The fact that a whole army had followed Anton on his crazy escapade showed how strongly the continental sects felt about the Exalted Archipelago. The Archipelago was undoubtedly arrogant, but the continents had their own pride. Pride was not necessarily arrogance, but it certainly could have been. If Anton had only been at the lower estimates he had for his own power, things would have not gone so well.

But everything had gone better than expected, and they were approaching the Soaring Air Sect without further incident. In the future, Anton would have a more accurate assessment to go off of, though he truly hoped he didn’t need to use his power.After finishing up their current plan, of course.

The Soaring Air Sect made their home on an island that came almost vertically out of the sea. It stretched unnaturally high, several kilometers up. The highest points were above the clouds, and sheer cliffs surrounded it.

Anton raised his eyes to the peak. They flashed, fire burning within them. His advancement had almost cost him everything, his body having only been held together by the core of power within him. Now the power coursed through him, begging to be released. Yet it was well within his control, and comfortable.

The fleet had not approached the base of the island. It was impossible to say what sort of traps would have been set up there, but it was simply unnecessary to get so close. Anton empowered his voice, having it echo across the distance between them. “Cultivators of the Soaring Air Sect. Had you been willing to see reason previously, you would have been forgiven with the death of your sect head. However, since that demand you have only compounded your guilt. Now the only way you can pay is with the entirety of your wealth. Weapon, armor, equipment, and of course your skyships.” The demand was extravagant. If the Soaring Air Sect was willing to negotiate the price might be lowered. The demand simply started so high because they needed to understand the severity of the situation.

No, that wasn’t it. Anton had to be honest with himself. He made the most outrageous demands because he wanted to provoke them to rash action. Was that fair? Perhaps he might change his mind later, but he decided it was justified.

With no response offered immediately, Anton continued. “I have not the patience to deal with further trouble from the Soaring Air Sect. If you do not respond, I shall be forced to begin destroying your sect.”

He could see people gathering at the edge of the island. They had only minor walls- the difficulty of reaching their height was already great enough that high walls were a pointless expense. The walls likely only served as the supporting part of a formation.

“Ten.” Anton began to count. He held his bow, channeling energy into it as he pointed it towards them. “Nine. Eight.” He could feel the defensive formations had already been raised to full power. He continued counting.

“You will regret this,” finally came a response from one of the elders. Anton took special note of the voice and matched it to the movements of a mouth.

“That’s not a response,” Anton said. “One.” He drew out the word, making sure there was time for it to reach the ears of everyone. Nobody even tried to stop him, though perhaps they felt it would weaken their position. They likely couldn’t see him clearly, the blinding light gathered on his bow lighting up even the depths of the sea around him.

Then he lowered his bow- not to avoid attacking, but to target something easier. His arrow released, barely even fitting the definition. The energy he gathered simply couldn’t fit in the confined space, but it functioned well enough.

There was no need for Anton to ride along with the arrow, observing from his perspective. If he couldn’t hit his target, he would give up archery forever. Literally the only thing he needed to do was hit an island. As the arrow touched the rock, it melted through it, heat and light scattering everywhere.

A moment later, it came out the other side, several kilometers away. Anton could see natural light on the other side, through the drooping tunnel he shot. It was only a hand’s width across, but that was because he’d constrained his energy to a smaller size. He could have torn apart more, but having a sign that would be visible to anyone who came near would be more effective.

Anton looked back up. “Whoever you have elected to speak for you clearly is not going to accomplish anything,” Anton said as he readied another shot. He might not actually use it, but it was important for them to know he was ready and able to continue. “Perhaps you should choose someone else.”

-----

Vari had collapsed to the floor. In other circumstances Alva would have dragged her back away from where she was so that Vari could recover on her own, but she didn’t want to have to wait for her to recover. Even then, the oppressive force of the room was far above what Vari could handle with a few days of training. So she lifted her up, enshrouding the foolish woman with her own energy as she continued forward. Unlike what she had experienced before, this room also had traps. But it did get gradually more difficult to travel though, until they finally came out the other side.

Alva let out a heavy breath. She wasn’t holding her breath just because of the poison that had been filling the room, but it was part of it. The sudden change towards the end had been unexpected, with Alva only barely keeping her feet despite being in Ascension. “He’s actually trying to kill us,” she muttered.

“... Lady Alva,” Vari slowly regained her consciousness. “You have been as impressive as always. I was unprepared for what we encountered. You must have great experience with traps.”

“Not really,” Alva shrugged. “It’s just that I’m familiar with this style because-” she stopped herself. “Because I’ve seen something similar before.” Saying she was from the same world as Everheart might be a bad move.

“I understand,” Vari nodded. “I was thinking that perhaps you had been to the tomb before, but you applied experience from elsewhere. No wonder you are so strong.”

“Yeah,” Alva said. “That’s definitely it.” She looked at Vari, who was emitting more of those weird energy strands and looked not even slightly suspicious. “You… did you happen to not complete your training in Insight, by any chance?” Alva was not a good liar, and she’d been pretty obvious. Bringing it up was kind of risky but…

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“Insight?” Vari shook her head. “An unnecessary facet of cultivation that merely serves to weaken bonds with the saints. Other techniques may waste their time on such, but the Harmonious Citadel advances beyond the need.”

Alva groaned. How could Vari be so foolish? It was like… she’d been raised in a cult her whole life. Which she had. Along with everyone else on every planet she could go to. It was kind of pathetic, actually. Alva wasn’t sure if she could blame her.

“Alright,” Alva said. “So-” then she felt something. Not something bad, but just unexpected. One of the messaging devices.

It was Catarina. “Did … work this time?”

That was… a very unhelpful message. “I am not sure what you mean. Did what work? And which landmark are we aiming for?”

Alva readied herself to wait, but there was an immediate response. Then she was reminded that the weeks of waiting no longer applied with them being on the same planet, so it should be instantaneous. Now that she thought about it, the fact that she hadn’t gotten a response for her initial message saying she was on the planet was odd now.

“Only getting about ha… message. Have you arri… Gardens.”

Alva could have made some assumptions, but it seemed silly. “Are the Gardens good or are the Gardens bad?” She made sure to repeat the place name. If some of the message was lost, repetition would help. She planned to send the whole message again when she got a response.

“... Gardens. Repeat, meet at …”

Now Alva was ninety nine percent certain. And she also didn’t want to have a one percent chance of going to the wrong place in this deathtrap. She sent her message again.

“Do not …dens. Dangerous. Great… safer. Repeat, the Great Hall is safer. Meet us there.”

And that was why. Training in insight wasn’t worth anything? Yeah right. Though it could have been some other mental training since Catarina obviously wasn’t trying to mislead her.

“We’re heading to the Great Hall,” Alva declared. “Now let’s just see what’s out-” beyond the door she was hit with a wave of scent. Nature. Plants and animals and just enough regular patterns and walkways to indicate it was not wilderness. Alva sighed again. At least they had a landmark to navigate from now. And she only had to go a quarter of the way around this place to reach the Great Hall.

-----

Soon enough Anton was back on Brogora. The coastal forces were still on high alert at the moment, uncertain what the response would be from the rest of the Exalted Archipelago. But if it came to a war, they had an early advantage- and the justification they had was quite significant.

“I’m glad you made it back,” Lev said. “But I’m not sure it was the right move.”

“I am,” Anton said. “They needed to know what we can do. Speaking of which, there’s something very important for us to decide.”

“I really don’t think skyships will do well here,” Lev said. “Constantly having to avoid the Grandfather Willow?” Lev shook his head. “Though we could certainly use other reparations.”

“Of course. That is already being arranged. But even more important… what do we call this?”

Lev frowned, “This? You mean us?”

“That’s right. Our cultivation stage. It’s not ascension. It might reasonably also be called Integration, but that would imply we are on the same path. Nor have we skipped ahead to Augmentation or Domination.”

“No, it’s different,” Lev said, stroking his chin. “Natural Joining?”

Anton shook his head. “Not sure I like that one. How about Assimilation? You became part of Grandfather Willow, and vice versa. The sun is part of me. It’s definitely a similar process.”

“I suppose that’s a decent name,” Lev nodded. “Assimilation. Is that really why you made the trip?”

“It’s important,” Anton said. “Can’t just go around without it having a name. And showing you I’m doing well is another one. In fact, I feel more healthy than when I left. Perhaps I was being too conservative with my energy use. I have a better grasp of it now.”

-----

Vincent was showing some age now, though he hadn’t exactly looked youthful when Anton first met him. The man’s cultivation had long been surpassed by Anton, but he was potentially on track to reach the peak of Life Transformation at some point, perhaps even ascension. “If someone had told me that day we would come to this, I wouldn’t have believed a word,” Vincent said. “Not that I doubted your determination, but realistically we both assumed you would die.”

“And now here I am,” Anton nodded. “Does it have to be such a big ceremony, though?”

“Absolutely,” Vincent declared. “And no, it’s not for you. Not really. This is for everyone else. We haven’t had a sect head in my time, and it’s a big deal. Frankly, making things official will make it easier for everyone. If you demanded something, nobody could really go against it anyway.”

“I’d like to think I’m reasonable enough to listen to objections,” Anton adjusted some fancy robes he’d been given. It wasn’t that they were sitting strangely. In fact, they were enchanted for that to be impossible. They were the most comfortable thing he’d ever worn in the physical sense, but it was still uncomfortable mentally. He was pretty sure they cost more than Dungannon.

“Sometimes, yes,” Vincent said. “But when you truly believe a course of action is right, nobody will stop you. Now it makes the paperwork easier. And it’s a good public image. The Order has been rebranding to the Order of One Hundred Stars, why not have the only available One Hundred Star cultivator as the sect head? It’s good for stability.”

“If I live, at least,” Anton nodded.

“I think if someone could kill you, it might have already happened,” Vincent said.

“I could get careless.”

“Then don’t,” Vincent said. “Besides, even a few decades will be enough. Your lifespan has to be at least that much, right?”

“Well…” Anton frowned. “I don’t… really know.” He shook his head. “This isn’t me trying to hide something. I had a good couple decades at least before reaching Assimilation. Now, I don’t know. The sense of it has sort of slipped away.” Anton shrugged, “But I can get a least a good couple decades even if I have to drag myself out of the grave for it, so don’t be concerned about that.”

Anton wasn’t looking forward to the actual ceremony, but it was how things were done. And then after that, he would be meeting with sects from the Exalted Archipelago. At neutral ground once more- the Hardened Crown Sect, again. He anticipated a lot of whining or shouting or stubbornness. But if anyone was going to be stubborn, he was going to outstrip them in that department. His eyes flared with fire. He didn’t need to intimidate all of them, but he wouldn’t stand for anyone causing more trouble.