Unfamiliar metal machinery rumbled as metal rods were poured down the assembly line. Heavy machines stamped, squished, and stretched the rods rapidly and consistently, before arriving elsewhere for fletching.

Such machines could only be found on Rutera, and Anton was pleased by the high level of speed, consistency, and quality. The former was unmatched by anything else, though the quality could not surpass a craftsman who had worked for decades or centuries. Even so, this was the best place for the work they wanted. Perhaps some advanced smiths could work with something new, but the specifications required were unfamiliar because very few people had ever needed to make such ammunition, and none for a cultivator beyond Life Transformation. The small handfuls of arrows Anton had commissioned were made individually for special circumstances, not with the intent that every single arrow he shot would have a physical component. No matter how big his storage bag was, he’d never have enough room- and it was unnecessary and impractical besides. His natural energy was stronger and more cohesive than most material cores could replicate.

“Getting materials for this could have been a whole lot easier, you know,” Everheart commented from nearby. “Just rip apart a planet or two and you’d be done. Wouldn’t even have to have anyone on them.”

“But it would have to have high quantities of natural energy, right?” Anton raised an eyebrow. “And greatly reduce future livability.”

“Yeah, sure, but there’s so much unclaimed crap here in the lower realms…”

“I bet there are things better than Worldheart if anyone takes the time to look into it,” Anton shook his head. “And the material requirements are different for Nthanda to begin with.”

Anton’s senses shifted to another part of the factory, where the number of machines was fewer but still prominent. It was no large assembly line, instead there was a bench where a piece of metal was being cut by high intensity light. The beam shifted over the stationary object as it carved the proper outline, then when its cut finished a technician subjected it to tests and inspections. Anton could already tell them the dimensions were within specification… and that there were impurities in the top edge of the shaft. It snapped under the pressure of their machinery, and the surrounding technicians sighed.

The arrows were easy- they just needed a material that could hold its shape but also bend around a bow as expected, and slight material imperfections were less relevant as long as it broke inside its intended target. The bow itself, however, would have to stand up to a physical strength that had required special machinery to reproduce. The process was a useful study for the Ruterans, and the knowledge would be valuable for future body cultivators who surpassed Life Transformation- without ascension.

The Ruterans still needed payment, of course. It wasn’t a trivial exercise to repurpose a factory and co-opt the services of individuals who could be dealing with other military matters. However, the price had been acceptable, and the need for Nthanda to be effective recognized.

Gone were the days when Rutera didn’t understand the power of cultivators. A couple decades of interaction and sufficient exposure to people like Anton and the assaults from the Sylanis Cluster meant at worst, there were some stubborn people who thought things ‘used to be better’. But of course, Rutera wasn’t leaving behind their learned technology, which had previously been their only way to focus natural energy. Instead, they were developing a new blend that worked with what they already had. There were a few from the first waves that had learned from particular cultivators- like Ty had from Elder Intan- but there had been time to develop at least the first iteration of a cultivation style that fit Rutera.

Anton was slightly disappointed that not everyone practiced it yet, or some sort of cultivation, but it had been less than a full generation. Rutera was still building up their quantity of natural energy as well, the low levels of which had been the factor that pushed them towards technological advancements. They were swift to understand the idea of imbuing plants with natural energy only for them to grow and produce more, they simply hadn’t seen the effects given how precious what they had was already. Plus, their natural vegetation hadn’t really been suited. Anton and the Order had a wide collection of useful plants, though, and they had quickly distributed the most practical ones to Rutera for them to begin growing. The first few years had scraggly- by Anton’s standards- plants, but even simple tubers imbued with natural energy were nutritious and tasty, quickly becoming popular and thus viable from an economic perspective even where the effects on the local energy were yet unrecognized.

“So,” Anton asked Everheart, “Figure out how all this stuff works yet?”

“Of course,” Everheart nodded. “I’m not sure if I need it, but I’ll at least have the idea in the back of my head should I need special processes. It’s nice to have things that can focus natural energy without my concentration or complex formations, as well.”

Ruteran technology did use the power of formations to some extent- but it was focused more on material structure than runes, energy flow directed more by physical limits than coaxing it by bending rules around it. It was of great interest to Weos and Ceretos, who exchanged information about cultivation and their deeper knowledge of formations with Rutera, all parties greedily absorbing new information. There might be a few individuals on both sides who had an idea of how both worked, and how to combine them, but there were centuries of experimentation about what was optimal to determine. Of course, technology and cultivation knowledge would advance on their own during such times as well.

Anton’s understanding of the technology was limited. He couldn’t know everything, though he did find it satisfying to pore through books, especially with the rate he could read. Absorbing information wasn’t enough, though. He would need practical experience to improve in that area, just like with formations. He simply didn’t have the time or inclination to develop much beyond using what he needed to and understanding the dangers they presented. He doubted he would ever be a formation master- at least not relative to his cultivation level. He preferred to keep his focus on personal cultivation, archery, Assimilation, and such things. As well as his passions of growth- teaching others and developing Ceretos from the side of natural energy.

-----

At Anton’s level there was no generalized path he could follow. Even his insights at Assimilation were only for reference- he doubted anyone else from the Order would ever choose to bind stars. If they did, he hoped they would not disrupt each other. Though Anton felt extremely powerful, he imagined a star had more than sufficient excess power to support other cultivators, but the issue would be if they accidentally interfered rather than the actual power being necessary. If Anton were honest, he didn’t think he’d used even a single second’s worth of the power of Ceretos’ sun, each star producing a constant and nearly unfathomable amount of energy in the form of light and heat, just scattering everywhere and only touching on a few scattered planets in its system, or years later being a tiny sparkle in some other skies. In short, there was plenty of power to draw upon.

Walking a path untread, Anton had to discern for himself how to proceed. Certainly, he couldn’t fathom any specific refinements to make to himself like the steps of Body Refining and Spirit Building. All he could think of was refining his connection and control to each star, and with that came a greater internal power… and more stars he could bind to. After the destruction of the Ultimate Phoenix Sect and the hostage exchange, a few uncomfortable years had passed with no further conflict. That was sufficient for Anton to advance to the hundred and fifth star, though he was reserving any actual connection for later. It would likely be one of the final two in the Sylanis cluster, but he could hope for something else. He’d like to search for a star with interesting properties in the surrounding area.

He didn’t want to leave allied space for a period of weeks or months, so he hadn’t had the time to personally check out other ‘nearby’ systems, though reports from Rutera and Weos who had proper exploration programs in place indicated they were empty of and detectable cultivator presence, and life in general. It was unclear if there might be planets with life and creatures without humans, but based on the theory that they were all descendents of some vast colonization effort it was unlikely. If there were any of note, invaders from the upper realms likely would have tried to take them over long term instead of just ‘visiting’. Then again, the actual mechanics of that were uncertain, even to the Exalted Archipelago.

The remaining members of that group weren’t all friendly with the continents, but at least they were willing to support the trifold alliance against the Sylanis Cluster. Regardless of whether or not they supported the Exalted Cluster in the upper realm in terms of carving out bits and pieces of the lower realms, they weren’t interested in being on the other end of that.

So far, there were no signs that the Sylanis cluster had ties to the upper realms at all, and in fact Worldbinding was generally seen as the preferred path compared to ascension. Anton could see that, given that the actual power was similar but Worldbinding left one with higher relative power compared to the surroundings. In the upper realms, it was assumed that any decent cultivator would reach Integration at some point- though there were some important quality differences to be had for those who properly ascended or put in some other special effort.

During these two years without conflict, scouts had been surveying the Sylanis Cluster to find signs of movement, and building forces. That was happening, without question. The same was true of constructing ships, since there was more than just the one place Anton had attacked- and he’d really only stifled a few of their bigger projects, not their work as a whole. The Sylanis Cluster was definitely going to act… but when was unsure. It was also unknown if the forces used to try to suppress their efforts would be well spent, as they were on a higher defensive alert, the scouts barely able to slip through patrols. And it wasn’t as if the trifold alliance was just sitting around doing nothing.

Rutera especially was developing rapidly, with their best cultivators pushing into Life Transformation. Given that their technology allowed their best to function as if they were that powerful before, even those in early Life Transformation could match some cultivators in mid or late Life Transformation. Assimilation or Worldbinding cultivators were still an exception, but they were the elite among the elites in the Sylanis Cluster, Ceretos… and Weos. The latter had a few successes in the last years, though whether they would match the others one-for-one was still unclear.

-----

When the warning signals came, Anton was disappointed but not surprised. It was quickly confirmed that another fleet was entering Ruteran space, far more than would be needed for simple diplomacy if they were willing. Rutera and Weos were closer to the three systems of the Sylanis Cluster, so it wasn’t terribly odd that Rutera was the subject of the majority of attacks.

Of course, there could also have been nearly simultaneous attacks on the other systems. Ceretos was the most secure, but Weos was more than a step up from the last time, having recovered from their civil war for the most part- and with a few Assimilation cultivators. Though it seemed some of those were only good on their home planets, which wasn’t exactly unexpected. Anton was a weird exception.

“Well then,” Anton stood up, waving to Merve. “It’s time for me to go. Hopefully, I should be back within a few hours.”

She stood with him. “Wait. Take me with you.”

“You sure?” Anton asked. Merve was a Life Transformation cultivator, so she wasn’t exactly weak. However, in the Ruteran system it was more difficult for cultivators who weren’t independently mobile in space to fight.

“I am,” Merve nodded. “I’d rather fight for something, now that I have a choice. And… my cultivation isn’t exactly progressing smoothly just sitting around circulating energy. Besides, I can help. I’m not sure exactly how much I can do anything with Angelic Providence, but I can improve a handful of others and make you… at least slightly more effective.”

Anton nodded. His experience with Merve was one of a talented woman who was born in the wrong place- though even the stronger sects and clans seemed to be the wrong place in the Sylanis Cluster. She had been one of the enemies, and she had her sins, but he trusted her enough to fight alongside her. He knew enough of what she said was true that there was nothing to be gained from going back to them except death. She had the option to live on Ceretos where the natural energy was better, but chose to stay with Anton regardless- which at the moment meant Rutera. He was glad that she would choose to fight for what was around her, instead of being forced into it by circumstance.