Chapter 506: Into the Eastern Plains

Kai cultivated at the prow of the Clanless, glowering purposefully.

On a handful of occasions their trip had been interrupted, which he'd accepted was just part of Cloudspire, but he didn't want to waste time on weak sects. Just how much he disliked the delays must have come through in his face, because one group fled in terror when he walked up. Omilaena had said that was a good tactic and installed him in front like a prow ornament.

They'd been passing over the Eastern Plains for several days now... they weren't as plains-like as he'd expected. The flattest parts were actually the farmed terraces they passed near every community, while the rest was rolling with hills and forests. On Deadwaste, this region wouldn't have been considered flat or plains-like at all, even before considering the rich qi in the environment.

That was the part that struck him strongest. Every time he took a breath, he drank in the qi like dew. Not only was it unusually intense for atmospheric qi, it was purer than he'd expected. When he'd asked Zae Zin Nim about it, she had mostly shrugged, but it seemed obvious that this was the source of the Brightwind Sect's pristine techniques. Far from the days when all Earth Soul cultivators had been dangerous to him, now he determined which could be any threat at all, and the Brightwind Sect was unusually good at producing those.

Did it all ultimately come down to the unfair advantage of the level of energy in the environment? It was certain that no cultivator, no matter how hard-working or brilliant, could have developed like this on Deadwaste. And if it was possible for an environment to be this much richer, what would even more powerful regions produce?

As if summoned by his thoughts, Inafay Corinin walked up behind him. She hadn't been that far behind him, even something like a rival at one point, yet the fact that so much of her training had been on Deadwaste meant that she was far behind him in total strength.

"It's scary how many Earth Souls we're passing," she said as she leaned against the prow. "Orotaisin and I would have a rough time fighting most of those groups, even before they started using formations."

"Heh, I was thinking similar things." Kai left off glowering duty and turned around to face her.

"What? No way you were thinking that you couldn't take them."

"Not that, I mean about how Cloudspire can produce so many Earth Souls. If we could just recruit some of them, it would make a huge difference in the next incursion."

"Given what I've seen from local politics, I'm not sure I'd trust them." Inafay's head first shook, then tilted thoughtfully. "But could we bring a whole group of people from home over here, maybe Krysali? With qi like this, they could grow substantially. In the past it's been too much of a risk, but isn't your wife pretty much the matriarch of a sect now?"

"Even if we risked the travel time, a group wouldn't have enough time to cultivate here. We're better off taking sources of qi back to Deadwaste."

"I don't mean for this incursion, but we should have seven years before the next one."

"Ah." Kai gazed over at her for a time, pondering the differences. Inafay had been training with the Frontier elites and it seemed like she had absorbed their long term planning as well, unlike his mad rush through multiple continents. "That might be a good idea, but let's make sure we survive this incursion first. Not to repeat the conversation, but I'm worried."

"Bah, you're just paranoid." Inafay punched him in the arm playfully. "We're bringing back an absurd amount of power this time, so we should be able to match any surprises."

Not if they had another apocalyptic incursion like the previous one. Kai kept that thought to himself, hating the unknowns. It would have been great if he could be sure that the incursion would be evenly matched to his strength, providing a challenge that would help him grow, but the world wasn't so convenient for him that he could just charge forward thoughtlessly.

Sensing his discontent, Inafay turned around and leaned against the prow beside him. She tilted back and closed her eyes, apparently enjoying the wind. Her spirit wove together so much wind essence now, he wondered just what she could feel. Even though she was weaker than him, he felt as though she'd tapped into something pure and potent, if only there was a way to unlock it...

"Was Rosemount this dangerous?" she asked after a time.

"Depends on how you count." Kai glanced over, checking her Power again - not quite 600. "Right now, you're stronger than most Earth Souls, but you couldn't fight Sky Souls. On Rosemount, they have a lot more people with 700, 800, even 1000 Power, but not so many at the top."

"And what about those at the very top?"

"That's hard to say." Kai had often thought about what it would be like to see the phase-using great powers of Rosemount fight sect leaders from Cloudspire, because he wasn't sure how it would fall out. Cultivators used a sort of omni-phase that could be quite potent, but he was confident the focused phases of the great powers were more individually dangerous.

Perhaps that was why the continents were reluctant to fight one another at large scale. Even if either side won, their apparent invincibility would be damaged and rivals would undercut them. Either Rosemount or Cloudspire could have destroyed Deadwaste, but the conquest wouldn't be worth it, and the Frontier elites were dangerous enough to add some real risk.

He wasn't sure how the elites would fare against the strongest on other continents. And he truly hoped he would never find out.

"I'm actually not looking forward to getting back, in a way," Inafay continued. "Here, we can all train together. But as soon as we go home, we're going to have to deal with a lot of split loyalties."

"Split?" Kai frowned at her. "We're all fighting the incursion, aren't we?"

"Yes, but where? I want to help defend Goralia, while Orotaisin wants to defend the Wind Union. And we're both elite trainees, so there's an argument we shouldn't fight in our homes when we'd be more useful elsewhere."

"Ah, I see what you mean. I think we'll probably be moved around a lot, because we should be worth spending teleportation resources. Omilaena has plenty of ideas for Krysal and Irun, and of course there are a lot of places I need to help out."

"What about Zae Zin Nim?"

"She's not so attached, so she's a bit of a reserve card."

"Any chance you could loan her out to the Wind Union?"

"I am not going to loan out my wife."

They laughed and discussed potential strategies and challenges for the incursion. It was technically strategic and in practice useless - they didn't have enough information about the relevant variables, so they were basically just shooting the shit on a comfortable subject. Strange that a continent-wide flood of monsters could bring people together, but despite what Inafay said, it unified them all.

Unfortunately, the cheerful conversation couldn't continue forever. They were joined by Zae Zin Nim, who gave them both a polite nod before putting her hands in her sleeves formally.

"We are drawing very close to Brightwind lands," she told them. "If we have not attracted attention from rivals this far, they are unlikely to attack now, but the Brightwind cultivators may be a threat, so remain cautious."

"Are any of you loyal?" Inafay asked.

Kai waved that aside while he asked his own question. "How much do we need to worry about those rivals?"

"I deemed them not worthy of your concern," Zae Zin Nim said. "At worst, we will need to make a show of force. Even combined they did not dare fight my father, and as we have defeated him, it would be foolish of them to attack." Even now, her happiness leaked out in a tight smile.

"Hey." The call came from the side of the ship, where Omilaena was wearing a new pair of goggles. She didn't seem particularly alarmed, but Kai recognized that stiff stance, lacking any of her sensuous grace, and immediately began moving in her direction. "We have company."

By the time Kai and Zae Zin Nim joined her, they could sense the hidden sources of qi that Omilaena had spotted first. There was a group of eight Earth Souls on flying swords moving to intercept, secretly at first, then directly when it was clear they were spotted. Not obviously attacking, and wearing Brightwind robes, but still...

"Are those sect members?" Kai asked.

"I believe so." Zae Zin Nim's eyes grew even narrower as she observed them. "Let me lead."

The Clanless could probably have swept past them all, but they slowed down to meet the group of cultivators. They immediately moved up beside the ship, taking a formation that looked more ceremonial than combative to Kai. When Zae Zin Nim stepped forward, he saw that several of them stared at her or winced, but the leader spoke smoothly.

"Matriarch Zae, we are honored by your presence. We would be overjoyed to host you and your companions in one of the great pagodas. We did not expect your presence, so we will need some time to prepare an appropriate-"

"Unnecessary." Zae Zin Nim swept them aside with the flick of one sleeve. "We do not intend to remain long. Take us to the vaults."

"I... I see. Of course that is your right. We can prepare a place for your vessel, and meanwhile we will open everything we can."

Zae Zin Nim basically ignored them, instead ordering the group to pull back to one of the nearest bases, a fortress-like pagoda. She also ordered the Clanless and the others to remain in the air, as if to signal that they didn't intend to stay long. Kai didn't like this side of her, but it seemed more like an act than it once would have, and he assumed her methods would be best here.

They left the Clanless to go visit the fortress and its vaults, scorning the offered flying swords. Zae Zin Nim could somehow fly with her new Physique and Kai had no trouble keeping up with a qi-focused use of Thunderbird's Wings. Omilaena was the only one without a real flight technique, but she hung off him instead, using her position to take liberties.

On the ground, they were escorted through an empty courtyard to a large gate. He sensed some sort of heavy defensive magic in the fortress ahead, but Zae Zin Nim didn't seem concerned. If anything, she looked eager to finally get at the vault, which must have been secured below.

Then, when they stepped inside the fortress, the walls lit up with power. Kai realized that the Earth Souls, who had been bowing and scraping, had managed to shift into a formation around them.

"Patriarch-slayer." One of the Earth Souls spat onto the ground, then they all raised their palms. "By coming back, you have sealed your doom!"