It wasn’t possible to learn a combat technique overnight, though Anton still put in his best effort. He was hindered by the fact that he didn’t have a bow, so he could only practice some of the vision techniques from Hawk Eyes Archery and begin a basic attempt at Spirit Arrows. If he had a bow, he might have tried out a few things from Thousand Arrows, but to get a bow he needed to work… and to work, he needed to rest.

-----

Anton woke up before dawn. That was his regular time, and he was planning to get to regular work. First he needed some sustenance, so he found his way over to the dining hall nearest to him. The kitchens were just getting started, but Anton saw there were some industrious workers there as well. He got a nice bowl of porridge and some toast. Perhaps because he hadn’t eaten in the company of others in quite some time, he felt it was the best meal he’d had in months. Maybe half a year, if he was honest. Not the most filling, because Vincent had certainly filled him up, but the most ultimately satisfying.

There were few others awake in the early morning, and none who were interested in sitting next to an old man. That left Anton open to observe those around him. Unlike the impression he’d first gotten, he found that the disciples of the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars weren’t all quite what he thought. Those involved with testing like Sterling had all been sixth star or higher, but there were some fifth star and even a small handful of fourth star cultivators like Anton. The large dining hall was still mostly empty even with those people in it, seemingly able to support hundreds at the same time. However, Anton supposed that most of the third star cultivators would be young fellows just joining. Then in a few weeks they would reach the fourth star and begin to surpass him. He needed to do his best to at least keep up with some of them, or he’d never have his chance.

Anton finished his light meal. He was sure after a half day of labor he would be quite famished and ready for a heavier meal. He found himself already looking forward to what that might be as he headed towards the nearest fields. It was dawn when he arrived, and Anton found there were only a handful of others there with him. “Are there not that many workers?” Anton asked of the youth next to him.

“There are more,” the young man replied, “But they’ll show up sometime after dawn. Elder Howland doesn’t mind as long as they put in the work… though those of us who show up at dawn usually get paid better. You’re new here, I take it? I’m Hoyt.” Hoyt extended his hand.

“Everyone can tell, apparently,” Anton received the hand and shook it, “Anton.”

“Pleased to meet you, Senior Anton.”

“Just Anton is fine. We’re both fourth star cultivators, outer disciples. If anything, I should call you Senior Hoyt, since you joined before me.”

Hoyt grimaced, “Please don’t.”

Elder Howland showed up not a few minutes later… though Anton had the feeling that he’d been around the whole time. There weren’t many places to hide in the untilled and currently empty fields, but somehow he’d almost appeared from nowhere. Anton had turned to see him as soon as he felt the fifteen star presence, but he was already close by that point.

Anton first became suspicious as he was handed a hoe. He was no stranger to tilling soil by hand, but as soon as the family farm had expanded enough he’d gotten an ox and a proper plough. There was no way that the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars didn’t know the utility of an ox, or couldn’t afford one. It wasn’t as if they were working on a small area, either.

He didn’t complain, beginning to till the soil as instructed- though he didn’t hear anything new. He swung his hoe, feeling like an eighty maybe even as young as seventy year old man as his hoe connected with soil, turning it. He recalled his children and grandchildren complaining about his ‘overworking’ himself, but he only pushed himself as hard as he needed. Just enough to take care of the day’s work. As he swung his hoe, Anton circulated the Ninety-Nine Stars cultivation technique, feeding some of the surrounding natural energy into his muscles. Each swing into the dirt stirred up more natural energy… and his suspicions intensified.

Some of the others in the area seemed to be focusing on their muscles, but weren’t cultivating at all. Anton felt Hoyt was doing the same thing as him. He couldn’t blame the kid for having sloppy technique- Anton’s own near century of experience was something hard to match. At least Hoyt was clearly trying. Some didn’t seem concerned about their technique, just trying to run out the clock. Anton put all of his muscle into the swings, working his arms and back, and even his legs. By the time lunch came, he was nearly exhausted.

Lunch was delivered to the work area, consisting of a selection of various things. Many disciples went straight for the meats, but Anton made sure to mix in vegetables. He had to admit that they were the best quality he had ever tasted. Something about the natural energy in the area, perhaps. After resting for lunch, he felt reinvigorated enough to continue exhausting himself until evening.

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Hoyt’s legs carried him in the same direction as Anton. It appeared he lived in the same region, instead of coming from the other side of the fields like most of the other workers. There wasn’t much to discuss about their day, but Anton brought up the one thing he thought was strange. “Why do we not use plows? It would require many fewer workers to till the fields.”

Hoyt shrugged, “I can’t say for sure. If you ask Elder Howland, he says something about animals disturbing the natural energy in the area. However, if you ask me… well, I think you’ve stumbled onto this idea yourself. They just want to see how we work.”

“And whether we think to cultivate ourselves while we cultivate the land,” Anton grinned. “Are you from a farming background?”

“No, my father was a laborer in Edelhull. Still, I interacted with them enough to know what they were talking about. Cultivating the body isn’t exactly like cultivating land, but they can clearly be done together. Just wait until we get to picking weeds from among the magic herbs. There’s so much natural energy there…” Hoyt shook his head, “Well, it’s not possible to use it all, and some needs to be left for the plants. But it’s just as much as some of the nice training places that you have to pay for, and you get paid instead.”

-----

Hoyt lived more to the north of the dining hall, while Anton lived to the south, so they parted ways at the conclusion of dinner. As Anton was approaching, he noticed something. The other residences were now occupied. He should have expected that, but he’d forgotten. Before heading to greet them, he moved into his courtyard, washing off the day’s dirt and grime with a few buckets of water from the pump there. It seemed extravagant for each courtyard to have its own pump, but then again cultivators seemed to value privacy.

Anton found his way to his first neighbor. He could tell that they weren’t immediately in the middle of cultivation, so he knocked on their door. A man perhaps in his late twenties answered the door. “Yes, what is it? Am I being summoned for something?”

Anton did his best to smile pleasantly. “I just thought it would be good to introduce myself. I am Anton, one of your neighbors.”

“Oh, yes.” The man looked him over, “I’m Hayden. Good to meet you.” Though he said the words, his expression and the way he quickly closed the door belied the actual meaning of them.

His reception at the second neighbor was not particularly better. A young woman just at the border of adulthood responded to his knock. Anton took the initiative to introduce himself and his purpose for being there.

“Oh. Hello. I’m Velvet.” The young woman bowed her head. You’re… the old man who got to skip the test, right? How’d you do that?”

Anton sighed, “Those at the fourth star do not have to take the test.”

“I see,” she nodded. “So you spent all that time cultivating to the fourth star alone so you could join the sect. I suppose that makes sense.”

While Velvet was slightly more pleasant than Hayden, her words clearly indicated she didn’t think much of Anton. He hadn’t even known he would skip the test by being fourth star. If he’d known, he wasn’t sure if he should have delayed slightly or not. Failing the test would have been disheartening.

Something Anton noticed from the first two neighbors was that they didn’t cultivate the Ninety-Nine Stars. Well, they were just starting to show signs of it, but they seemed to be something similar to the third star in other techniques. Presumably they would be changing cultivation techniques, though perhaps they had access to something particularly impressive- though in that case they might have little use for the Order as a whole, even with its other resources.

His third and final neighbor was cultivating when he arrived. However, they stopped when he stood outside the door. Perhaps they sensed him, but regardless Anton took the chance to knock. Opening the door was a young woman who he recognized from the test. “Good evening. I am Anton, the neighbor in the house counterclockwise one in the complex.”

The young woman nodded. “Catarina.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but I believe I passed you in Edelhull. Did the young man you were with earlier get assigned to a different complex?”

The young woman had little expression on her face as she spoke. “No. Timothy is… kind of an idiot. He failed the test.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be,” Catarina said. “He’ll probably pass next month anyway.” Catarina squinted her eyes at Anton. “Weren’t you third star?”

“I managed to complete the fourth star just in time for the test. Or… lack of it, apparently.”

“I see,” Catarina nodded. “Good evening,” she inclined her head and closed the door. Though her words were straightforward, they seemed at least generally polite… though unexpressive. Anton felt her return to cultivating again not a few moments later. So she had sensed him coming. She was third star as well, apparently having already been practicing the Ninety-Nine Stars, and he felt she would reach fourth star fairly quickly. Indeed, if she’d somehow failed the test… she would certainly be able to skip the one coming in another month.

Anton returned to his own home. Though he’d been cultivating during the day, it wasn’t quite the same while moving and while still. His muscles still ached from their exertion, and a bit of cultivating would help ease that. Then he had to put in a bit of practice for his archery techniques- or at least what he could do without a bow- before finally catching enough sleep for the next day.