Truthful Transmigration

Chapter 554 554

At the conclusion of the duel, the Buried Cavern Sect stomped off. Personally, John thought that was a greater loss of face for them than gracefully accepting their defeat. On the other hand, it might be the best they could manage. Zola seemed like the sort to do something stupid if she stayed.

John didn't really care if the sect head lived or died, but overall it would be better for their mission to kill fewer people. But if he heard one word about the formations malfunctioning, heads were going to roll. No, John had better restraint than that. If Rukiye heard anything like that, he'd have to correct people.

It did seem his apprentice needed some attention first. She had taken the battle seriously, and seemed to have ended up in a weird mental state.

"How are you doing?" John asked.

Rukiye hung her head. "... I wanted to win."

"So did your opponent," John replied. According to her tone of voice, however, she seemed to have some misunderstandings. That could happen when you were focused on the wrong details. "Tell me how you feel you did with each exchange."

Rukiye furrowed her brow. "Starting from the beginning, I found myself ineffective. My throwing dagger couldn't cause him any harm."

Was that how she saw it? John was going to have to clarify that she completely pierced his defenses. Yes, the attack had nothing left after that point, but the man was still shaken to receive a small injury right away even if it was merely skin deep.

"And then?" John prompted.

"I barely avoided a devastating blow to my temple," Rukiye continued. "And my machete barely drew blood."

John was going to let her finish before correcting her, but he would absolutely be pointing out that drawing blood in a battle between cultivators was already nearly lethal. Bodies were fragile. Well, most bodies. Maybe that was where Rukiye had gotten off track.

"After that…" Rukiye continued her retelling of the battle. "My arm was injured when I went in for an attack."

John remembered her angle of attack. Honestly, if she had been a bit more vicious her foe might have given up even if she had no spiritual energy left for her attack. She could have also rallied her own energy faster than her foe and sliced clean through him- except for the defensive formations, of course. Though perhaps she didn't realize she could.

"Then I attacked his elbow but I had already been defeated," Rukiye finished.

"Hmm…" John barely knew where to start. Certainly, an incomplete perspective could have interpreted things in that manner. "There are a few things I need to bring to your attention. Who do you normally spar against?"

"You, of course," Rukiye said. "And elder Renato. Rarely the others."

"Have you ever fought against anyone at your own rank?" John asked. He pretty much knew the answer already, though.

"Not since… before," Rukiye replied. There was a slight hint of sadness in her gaze, but the last few years had brought about some significant recovery when concerning the thoughts of her mother. At one point, she would have simply broken down crying at a single thought. "Until this battle, I suppose. I apologize for bringing shame to you and the Six Elements Crossroads." She bowed her head, and John was glad she seemed to sincerely care about what he thought.

"Technically, you still haven't fought anyone your rank," John pointed out. "Just the same phase." He couldn't leave her waiting for so long. "You foe had been seriously training as a member of the Buried Cavern Sect for a decade and a half. A bit short of your entire lifespan. Just like we noted earlier, he needed to win. But only one of you could. And now he's going to need therapy."

Rukiye tilted her head. "What?"

"He probably won't get it," John continued. "But he suffered a pretty devastating loss. Even if he copes somehow, it's unlikely to be in a healthy manner. I might do something about it if I felt any sympathy for this sect but honestly they're pretty disappointing." Just to drive the point home, John was more straightforward. "You did win, as I anticipated. I'm proud to have you fight for my honor."

"I… won…?"

Rukiye looked as if she couldn't believe it. John realized he should have allowed her into a serious battle against people earlier… except there weren't many good opportunities.

"Of course you did. Were you about to take a hit at the end?" John asked. "The formation had to stop your attack because his arm would have been taken off. He put everything he had into crushing you and barely broke your arm. Speaking of which, you should probably start treating that."

John could apply a splint for her, if necessary, but she should really set the bones herself. It was one of those things that cultivators had to learn properly, and it could lead to better healing than on Earth because they could precisely position things internally.

Rukiye looked down at her numb left arm. "Yeah." Her spiritual energy was a bit sluggish, but John could tell she had proper control and shouldn't cause any damage to herself. "So then… my attacks…?"

"The first one didn't pierce his forearm, true, but it did damage it. Your machete still has the blood from your next attack. I must remind you that almost nobody else practices advanced body tempering like Diamond Defense. And you didn't just a few years ago. Once you get past their spiritual energy, people are fragile." Was it time for constructive criticism? "Even the slightest improvement to your efficiency might have won the battle at an earlier move. Though of course, that's difficult against a higher ranking opponent."

It was clear she was still recontextualizing the battle in her mind. Perhaps she thought John was lying about her victory, but it would be a poor lie that was easily disprovable.

John finished with just one final statement. "You spend most of your time fighting people like me, a thousand times stronger than you, that you didn't realize how strong you've become."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Even if she fought some spirit beasts, the variety she could battle had naturally widened so she might not feel the growth in strength. John was glad this opportunity had come up before things dragged on for too much longer.

-----

Planets were big, with room for many people with many different people. While John generally thought of that as a positive, the last few years it had been an annoyance. But after a significant amount of travel he had finally… finished about half the job. But he really did need to check back in with the continental alliance, and not simply random messages that happened to catch up to them. After all, there wouldn't be anything critical sent in unsecure fashions.

They came in from the west- stopping by the allied western islands to check on their condition first. Fortunately, it seemed that there hadn't been any large-scale conflict. Any attacks could be attributed to small groups turning to banditry or piracy, both typical of cultivators and of any military forces after large conflicts.

Both to keep up relations and because Rukiye had no knowledge of the various island sects, they spent a little bit of time in various locations even though John was eager to return home.

She particularly liked the Blind Tower. She was of course quite expert at detecting things via spiritual energy and not simply her bodily senses. She had to be, to deal with John. While he could certainly defeat her through any means he pleased, if she had an obvious weakness like weak senses he would focus on her development in that area. Even if he was a six element cultivator, his origin was still darkness which affected his overall style.

The meals provided were no less fanciful than John's first visit. They were experiences for the senses… just usually not sight. There were indeed glowing rock candies- John took note that Rukiye particularly liked certain sweets- but they were the exception. Once they were gone, so was one of the basic senses.

The return was bittersweet. John had visited the western seas several times since his initial visit, but he couldn't help but remember Astrid's presence. Happy memories, but an emptiness was left behind.

But it was better to have those memories than not. Even if the loss of people hurt, John found that there was so much more of him because of his relationships. The empty holes people left behind when they passed on were not carved out of some limited core of his being, but instead located within the growth they had helped provide. It was still painful, but John had found he was always greater for those connections even after they were gone. He didn't appreciate it every day, but occasionally he had the proper perspective.

In some ways, the Blind Tower was about experiencing life to its fullest- by focusing on each part one at a time. Even if the purpose was merely to gain insight into the darkness element, visitors could learn much about themselves and the world.

They might also stub their toes occasionally. That was one of the consequences of laxness. Just because a wall was in one position didn't mean it was going to stay there.

Rukiye looked so funny hopping around on one foot. If she hadn't moved so confidently, she couldn't have possibly caused herself pain with her tempered body.

-----

They passed through the Shimmering Islands, which of course meant stopping at the Brandle clan. John wasn't going to give up any opportunity to be with family, especially not at his current point in life.

Tirto was of course there to greet their ship's arrival. "Welcome, father," he said. "I recognize most of your companions… except this one." He looked pointedly at Rukiye.

John nodded. "Well, the situation is a bit more complicated… but I picked her up as a new apprentice during the mission."

Verusha was slightly behind Tirto, as their arrival hadn't been expected. She might have been in the middle of something, or simply hadn't felt as much need to rush over. Even so, her eyes lit up as she saw the group disembarking. Then she nearly instantly closed the distance… moving just past John.

"It's you!" she grinned, looking down at Rukiye- though she wasn't much taller. "I've heard so much yet so little about you, little sister."

Rukiye blinked. "...I see?"

Verusha smiled mischievously. "You don't like being called little sister? But you are. After all, this man here is my father-in-law," she gestured vaguely towards John, treating him like a prop. "And since you're his adopted daughter, you're my little sister."

John began to protest, "That's not really- she's my apprentice."

"Oh please," Verusha rolled her eyes. "I've seen your actual apprentices. They were treated well, certainly, but even what little I've heard…"

Tirto nodded. "The details are fairly clear. But she still might not appreciate sudden approaches," he added as he slightly pulled back his wife. "Regardless of the details, we are pleased to meet you, Rukiye."

"O-of course I feel the same," Rukiye stuttered. "Mightly clan head."

"Tirto will be fine. If you have to be formal, clan head Tirto is appropriate. You are welcome here whenever you please."

-----

John didn't recall sending back much information about Rukiye, certainly not enough for people to make such lofty assumptions. That meant there was a spy among his crew. Probably Renato, honestly. He didn't seem like it, but he could be gossipy.

He did think that things must have been exaggerated. Sure, he did take good care of Rukiye. She had a terrible life, at least partially because of him. If nothing else, John had the power to make a change, so he couldn't just do nothing.

It was merely circumstances that gave Rukiye more personal attention than the rest of his apprentices- he hadn't been going around picking up orphans during the whole trip. Most of them would be best taken care of by their neighbors. It was simply Rukiye's determination that had made things different… and the fact that her neighbors wouldn't have been in any state to take care of children, with all the extra death.

He didn't really treat her like a daughter, though. Sure, she had been able to get away with a bit more than anyone else, but that was because of the circumstances. Attempting to kill him had been part of the deal. The vast majority of it hadn't been more serious than the various things Ursel and Melanthina got up to. Rukiye had shown serious remorse for the one real incident that might have harmed others- and mostly hurt herself.

As for any other leeway she got, it wasn't that different than his apprentices. When he'd first come across Ayhan and the others, they'd been about the same age. Rukiye simply happened to be the only one in her batch, but she trained seriously. Even if he provided her more resources than the others- including personal resources she could spend to treat herself- it was because he had proportionately more. Probably.

He did wonder how Rukiye might feel about being adopted, though. Obviously he wouldn't be any kind of replacement for her mother. It didn't matter if Rukiye's mother was exaggerated in her eyes, it simply wasn't possible to replace one person with another to begin with.

But everyone needed family… and if the diplomatic crew was Rukiye's family, then John was closest to being her father. John didn't think it would be a problem… as long as nobody thought leadership in the sect would be handed down to her. She didn't even know the sect yet, and she was probably at least a century away from being a good fit even if it came down to that. There were plenty of others that John would rank ahead of her for the position, not that he planned to step down for a long time.

He was still young, after all. His body was youthful and healthy, at least. After a century, even cultivators weren't really young.