Teng Wuying was on his way to a meeting with the leader of the Swift Blizzard branch sect in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, Mao Biya, when he saw that Poison Claw Sect brat who was discipled to Chao Su fly overhead. The device she rode was actually quite fascinating. Not the construction or function but rather what it represented.
Chao Su actually cared for his whelps. Why else would he go through the effort of creating such a thing?
Teng Wuying couldn't believe he hadn't realized that fact before. The entire debacle with the destruction of his branch sect had been said to be caused due to the death of a trash Qi Gathering cultivator. At the time, he'd thought Chao Su had used the death as a ridiculous excuse.
But it wasn't. The man truly cared about his trash members!
Teng Wuying waved happily at the brat flying overhead as his mind whirled. What a weakness. Surely, there was a way to use that. He'd definitely figure out how to exploit the fool's caring nature.
If such exploitation was even needed in the first place. Sure, Chao Su beat two Nascent Souls at his sect when he had formations prepared, but the next encounter, an ambush, would be here in the city. And if Teng Wuying had his way, a lot more than two Nascent Souls would be attacking.
He grinned. All he had to do was convince Mao Biya to commit all four of her sect's highest realmed cultivators to the fight. That task, unfortunately, would not be easy due mainly to the fact that one of them was in secluded cultivation.
Whereas the Jade Chameleon Sect had almost no choice but to spend the lives of their oldest cultivators, the Swift Blizzard Sect had no such compulsion. They would be difficult to convince to make such an all-in stand.
The Big Three sects were conservative by nature, eschewing large, risky moves. Which made sense. An organization that didn't take chances in the beginning of their existence likely never rose, but an organization that took chances once they were finally established would likely fail as soon as one of those gambles blew up in their faces.
Teng Wuying sighed. It would have been so much better if he could have convinced the Emperor's faction to commit two Nascent Souls to the cause. Then, he could have advocated for equal representation for all three members of the conspiracy. The cowardly nobles wouldn't budge from their neutrality, though.
They made the conservative elders of the sects seem like radicals in comparison.
He mulled the issue over as he made his way to the Swift Blizzard branch, where he was promptly escorted to Mao Biya's study for his appointment.
Teng Wuying bowed lower than was strictly necessary to her. It was never a bad idea to get things started on the right foot by flattering your opponent. "Greetings, Elder Mao."
After returning his greetings, she said, "I've been thinking about it. Waiting until the tournament is too long. That man's disciples visited the auction house while they were in the city. It's likely that he will attend the one being held in less than three weeks. It's the perfect time and place for an ambush."
Her suggestion threw him for a loop. She was known to be a bit of a hothead, but that idea burned with too much heat even for her. The level of ardor was good, though. He needed to carefully dissuade her on the timetable without lowering her zeal too much.
"What prompted the change, Elder?" he said.
"That man! That arrogant asshole threatened my sect. Every day that he lives is an affront to the Swift Blizzard Sect's face."
Ah. He should have predicted the issue. Left to stew at the indignity proffered by Chao Su, she grew more and more impatient.
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"Hmm," Teng Wuying said. "I should be able to get my two Nascent Souls ready by the auction. You can get all four of yours queued up in time?"
That statement was a straight up lie on his part. He hadn't even convinced the council of elders to overrule the sect leader yet, much less began making arrangements to get the Nascent Souls mobilized. But it would have been a huge mistake to refuse her or try to talk her down. It was important for her to come to the realization on her own.
Mao Biya winced. "Three weeks, huh? The logistics…"
He schooled his face, so it didn't break out into a grin. Just as he'd planned, she'd figured out the problem.
"Wait," she said, "Four? I never agreed to four."
"Apologies, Elder. I thought it was as important to you that Chao Su be killed as it was to me."
"It is! I refuse to let him get away with threatening my sect. He will be, must be, destroyed and his entire so-called sect with him."
"So… You agree that all four of your Nascent Souls are needed, Elder?"
"No. Why would we need six against one?"
"This man killed half our Golden Cores and half our Nascent Souls, Elder. It would be a mistake to underestimate him again, and he has allies, now. The Poison Claw Sect stands at five. Those plus him are six."
She scoffed. "If your ambush can't catch him alone, you're a fool, and I might as well go it alone."
Oops. He'd overplayed his hand a bit. Time to walk it back.
"Obviously, we wouldn't be so stupid to attack him when he had that much backup, Elder. What happens, though, if a perfect opportunity presents itself, and Yuan Yaozu is accompanying him?"
Mao Biya frowned. "Five is more than enough to take on Chao Su and one who has barely advanced to Nascent Soul."
"Is it, Elder? Ye Zhengsheng and Yan Mingxia were absolutely positive the two of them would have no problem killing him, either."
"They didn't know he was a Formations Master. No one did."
"The thing that bothers me, that keeps me up at night, that makes me want to do everything in my power to convince you to bring all four of your Nascent Souls to the ambush, Elder, is a single question—what else don't we know about Chao Su?"
Her expression fell, and he knew he had her. She was too riled up to agree that day in that conversation, but if he dropped the matter, he'd be able to convince her the next time they met.
"I've given my counsel, Elder. In the end, it's your call. Do what you will. Regarding the topic I came here today to discuss with you, what's our best move for getting the Rising Tide Sect invited to the tournament?"
"Do not refer to that man's collection of trash peasants as a sect in my presence!"
With that, the topic of conversation was officially changed. They went back and forth a little while. He would have greatly preferred to have her make the suggestion of sending the so-called sect an invitation when they met with the tournament's steering committee, but her animosity was simply too high. There was no way she could convincingly swallow her anger long enough to make the others buy it as a legitimate request.
Coming from him, the Poison Claw Sect, at the very least, was sure to suspect an ulterior motive, but he felt up to the task.
The next day, Teng Wuying, Mao Biya, Kang Ya-Ting, and Qiu ZhenKang, a representative from the City Lord, met to discuss plans for the tournament. The meeting went on and on and on, as such things tended to do. They discussed everything from prizes to the tournament format to the location of the event.
It was the Jade Chameleon's turn in the rotation to host the tournament, but someone had completely laid waste to their entire branch sect, nullifying their ability to put on the event. Even if Teng Wuying hadn't wanted to destroy the Rising Tide Sect in order to get the Trial Pagoda, he would have desired that outcome purely for payback.
That thought was something of a revelation to him as he thought himself above such unprofitable motivations as revenge. Huh.
After hours of discussing such matters, the meeting finally wound down, and Qiu ZhenKang, chosen to chair the steering committee due to his faction's neutrality, asked if there was any new business.
"Yes," Teng Wuying said, "I think that an invitation should be extended to the Rising Tide Sect."
Kang Ya-Ting reacted immediately. "No."
"Really?" Teng Wuying said. "You don't want your allies to participate?"
"I'm positive that you have only the worst of intentions for my friends so, as I stated, no."
"Of course, I have bad intentions. Their sect leader is the reason my sect isn't hosting the tournament and half our Golden Cores and Nascent Souls are dead. I want to see their sect members beaten into a bloody pulp by my sect members."
"Exactly," Kang Ya-Ting said. "No."
"Perfect. I'll put out a notice that the Poison Claw Sect has no confidence in the combat ability of the Rising Tide Sect members. The loss of face both you and your allies suffer will be even better than watching some whelps be beat up."
The Poison Claw elder frowned, obviously trying to figure a way out of the situation. He tried unsuccessfully to come up with something but, in the end, had to agree to the invitation.
And that was how one lured prey into a trap.
Benton received an interesting message, the shortest one he'd gotten yet. It simply asked him if he would teleport to Kang Ya-Ting's study at noon the following day for a quick meeting.
That was it. No context. Nothing. There should have been some explanation as to the purpose of the summons, right?
The paper sent had been one commonly used by the Poison Claw Sect, not one of Benton's. Maybe that fact had something to do with the terseness.
Oh well.
Benton quickly sent a reply back, one even more succinct.
Sure.
Before sending it off, he re-read the single word and grinned. Even if no one else found it funny, he did.
A little while later, another message arrived, one from a source he didn't recognize.
Sect Leader Chao Su,
Be it known that the Council of Four, an organization founded to improve relations between the four major factions on the Five Provinces continent, is hosting its quinquennial tournament in Sixth Flawless Flowing City. Events will allow faction members in the Qi Gathering and Foundation Establishment realms to compete in contests of martial ability, pill making, blacksmithing, and formations creation.
Let this notice serve as an official notice from the Council of Four that members of the Rising Tide Sect are invited to participate in these events. No entry fees are required for contestants, and as your sect is an honored guest, contribution to the prize pool is also not required.
Each of the four types of contests will be broken into four divisions corresponding to the participants' cultivation realm—Qi Gathering, low Foundation Establishment, mid Foundation Establishment, and high Foundation Establishment.
The tournament will take place in five months' time. A notice of intent to participate along with quantities of cultivators anticipated to participate in each contest and division must be submitted within four months after receipt of this invitation. A final list of names along with cultivation realm and contest(s) to be entered must be submitted no later than one week prior to the commencement of the tournament.
Yours in the Spirit of Cooperation,
Qiu ZhenKang
Assistant to City Lord Luo Quan
Interesting. If Benton had to guess, he'd say that invitation was the reason for Kang Ya-Ting's missive.
Hmm.
On the face of it, the invite didn't pass the smell test. Though there were only three major sects on the continent, there were umpteen small ones. Benton seriously doubted that any of them had been invited to the tournament, but he could be wrong on that score.
He mentally shrugged. There was no reason for him to make a decision, or even really waste much time worrying about it, until after talking to his allies the next day.
If he did decide to let the kids take part, though, they would definitely need better equipment. If only he knew a master blacksmith. Oh wait…
Seriously, there was no reason he couldn't whip up something for all the kids who would be going. Again, though, he should wait to get anything like that started until after finding out more information.
Related to the subject of better equipment, though, he had promised to provide a weapon to all his members who reached Foundation Establishment, and his efforts on that front had been a bit lackluster. Yang Xiu and Yang Ru were still using the weapons provided by the System, which were high quality and all but had no formations giving them that special something the weapons for auction had. And Kang Lin just had the standard sect spear, which, again, was better than what most kids her realm on the continent had to work with. Better just wasn't good enough for his disciples, though. Poor Jin LiJuan didn't even have that. He'd just handed her a random sword from his ring that he'd picked up somewhere.
Yeah, those four definitely could stand an upgrade.
Benton scanned the sect grounds. All cultivators stood out as little blobs of qi to his spiritual sense, and since he knew the quantity plus some hard to define quality about that qi each of his members possessed, he could quickly identify where everyone was.
Yang Ru and Kang Lin were in the Martial Pavilion, outside one of the sparring areas that held Yang Xiu and Zou Tian. Jin LiJuan was in a separate part of that building with Pan Jiang.
Benton teleported to Yang Ru and Kang Lin. Before they had a chance to even cup their hands or greet him, he said, "If you could use an attack of any element other than one associated with your aspect, what element would it be?" He held out two pieces of message paper.
They each took one of the pages, their expressions showing confusion.
"Think about it carefully and get me your answer before dinner," he said, teleporting out before they could say a word.
He appeared in a sparring room with Jin LiJuan and repeated the conversation he'd had with the other two before leaving just as quickly.
Benton had to say that moments like those were some of his favorite things about coming to a cultivation world. The combination of being able to do such supercool superhuman things like teleporting and using that ability to flummox his disciples was just too much fun.
After leaving them, he popped over to the forge to begin implementing some of his plans. Luckily, it didn't take long for the messages to start coming in. Jin LiJuan's came first, choosing Void as her element.
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He nodded as he probably could have guessed that result. She was focused on destruction, and there wasn't a much better element for purpose that than the one she picked.
The selections from Yang Ru and Kang Lin followed fairly soon after that, and Benton found those decisions to be quite interesting. Besides outliers like Void, Tribulation, and Time, most sub elements were strong and weak against common elements. Yang Ru's aspect, Momentum, was great against Water but not so much against Wood. His fighting style involved lots of close up melee attacks and was all about power.
In a similar manner, Kang Lin's Lightning beat Wood but lost to Earth. Her style was also melee, but she focused on speed. She chose Gravity for her attack element, which represented a great addition to her repertoire. It served the dual purpose of giving her an AoE option and a way to pin down an opponent.
The choice was a good one.
Yang Ru's showed a different way of thinking. Maybe. He picked Water. Which on the face of it didn't make a lot of sense. Water was okay for ranged attacks, which would give him needed options in a fight. But there were better elements he could have picked if that were his concern.
If, however, he planned on fighting often with Kang Lin at his side, the choice got really interesting. She would struggle most against an Earth user, and Water was strong against Earth.
Could the choice be a sign that things were heating up between the two of them? Enquiring minds wanted to know.
Benton shrugged off his thoughts of a gossipy nature and got back to work, soon finishing up all his tasks in the forge and stowing the results in his ring. He expected that, after his meeting at the Poison Claw Sect the next day, he'd want to meet with his council to discuss the tournament. That would be a perfect time to distribute the results of his crafting.
He ended up taking it relatively easy the rest of the night and the next morning, spending an hour here and there making spirit coins but otherwise just napping, watching the kids' spar, and re-reading a novel he'd particularly enjoyed.
At the appointed time, he teleported into Kang Ya-Ting's study.
In addition to the elder, the leader of the branch sect, Dai Shuren, and an older Golden Core cultivator, who wore the Poison Claw Sect's robes and who Benton hadn't met, was also present. They all exchanged greetings, and the new man was introduced as Elder Feng, the gentleman who had the Ice Lotus that Benton needed available for trade.
Interesting. Benton had assumed the meeting would be about the tournament, but both the people who had materials available for trade were present. It made sense that the sect branch leader would be at the meeting regardless of which purpose was to be discussed but not necessarily for the other guy. Surely, they hadn't summoned him so urgently just for a bit of business.
"I'm sure you are curious as to why we requested your presence, Friend Su."
"I am."
Kang Ya-Ting sighed. "The truth of the matter is that I got tricked." He went on to describe his experience with the committee organizing the tournament and how the Jade Chameleon Sect elder connived his way into pushing through an invite for the Rising Tide Sect.
"It's a trap," Benton said, almost unintentionally inflecting his voice like a certain alien in a certain movie.
"I fear so," Kang Ya-Ting said, "and a well laid one. He's offering the carrot of official acknowledgement of your sect as bait. The tournament is for the four factions and is not generally open to anyone else. Occasionally a smaller, unaffiliated sect is invited, and when that happens, everyone understands that the council is giving them great face. It's an important statement."
Benton nodded. "And if I refuse, the loss of face will be equal to or greater than the gain I get from accepting."
"Exactly," Elder Dai said. "Even as our official ally, it may be centuries or never before your sect is offered an opportunity like this one. You cannot refuse it lightly."
Benton felt he had a good handle on the political aspects of the situation, so he cut to the heart of the matter. "Will my kids be in danger?"
Kang Ya-Ting grimaced. "The Jade Chameleon and maybe the Swift Blizzards will be targeting them."
"Targeting as in possible ambushes outside the arena or solely in the ring?" Benton said.
"Oh. It's extremely unlikely that there will be any attacks on youngsters outside the confines of the tournament, Friend Su. The loss of face would be severe, and almost as importantly, it would draw in the Emperor's faction on our side. They enforce the peace during the entire event, meaning that any attack would impugn their honor."
"I'm assuming there are formations in place to prevent permanent injuries and death during the actual matches?" Benton said.
After all, if his recycled sect buildings had such formations as standard, sure an important tournament would as well.
"Of course, Sect Leader," Elder Dai said. "And anyone who wants to, including you, will be offered the chance to examine them. If any of the arrays aren't to your satisfaction, reasonable accommodations will be arranged."
Hmm. Given the quality of the techniques his kids had access to, he'd put them one on one against anybody the sects had to offer. If the only danger was inside the ring and the damage would be healed at the end of the fight, he had no issues putting the kids in that situation. Even if they got beaten up, it could be a good learning experience for them.
One glaring problem stood out, though.
"We don't know what we don't know," Benton said.
"You understand the problem," the new guy, Elder Feng, said. "The truth is that the Jade Chameleons must have a reason for inviting your sect, and I seriously doubt that reason is a prelude to an offer of peace. They've either got something to gain or think you have something to lose or both. And no one outside their circle knows what that reason might be."
"I think I now have a sufficient understanding of the situation. Gratitude." Benton cupped his hands and inclined his head toward each of the three elders.
He needed time to process what he'd learned and consider the risk versus gain. There was also his council to consider. It would be good to get their input.
"There is time before the ultimate decision must be made," Benton said. "I have much thinking to do before reaching a conclusion."
"Yes, Sect Leader," Elder Dai said. "We appreciate the careful consideration you're giving this manner. As your allied sect, we felt it important to convey all the information we had to inform your choice."
After that, the conversation turned to more mundane matters. It turned out that Elders Dai and Feng did want to do a bit of horse trading and had hoped Benton had brought the swords he'd made.
He had.
After a few tests, each of the elders was convinced of the value.
"You're willing to take requests for a custom weapon in exchange for what we offered, Sect Leader?" Elder Dai said.
After Benton nodded, she continued. "As your ally, I feel that it's important to let you know the value of your weapon exceeds that of the materials you want, especially for the ones that convert the wielder's qi to a different type."
Benton was actually taken aback by her straightforward honesty. "A product is worth what a customer is willing to pay, Elder Dai, and at the moment, I value the materials more than the time and effort it takes to craft the swords."
"I believe we have a deal, then, Sect Leader. Provide me with a sword that converts my qi into Poison, and the Shadow beast core is yours."
That request was easy enough for Benton to handle, but after his testing with Yuan Yaozu, the fact that his blades didn't have a durability array just annoyed the crap out of Benton. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought to add one.
Honestly, he was fine with selling the ones he'd already made at auction. After all, the bidders would know exactly what they were getting, and the blades might end up in the hands of his enemies. Having a glaring weakness like being relatively easy to destroy was fine. For an ally, though?
He explained the situation to Elder Dai, and she was ecstatic that her custom sword would be getting that extra feature.
Elder Feng had apparently always wanted the power to wield Lightning and was overjoyed at the opportunity. He would have been willing to accept the available sword, but his weapon of choice was the glaive.
Benton easily agreed to make the polearm with the same formations, including the added durability array.
All in all, both sides walked away extremely pleased with the deal.
The first thing Benton did upon teleporting back to his office was to send out messages to his entire council calling for a meeting in three hours. As it was shortly after lunch, that would give everyone enough time to settle whatever they were working on, attend the meeting, and finish up in time for dinner.
His second action was to send an additional message to Yuan Yaozu, asking the Nascent Soul to come to the Administration Hall as quickly as possible. The man quickly complied, and the two of them settled into a conversation over a cup of tea. Benton started things off by explaining the situation with the tournament invitation and the context provided by the Poison Claw Sect elders.
"To be as forthright as possible, I need someone to run my thoughts past," Benton said. "You're not here as a disciple or a subordinate. You're here because you're the most knowledgeable person I have available that I can trust."
"Understood. I'll dispense with the formalities during this talk, then?"
In a deliberately ironic display, Benton cupped his hands in response, and the other Nascent Soul grinned.
"My immediate inclination is to refuse the invitation," Benton said. "Purely looking at it from a risk versus gain standpoint, there is definitely some risk, and honestly, I don't see the gain. Give me and my sect a hundred years, and the recognition from other sects will be meaningless as we'll be way too powerful for anyone to ignore."
He sighed. "On the other hand, my recent experience might be coloring my decision making. I did, after all, almost get everyone killed because I let my pride overrule my judgment."
"Which I'm guessing is why I'm here," Yuan Yaozu said. "To provide a check to make sure you're not going too far in the opposite direction."
"Got it in one."
"I'll start by evaluating the risk, then," Yuan Yaozu said. "You told me that you're comfortable with your sect members performance during official fights, and I'll agree that there should be minimal danger on that front, especially given your mastery of formations. It occurs to me that the real threat comes from an ambush targeting you and/or your sect members."
Benton was about to speak to those concerns, but the other man held up a finger.
"You almost lost the fight with Ye Zhengsheng and Yan Mingxia," Yuan Yaozu said. "But you told me you fought them as a Golden Core. Now, you're a Nascent Soul, and your Aura technique is likely to give you an enormous advantage. Still, it's hard for me to evaluate how you'll perform against as many Nascent Souls as your enemies might be able to field, especially since they'll choose the battlefield and not let you prepare any formations nearby. So the question I need answered truthfully is—how strong are you?"
Benton was glad he'd leveled with his newest disciple. His need for someone to truly talk to outweighed his wariness. "I beat two Nascent Souls as a Golden Core. I beat more than a dozen Golden Cores as a Golden Core. You tell me."
"Both those accomplishments bode well," Yuan Yaozu said. "Typically, those very rare, exceptional cultivators who can fight above their realm don't lose that ability as they advance. Do you feel that is the case with you?"
"My honest assessment is that I should be able to, by myself, defeat ten or more Nascent Souls at the same level of experience as the two Jade Chameleons. Not bragging. Just truth. I have advantages that others simply don't have. I can hit harder and withstand more than anyone else at my realm should be able to, and I'm more versatile as well."
"That puts to rest one concern, then, but you know as well as I do that you can't be everywhere at once. Your sect members will be at risk of attack whenever they're not with you or an allied Nascent Soul."
Benton frowned. "The other Poison Claw Sect elders discounted that possibility."
"They might be right, but my job is to protect your sect and its members. I take that responsibility seriously, and I see danger." Yuan Yaozu paused. "Look, I get their point. There is enormous political pressure against anyone attacking juniors. There are strategic and tactical reasons not to do so. But the Jade Chameleons have been backed into a corner. Their sect is in decline with only two remaining Nascent Souls and half the Golden Cores that anyone else has. They have no way to turn around their circumstances absent making some drastic move that I can't anticipate. I have no idea what that something will be, but it might involve going after your juniors."
"Your analysis confirms my initial thoughts. We should refuse the invitation."
"Depends," Yuan Yaozu paused. "Are your sect members kids or are they cultivators?"
Benton frowned again.
"Seriously. I've heard you refer to them as kids multiple times. If you view them in that manner and want to treat them as such, then you absolutely should refuse the invitation. It's the safest, most conservative call."
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"I don't understand why in the world I'd make any other decision. What could possibly be more important than keeping them safe?"
Yuan Yaozu let out a chuckle. "For my entire career as a cultivator, I've heard that cultivation means challenging the heavens. So, so many times someone near me has advised that a cultivator must seek challenge, that hiding in a cave somewhere will not lead to advancement. I echoed that same advice numerous times, too many to count.
"Until very recently, I didn't truly understand the meaning and pure truth behind that advice, though. I was always better than my peers. My cultivation journey was easy. Realm after realm after realm passed with, in hindsight, relatively little effort on my part. Sure, I had a few fights against foes that I viewed at the time as challenging, but I can't ever recall my life truly being in danger. If I had to come up with a root cause as to why I didn't advance to Nascent Soul on my own, that lack of challenge, that lack of risking my life, was why."
"So I should send them into danger?" Benton said. "They could die!"
"Some of them might. In fact, if you commit to this philosophy, one or more of them almost certainly will die. That is the nature of cultivation."
Benton saw what the man was getting at, but it was difficult for him to accept. Yelling at the man or refuting his personal opinion wasn't useful, though.
"I understand," Benton said. "Gratitude for explaining the gain to offset the risk. I have much to consider prior to the council meeting."
Yuan Yaozu cupped his hands and inclined his head before standing and leaving. Benton stared after the man, lost in thought.
The fight with the Nascent Souls, especially the parts where Benton had almost died, had changed everything. Prior to that moment, he wouldn't have thought twice about attending the tournament. Of course, he'd handle anything that came up with aplomb. He had the System. He could do anything.
Now, he wasn't nearly as assured and honestly didn't know what to do. He meditated on it until it was time for the council meeting, finally coming to a conclusion right as the members started to arrive. The decision wasn't something he thought was absolutely the best course of action, but one thing he'd learned in his two lifetimes was that, sometimes, one simply had to make a choice and move forward.
Once everyone had gathered in the room he'd designated for council meetings, Benton teleported to his place inside, bringing the total number of attendees to twenty. "Greetings, everyone. Gratitude for your attendance. We have three items to discuss this afternoon, and I'll run through those from least important to most pressing."
When he was sure he had everyone's attention, he continued. "The first item of business is formalizing the process of transition from Qi Gathering to Foundation Establishment. Four of our members or disciples have made that journey, and our next should be ready to advance in just over three months." He smiled at Wan Ai, who blushed at the attention. "Eventually, though, hundreds will follow them."
The topic was clearly of interest to everyone, especially because most of them hadn't been through it yet. They clearly wanted to know what was in store for them.
"My first promise to everyone was a weapon. I recently decided that what I've provided so far doesn't meet my standards." Benton removed two quivers holding twenty-five arrows each from his ring. "Yang Xiu, the shafts hold arrays to make them tougher and faster, and the arrowheads have an array that makes them sharper. Those tips will deliver an attack of a specific qi type. You've got five arrows for each of ten different types of qi, and you can recharge them with your own qi to re-use them. They're durable enough to hold up to a lot of damage."
Next, Benton pulled out two spears. "Kang Lin, Yang Ru, I forged these two weapons myself, and they are far superior to what I previously gave you. They hold formations for durability, sharpness, and self-repair. Each will also enable you to deliver an attack of the qi type that you respectively selected."
Almost everyone in the room was impressed, but most of them didn't understand the true value of what the three had been gifted. Kang Lin did.
She cupped her hands. "Master… I can't adequately express my gratitude."
"Nonsense. You're my disciple. I'm just doing my duty as your master, and the rest of you can expect something similar when it's your time." Benton turned to Wan Ai. "Let's officially change the terms to anyone advancing to Foundation Establishment will receive a piece of equipment from the sect. I bet you would prefer a custom cauldron to a new dagger."
She nodded shyly.
He grinned and then went on to formalize that each advancing disciple or member would also receive a cultivation method, two techniques, a glider, and pills to expand their qi pool. While Yuan Yaozu was shaking his head at the largess, the others were mostly grinning in anticipation of their anticipated windfall.
"The next item on the agenda is a short expedition to the mountain," Benton said.
From their expressions, he'd definitely surprised them with that piece of information. Which made sense. He hadn't told anyone about those plans.
"The auction is in a little over two weeks," Benton said. "Before then, I want to explore the mountain to search for materials that I need to create the qi sources, and since I'm going, I figured it would be a good opportunity for some of you to gain a bit of experience. Yang Xiu, Yang Ru, and Kang Lin are obviously invited. Zou Tian, it's a bit of a risk for you since you're still in the Qi Gathering realm, but hiding from beasts might push your Shadow skills to advance. I'll also let Jin LiJuan and Ganzou know after we finish up here."
Looking around, there was obvious disappointment displayed on Huang Yimun's face as the guard captain clearly wanted to go as well. Zi Delan, the leader of the squad being trained as attackers, also looked ready to make a case for himself.
"Apologies to the rest of you," Benton said. "I will be occupied a lot of the time and won't be able to protect the participants as well as I would like. That's why I'm limiting the trip to the Foundation Establishment cultivators and Zou Tian, who has superior stealth abilities. Yuan Yaozu, if I could trouble you to keep an eye on things while I'm away?"
The Nascent Soul cupped his hands. "Of course, Sect Leader."
"I'll also be gone some over the next week as well," Benton said. "After I finish re-building the towers, I'll travel to Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town for a day or so to work on the formations there."
Yuan Yaozu nodded in acknowledgement of the plan.
"That brings us to our final piece of business," Benton said. "The Rising Tide Sect has been invited to a tournament in Sixth Flawless Flowing City."
As soon as Benton dropped the news about the invitation to the tournament, Yang Xiu's face lit up like one of his kids back on Earth finding their pile of presents on Christmas morning. The expressions of the other council members definitely showed interest, but none held the sheer joy of hers. He couldn't help but grin at seeing her so excited.
"You apparently appreciate the news," Benton said. "Want to explain why?"
"Every cultivation novel I've ever read has a tournament arc, Master! The lowly underdog main character is looked down on by all her opponents, but in the end, she beats them all. I love those chapters and can't wait to live them."
Benton wanted to shake his head. Books. Of course. On the other hand, he liked that she could be the star of the movie of her life that ran in her head. Given what she'd gone through to get where she was, she deserved that happiness, and the fact that she could shake off the bad times was proof of her resilience.
"Well, Yang Xiu and others who might be excited about the news, too, I hate to disappoint you, but the invite was not all sunshine and roses," Benton said. "It was arranged to be sent to us through the actions of the Jade Chameleon Sect. I've discussed the matter with various Poison Claw Sect elders and with Yuan Yaozu. We don't know what benefit our enemies hope to gain from our attendance, but we all agree that they seek to gain something."
Yang Xiu's expression turned absolutely crestfallen. "We're not going?"
"There is risk," Benton said. "We could be attacked. I could be ambushed. You could be targeted to be used against me. Any or all of that is on the table, or it could be something none of us have foreseen."
"We're not going," Yang Xiu said sadly.
"On the other hand, it has been pointed out to me that protecting a cultivator from danger can adversely affect their path," Benton said, "and the tournament offers a lot of advantages to the participants. It gives you a challenge to shoot for. It will provide a measuring stick against your peers in other sects. You'll gain experience fighting cultivators with styles and qi aspects that aren't available in our sect. And there are contests for craftspeople as well. Being able to observe how others prepare pills and forge metals might provide you inspiration to propel you forward. If not for the risk of harm from our enemy attacking, I'd say participation in the tournament is nothing but a positive for each of you that has the opportunity.
"Additionally, this represents a big opportunity for our sect. Even if the intentions are less than honorable, we're being recognized as a force by the four factions. That recognition, once given, can't be taken back. As long as we attend, that is. If we refuse the invitation, we're basically saying, 'Sorry, but we're not nearly as strong as you think we are.'
"So lots of positives. A big potential negative. What's my decision?"
Benton looked out over the faces of the nineteen people staring at him. Not a person in the room wasn't giving him their rapt attention.
"My decision is that I've decided not to make the decision," Benton said.
Just as they were prepared for the big crescendo of him revealing the choice, he'd confused them thoroughly. He did so love thwarting expectations.
"In some other sects, the council of elders holds true power, able to overrule the sect leader. In all sects, the council at the very least provides wise counsel to the sect leader. Most of you have barely stepped on your path to challenging the heavens. You need experience. You need to make decisions for yourselves and learn to live with the consequences.
"Each person in this room other than me gets one vote. Stay, as in don't accept the invitation, or Go, as in we participate in the tournament. When one side gets ten votes, the die is cast.
"You are free to use your time to advocate for your position, but you don't have to. As a member of this council, though, you must take a stand, choose a side. No abstaining. No sitting on a fence. We'll go in order in which you became my disciple. Yang Xiu?"
She paused for a moment, obviously considering. "Obviously, I want to go despite the danger, but the reason is not just for personal glory. My master and my sect have given me so much, and I think they are both worthy of respect. I want to do my part to convince others of that, and this tournament is the perfect opportunity. I vote Go."
Benton nodded. As expected. "Yang Ru?"
The young man glanced at Kang Lin before speaking. "I've been thinking a lot lately about when a man becomes a man and, more importantly, what it means to be a man. My father, I believe, would have told me that a man doesn't need someone else to tell him he's worthy of respect and that a man doesn't need someone else to provide him with a challenge. A man is worthy of respect because he does his job and provides for his family. The only challenge he needs is accomplishing the job set in front of him. I vote Stay."
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Benton couldn't remember his disciple saying so much at one time before, especially not in a counsel meeting. He obviously had a lot on his mind, and Benton couldn't help but wonder about how many of those thoughts had nothing at all to do with the tournament. "Gratitude. Zhong Wen?"
The head of the village orphanage tensed when her name was called, and Benton got the impression that she would have loved to abstain.
"Stay," she said finally. "I'd hate to see any of my kids get hurt."
Benton understood the sentiment well. "Wan Ai?"
The girl immediately and quietly said, "Stay."
Benton nodded. "Zou Tian?"
The boy looked at Wan Ai. Then he looked at Yang Xiu. A pained expression crossed his face. "The benefits are known; the tournament will aid many of us in our advancement. In contrast, the risks are unknown; our enemy may attack, costing some or all of us our lives. Do I want to stay safe or challenge the heavens? Does staying mean reaching no higher than Foundation Establishment or Golden Core? Does going for it make it more possible that I eventually become a true immortal? I don't know, but it seems to me that the correct choice is Go."
Zou Tian's tone was resolute, but his face said that he wished he'd made a different choice.
Ah, young love.
Benton held back a laugh. "Gratitude for your vote. Shi Long?"
"The life of a blacksmith apprentice isn't exactly glamorous. Anytime I'm not cultivating, I'm working hard in the forges. Don't get me wrong. I love it. It's everything I didn't even know my life was missing back when I was working in the shop back in the city. And I feel bad about being selfish in my decision, but I want to see how my abilities stack up against others at my level. I say Go."
Huang Yimun and Hou Yazhu, former mercenary and former wagon driver respectively, had been made disciples at the same time. Benton called on Huang Yimun first by virtue of him being the guard captain.
"Go. No question."
Hou Yazhu's response was equally emphatic. "Stay."
"Gratitude," Benton said. "Xun Wu?"
"I have to agree with Yang Ru," the head of the Blacksmith Pavilion said. "I have no need for external validation, and the forge gives me all the challenges I'll ever need. Stay."
Benton next called on the head of the Contribution Points Shop, Peng Zhen.
"Stay, Master. In business, there is a time to take risks and a time to keep your head down. We've done enough sticking our heads up lately."
Benton certainly empathized with that point of view. "Gratitude. Zi Delan?"
The former street tough from Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town was practically bouncing on his feet. "Go, Master. Getting beat up by other sects has to be better than the drumming Yang Ru is giving me daily."
The mayor, Mo Jian, was up next.
"Stay, Sect Leader. There is no reason to put the villagers through unnecessary risk."
"Gratitude. Guang Yin."
The former associate member of the Righteous Rain Sect took his time answering. "This is not an easy decision, Sect Leader. Being invited to the Quinquennium Tournament is a huge honor. Refusing it is a disgrace not easily overcome. My inclination is to vote Go. But our sect has a real enemy, one who wishes nothing more than our utter destruction. As there is not a woodcutting contest, I will not bear the consequence of my decision, though. These young people will. I'd hate to have their suffering on my head. But at the same time, I can't tell them to stay and give up on their chance for glory and honor. Basically, I'm very conflicted, but since I have to choose, it's Go."
"Gratitude, Guang Yin. I appreciate the difficulty," Benton said. "Sun Hua?"
His assistant looked at each of the council members who had yet to vote, and he could almost see her tallying their choices in her head.
"Go, Sect Leader," she said simply.
"Gratitude. Kang Lin?"
The Poison Claw Sect member shot him a look that showed she still disapproved of someone who wasn't even a sect member getting a vote. When he didn't respond, she huffed.
"Fine," she said. "Every member of my sect works very hard in the hopes of being chosen to be one of our participants in the Quinquennium Tournament. I cannot and will not take that opportunity away from my friends, regardless of the potential danger. Go."
Her attitude at being forced to be included made Benton hide a laugh. She definitely was one of his favorites.
"Gratitude. Xiang Da?"
The older man, the leader of the Formations Pavilion, simply said, "Stay."
The leader of the Healing Pavilion, Pan Xiaolian, was called on next.
"I understand that the children will be disappointed at not being able to go, but I can't ignore the chance of someone being seriously hurt. Stay."
"Gratitude," Benton said.
The next on the list was someone that he hadn't dealt with much to that point, Mo Nuying. The older lady was … formidable despite her low cultivation realm. He understood why Sun Hua had chosen the woman as the head of the Punishment Pavilion.
As the vote had proceeded, she had fixed each of the people who had expressed interest in competing with a glare, so Benton naturally assumed that her vote would be negative.
"Only a fool would want to put their lives on the line just to compete in a game," Mo Nuying said. "Far be it from me to interfere with the foolishness of youth, though. Go."
Well, that decision was interesting. Her affirmation left the tally at nine to Go and nine to Stay. Yuan Yaozu would cast the deciding vote.
All eyes swung to look at him, and he chuckled.
"Until this very meeting, I'd never met most of you. I didn't even know your names. Now I'm being asked to make this momentous decision for a sect of which I'm not even a member. Sect Leader, this organization you run certainly is never boring."
Benton grinned back at him. "That it isn't."
"You know one thing I've noticed about the people in this room, Sect Leader? For the most part, they have no fear of me. Basically only Guang Yin and Kang Lin obviously defer to me. I'd think I was the most mundane Qi Gathering cultivator imaginable if I were to judge myself based solely on their reactions. Definitely not a Nascent Soul, an existence at the pinnacle anyone on this continent has achieved."
Yuan Yaozu laughed again. "Even at those words, almost none of them even looked the slightest bit chagrined. Either your sect members need exposure to the other sects, or the other sects need to experience your sect members. Either way, the result is likely to be interesting. I say Go."
Benton was both worried and gladdened by the choice his council had made. They had chosen the path of danger, which came with obvious risks, but he felt like none of them were going into the situation blindly or taking the danger for granted. Instead, they'd given the matter consideration and decided that the gains were worth the potential price.
Of course, young people tended to think themselves invulnerable—sometimes old fools did, too, as he'd recently found out—making them prone to weigh benefits more highly than potential losses. And if their decision led to any of them dying, he'd never forgive himself.
Evelyn would have shared those exact concerns, and she would have told him that keeping the kids confined to the house and never letting them explore the world was bad, too. Which was worse—dying or never living?
Regardless, the die was cast. If he had been adamantly opposed to their decision, he would never have left it up to them in the first place, so now that they'd made it, he'd accept it.
"Gratitude to all of you for serving the sect in making this determination," Benton said. "Now that it has been made, it is important that we all pull in the same direction. Even if you voted Stay and you unbendingly believe your position is right, I implore you to put aside those thoughts. The goal for all of us now is to make our participation in the tournament as safe and rewarding as possible."
So far, the council members hadn't shown much animosity when their choices were overruled. Which kind of made sense. Most of them were very young and had no experience with leadership. They were still getting used to the idea of being in charge, and the thought that everyone should be forced to do what they wanted was still a foreign concept.
Benton hoped it would be a long, long time before internal political divisions started playing a role in the sect administration. That such would happen was inevitable, but he'd fight tooth and nail to hold it off as long as he could.
Getting back to his address to the council, he'd already told them about which contests were being held and how they were divided by realm. Now, it was time to dive a bit more into the logistical details. "In no more than four months, we must send notice of how many of our members are competing in which contests and divisions. Approximately three weeks after that, we must send a detailed list along with names and realms. That's the deadline for us to decide who is participating and for the chosen members to solidify their realm."
He glanced at each of the councilors, assuring that he had their attention. "You're probably asking—how are the participants chosen? The answer is easy. The pavilion heads will make that determination."
As usual, Yang Xiu was the first to speak. "What's the criteria, Master?"
"That's up to the pavilion leader. How to choose the participants. How many participants. All of it is completely up to the discretion of the person or persons in charge of each of the relevant pavilions."
Yuan Yaozu looked concerned about that proclamation.
"I will give you two pieces of advice for your consideration," Benton said. "One, there is admittedly danger involved. Everyone going will get a contingency ring, and I'll probably come up with some other types of protective treasures as well. But the participants need to both be aware of that danger and be capable of handling some measure of it. Obviously, I can't be everywhere at once. A smaller group is easier to protect.
"Two, we have two things we want out of the tournament. The lesser one is to show the other factions our strength. I'm with Yang Ru on this one. To a great extent, how we see ourselves matters a lot more than how others see us. However, there is some cooperation required among the factions, and being perceived as strong helps with that. Bringing obviously weak and unprepared members will not help us in that regard much. For example, while I'm pleased with the progress of our martial members and think the Alchemy Pavilion is coming along nicely, the Formations Pavilion isn't quite where it needs to be to compete against other sects, and I don't think it will get there in less than five months."
"Agreed, Sect Leader," Xiang Da said. "Besides, most of us are more inclined toward reading books than we are to going on adventures. We'll be just fine staying home and repairing any problems with the arrays. I do have one request, however?"
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"Go for it," Benton said.
"You mentioned repairing the towers? Which will mean a lot of intense formations work. I know we're not ready to help with such a complex undertaking, but I believe that simply watching what you do will help us immensely. We already feel like we're advancing much faster after simply learning about the arrays used on the houses and such."
Benton only had to think for a moment. With him at Nascent Soul and Yuan Yaozu available for protection for the next century, the value of keeping the towers' arrays completely secret was severely lessened. Besides, observers from the factions had seen what they could do. Not to mention that, even if preserving secrecy were paramount, Benton trusted his people.
"Permission granted," Benton said. "I'll message you before I start the work."
The Formations Pavilion Leader cupped his hands. "Gratitude."
"Okay," Benton said. "The second goal for the tournament is for it to benefit the participants' advancement. When you're thinking of whom to send, don't only choose the most powerful or most skilled members. Think about who might gain insight from watching their peers or might need the challenge to rise above. Leading a pavilion isn't just about logistics or being the best at that particular skill. It's about knowing your members and figuring out how to help them improve. Understand?"
"Yes, Sect Leader," the pavilion heads chorused.
Benton smiled. He really did have good people. "I'll leave the rest to you, then. I would tell you to feel free to reach out to me for help or advice, but for at least the next month or two, I'll be so busy that you should only come to me in an emergency. In fact, consider me absent from the sect during that time, just like when I was building the towers in the first place."
Sun Hua looked panicked.
"I see you understand, my highly capable assistant," Benton said. "I think I made it apparent that I intend for Yang Xiu and Yang Ru to eventually inherit this sect. They were my first disciples and have continued to impress me with their talent and diligence. Both are excelling in martial might and cultivation progress."
The twins cupped their hands.
"Being strong and advancing to a high realm is an important part of being a sect leader," Benton said. "However, it's not the only crucial aspect. Running a sect requires skills and knowledge in administration and logistics. I want both of you to take turns working under Sun Hua, learning everything she does for the sect. I don't expect you to be able to perform her functions as well as she does them, but you need to understand the what and the how and why it's so important."
It was Yang Xiu's turn to look panicked.
Benton hid a grin. "Don't worry. I know you've got way too much on your plates until after the tournament, so let's put a timetable on that. Starting six months from today, I want one of you to shadow Sun Hua for an entire month, and at the end of that month, the other will take that same position. Fair?"
"Yes, Master," the two said.
"In the interim," Benton said, "you both will be as busy as I am, and running the sect is mainly an administrative function. Sun Hua, you are the acting sect leader whenever I'm indisposed until I state otherwise."
She swallowed. Hard. "Y-yes, Sect Leader."
"Remember that you're not alone in this." Benton met the eyes of every other person present in turn. "I expect every member of this council to lend any aid they can to you. Ask and ye shall receive. Understand?"
"Yes, Sect Leader." That time, she seemed much more sure of her answer.
Good.
"Now, there is a caveat to you being in charge," Benton said. "You are fantastic at the administrative side of running things. On the other hand, you have little to no experience with combat or fighting. If there is any threat to the sect at all during the time when you're in charge, you need to take decisive action on a limited decision tree. If it's a true emergency, crack your contingency ring to summon me. If you're not sure if it's a true emergency, ask Yuan Yaozu, Zou Tian, or the twins. If it's not an emergency, pass temporary leadership of the sect over to the highest ranking member of the Martial Pavilion that you can. My preference for order would be the twins, Zou Tian, Huang Yimun, Hou Yazhu, and Zi Delan. Works?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Benton felt a bit bad about leaving Yuan Yaozu and Kang Lin out of the chain of succession, but while it felt right to treat disciples like sect members most of the time, it simply didn't seem like a good idea for a member of another sect to be appointed sect leader, no matter how temporary the basis.
"Does anyone have anything they'd like to add?" Benton said.
No one did.
"Great. Yuan Yaozu and Zou Tian, please stay back for a few minutes," Benton said. "The rest of you are dismissed."
While everyone filed out, Benton mentally reviewed his To Do List for the next week.
Repair/Rebuild Towers
Make and Distribute More Contingency Rings
Create GDF for Fatty Ren's Palace
Forge Sword and Glaive for PCS Elders
Upgrade Personal Power in Preparation for Mountain Excursion
He mentally frowned at the necessity for that last one. Since he felt ready to take on a dozen or so rival Nascent Souls on his own, powering up more felt a bit overblown.
There was no guarantee, though, that the cyclops was the most powerful creature on the mountain. Not wanting to risk bringing more heat down on himself at the time, Benton hadn't done an extensive scan of the area, and while any number of equivalent peak Nascent Soul beasts didn't faze him, who knew if there was one at the equivalent of the Nihility realm. After all, such a beast would probably have the ability to hide itself from a cursory scan.
Never again would he underestimate the power of those higher in rank than him. Never again.
Zou Tian was curious about why Master had asked him to stay behind, but he wasn't concerned. As a street rat working as a lookout for gangs back in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, a meeting with the boss was more likely than not a bad thing. It usually meant that the boss thought Zou Tian had done something wrong, be it missing something he should have observed or being lazy or stealing something or whatever other paranoic suspicion happened to pass through the guy's miniscule brain.
The sect operated much differently. Zou Tian had literally heard of only one case of a member being punished, and that penalty was absolutely earned. Instead, as far as he'd observed, a summons from Master tended to result in either a mission or a gift. Though he was greatly looking forward to hitting Foundation Establishment to become the recipient of all the interesting rewards that came with hitting that mark, he was at least six months from advancing and couldn't think of any other reason for him to be rewarded.
Thus, he was very interested in what mission the sect leader had in mind. The inclusion of a Nascent Soul in the meeting definitely provided a clue that the task must be important. Whatever it was would definitely be noteworthy. And possibly dangerous.
Regardless, it was Zou Tian's honor to serve the sect and his master.
After everyone except him, the new Nascent Soul disciple, and Master had left the room, Sun Hua re-entered with tea, and the three of them sat to drink it once she'd left.
"Yuan Yaozu, you've met my disciple, Zou Tian, right?" Master said.
"I have. He was one of the juniors who assisted me prior to my trial. Their advice was quite helpful."
"He's a good kid," Master said. "He's also one of the sect's resources that I have been severely underutilizing."
Zou Tian's ears perked up at that. As he'd suspected, a mission was surely forthcoming. He resolved to keep his mouth shut, though, as the two high realmed cultivators spoke.
Master smiled. "When I first saw him, I knew he was something special. Though he was a mortal through and through, his aspect was already manifesting."
"A mortal manifesting Shadow? That is special indeed," Yuan Yaozu said. "The sects snatch up any mortals with aspects that strong, but I guess Shadow would have made it difficult unless you had cause to focus specifically on him."
"That's exactly what happened. I was expecting a lookout from the local gangs, and my eyes just slid right past him."
"Excellent source material for an assassin," Yuan Yaozu said.
Zou Tian grimaced. That surely would have been his fate had any other sect found him first.
Master shook his head. "That's a bit too dark from my sensibilities. I understand that, sometimes, there are people who simply need a good killing, but I intend to address such matters myself. And only those who I absolutely must." He turned to meet Zou Tian's eyes. "If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to kill someone, I trust that it will be someone who deserves it and that you saw no other path. Know that I won't second guess you, and the sect will have your back."
Zou Tian's heart swelled at the comment. The fact that the most powerful person he'd ever met trusted his judgment so much was extraordinary. "Yes, Master."
Yuan Yaozu's brows furrowed, giving him a quizzical look. His expression clearly asked, "If not that purpose, what is his role?"
"He survived as an orphan on the streets of the city by being observant and acting on what he saw to keep himself safe," Master said. "It's those qualities that I plan to use. I consider him a scout, someone to move into enemy territory, analyze our opponents, and return with that information so that our fighters can enter battle prepared."
"I guess I can see that working. It seems more like how the Emperor's military operates than a sect, though," Yuan Yaozu said. "My experience is that cultivators mostly act alone or in small teams for missions. But I guess that this information matches what I've observed with how you seem to be forming permanent squads for specific purposes."
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"Exactly. And I think it's time for young Zou Tian to perform his first bit of active scouting for the sect. I'm assuming you've guessed why you're here?"
"You wish my help in preparing the lad," Yuan Yaozu said.
"Your oath is only to defend the sect," Master said, "and this task falls well outside that responsibility. I can promise that, if you assist in this matter, that I'll make it up to you. A weapon? A technique? Your choice."
The Nascent Soul cupped his hands. "I would have accepted without any enticement, but I won't refuse your largess."
Master had just bribed a Nascent Soul with a priceless treasure to serve as a tutor for a Qi Gathering sect member. If not for already seeing similar actions from the sect leader that were just as over the top, Zou Tian would have been apoplectic at the thought of the value being spent on his behalf. As it was, he was just really, really grateful.
And curious as to how he was expected to serve the sect.
Master cupped his hands in return. "Gratitude." He turned to Zou Tian. "I'm assuming that you don't plan on participating in the tournament?"
"Correct, Master. One-on-one spars are not my strength, and my overall usefulness to the sect is enhanced by having fewer people know my abilities."
"Well stated," Yuan Yaozu said. "I definitely can work with this kid."
Master beamed. "He's got a sharp mind to go with the talent." He turned again to Zou Tian. "We know that the Jade Chameleons have something planned, but we don't know what. The Poison Claw Sect will attempt to figure it out, but the situation is important enough for us to use our own resources. Before the tournament, I'd like for you to travel to the city and try to find out what our enemies intend."
"You want the boy to spy, Sect Leader?" Yuan Yaozu said.
From his tone, the Nascent Soul clearly was against the idea.
"Spying, to me, indicates infiltration. Pretending to be someone he's not. Developing sources," Master said. "I don't want him to do any of those things. No disguises. I just want him to go to taverns and other public places and listen for rumors. See if he can piece together the puzzle."
Yuan Yaozu frowned. "It's still dangerous."
"It is," Master said. "Zou Tian, sects tend to be prejudiced against those in the Qi Gathering realm. The common belief is that no cultivator can truly serve the sect until they reach at least Foundation Establishment, and honestly, there is a lot of truth to that thinking. Certain cases are exceptions, though. Take Sun Hua. She contributes a great deal to our sect. And not only is she in the Qi Gathering realm, but she would be just as effective as a mortal. With your strong aspect, I think you can be an exception as well."
Though Zou Tian hadn't originally felt that way about himself, he'd come to understand that the truly exceptional sect members treated him as a peer. Not believing in himself would be the same as failing to give them face.
He nodded.
"To be clear," Master said, "you are under no obligation to accept this mission."
If anyone but Master had made that statement, Zou Tian would have snorted. The sect had given him everything. He owed Master his life. There was nothing he wouldn't do for that man.
Master shook his head sadly. "I know. There's no possibility of you refusing, no matter how dangerous it is."
"Correct, Master."
"Alright, how about this?" Master said. "Wan Ai has to accept the mission on your behalf, meaning you must convince her it's safe enough for you to proceed."
Zou Tian's jaw dropped. He'd already been concerned about how to break the news of the mission to Wan Ai. Convincing her of the mission's safety would be crazy difficult.
"Master, please?"
"Sorry. That's the condition. Look, whatever plot they've cooked up was developed at the highest levels of their sect. That means that it's unlikely you'll discover their deep dark secrets. Our safety is not dependent on you. That's on me. Understand?"
"Yes, Master."
"I'm hoping you find out something that helps me keep the others safe, but I'm not counting on it. Do not put yourself in jeopardy. I don't want you thinking that you can do something idiotic like sneaking into whatever house they're using in the city and eavesdropping or something. As a mortal, you were insignificant, and that made it easy for you to hide. You're actually easier to detect now that you're a cultivator as spiritual sense can find you."
"Yes, Master."
"The good news is that you've got months to prepare," Master said. "Yuan Yaozu can help with planning and training. I'll get you anything you can think of that can help. Literally, if you can imagine it, I can probably come up with something. You'll have priority with the Trial Pagoda whenever you need it. Whatever you need to keep yourself safe and help make your mission a success, ask and it's yours."
Zou Tian's head was spinning with all the stuff he needed to determine. The entire resources of the sect had basically been put at his disposal. He just had to figure out how to make the best use of them. Before taking his leave, he made arrangements to meet up with Senior Brother Yuan Yaozu in two days to get the Nascent Soul's advice and to discuss training and techniques.
In truth, Zou Tian felt great trepidation at leaving the Administration Hall as his next stop was far more intimidating than facing two high realmed cultivators. He had to tell his girlfriend that he wanted to take on a mission that would put his life in danger.
That discussion was sure to go well.
With all the enthusiasm of a man going to his execution, Zou Tian walked into the Alchemy Pavilion and climbed the stairs leading up to Wan Ai's private lab. For all he knew, he metaphorically was doing just that.
When he arrived at his destination, however, his girlfriend wasn't there. Which was weird. She spent over ninety percent of her time in that room, using it for eating, cultivating, and practicing alchemy.
A bit worried that something was wrong, he searched the building. His investigation didn't last long. He found her on the second floor in one of the group labs with Bai Xinyi, Wan Ai's second in command, and Cui Su, the best alchemist besides the other two girls in the room.
"Zou Tian," Wan Ai said warmly. "You're just in time. I explained to these two what the sect leader told us about the tournament."
"She wants to leave the selection up to us, Senior Brother," Bai Xinyi said. "And she refuses to compete herself. Will you please talk some sense into her!"
Everything that he'd learned as a street rat in Sixth Flawless Flowing City had taught him that the biggest threat to a leader was the person placed second in command, so he kept expecting the girl to try to usurp Wan Ai's position. In fact, he kept a close eye out for any signs of treachery. If Bai Xinyi was making any moves of that kind, though, he certainly couldn't find any evidence. Maybe there was a big difference in behavior and attitudes between people raised in a small village and those that came from the streets of a city, and his expectations needed to be reset.
Actually, he encountered far less backbiting and squabbling overall than he would have expected. The only true schemer he'd found was Sun Hua's mother, but the girl herself seemed to be loyal and grateful as well as competent.
As for Bai Xinyi's request, though, Zou Tian had to respectfully decline. "You do understand the danger, do you not? There is a definite nonzero probability that our sect members attending the tournament will be kidnapped or killed. I'd much prefer that Wan Ai remain behind, and the two of you should consider doing so as well."
Of course, he was positive his girlfriend wasn't planning on staying behind out of any worry about the hazards. No, she would simply desire to avoid the spotlight. The idea of people's eyes on her as she competed was her ultimate nightmare. Well, second only to the thought of all the attention she'd get if she actually won.
"We shouldn't go?" Bai Xinyi said. "But it's the city. I've never even been a mile from this village my entire life, and we have an opportunity to travel to the actual city. It's different for you since you grew up there. To us, it's a literal dream."
Beside her, Cui Su nodded emphatically. Only Wan Ai seemed dispassionate about the whole affair.
"I didn't say you shouldn't go. I said that you should weigh the risks."
"The sect leader will protect us, right?" Bai Xinyi said. "He just defeated two Nascent Soul cultivators by himself. Who could be more powerful than him?"
Zou Tian sighed. "I have every confidence in Master, but it's not so simple. A well-organized attack might target multiple sect members at once, and you two are uniquely vulnerable due to your comparative lack of martial skill."
The two looked crestfallen.
"If it's that important, you can go," he said. "Master is allowing basically anyone who wants to participate to go. He wouldn't do that if he felt the danger was too extreme, and you'll get contingency rings and whatever other protective measures he devises as well. I'd still suggest at the very least spending some time at the Martial Pavilion learning how to avoid ambushes and kidnapping attempts."
"But you're not going?" Bai Xinyi said.
"I am not participating in the tournament."
He'd stated his response if a very particular way, one that kind of did and kind of did not answer her question. From the look Wan Ai gave him, she immediately picked up on the difference.
"You're going?" Wan Ai said. "But you're not participating. Why?"
He sighed. Having that particular conversation in front of the other two girls wasn't optimal. "Master asked me to carry out a mission for the sect that requires me to go to the city."
Again, that wasn't a lie, though he'd withheld a certain crucial detail.
Wan Ai huffed, clearly not pleased at the thought of him putting himself in danger. "Fine."
"Really?" he said.
That was unexpected. He thought there'd be much wailing and gnashing of teeth before she gave in.
"Yes," Wan Ai said. "But if you're going, so am I."
Well, shoot.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Yang Xiu might not have ever been so excited in her life. A tournament. A real cultivator tournament. And she would be a participant.
Growing up in a small town well away from any major sects, she naturally had a huge curiosity about cultivators. They seemed so powerful and mysterious as they passed through every couple of years to test the young people who had come of age since they last were there. Her only source of information on them had been novels.
She wasn't stupid, understanding that such tales were surely biased and edited for dramatic effect. And she doubted that they were written by actual cultivators. For all she knew, the author knew no more about sects than she did.
Still, one constant in the novels, an arc she always enjoyed, was the underdog protagonist proving to be more powerful than all that looked down on them by winning a tournament. That was always one of her favorite parts of the book.
She never would have believed she'd actually get such an opportunity to participate in one. Then again, sect life had been even better than the novels in just about every way. Instead of being weak and getting bullied, she possessed high talent and was one of the sect leader's favorites, and her master was exactly like a supremely powerful hidden master straight out of one of those books, mysterious and wise and able to do just about anything. Sure, he barely won against two Nascent Souls, but she was willing to bet everything she had that, if he faced a dozen of them, he'd still come out on top.
He did have a bit of a flare for the dramatic, and she loved it!
Master had given her a task, however, and she needed to get to it. As co-leader of the Martial Pavilion, it was up to her and her brother to choose the other tournament participants. Thus, she'd gathered him, Kang Lin, Huang Yimun, Hou Yazhu, and Zi Delan in one of the building's many small rooms.
Of the council members who were also part of the pavilion, only Zou Tian was missing since he'd been asked to stay behind by Master. Though Yang Xiu would have preferred to have his guidance, she felt that the rest of them could handle coming up with a plan, especially since Kang Lin probably had knowledge of how such selections were handled.
"First of all," Yang Xiu said, "does everyone here wish to participate?"
Yang Ru grunted, the one he used for expressing affirmation, and both Huang Yimun and Zi Delan nodded vigorously. Hou Yazhu didn't look quite so sure, which made sense in that he'd voted "Stay."
She turned to him, raising her eyebrows in question.
"I was a wagon driver by trade, Senior Sister. When I was asked to lead one of the guard squads, I agreed as there was no one better to do it, and I think I'm doing okay at that job. Mostly, though, my squad is tasked with detecting an intruder and calling for help. We're not nearly as highly skilled at fighting as you others are, and we don't enjoy it as much. Mostly. There are a couple of young ones in my group who might want to, but most of us…"
That attitude wasn't something that Yang Xiu shared, but she understood that some people simply didn't enjoy battle or even sparring. She'd felt so powerless during that whole situation that led to her to flee her home that she relished having the ability to defend herself. The more she could experience actually using her might, the better.
"That's fine," she said. "It's not mandatory for anyone. Kang Lin?"
"I'm hopeful that Grandfather will have a spot for me with the Poison Claw contingent."
Ah. Yeah. Sometimes, Yang Xiu almost forgot that her kind of sister wasn't an actual member of the Rising Tide Sect. That was okay, though. Everyone had their flaws, and Yang Xiu would forgive the other girl that one, even if it was a fairly major one.
Hopefully, she'd end up transferring sects soon enough. If Yang Ru ever got off his duff and proposed. Everybody with eyes could see the two of them getting closer together, and everyone knew it would happen eventually. Heck, if they were back in the town, the elders would have had the two of them hitched months ago.
"So far, we have four participants for the fighting contest," Yang Xiu said. "How many are we looking for, and how do we choose them?"
The question was somewhat rhetorical as she had no intention of waiting for one of the others to interject.
She rushed forward before any of them could speak. "I say we limit it to ten members. Master said that we shouldn't take too many, and to figure out the other six, we should have our own tournament!"
The idea of sponsoring her own internal Marial Pavilion contest was almost as exciting as going to the one in Sixth Flawless Flowing City.
Yang Ru shook his head. "All our Foundation Establishment members should have the opportunity to go."
"Both of us are… Oh."
Jin LiJuan was a kid. Barely twelve. And the girl was advancing so fast that her skills clearly couldn't keep up with her raw strength. She'd need a lot of work to defeat someone in the same realm as her. On the other hand, her bonded beast would be allowed to fight with her, and that creature was tough.
So…
"Okay. Good point," Yang Xiu said. "Jin LiJuan and Ganzou make five. Everyone is agreed that we hold a tournament to select the remaining five?"
No one voiced an objection.
Perfect!
The next several months were going to be so much fun.
As a shop clerk at the Swift Hunter Weapon Vault back in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, Shi Long knew he wanted to forge blades and hammers and polearms and such, but since his family couldn't afford to apprentice him to a blacksmith, selling weapons was the closest he could get. For the opportunity to live out what he felt was his destiny, he'd always be grateful to the sect leader.
Currently, Shi Long technically had two masters. The sect leader filled that position in terms of cultivation, though Shi Long didn't have nearly as close a relationship with the man as some of his fellow disciples did.
Shi Long's real master, though, was Xun Wu, who was teaching the former shop clerk to be a blacksmith and enabling him to live out his dream.
"Master," Shi Long said, "will we participate in the tournament?"
Xun Wu frowned. "You want to, don't you?"
"It would be nice to see my family and, honestly, to compare myself with other apprentices."
"You're exactly where you're supposed to be in your development and skills, lad. Better than most."
"I know, Master, but I can't help but wonder."
Xun Wu sighed. "I won't stand in the way of you seeing your folks. Just be mindful of the danger."
"I will, Master." Shi Long cupped his hands. "Gratitude, Master."
"I don't expect any of the others will want to go. The sense I get is that the village is plenty big enough for them. Even the sect is stretching things a bit much for their liking. I guess it wouldn't be fair to send you as our sole representative from the Blacksmith Pavilion."
"You're going, Master?" Shi Long couldn't hide the delight from his voice.
"I might as well. Placing high will do my reputation good, and I'll need that if I ever want to be considered a Master Blacksmith."
Not wanting to disappoint either of his masters, Shi Long had a lot of work to do to get ready for the tournament. Busy hands made time go quickly. Five months was sure to pass fast.