The Sect Leader System-Chapter 177: Heaven Blessed

Kang Ya-Ting and Dai Shuren followed Chao Su on their flying swords. Just as they were all about to reach the territory claimed by the Jade Chameleon Sect, the mysterious sect leader paused in the air.

Confused, Kang Ya-Ting shared a glance with his friend, Elder Dai.

After moving his eyes back and forth a few times, Chao Su glanced back and said, “Just needed a second to take care of something. I’m ready now. Let’s proceed.”

How wonderfully confusing and mysterious, as expected from the sect leader.

The two Poison Claw Sect elders followed him for a little longer until the target came into sight. Fifteen Golden Core cultivators were arrayed on flying swords waiting inside the wall, waiting for them.

Interestingly enough, there was no sign of Teng Wuying, the head of the Jade Chameleons in the city. He must have suspected something like Chao Su’s attack was going to happen and fled like the scheming, mangy jackal that he was, leaving Ma FenFang, a woman renowned for her martial proficiency, to deal with the problem.

Kang Ya-Ting glanced at Elder Dai. The two of them were way too close to the combatants, and there was absolutely no reason for the Poison Claw Sect to become involved in the actual fighting.

He gestured to a position far off in the distance, and Elder Dai nodded. The two of them retreated to that spot, close enough to observe but hopefully far enough away to avoid being the target of any hostilities.

They had barely even reached the position when Chao Su and Ma FenFang began exchanging threats.

Kang Ya-Ting listened with interest. The Rising Tide Sect Leader was normally so affable and kept most of his intimidation tactics so low key that it was fascinating to see him so overtly hostile. Hearing him tell others in a cold tone that all who remained would die was a new insight into the man’s character.

He was not someone to be trifled with.

Good. The Poison Claw Sect was, to an extent, tying itself to the man’s power. If he was too weak to carry through on his threats, a rethinking of policies would be necessary. Besides, the man usually acted so contrary to expectations that it was comforting to see that at least some part of his behavior corresponded with how a high realmed cultivator should act.

Kang Ya-Ting settled in to listen to a lengthy exchange of jibes, as was typical when rival sects started posturing. He was quite surprised, then, that Chao Su soon baited his opponents into attacking.

Even suspecting that the sect leader was in a much higher realm than his opponents, Kang Ya-Ting tensed as the fifteen cultivators, all of whom had developed Concepts, launched their techniques. Even a strong Nascent Soul cultivator could be taken down by enough Golden Core practitioners.

The attacks began to hit, and concurrent to his expectations, the first ones to hit were all rebuffed by the target’s qi shield. He sensed no aura, though, meaning the techniques all landed at full power. A shield could only hold for so long, no matter how strong the cultivator that created it.

Chao Su’s shield was quite strange, though. First, it only seemed to flare in the location it was hit. That type of modification was rare but not unheard of. Definitely something to be anticipated from someone who gave out top heaven ranked techniques like they were candy.

Second, the shield only seemed to flare just as it was about to be hit. Normally, a cultivator had to trigger a shield and leave it active for the entirety of the attack. One didn’t typically turn it on and off. Chao Su’s, on the other hand, only reacted for an instant just as an opposing technique hit. That trait, combined with the first, must have made it incredibly efficient in terms of qi usage.

Kang Ya-Ting marveled at the possibilities. He’d never seen a shield like it.

The third bit of strangeness was the most astounding, though—the shield flared qi that opposed the aspect that hit it.

Many cultivators could use multiple qi aspects, some of them even able to manage three or four. In fact, having access to at least two was more common that being restricted to a single one.

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To be able to use more than four would be an unparalleled feat.

The attacks were happening too quickly for even Kang Ya-Ting’s enhanced senses to track each one, but he was positive he’d detected at least all five of the primary elements in use by the shield. Such a feat was possible if the shield were powered by a formation fed by spirit coins, of course, but he didn’t detect any of the normal signs of a treasure being used.

The man frequently used Lightning and Void. If the sect leader truly could use all five primary elements as well, that meant he had access to at least seven aspects.

Incredible.

The enigmatic Chao Su had just managed to become even more mysterious.

As the barrage continued, Kang Ya-Ting kept expected for Chao Su to have to dodge or for the shield to fail or something. But that didn’t happen. The shield held.

Seconds were a long time in combat. A minute was an eternity when cultivators fought. The barrage kept up for nearly five minutes before Chao Su seemingly grew bored and decided it was his turn.

His onslaught laid waste to his opponents in seconds, penetrating the sect’s outer shield, a formation created by a master, like the defenses were made of nothing sturdier than paper. The Jade Chameleon cultivators tried to flee, but a great expenditure of qi held them in place as Chao Su began his execution.

Ma FenFang, a terror in the arena who always placed in the top three in tournaments pitting the sects’ top fighters against each other, was killed as easily as if she were a mere Qi Gathering cultivator. Or maybe even a mortal. She offered no resistance at all.

Each arrow from Chao Su found a target, and each target died.

Finally, the last three jumped off their flying swords and surrendered.

Kang Ya-Ting initially scoffed at their cowardice, but at heart, he understood their actions. When dealing with an opponent whose power made you akin to a child facing a martial expert, there was no dishonor in admitting your lack.

He was not watching a fight between equals. It wasn’t even a battle. It was a high realmed cultivator taking juniors to task, and Chao Su didn’t even have to use his aura to beat them.

Extraordinary!

The surrender seemed to give him pause, however. Which made sense. Killing them despite the fact they’d given up sent a message of brutality. It said, “Defy me at your peril!” Sects would have to be extra cautious not to anger him.

On the other hand, such brutality came with a cost. Opponents would be forced to fight to their dying breath because they were doomed either way.

Sparing them sent the message that he was reasonable. It said, “I’m willing to listen.” It also displayed weakness, saying, “I’m not strong enough in my convictions to finish the job.”

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Chao Su faced a momentous choice, and Kang Ya-Ting was fascinated to find out which decision he’d make.

The sect leader did that thing with his eyes again before saying, “You shall live, but you will no longer be cultivators.”

What followed was the most terrifying thing Kang Ya-Ting had seen yet from the man. Three bolts of Tribulation Lightning flew from the man’s fingertips, one hitting the chest of each of the surrendered opponents.

Though the men still lived, they disappeared from Kang Ya-Ting’s spiritual sense. Chao Su had wielded Tribulation Lightning, something no cultivator should be able to do. He’d completely destroyed the cultivation bases of three former Golden Core cultivators as easily as shearing a limb off a mortal.

Kang Ya-Ting began to suspect that Chao Su wasn’t simply an incredibly high ranked old monster. Instead, he was something completely outside the understanding of a mere Golden Core sect elder. He was Heaven Blessed.

The revelation was so shocking that Kang Ya-Ting was slow to react when asked to remove the former cultivators from the grounds. It took Elder Dai’s urging for him to respond. Quickly, the two of them flew forward, grabbed the three mortals, and dashed back off to a safe distance.

They wanted to be well clear of whatever Chao Su had planned for the sect grounds.

He started small. There was a small administrative building, no more than two stories, next to where he had ended the cultivation of his former opponents, and he directed a small blast of water at it, quickly overwhelming its shield. A small metal sphere followed.

A quarter of the building simply disappeared into nothingness once the ball hit it.

Chao Su nodded to himself and threw another sphere. After that one hit, the rest of the building vanished.

That must have been his test to see how much effort the destruction would take because, after the slow start, he accelerated almost faster than Kang Ya-Ting’s eyes could follow. The sect leader dashed from building to building, overwhelming each structure’s defenses with a high-pressure jet of water and following up with one of those terrifying spheres. Before the ball even had a chance to hit its target, he was off to the next one, repeating the procedure.

In minutes, there was not a single structure standing on the grounds. He’d even destroyed the fields of spiritual herbs.

Kang Ya-Ting was involved with setting the budget for the Poison Claw Sect branch in the city. He had a good idea how much all those buildings had cost.

Chao Su hadn’t cared. He hadn’t looted the branch, hadn’t taken a single loose tael or grabbed any of the undefended resources. They’d all been destroyed. Billions of taels worth of treasure. Gone.

The approach was interesting, and it sent another powerful message. Actually, it sent at least two powerful messages. One, do not mess with the Rising Tide Sect, or you will be utterly annihilated. Two, he had access to so many resources that the wealth accumulated by the Jade Chameleon branch held no interest to him. He could not be bought.

Kang Ya-Ting was startled out of his thoughts by the appearance of several cultivators on flying swords, eight of them to be exact. Four wore the robes of the City Watch. One was the City Lord himself. Three were high ranked members of the Swift Blizzard Sect.

Whatever happened next was sure to be interesting.