Chapter 57


    It was hard to figure out why Anton wasnt dead. Hoyt didnt think he was a frail old man, but when he responded to both excitement and depression with <em>more work</em> it was hard to figure out when the man ever stopped. Perhaps that was the trick. Maybe he was cursed. Unable to stop forever. That had to be it. Because otherwise Hoyt would have to admit that sparring with an old man two-on-one tired him out. If he kept going, he didnt think he could move for a week.


    Technically they would have beaten him with the two of them together. Probably. What happened in an actual battle couldnt be predicted with certainty. It was possible Anton would put a hole through either him or Catarina before they could take a step forward, but once they were up close they were able to grind him down. But that was the limit of what they could do. They could nevernd a solid strike, as if he could predict every move they made. Since theyd sparred with each other an exactly equivalent amount of times- it was literally impossible for that to not be true- Hoyt wondered how he did it. Except, of course, the answer was in. Spirit Building. Anton was traveling down the path of Intuition for the moment, as the eleventh star. Hoyt wasnt sure if the results were supposed to be so immediate, but then again Anton was always good at reading movements. Hed even trained a technique for it at some point. Written by that crazy Archer elder, if Hoyt remembered correctly.


    But while two people could match Anton for a while, it was absolutely certain that just one of them would die quickly. A significantly more well trained and talented lower tier cultivator could potentially fight one at a higher level and win, but thats where the qualifiers came in. The lower tier cultivator had to be <em>better</em> than the higher tier one. Anton had a good foot into Spirit Building and was absolutely not worse than either of the other two. The only real chance they had to win was if Catarina set up a formation ahead of time, but it was possible for Anton to just break through it if they were careless. Plus, they would have to remain in one area- which just meant he could just shoot them from a distance.


    Hoyt shook his head. It was crazy that Anton had started cultivating at a hundred, and now a yearter he was in Spirit Building. However, Hoyt couldntin. The man worked hard and he wasnt selfish with his insights. The elders at the Order werent secretive either, but there was a big difference between personalized advice and what was said to a roomful at a time. With the month Anton had been crazily training for the rematch, Hoyt and Catarina hadnt been idle. They had nearly reached the eighth star, and after the training started Anton had pushed them past that. They were rapidly approaching the ninth star and wouldnt be too much longer to reach the tenth. It might still be a month each, but that was quite rapid. And while Anton had pulled ahead, once they reached Spirit Building they wouldnt be too far behind. A couple months wasnt so bad in the cultivation world. It was just relevant in the early stages especially where geniuses were involved, and at points like the threshold of a new stage. Hoyt wasnt sure if he could consider himself a genius, but he wasnt so humble as to say hecked talent. But if anyone deserved the title, it was probably Anton. Even if a young genius might be faster growing so what? It wouldnt be by much.


    Hoyt picked himself up out of the dirt. They were traveling along to the north of Ofrurg. There were mines with more ves from Dungannon there. It was hard to believe just how many ves the country had, but Hoyt had the perspective of growing up in a decent country instead of a trash pile. A trash pile with fancy cities and strong cultivators, but that was all it was with the way people were allowed to be treated.


    This was a good decision, Hoyt said.


    Oh? Anton raised an eyebrow. You want to continue, then?


    Hoyt held up his hands. I meanting with you. I doubt Id train more efficiently at the Order, and we can actually do some good for the world. At least a little Hoyt shook his head.


    A little bit now, a bit moreter Anton shrugged, And maybe a whole heap in the future. Ive got big ambitions.


    I heard of ambitious people before. Usually people mean theyre wing for power.


    Am I not? Anton asked.


    Well Hoyt shrugged, Youre not stepping on everyone along the way. So I prefer your method.


    Ill need good backup, Anton said. Lots of it. Its purely self-serving.


    Really? Hoyt said. If I said I was leaving tomorrow, would you keep training me?


    How would I do that if you left? Anton asked.


    Hoytughed, Good point. But I might have somewhere I need to go, in the future.


    Just bring me along, then. As long as Im not in the middle of something critical Anton looked down the road. Its already been a year. Another year and Ill hopefully have done everything I can here. There might be a few difficult points, especially with Annelie.. But Im not going to be doing just this forever. Especially once there are no more ves at all.


    At all? Hoyt raised an eyebrow, Ambitious. Maybe dont let the wrong people around here hear you.


    Bah. Im just an old man, Anton shook his head. Nobody will take me seriously. Though I wasnt nning to announce it in the cities. Not until at least Constetion Formation. What do you think, two years? Three?


    Even the best take five.


    Anton nodded. I guess I could settle for four, then, but Im not made of time.


    Hoyt could tell that response was half a joke. The other half was the supreme confidence that he <em>would</em> reach Constetion Formation. And while five more years was about a quarter of Hoyts life, it was basically nothing for cultivators who could increase their lifespans by decades in each stage. Even ten years would be considered quite fast from Spirit Building to Constetion Formation. He had to be there to see it with his own eyes. How long would it actually take?


    -----


    The young woman who traveled with them, Catarina, was an oddity. Pete was aware that women could be cultivators. <em>That</em> wasnt the weird part. It was just her. Whenever they stopped, she would fiddle with things. He had to ask, but he couldnt dive straight into it. Excuse me. You are Antons granddaughter, right?


    Yes, Catarina replied curtly, not turning to look at him. She was adjusting sticks and piles of leaves.


    I never saw you in Dungannon, that I recall.


    I wasnt, Catarina stated. Technically, Im his great-great granddaughter.


    Oh. Pete wasnt sure how to respond to that. It made more sense, of course. You have a lot of cultivators in the family?


    Catarina shook her head. I was the first. She paused to think for a second. Thats a strange thought. I didnt have reason to wholeheartedly throw myself into it. I lived out west.


    But theres also Anton and Pete wasnt sure if he should bring up Devon, considering the circumstances.


    Grandpa Anton didnt begin cultivating until after the incident. I met him after that. Catarina picked up a small rock, cing it carefully, then she picked it back up and threw it away. That one doesnt help.


    Why doesnt it help? Pete asked.


    It had negligible effect on the flow of energy. I thought it did, but it was just a random fluctuation.


    Oh. Pete thought for a moment, Anton hes really only been cultivating for a year? I saw the match. Well, I was there watching. I cant im to have really <em>seen</em> anything that happened. It was so fast.


    Yes. Absolutely. My grandfather is very talented. Determined. Catarina pointed. Move that one.


    This stick? Pete said. Like this?


    Yes. Catarina thought for a moment. You got it just right.


    Well, you talked about the flow of energy, so I just Pete waved his hands.


    Yes. Good. You will help with formations, Catarina stated. We will gather energy right here. Catarina moved to stand in a spot. But not too directly. We dont want to crush whoever is here.


    I get it. Kind of a spiral, right? Pete looked around them. A formation, you call it? Its almost like magic. Though I thought all cultivation was magic two months ago.


    Its not magic, Catarina said. But its not <em>not</em> magic. As much as magic exists, this can be it. Now, that one.


    Pete couldnt say he fully understood what was happening. She seemed to just assume he would understand. When he didnt, she just corrected him without getting angry. He did his best to change the flow of energy in the area. It was hard to describe exactly how it worked, but the physical arrangement of objects was more than it appeared to be on the surface. Pete wasnt sure if he actually made the whole process slower with his presence, but he knew it was something useful. Even if he couldnt do much now, if he could <em>actually</em> help in the future he might be able to start paying back Anton just a little bit.