Energy flowed satisfyingly smoothly through Anton’s meridians. His dantian was now occupied by five rotating stars, each representing changes to his body. The first star was the initial refinement to his entire person. Second had been his meridians, followed by the organs in his torso, the organs in his head, and finally his muscles. Some of it was just making up for abilities his body no longer had, but with the addition of energy to support him he found himself quite a bit more capable. If only he weren’t imprisoned.

Anton’s mind slowly returned to its focus outside of himself after his breakthrough. Surprisingly, there were two people standing outside his cell, watching him. He got to his feet, ignoring how some of his joints ached as he did. It was still much less than he’d experienced a few months prior. “Elder Daniela,” he inclined his head politely. He turned his head so the light settled properly on the other person. “Vincent! I mean… Elder Vincent.”

“Everyone just calls me Vincent. No need to change your form of address, Anton.” Vincent’s eyes scanned over Anton. “You look about twenty years younger.”

Anton grinned slightly, “I feel it too. Unfortunately I’m sure you know I’ve run into a bit of trouble.”

“What have you been doing since we last met?”

“I assure you I was behaving quite excellently until just recently.”

“I don’t care about this, right now.” Vincent waved his hand. “You just formed the fifth star. How did that happen?”

Anton shook his head. “I… cultivated? I’m not sure quite what you mean. Forming the first star took me… a month and a half. I nearly died, I think. During that time I did little else but cultivate and… bury the villagers of Dungannon.” Vincent nodded in acknowledgement and gestured for him to continue. “I found cultivating to be quite difficult, my meridians strained… so I chose to refine those next. Next I refined my torso, to keep all these old organs going. That was… somewhere around three months.” Anton nodded to himself, recalling the events. “You had mentioned joining the sect at the third star, so I began the journey. On the road I began to refine the organs in my head, since my eyesight was still quite awful. It was a slow process, and I only broke through to the fourth star just outside the sect, taking advantage of the abundant natural energy that spread out to the surrounding areas. Then I spent some months here in the sect cultivating my muscles and the fifth star.”

“That’s it?” Vincent asked. “You just cultivated? Didn’t stumble across any potent herbs?”

“Around Dungannon or along the road?” Anton grinned, “Not at all.”

“I understand. So, what about the trouble that landed you in here?” Vincent asked.

Anton shrugged, “What can I say that I have not already told? I realize I was excessive in my actions, but I stand by the principle. I don’t believe sect members should attempt to take from each other. If you wish, I can make a formal apology to Hayden for attempting to kill him.”

“You can’t, actually,” Elder Daniela interjected. “He’s no longer a part of the sect. You’re right about his actions being inappropriate. However, even when the cause is right… it’s best not to do things that can’t be taken back. Especially if there might be some misunderstanding.” Elder Daniela looked to Vincent and gestured behind her hand. In turn, Vincent nodded and waved his hand towards the door. “Since your actions were justified and Hayden’s death was prevented, it has been deemed that you have spent sufficient time here as punishment. As long as you swear to be more thoughtful in your future actions, you can return to your residence immediately.”

She pulled out a key and began unlocking the cell immediately. Anton found himself watching the way the energy gathered around the key and twisted in the lock, finding a sense of oppression from the bars disappearing. Then he remembered what had been said. “Of course. I swear to be more careful if future conflict arises with fellow disciples.”

Vincent smiled, “We shall have to continue catching up later. Good luck with your cultivation.” With a nod, Vincent walked ahead of the other two as Elder Daniela escorted Anton out.

-----

Elder Vincent and Elder Daniela met up later, on their way to meet with others. “Was it really just six months?” Elder Daniela shook her head. “It took me longer than that to reach fifth star.”

“Not quite so much for me,” Vincent commented. “But I wasn’t a hundred years old yet.”

“I can’t believe the tests didn’t notice anything…”

“He skipped the test, remember? Fourth star. We don’t usually expect someone to go from third to fourth in the time it takes to travel here… and they might be more informed.” Vincent shook his head, “I gave him a bare minimum of information because I didn’t expect that much. It explains why I couldn’t find him as I passed back through Dungannon, however.”

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“What do we do?” Elder Daniela frowned. “He could have certainly won extra resources in the tests. Should we give him a chance?”

Vincent shook his head. “It’s too late for that now. Besides, he clearly hasn’t needed anything. As for what we do… I’m not sure we have to do anything. Perhaps coax him into attending some lessons, but otherwise I don’t imagine there is anything required from us at the moment. Though we should certainly bring him up at the meeting. Everyone’s always looking for young geniuses. Nobody thought to look for an old one. If he makes it to Spirit Building at the same rate… it’ll be quite something to see.”

-----

While the conditions in the cell had been comfortable enough, Anton was quite pleased to be unconstrained. Cultivating for a few weeks without moving his body more than a small distance was not the optimal situation, though the natural energy had been abundant enough. Despite its simplicity, he was glad to be back in his own little courtyard. He spent some time practicing his techniques, though he realized he did not have a bow. However, the quality of Spirit Arrows he could make had gone up, their duration quite more enduring as he was able to condense his energy further. When he was tired enough, he returned to his own bed. While the quality of the physical object itself was not much different, it was significantly more restful.

-----

Anton found himself arriving at breakfast earlier than normal, though he’d left at the same time. His legs carried him faster, with less complaining. Less complaining didn’t mean none, but it wasn’t the muscles crying out. Unlike many others of advanced age, he didn’t have particularly bad knees. That said, not particularly bad did not mean good. Would he refine the area along with his bones? It had some overlap with both bones and tendons. He had to pick something next, so it might as well be one of those.

Breakfast was quick enough, though Anton found his appetite increased. Quite a bit, compared to how he had been half a year ago. He was like a teenager again, though perhaps his hunger was amplified by the amount all the actual teenagers and other young disciples were eating. Nothing extraordinary, for the most part, but he could see why the sect wanted to maintain their own fields for both grains and magical herbs.

Even with more time spent at breakfast, he was even earlier to the fields where he planned to be working. Elder Howland was already in the area. “Good morning, Elder.”

“Anton.” Elder Howland inclined his head. “Good to see you back. I thought perhaps you would not return after your breakthrough.”

Anton smiled, “I was just… occupied for a time.”

“I heard the general idea. I knew a reliable person like you was always going to be out and about soon enough. Now then, might as well get started.”

With a powerful swing, Anton began to hoe a new field. Even with his body being stronger and the use of natural energy, he found it was still less effective than using an animal to till the soil. However, it wasn’t as if the sect didn’t know what it was doing. Anton just wondered if the other disciples understood. As he moved, he gathered energy from the world around him, breathing it in, circulating it from his dantian through his meridians… and into his bones. Not too deep at first. In fact, refining the marrow was another star in itself. However, he directed the energy to support his body. It wasn’t going to be a short process, but he had to start at some point.

-----

When he returned to the compound which his home was a part of, Anton sensed a new person where Hayden had lived. He thought it would be good to introduce himself. He knocked on the gate, since the new disciple was outside in his courtyard, and not in a critical point of cultivation. “Hello?” a young man opened the gate to the outside and looked at Anton. He seemed familiar.

“Good evening,” Anton inclined his head. “I am Anton Krantz. I have not been around recently, but I live in the opposite corner there.”

“Anton?” The young man inclined his head in return. “I’m Timothy. Catarina mentioned you.” He looked over his shoulder towards Catarina’s courtyard then leaned in. “She probably won’t mention it, but she really appreciated your help. She was worried about what happened to you.” Timothy looked Anton up and down. “Fifth star. That would explain it.”

“Well,” Anton bowed and took a step back. “I was merely here to introduce myself. Don’t hesitate to drop by if you wish to consult on anything, though I’m not sure if I can help much in matters of cultivation.”

“Good to meet you, Senior Krantz,” Timothy inclined his head. The form of address was unfamiliar, though certainly apt since Anton was both older and of a higher cultivation.

Anton moved around to Catarina’s courtyard, knocking as well. It didn’t take her long to open the gate. “...Hello.”

“Good evening, miss Riley. I just wished to say I have returned.”

She nodded her head. “Okay. I-” she started to speak, but didn’t continue. After a handful of seconds, Anton supposed she would probably not continue.

“I am glad to see you are well. Your cultivation is progressing nicely towards the next star. I hope the incident didn’t result in further trouble for you,” Anton smiled.

“No, it… I am… fine.” Catarina nodded, “I am… welcome back.” With that, she ungracefully shut the gate. Anton smiled. Kids could be so shy. Well, with a few decades of experience anyone might get better at conversation. Though he wasn’t sure if anyone at the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars would actually get much practice in conversation. It didn’t seem to be a favored pastime of cultivators.