The first thing John did upon arriving back at the Crossroads was take a nap in his own bed. There were probably a hundred messages waiting for him- some important, some trivial. None would be urgent, though. If there had been anything truly time sensitive, someone would have come to him.

  It was hard to describe what was so good about his bed. He wasn’t much for a lavish lifestyle- indeed, certain sorts of ‘luxury’ items were worse than their cheaper counterparts in his opinion. Yet he could confidently say that at least some of his stays had technically better beds. A proper amount of softness matched with enough firmness to hold him in place. Good air flow, maintaining just the right temperature throughout the night.

  But they weren’t his bed, and that was all that mattered. He’d had more than a few beds in this new life, and the transition between them took some time to get used to, but then there were peaceful decades of existence. The only thing that would make it more comfortable was someone there beside him. Just a presence, so that he was not alone.

  He thought he had been fine before the topic of marriage was brought up, but maybe he was just ignoring it. It wasn’t necessarily bad to be single, but he obviously hadn’t had a choice. And while he’d come to terms with most of it, it was clear he hadn’t truly moved on.

  -----

  Dealing with routine tasks came with no cultivation insights. Indeed, they took time away from cultivation. But when they didn’t require much thought, he was able to ponder the myriad insights he’d already uncovered on his large journey.

  Not all of them would ultimately be helpful to him. Some might be flawed. However, studying each element on its own and sometimes in specific pairs had been a very useful project. At his current level of digestion spending all that time and effort to just draw in spiritual energy in an attempt to refine his cultivation to the next rank would have been a greater improvement to his combat potential, but it wasn’t just about that. Ranks would come with time… and more easily with proper insights into spiritual elements.

  -----

  Someone had slipped up and mentioned marriage, and it wasn’t John. Then again, he doubted that it would have been Astrid either- unless she liked having competition. Maybe she did. Or maybe there was some unspoken condition that he had recently fulfilled that opened him up to flood of marriage candidates. Had his continental tour made him look like that was part of his plans? He literally hadn’t even considered it until he was in the Sunfields, nearly the last stop upon the route.

  Anyone who sent a letter was immediately rejected- though not always formally. Of course, he did have to do the political thing where the more qualified candidates would be ‘kept in consideration’. He didn’t want the few hopefuls with less qualified candidates to get their hopes up, so they were politely and formally rejected.

  Picking a spouse for their qualifications seemed weird at first, but it really wasn’t. After all, that was what people did. It didn’t have to be something that could be put in a resume, but that was what dating was. Someone making you feel good about yourself, easy to get along with, a person with at least a couple shared interests, someone you liked- those were still all qualifications of some sort.

  And other things were still real. John didn’t need someone who cooked when he had professional chefs, but that could be a very real need in a situation where running a household was a full-time job. As a cultivator, though, rather than any sort of household skills there was one thing that actually was a requirement- cultivation talent. Otherwise, he would only be holding himself back. If his partner provided emotional stability and their dual cultivation came out without any great efficiency on his part he could accept that, but optimally both would grow more quickly.

  As he rejected all of the written candidates, he thought through his options once more. Deirdre was too sisterly regardless of other possibilities. He liked her, but even with consideration it wasn’t at all in that manner.

  Presha of Silver Breeze Gorge was a decent candidate. They got along well enough, but decent wasn’t enough. She might not even be looking- or she might even have a lover he didn’t know about. John simply hadn’t bothered to look into such things.

  Of those he knew before, the best options might come from the Milanovic clan, but John wasn’t particularly enamored with any of them. They were too familiar, in a way. Or too young. John could accept a rather significant age gap given the circumstances, but there were limits. Especially from the cultivation side of things.

  That left… Venera? The Third Island Master- previously the Fourth- of the Sky Islands. She was certainly talented enough. She hadn’t been anti-continental, either. Whether she would be interested in him at all or willing to give up her whole position there- John wasn’t willing to compromise on the Six Elements Crossroads- that was another story.

  The final two were met just recently on his tour of the continent. Anna was weaker by a significant margin, but she’d developed a lovely sect in the Rolling Dunes. Once again that was a reason she might not be interested, since the sect would likely fall apart without her. She would at least need a powerful elder to take over.

  Then, obviously, there was Astrid. She checked many boxes. She was clearly interested- since she’d been the direct catalyst for all of this- talented, presumably willing to join him, and pretty much everything else. She reminded John of Matayal in many positive ways, though of course a few days could lead only to a shallow understanding of a person.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Perhaps John should ask people to visit. That would be a good opportunity for them and their disciples- instead of having access to only a limited selection of the Six Elements Crossroads members. There could be more to things, if John was willing to play his hand.

  If that was what he wanted, he could start right now. He just wasn’t sure. He certainly felt the emptiness around him, but there could be more than one way to deal with things. Being aware of this certainly took a lot more of his top level thinking than he really wished… but perhaps it was better than leaving things unresolved, pushed off to the side by default. If he could just switch off his desire to have a partner, he might.

  Though even if his other needs were met, the benefits for cultivation would be tempting. Proper dual cultivation partners needed to share a deep trust and understanding, as they were literally interacting with their most vulnerable and yet also dangerous core of spiritual energy.

  -----

  As it tended to do, time continued to pass. Soon enough, the time for the next tournament had arrived. John had taken special care to include invitations for certain groups that he’d met on his journey that hadn’t previously participated, such as the Shadowed Union from the western Muted Crags. He’d even included the Burning Delta, after careful consideration. Among other things, it had required coordination with the eastern regions as a whole.

  No matter how many decades it had been, most of the major cultivators from the invasion of the Molten Sea were still alive. Nothing had been forgotten. However, that was precisely why the Burning Delta was an important ally. They hadn’t been part of that. The Molten Sea was a concerningly large region that wasn’t all controlled by a single faction- though Gesine had drawn on a significant amount of power.

  As for why it was concerningly large, an actual ocean sized area of molten rock was a bit much for someone from Earth. John supposed it helped provide an elemental balance with a planet covered by water, air, and earth though. Air was literally everywhere, even if it wasn’t all infused with the spiritual element. But clearly whatever the proper balance was, the planet had survived this long and probably would for significantly longer.

  Other notable additions to the tournament included a small contingent from the Gloom Desolation. It was a long journey, so John fully understood the limited numbers. There were also people from the Frozen Heights, who might appreciate being somewhere livable. Or maybe they wanted to go back to their nearly lifeless mountain to cultivate. They showed up either way.

  Astrid showed up, of course. The Summer Sun Sect would have been participating regardless, but with the current state of things… it was good that she was patient. Even cultivators only lived so long, though, so he wanted to figure out how he felt about things and not leave her in limbo forever. A few extra years apparently wasn’t enough.

  The only notable absence was Abritt. Officially, she was busy with… something. John didn’t even bother to remember. Instead, he took aside Sitora to comment on the situation. “I’m betting she was afraid to look Ursel in the eyes.”

  The old woman laughed. “I’m afraid to look Ursel in the eyes. Your daughter is a terrifying figure. And I’d rather not have my body torn apart by unstoppable roots.”

  “You can fly though. So you only have to do that.”

  “And what, whittle down at her defenses and then never get through her armor?”

  John shook his head. “Oh no. You fly away and leave. That’s the correct strategy. Engaging with her is never the correct option.”

  Sitora nodded slowly. “I’d gathered that. Anyway, that wasn’t the issue. She’s seen her before, after all. I do believe she’s actually in closed door cultivation.”

  “That simple?” John shook his head. “Well, even if she manages to increase her rank… it doesn’t make much difference.”

  “Not to you, maybe, but to me? I am unlikely to step into the late Ascending Soul Phase. You’ll surpass me soon enough.”

  “I’m still one rank behind. It could be another decade to match you.”

  “That’s soon,” Sitora reminded him. “You won’t even be half my age by then. You’re already a good bit ahead of where I was at your age.”

  “Well, these are special times,” John said. “A surge in cultivation.”

  “As if you have nothing to do with that. Even if there are factors beyond your control, you and those around you are dragging the continent along with you.” Sitora smiled broadly. “It’s refreshing. Things had become so stagnant before you showed up. There hadn’t been anything exciting since the first leviathan incident.”

  “I doubt that,” John said. “Abritt doesn’t seem to be interested in drawing closer.”

  “She’s old and stubborn. Like me.”

  -----

  Astrid came to find John before the tournament began- one of many, though some meetings were more official. Whatever they were, they were at least friends now. Not just acquaintances or allies, but with a personal sort of bond.

  “I see your type now. Should I dye my hair?” She grinned at him. Maybe she was too comfortable around him now, joking around like that. “I’m sure I could get some wrinkles.”

  “I’m not particularly into older women.”

  “You say that, but your wife was older too, wasn’t she?”

  Bringing up Matayal directly was not something she’d done lightly at first- but coming to terms with her death had all been part of how he survived his second attempt at reaching the Ascending Soul Phase. Now, she just did it when it felt right.

  “She was like… a year older at best?”

  “Hmm, that still counts.”

  It really didn’t. Certainly not for cultivators, but not really for normal people either. “What about if my hair turned gray?”

  “I’d be surprised,” Astrid said. “I’d expect a rainbow first. Or at least an elementally appropriate mixture. But that’s not actually what I came here to talk about. Those new games you announced… I love the idea! Some of my disciples aren’t terribly fond of combat, so the plant tending is an interesting one. And others have too much energy, so throwing rocks sounds like fun. Do you think it would count if it melted along the way?”

  John had actually thought about rules for the various ‘games’. There were different variations he thought different elements might be better at. Some challenges were exclusively for a single element, though there were general any-means-goes rock chucking competitions.

  “The closest bit is what counts. So it’s probably better to not.”

  “Ah, damn. That’s fair I guess. Are you thinking about adding other practical skills? Enchanting, maybe?”

  “That might need to be its own thing. It’s a lengthy process that would take too many people away from the current main draw.”

  “Current, huh. Don’t like the fighting?”

  “I imagine it will always be part of things. People like showing off how strong they are. But there are other interesting things people can do.”