Truthful Transmigration

Unfortunately, for all of John's power, the passage of time was something he could not affect in any meaningful way. Further delay threatened to undo much of the hard work he'd already gone through of trying to stabilize the world after the war. Perhaps Aldara's efforts would keep the momentum sufficiently on their own, but perhaps wasn't worth betting so much on.

"I shouldn't be gone for more than a year or two," John explained to Rukiye. "You'll have plenty to learn here while I'm gone."

To him, it seemed like a logical choice. After all, even with the luxuries afforded by significant wealth and power travel had its drawbacks. It didn't seem that Rukiye felt the same. She crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.

"And give up learning from the best? Am I not good enough?"

John wasn't sure if she meant that second part, but he at least had to seriously consider it. All he really wanted to say was that there were a million things she could learn that didn't require him specifically. "A variety of instructors is invaluable for all," John said. "There are many who are more proficient than I am in single or paired elements."

"But they're not Exalted Soul Phase cultivators."

"Some will be, soon," John commented. He was quite certain that, if he had survived the war, Steve would have been one of them. Renato was on the brink as well. On the other hand, 'soon' could be anywhere between a few days and a decade. It wasn't the sort of thing one could precisely time.

Rukiye clearly wasn't fully convinced. "Two years is a long time."

John was going to say that it wasn't. Yet… he had to concede her point. To Rukiye, it was a tenth of her life. He wouldn't tell a college student to study casually for a couple years… probably. Though if it was an option without them suffering financial harm, it might actually be good for some people. "It could be less," John commented. "Some parts will be difficult."

Rukiye pondered for a few moments. "Will I hold you back?"

She would. But saying that was certainly the wrong option. "I think you truly would benefit from the time here. But I won't stop you from coming along if you wish to."

Her choice wasn't exactly unexpected. "I'm coming with you."

With enough effort, John could have weakened her resolve. He was certain he could convince her to stay… but the results might not be what he wanted. Besides, she deserved to see the end… whatever it was.

-----

The arrangement of individuals coming along changed between the first and second diplomatic fleets. Not entirely, but certainly some of the most important figures. Viriato would be staying behind to oversee the sect's finances- there were others capable of doing so, but it was already pushing things for him to be away for years.

In turn, one of those who had been helping to manage the sect finances would take over primary responsibility for further trade deals. Her name was Shanon, a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator focused on water and darkness. Her battle prowess wasn't anything exceptional, but there were plenty of others to fill those roles.

Aside from John himself, Ursel would be coming along to replace Renato. It was always nice to have someone sturdy around. In addition, Ayhan and Lir would be joining them for the second journey.

Ursel they picked up on their way south, passing through the Stone Conglomerate. Rukiye could have learned quite a bit if she was able to stay for a month or two at each place they visited, but she only got a day or two. John wasn't willing to adjust their schedule for her that much. They were already traveling at her pace, which was to say as far and fast as she could go in a day. As a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator she wasn't precisely slow, but she was still far weaker than the rest. Then again, most of the others were twice her age, if not four or six times. In terms of proper cultivation length, they would more or less double again.

"You should try running in heavy armor," Ursel commented to Rukiye. The young woman frowned, perhaps thinking she was being called slow, but Ursel wasn't the sort to say that in a circumspect manner. "It can really help with developing muscles under stress your own weight won't provide. I can tell you've done some advanced body tempering. Diamond Defense, right?" She looked between John and Rukiye, but she already knew the answer without even seeing their nods. "You're obviously far from being a pure earth cultivator, but that would just make people more surprised when you topple them with raw power."

"... I'll consider it," Rukiye said.

"Good!" Ursel gave her a pat on the head. A gentle one, because simply resting the weight of her gauntleted arm on Rukiye could be serious. "Also, if you need to try out any attacks I'll be available. You can see what it's like to hit people."

John hoped that training wasn't demoralizing… but Rukiye had already trained with Renato. It wasn't that different. The only difference is that Ursel probably wouldn't have to use any spiritual energy to take the hits.

-----

Before they continued south into the Darklands, they stopped by the Tenebach clan. John would get an earful if only two of the triplets got to see Rukiye.

Melanthina introduced herself politely. Rukiye, of course, was filled with trepidation to meet the 'Eclipse Terror'. Then again, she'd already encountered the 'Steel Apocalypse' and survived. John had to admit that his girls would likely be quite horrifying to their enemies, but as allies he couldn't ask for anything more.

After that, John found himself sharing a private meal with his daughters.

"She's so adorable!" Melanthina said. "I've always wanted a little sister. How did you find her?"

"She tried to kill him," Ursel explained.

"Hah, really? I hadn't heard that part. Just that he took pity on a poor orphan."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"He is right in front of you, you know," John pointed out.

Melanthina shrugged. "I wouldn't expect much else from you, father. Your first direct apprentices were pretty much the same."

"Except he definitely didn't kill their parents."

"Oof," Melanthina gave John a side-eye. "Did you…?"

John shrugged. "I have no idea who her mother was. But she presumably died in a battle where I was present." Unfortunately, Rukiye's mother hadn't been prominent enough for anyone local to remember any details. John certainly didn't remember the faces of everyone he fought. He'd probably killed many people without even seeing them. "She probably understands enough, now. Both about me and our people's responsibility. We weren't fighting for fun… though perhaps the Triptych didn't have much better reason than that."

Given that they hadn't even made the slightest diplomatic overtures before starting the war, it was clear they thought it was the best way to accomplish their goals. They wanted world domination more than a connected planet. They didn't seem to care what they ruled over, though. Otherwise they wouldn't have first acted by wiping out an entire port.

Melathina changed the topic, slightly. "Does she have any talent?"

"Enough," John replied. "With her determination, I can see her going far. It's far too soon to say anything about the Exalted Soul Phase, though. And I would hope that she's already put aside any idea of killing me."

His daughters prodded him for stories, so John gave them a general overview. He admitted that he was kind of disappointed she hadn't tried to poison him ever since that particular incident. John wasn't looking forward to facing any actual threats in that regard, but her primitive attempts had been kind of like fun pranks.

"Does she still try to stab you?" Ursel asked.

"All the time," John said. "Half the time she's waiting when I step outside my room in the morning."

"She's so attached," Melanthina said. "She's even trying to spy on us now!"

It was a valiant attempt, really. Even though Rukiye had been saddled with some clan members close to her own age, she was choosing locations in the gardens where she could try to extend her spiritual energy towards the trio. Attempting to hide her efforts from a whole clan of darkness cultivators was a lost cause, though. If nothing else, there was no chance the actual targets wouldn't notice. She was just too far beneath them at the moment.

"Kind of reminds me of you two," John commented. "You were constantly getting into trouble."

""It was her fault,"" both of them pointed to the other. Then they shared a laugh.

-----

The trip through the Darklands was a good time for Rukiye to practice darkness element body tempering. Since she didn't have a guardian beast to bless her, she would have to handle the process herself. She hadn't completed her training in that area because she found it unnecessary, but when an area was almost constantly dark outside of cities, it was annoying to travel without better sight.

They didn't spend terribly long in the Darklands, as they were mainly just passing through. Just a few stops along the way to rest or maybe exchange some pointers with the locals.

Soon enough, they passed the east side of the Annihilation Strip. Rukiye was fascinated.

"It's so… powerful. Deadly."

John nodded. "That's what light and darkness can do together. Including to the user, if they are careless."

"I know!" Rukiye seemed to think that was an admonishment. "That's why I'm careful."

She maintained only a small amount of light element. She didn't even have an allied totem, so it was already impressive even if it was less than a tenth as much as her main elements. She usually expended her light element before sleeping, though. As far as John could tell she had arranged her own internal world in such a way that the light would slip away rather than reach towards her darkness if left uncontrolled, but it was better not to risk that process failing.

"Once you have the proper insights," John continued. "It's actually not that bad. Though totems are still required for stability."

Rukiye nodded. "What if… I took light as my fourth totem?"

"You'd be unbalanced," John said.

"Like Viriato was?" she asked.

"No. He had an unstable balance when I met him, adding core elements helped. He was an example of the rare overeager individual that happened to survive."

"Nik and Melanthina did too."

"That's because they were stupid and determined. Though they also had each other to rely on, which is a significant factor. Astrid was a large part of the reason I was stable enough to practice light element."

Rukiye nodded slowly. "So it's a bad idea, then? A light totem?"

"It's a risk," John said. "If it works… you will save yourself trouble later. But at that rate you should have focused on a core cycle instead of an allied cycle. Unless… you have some special insights into the matter?"

John wasn't going to deny the influence that personal feelings had on cultivation. Ever since he'd first heard of the idea, John had been drawn towards a full cycle. Meanwhile, Rukiye would only be doing it to copy him. His example could help smooth her path, but that was precisely the reason she shouldn't try skipping any steps.

"I just… thought it sounded interesting," Rukiye admitted. "I think I could keep the balance."

"I'm sure you could," John said. "But could you do it for a decade? Two? It will be a while yet before you reach the Consolidated Soul Phase, and I wouldn't expect anyone to spend less time in that phase than a decade. More is quite normal."

"A decade is… a bit much," Rukiye admitted. Given that she hadn't even been training with John for that amount of time, it was certainly an intimidating duration. She was sufficiently familiar with all six elements to know how tiring it could be.

John hoped to discourage her from reckless cultivation. Perhaps it had only been a whim, but if not… he had some years to convince her to choose a sensible path. Something closer to his own. Adding air or fire next would already be sufficiently difficult. Light wasn't impossible, but a totem wouldn't be sufficient to form an eternal balance. Not unless Rukiye could attune to a higher tier one. So far, she had been following John's practice of going up a single tier at a time- making sure to select totems that were suitable for improvement.

That meant she had three third tier totems at the moment. A fourth tier light totem wouldn't be enough, and one that mixed light and darkness would have its own pitfalls.

One good thing about Rukiye coming along was that John could continue to monitor her. He never told her she couldn't practice risky methods, but instead asked her to do so in his presence- and after proper conversation. So far, she hadn't been crazy enough to ignore him.

They continued further south, to the coast of the Wuthering Steppes. They would take their ship from there to beneath the Sky Islands, where they would pick up their last passenger of note. The island master of the second peak, Venera. While John didn't strictly need any of the individuals he was bringing along, having a proper display of the strongest would certainly help with negotiations. It wouldn't be long before Venera surpassed Sitora's peak strength- and Abritt as well. Reaching the Exalted Soul Phase didn't seem to be an inevitability for her, but it was certainly on the table. John would gladly aid her growth however he could, as he would do for any of his friends and allies.