Chapter 755
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Chapter 755
Leaving the destroyed and frozen over world of Jinrisa behind, Anton hoped it was an exception. Sadly, he knew that there were likely far too many other examples. Exactly how many he couldnt estimate.
He might even encounter others on the way to the border. Or perhaps he had already missed some, the lack of signs of life making them less obvious. That was a thought which he chose not to dwell on. Cultivating anger would only make him more liable to act recklessly. Hed done enough of that already throughout his life, and anger wasnt pleasant to begin with.
So he continued on his journey, heading towards the border between upper and lower realms. Nothing else delayed his journey to the same degree, though he still took time to survey interesting planets and stars. He didnt encounter any other cultivators, though he wasnt focusing on anything but adjacent systems.
But eventually, he arrived at his destination. The star Akrys, chosen both for its position on the border, and for its size. It was the largest star Anton had visited, a red supergiant larger than the blue supergiant the twin planets shared by almost a full order of magnitude. This was large enough that if Ceretos was in the same system, it would be inside of the star. But despite the radius being hundreds of times as much, the actual mass of the star was hardly more than ten times as much.
It was significantly brighter than most stars Anton had witnessed, but relatively cool. That was not an aberration from its type, but theoretically typical. At least, with what measurements that could be managed from a great distance when spying others of the same type.
There were only a few planets, but as Anton began to survey them he was surprised to find that one of them had life on it. No signs of human cultivators, but it was teeming with plants and animals. He hadnt been able to sense anything special about it from a distance due to the dominating presence of the star itself.
He landed in an area of plains, intending to look for signs of humans in the more open area. When he did so, he accidentally spooked a colony of largish rodents. Some sort of ground squirrels without bushy tails, perhaps? Either way, they scurried into their burrows. Anton would have thought nothing more of it, if he didnt sense some of the other members of the colony making their way to the surface. In particular, a group with natural energy.
There was nothing impressive about their cultivation, if he looked at things on a grand scale. One of them had the approximate energy equivalent of mid Body Tempering. Nor were there dozens of the creatures with that same power. Even so, Anton stayed to see how they reacted. He didnt have any need to fight random creatures protecting their homes, so if they were aggressive he would just fly away.
The group came out of the tunnel in sequence, and then began to fan out around him. And then, one of them extended a tendril of energy towards him as it began to chitter. That wasnt particularly strange, but then it stopped. As if waiting for a response. Moreover, the tendril of energy came with a wave of emotions. Mostly fear- and bravery.
Anton did his best to process what was happening. Animals using group tactics was nothing new. Beasts with cultivation were not uncommon anywhere with high natural energy. It was the sounds that stuck out. Anton didnt have the feeling that they were trying to scare him off. At least, not directly. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.
Are they talking? Anton wondered. He tried to project a feeling of serenity. Im sorry I dont speak your language. If they werent speaking, nobody would be around to make the situation embarrassing. And obviously he didnt expect them to understand his words any more than he understood them, but perhaps they might understand the patterns of speech in turn.
The fuzzy creatures stood upright on their hind legs, but only came up to Antons knees at best. They chittered among each other, shifting slightly as they did so. Did Anton sense curiosity, or was that simply his own desire?
-----
When morning came, Anton watched the sun rise. He trained his cultivation, absorbing some of the power of the star that rained down upon him while also drawing on the internal power- and the devotion that made its way towards him even though he didnt ask for it.
His neighbors woke up with the sun as well, warming themselves in the early morning light. But in addition to that, some of them poked and prodded each other while looking at him. And then one of them- one of the guards with a lesser cultivation- began to skitter its way towards him, climbing the hill while his head swiveled back and forth. He didnt forget to watch the sky as he approached Anton.
When he got perhaps a hundred feet away, he stopped. Anton smiled at the little fellow. I know we cant really talk, but you can come sit with me, Anton gestured to the ground next to himself. The meerkat seemed hesitant, so Anton returned to his cultivation, though he kept the beast in his senses.
The meerkat slowly approached closer, standing next to Anton and looking at the sun. Then it began to circulate its energy. It was clumsy and unpracticed, though Anton couldnt really expect much else from a group seeming to not only lack formal techniques but most likely getting all of their natural energy from what they ate.
Soon enough Anton realized the little guy was trying to copy him, though the arrangement of meridians inside of a meerkat was obviously going to be different based on their wildly varied body shapes and sizes. Still, Anton hadnt been teaching new students for centuries to back down from a challenge. The meerkat seemed to be doing just fine as it made a connection to the suns energy, but Anton had to slow down significantly to make sure the little guy didnt hurt himself. He wanted to point out the path directly, but he didnt want to spook off the little guy with any sudden movements. So he continued to slowly cultivate, doing his best to make his process as clear as possible. He would normally include bodily exercises, but he really had no idea what such a beast needed to develop.
Sometime around midday, a small flock of eagles came by. That was a bit unusual, as such birds tended to be more solitary. Either way, Anton took note- especially because he recognized the one from the day before.
Antons companion noticed them as well, and started to run back towards the colony. But when the eagles began to dive towards scurrying meerkats, Anton took a shot. This time he clipped one of the returning eagles feathers. Perhaps he wouldnt get the message until injured. He also shot several other arrows to deter the rest, bursts of visible energy causing them to recoil. They all flew off, but Anton had the feeling they kept looking at him as they did so.
Antons little companion ran back up the hill when he saw things were safe, then tentatively approached Anton. Anton watched as he carefully pointed at Antons bow, then to the sky. Did he want Anton to kill the eagles? Well, he might if they kept causing trouble. But that didnt seem to be it.
The meerkat waved one arm to the side, while the other pressed against its chest. It chittered, and Anton got the vague feeling that it wanted him to teach it how to shoot a bow.
Well, why not? Sure its arms werent made to wield a bow, and at its size it couldnt expect to get that much power from one, but wasnt that what cultivation was for? Making people able to do things they couldnt naturally?
Anton wondered if he had any string that would be a low enough draw weight. Other materials too. Or should he jump straight to energy bows? So many choices.
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Chapter 755
Leaving the destroyed and frozen over world of Jinrisa behind, Anton hoped it was an exception. Sadly, he knew that there were likely far too many other examples. Exactly how many he couldnt estimate.
He might even encounter others on the way to the border. Or perhaps he had already missed some, the lack of signs of life making them less obvious. That was a thought which he chose not to dwell on. Cultivating anger would only make him more liable to act recklessly. Hed done enough of that already throughout his life, and anger wasnt pleasant to begin with.
So he continued on his journey, heading towards the border between upper and lower realms. Nothing else delayed his journey to the same degree, though he still took time to survey interesting planets and stars. He didnt encounter any other cultivators, though he wasnt focusing on anything but adjacent systems.
But eventually, he arrived at his destination. The star Akrys, chosen both for its position on the border, and for its size. It was the largest star Anton had visited, a red supergiant larger than the blue supergiant the twin planets shared by almost a full order of magnitude. This was large enough that if Ceretos was in the same system, it would be inside of the star. But despite the radius being hundreds of times as much, the actual mass of the star was hardly more than ten times as much.
It was significantly brighter than most stars Anton had witnessed, but relatively cool. That was not an aberration from its type, but theoretically typical. At least, with what measurements that could be managed from a great distance when spying others of the same type.
There were only a few planets, but as Anton began to survey them he was surprised to find that one of them had life on it. No signs of human cultivators, but it was teeming with plants and animals. He hadnt been able to sense anything special about it from a distance due to the dominating presence of the star itself.
He landed in an area of plains, intending to look for signs of humans in the more open area. When he did so, he accidentally spooked a colony of largish rodents. Some sort of ground squirrels without bushy tails, perhaps? Either way, they scurried into their burrows. Anton would have thought nothing more of it, if he didnt sense some of the other members of the colony making their way to the surface. In particular, a group with natural energy.
There was nothing impressive about their cultivation, if he looked at things on a grand scale. One of them had the approximate energy equivalent of mid Body Tempering. Nor were there dozens of the creatures with that same power. Even so, Anton stayed to see how they reacted. He didnt have any need to fight random creatures protecting their homes, so if they were aggressive he would just fly away.
The group came out of the tunnel in sequence, and then began to fan out around him. And then, one of them extended a tendril of energy towards him as it began to chitter. That wasnt particularly strange, but then it stopped. As if waiting for a response. Moreover, the tendril of energy came with a wave of emotions. Mostly fear- and bravery.
Anton did his best to process what was happening. Animals using group tactics was nothing new. Beasts with cultivation were not uncommon anywhere with high natural energy. It was the sounds that stuck out. Anton didnt have the feeling that they were trying to scare him off. At least, not directly. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.
Are they talking? Anton wondered. He tried to project a feeling of serenity. Im sorry I dont speak your language. If they werent speaking, nobody would be around to make the situation embarrassing. And obviously he didnt expect them to understand his words any more than he understood them, but perhaps they might understand the patterns of speech in turn.
The fuzzy creatures stood upright on their hind legs, but only came up to Antons knees at best. They chittered among each other, shifting slightly as they did so. Did Anton sense curiosity, or was that simply his own desire?
-----
When morning came, Anton watched the sun rise. He trained his cultivation, absorbing some of the power of the star that rained down upon him while also drawing on the internal power- and the devotion that made its way towards him even though he didnt ask for it.
His neighbors woke up with the sun as well, warming themselves in the early morning light. But in addition to that, some of them poked and prodded each other while looking at him. And then one of them- one of the guards with a lesser cultivation- began to skitter its way towards him, climbing the hill while his head swiveled back and forth. He didnt forget to watch the sky as he approached Anton.
When he got perhaps a hundred feet away, he stopped. Anton smiled at the little fellow. I know we cant really talk, but you can come sit with me, Anton gestured to the ground next to himself. The meerkat seemed hesitant, so Anton returned to his cultivation, though he kept the beast in his senses.
The meerkat slowly approached closer, standing next to Anton and looking at the sun. Then it began to circulate its energy. It was clumsy and unpracticed, though Anton couldnt really expect much else from a group seeming to not only lack formal techniques but most likely getting all of their natural energy from what they ate.
Soon enough Anton realized the little guy was trying to copy him, though the arrangement of meridians inside of a meerkat was obviously going to be different based on their wildly varied body shapes and sizes. Still, Anton hadnt been teaching new students for centuries to back down from a challenge. The meerkat seemed to be doing just fine as it made a connection to the suns energy, but Anton had to slow down significantly to make sure the little guy didnt hurt himself. He wanted to point out the path directly, but he didnt want to spook off the little guy with any sudden movements. So he continued to slowly cultivate, doing his best to make his process as clear as possible. He would normally include bodily exercises, but he really had no idea what such a beast needed to develop.
Sometime around midday, a small flock of eagles came by. That was a bit unusual, as such birds tended to be more solitary. Either way, Anton took note- especially because he recognized the one from the day before.
Antons companion noticed them as well, and started to run back towards the colony. But when the eagles began to dive towards scurrying meerkats, Anton took a shot. This time he clipped one of the returning eagles feathers. Perhaps he wouldnt get the message until injured. He also shot several other arrows to deter the rest, bursts of visible energy causing them to recoil. They all flew off, but Anton had the feeling they kept looking at him as they did so.
Antons little companion ran back up the hill when he saw things were safe, then tentatively approached Anton. Anton watched as he carefully pointed at Antons bow, then to the sky. Did he want Anton to kill the eagles? Well, he might if they kept causing trouble. But that didnt seem to be it.
The meerkat waved one arm to the side, while the other pressed against its chest. It chittered, and Anton got the vague feeling that it wanted him to teach it how to shoot a bow.
Well, why not? Sure its arms werent made to wield a bow, and at its size it couldnt expect to get that much power from one, but wasnt that what cultivation was for? Making people able to do things they couldnt naturally?
Anton wondered if he had any string that would be a low enough draw weight. Other materials too. Or should he jump straight to energy bows? So many choices.
Chapter 755Leaving the destroyed and frozen over world of Jinrisa behind, Anton hoped it was an exception. Sadly, he knew that there were likely far too many other examples. Exactly how many he couldnt estimate. He might even encounter others on the way to the border. Or perhaps he had already missed some, the lack of signs of life making them less obvious. That was a thought which he chose not to dwell on. Cultivating anger would only make him more liable to act recklessly. Hed done enough of that already throughout his life, and anger wasnt pleasant to begin with.So he continued on his journey, heading towards the border between upper and lower realms. Nothing else delayed his journey to the same degree, though he still took time to survey interesting planets and stars. He didnt encounter any other cultivators, though he wasnt focusing on anything but adjacent systems.But eventually, he arrived at his destination. The star Akrys, chosen both for its position on the border, and for its size. It was the largest star Anton had visited, a red supergiant larger than the blue supergiant the twin planets shared by almost a full order of magnitude. This was large enough that if Ceretos was in the same system, it would be inside of the star. But despite the radius being hundreds of times as much, the actual mass of the star was hardly more than ten times as much. It was significantly brighter than most stars Anton had witnessed, but relatively cool. That was not an aberration from its type, but theoretically typical. At least, with what measurements that could be managed from a great distance when spying others of the same type. There were only a few planets, but as Anton began to survey them he was surprised to find that one of them had life on it. No signs of human cultivators, but it was teeming with plants and animals. He hadnt been able to sense anything special about it from a distance due to the dominating presence of the star itself.He landed in an area of plains, intending to look for signs of humans in the more open area. When he did so, he accidentally spooked a colony of largish rodents. Some sort of ground squirrels without bushy tails, perhaps? Either way, they scurried into their burrows. Anton would have thought nothing more of it, if he didnt sense some of the other members of the colony making their way to the surface. In particular, a group with natural energy.There was nothing impressive about their cultivation, if he looked at things on a grand scale. One of them had the approximate energy equivalent of mid Body Tempering. Nor were there dozens of the creatures with that same power. Even so, Anton stayed to see how they reacted. He didnt have any need to fight random creatures protecting their homes, so if they were aggressive he would just fly away.The group came out of the tunnel in sequence, and then began to fan out around him. And then, one of them extended a tendril of energy towards him as it began to chitter. That wasnt particularly strange, but then it stopped. As if waiting for a response. Moreover, the tendril of energy came with a wave of emotions. Mostly fear- and bravery. Anton did his best to process what was happening. Animals using group tactics was nothing new. Beasts with cultivation were not uncommon anywhere with high natural energy. It was the sounds that stuck out. Anton didnt have the feeling that they were trying to scare him off. At least, not directly. The debut release of this chapter happened at Nvl-B1n.Are they talking? Anton wondered. He tried to project a feeling of serenity. Im sorry I dont speak your language. If they werent speaking, nobody would be around to make the situation embarrassing. And obviously he didnt expect them to understand his words any more than he understood them, but perhaps they might understand the patterns of speech in turn.The fuzzy creatures stood upright on their hind legs, but only came up to Antons knees at best. They chittered among each other, shifting slightly as they did so. Did Anton sense curiosity, or was that simply his own desire? -----When morning came, Anton watched the sun rise. He trained his cultivation, absorbing some of the power of the star that rained down upon him while also drawing on the internal power- and the devotion that made its way towards him even though he didnt ask for it. His neighbors woke up with the sun as well, warming themselves in the early morning light. But in addition to that, some of them poked and prodded each other while looking at him. And then one of them- one of the guards with a lesser cultivation- began to skitter its way towards him, climbing the hill while his head swiveled back and forth. He didnt forget to watch the sky as he approached Anton.When he got perhaps a hundred feet away, he stopped. Anton smiled at the little fellow. I know we cant really talk, but you can come sit with me, Anton gestured to the ground next to himself. The meerkat seemed hesitant, so Anton returned to his cultivation, though he kept the beast in his senses.The meerkat slowly approached closer, standing next to Anton and looking at the sun. Then it began to circulate its energy. It was clumsy and unpracticed, though Anton couldnt really expect much else from a group seeming to not only lack formal techniques but most likely getting all of their natural energy from what they ate. Soon enough Anton realized the little guy was trying to copy him, though the arrangement of meridians inside of a meerkat was obviously going to be different based on their wildly varied body shapes and sizes. Still, Anton hadnt been teaching new students for centuries to back down from a challenge. The meerkat seemed to be doing just fine as it made a connection to the suns energy, but Anton had to slow down significantly to make sure the little guy didnt hurt himself. He wanted to point out the path directly, but he didnt want to spook off the little guy with any sudden movements. So he continued to slowly cultivate, doing his best to make his process as clear as possible. He would normally include bodily exercises, but he really had no idea what such a beast needed to develop.Sometime around midday, a small flock of eagles came by. That was a bit unusual, as such birds tended to be more solitary. Either way, Anton took note- especially because he recognized the one from the day before. Antons companion noticed them as well, and started to run back towards the colony. But when the eagles began to dive towards scurrying meerkats, Anton took a shot. This time he clipped one of the returning eagles feathers. Perhaps he wouldnt get the message until injured. He also shot several other arrows to deter the rest, bursts of visible energy causing them to recoil. They all flew off, but Anton had the feeling they kept looking at him as they did so.Antons little companion ran back up the hill when he saw things were safe, then tentatively approached Anton. Anton watched as he carefully pointed at Antons bow, then to the sky. Did he want Anton to kill the eagles? Well, he might if they kept causing trouble. But that didnt seem to be it.The meerkat waved one arm to the side, while the other pressed against its chest. It chittered, and Anton got the vague feeling that it wanted him to teach it how to shoot a bow.Well, why not? Sure its arms werent made to wield a bow, and at its size it couldnt expect to get that much power from one, but wasnt that what cultivation was for? Making people able to do things they couldnt naturally?Anton wondered if he had any string that would be a low enough draw weight. Other materials too. Or should he jump straight to energy bows? So many choices.
