Chapter 314 – A New Position, a Set of Tasks, and a Tryst
Kang Ya-Ting was immediately admitted to Elder Dai's chamber by her attendant. He cupped his hands. "Greetings, Elder."
She sighed. "Why do you always have to cause me trouble? Don't I already have enough on my hands with the tournament and a looming sect war?"
"Apologies, Elder Dai." Kang Ya-Ting was honestly at a loss as to what exactly he'd done that time to complicate her life.
His face must have shown his confusion because she said, "It's that note you sent me three days ago about Zhong Shoushan."
Ahh. The spymaster must have been even more incompetent than Kang Ya-Ting had suspected if the issue was taking up a great deal of Elder Dai's personal attention. He said as much.
"Incompetence I can deal with. Missing that our messages were being intercepted was incompetence. Not telling me about the growing relationship between the Jade Chameleon Sect and the Swift Blizzard Sect or about the mercenary Formations Master was something else entirely."
Kang Ya-Ting raised his eyebrows.
"It was political," she said. "Zhong Shoushan knows that you and I will get credit if Chao Su and the Rising Tide Sect do well in the tournament. If they fail, we'll receive equal amounts of censure, and it turns out that his niece wants my job. He hid the information from us."
Only years of experience kept Kang Ya-Ting from literally letting his jaw drop. "Is he mad? We've had two of our Golden Cores use the Trials Pagoda to advance to Nascent Soul. That's way past the point of no return. If the Rising Tide Sect fails, the Poison Claw Sect won't be far behind them." The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he became. "Elder Zhong's actions go far beyond simple politics. It's a betrayal, Elder Dai. A betrayal!"
"Tell me something I don't know. The Sect Leader himself agrees." She let out a frustrated breath. "Zhong Shoushan has been removed from his position and is now on his way back to the main branch being accompanied by two members of the Punishment Hall. Before he was allowed to leave, he was forced to reveal the entirety of his spy network, which, unfortunately, was not nearly as extensive as the resources he'd been drawing suggested. Whether that is due to incompetence or malfeasance will be determined by Grand Elder Xai."
Kang Ya-Ting couldn't quite repress a shudder. If there was one person he did not want to get on the wrong side of, it was that man.
"So you have to determine who the new branch spymaster will be," Kang Ya-Ting said. "I have a couple of recommendations if it pleases you, Elder Dai."
"No, not needed at all. The appointment has already been made."
"Oh? Who, Elder Dai?"
"You."
"Me?" Kang Ya-Ting said. "I know nothing about spying. Why me?"
"You're the one who has contact with the only agent who actually supplied us with information, so you get the job. The Sect Leader agreed. As for not knowing how to do it, my only advice is to figure it out."
Kang Ya-Ting hung his head. He felt way too old to learn an entirely new position, especially one so important.
Elder Dai grinned. "It's as you always say, hard work begets more hard work."
If someone would have told Zou Tian the street rat that one day his actions would be responsible for a sect elder losing his position to the extent of being escorted from the city under the guard of two really mean and dangerous looking men, he'd have scoffed mightily. That version of him had been truly powerless.
Not so for the current him. He was respected by his peers and by Master, and he was doing important work. Given the reaction from the Poison Claw Sect, the three pieces of information he'd ferreted out apparently were even more relevant than he had suspected.
Based on the attitudes he'd witnessed in taverns, it was obvious that the Jade Chameleon Sect and the Swift Blizzard Sect, at least the contingents in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, were closely tied, probably allied.
The significance of the other two pieces of information was more in doubt. Was it possible that one of the two sects or a coalition of the two had hired the Formations Master for some purpose antithetical to Master and the Rising Tide Sect? Yes, but there was no evidence to support that conclusion.
A spy sometimes had to go on gut instinct and draw inferences based on scant intelligence, and Zou Tian had no issue with doing so. He was, in fact, doing exactly that in terms of his belief that the two sects were working together. A spy couldn't simply declare something true just because the pieces fit, though.
He had a bit less than two weeks before the Rising Tide Sect was scheduled to arrive in the city, a month prior to the tournament. In that time, he had certain priorities. Number one was to gather corroborating evidence regarding the Formations Master.
His instincts also told him that there was something significant about the square that the Swift Blizzard Sect members avoided. Number two was to find out more about that location.
There was also a private meeting of the tournament committee that would take place in about a week. Teng Wuying of the Jade Chameleon Sect, Mao Biya of the Swift Blizzard Sect, Kang Ya-Ting, and Qiu ZhenKang, the City Lord's representative, would all be in attendance. Number three was to sneak into that assembly to view the players firsthand.
Zou Tian had a lot to do in less than two weeks. A lot to do.
Teng Wuying walked the tournament grounds frequently, a fact which occasioned little notice given his position on the steering committee. The event was a complex series of activities involving an incredible number of people. Simply managing the logistics was a formidable undertaking. Adding in the political realities of dealing with so many factions made the situation that much more difficult.
Needless to say, there was a lot to do, but preparations were luckily proceeding on schedule, mainly due to the efforts of competent underlings appointed by each of the Big Three sects and the City Lord.
Still, it didn't hurt for Teng Wuying to keep an eye on things, especially considering his true priority for the tournament.
On that front, he'd recently noticed a troubling trend—members of the Swift Blizzard Sect were quite obviously avoiding a particular area. The particular area. None of them stepped foot into the square where the Formations Master Lei Bohai had set up the trap.
Random rank-and-file members should know nothing about that square. What was Mao Biya doing? Had she told them?
If so, that could be catastrophic. The more people who knew something, the more chance there was for that information to be disseminated. His first thought was that he'd need to change the site of the ambush.
Unfortunately, the arrays were already set up, requiring only an input of qi at a specific location to activate. Lei Bohai was only remaining in the city because he wanted to see his triumph over an upstart, enforcing a prohibition against one calling himself a Formations Master absent acknowledgement from the governing organization.
That group was highly selective about who they allowed to refer to themselves as such. Since Chao Su wasn't registered with them, Teng Wuying had been able to hire Lei Bohai at a much reduced rate. Otherwise, he would have been way too expensive even to be considered.
Unfortunately, with the reduced rate came reduced control. Since the work was already done, there was nothing absent a truly obscene amount of greater spirit coins that would get the man to inscribe the arrays elsewhere instead.
No, the ambush site could not be altered, not if they wanted the advantage of formations on their side, and the irony of using the very method against Chao Su that he had used to defeat Ye Zhengsheng and Yan Mingxia was simply too delicious for Teng Wuying to abandon without a truly compelling reason.
Of course, it was entirely possible that Mao Biya had, for some inane reason that made sense only to her, blabbed to the entire branch of her sect about what was to take place in the square, meaning that moving the site would absolutely be necessary. In that case, he'd just have to forgo the formations. With the lineup of Nascent Souls he had ready to attack, the arrays shouldn't be necessary.
There was a caveat to not needing the formations, though. Having the element of surprise on their side to spring the ambush before too many of the Poison Claw Sect's grand elders joined in the fight was an absolute necessity.
Teng Wuying sighed. There was no choice but to find out from Mao Biya what her sect members knew. Depending on that information, they might have to change the ambush site, regardless. Maybe, just maybe, though, the situation wasn't as bad as he feared and could still be salvaged.
Heavens! Why was he always saddled with incompetent help?
His plan had been to avoid his co-conspirator to the greatest extent possible prior to the tournament, ideally only seeing her during official meetings of the steering committee. And the topic was so sensitive that he didn't trust any form of communication; he knew from experience just how likely those were to be intercepted, and codes weren't foolproof. He'd have to chance an in-person meeting.
Through a series of coded messages, he'd arranged for the Swift Blizzard Sect branch leader to join him at a small, out of the way tea shop that had booths in a back room. They'd be unlikely to be spotted there, but even if they were, there wasn't much that could be made of two friends drinking a cup of tea together.
At worst, anyone seeing them would suspect a romantic entanglement given the setting. Teng Wuying shuddered at the thought of a relationship with that woman, but his overall goal of obtaining the Trials Pagoda was too important not to use every available advantage.
Still, he'd much rather not be seen, so he kept checking to make sure he wasn't being followed. There was a man, a mortal, whom he kept seeing. Ordinary face and clothes. Nothing suspicious. But something nagged at Teng Wuying about the guy.
Long before the tea shop, though, the man walked onto a different street and wasn't spotted again. Teng Wuying chuckled. He fancied himself a spider in a web. A puppeteer pulling strings. Not an operative. The stress of keeping his plans secret was getting to him, thinking a mortal was somehow a threat.
The rest of the trip to the shop went fine, and he arrived a quarter hour prior to when Mao Biya was to arrive, both because the woman would have her pride seriously wounded if she got there first and so that he could prepare their booth with a silencing array.
Such was not uncommon for cultivators meeting and should not draw much notice. Better the formation draw attention, however, than for the contents of their conversation to be heard. It would, of course, also make the prospect of the two of them being secret lovers having a tryst more believable.
The things he did for money and power.
Teng Wuying settled in to wait for his co-conspirator, already dreading what idiocy she'd come up with.
Chapter 315 – +1 Ring of Disguise
Zou Tian had spotted the former Jade Chameleon Sect branch leader, Teng Wuying, by chance as he exited the tournament grounds and followed him. The man either had some instinct or technique guiding him or he was simply paranoid because he'd somehow spotted Zou Tian.
He had, as per the manual, kept calm. Suspicion didn't mean he was made. Calmly and purposely, he kept course past a few intersections before turning onto a side street.
Once out of the target's sight, he'd had to hurry through an alley, step into a shadow, use the +1 Ring of Disguise—as Master had referred to it in the written instructions—to change his appearance. "Ring of Disguise," Zou Tian understood as the device had the ability to shift his clothes, his appearance, or both at once. But what did "plus one" mean?
Anyway, he'd gotten ahead of his target and, after a turn, had been forced to trail him once again until he entered a tea shop. Zou Tian had been quite worried right before the end. If he'd been spotted again, there was no third disguise in the ring, and crafting a new one took time he didn't have. He would have been left with only his own face, and since he was known in the city, he avoided using that appearance at all costs.
Obviously, the chance of someone who knew him being nearby and spotting him was almost infinitesimal, but one manual clearly advised against taking just such chances—no matter how slight a possibility of failure was, it would eventually end in disaster if allowed to stack with enough other chances on enough occasions.
The next time he had an opportunity to ask for a boon, he knew exactly what he wanted. His current ring was a fantastic treasure, obviously, but it didn't have enough options for tailing a target solo. With a team and the ability to communicate with those team members, no disguises would be necessary, but he was rapidly finding the shortcomings of his current equipment when it came to following someone without having backup.
Five changes would be sufficient. Hmm. The current ring had two. Maybe that was the reason for the "plus one." It had one disguise plus one extra, equaling two. That made sense. He'd request a +4 Ring of Disguise from Master.
Regardless, Zou Tian turned himself invisible and waited for a patron to exit the tea shop, slipping through the opened door before it shut. Teng Wuying wasn't in sight, but Zou Tian made his way unseen to a back room where the man was in a booth setting up a silencing array.
Perfect.
Zou Tian unfortunately couldn't penetrate the formation's bubble. For one thing, the time he could spend invisible—mere minutes—was seriously limited without using an amount of spirit coins that would be easily detectable. And there were no shadows big enough to hide him that close to his target's booth.
Besides, such silencing arrays generally contained an alarm function that notified the user when the threshold was pierced.
The situation was fine, though. The manuals had covered that exact scenario, suggesting that a good spy must know how to read lips. Zou Tian had spent quite a bit of time since being given the manuals learning that particular skill.
He settled into a shadow in the back corner of the room with a fantastic view of both sides of his target's booth and quietly waited.
That patience paid off as who should appear but Mao Biya, the branch leader of the Swift Blizzard Sect.
It was all Zou Tian could do to keep himself calm. He just might have happened upon the most important meeting of his life.
Of course, he also felt a smidge of guilt. Master had specifically instructed Zou Tian not to spy on either sect's higher ups, but that restriction was made in the context of not trying to infiltrate a rival sect's grounds. He was in a public tea shop!
Still, if Master or—he shuddered at the thought—Wan Ai ever found out, Zou Tian would be in a load of trouble. Lucky for him, he was a spy, good at keeping secrets. And what they didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
The now two targets exchanged pleasantries for a while.
Well, really, it was more that Teng Wuying placated Mao Biya by playing up her importance and appealing to her vanity. She didn't appear to notice what he was doing, either, simply soaking it up instead.
Finally, though, they got to the meat of the issue. Teng Wuying had noticed that the Swift Blizzard Sect members were avoiding a particular area of the tournament grounds and wanted to know why. Though he obviously did his best not to use words that implied an accusation, she immediately turned defensive.
"I'm not faulting you for anything, Esteemed Sect Branch Leader," he said. "I just need to understand what is happening and why."
She basically replied that it was none of his business, and it took several long minutes of him stroking her ego before she finally relented.
"I was worried about one of the juniors discovering something off about the square or stumbling into the actual ambush, so I simply ordered them to avoid it."
It was only for a very brief instant, but a look of complete consternation mixed with annoyance washed over Teng Wuying's face before he schooled his expression. "Okay, Esteemed Sect Branch Leader, that makes sense. I just worry that someone from one of our rival sects might notice and wonder at the reason."
Mao Biya scoffed. "Who pays attention to juniors?"
"True, but still, it might be a good idea to supply a reason for the avoidance, Esteemed Branch Sect Leader. Perhaps you can have one of your underlings explain that the Rising Tide Sect has been assigned a location that will require them to pass through that square frequently and that you prefer to keep your sect separate from theirs except during actual matches?"
"I still don't see why it's important."
"It took much trouble to arrange for our Esteemed Colleague to do his work, Esteemed Branch Sect Leader. It's unlikely anyone will notice your juniors' actions, but on the very minute chance that someone other than me does, it would be good for there to be a readily apparent explanation for them to discover. Otherwise, they might believe the square to hold some significance and investigate it. We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"
From the look on his face, a bit of his frustration leaked through, but Mao Biya didn't appear to notice.
"Fine. If it's that important to you, never let it be said that the Swift Blizzard Sect isn't a competent and cooperative ally."
Zou Tian almost laughed. It looked like it took every ounce of willpower Teng Wuying had not to roll his eyes.
The two didn't talk about anything else consequential for a while, and it became clear that they'd be leaving soon. Zou Tian faced a decision—leave before them or after.
Each held advantages and disadvantages. Moving with the two present was an obvious risk. A less obvious risk, but one that might be greater, was that Teng Wuying, as paranoid as he appeared to be, might sweep the room with some method that could detect Zou Tian.
His cover, after all, was not infallible, especially when dealing with cultivators more than an entire major realm higher than him.
A patron in view in the front room though the open doorway looked to be readying himself to leave. Following after him would be the perfect opportunity to get through the outer door.
Zou Tian decided to risk leaving.
Unfortunately, a server came to check on the table just as Zou Tian tried to slip through the doorway, and an invisible Zou Tian couldn't completely avoid contact with her.
She stumbled and looked around for what she'd tripped on while he slipped away. With the possibility of being found growing much greater, stealth and speed warred for primacy. He moved as fast as he could while still remaining silent.
Behind him, Teng Wuying's suspicion had obviously been aroused. He darted up from his chair and dashed through the shop.
Luckily, the customer Zou Tain followed didn't dawdle. He made it outside, the door shutting practically in Teng Wuying's face.
Zou Tian had only an instant to get away. He was almost out of the qi that was keeping him invisible, and there were no shadows close enough to disappear into.
In that moment, though, he remembered something Master had said, something that Zou Tian had almost dismissed at the time. He'd been clearly instructed not to forget about the flying boots and that, according to the lore, he'd probably end up in a situation where using those boots was the only way to save him and the mission.
Master was prescient. He had to be. How else could he have possibly known that Zou Tian would end up with a problem that only those boots, which he hadn't even used to that point except to practice, could solve?
With a thought, he channeled a tiny bit of qi into the device. From testing, he knew the amount of qi Master's arrays could conceal, and Zou Tian used not a mote more or less. The device lifted him, still invisible, off the ground, over the roof of the tea shop, and into the shadows where he disappeared.
Heart beating wildly, he silently mouthed, "Gratitude, Master."
He settled in to wait for a good long time, for most of the rest of the day, in fact. There was no reason to risk moving while Teng Wuying might still be observing.
As he waited, he pondered his recent actions. Why hadn't he used the boots before that point? There had been times when he needed to get atop roofs, but he always just climbed.
Ah. Because that was the method given in the manuals, books that didn't assume the reader had access to certain special tools. That was an oversight in his thinking that he needed to correct.
He went over the other items that Master had gifted. The listening devices and hidden camera were sure to be useful. Instead of sneaking into the tournament steering committee's meeting while it was happening, Zou Tian could go in advance, plant the "bugs," and come back later to retrieve the devices.
Much safer than infiltrating himself while four Golden Core cultivators were present…
It would have been dangerous to stick a tracking device on Teng Wuying or Mao Biya, but surely those would come in handy. The use for a writing implement that turned into a knife was a bit less obvious. As was a stick of candy that had to be chewed before it turned into an explosive that could be triggered?
Zou Tian could see the benefit of having access to an explosive, but why did it look like a stick of candy that was unlike anything he'd ever seen? And the wristwatch didn't look like something he'd seen anyone wear. However useful the "laser" was, the device would make him stand out.
Master had to have a reason for creating those particular items, though, and Zou Tian committed himself to finding a use for each of them.
Teng Wuying had grown up with a bully for an older brother. And not only was Teng Jian a bully, but he could turn himself invisible using Illusion. Thus, from the moment Teng Wuying advanced to Foundation Establishment, his top priority was to learn how to detect invisible people.
As the door to the tea shop slammed in his face, he pulsed a technique he'd personally developed through the room. The waves of qi that returned to him formed a mental image that revealed no one other than the people he saw.
Quickly, he rushed outside to the street and used the same technique. Nothing.
Maybe the server girl was just clumsy, but she'd reacted just as he would have expected someone tripping over an invisible intruder to act. And maybe he'd imagined the slight scuffing of boots on the floor that seemed to be in addition to the sounds everyone else made.
Hmm.
Kang Ya-Ting reviewed the latest information retrieved from one of Zou Tian's "dead drops." That the boy had such detailed information about a private conversation between Mao Biya and Teng Wuying was startling. And a bit worrisome regarding the boy's safety.
The actual information confirmed their worst fears. The two sects did have an alliance. They had secured the services of a Formations Master. And they were planning an ambush, almost definitely of Chao Su.
It was time to relay some of that to the man himself. Not too much, though. Any message could be intercepted, apparently, even if Chao Su's blue dragons were much more difficult than any others.
Friend Su,
This one has made contact with a mutual friend, someone you know from here in the city. His messages have caused quite the commotion, including resulting in the spymaster of my branch sect being dismissed and me assuming that position.
I don't think that most of the information is so important as to warrant you making a special trip to see me, but I would appreciate you taking time out of your schedule soon after you escort your sect members to the tournament, assuming your timetable is the same as you previously related. If your arrival has been delayed, maybe that special trip might be worthwhile.
As for that one piece of information that is important to know now, it has become apparent from multiple sources that the Jade Chameleon Sect and the Swift Blizzard Sect have grown much closer over the last couple of months. No official alliance has been announced, but absent strong evidence to the contrary, this old man would advise you to consider them so.
If the Rising Tide Sect were to decide not to attend the tournament under those circumstances, no one in my sect would second guess you.
Your Friend,
Kang Ya-Ting
Official Spymaster of the Poison Claw Branch Sect, Sixth Flawless Flowing City
There. Kang Ya-Ting's ascension to the position was well known, and he was sure he didn't give any other information away, such as Zou Tian's identity or the Rising Tide Sect's arrival date.
On the other hand, he seriously doubted that Chao Su would heed the warning. The man was too sure of his ability. That being said, he hadn't failed yet, other than the unfortunate matter with Ye Zan.
Kang Ya-Ting sent the message and returned to reading reports. So, so many reports.
Chapter 316 – The Most Important Sect Member
Many months ago, Yang Xiu volunteered to be in charge of the contingent that would represent the Rising Tide Sect at the Quinquennial Tournament, and her thoughts on one specific subject had done a complete turnaround in that time. Back then, if anyone had asked her who the most important sect members were, after Master of course, she would have listed herself and her brother, Zou Tian, and maybe the crafters Xun Wu and Wan Ai. If she thought deeply, maybe she would have included the guard captain, Huang Yimun, and a few others.
Today, if anyone asked Yang Xiu who the most essential person in the sect was, after Master of course, she would have, without reservation, shouted, "Sun Hua!"
Why?
Logistics.
The entire sect ran on a mythical and mysterious force called logistics.
Being the leader of the sect's tournament contingent did not mean helping pavilion leaders choose which sect members to send or creating training schedules or convincing Master to supply new techniques—though there was some of all of that. No, it meant logistics. The job mostly entailed determining who needed what supplies and when they were needed and how those supplies were to be obtained and where from and, most of all, how all those necessities would get from one place to the next.
It. Was. Maddening.
Lists and paperwork and counting boxes and talking to men about horses and wagons and so much boring stuff. Ugh!
Honestly, all those months ago it hadn't looked like many members would qualify for the tournament, anyway. A small number of people meant manageable logistics, even for Yang Xiu who definitely wasn't skilled in the subject.
But then Master had introduced the manuals. At first, they'd been a curiosity. Another thing that Master came up with to help. But they were just some books, right?
She really should have known not to underestimate Master.
First, there were a lot of books. A lot. Every possible subject from Arrays to Zoological Study of Spirit Beasts had three volumes—beginning, intermediate, and advanced—for Qi Gathering cultivators and for those in the Foundation Establishment realm.
One or two members from each pavilion were instructed to read over the books and report back. Those reports were positive. Glowing. Ecstatic.
Word spread throughout the sect, and soon everyone had a new activity to add to cultivating, practicing techniques, and cultivating their secondary method, either Mind or Soul—reading. More like studying.
The initial confusion had come from the battered, eclectic mess of manuals that Master had purchased to start his library. Those were poorly written, hard to follow, incomplete, and unorganized. One could glean some knowledge from them, but it took much work for relatively little gain.
In contrast, the new manuals that Master had somehow produced from somewhere all had blue covers that featured the Rising Tide Sect's logo, looking crisp and brand new and uniform and quite professional. And they were absolutely better in every way than the previous ones. They explained everything in detailed but simple to understand terms and were indexed in a way that made all the information easy to find.
Not only did the books make learning so much easier but anyone with a complementary technique found themselves advancing so, so much faster.
In short, the abilities of the sect's members advanced at a rapid pace, meaning that a lot more people were suddenly qualified to participate in the tournament. Which meant that the logistics grew so, so much more complicated.
Without Sun Hua's help, the Rising Tide Sect would have had to cancel their participation in the tournament. That statement was no exaggeration, either. Yang Xiu would have missed the application deadline if not for the older girl's assistance. And that was on top of the girl doing most of the actual work involved in running the sect.
When Yang Xiu asked Master about why he left such important tasks to his assistant, he'd said that, at times in his life, he'd been in charge of logistics, but that was a long, long time ago. Even he was very glad for the presence of Sun Hua.
Everyone who was in the know as far as sect leadership went thought the same. Well, all except Sun Hua, of course. She still acted like any mistake she might make would get her fired from her position, and no amount of talking her up seemed to help. Poor thing.
Her value made Yang Xiu's current mission quite problematic, though. As she stood outside the door to Master's office, she took a deep, steadying breath before knocking. After being let in, she walked to a position an appropriate distance from Master, dropped to her knees and kowtowed.
"Master, this lowly disciple begs for a boon."
Instead of keeping her forehead plastered to the floor as was proper, Yang Xiu peeked, trying to get a read on his expression. He appeared … amused.
Which, okay, honestly made sense.
"I see, my disciple. Please enlighten me as to the boon you require."
Good. Amusement generally meant she was on the right path with him, and his answer definitely hadn't been a no. She had a chance.
"This lowly one needs Sun Hua to attend the tournament, Master."
There was a pause. A long pause.
"I need Sun Hua to remain behind to run the sect while we're away." His tone had become far less jovial.
It was as Yang Xiu feared. All she could do was resort to begging.
"Please, Master. There is no one else capable of getting everything running smoothly. I've consulted with Yang Ru, Kang Lin, Xun Wu, and even the mayor. They all agree that we'll be living in ramshackle tents without food or drink unless she is there. We'll be lucky if any of us even find our contests, much less get there on time, much less win."
"And what of the sect?"
"She has everything running so smoothly here that she won't be missed for the short time we're gone, Master. The mayor has the respect of the sect members and can fill in during her absence, and if he falters, Senior Brother Yuan Yaozu will be here to help."
Silence stretched, which was unusual. Unless Master was doing the weird thing with his eyes, he usually made decisions pretty much instantaneously, one way or the other. And to be honest, he rarely said no.
Yang Xiu honestly believed that she might just be about to experience one of those rare times.
Master finally let out a sharp breath. "Fine. She can go. But I'm not happy about this. If anything happens here while she's gone, I'm holding you responsible."
Yang Xiu grinned. She'd succeeded. The tournament was saved!
Wan Ai stood with the rest of the sect in the amphitheater.
Well, with most of the rest of the sect. There was at least one person missing. One very important person.
She hadn't heard from her boyfriend in literally more than three months. Three whole months! The only report about him had come in an oblique reference to a mutual friend in a message that Elder Kang Ya-Ting had sent Master, who had graciously shared it with her.
At least they were all leaving for the tournament tomorrow, and since Master was teleporting them all, she'd at least be in the same city as her beloved that day. Though who knew how long it would take for him to actually make contact.
Master had taken great pains to explain how important Zou Tian's mission was and that he was protecting the entire sect. She felt horrible, but if she had a choice, she'd rather have had him safely beside her and everyone else in danger.
Well, maybe not that exactly, but if something happened to him… She'd not trade him for any person in the sect, including Master!
As the time for the gathering neared, the crowd, which had been full of murmurs, quieted, and shortly thereafter, Master teleported to the stage.
"Greetings, my sect," he said enthusiastically. "The time of the Quinquennial Tournament is finally at hand. We leave right after breakfast tomorrow. Everyone who is going will meet outside the Administration Hall."
There were lots of nods. Many people, including Wan Ai, Bai Xinyi, and three others from the Alchemy Pavilion, were making the journey.
"Are you all excited?" he said.
There was little, if any, response.
"I said, are you all excited?"
A few people here and there said, "Yes, Sect Leader."
The next time, Master raised his voice. "I said, are you all excited?"
That time, everyone got the message and yelled, "Yes, Sect Leader."
"That was good," he said, "but I think you can do better. Are you all excited?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
The stands shook.
He grinned. "Good. It's good to be excited. There's a lot to be eager about. Competing against other sects for the first time to find out where you stand against your peers. Supporting your fellow sect members. I want you to be thrilled. Enthusiastic. Happy. Especially that last one. Happy.
"This event is supposed to be fun. It's a game. It's exciting to compete and to cheer on those you want to win." Master paused. "There are some, though, both in this sect and in those who will also be competing, who don't see it as fun. They see it as important. As if world-shattering consequences are based on the performance of juniors in a game."
The crowd had grown quiet as they always did when the sect leader spoke, seeking to hear every word, but there was absolute silence after he said that last part.
"This sect will not succeed or fail based on this tournament," he said. "If you are competing, do not put that responsibility on yourself. If you are watching or staying back here anxiously awaiting word, do not put pressure on the people who are competing.
"I'll say it again. This is a game. It should be fun. We will celebrate your victories and commiserate with you over your losses. Above anything else, though, we will have fun and remember that it is a game. Understood?"
There was a reflexive smattering of, "Yes, Sect Leader."
"Understood?" he said again.
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
"Good. To be clear, I have high hopes for some of our competitors. Yang Xiu and Yang Ru should be well ahead of most of their peers. Xun Wu is an expert blacksmith. I have tremendous faith in the abilities of Wan Ai."
Her eyes went wide. Surely, he hadn't called her out in front of the entire sect! But he did. She desperately wished for a hole to open in the stands, so she could fall from everyone's sight.
And, most of all…" Master laughed. "Jin LiJuan. I can't wait to see her matches."
That got a confused reaction from almost everyone. The expedition had returned quite some time ago, but the girl wasn't with them. And all the members had been sworn to secrecy about where she was. And no one would talk about that giant talking turtle that had one day appeared with Master for a short time.
When Jin LiJuan had left, she was literally the weakest of the Foundation Establishment cultivators. What could have happened to make Master so excited about her?
"Whether our members win their entire bracket or get eliminated in the first round, I don't care. The only person I want each of our participants to beat is the them from yesterday."
Wan Ai had literally no idea what that was supposed to mean. Did he plan to create clones of their past selves for them to practice against? Given that it was the sect leader, no one would so much as blink an eye if he made that happen.
"Know that, win or lose, I am proud of you for competing. There is only one thing that you can do to make me not be proud to have you as a member of my sect."
Everyone, literally everyone, was on the edge of their seats waiting to hear how he completed that statement.
"My expectation for each of you is that, if you win, you win graciously. If you lose, you lose graciously. A certain amount of trash talk is acceptable, even sometimes expected, before the bout. After a loss, you thank your opponent for giving you pointers. If you win, you thank your opponent for the bout. Period.
"No whining if you lose, not about the fairness or the officiating or anything else. No gloating if you win. Understood?"
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
"Obviously, that attitude should be easy for all of you when facing our friends from the Poison Claw Sect. To a person, they've all proven to be staunch allies and simply good people. We are happy to have made their acquaintance," Master said. "Two thirds of our opponents, however, are allied against us in an as yet undeclared war. Both the Jade Chameleon Sect and the Swift Blizzard Sect wish to see us fail. They will do all they can to defeat us in the ring and bully us outside.
"It will be more difficult to display good sportsmanship to members of those two sects. I expect that members of my sect can do difficult things. Understood?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"You will show your opponents basic respect in the ring, even those who are enemies outside. No one will walk away from spectating that tournament and claim that the Rising Tide Sect is a bunch of bad sports. Understood?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Good. That being said, you are a member of the Rising Tide Sect. You kowtow to no one who does not absolutely deserve it. If someone is demanding that you kowtow and you believe that person to be undeserving, you break your contingency ring. I will have your back. Understood?"
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
That time, the shouts were so loud that it actually hurt Wan Ai's ears. The energy of the crowd was infectious. Even she had gotten into the spirit of things and raised her voice. Slightly. A little bit.
But nothing could make her excited about competing. To have all those eyes on her was one of her nightmares.
The chance to see Zou Tian again, though? That was worth shouting about.
Chapter 317 – Delegating Ultimate Responsibility?
As Benton grew to trust his sect members' abilities more and more, he got a lot better about delegating. It was the night before he was to Teleport the entire contingent to Sixth Flawless Flowing City, and he didn't have a single thing he needed to do. Yang Xiu, with copious help from Sun Hua, had the logistics well in hand.
As was becoming one of his occasional habits, he summoned Yuan Yaozu for a chat. The Nascent Soul was the only person around he could really talk to, someone who understood the burdens of leadership and the lure of power. Someone with experience who came from having lived a long life.
Benton chuckled. He was actually the spring chicken compared to that old man.
Their conversation ambled from topic to topic for a while before Yuan Yaozu brought up the subject Benton had been expecting.
"You should take me with you."
"Who would guard the sect?"
"No one. It doesn't matter," Yuan Yaozu said. "You're the target."
Benton sighed. "I don't want to risk it. I don't even like leaving the branch sect with only Fatty Ren to protect them." Benton sighed. "I should have extracted a promise like yours from Duan Lan."
"You're unbelievable! If she were available, you'd have her sitting in Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town, wouldn't you?"
Benton shrugged.
"All the information we have, the information Zou Tian dug up for us," Yuan Yaozu said, "tells us that the Swift Blizzard Sect is fully allied with the Jade Chameleons. You know what that means."
"More people that I have to kill." Benton let a bit more frustration seep into his tone than he intended.
"The Jade Chameleons have two Nascent Souls. The Swift Blizzards have four. Granted, my sect has six, but I'm apparently stuck here babysitting, and one is in seclusion. With you, that's six of them versus only five on your side, and that's best case scenario. When they ambush you, it'll be six on one. If you let me go, I'll stick to your side like glue."
"You're just eager for your first fight as a Nascent Soul."
Yuan Yaozu glared at him.
"I get it," Benton said. "You really are worried. But you shouldn't be. How easily do I handle you when we spar?"
"When you suppress my Aura? I might as well be a baby. But can you suppress six at once?"
That was actually a good question. He only had the four Auras, and he'd never tested if he could use a single one of them to suppress multiple opponents simultaneously. For that matter, he'd never tested if he could use multiple Auras at once.
Definitely something he needed to do that night, the latter part, anyway. He'd Teleport somewhere isolated and try to use two and then three and finally four at the same time. Being able to handle four, however, might not prove anything since he could split his mind four times. Depending on how the testing went, he'd possibly need to a fifth one, which meant buying at least one more.
"I'll think on that," Benton said.
"Think fast. You're leaving tomorrow, and if you get ambushed, I'm hours away even if you can get a message off."
Benton laughed. "Actually, there's no reason for you not to be mere seconds away." He pulled a handfull of one hundred thousand qi Teleport talismans from his ring. "Take these. I'll have one of the kids come get you if I encounter trouble. Would that make you feel better?"
Yuan Yaozu cupped his hands. "It would, Sect Leader. Gratitude."
Once the man eventually left, Benton recalled that it had been a long, long time since he'd checked his gains, over two and a half months, in fact.
Body Cultivation was a consistent performer as always, gaining him four hundred ninety-four points over the last seventy-seven days. Five hundred of those came from sect members in the Qi Gathering Realm working on Bronze ranks. With the twins and Jin LiJuan having already reached the peak of Silver and Zou Tian leaving right after he reached Foundation Establishment, there was only one sect member actively pursuing Silver—Peng Hanying, the Time aspected young man. The little guy earned fourteen points getting all the way to minor realm seven but his technique, specialized for him, cost twenty.
Spiritual Cultivation earned Benton a truly ridiculous number of points over the period. Most significant from a building the sect's strength perspective were those cultivators using the Time dilation rooms. The twins and Kang Lin reached the peak of the third minor realm of Foundation Establishment, limiting themselves to that level due to tournament considerations. Wan Ai sped herself to the peak of Qi Gathering, also stopping there in deference to the category she planned to compete in.
Well, really in deference to Yang Xiu who coerced the girl into not advancing further since stopping would improve her chances in the tournament. Shi Long and Xun Wu also cultivated only to that mark for the same reason.
The star earner among the individuals who accelerated their cultivation was Peng Hanying. Since he had no intention of participating in the tournament, he wasn't limited by a category. After seeing the stress it put on the others, Benton did limit the young man to only five ten-hour sessions per objective day, though. Still, he blew all the way up to the third minor realm of Foundation Establishment, equaling the twins and Kang Lin.
Though significant in power, they added only a paltry thirty points. Benton didn't particularly mind, though, given his other massive gains.
One such source came from a large contingent of Nature aspected villagers who were a part of the Martial Pavilion. With Yang Xiu's endorsement, they made good use of Time dilation rooms and qualified to attend the tournament. Thirty members who were in the first group of fifty inducted and twenty-seven who were in the second all advanced from the fifth minor realm all the way to the peak, earning another two hundred twenty-eight points for Benton.
Jin LiJuan got him sixteen points all by herself as she skyrocketed all the way to the peak of Foundation Establishment under the guidance of the enthusiastic Leizhenzi. Benton grinned, anticipating everyone's reaction when she showed up.
A number of cultivators reached Qi Gathering minor realm seven, including Huang Yimun and his fifteen guards; Xun Wu's family; Zi Delan, his crew, and the orphans from Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town; the Healing Pavilion leader, Pan Xiaolian; and the six wood harvesters. Those forty-three points only felt insignificant in comparison to those that came after them.
A huge quantity of sect members advanced to Qi Gathering minor realm five, including the seventy-five former villagers in the sixth set of inductees, three hundred in the seventh set, the one hundred in the eighth set, and one hundred in the ninth set. The one hundred people Fatty Ren had recruited for his second set and the eight members of Benton's new acting troupe all reached that mark as well.
All told, sect members reaching the fifth minor realm gained him a massive one thousand three hundred seven Sect Points. Which was completely, insanely awesome.
Finally, the tenth set of inducted villagers, the most recent one hundred, went all the way from joining the sect to minor realm four, amassing four hundred points for Benton.
Prosperous Gray Forest Village had certainly made him prosperous. He was actually kind of sad that almost all the people were already sect members. Only one hundred seventy-four remained to be added.
Overall, Spiritual Cultivation had added a whopping two thousand twenty-four points to Benton's ever growing bottom line.
Since Qi Gathering minor realm four was the point at which the sect allowed members to learn techniques, Benton decided that minor realm five would be the point where they were encouraged to start cultivating either their Mind or their Soul. Ninety-five percent of members took him up on that endorsement, two hundred twenty-one choosing the former type and three hundred thirty-one the latter. Unfortunately, he hadn't made that decision too long ago, so none of them reached minor realm two yet.
Of course, five hundred fifty-two points was nothing to sneeze at, and he was guaranteed to get a similar quantity next time he reviewed his status. Add that to the two hundred sixty-two points he'd gotten for the more experienced members reaching minor realm four with their respective methods, and the total for Mind and Soul Cultivation was a respectable eight hundred fourteen.
Finally, he looked at techniques. His sect members were still doing pretty darn awesome with the Trials Pagoda, though there were some failures that time around. Which was to be expected. Not everyone excelled at the kind of outside the box thinking that the pagoda required. Still, he gained a nice seventy-four points from that source.
Making it still a huge point loser compared to the one thousand he'd spent so far getting Poison Claw Sect Golden Cores past their bottlenecks. Oh well. At least he was getting something back.
Interestingly, his distribution of the manuals had a much bigger impact on his members improving their skills than he would have ever imagined. Three times as many advanced their techniques than calculations based on past performance would have predicted, giving him another two hundred sixty-one points.
The biggest gain came from all the members going to the tournament who made copious use of the non-aspected Time dilation rooms, which were always in use. The twins and Kang Lin, after maxing their cultivation, also used the Time dilation rooms to bring all their techniques to Mastery. The rank and file combined with the Foundation Establishment disciples gained him one hundred eighty-six points.
All told, the category added a very nice four hundred seventy-one points after subtracting out the cost for various new techniques Yang Xiu had convinced him the kids absolutely had to have for the tournament.
When he added everything up, he'd increased his bank of Sect Points by a stupendous three thousand eight hundred and three.
Of course, some of that was offset by additional spends. He'd bought six different acting related techniques for the troupe… Well, acting and film-related qi technology related techniques, anyway. That cost him twenty-four. And still needed to buy at least one Aura…
Benton decided to get that decision out of the way and Teleported to a remote area. Two simultaneous Auras were, as far as he could tell, impossible without using his Split Focus technique. Using that, though, he could use all four at once.
From his experiment, he realized two things. One, unless he had a specific purpose for advancing a Concept into an Aura, there was no reason to buy a fifth. He couldn't use that many at once until he advanced to Nihility and was allowed to upgrade his Mind Cultivation. Two, he still had no idea if he could suppress multiple Nascent Souls with a single Aura.
Bummer. He'd need the Jade Chameleon Sect's help for that one. Not that asking for such a minor favor was a big deal. They owed him. Hugely.
Even if he couldn't subdue more than one per Aura, that still didn't seem like an issue. He would only neutralize four out of the six enemies. So what? He would simply tank hits from one, kill the other, and then kill the other unsuppressed one. Easy Peasy.
Benton pulled up the changes in his status:
Sect Members:1,317Disciples:57Sect Points:7,001Shop Points:765He sure had a massive total of Sect Points, and his sect was thriving. His only regret at the moment was how he was keeping the branch sect at arm's length. Fatty Ren and he had talked about sending crafters to the main grounds, but Benton had always pulled back on it at the last minute.
The Town Lord probably thought Benton didn't appreciate those members, but that wasn't the reason. He was trying to keep them safe. His thinking was that, if everyone thought he didn't care about those members, no one would target them.
Hopefully, the Jade Chameleons would go through with the ambush against him, and Benton could finally put the matter of the sect war to rest. Then, he wouldn't have to worry about attacks and could finally integrate the two parts into a whole.
That left only one big concern for the future. Well, both a hope and a concern, really—with the Trials Pagoda, any of his sect members could presumably advance as high as cultivation went.
That realization was great from the standpoint of his sect members leading long and prosperous lives. He and the sect would have truly made a huge difference to each of them. Imagine, the weakest F- Qi Gathering minor realm one cultivator who joined the sect next month had a real shot of becoming a Celestial Being.
No one in the Big Three, or the formerly Big Four, even counting the Emperor's faction as well, had reached even Nihility in recorded history. That rank was reserved for myths and legends who lived on far shores over treacherous seas.
The thought of elevating what all those stodgy sect cultivators considered to be talentless trash to the very pinnacle of cultivation felt like a valid use of his second life.
That was the hope portion of his realization, which left the concern.
The only problem imagining making thousands and thousands of his sect members into Celestial Beings was that overcoming every single bottleneck cost points. Just getting from the peak of Golden Core to Nascent Soul cost five hundred. What about minor realms in Nascent Soul? How much would the price escalate to reach Nihility?
He hadn't done the math, but he was almost positive that very few of his sect members could earn him enough Sect Points to pay for all their future bottlenecks. Even the twins might need help just getting to Nascent Soul.
Essentially, every point he spent meant that one of his sect members might not reach quite as high later.
It was great that so many more of them would experience long, long lives, but at the same time, his management of points being the reason for any of them not reaching higher was a bit of a bummer.
Hmm. Maybe there was a way to put Sun Hua in charge of points spending…
Chapter 318 – The Argent Surfer
Zou Tian faced a bit of a conundrum. Or more of a moral quandary, really. What he should do and what he wanted to do were at odds.
His sect was scheduled to arrive that day, exactly one month prior to the start of the tournament. More importantly, his girlfriend was scheduled to arrive that day, and he hadn't seen her in more than two and a half months. He desperately, desperately, desperately wanted to at least see her. Which should be fine. Viewing from a distance. Not breaking cover. All fine.
But he knew himself. If he actually was close enough to see her with his own two eyes, could he really resist getting closer and actually interacting with her?
And what about how she felt? It would tear him apart if he saw her looking around as if frantically seeking even a glimpse of him. But maybe it would be even worse if she weren't. What if she looked happy as if him not being with her wasn't affecting her at all?
He sighed.
His best bet was to simply stay far, far away. That would guarantee that no one could link him to his sect. Safer for them. Safer for him. Most of all, safer for her.
Zou Tian wasn't normally what any sane person would call fidgety. His techniques required him to stay completely still, sometimes barely even breathing, for hours. And he was completely okay with that.
The prospect of Wan Ai being so close made him fidgety, though. He couldn't just lie in the bed in the room he'd rented for the week under his current cover identity. Instead, he got up, dressed, and went for a walk.
Not one to waste time, he reviewed what he'd learned the last couple of weeks. Which didn't take long. He hadn't discovered much of anything.
There was one interesting tidbit he got from the cameras he'd placed in the tournament steering committee meeting, though. Qiu ZhenKang, representing the City Lord, had put forth two proposals that gave a slight advantage to his faction in terms of money gained from sales of admittance tickets and concessions. Kang Ya-Ting had opposed both, but Teng Wuying and Mao Biya had voted for them with only pro forma protestations.
Later, Qiu ZhenKang presented another proposal—the inclusion of a small clan in the tournament. Kang Ya-Ting objected strenuously, namely due to the late date. The City Lord's representative apologized and stated it was a political matter, regarding a favor the Emperor owed to the clan's patriarch. "The Emperor would be most grateful if the committee could give him face."
Again, Teng Wuying and Mao Biya offered token resistance before voting for the measure.
Rumors around the city were that the Rising Tide Sect's recent paperwork indicated many more participants in the tournament than had been anticipated. Zou Tian's best guess was that the two opposing sects couldn't have their members beat up on all the supposed trash weaklings from his sect without it being so obvious what they were doing that they'd lose much face. But a proxy clan could do whatever they wanted.
As he pondered, he walked, and without conscious input from him, his feet took him to the tournament grounds and, more specifically, to a building with a roof that gave a perfect view of the area assigned to the Rising Tide Sect. Before he knew what he was doing, he was up there, ensconsced in Shadow, waiting and watching.
Dawn had barely broken, and he was already there. How pathetic was he? The sect surely wouldn't arrive for hours. Teleportation was, of course, instantaneous, but they had to wait for the entire contingent to gather, and Yang Xiu was in charge. Great girl and ferocious in combat, but organization was not her strong point.
And since Master had assigned the task to her, he'd let her handle it even if it meant waiting all day. Zou Tian should come back after lunch, really.
Actually, he should leave and not come back at all.
He sighed again.
As he was about to stand, something in the air caught his eye. Movement. A silver shape.
As it drew close enough for his enhanced eyes to make out more than just a blur, he realized it was Master. He wore a robe that was pure silver with only faint blue accents and rode on a … something. The device, metallic silver with two blue stripes, was large, easily ten-feet long, and a couple of feet wide. And, weirdly, it had a fin on the bottom near the back.
Zou Tian had never seen anything like it. Why was Master using any kind of device, anyway? He'd flown many times without assistance, so the device surely wasn't necessary. And why was he holding his arms out to the side like he needed them to balance? He'd never had any issue on a much thinner flying sword.
Weird.
But there had to be a good reason.
Master stopped when he got to the tournament grounds, pulled out a paper from his ring and studied it, looked around, and darted toward the area the sect had been assigned. He hovered above it for a moment before disappearing.
Really weird.
As Benton was about to head out to meet up with the kiddos … uh, meet up with his sect members, he made an important realization. He couldn't Teleport to the tournament grounds.
He often thought of qi and techniques like magic, like he could do anything he wanted, any way he wanted. And, often, the System allowed him to cheat enough to get pretty close to that ideal.
Some things had strict, non-negotiable rules, though. Like Teleporting. The process was visualize the place where you want to Teleport, add qi, and trigger the technique. In that order.
That visualization part couldn't be gamed. He had to pull up a mental image of the place in his mind. Absent pictures or video of the place—both of which were in the infancy of him introducing—it was necessary for him to visit the place in advance.
How embarrassing would it have been if he had been in front of his sect about to trigger the Teleport before figuring out that important detail? Ugh. Good thing he caught it early. He probably could have bluffed his way out of it by saying that he wanted to visit the Poison Claw Sect first or something, but still…
There was no help for it but to Teleport to a location outside of the city—easier not to accidentally break any of the City Lord's laws that way—fly over to the tournament grounds, put eyes on the assigned area, and then pop back to his office.
Perfect.
And hey, that was the perfect opportunity to try out something he'd put together for a special occasion. Okay, more like for a time when he was feeling particularly geeky than necessarily a special occasion. And honestly, him feeling geeky wasn't a special occasion. It was more like the norm.
He twisted his newest ring, and his clothing changed to a special silver robe he'd had made. Honestly, the outfit wasn't really what he wanted. A metallic silver bodysuit that made him look made of metal would have been much, much better.
But there were limits to what he could pull off. His image mattered to some degree. Eccentric was good. Batcrap crazy wasn't.
Still, as he hovered in the air just outside the wall of Sixth Flawless Flowing City and pulled the silver surfboard from his ring, he felt cool. Like just totally awesome.
He wanted to yell, "I am the Argent Surfer." Wouldn't want to run afoul of any copyright laws, obviously, even while living in a different reality. "I am the harbinger of … The Rising Tide Sect."
Benton didn't yell any of that, obviously. Again, best not to appear to be batcrap crazy. He was so, so sorely tempted to, though.
It wasn't even that he was all that much of a fan. Greg enjoyed comic books, but Benton had only read them to a very limited extent in his youth. His only experience with the character was that movie with that young lady who played in that TV show—he couldn't seem to quite remember the name—where she was a supersoldier in a post EMP apocalypse.
Really, he was just being silly. And hey, he bet if just about anyone on Earth had the opportunity to fly around like that character, they would. If you thought surfing the waves was cool, you need to try surfing the Wind.
The bit of silliness made him feel … good. Happy. Which was a good thing. After all, at some point in the next month, he'd almost definitely have to face a bunch of people trying to kill him, and then he'd have to retaliate. He didn't even want to think about how many lives he would have to take.
Frankly, that entire situation was going to suck beyond the telling of it, as a certain vampire slayer might say.
His only escape was—for the moment, at least—to find what pleasure he could.
Zi Delan had never been to Sixth Flawless Flowing City. Growing up on the streets of Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town, the city might as well have been on the other side of the world for all the opportunity he had to travel there.
How things had changed!
Not only was he going there, but he was doing so as a member of a sect. And he would be competing as a member of a sect in a tournament against members from other sects. He was so excited he could barely stand it.
And he didn't even have to spend months travelling. Master would Teleport them from their sect directly to the tournament grounds. One blink, Zi Delan would be near his—very nice!—house. The next, he'd be in the city.
Crazy.
He didn't have an accurate count of how many people were going, but it was definitely close to a hundred. More than he expected.
With so many people to organize, he figured he'd have to settle in for a good long wait. Instead, things took shape really quickly.
The boss' assistant, Sun Hua, was following Senior Sister around. Every once in a while, they'd encounter a group who seemed out of sorts or looked lost. The mousy girl would whisper something in Senior Sister's ear, and she'd shout orders. Soon after, whatever situation had been hindering the group was pretty much resolved. The pair would then move to a new location, and the process would repeat.
Fifteen minutes after everyone had gathered, they looked like an organized, well trained and experienced caravan ready to depart instead of a bunch of villagers and townies who'd never really been anywhere.
Everyone just kind of looked around, appearing as shocked as he was, and less than a minute later, Master appeared in the sky above them.
"Ready to go already?" he said. "Wow. Good job, Yang Xiu."
As he said it, though, he winked at Sun Hua.
The boss. The sect leader. Winked. Had it been any other sect and any other sect leader, he was sure the two concepts being forced together would have caused people to faint, but no one in the crowd gave it much notice.
"Everybody ready?" he said.
Before anyone even had a chance to fully get out a word, Zi Delan felt the telltale disorientation that comes from having your body instantly transported through Space. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he was, as expected, in an entirely different place.
Less than a mile to the left, there was an enormous stadium, one that dwarfed the amphitheater by orders of magnitude, and in the distance to the right rose tall buildings.
They'd made it. For one month, they'd sightsee, train even more and even harder, and acclimate themselves to the city and their new living conditions and schedule. After that came the tournament.
Zi Delan couldn't wait!
Chapter 319 – Security Briefing
Benton felt no qualms about leaving Sun Hua… uh, Yang Xiu in charge of getting the kids settled in their new temporary digs for a while. He had, after all, already installed two multistory apartment buildings from his ring, built a wall from pre-assembled Orange Vigor Spirit Wood panels, and inscribed a Lesser Defensive Formation.
Were the wall and arrays a bit of overkill? Probably. But better safe than sorry. Literally.
Only his members could pass through the gate without it alerting him, which made him feel a lot better about things. At least, the kids would be relatively danger free while in their home base away from home.
The next step in making sure they were as protected as they could possibly be was a security briefing with Kang Ya-Ting. Since Benton was expected and running on time, he Teleported directly into the elder's chambers.
"You know, Friend Su," Kang Ya-Ting said, "Now that I'm a spymaster, I need to find a Formations Master to protect my study from Spatial intrusions."
"Sorry, accepting such a commission would be a conflict of interest. Mine," Benton said without skipping a beat.
They both laughed.
"Will it be just the two of us?" Benton said.
"Elder Dai will join us in a moment. Tea?"
The aforementioned elder arrived before they'd finished the first cup and so joined them, and the three spoke of inconsequential things until she finished her tea, signaling the start of the real meeting.
A previous message had already informed Benton about the likely alliance between the Jade Chameleon Sect and the Swift Blizzard Sect, and that was the first topic of conversation for the three.
"The result is that the Poison Claw Sect need no longer try to appear neutral," Elder Dai said. "With those two clearly alllied and after what you did for Yuan Yaozu and Duan Lan, our alliance is official. We haven't made it public yet, but we're only waiting for a poltically or strategically advantageous time to do so. The sect leader and the council of elders are one hundred percent behind you and your sect."
That condition had been the main gain for the points Benton had spent on Duan Lan's trial, but it was still good to hear Elder Dai state it so plainly.
"From this point forward," she said, "it would be good to have regular strategy meetings between the three of us."
"I take no exception to working more closely with both of you. Honestly, sect politics are not my strong suit, so your guidance takes a weight off my shoulders. As long as no one steps on my bottom line, I put myself in your hands."
"What exactly is that bottom line, Sect Leader?" Elder Dai said.
"No one from my sect is endangered. Period. If they are, I will step in."
Elder Dai and Kang Ya-Ting shared a significant glance. "That's not the easiest of conditions, but it is understandable. The Poison Claw Sect will keep that objective paramount in our considerations."
Benton cupped his hands.
The next two revelations weren't nearly as important. He was more curious about the abilities of a rival Formations Master than he was scared, and he promised to surreptiously check out the infamous ambush square.
"The most recent situation is more concerning, especially in light of your bottom line, Friend Su," Kang Ya-Ting said. "Our enemy sects had the City Lord's represenative propose the admittance of a small clan to the tournament. It is my belief that this clan's purpose is to soundly defeat your Qi Gathering realm participants in the Martial contest."
Benton frowned. "The Emporer's faction is against us as well?"
"We don't think so," Elder Dai said. "They were clearly bribed with a greater share of admissions and concessions."
Bribery was just how things worked in Benton's new world, so the actions of the City Lord's representative was understandable. And really, admitting a new clan wasn't exactly an egregious act of sabotage.
"I can live with that."
Both the Poison Claw Sect elders appeared relieved that he didn't push for reprisals.
"What do we know about the clan?" Benton said.
"Apparently, they're Body Cultivators, Friend Su." Kang Ya-Ting smiled.
Benton grew a bit contemplative. "That should be interesting, then."
Every single one of his sect members participating in the tournament had reached the peak of the realm of Body Cultivation that corresponded with where they were in Spiritual Cultivation. And all his members used System provided top heaven ranked cultivation methods. He couldn't wait to see how the clan matched up.
"Do any of the other factions know that we use Body Cultivation?" Benton said.
"Not the the best of my knowledge, Friend Su."
Benton actually chuckled. "I should send the City Lord's representative a gift, publically so. A very valuable gift."
Elder Dai caught on immediately. "That would be a bold move. You're that confident that your sect members will defeat the clan?"
"I'm not saying we'll dominate or anything, but the clan is likely expecting to use their physical might to beat up on opponents who rely totally on Spiritual Cultivation. Instead, they'll find opponents who match them, maybe even surpass them. And who have better techniques and weapon proficiency." He shrugged. "Maybe the clan is more experienced with fighting or something similar that will close the gap. Regardless, I seriously doubt the clan will win as easily as our enemies think, if at all."
"In that case, a gift is entirely appropriate," Elder Dai said. "Let our enemies think that the City Lord is working for both sides or, even better, has already chosen us."
Kang Ya-Ting nodded. "It's a smart move with no drawbacks, and it might just end up giving us a tremendous advantage. Mao Biya will definitely feel betrayed by Qiu ZhenKang and treat him like a traitor."
"Which will push the City Lord's faction toward us," Elder Dai said. "If you don't mind the expense of a gift, it would be helpful."
"It's no trouble. I'll craft something. What weapon does he use and what's his aspect?"
Like most cultivators, Qiu ZhenKang was a swordsman, and he is heavily Metal aspected.
"Easy enough," Benton said. "Speaking of Body Cultivation, though, your granddaughter can be incredibly stubborn. I offered to get her to the peak of Silver so many times, but she won't accept."
"I can order her if you wish," Elder Dai said.
"No, it's not worth that. I can see her point. Wanting to earn her own way isn't a bad thing. I would just absolutely hate it if she were hurt when accepting my offer could have saved her, though."
The conversation quickly moved onto other topics.
"When do you think the ambush will occur?" Benton said.
"They will absolutely want to embarrass your sect in the tournament as much as possible first, Friend Su. Waiting until the end, though, would be too risky as you might get away before they can trigger it. I'd say soon after all your members are removed from contention."
Elder Dai nodded her agreement.
"Uh… What if one of my sect members makes it to the very end?"
"Ah," Kang Ya-Ting started. "I noticed that you'd entered a … Jin LiJuan … in the peak Foundation Establishment division, but honestly, I didn't know what to think. Last I heard, the young lady had very damaged cultivation and was only advancing due to a beast she'd bonded?"
"That's an accurate summation," Benton said, barely holding his laughter.
"You think this girl might reach the finals?" Elder Dai said.
Benton shrugged. "You never know. As I always say, anything can happen in a cultivation environment. Maybe she's the main character."
Both looked at him funny, but he kept a straight face and didn't elaborate.
Kang Ya-Ting cleared his throat. "Well, in that case, Friend Su, I'm not sure what they'd do. Mao Biya will obviously be enraged if their plans falter and your sect members outperform expectations by a great degree."
As their conversation about the tournament wound down, Benton brought up the favor he needed. "Regarding the ambush, I will obviously not hold back this time and actually use my Aura."
"We concur," Elder Dai said with no hesitation. "This battle should be the deciding factor in this undeclared war. If we defeat all their Nascent Souls, there will be no reason to worry about any future threats from them."
"Great. I just need a little help with that. A bit of an experiment to see how easily I can handle multiple Nascent Souls at once."
Kang Ya-Ting raised his eyebrows.
"I can Teleport back to the sect and bring Yuan Yaozu back, but I was hoping you could supply Duan Lan and one or two others for brief test?"
"Elder Duan is available, and I'm sure she'd have no issue with assisting," Elder Dai said. "The others are harder to arrange. They'll be on call once the tournament starts, but at the moment, they're all engaged. Can we do this is, say, a week?"
Benton cupped his hands. "A week would be perfect. Gratitude, Branch Sect Leader."
After the meeting with the two Poison Claw Sect elders, Benton felt he had a much better understanding of the security situation. While he wasn't concerned about his enemies attempting to bully his sect members in the ring, he worried about how things would play out if they were caught outside their compound.
After all, the undeclared war was, at that point, only barely undeclared. He was positive that both the Jade Chameleons and the Swift Blizzards would take any opportunity to harass the Rising Tide Sect members.
Benton had no choice but to call a meeting and lay out rules. A moment later, nine message dragons departed, one for each of his council members who were participating in the tournament—Yang Xiu, Yang Ru, Sun Hua, Huang Yimun, Hou Yazhu, Zi Delan, Xun Wu, Wan Ai, and Shi Long.
It was actually kind of sad not to have Kang Lin's name on that list as she and her other Poison Claw Sect members had returned to their own branch sect.
Soon, the nine had gathered in a conference room on the floor he'd designated for himself, and he started the meeting by pulling a mass of objects from his rings and scattering them about the table.
"Do you know what those are?" he said.
"They appear to be rings, Master," Yang Xui said.
"Exactly. More specifically, contingency rings. Hundreds of them. Does anyone know why I have so many?"
"You're going to recruit more members, Master?" Yang Xiu ventured.
"Good guess but no. They're to replace the ones that all of you will use."
Everyone looked confused.
"To this point, you've all treated the rings like a precious treasure only to be triggered in the most dire of situations," Benton said. "And I get that, and to be clear, I am not upset about how they've been used thus far. For the duration of the tournament, however, the following directive will be obeyed—each member of my sect will break their ring at the first sign of danger. The first sign. You will not wait until the situation gets out of hand. Understood?"
"Yes, Master."
"The factions allied against us will try to beat you up during your matches, and that's fine. I expect you to use your training and fight to the best of your ability, win or lose. Those fights will be fairly fought in adherence to the rules of the tournament. There will be protections in place. And they'll be against opponents of similar realms.
"If the tournament in not conducted in accordance with its own rules, I will personally correct that oversight. You all will be safe on that arena floor, or I will make someone greatly regret it. Understand?"
"Yes, Master."
"Outside the arena floor is more problematic. I fully expect our enemies to try to bully you, so along with my primary directive, pass these orders on to your fellow sect members. One, travel in groups. Always. Two, if you face a fair fight and wish to handle it on your own, you have my permission to do so. Three, if you face a fair fight and wish to avoid it, pop your contingency ring. I am fine with that outcome. No one should be allowed to force you into a fight you do not want. And finally, four, as soon as you are accosted by a higher realm cultivator, pop your ring. Period. Understand?"
"Yes, Master."
"Great. Yang Xiu and Yang Ru, please hold back. Everyone else is dismissed."