Elder Cultivator

Chapter 925

News of the wars resolution in the upper realm brought relief not only to the Scarlet Alliance, but to their lower realms counterparts as well. However, the casualness with which the Trigold Cluster had imposed themselves in the war was concerning. While it had been to the benefit of the Scarlet Alliance this time, the connection between upper and lower realms was important to consider. Due to the recent war in the lower realms, there could easily be an associated retaliation.

They had to assume that at some point their association would become clear. They could only hope that the Scarlet Alliance was stronger before that time. While it was unknown which sects had dominations cultivators within the Trigold Cluster, it was presumed that the Twin Soul Sect must possess one. They were a significant factor in their operations, after all.

Such it was that unknown threats loomed along with the dangers coming with the change in the tides of the world in some three and a half centuries. Of course, much of that was speculation. It was even possible that the upper realms wouldnt retaliate at all, though it was extremely unlikely given their pride. Regardless of whether they needed the supplies of various worlds they had planted their people on, they wouldnt be happy to lose them. And that included both the Exalted Quadrant and Trigold Cluster.

-----

With the troubles on the eastern front resolved, Anton settled back towards the western edge of the Lower Realms Alliance. He had spent some more time on Mazlerth helping build up the Order of One Hundred Stars branch there, but Varghese could handle that in the future. Having fought a war on the same side, plus some decades to get to know each other, the Shining Cooperative and Lower Realms Alliance had opened their borders to each other on a wider scale.

Anton was able to return to Ceretos as well as to visit their newer members on the western front, including all the way north with Akrys. And he had an especially good reason to go visit the latter.

After he had learned to replace his earlier stars by binding to new stars, his options for how many bound stars he could have greatly opened up- he just needed to spend more time in particular locales to bind them instead of it happening quickly. Somewhere around a year or two, generally. Traveling back and forth, Anton had managed to bind several stars in addition to Vrelt, allowing him to speed his journey on the path between Ceretos and Akrys. Moving between bound stars was significantly faster than anywhere else, and he was still improving his travel techniques.

The reason to return to Akrys at the current moment was obvious. It was time, specifically time for Three Squeaks to make his play for Assimilation. Though it might seem like it was a foregone conclusion, Anton was aware that even with their recent improvements to the overall techniques of their alliance, advancements were never guaranteed. Integration and Assimilation were both risky, though the former was a bit more reliable.

Surprisingly enough, if he succeeded Three Squeaks would be only the third member of the Order to successfully bind a star. Rather than being disappointing, Anton thought that meant hed properly conveyed the dangers to his sect. Many were able to ascend, of course, and Vincent was an example of one of several others in the sect who had achieved Assimilation with a different path, but people could have easily followed blindly in the path of the Sect Head.

Three Squeaks was quite easy to pick out among the others, nearly as bright as a star himself. Anton landed next to him, as usual drawing some looks from others- though the majority of residents of Akrys would recognize Antons energy.

There you are, finally! Three Squeaks said. I thought you were going to take forever!

Stars are significantly further apart than you seem to think, little one, Anton grinned.

Yeah, well this one feels like its at a good point for me to make my attempt. Not that I need you. Youre just here to watch. Three Squeaks pat himself on the chest. Well handle things with just us here.

Others began approaching, recognizing Anton. Random individuals would not interfere in their conversation, but Three Squeaks had many friends.

Echoing Cry was the first to arrive, the eagle cutting swiftly through the sky. Is it time?

Thats right! Three Squeaks said.

Contented Grump plodded over- though the hippopotamus was not slow in her motions. She was simply slowed by having to avoid people on the roads, and of course having the courtesy not to trample peoples crops or property. Ive been waiting for this, she said.

Other members of the Shadysands Burrow approached, including Meep and Deep Purr. And many more were watching from afar, knowing something big must be going on with so many powerful cultivators gathering around.

Anton barely recognized the plains, and the expansive burrows beneath the ground were vastly different from the primitive holes the meerkats had once lived in. He could already see the transformation in this world and he was glad it didnt look like one colonized by humans. The tools used by the locals were all quite unique, and even the weapons inherited from humans had been greatly modified for their use.

Even the bows used by Echoing Cry and Three Squeaks were different in several major ways based on their body types. One was meant to be fired with talons, and one had to account for a meerkats paws.

Three Squeaks looked up at the sun. Im not waiting anymore. He looked at Anton. You just watch unless something goes wrong that would hurt other people. Then he turned towards Echoing Cry. Lift me up, buddy!

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The eagle nodded. And up we go!

When Anton had first come to Akrys, an eagle putting their talons on a meerkat could have only meant one thing. Instead, the eagles claws simply latched around Three Squeaks arms.

They began to climb rapidly, to the point that within a few minutes Echoing Cry switched from flying with his wings primarily to powering their motion mainly with his natural energy at the peak of Life Transformation.

Anton could feel Three Squeaks reaching out towards the local sun already but the two kept going higher and higher to the point the atmosphere thinned- and beyond. Then Echoing Cry tossed Three Squeaks even further, propelling the bird back down towards a breathable atmosphere.

That was certainly an interesting way to get closer to the sun. Anton might have been able to make it more efficient, but this was what Three Squeaks wanted.

From that point, he could only watch as the meerkat strengthened his bond with the sun. His trajectory was not quite so powerful that he would actually fully leave the gravity of Akrys, but he was far enough up that he would have at least an hour or two. By that point, things would have worked themselves out.

Anton doubted that most of the others could actually sense most of what was going on, so he gave updates as he could. Hes about halfway, Anton said. He frowned slightly. His connection is a bit unsteady.

Then, it happened. Three Squeaks had heard the tale of Anton nearly turning into charcoal and yet he wasnt able to fully prevent the situation himself.

The initial flare of power was too high, Anton continued. But hes holding together. In a few moments, he should have properly stepped into Assimilation and everyone below would be able to feel it- potentially those on the other side of the world if they were sensitive. The circumference around the planet would only be about as insulating as a couple hundred kilometers of atmosphere, after all.

The power ignited within Three Squeaks, but all was not well. Anton could feel that as the meerkat began to be pulled back towards the planet. But he was alive and he had requested Anton let them handle things. At least the sun itself was not being destabilized, so things hadnt gone that wrong.

It seemed Three Squeaks was conscious enough to slow his own descent into the atmosphere, and he was able to redirect him back towards their location on the ground vaguely. Anton saw Echoing Cry pick up Meep and take off towards his projected landing location. It would probably be a few hundred kilometers away, but the eagle should be able to make it just fine.

Anton followed along, indirectly. Instead of rushing through the air and making shockwaves or having to spend extra energy dampening them, he just circled out of the atmosphere briefly. He did want to be there when his disciple landed, after all.

Echoing Cry swapped from both sets of talons gripping Meep to just a single one as he circled around, tracking Three Squeaks descent. Then he flew up and past Three Squeaks before diving towards the ground, nearly matching velocities so that he didnt cause more damage to his friend than the ground would.

He snatched the slightly crispy meerkat and began to slow both of their descents further, a task he was much better at considering his natural flight abilities. Even carrying two meerkats didnt limit him too much.

Meep slowly and methodically began shoving things into Three Squeaks mouth and rubbing ointments on his fur and burnt skin. Three Squeaks didnt look great when they landed, and Echoing Cry seemed pretty exhausted from the flight. But even so

You look ten times better than I did, Anton said. Congratulations. Three Squeaks raised a single paw in celebration, then passed out. Hows he going to be, Meep?

Over done, Meep said. But still raw.

Sounds about right, Anton grinned. He looked up at Akrys star. He still hadnt bound it, waiting for Three Squeaks to get the chance. Perhaps he would do so after things settled down. Only with permission, of course. It might be better to instead bind other stars nearby and leave Akrys to its natives. Then again, Akrys was going to join the Lower Realms Alliance, and that included defensive pacts. It might be better to have it bound for emergencies.

Either way, Anton wasnt going to rush into it. He didnt know what two rapid star bindings would do perhaps nothing, but this wasnt the time to experiment. Not when it was Three Squeaks first star.

-----

Wow, you bound with everyone in the sect? Three Squeaks said impressed, having traveled with Anton to Ceretos. Thats a very meerkat like thing to do, actually.

Vincent had learned the language of Akrys, though his actual practice was limited. Anton helped translate anything he missed. It seemed to fit me better, Vincent smiled at the meerkat.

Well, I probably would have done something like that but I wanted to follow in Antons footsteps. And by would have I of course mean if I hadnt died and if Akrys had ever reached that level of understanding without help. Three Squeaks nodded seriously. But there are some others who are going to try to do the same sort of thing as you. It would be great if you could visit. Especially since we cant really talk to anyone on Aipra in person.

I absolutely will. Especially since many of you are brothers and sisters in cultivation, Vincent nodded. How long do you think it will be, before anyone else reaches Assimilation?

Oh, weve got tons of people itching for it, Three Squeaks said. Counting that and Integration, I think were going to see a whole lot in the next few decades. Not just from the Order of course.

Your prosperity is our prosperity, now, Vincent said. I will absolutely make time to visit and share my own insights.

Great! Three Squeaks said. Im going to be here for a while learning about human stuff, he looked down the mountain towards the sect and nearby city. But then Im going to visit Varghese!

Vincent nodded. Our fellow branch head will certainly be glad to see you as well.

Anton smiled. Things with Akrys had gone better than could have been expected, though it was a long time coming. They still had much more development to undergo, of course, and the planet as a whole wasnt as conducive to cultivation for everyone as it could be. But they were making great strides. The language barrier would be a bit of a concern, though stronger cultivators could learn new languages quickly- and while the people of Akrys didnt necessarily have the vocal cords for human language, they could still replicate the sounds with energy.

Either way, with void ants already integrated into much of their society, it wouldnt be that difficult to get people to accept fuzzy and cute individuals. Still, there would be challenges to overcome. Everything was sized for humans, and it was unlikely that there could be anything universally suited to all the species of Akrys. Other planets would be a bit more difficult for them. Then again, it was that way with people- often in less visible ways.

One more Assimilation cultivator wasnt going to make or break the Alliance, but it showed that their power was steadily growing. Perhaps they really might be able to stand up for themselves when it came time.