There weren’t many battles John was personally invested in for those in the lower ranks of cultivation, but obviously both of his granddaughters were on the list. Being somewhere around four years older than Ereli, Nitza stepped into the ring some matches after Ereli’s loss. Unlike her cousin, however, she was not born with an elemental infusion. Because of that, she was no more advanced in her cultivation, having had to work to catch up to years of passive training.

Her opponent was a new recruit to the Six Elements Crossroads, a man named Cristoforo. Though he was close to a decade older, his actual time training in cultivation was not terribly dissimilar. He drew upon the power of Darkness, wielding a large axe that didn’t seem to fit the element at all. But of course, whether it was a functional weapon depended on his personal style.

As a battle between two newer cultivators, John was able to spot numerous flaws in the techniques of both sides. That was obvious and expected, as martial skill didn’t come from nowhere but required decades of mastery.

Nitza had a thin current of water element flowing around her, making use of her spear to keep Cristoforo at bay. Though he had great power behind his swings, he couldn’t step close. However, his own footwork prevented him from suffering significant damage in return. He managed to force Nitza backwards into some of the obstacles laden throughout the arena. When she found herself cornered momentarily, he was able to strike glancing blows as she extricated herself.

Cristoforo managed to gain a slight advantage and capitalize on it bit by bit. John watched carefully, and the determining factor involved some sudden footwork in which were traces of earth elemental spiritual energy. He managed to step inside Nitza’s reach and land a direct blow on her torso, causing the safety formations to respond as she didn’t have the ability to resist.

It was likely Nitza could have predicted the movement. As a member of the Six Elements Crossroads, training in a second element for when he advanced to the Foundation Phase was rather expected. With most choices of starting element, there were two logical paths of advancement aside from maintaining a single element. He had intentionally hidden the earth elemental spiritual energy with his darkness, and Nitza simply hadn’t been ready.

John wasn’t upset about early losses for both of his granddaughters. Given the timing of the tournament, they were just barely qualified to participate. It was unfortunate for them, but losses weren’t necessarily bad for their development. Of course, John hoped they would seek out other opportunities to grow and achieve their own victories before the next tournament hosted by the Six Elements Crossroads.

-----

As days went on, battles escalated to higher ranks of cultivation, and John was pleased to see clear growth from everyone who had previously participated. There were also a number of new faces, and John was particularly pleased to see more individuals from the Glass Hills and the Wuthering Steppes. There were also a few individuals from the Shining Coast.

He was a bit disappointed that nobody from the Muted Crags had shown, but perhaps they were still wary due to the war. He could understand those from the Black Peaks in particular not wanting to show, but there wasn’t anyone else from them or a few other places. Still, one step at a time brought the region closer to a sort of unity.

There were a few battles in the later rounds that made him wish he could participate himself, but that wasn’t appropriate. At least… not for the main body of the tournament. As the tournament organizer, it would be inappropriate. However, the situation had changed significantly enough from the previous decade that others also had to be excluded.

The few existing Ascending Soul Phase cultivators obviously couldn’t be fairly matched against anyone else, regardless of affiliation. It wasn’t just a difference of one rank, as stepping into the next Phase came with much more than a bit of spiritual energy. An additional totem- usually at a higher tier- was also a factor. That was a secondary reason John couldn’t participate in the main tournament, as he wasn’t just a peak Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator.

But giving no opportunities for the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators to do anything at all would be a waste, both for those participating and those simply observing. They would miss out on a display of strength and an opportunity to learn.

Thus, those who made it to the furthest rounds of the tournament were given an opportunity to challenge someone. At the current moment those people were John himself, Lucanus, Yustina, and Renato. Challenging any of them did not affect the rankings in the tournament, but was only an extra opportunity for them to obtain rewards. Those who were challenged didn’t gain anything if they won, but that didn’t mean they would go easy on anyone.

John found himself challenged by one of the finalists, a woman named from the Soulrot Bogs. As far as elements went, Medea was a pure water elemental cultivator. Her weapons were a net and a hooked spear. Though she was not the overall victor of the tournament, having lost to Deirdre of the Golden Tomb Guardians, her positioning was still a surprise. She’d barely been on anyone’s radar before the tournament began.

The challenger was allowed to choose a battlefield from those that the tournament grounds had available. While they could certainly give themselves an advantage by doing so, without it they likely didn’t have a significant chance of victory.

Medea chose a battlefield with water and very few footholds. A familiar environment for her. However, it didn’t give her a true elemental advantage- John’s cycle of the elements included water, after all.

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The battle began with Medea rapidly diving into the water, hiding beneath the surface. However, her plan backfired on her when John immediately countered with a series of thrown daggers, cutting through the water without issue. A blade pierced into her shoulder as she threw her net, driving it off course.

After that, John dove into the water himself, the two swimming and darting around, trying to gain a tactical advantage. Both moved swiftly through the water, finding it a boost to their capabilities, but John managed to keep the upper hand. Medea’s tactics at first seemed to rely on stealth, dragging her opponents into disadvantaged terrain with her net. However, it soon became quite obvious that she wasn’t limited to ambushing those on land.

She controlled the net independently in the water, forcing John to have to focus on dodging it while also dealing with her assaults from the front. The net was made of durable material reinforced by her spiritual energy, so he wasn’t easily able to cut through it. John imagined if he focused on it he might be able to slice some sections, but that would open him to the rest of it entangling him.

Rather than risk that, he focused on pressing Medea back, often swimming past her so that she had to maneuver her net around herself to continue the chase. That was only a minor gain, but he managed to keep her on her toes. His elements cycled through him, allowing him to land several more blows on her. Though they were individually minor, Medea’s injuries were building up.

John was confident in his victory, but he tried not to get careless. She was a worthy opponent, and personally John thought she’d just gotten unlucky with her final opponent. Or maybe she hadn’t been thinking of them at all. Medea seemed quite fresh at the beginning of this battle, and her concentration was at its peak. She might have intentionally lost to conserve her energy for this battle.

Since the prize wasn’t better than winning the tournament, John supposed she wanted a good match. They had no grudge between them, after all. John intended to do his best regardless of the circumstances, showing her what he was capable of.

As the battle dragged on, Medea was clearing tiring faster than John. Her injuries were one factor, but his cycle of elements also provided significant stamina. She picked up her pace, the force of her movements increasing. While she seemed desperate, she didn’t let that affect her skill. Medea managed to maneuver John into a position where he couldn't escape both her net and spear.

John swam towards the wide net, energy surging around his sword. If he was going to cut it, he had to be thorough. From his toes to above his head, he cut down the middle of the net. He dashed through the severed restraint, but even as he was doing so something told him it was too easy. The severed halves twisted around, wrapping around his upper body and legs separately.

The immediate response John had was to gather air elemental spiritual energy, but as he released a shock of lightning the nets caught most of it. Medea was already charging forward to take advantage of his condition, but John simultaneously channeled earth element. He formed a barrier of stone stretching over the net, taking advantage of it as he forced her spiritual energy control away from part of it.

Her hooked spear crashed into the barrier, partially piercing his cloth armor. But before she could withdraw, John strengthened his earth element, catching her weapon in the net. Then he channeled more lightning along her weapon.

She let go, backing away, but she had already lost control over both the net and her weapon at that point. It only took John a moment to disentangle himself, and she quickly surrendered.

“Thank you for the match,” Medea said, bowing after they returned to the surface. “It was quite enlightening.”

John nodded. “It was a good one. Perhaps when we both advance to the Ascending Soul Phase things will go differently.” John already had some of the advantages, after all.

“That may be the case,” Medea agreed. “But your skill with many elements is still difficult to overcome. I would certainly appreciate the chance to try.”

-----

After the tournament ended, John had gained insights from the best matches. Deirdre had challenged Renato, and though the Ascending Soul Phase earth cultivator predictably won that match, John learned a few things about the light element.

But the conclusion of the tournament was valuable in other ways. It meant that John once more had a stretch of time where he could focus on himself, and that meant furthering his plans to break through to the Ascending Soul Phase. The only problem was figuring out how. He had already consulted with Steve and Yustina, but while he learned more about the fire element he didn’t particularly find the key he needed for his advancement. His other source of such knowledge was Charlotte of Firepine Palace, but the results were quite similar.

Regaining his cultivation, John found he had associated each phase and element with particular individuals. Yet he hadn’t found the same with this final step. It took longer than he might have liked, retracing his steps… but eventually John realized his mistake.

While others had certainly contributed to his growth towards the Ascending Soul Phase, ultimately he hadn’t been reliant on their teachings when he attempted his breakthrough the first time. That had resulted in a nearly fatal failure, but upon consideration John didn’t think that meant he needed any particular guidance.

Indeed, he had learned much in the decade and a half since that time both about himself and about cultivation. And while he had not been able to succeed on his own merits before, he was a better person. He had more appropriately come to terms with Matayal’s death and repaired his broken relationships.

While John still had some trepidation, ultimately he had to believe that he could succeed on his second chance. It wasn’t that he was solely relying on himself, but he still needed to make the final step on his own. It was almost contradictory, but while he and Matayal had gone together into the Consolidated Soul Phase, without her he had to move on alone. His friends and family could help, but the final step had to be him alone.

That was what he believed, at least. He simply had to put it into practice, which meant finding his way back to the very place he nearly killed himself once before.