’t a trivial task.”

John nodded. “I don’t know much about them, but it is said to be a rather harsh place. And an odd one, with unassociated elements dwelling together. Fire and darkness both, correct?”

“Indeed,” Zelma agreed. “An odd mix. As for our western borders, I’m certain you are mainly aware of things. The Sunfields have no quarrel with us. We covet nothing of the fire cultivators of the Green Sands. Only the air cultivators of the Wuthering Steppes tend to frequent our country, relative to others at least. There are inevitable skirmishes that happen, but nothing our clan is concerned with.”

“Have you noticed any activity from the Sky Islands?” John asked.

“Nothing has come to our attention, no. There haven't been any other signs of them coming down from their lofty perches.”

“Good,” John said. Though they were the less bad of the two groups involved in the whole Leviathan incident, they had still caused quite a bit of trouble in the Wuthering Steppes and Darklands. “Now what is your opinion on expanded body tempering?”

“And what do you mean by that?” Zelma asked.

John held out his hand, bare of any spiritual energy which would allow her to better observe him. “My skin is tempered according to the principles of Diamond Defense, and I have developed my own techniques for other changes.”

“Dangerous to develop,” Zelma said. “And not a common sight. Though perhaps if that lightning technique reaches a stable form, we might be interested. We are known to absorb lightning into our bodies, but we break it down into pure spiritual energy instead of augmenting our bodies.”

“I heard that Musa of the Flowing Sand Sect has developed a body technique as well,” John said. “Do you interact with them much?”

“Only rarely,” she admitted. “As a wild sect springing up after clan troubles, their earlier years were quite volatile. It is only recently that they have developed into a sect worthy of acknowledgement. They reached an equilibrium much more slowly than your own sect, I must add.”

“That is the difference between planning and not, I would imagine,” John said. “Now then, let’s discuss what our disciples can best learn from each other.”