Truthful Transmigration

After Renato’s loss, though he felt the man put on a good showing, John didn’t see many avenues to pick up a victory against Abritt. However, the final Sky Islands cultivator aside from Abritt was knocked out of the tournament in the same round. Sitora was defeated by the previously low profile Mandlen, of the Indestructible Kapok Grove even with his cultivation in the early Ascending Soul Phase.

The battle against Sitora showed his durability as he fought against the other cultivator, standing tall and proud as a tree. But he didn’t simply stand passively, retaliating with each incoming blow just like his namesake- the particular tree being referenced had a great many thorns covering it, after all. He rooted himself to the ground, following up by wrapping Sitora in energy like branches when she got too close, in a manner she could not disrupt even as a partial earth cultivator. Perhaps Mandlen could defeat Abritt, as a different sort of earth cultivator. Though John would have preferred it to be one of those he was close to, they could still show the Sky Islands the strength of the continent.

Charlotte also advanced to the next round, though her elemental advantage would likely only carry her so far. A fire cultivator who worked with earth could certainly outmatch an air and earth cultivator, but the gap in ranks was still a significant hurdle to overcome.

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The next morning came, the match ups not having been revealed, though the various arenas were prepared. The first match was Charlotte against Mandlen, the results of which set John off kilter.

Charlotte defeated Mandlen, and while that wasn’t a terrible surprise given their elemental balance, that meant what John thought was the best matchup against Abritt was gone. He might be able to win himself. At the very least, he’d force her to fight seriously, unlike before. Yet John couldn’t remain fully confident in his strength bringing a victory.

He’d forgotten what that matchup meant. Ursel was set to face off against Abritt, and he could only watch nervously. John knew his daughter was well armored and had a durable body, so he wasn’t too concerned about her. However, it was possible that Abritt would try to cause her real harm through the formations given her connection to John. If she pushed her luck many people would be ready to spring into action, but he hoped it didn’t come to something like that. They were trying to avoid a war. Neither did he want to slaughter invited guests.

The battlefield wasn’t exactly favorable to either cultivator- though Abritt certainly had things easier. The arena was filled with lava on the ground and flames twisting through the air. Not a battlefield any earth cultivator whether full or partial wished to remain for long. But the flame in the air was less severe, so Abritt would likely be able to resist for longer.

She clearly wasn’t interested in simply outlasting her opponent, though. Ursel was at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase, the thirty-sixth rank. It would be embarrassing to take long to defeat her, or to have to exploit the battlefield. Against an even opponent, or at least someone closer to the forty-third rank like herself, using such tactics might be reasonable. Instead, she clearly intended to blow away her opponent.

Abritt started with a literal attempt. The rules against being knocked out of the arena were fairly generous for such a battlefield, but if a cultivator couldn’t control their own positioning to that extent they would be recognized as weak.

Having experienced Abritt’s winds himself, John knew how powerful they were. And Ursel stood there, shin deep in lava. She didn’t even use any energy until Abritt ramped up her whirlwinds to the point that had finally blown John away. Ursel grew roots of earth element into the fiery ground, simply looking up at her flying opponent.

Whether it was intended as a provoking gesture or not, Abritt charged down towards her. Ursel’s club struck Abritt directly on the forehead… causing no damage. John wasn’t surprised, given that Renato had done more or less the same. The difference in phase wasn’t something easily made up for.

Abritt slashed at Ursel with her claw weapons, spinning around her much like Deidre. However, she was slightly less agile than the light cultivator, and Ursel managed to keep her away from any vulnerable joints. At the same time, she scooped up a dripping boulder of lava with her club, slamming it into and around Abritt. The air cultivator didn’t avoid the attack, perhaps because it took her only a moment to remove the shell of material from herself.

After that, Abritt rose up into the air, whipping up the molten ground and flinging it at Ursel, intending to completely cover her. It was only then that Ursel began to move, but mostly to reach larger clumps of lava. The layer of lava was only about a meter deep, after all. Plenty for normal circumstances. Ursel used her club to fling clump after clump at Abritt. While each one would cause her no damage, it was possible she would overheat eventually as her durability was based on earth.

John thought Ursel should be fatiguing quickly, though her new armor should be somewhat heat resistant. That was simply enough to last her this far, it shouldn’t endure forever.

Abritt wasn’t content with one form of attack. She shifted swiftly between them, likely looking for any one thing that could take down Ursel quickly. A continued battle might be embarrassing for her… though John wasn’t certain if she was even thinking about that in the moment.

She dug into the lower rock of the arena to form thin shards of rock, most of which shattered upon Ursel’s armor in the whirlwind. She directly manipulated the ground to stab huge spears of rock into Ursel, not damaging her armor but pinning her in place for a few moments at a time as they came in from different angles.

Abritt was not shy about going into melee, either, swooping in to claw at Ursel. Each time she received a blow that she shrugged off, while she got closer and closer to striking Ursel’s weak points. Ursel took special care of her head, given Renato’s defeat.

John was so invested in the various exchanges of the battle he hadn’t realized how much it was dragging on. Ursel had already surpassed his own time against Abritt.

The older woman resorted to direct strikes, her heel impacting the top of Ursel’s head. The blow was designed to send a shock through her armor into her body directly. Perhaps it did… but Ursel had likely endured worse. John had seen her fight things larger than buildings, and there was only so far earth element layers would protect against such things.

Ursel gathered energy, and Abritt suddenly pulled away. Perhaps she feared a concentrated strike might actually harm her. For a few moments, Abritt hung in the air above Ursel, looking down at the younger woman who was standing in a zone more or less clear of fire element, given how all the lava had been slung about.

Then Abritt’s assault continued, tiny shards of stone intermixed with bolts of lightning. Ursel crouched down, seemingly to cover herself. Then she sprang upward.

Abritt instantly bolstered her defenses as Ursel swung her club with one hand, slamming her in the ribs. Her other hand clutched around Abritt’s ankles… and the two of them hung in the air for a moment.

The strain on Abritt to keep Ursel aloft was clearly more than she liked, so she let them fall to the ground. Along the way Ursel continued to uselessly bash Abritt’s side. Neither opponent could seriously harm the other, or so it seemed. But eventually one would collapse, and it seemed like Ursel would run out of spiritual energy far sooner.

It was inevitable, really. The moment before Ursel’s feet touched the ground, Abritt’s hands flashed. With Ursel holding onto her, they were both more or less stationary targets. Her claw weapons stabbed into the thin eyeholes of Ursel’s helmet. John felt Ursel’s energy defenses crack and then…

Nothing happened. Specifically, the arena’s formations didn’t activate to signal the end of the battle. Nor did Abritt pull her strikes. But the worst scenario John could imagine also didn’t occur. Abritt’s blades simply stopped, unable to go further.

John focused energy on his eyes to get a better picture of the fine details, and he saw Ursel with her face scrunched, and her eyes closed. Her eyelids served as armor, her skin far more durable than it had any right to be.

The battle had begun with John believing that Ursel was outclassed in every manner. That was true to some extent. Even if her body was strong and durable, it shouldn’t have made a difference. But there was one other area that Ursel stood out in that he had completely forgotten.

John sensed the energy radiating from the two. Abritt had five totems, ranging from the fourth to the fifth rank. Her earlier ones had likely been developed from their initial levels. John had five fifth rank totems, but his rank being inferior made that slight difference less relevant to the battle.

Ursel had four totems. Her first two were now respectively at the fourth and fifth rank. Good, she’d been properly advancing them. John remembered her third totem, Roots Cracking Boulders. A sixth rank totem that she’d picked up as she broke through to the Soul Expansion Phase and caused much consternation. It wasn’t a surprise that her fourth totem was also at the sixth rank. She’d done it once, so she should be able to do it again.

John had vaguely recognized it when they sparred, but only now did he really feel it. He couldn’t quite say what it was, but it was fully active. He got a feeling of… well, Ursel herself. Or someone much like her. A straightforward totem that was just a person standing against enemies… perhaps one that affected her body even more than her other training.

Abritt tried several more times to stab Ursel’s eyes. She also stabbed her underarms and the inside of her elbows- Ursel wasn’t doing more than shifting her head or body slightly to prevent the attacks from having their full force, but her body withstood the attacks with at best small scratches. Meanwhile, Ursel’s blows continued to strike Abritt at awkward angles. And then…

The arena’s formations activated. Not to protect Ursel, but to protect Abritt.

John felt it. And he knew why. Because blow after blow, all of which seemed useless… were driving roots of Ursel’s energy deeper and deeper into Abritt, through her layers of earth element defenses and hiding beneath her notice.

Abritt dropped to the ground awkwardly- Ursel still holding one leg. John thought she would protest. Say that somehow, the battle was rigged. Or perhaps respond in any way.

Instead, she just stood there as Ursel’s victory was declared- a good thirty second late as the silence throughout the arena had taken even the announcer.

Abritt continued to stand in her same position, staring off into the distance, as Ursel let her go. As she walked out of the arena. And she stood there until the cultivators of the Sky Islands came, eventually, to walk her out of the arena.

When sound returned, the arena was filled cheering, shouts of joy, and confusion. John barely noticed any of it. He understood how things had fallen into place… but that didn’t make him less surprised.

The armor he’d helped Ursel construct had clearly been a significant part of the battle. However, if she hadn’t been able to withstand direct attacks on her body it wouldn’t have been enough at the end. Speaking of said attacks, John knew that Ursel had worked with those adjusting the formations to provide some special rules for herself- not to cheat, but so that it would properly register what was safe for her or not. It might be able to sense the durability of her armor, but that combined with her body was beyond what anyone would normally anticipate.

At some point, Ursel had arrived in front of John. There had been crowds of people wanting to speak to her, but she’d shoved her way through them to reach first the boxes of Tirto and Melanthina, then finally that of the Six Elements Crossroads where John sat.

“Congratulations,” he said once he recognized her presence. “That was amazing.”

“Thanks. I almost didn’t think I could do it.”

Which meant she did think she could win. Unlike probably everyone else present. If one factor had been different in terms of elemental advantage, her durable body, her totems, her armor imbued with all six elements, or perhaps Abritt’s style… she would have likely lost.

When she blinked, John realized that her eyelids were scoured, and would be dripping blood if not for her energy keeping it inside her. She might have been quite literally less than a millimeter between victory and defeat.

Well at least he didn’t have to think about how to beat Abritt now. Though John doubted that battle was replicable. Abritt shouldn’t allow herself to end up in that situation a second time. Even so, she’d lost once- and to a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator. Which might have been insulting if it had been on purpose or at all something people could actually comprehend. Already there were whispers that Ursel must be hiding a cultivation in the Ascending Soul Phase, perhaps even the late stage like Abritt. John was almost inclined to believe them even though he had direct access to evidence to the contrary.