The Sect Leader System-Chapter 247 - Chastened

Benton laid in the dirt, suffering through the pain and ignominy of having his legs seared off. As he seethed, he waited for the Major Healing Pill he’d just consumed, his third in a short period, to finish working.

He was not happy with the fight against the Jade Chameleon Nascent Souls. He was well enough pleased that he stood victorious—or would stand victorious once his legs healed anyway—but he’d come way too close to dying. Multiple times.

One thought kept running through his mind—what would happen to the kids if he died?

The answer was nothing pleasant. If they were lucky, they’d suffer a quick death. And that just was not okay.

He was angry. Some of his ire was directed at the enemy cultivators who had attacked him and his sect. Most of it, however, was directed firmly at himself.

When he’d come to this world, the System had given him tremendous power. Cheats. He’d mostly breezed through obstacles. The only setback he’d suffered was Ye Zan’s death. Which had caused him to increase his power even more, enough to conquer over a dozen opponents similar in realm to him at once. Additionally, he’d defeating the cyclops, a creature that was the equivalent of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Those experiences had made him believe that he was unbeatable. Not true. Not true at all.

The fact was that he’d gotten cocky. Overconfident.

Nascent Souls were much tougher than he’d expected. Their attacks weren’t exactly easy to deal with, but it wasn’t their offense that really stymied him. It was their Aura. Even with all his advantages, the penalty against his qi attacks was simply too high, making everything he shot at them underwhelming. The entire experience had left him chastened.

He absolutely would not risk another attack while he was still in the Golden Core realm. Advancement had just become his number one priority, and he was metaphorically kicking himself for not having done so before his enemies arrived.

Of course, he would have literally kicked himself, but he couldn’t because he had no legs! Just another reminder of how stupid he’d been.

Luckily, between the pill and his Healing technique, it didn’t take too long for him to be fully restored. He got up, brushed himself off, and took stock of the situation.

Yuan Yaozu had broken through to Nascent Soul, which was a very good thing. Though he had given Benton quite the scare. Lying injured and way too near death on the ground, he’d almost panicked when he sensed another Nascent Soul coming at him. He’d used up most of his resolve in defeating the first two, and the attack he expected from a third had required him to summon up vestiges of resistance from depths he hadn’t realized he possessed.

The man adhered to his vow, however, despite Benton’s vulnerability and was now off shooing some lookie-loos. Benton was quite grateful for the assistance.

The amphitheater shield had held, meaning that the kids shouldn’t have been injured. He’d check on them as soon as he finished off the last item on his To Do List—killing the Fire-using Nascent Soul who had attacked.

What was left of the man was more than a little pathetic. Just the head and upper torso. A mortal or even a Golden Core would have already been long dead. Instead, the man was slowly regenerating.

Another advantage of that overpowered realm.

For an instant, Benton was tempted, oh so tempted, to wait until the man woke and look him in the eyes before sending the death blow. But that was not Benton’s way. If nothing else, he’d be severely disappointed if any of the kids did something so irrational, and he strove to set a good example for them.

Hate was not the answer. Peace through superior firepower was a much better motivation, and next time such a confrontation occurred, he vowed to be so vastly overpowered compared to his enemies that he could send them away with a swat to the behinds.

If they wanted to act like prideful children, they should be treated like prideful children.

Instead of giving into his darkest impulses, Benton simply tossed a metal bead steeped in Void qi at what remained of the unconscious man. The sphere hit and exploded into blackness. When Benton could see the area again, the head and torso were gone, along with a good bit of the surrounding dirt and grass.

Perfect. One problem solved.

Next step, send Kang Ya-Ting away. Benton needed to advance quickly, and there was no reason for unnecessary high-realmed cultivators to be present for it.

Using his Gravity technique, Benton ascended into the air and traveled to the amphitheater, canceling its shield formation with a thought. As soon as he came into sight, cheers erupted from the just over one thousand people gathered within.

On any other occasion, he probably would have felt some kind of joy at being acknowledged by his people in such a way, but he only felt shame. It was his duty to protect them, and he’d come way too close to failing. Seeing them applauding him just brought home how irresponsible he’d behaved.

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Kang Ya-Ting, Pan Jiang, and the Rising Tide Sect council members were gathered on the stage, so Benton made that his target. He knew he looked a mess. Though his skin was unblemished, he hadn’t changed out of his robe, and it was a torn, bloody, singed mess. The entire right shoulder and sleeve were missing along with the all the material below his knees.

“I know I said not to be too overpowering, Friend Su,” Kang Ya-Ting said, “but wasn’t that cutting it a little too close?”

“This one was a bit too prideful, Friend Kang, thinking to defeat two Nascent Souls without using an Aura. I hope my disciples and sect members learn from my mistakes. Never underestimate your enemy.” Benton cupped his hands toward his council members. “Please take those words to heart. It would destroy me if any of you ever died because you repeated my idiocy.”

The eyes of his sect members went wide, and it occurred to Benton that it might have been to first time he’d admitted a mistake or appeared less than the perfect master to them.

“To err is human,” Benton said. “No matter how much power and wisdom a person possesses, it is impossible to go through life without making mistakes. That includes me. Very much so. If I appear strong and wise and capable, it is only because I have made so many, many mistakes in the course of my life and learned from them.”

He affixed a resolute expression on his face. “The next time enemies approach this sect, I will destroy them utterly and completely before they have a chance to get close. No more pretense. No more games.”

Benton turned to Kang Ya-Ting. “Please take that message back to the city. The next time I or my sect is attacked, I will completely destroy the faction or factions that initiated the attack. Understand?”

“Yes, Friend Su.”

Benton waited a moment, but the man made no move to leave. “I meant now.”

The elder was briefly taken aback, but he quickly cupped his hands. “Of course, Friend Su. And my sect members?”

“They can go with you or stay as they please. They have been good guests and deserve only praise for their behavior during the beast tide. They will always find welcome at my sect.”

“Gratitude, Friend Su.” Kang Ya-Ting looked to Pan Jiang.

“This one would prefer to stay, Esteemed Elder. I’ll check with the others.” The young man rushed off.

“Before I leave, there is one more order of business, Friend Su,” Kang Ya-Ting said.

“Yes?”

Kang Ya-Ting glanced around, obviously wary of speaking of his business in public.

“If it’s sensitive, I can whip up a couple of formations around my office to ward off eavesdroppers.”

The elder cupped his hands again. “Gratitude, Sect Leader.”

The two retired to Benton’s office in the Administration Hall. Sun Hua followed and prepared tea while Benton quickly erected three separate arrays to stop the most common methods of spying. When he finished, she served the tea and made herself scarce.

“You have a very capable assistant, Friend Su.”

“Yeah, she’s a treasure. I’m very happy with the mayor for assigning her to the role.” Benton sighed. “Honestly, though, it’s been a trying day, and I’m about at the end of my patience. You’re a friend and an ally, but to be blunt, I just don’t have the bandwidth for social niceties at the moment.”

“Completely understood, Friend Su. I won’t take much more of your time. The issue is the Trial Pagoda. Surely you understand that spies from the other factions have witnessed that Yuan Yaozu has advanced using it?”

“Yes. That’s going to make me a bigger target. Which means I need to get my defenses repaired ASAP.” Not to mention that it added even more incentive for him to advance to Nascent Soul as soon as he could.

“The Poison Claw Sect is prepared to offer a full alliance to help with that.”

“Let me guess, in return for more uses of the Trial Pagoda?”

Kang Ya-Ting cupped his hands yet again. “We have two more elders at the peak of Golden Core. Advancing them to Nascent Soul would greatly strengthen my sect which, in turn, would strengthen yours.”

Benton hesitated for a moment, thinking. He had no major problem helping his allies, and he wasn’t worried about them becoming too powerful. He fully believed that, once he advanced himself, dealing with enemy Nascent Souls wouldn’t be much more difficult than defeating those Golden Cores had been.

“The Trial Pagoda charges me a cost for using it,” he said finally. “I can afford two more uses, but it will tap into my reserves of an important resource. The problems are that I’m not sure how comfortable I am spending so much at the moment and I question how the other factions will react when they find out.”

“Can my sect help with the costs, Friend Su?”

“Unfortunately not. The price is a resource that only I can produce.”

Kang Ya-Ting nodded. “You seemed very concerned with obtaining those materials your disciples were seeking. What if I could get you another one in return for the use of the pagoda?”

Benton almost broke out in a grin. Some good old-fashioned horse trading was right up his alley. “Maybe if you offered five materials for a single use, I could do it?”

“Five, Friend Su? Be reasonable. We could offer one for each use at most.”

While the materials Benton needed were highly prized, there was an order of magnitude difference between the benefit any of them offered versus what the Trial Pagoda could provide. He wouldn’t have been outside the realms of reasonableness if he’d asked for ten or even more, and Kang Ya-Ting knew it. On the other hand, there was only so much that the Poison Claw Sect could afford to spend.

The two settled on three materials for a single use, and since Benton already had two of the three needed for Fire, he insisted that one be the plant-based material for that element. Overall, he was fairly satisfied with the deal. Giving up five hundred Sect Points wasn’t easy, but gaining three of the materials he needed for his qi sources while making an ally stronger was worth it.

“What about the issue of the other factions finding out?” Benton said.

“Subterfuge, Friend Su. Subterfuge.”

The twins and Kang Lin had told Kang Ya-Ting of Benton’s desire to find a group of performers, so the elder came up with a simple plan. One of the peak Golden Cores would appear to go into secluded cultivation but instead would travel with the troupe, pretending to be a mortal member.

“That’s … something,” Benton said. “Your sect member, your elder sect member, is okay with that?”

“My elder sect member would do literally anything for a realistic chance to advance to Nascent Soul. Lowering herself to pretending to be a mortal for a monthlong journey is nothing, Friend Su.”

“Well then, I approve of the plan. As soon as I get the three materials, I’ll allow her to use the pagoda. Only once, though. If she fails, that’s on her and you.”

“Understood, Friend Su. She’ll have guidance from Elder Yuan to help her.”

“As long as we’re clear,” Benton said.

The elder, not wanting to overstay his welcome any more than he already had, departed shortly afterward, leaving Benton to the next step in his plan for immediate advancement.