The Sect Leader System-Chapter 179: Salt the Ground

Benton spent the night as a guest of the Poison Claw Sect, though he didn’t get much sleep. He had committed, after all, to create one thousand spirit coins to pay as a fine.

With his coin creation technique at Mastery, it cost him eleven thousand qi to create a ten thousand qi coin, so he spent the night converting batches of one hundred and eighty qi batteries before spending an hour using Meditation to restore his pool to nearly filled. So most of the night passed before he was finished with his task.

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On the plus side, he was able to definitely cross that item off his To Do List, and he got some other good news the previous evening. Yang Ru must have done well with his trial because he advanced his Momentum Dissolution Shield to Large Success.

With the sun up and cultivators moving about the sect grounds, Benton ventured forth from his room. After a quick breakfast, he found Kang Ya-Ting and handed over the coins, the elder having been kind enough to offer to have one of the sect minions run them down to the city administration building to pay the fine.

The two friends talked for a while about relatively meaningless topics. Benton caught the elder up on the doings of his granddaughter and the Rising Tide Sect members that he was familiar with. Kang Ya-Ting reciprocated by expressing his condolences about Ye Zan, sharing stories that research had turned up about the guard captain that had led to him being hired.

“If only he was less competent,” Benton said. “You wouldn’t have hired him. He’d probably still be alive.”

“And you think he would have wanted that?”

“To still be alive? Who wouldn’t?”

Kang Ya-Ting’s expression mixed condemnation with compassion. “From what I knew of the boy, Ye Zan desired a life and a death that held meaning. Better he died protecting those he cared about than on a random battlefield fighting for a noble who had a grudge against another noble. That’s how most mercenaries die, and that was the path he was on.”

Benton knew all that information, but admitting it wasn’t good for the wallowing that he wanted to do. So he decided a change of subject would be a good idea. “Overall, how did yesterday go? Did I display the correct level of power? The City Lord didn’t seem pleased with me, but it sounded like he was letting the matter slide. The sect lady, though, really didn’t like me.”

“It is as you said. As long as you don’t cause any more problems in the city, Luo Quan will bear you no further malice. He’s as bureaucratic as they come. You broke the rules, which drew his ire, but you paid your penalty. My best guess is that, as far as he is concerned, you are no longer a problem.”

“Good,” Benton said. “And the Swift Blizzard Sect?”

“The posture taken by Mao Biya is not a good sign.”

“What exactly was the issue? Do you think she didn’t like the bribe? That was a nice technique, right?”

“Frankly,” Kang Ya-Ting said, “her attitude was uncalled for. At the very least, she should have been the picture of politeness upon addressing someone who had just laid waste to an entire sect branch. The only explanation I have for her manner is a rumor that I hadn’t given any credence.”

Benton looked at him quizzically.

“This is not from a reliable source,” Kang Ya-Ting said, “but it has been said that she was friendly with one of the elders from the Jade Chameleon Sect.”

The way he said friendly left no doubt as to his meaning.

“Such rumors abound about sect elders. In my experience, they are rarely true, especially when they fantastically claim a relationship between elders of different sects.” Kang Ya-Ting shrugged. “Given her attitude, maybe the gossip happened to be true this time.”

“Regardless, I guess I shouldn’t expect any invitations to tea from them in the near future.”

“Don’t be so sure of that. The ultimate judgment will be made by their sect leader, and I doubt he has enough information about you and your sect yet to make any firm decisions. The fact that no one can sense you spiritually will, of course, give them pause. As will the fact that you easily defeated fifteen hostile Golden Core cultivators at once. As will your complete destruction of the Jade Chameleon branch.”

“Did I go overboard?”

Kang Ya-Ting smiled. “Had you used an aura to suppress those cultivators, everyone would have understood your rank. That you limited yourself to Concepts and still won so handily will be cause for much consternation.” He shrugged. “Confusion could be to your benefit or to your detriment. It’s hard to say.”

Back on Earth, Benton had mainly enjoyed his job. He had not, however, had any patience for office politics. Which was one of the reasons that he never rose higher than he did.

He was beginning to feel that dealing with sect politics would make the machinations at his office seem like a junior high rumor mill in comparison. While the ins and outs of sect relations were certainly important, there was only so much of it he could take at once.

“Getting down to brass tacks,” Benton said, “should I be prepared for an assault by the Jade Chameleons, and if so, will the Swift Blizzard Sect join them?”

“The latter part is easier to answer. No. All of the big three sects are rivals as much as allies. We would only band together to fight an overwhelming external threat. The Swift Blizzard Sect will be seeking to figure out what moves will benefit them the most. If you show yourself to be weak, they may move against you out of sheer opportunism, but they won’t directly support the Jade Chameleons.”

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“That’s good news at least.”

“You should expect much more attention to be placed on you and your sect. Visitors. Spies. Probing attacks. Be aware and cautious going forward.”

Benton nodded. That response for any new faction that appeared was to be expected.

“As to the other part of your question,” Kang Ya-Ting said, “I honestly don’t know. You have attacked the Jade Chameleon Sect, and they cannot let that indignity stand. The loss of face would be too devastating. At the same time, you have literally inflicted great damages on them. They’ve lost eighteen Golden Core cultivators. Eighteen. And the amount of money they had tied up in the buildings and grounds you destroyed is tremendous. That is not a setback they can easily recover from. Suffering another loss like that risks the entire sect breaking apart. They’ll have a hard time determining the correct response. An all out frontal attack is definitely an option, or they could try sending more subtle attempts to determine the extent of your power.”

Benton was very comfortable by that point in taking on any number of Golden Core cultivators, but facing more than one or two Nascent Souls at once would be problematic. His biggest concern, however, was one group attacking him while the others attacked his sect like Teng Jian had done. When Benton explained that worry to Kang Ya-Ting, however, the response was encouraging.

“Teng Jian was on a mission to punish the man who had killed his son. He was not a representative of his sect sent to battle a rival sect. It was personal. As a general rule, sects do not deliberately go after juniors because they wouldn’t want a rival sect going after theirs. Now that the conflict has been elevated to a sect versus sect level, etiquette demands that they go directly after you and any elders you have first.”

Benton let out a relieved breath.

“That being said,” Kang Ya-Ting continued, “you have made that entire sect an enemy. There will be no mercy or suing for peace. If you are killed, they will destroy your entire sect and the village that supports it. Every member will be hunted and killed. They will salt the ground upon which it was built.”

Benton didn’t curse often, but he almost let an f-bomb slip upon that revelation. After a moment’s reflection, however, he calmed down. That response was within his expectations. It was just startling to hear it voiced so aloud so bluntly.

“The overall situation could have been better, but it’s not horrible,” Benton said. “I always expected the Jade Chameleons to retaliate, and as long as the Swift Blizzard Sect doesn’t attack me outright, I’ll consider it a win.”

“That’s a good way to look at it,” Kang Ya-Ting said. “What are your plans now?”

Benton knew exactly what he would do next. The question was how much to reveal to the Poison Claw Sect.

In a cultivation world, it was not smart to be too trusting. On the other hand, allowing paranoia to rule his actions didn’t seem like the best way to live his life, either. Kang Ya-Ting and his sect had stood behind Benton. The least he could do was extend a little trust.

“Honestly, I think my best bet is to actively expand my sect. We only have a little over two hundred members, and not counting your granddaughter of course, only two of those have even reached Foundation Establishment. I’m planning to extend an invitation to Fatty Ren and starting a branch in Vermilion Incomparable Rain Town.”

“That’s a bold move. I’m not sure, however, that the addition of one more Foundation Establishment level cultivator and even more at the Qi Gathering rank will help you against Nascent Souls, especially as it will only hinder your relations with the Swift Blizzard Sect.”

“I understand your concerns,” Benton said, “and I share them. Unfortunately, there are other factors involved that provide benefits to me that I believe to be in excess of the risks created.”

Kang Ya-Ting cupped his hands. “I yield to my friend’s judgement.”

“Can I count on the Poison Claw Sect to back me up?”

“It’s possible that something could be arranged.”

“I do believe I could swing a few spots in the Trials Pagoda and maybe a technique or cultivation method or two for close allies.”

Kang Ya-Ting smiled. “I misspoke. I’m positive that something can be arranged.”

Benton didn’t know whether to grimace or to laugh, but after a moment’s thought, he settled on the latter. The statement had been made at least partly in jest, and honestly, he had no reason to expect the Poison Claw Sect to risk themselves for nothing in return. Their guaranteed backing in return for a few spots in his pagoda and maybe fifty or so Sect Points was a steal.

The only thing he regretted was giving away that cultivation method to the Swift Blizzard Sect, considering how the situation had turned out. Then again, if the branch leader’s reaction had been purely based on a personal vendetta, it was possible that his gift might still buy some good will with the actual sect leadership.

“Why don’t you take a bit to think about what techniques or methods you might want and come out to the village for a visit?” Benton said.

“You make it sound like you can provide anything we want.”

Benton shrugged. “Well, the older one gets, the more junk accumulates in one’s spatial ring. I’m sure you’ve experienced similar issues.”

Kang Ya-Ting’s expression said that he most definitely had no encountered the particular problem of having too many heaven grade cultivation methods and techniques. Benton wanted to laugh but wisely refrained.

“I see,” Kang Ya-Ting said. “Elder Dai and I will give the matter some thought.”

“Sounds good. Maybe bring along a few of your members who are bottlenecked, and we can see if we can get them past it.”

“That brings us to the crux of the matter. I doubt it will shock you to discover that I have an understanding of what you publicly shared with your sect members about the pavilion?”

Considering that Benton had made that speech in front of six members of the Poison Claw Sect, that fact did not surprise him at all. “It is of no particular concern to me.”

“Perhaps it should be. Is it true that your Trials Pagoda can assist in breaking through a bottleneck?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Benton said. “We don’t have much experience with the pagoda, yet, but one of the trials is for the specific purpose of advancing cultivation. Based purely on my assumptions, that trial may be able to propel cultivators past bottlenecks, granted they pass it.”

“How much confidence do you have in your assumptions? Desperate men and women will cling to any hope, and I’d hate to see them disappointed. Such emotions might do much to damage the relations between our sects.”

“Definitely don’t over promise,” Benton said. “None of my current sect members are bottlenecked, so I can’t test it at the moment. If Fatty Ren accepts my offer, though, we’ll see how he does, and I’ll let you know.”

“How difficult are the trials?”

“My disciples are two for two so far, but that’s Yang Xiu and Yang Ru. Both are pretty extraordinary.”

Kang Ya-Ting sighed. “Do you have any comprehension of what kind of commotion it will cause if a wave of our elders starts having breakthroughs? We won’t be able to hide the presence of the pagoda for long. Just the possibility of such a thing existing will alter the balance of power. If it actually works…”

Benton’s first impulse was to tell his friend to send over a few Golden Core cultivators. If they could advance to Nascent Soul, that would make the Poison Claw Sect supreme on the continent.

Before he could voice that inclination, a small bit of paranoia crept into his head—if the Poison Claw Sect got too strong, couldn’t they just take the Trials Pagoda away from him?

He needed to get stronger. Fast.