The three hundred soon to be new Rising Tide Sect members were already gathering in the amphitheater when Benton summoned Yuan Yaozu, the twins, Zou Tian, Sun Hua, and Kang Lin to his office.
"Thank all of you for coming so quickly," Benton said once all five of them had gathered. "I have a few announcements. First, Yuan Yaozu has requested that I take him as a disciple, and after giving the matter its due consideration, I accept his request."
The man cupped his hands. "Gratitude, Master."
Though he said it with a smile, there was no mocking in his tone. To all appearances, he was taking the situation seriously. Good.
Kang Lin had the biggest reaction. "Elder Yuan? A Nascent Soul? Master's disciple?"
Her reactions really were the best. Benton really liked the girl, but even if he'd hated her, he probably would have kept her around just for the amusement factor alone.
"I believe you mean Senior Brother Yuan, fellow disciple," the man said, grinning ear to ear.
Ah, a fellow connoisseur of funny reactions. Benton approved.
"Anyway, on to my second announcement. For reasons that would require way too much backstory to explain, it is greatly beneficial for me to have the sect reach one thousand members as quickly as possible. As you've probably noticed, the amphitheater is filling up. The three hundred villagers gathering there along with the one hundred prospects that Fatty Ren is inducting will take us over that number."
None of the meeting's attendees reacted strongly at all to his news. Most of them were used to him doing things for inscrutable purposes.
"As my current disciples and sect members know," Benton continued, "Yuan Yaozu and the inductees here will be indisposed for half a day or so."
That statement finally got a reaction from the Nascent Soul. He raised his eyebrows in question.
"Normally, I prefer to watch over my members personally when they're in such a vulnerable state," Benton said, "but I have some tasks of my own to complete during a least part of that time. I'm depending on my three Foundation Establishment disciples and my lead scout to keep an eye on things while I'm not available. Obviously, make use of the guards as well. If there's a major emergency, I'll be here in my study, and I don't think I'll be so consumed by my tasks that I won't be able to respond to an emergency. I probably won't be monitoring the surroundings as closely as normal, though, so your main goal if something happens is to summon me. Use your contingency rings. Speaking of which…"
Benton pulled two more from his spatial storage and tossed one each to Zou Tian and Yuan Yaozu.
"Gratitude, Master," Zou Tian said, donning the ring.
Meanwhile, Yuan Yaozu turned his over in his hand and peered at it. "Some kind of signal array?"
"Break in case of emergency," Benton said. "If you need me, I'll appear. I know it probably seems silly for a Nascent Soul, but if you're going to be one of my disciples, you get all the advantages."
Yuan Yaozu cupped his hands again. "Gratitude, Master." He placed the ring on his finger.
That distribution unfortunately left five of the six people in the room possessing the potentially life-saving devices, which meant Benton felt really guilty about leaving the last person out. Rationally, she shouldn't be getting into many dangerous situations given her job, but it still had to sting to see others in the room favored so while being left out.
"Sun Hua, I'll make another batch soon," Benton said. "You're at the top of the list when I get them ready."
The girl blushed bright red as she mumbled her thanks.
"The plan for the evening is as follows," Benton said. "When you leave here, you have less than an hour to make your preparations for guarding the sect. Use that time well. Yuan Yaozu, if you'll patrol during that time?"
"Of course, Sect Leader."
"Good. At the end of that hour, I'll pop over to the amphitheater and conduct the induction ceremony. As soon as I'm finished, Senior Brother Yuan and I will do the disciple ceremony. Then I'll pop back here and go about my business, and the four of you will be in charge of keeping the sect safe until I'm finished. Cool?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
The kids were obviously still young, but they were diligent, hard-working, capable, and reliable. Their knowledge, personalities, and abilities also complemented each other well. Kang Lin was risk averse and knew a lot about sect politics. Zou Tian was observant and analytical. Sun Hua was methodical and focused on details. Yang Xiu had the personality required to take charge of the diverse group and a natural fighting talent. And Yang Ru took responsibility for making sure they all stayed safe while possessing the skills to greatly exceed his realm in battle.
Benton felt comfortable leaving things in their hands. "Great. Get going."
Benton watched them go with a smile on his face. Yang Xiu, Zou Tian, and Sun Hua were discussing security measures while Yang Ru nodded along. The thing that amused him, though, was the other conversation taking place, the one between Yuan Yaozu and Kang Lin.
"If this is some kind of hazing for the new Senior Brother thing, junior sister, I feel the need to remind you that I'm still an elder in your sect."
"Elder Yuan! I would never! I swear!"
"You have a good reputation, and your grandfather thinks the world of you. But it's simply not possible to gain a minor step in spiritual roots simply by becoming someone's disciple. It's just not."
Though the man's reaction did tickle Benton, he would have preferred that Kang Lin play the situation completely straight. Instead of acting like the increase was this whole big thing, she could have gone with something like, "It's no big deal. Just a small increase to your spiritual roots. You'll get used to stuff like that happening around here."
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Of course, if she naturally behaved like that, he doubted her reactions would entertain him nearly as much, so…
Though he enjoyed watching the kiddos, he had his own work to do, mainly the creation of a dozen more of the contingency rings. Which wasn't a hard task but was somewhat finicky and involved a lot of steps. With a small use of his Time Manipulation, he finished exactly when his hour was up.
Cool. He'd discovered another use for that technique. Besides getting more accomplished, he could arrange for himself to be extremely punctuality.
Though the induction was becoming routine for him, Benton realized that it was special for each of his new sect members, so he did his best to be enthusiastic. Still, the ceremony wasn't terribly lengthy, and before he knew it, the three hundred former villagers were all choosing to enhance their spiritual roots despite his efforts to dissuade them.
Gaining new members gave him both Shop Points and Sect Points. Kind of. Officially, he gained one Shop Point as soon as a prospect became a member or disciple as a reward for the completion of the Recruit Additional Disciple Quest, which the System had graciously allowed to be awarded automatically. That quest completion was triggered pretty much simultaneously with the new member being offered the opportunity to improve their talent.
Gaining Sect Points wasn't actually tied to the induction process. It was just that one of the first things he did once he added a member or disciple was giving them a cultivation method. As soon as the newbies absorbed knowledge of the method and sensed their first mote, he got credited with a Sect Point.
With the spiritual root reward becoming part of the process, it would be the next day before he got those points, but that was okay. They would come soon enough. More important for his current purpose was that the new members all counted to officially increase his sect's roster size almost immediately.
Sweet.
He checked his status.
Sect Members:
912
Disciples:
56
Fatty Ren apparently hadn't completed his induction ceremony yet. No problem. Benton had faith that the Town Lord would get it done on time before nightfall as instructed.
Benton removed his tea set from his spatial ring and began preparations for the bai si ceremony. Yuan Yaozu must have been paying attention while on patrol because, by the time Benton had finished setting the cups out, the man had floated down from the sky.
By that point, Benton felt like he'd performed that ceremony a thousand times even though it was actually less than a hundred, and since his new disciple was the exact opposite of a wide-eyed newbie, Benton didn't stress nearly as much about trying to make it special.
Contrary to his expectations, though, Yuan Yaozu's eyes did go wide with wonder.
"This… Junior Sister was telling the truth."
"She does have a sense of humor," Benton said, "but I'm pretty sure she'd go apoplectic at the thought of teasing a Nascent Soul."
"This is real? And safe?"
"Perfectly. Though as you probably heard me warn the others, it hurts. A lot." The thought of a thousand year old suffering a bit of pain didn't bother Benton nearly as much as putting teenagers through the same thing, so he made no real attempt to convince the man not to go through with it.
"I should be fine, Sect Leader … Master," Yuan Yaozu said.
Benton checked his status again.
Sect Members:
912
Disciples:
57
Exactly as he'd expected. But something at the bottom of the screen caught his attention.
[Quest – Rewards/New Quests Available]
"System," he said internally, "please display available quest rewards."
Congratulations! Host has completed the Defend Your Territory Quest by building a wall around the main sect grounds.
Host is awarded 5 Shop Points.
Congratulations! Host has completed the Pavillionize Quest by creating at least 3 Pavilions and assigning at least 5 sect members to each of those pavilions.
Host is awarded 5 Shop Points.
Congratulations! Host has completed the House Your Sect Members Quest by providing housing space inside your protected sect for each of your members.
Host is awarded 5 Shop Points.
Host has 499 Shop Points available.
Host has new quests available for view.
Given his latest action with Yuan Yaozu and past quests issued by the System, Benton was pretty darn sure he knew exactly what the new ones would be. "System, please show new quests."
Recruit First Nascent Soul Disciple Quest (Complete!)
Prerequisites:
None
Reward:
1 Perk Point
Recruit Additional Nascent Soul Disciple Quest
Prerequisites:
Recruit First Nascent Soul Disciple Quest completed
Reward:
10 Shop Points
Special:
Repeatable
Advance First Nascent Soul Disciple Quest
Prerequisites:
None
Reward:
25 Shop Points
Advance Additional Nascent Soul Disciple Quest
Prerequisites:
Advance First Nascent Soul Disciple Quest completed
Reward:
10 Shop Points
Special:
Repeatable
It was Benton's turn to have his eyes go wide. He quickly asked the System to award him his Perk Point.
Sweet. Those were super rare. He would have fun making that choice.
In the meantime, though, he'd received another notification. Fatty Ren had completed his induction, bringing his total number of sect members to one thousand twelve.
"System," Benton said, "what is my Average Loyalty Rating?"
6.8
Yes! The System's requirements for him advancing to Nascent Soul were one thousand members with an Average Loyalty Rating of six point five. He'd just squeezed over the line for both criteria. Barely. But by a full point or only point three, it was enough.
Benton Quickstepped back to his office, inscribed a half dozen privacy formations around his cultivation mat, and sank into a lotus position. It was finally time to enact a true measure of protection for his sect members.
"System, please advance me to Nascent Soul."
To go from being a mere mortal to a first minor realm Qi Gathering cultivator had cost Benton a single Sect Point. And the effect had been … meh. There just wasn't much of a difference. Advancing from the peak of Qi Gathering to Foundation Establishment had given him the ability to manipulate qi externally, a major upgrade, and had cost two Sect Points. Raising from the peak of that realm to Golden Core had greatly increased his amount of available qi and, when paired with a Concept, also greatly increased the power of that qi. At the time, he'd thought that the four points spent had resulted in a truly monumental upgrade.
A mere eight points was all it took for him to advance to Nascent Soul. He was very interesting to see how much more powerful he'd become.
Choice accepted.
Host, prepare for transformation.
Whenever the System told him to get ready like that, he knew he was in for an experience, and it wasn't likely to be a good one. Even though he was already in the lotus position, he still braced himself for whatever was coming.
The first thing that happened was his body … dissolving. It disappeared. He went from being a being of flesh and blood to a formless entity floating over his empty robe.
Benton had experienced a number of weird things since transmigrating. Acquiring superpowers, fighting a freaking cyclops that looked like it came straight from the set of a movie, and going from the brink of death to fully healed by consuming a pill were just a few of those oddities that came to mind.
His current circumstances took the cake in that regard, though.
If not for his complete trust in the System, he would have freaked out a bit. Well, his faith plus his Mastery of knowledge of Nascent Soul Cultivation. That second part definitely helped a lot, too.
The transition from Golden Core to Nascent Soul resulted in three big changes—the merging of his existing soul, aspected qi, and a Concept into a new soul; the creation of an Aura; and the formation of a new body. While the technique hadn't revealed the details of how his essence was transferred from one body to another, just knowing that it had to happen made the fact that he was removed from his old one a bit less surprising.
Multiple Concepts detected. Please select a Concept to form the basis of Host's new Soul and Aura.
Okay, that System message concerned him a bit. One of his greatest strengths was the versatility that the use of all his Concepts gave him. That he would be forced to choose one might imply that he wouldn't be able to use any of the others.
"System," he said internally as he didn't have lips to say it in any other manner, "will I still be able to use other Concepts?"
Yes. Host can still use all purchased Concepts to supercharge qi. Host may also purchase Auras to correspond to those Concepts.
The continuation of the ongoing points sink that was Concepts being continued with Auras was a bit of a concern, but he appreciated the flexibility. Gaining enough points was a problem for future Benton, though. First, he wanted to get his advancement settled, and for that, he could only choose a single one of his Concepts.
Benton mentally pulled up that part of his status and saw that he had Twenty-eight. He had twenty-eight Concepts. Yikes!
He hadn't realized that he'd bought that many. Even for a cheating cheater who cheats, that quantity seemed a little excessive.
Honestly, though, most of those could be tossed out as he definitely wanted to form the core of his new cultivation realm on as powerful a foundation as he could. A few edits left him with a shorter list.
Mastered Concepts – Void, Gravity, Space, Time, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Ice, Lightning, Illusion, Poison, Healing, Momentum, Light, Sound, Smell, Temperature, Anti-Tribulation, Soul, Tribulation Lighting, Gluttony, Magnetism, Origin Qi, Shadow, Force, Nature
Ten represented a much more reasonable quantity to choose from, and honestly, he felt he could easily cull that down a bit more. He'd left Anti-Tribulation as an option simply because it was powerful and something that no one else was likely to have access to. It wasn't something that could help him against other cultivators, though, and given how easily he'd dealt with a tribulation when it came for him, he just wasn't worried about another one.
Force was a cool Concept, one he'd only recently begun playing with. He really felt like he'd only scratched the surface of what it might be capable of. But compared to the others on the list? Nah.
After a moment's thought, he also discarded Momentum for the same reason. He liked it, but it just wasn't on the same level of uniqueness or power as some of the other options.
Origin Qi got the boot as well. While it was unique as all get out, he just didn't see it as supplying the necessary oomph he wanted.
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Finally, Soul. Unlike the previous choice, it did provide him with an avenue of attacking rival cultivators. A strong avenue. But Benton ultimately felt that path was too dark for him. He wasn't ready to destroy anyone's soul no matter how much he felt like they deserved it at the time.
Cool. Just like that, he was down to five.
Gravity was useful as an attack and for utility. It both hindered and aided movement, depending on his whims. Did he want to crush someone? Use Gravity. Did he want to disorient someone? Use Gravity. Did he want to disrupt a projectile's trajectory? Use Gravity. It was definitely a solid choice both for power and versatility.
Space was another interesting choice. Like Gravity, it offered a lot of versatility. By making distances shorter, he could increase speed or do the reverse to slow opponents. He hadn't really even thought much about using it for direct attacks, but there was no reason he couldn't. What would happen if he increased the distance between an opponent's head and their neck? Hmm.
Time was fast becoming one of his favorite qi elements. Napolean had said, "You can ask me for anything but time." That quote didn't apply to Benton, as he could slow it down or speed it up at will. If an Aura increased his control and power, would he be able to move through it as well as manipulate it? Could he create time? Destroy it? The possibilities were mind-boggling.
Tribulation Lightning was something of a dark horse to Benton's way of thinking as it didn't offer much in the way of versatility. On the other hand, if you were mainly worried about fighting other cultivators, what could be more powerful than the ability to destroy their cultivation? What worried him, though, was that strong cultivators absolutely would face tribulation at some point in their careers. They were trained to face it and had almost certainly developed countermeasures.
Finally, there was Void. Like Tribulation Lightning, it didn't offer the flexibility of the other choices, but it had been his go to for a long time now. If Time was his shiny new toy, Void was the trusted tool that he'd been using for ages. Besides, its destructive potential was unmatched by any other element.
After a lot of thought, Benton eliminated … Tribulation Lightning.
Huh.
It had taken him little effort at all to go from twenty-eight down to five, but those last four were turning out to be a doozy.
In the end, there could be only one. He needed to make the hard choices. The first to go was Time. He didn't want to eliminate it, but he just couldn't justify it when he considered the lack of offense. It was great for letting him avoid blows and enhancing his other qi elements in attack, but he couldn't figure out a way to make it an offensive powerhouse in its own right.
He did have thoughts in that regard, but…
No. He needed to eliminate options, not find reasons to keep his favorites in play. Time out.
Heh.
Next was Void, and boy was that a difficult choice. He loved Void's destructive capabilities, but the lack of flexibility just didn't match what he wanted to be on the battlefield.
After those two painful decisions, he was left with Gravity and Space.
Eeny, meeny, miny…
No. That would be a very irresponsible way to make such an important decision. He had to use some kind of rationale.
Space felt like a more powerful ability, but he was unsure about its use on offense. Bodies tended to resist direct qi usage, so while separating an enemy's head from his neck sounded great in theory, it probably wouldn't work that well in practice against an opponent similar or greater in realm.
Gravity, on the other hand, was so versatile, having proved itself both offensively and defensively.
Fine.
"System, I choose my Concept of Gravity."
Choice accepted.
Host, prepare for Soul creation.
Even though he no longer had a body—or a Golden Core for that matter—his Golden Core began filling with qi. Gravity aspected qi. He could almost feel the metaphysical weight pull down his metaphysical form.
His core started filling, and he felt a tug at his very soul. Soon, some indefinable part of his was pulled into the spin.
Soul creation in process. Host has cultivated his Soul to Fulfillment Minor Realm Nine. Customization of benefits available at this time.
Would Host like to customize the benefits of Soul Cultivation?
That topic had been one that Benton had low key wondered about. His Spiritual and Mind Cultivation each allowed him to purchase techniques to utilize skills. Body Cultivation, in contrast, simply increased his physical characteristics with each level with him having no control over the process. He simply grew stronger, tougher, more agile, etc. with each advancement.
Soul appeared to be similar to Body Cultivation, only with a much less visible impact. He assumed that he gained some benefits for increasing his realm, but they weren't all that apparent to him.
"Yes, System. I'd like to customize the benefits."
A menu much like the Soul Cultivation Method Creation one popped up.
Please allocate 100 Soul Benefit Customization Points in the following categories:
Inviolability
Attribute Enhancement:
Size
Strength
Tempering
Cool. Super cool. Benton had been able to decide the allocation of points for those categories for others but never for himself. He rubbed his metaphorical hands together.
From his memory, Inviolability protected him from attacks, Size would give him greater enjoyment of life, Strength made his soul more resistant to change, and Tempering would increase his qi pool and physical attributes. All were beneficial.
Considering that Su had almost been killed by a demonic cultivator, defending against them was high on Benton's list, making Inviolability a must. And obviously, he was all in on enjoying his life, making Size a good choice. Of course, as a transmigrator, the idea of making his soul resistant to change by increasing Strength was quite an important consideration. And finally, seeing as it was likely that his life would be filled with fights no matter what, increasing his qi pool and physical stats with Tempering seemed like a no-brainer.
To specialize in everything meant you were specializing in nothing, however. He needed to narrow down his choices once again. The first to go, surprisingly, was Size. He already enjoyed his life and didn't feel like he needed any assistance in that regard.
Regarding Tempering, his entire choice of Concept had come down to what most benefited fighting. Should his choice for Soul customization reinforce that priority or shore up a weakness? Benton decided on the latter, letting Tempering fall off his list.
That left him with Inviolability and Strength, two similar but different categories. Both essentially provided protection, one against demonic attacks and the other against change, whether imposed or natural. Both were important.
He had the System allocate fifty points to each.
The spinning mass that was comprised of his Golden Core, Gravity Concept laden qi, and his soul swirled faster and faster and faster until it erupted in light.
Benton felt more than a little disconcerted at the transformation he'd just finished. For one thing, he still lacked a body. For another, his Golden Core was now gone, having been incorporated into his new soul.
New. Soul.
Weird.
A box popped up.
New Soul creation successful. Congratulations, Host, you have achieved Nascent Soul minor realm one.
Aura creation in progress…
…
Gravity-based Concept selection recognized.
…
Gravity Aura created.
Body creation in process. Host has cultivated his Body to Gold Minor Realm Nine. Customization of benefits available at this time.
Would Host like to customize the benefits of Body Cultivation?
That question was not unanticipated as he'd just gone through the same thing with Soul Cultivation.
"Yes, please."
Please allocate 100 Body Creation Points in the following categories:
Agility
Strength
Toughness
Vitality
Okay. The menu differed a bit from Body Cultivation Method Creation in that Ingredient Flexibility was not a choice, but that change made a lot of sense.
Benton's first thought was to evenly distribute the points across all four of the physical characteristics, but there was no reason for him to make a rushed, impulsive decision. For the moment, there didn't appear to be any pressing disaster he needed to stave off. Between Yuan Yaozu's presence and Benton simply advancing to Nascent Soul, most of his biggest security concerns were effectively mitigated.
He dug into each of the four options.
Agility was associated with control of his body and movement speed. Considering how much he favored being able to dodge blows and being faster than his opponent, he definitely wanted to devote a lot of resources to that category.
Strength, on the other hand, wasn't really his thing. He mainly fought at range. If he had to choose one of the four to completely neglect, it was that one.
Toughness impacted his ability to resist taking damage when he was hit. Prior to his last fight, he probably would have considered the category somewhat worthless as his goal was to dodge blows to the greatest extent possible. He was no longer playing in the minor leagues, though. Opponents at his level could and would land blows. He was almost definitely going to get hit again. Repeatedly. That category would never be his primary focus, but neither would he ignore it.
Finally, there was Vitality. It was similar to Toughness but was so, so different at the same time. Instead of resisting damage taken, it gave him a larger available pool of damage. To him, the crucial difference was that it would help keep him alive when subjected to the kinds of damage he wasn't sure that the other category protected him from. Take poison, for example. Did Toughness help with that? He didn't know. Vitality definitely would though.
Setting Strength at zero was an easy call, as was using fifty points for Agility. And since he favored Vitality over Toughness, he allocated thirty to the former and twenty to the latter.
Perfect.
He confirmed his choices.
Choices accepted.
Host, prepare for Body creation.
The most surprising thing yet happened next. A body appeared out of thin air, filling the robes that had been left empty. It was him but better. His muscles were more toned, and his skin shone with perfection. The biggest change, though, was his eyes. They glowed faintly with a red, almost purple, light.
Wow.
It wasn't the body appearing that surprised him, though. Nor having his new soul effectively sucked into its new home. No, the really surprising thing was that the process didn't hurt at all.
That was a first.
In fact, it was the opposite of painful. He felt good. Strong. Powerful. Healthy. Perfect.
Finally, he had made it to the Nascent Soul realm. To the best of his knowledge, there was no one on the entire continent at a higher realm than him. Higher in major realm anyway. His first order of business was to make sure that he was as powerful as possible.
"System, please increase my cultivation to the peak of Nascent Soul."
Choice accepted.
Host has reached Nascent Soul Minor Realm Nine.
Host has 1,443 Sect Points available.
There. Now, to the best of his knowledge, there was no one on the entire continent at a higher realm than him, and it had only taken him a total of seventy-two points to go from the peak of Golden Core to his current level.
There was one thing that bothering him, though.
"System, I don't understand why the Concept associated with my Aura matters. The Auras of the Cyclops and both my Nascent Soul opponents did the same thing, weakened my qi attacks. How did their qi aspect or Concept figure into things?"
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Upon reaching Nascent Soul, a cultivator is automatically granted the equivalent of an Aura corresponding to one Concept at Small Success. All Auras at Small Success have similar effects, such as weakening attacks of enemies who are at a lower realm or a lower success with their aura. At higher success, Auras can be used in ways unique to their associated Concept. None of opponents Host fought appeared to have used techniques to strengthen their Auras.
Benton was utterly flabbergasted by that response. His Knowledge of Nascent Soul Cultivation technique had been vague on several details, including how Auras actually worked. He'd never heard of a technique to strengthen them. Either the sects were keeping the existence of such a closely held secret, or they didn't know about the techniques. If the latter, he'd just discovered a gigantic advantage he and his people would possess over everyone else.
He couldn't wait to discuss the subject with his newest disciple.
"System, please advance my Gravity Aura technique to Mastery."
Choice accepted.
Host has reached Gravity Aura - Mastery.
Host has 1,419 Sect Points available.
Knowledge of how to use his Aura flooded his mind. Instead of a static thing that simply increased defense like his opponents had welded, Benton's Aura was a scalpel. A weapon. If he faced a Nascent Soul with an Aura only at Small Success, they'd find themselves suppressed just like he had been as a Golden Core. But the application was more useful than that. He could flex his Aura to increase or decrease Gravity around him. The minute control he possessed over the element was astounding.
His next fight against a Nascent Soul would be fun indeed. They weren't going to know what hit them. And he wasn't even finished with his power up yet!
It was tempting, oh so tempting, to go ahead and purchase multiple Auras. He wasn't sure, however, how Aura would interact with each other, and though the technique had granted him knowledge, he wouldn't be comfortable until he'd had time to test it. Buying more Auras could wait until at least he had a chance to spar with Yuan Yaozu.
Besides, he was starting to run low on Sect Points. Considering that it took a whopping five hundred to create a new Nascent Soul using the Trial Pagoda, he really wanted to leave a buffer of at least a thousand points. And he had more stuff to spend it on.
Getting to one thousand sect members with an Average Loyalty topping six point five didn't just allow him to increase his Spiritual Cultivation. He had three other types to max out.
"System, please advance Mind, Body, and Soul Cultivation to the peak of the next major respective realm."
Choices accepted.
Host has reached Expert – Minor Realm Nine.
Host has reached Platinum – Minor Realm Nine.
Host has reached Nirvana – Minor Realm Nine.
Host has 1,203 Sect Points available.
Man, those points were decreasing fast, but the tradeoff was that his power was shooting up just as quickly. Just considering Spiritual Cultivation, his realm was as high as, or higher than, anyone he was likely to come against.
Not only that, but he had a huge advantage in that his Aura was at Mastery. Added to that, he was now at the very peak he could reach in Mind, Body, and Soul Cultivation, a level that he doubted anyone on the continent could come close to reaching as he knew of no other factions that really dedicated themselves to types other than spiritual.
Sure, some of them dabbled. Almost all sects had some members who practiced Body Cultivation to one degree or another. The Swift Blizzard Sect was rumored to have Mind Cultivators. No one that he knew of, though, had techniques for cultivating the Soul, and he seriously doubted that any of them possessed the ability to advance to a realm in any one of the three types anywhere close to how high he'd risen.
All in all, he felt pretty darn good about himself. The next person or group of people who came against him or his sect was in for a rude awakening.
Feeling that confident and only having a couple hundred Sect Points to spare made him want to hold off on spending any more. After all, he didn't know what would be more effective—buying multiple Auras to Mastery or purchasing new Mind techniques or some combination of the two.
Of course, he was also expected another four hundred Sect Points in the near future as his new inductees learned how to cultivate, thereby officially reaching Qi Gathering minor realm one with one of his cultivation methods. The main reason he actually wanted to hold off on more purchases was that he had a far more interesting choice to make—spending the Perk Point he'd received for recruiting Yuan Yaozu as his disciple.
Welcome, Host, to the Perk Menu.
Host has 1 Perk Point available. Selecting any perk from the list below uses 1 Perk Point. Using additional Perk Points on the same perk increases the potency of the perk.
Please choose from the following list:
Auspicious Encounter
Advantageous Starting Location
Enhanced Body Cultivation Power
Enhanced Cultivation Power (2)
Enhanced Physical Senses
Enhanced Spiritual Senses (2)
Enhanced Technique Power
Five Equipment Points
Hide Cultivation (2)
Regeneration
As expected, the first two options were still crossed out, leaving him with eight choices remaining, and the selection he'd picked last time, Enhanced Cultivation Power, now had a two after it. Everything else was the same.
Of the potential choices, two were absolutely breezes to eliminate. The first was Enhanced Physical Senses. Spiritual sense was a hundred times more valuable to him than his five physical ones. Besides, techniques and improving himself through Body and Spiritual Cultivation made those aspects better anyway.
Five Equipment Points was also a no-brainer to get rid of. He barely used equipment at all and, if he wanted something in particular, he could either purchase it in Sixth Flawless Flowing City or make it himself.
After those easy ones, his task grew much harder, so he just went down the list, considering each one.
Enhanced Body Cultivation Power held a bit of temptation for him. After all, he'd dumped a lot of Sect Points into getting himself to the pinnacle that the System allowed him to reach in that regard. Any improvement would make that spend even more valuable. He really liked that it would make him harder to kill as well. The problem was that he wasn't focused on fighting using physical attributes, making it hard to spend a rare resource like a Perk Point on improving.
As he thought about enhancing his cultivation power again, he realized that he could eliminate it as an option. While more qi was always good, his advancement to Nascent Soul had seriously upgraded his capacity. Combined with the efficiency that arose from using his Concepts, he had a hard time believing he'd run out of qi in future battles.
Enhanced Spiritual Senses Two was a definite possibility. His main enemy, The Jade Chameleon Sect, favored illusion spells, and selecting that perk would help pierce those techniques.
Likewise, Enhanced Technique Power was a good option. Most of his attack and defense was centered around using techniques. Getting more power out of all of those would elevate his combat abilities hugely.
Hide Cultivation Two, at first, seemed like a good possibility, but for the immediate future, Benton expected to be at a higher realm than everyone he encountered. Unless he had expectations of going against Nihility cultivators or higher, the choice made no sense, so he mentally eliminated that one.
Finally came Regeneration, which turned out to follow a mental track almost exactly opposite of Hide Cultivation. At first blush, he almost discarded it as an option. The more he thought about it, though, the more attractive it became. As a Nascent Soul cultivator with Platinum Body Cultivation, he already had access to a decent regeneration, and that characteristic was in addition to being, in general, very difficult to kill. How much more difficult to kill would he be if he added System-provided Regeneration?
The end decision came down to Enhanced Technique Power and Regeneration, and again, he had a very tough time choosing between the two. The former would make literally every technique he used more powerful. The latter would accelerate his Regeneration by up to an order of magnitude.
He couldn't help but think of that male cultivator he'd killed. Right there at the end, the man's body had consisted of only a head and upper torso. Even without the man being conscious, skin and bone and muscles had been steadily reforming. Given enough time, he would have reconstituted himself entirely.
Benton suspected that his body would have put itself together even faster than his opponent's. The thought of regrowing limbs as quick as they could be cut off was appealing. Very appealing.
The experience of nearly dying so many times in the last fight had affected Benton a lot. As long as he survived, the System would allow him to grow more powerful than anyone else. The trick was to survive.
He chose Regeneration.
Benton pulled up the relevant portion of his status.
Sect Name:
Rising Tide
Sect Members:
1,012
Disciples:
57
Sect Points:
1,203
Shop Points:
599
Host Cultivation:
Nascent Soul - Minor Realm Nine
Qi Available:
289,164,544
Host Body Cultivation:
Platinum - Minor Realm Nine
Host Mind Cultivation:
Expert - Minor Realm Nine
Host Soul Cultivation:
Nirvana - Minor Realm Nine
Host Techniques (Nascent Soul):
Gravity Aura - Mastery
His biggest takeaway from the information presented was the massive increase in available qi. He'd gone from a bit over five million to more than two hundred eighty-nine million. That was an increase of over fifty times.
Nice. Very nice.
The only question remaining was what he'd have to do to qualify for advancement to the next major realm for each of the four cultivation types. If past results were any indication, he'd need ten thousand sect members and an Average Loyalty of seven.
Luckily, he didn't have to wonder.
"System, what requirements do I need to meet to advance to Nihility?"
To ascend to Nihility, Host must meet the following requirements:
Have 5 sect members in the Nascent Soul realm (1/5)
Have 25 sect members in the Golden Core realm (1/25)
Have 125 members in the Foundation Establishment realm (4/125)
Have 625 members in the Qi Gathering realm (625/625)
Have a Modified Average Loyalty exceeding 7 (7.9)
Okay. That answer was totally unexpected and left a lot to unpack. Obviously, advancing to the next realm would be a bit more difficult than simply rounding up a bunch of villagers and inducting them into his sect. Instead, he'd need to either recruit from other sects or, better, build up his people.
Actually, Benton liked the change in criteria. His purpose was to make his sect members stronger, and the new metrics provided were a better measure of that process than the previous one. He just hoped he didn't encounter any hostile Nihility cultivators before he could meet the required goals.
Another detail on the popup drew his attention.
"System, how does Modified Average Loyalty differ from Average Loyalty?"
To calculate Average Loyalty, each sect member's loyalty to Host is represented as a number between 0 and 10. Those numbers are summed and divided by the number of sect members.
To calculate Modified Average Loyalty, the Average Loyalty for Qi Gathering cultivators, Foundation Establishment cultivators, Golden Core cultivators, and Nascent Soul cultivators are computed respectively. Those four values are then averaged to produce the Modified Average Loyalty.
The egalitarian Earthling inside Benton liked the previous version better, but he understood the change. Average Loyalty treated each sect member, whether a new inductee who literally just reached Qi Gathering by circulating their first mote or a Nascent Soul with the power to shatter mountains, as complete equals. If the loyalty of the weakest sect member was a ten and the strongest was a 1, the Average Loyalty of the two would be five point five.
The new method weighted things differently. Each sect member was still counted, but the Average Loyalty of the more than one thousand Qi Gatherers was treated equal to the Loyalty of the one Nascent Soul. Thus, in practice, Yuan Yaozu's loyalty factored a lot stronger than a random villager who was just inducted.
In the end, though, Benton figured that it didn't really matter all that much to him either way. His philosophy had always been to treat people with kindness and respect whether they were the janitor or the CEO, and he didn't intend to alter his behavior any time soon.
With his advancement complete and his major questions answered, Benton sought his next course of action. It was deep into the night by that point, and as a Nascent Soul, he needed even less sleep than before. An hour every month or so was more than enough, and those who entered long-term cultivation trances didn't even need that much.
His first impulse was to use his Time Manipulation to speed the preparation of the logs for his tower bases, but honestly, those defenses were no longer necessary as long he was present at the sect. If he was right about his advantage regarding his Aura, he'd be able to singlehandedly defeat every known Nascent Soul on the continent attacking as a group.
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For the first time in a long while, he had nothing to worry about, so he took a few hours and just … vegged. Did absolutely nothing. Didn't read. Didn't plan. Just existed.
It. Was. Glorious.
The only thing that could have made it better was a television.
Sometime after dawn, though, he started getting notifications. His newest sect members were starting to take their first steps on the road to challenging the heavens and, in doing so, were earning him Sect Points. He also got another surprise—Jin LiJuan must have completed the process of taking the pills to expand her qi pool because a notification informed him that she'd reached Foundation Establishment minor realm one. Nice.
Finally, the moment he'd actually been waiting for happened. Yuan Yaozu finished improving his spiritual roots.
Benton immediately teleported next to the man. "Wanna spar?"
Yuan Yaozu's expression fell somewhere right in the middle of amused and bemused. "Sure?"
"Great. Follow me to the arena."
One really cool thing about the Nascent Soul realm was that flight no longer required a technique or a flying sword. Simply willing one's body to move was enough to send one hurtling through the air.
When the two arrived at the arena floor, Benton could tell that Yuan Yaozu was curious.
"Weird that you didn't sense a technique, huh?" Benton said. "Almost like I moved by will alone."
"It was. Very weird."
"But that can't be the case because only a Nascent Soul could do that and you're sure I haven't reached that realm yet."
"I am."
"Hit me with your best shot," Benton said, channeling his inner Pat Benatar.
"Excuse me?"
Benton tapped his shoulder. "Right here. Hit me. Hard. With whatever attack you want. Don't hold back."
"Are you sure, Sect Leader?"
"Don't worry. I have a reason. And you're not going to kill me by hitting me there. You've seen me heal, right?"
Yuan Yaozu sighed. "Very well, then. Prepare yourself."
Benton had a lot of things that he needed to test. His Aura, for one. First, though, he simply wanted to understand how strong his new body was. A normal Nascent Soul wasn't tough enough to stand against a full on attack from a fellow cultivator of that realm, but he was also at the peak of Platinum Body Cultivation. The combination of the two should be able to withstand an attack from someone who hadn't even reached minor realm one yet in his current realm of Spiritual Cultivation.
He willed his shield not to activate and pulled aside his robe so as not to ruin it.
A small burst of puke green qi shot from Yuan Yaozu and fizzled against Benton's chest.
"That was not full strength. Not even close," Benton said. "Do it again."
"Fine, Sect Leader. Here goes…"
A much larger burst of qi flashed from the man and closed the distance between them fast. It, too, fizzled as it struck Benton, not even penetrating his skin. Not even bruising it.
Yuan Yaozu looked shocked. "Sect Leader? That didn't harm you? How? It was full strength, I swear. My Aura is active."
"That's weird," Benton said, hiding a smile. "Maybe you messed it up somehow? Try again."
Benton activated his Aura, suppressing his newest disciple. The green qi burst came out puny and anemic. It barely even reached its target, much less did any damage.
Yuan Yaozu was visibly upset by that result. "I don't understand. Something must be wrong with my cultivation, Sect Leader."
Benton decided it was time to come clean. He enjoyed playing pranks, but the fun ended when his victim became upset. "Calm down. I suppressed your Aura with mine." He surrounded his disciple with his Aura and let the local gravity increase, bearing down on the man. "Feel it?"
"What? You can't! And that's not possible anyway! And you're not … not…"
Oops. The guy's mind was officially blown.
Benton sank into a lotus position and patted the sand next to him. "Come. Sit. I'll explain."
As Yuan Yaozu trudged the short distance between them, Benton willed inscriptions for several privacy arrays to appear in the sand around them. So cool. He could definitely get used to being a Nascent Soul.
"I was wrong, wasn't I, Sect Leader?" Yuan Yaozu said once he, too, had sunk into a lotus position. "You're a good actor. I considered that you might be actively working to fool me into believing you were still a Golden Core, but I thought myself too clever to be deceived."
"No, you're definitely clever. Too clever. And I'm glad that you're on my side now." Benton blew out a breath. "I'm not ready to reveal all my secrets, but I'm willing to trust our Master/Disciple bond."
Yuan Yaozu laughed. "Considering that you not only raised me to Nascent Soul but also somehow improved my spiritual roots, I can't imagine being more loyal to you."
Benton held back a laugh. His new Modified Average Loyalty rating let him see the individual numbers for each of the four groups. Nascent Soul was at six point zero. Considering that there was only one Nascent Soul in the sect, it didn't require much calculation to know exactly where he stood with Yuan Yaozu. Still, anything above five meant that the person felt a decent amount of loyalty, so for an experienced cultivator to be at six after so short a period meant something.
"The truth is that I was a Golden Core up until just a short while ago," Benton said.
If anything, the new disciple looked even more surprised at that statement.
"The real truth is that I'm a prideful idiot," Benton said. "Considering how easily I went through all those Golden Cores, I thought I could take out a couple of measly Nascent Souls with no problem. Instead, I nearly got killed. I nearly got all my people killed, and I have no justification for my utter stupidity."
It felt good to actually admit his faults to someone so bluntly. The kids all put him on such a pedestal, one he'd admittedly had a hand in intentionally building. His newest disciple certainly didn't see him that way, though.
"We all make mistakes, Sect Leader. If you're looking for someone to call you out on yours, you've got the wrong man. I'm still smarting from the giant light my trial shed on my failure to advance."
"No help for it but to move forward for both of us, then," Benton said.
"I agree, Sect Leader."
Benton felt good about the conversation. He liked speaking to an equal and not having to be perfect. "Tell me about your Aura technique."
"Aura technique, Sect Leader?"
The question led Benton to believe that he was right about the sects not knowing about them, but he needed to probe further to make sure. "Yeah. Have you been practicing with yours? How long do you think it will take you to get to Large Success? As your master, I think it's important for me to know these kinds of things about your development."
"I don't have an Aura technique, Sect Leader. I've never even heard of a technique for an Aura."
"Your sect didn't tell you? Huh. Maybe they were saving that information until after you advanced."
"Sect Leader, I guarantee you that no one, absolutely no one, in the Poison Claw Sect knows more about the process of advancing to Nascent Soul than I do. If anyone knew of an Aura technique, I would have known about it, and I've never even heard a rumor of such a thing."
Benton schooled his face to maintain an absence of expression while internally doing a happy dance.
"What is an Aura technique, Sect Leader? I mean, beyond the obvious."
"You have one," Benton said. "It's given to you automatically when you create your Aura. And it starts out at Small Success. As you advance it, you gain greater control and more abilities, just like with any other technique. If your skill with it is greater than your opponent, you can suppress theirs. It also lets you manipulate that associated qi element with your will alone."
"Are you sure about this, Sect Leader?"
"Absolutely. Its existence is not even a question. You did note that I was able to suppress your Aura, right?"
"But… If this is true and you know how I can improve my skill… This is a huge advantage. This is as important as the Trial Pagoda. This…"
Yep. Mind completely blown.
Yuan Yaozu was having a hard time thinking straight. He'd lived for almost a thousand years and thought he'd seen it all. Sitting in the sand of an arena, he realized there was much more to the world. The man in the meditative pose next to him, his new master, Chao Su, was definitely an experience beyond Yuan Yaozu's experience, and the fact that the man was so beyond comprehension was not an easy revelation to adjust to.
The sect leader had so far demonstrated five impossibilities. First, the Trial Pagoda. Its ability to facilitate the breakthrough from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core and Golden Core to Nascent Soul was extraordinary. A total game changer. Once news of its abilities spread, the Rising Tide Sect would become the target of every faction on the continent and, eventually, beyond.
Second, the sect leader casually produced a seemingly infinite supply of top heaven grade cultivation methods and techniques. A major sect might—might—have a handful of those to be distributed to the best and brightest of their members. The Rising Tide Sect gave them out to F- trash. The very idea of peasants being handed such treasures was truly mind-boggling.
Third, the sect leader had defeated two Nascent Soul cultivators while still in the Golden Core realm. Prior to yesterday, Yuan Yaozu had been absolutely positive that fighting up a realm at that level was truly impossible. Sure, the sect leader had apparently used formations to kill one of them, but that feat was an accomplishment in and of itself. And he'd had to survive long enough for the trap to work. What could the man accomplish now that he'd actually reached Nascent Soul?
Yuan Yaozu shuddered at the thought.
Fourth, the sect leader apparently had the ability to advance to Nascent Soul at will whenever he had wanted to but had held off for some reason? Maybe that wasn't as difficult to achieve as the other factors, but it was just as weird. He'd wanted to take on the Nascent Souls as a Golden Core for the sake of the challenge? Or something? The decision made no sense to Yuan Yaozu, making it something of an impossibility.
Finally, the sect leader's knowledge of Aura exceeded everyone else's on the continent. As someone who was recently a Golden Core. Which meant he couldn't be much more than a thousand years old. Where did he come from to gain such expertise?
Regardless of how the sect leader had gained access to all those impossibilities, it made him and his sect a formidable opponent. Yuan Yaozu had been greatly worried about how he would defend the Rising Tide Sect against the enemies that came for the Trial Pagoda, thinking he would somehow have to be the main deterrent. It had become clearly obvious that he wasn't the primary guard or even the backup. He was just a babysitter to keep an eye on things when the parents went away for the evening.
And that was just fine with him.
"You've been staring off into space for several minutes," Chao Su said. "Are you okay?"
Huh? Oh. Yuan Yaozu admitted to himself that he had gotten a bit lost in his thoughts. "I am fine, Sect Leader."
"Good because as your master, it's my responsibility to get you an appropriate cultivation method."
Yuan Yaozu's main motivation for becoming the man's disciple was to gain some measure of his trust, but the possibility of a top heaven grade cultivation method was a bit of a carrot, too.
Chao Su's eyes moved back and forth like he was reading something. "Okay. There are no surprises that come with the Nascent Soul realm. I mean, the cost is onerous as expected, but I think the results will be worth it."
Yuan Yaozu had no idea what the man was talking about, so he just nodded along. Best not to interrupt the eccentric person who was about to present you with the second greatest gift of your lifetime.
"Tell me," Chao Su said, "if you could customize your cultivation method in terms of Ease, meaning how easy and thus fast it is to cultivate; Power, basically the amount of qi each stage adds to your pool; and Foundation, governing how likely it is for you to advance to the next major realm, how would you distribute these categories?"
Yuan Yaozu's first thought was that the question was an interesting way of looking at cultivation methods, definitely a good conversation starter between colleagues. He couldn't help but wonder, however, if the question implied that Chao Su could actually create a cultivation method with those aspects distributed in any way he liked.
As impossible as the latter seemed, Yuan Yaozu had to treat the chance as real. "All three have positives and negatives, Sect Leader. Smoothly and quickly advancing through the minor realms holds appeal, but on the other hand, I am a patient man. As long as I'm making progress, the speed of that progress is of a much lesser concern to me."
Chao Su nodded.
"Power… That holds even more appeal," Yuan Yaozu said. "What cultivator doesn't want to have access to even more qi? But age and experience have taught me that true power lies in advancement, not in adding more qi per stage. Which leads me to Foundation."
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He sighed. "As a young man, I was confident in my talent. That me would have told you to disregard Foundation altogether as my own ability would advance me through the realms. The me that I was a few short days ago would have told you that Foundation was the only one of those three categories that held any importance whatsoever because I was so desperate to advance. The me that sits here on this sand right now is a different person, someone who has long thought of Nascent Soul as the pinnacle of cultivation. Which I have just conquered. Sure, Nihility realm cultivators exist but only as rumors. Some sect far away in a distant land might have one as an ancestor, but I would never expect to see one, much less become one. So I must ask you, Master, do you think I have the potential to reach that high if I were to maximize Foundation?"
"That is a good question, and the correct one to ask. But it's one without an easy answer. Do I believe that I can get the twins to Nascent Soul? Yes. They are supremely talented and will have access to only the best cultivation methods, techniques, and resources. Even with all those advantages, I cannot be one hundred percent confident that I can bring them to Nihility. You obviously have not had access to the same advantages, and you reached Nascent Soul late in life. Is it possible for you to get there? Yes. Is it probable?" The sect leader waved his flat palm back and forth. "I just don't know."
Yuan Yaozu had been expecting to hear a flat no in response to his question, so the fact that there was even a small chance was well beyond his expectations. For all he could tell, though, Chao Su was being honest with him. "What do you advise, Master?"
The sect leader grimaced. "It's a tough call, really. With your talent, I don't see you getting stuck due to age, and there are no pressing reasons for you to hurry through the minor realms. Thus, Ease seems to be of minimal importance. Your available qi is around average for what I would expect for the factions I've seen on this continent, which means it's at least five times lower than I anticipate the twins having when they reach your level. So I guess it depends on your goal. If you want to shoot for the moon, go heavy on Foundation and try to get to Nihility. If you don't think that is a realistic possibility, invest in Power."
That advice gave Yuan Yaozu a lot to think about. He cupped his hands. "May this lowly one consider Master's wise words for a while?"
"Of course. Take all the time you need."
Yuan Yaozu closed his eyes and sunk into a meditative trance. Foundation or Power? Did he truly wish to challenge the heavens or was he content with what he'd gained already? The Poison Claw Sect had tens of thousands of members at any one time. Less than a tenth of a percent, less than one out of a thousand, made it to Golden Core. Even less than that, around one out of twenty-five to fifty thousand, made it to Nascent Soul. He was one of the few. The elite. And he'd bought himself thousands more years of life with his advancement.
He could easily sit back and rest on his laurels. Be feted by his sect as a Revered Elder. Enjoy his power.
Or he could aim for the pinnacle. Nihility. A realm that existed only as rumors of legends.
Without the aid of Chao Su, the choice would not be in question. Advancement would be an impossible dream. With him, though… He already would presumably be gifting a top heaven grade cultivation method and access to the Trial Pagoda. Who knew what other miracles he'd be able to provide?
The truth of the matter was that one did not become a true cultivator without being willing to challenge the heavens, and one did not reach Nascent Soul without being a true cultivator.
"I choose to challenge the heavens, Master. I choose Foundation."
The sect leader remained completely calm at the declaration. "Understood. Do you want the method to be one hundred percent weighted to Foundation, or do you want at least a bit of the other two represented?"
Yuan Yaozu almost answered in affirmative to the former but stopped himself. "What do you recommend, Master?"
"Hmm. Though I understand the desire to maximize a strength, I prefer versatility myself. If it were me, I'd put a small amount, maybe five percent, in Ease and a bit more in Power, say ten percent. That still leaves you with eighty-five percent for Foundation."
Yuan Yaozu began to get excited at this new impossibility. Instead of Chao Su having a ridiculous number of cultivation methods and techniques in his ring, he apparently could simply create them on a whim. That ability was just as improbable, if not more so, as him having looted them all somewhere, but it was even more practical. Any technique. Any cultivation method. The possibilities were endless.
The Rising Tide Sect was sure to become the dominant sect on the planet given time to grow. Yuan Yaozu was supremely thankful that Kang Ya-Ting had sought the sect leader's friendship. That act, which probably seemed like such a small thing at the time, was likely to become the most important event in the Poison Claw Sect's existence.
Yuan Yaozu cupped his hands. "This lowly one accepts Master's guidance."
"You're positive? All through and all done?"
"Yes, Master."
Chao Su's eyes moved about rapidly again, and a moment later, he pulled a jade slip from his ring and tossed it over.
Yuan Yaozu easily caught it and doze his consciousness into it. With his years of experience examining thousands of methods and techniques, he could analyze details better than most cultivators. To begin with, it was a Nascent Soul cultivation method as he'd expected and one ranked at the top of heaven grade as he'd hoped. His eyes went wide as he delved into the qi element of the method. It was easy to detect that it was aspected to Venom.
Poison aspected cultivation methods were relatively common. Venom, not so much. So that discovery lent weight to his conclusion that the sect leader created the method. Then, Yuan Yaozu dug deeper into the method's aspect. It wasn't just Venom; it was Venom that decays the flesh and spirit. His aspect. The cultivation method was uniquely aspected just to him.
The benefit of using a top heaven grade method was hard to understate. The benefit of using a method uniquely attuned to one's qi aspect was even greater. The benefit of the two combined was incalculable.
Yuan Yaozu was struck with a compulsion to bury his face in the sand, kowtowing to the sect leader, but he didn't seem to be one to appreciate such gestures.
Instead, Yuan Yaozu simply cupped his hands again. "Gratitude, Master."
"No problem. Anything for my disciples."
The man was truly an enigma, barely a foot into the Nascent Soul realm and already possessing access to such miracles.
Wait. He'd just advanced the previous night. Which meant his Aura technique should still be at Small Success, right? How had he suppressed Yuan Yaozu, then?
Benton almost laughed at Yuan Yaozu's expression. The man had probably just pieced together the fact that his newly advanced master somehow had Aura at Mastery already.
That right there was almost worth the cost of making Yuan Yaozu a disciple.
Almost but not really. Benton winced a bit at the cost of supplying that personalized cultivation method—eighty Sect Points. Eighty! Ouch. Added to the five hundred it had cost to get the man to Nascent Soul in the first place, and the spend on the guy was starting to really add up. At least the points for the method should eventually be returned.
Oh well, having a backup Nascent Soul on guard duty was probably worth the expenditure.
For the first time in a while, Benton felt like a bit of the weight of responsibility was off him. For one thing, he had that very needed backup. Additionally, his sect was growing in power all the time. Counting him and disciples who weren't actual sect members, there were two Nascent Souls, a Golden Core, and four Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Growing was good.
The second reason for his relief was that he'd finally powered up enough to take on any and all known threats. A peak Nascent Soul with his versatility would be almost impossible to defeat even if the Jade Chameleons, Swift Blizzard Sect, and the Emperor's faction all allied against him. That was, what, a maximum of ten Nascent Souls? He could take on ten without even asking for help from the Poison Claw Sect.
When considering his allies, it meant that he was barely even outnumbered. With Yuan Yaozu's advancement, The Poison Claw Sect had rocketed to the top of the Big Three with five Nascent Soul cultivators.
Benton narrowed his eyes. If any of the other factions wanted to come at him, they should bring it. He'd send them packing.
Actually, he wouldn't. The only way they'd leave was in body bags, if there were even enough left of them to bury.
Which brought him to his next question—how should he respond to the attack?
"I should destroy the Jade Chameleon Sect, totally and completely," Benton said.
Yuan Yaozu frowned. "Can you do that, Master? They'll have two Nascent Souls against you, and this time, the formations will work against you instead of for you." He paused. "Uh, just so you know, I would not feel comfortable, even as your direct disciple, joining you on the attack. Protection is one thing, but…"
"That's fine. I can take them out on my own. Even if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have asked. That's partially because I want you here protecting my sect members but also because this is my fight."
"I'm glad you understand, Master. I mean, you've done a lot for me, more than I had any right to expect, and I feel bad about it. But…"
"But you can't bring your sect into the fight that way. Like I said, I get it." Benton stood up and dusted off his robe. "I guess I'll get to it, then."
He sighed. There would be no sparing the innocents. Cultivators didn't respect mercy, and he needed to send a message to keep his people safe.
"You're going now, Master? Really?" Yuan Yaozu managed to sound incredulous and disapproving at the same time.
"Yes?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"They attacked my sect. Again. My people will not be truly safe until their sect no longer exists. I am now strong enough to take them out. So the logical course of action seems to be…"
"Elder Kang was right to be concerned about you appearing to be too strong, you know. If you destroy their main branch, including two Nascent Souls, on your own, the other two factions will band together against you."
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"So?" Benton said.
"What do you mean, so?"
"I mean that, if they come against me, I'll take them out, too."
Yuan Yaozu frowned. "Have you really thought through that scenario? Burning three factions to the ground means killing tens of thousands of people. I know you're a man who is willing to kill to protect his own, a trait that I very much appreciate, but do you really understand what killing and carnage on that scale will do to you?"
"If it's the only way to protect my people, what does the impact to me matter?"
"Let me take a different tack on this," Yuan Yaozu said. "What if Yang Xiu decided that, to protect someone she cared about, she needed to kill everyone in an entire village?"
"She wouldn't do that."
"If she thought it was her best option, she absolutely would. And think about how much more likely it would be for her to think that was the best option if you provide her with an example of doing just that."
Benton sighed. He well knew that being a parent was more than just protecting his kids. It also meant teaching them right from wrong and, even more so, providing them an example of the right way to behave. "I just want them to be safe. What else can I do?"
"Master, between your quite strong defensive formation and my presence, you don't have to worry. Even if you're occupied elsewhere, I can hold off an attack long enough for you to get back. And honestly, anyone wanting to attack a demonstrated formation master on their home turf is a complete idiot. Your people are safe."
"I'm just a formations expert, not a master."
"My understanding from Elder Kang was that one of your formations held a Nascent Soul in place while another of your formations created a beam of qi so powerful that it killed her. Everyone who heard that tale considers you to be a formations master."
Benton usually enjoyed taking credit for all the cool things the System let him do, but claiming that particular title stuck in his craw. He wasn't a formations master. The arrays Yuan Yaozu referenced had all been purchased directly from the System. A trained monkey could have inscribed them.
In contrast, Benton was proud of his formations expert status. He'd purchased the knowledge and techniques necessary to achieve that title, but his creations proved his prowess.
On closer examination, it seemed kind of silly to him that he cared about the subtle difference, but he did. Of course, he could simply buy enough knowledge to make the title legitimate.
Hmm.
More important at the moment, though, was Yuan Yaozu's argument. The part of Benton that had lived more than sixty peaceful years on Earth wanted to agree with the idea that his people were safe. There was no reason to escalate the conflict. They tried to fight him and lost. His base and his people were more secure than ever. Why invite more trouble?
Cultivator Benton thought differently. If an enemy attacks you, destroy them. There was no other option.
Benton's jaw dropped. Since when had he thought like that?
No. Just no.
When he'd transmigrated to this world, he'd had a well-defined set of morals. Resorting to extreme measures was acceptable but only under certain conditions. He'd never sat down and written them out or anything, but there were three that he could think of off the top of his head. One, the measures had to be justified. Considering that the Jade Chameleons had tried to kill him and had killed one of his people, that condition was met.
Two, the measures should be a last or definitely best resort, meaning he needed to consider other options and determine that he either had no other choice or that the measure he was choosing was the best of his alternatives. He hadn't done that at all, instead jumping to "kill them all" as the path forward. Maybe razing the Jade Chameleon Sect to the ground was the right way to go, but he needed to put serious thought into the matter first.
Three, the measures should minimize risk to innocents. That was the one that really bothered him upon reflection. He'd been ready to dash off and kill men, women, and children—children!—that had done nothing wrong to him or his just because they were associated with his enemy.
That line of thinking wasn't okay. He needed to reset his morals back to when he'd transmigrated. The influence of the cultivation world was getting to him, making him too violent and aggressive. What good was creating a new sect if he was teaching his members to be jerks like all the rest of the cultivators?
"You're right," Benton said. "There is value in not appearing to be weak, but I was falling into the trap of going too far in the opposite direction. I will send a message to a contact at each of the four factions with a warning that any further attacks on me or mine will result in the complete destruction of the higher realmed cultivators, both Golden Core and Nascent Soul, from any faction or factions behind that attack."
"Uh…"
"Sorry," Benton said. "You're not talking me out of this one. I don't care how the factions take it. My moral code demands that I give them warning, so that's what I will do."
Yuan Yaozu cupped his hands. "Understood, Sect Leader."
With Benton next step decided, it was best to get on with it, and he'd prefer to compose the messages in his office. Before he teleported away, though, he turned back to his newest disciple. "Thank you for pulling me back from the brink. It's possible that I might have righted myself before I did something truly stupid, but it's also possible that I wouldn't. So … thanks. Sincerely." He cupped his hands.
Yuan Yaozu smiled. "Glad to be of service, Master."