The Sect Leader System-Chapter 195: Gluttonous Sword

Other than sleeping for a couple of hours, Benton worked through the night, making good progress. He felt confident that, with another eight to ten hours of labor, he’d have all the building interior arrays completely analyzed and safed off where necessary, assuming he didn’t hit any major snags. The final piece after finishing the work on the inside would be to hook all the buildings in the Central Business District, the cafeteria, and the arena to the main power formation.

Then, and only then, would the sect grounds be ready for move-in.

So there were ten to thirteen hours of labor required and about twenty-four hours before the start of the memorial service. Benton nodded. By his calculations, he had a safety factor of close to one hundred percent.

Perfect.

That was good, too, because finishing the construction wasn’t the only task on his plate. He also needed to have a metaphorical sit down with Fatty Ren to discuss some details of sect management that hadn’t yet been addressed.

Since Benton had received a notification that he’d completed the Advance First Golden Core Disciple Quest, he’d also need to provide the Town Lord with a cultivation method and perhaps a technique.

Too bad he hadn’t been using one of the System’s cultivation methods thus far as that was a minimum of six Sect Points Benton had missed just from last night’s advance.

Oh well, he’d take the ten Shop Points from the quest completion and be happy with it.

Besides, any amount of any kind of points paled in comparison to the relief he felt at adding another Golden Core cultivator to the sect. If the current Fatty Ren had been present at the village during the attack, Ye Zan would probably still be alive.

Benton was very happy with the progress of all his sect members. They were all diligent cultivators and hard workers, especially compared to almost anyone back on Earth. Considering that most of them were teenagers, he found them all to be extraordinary.

But cultivation was a marathon, not a sprint. With the exception of Jin LiJuan who had lucked onto a fast track, all the others were on a much slower path. It would be years before even the very talented twins reached that level and months before anyone else even joined them in the Foundation Establishment realm.

Until that time, the safety of the entire sect rested solely on his shoulders. Or it had. Fatty Ren was not nearly at the same level of fighting strength. He hadn’t even formed a Concept yet. But the addition of a Golden Core cultivator who used the Gluttony element to punch above his considerable weight would give Benton the option of fighting on two fronts if needed.

Fatty Ren was a huge strategic asset, no pun intended.

Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Benton always intended his puns.

The big man showed up at the sect a short time later and immediately cupped his hands. “This one reports success, Friend Su!” He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Congratulations, Friend Ren. You have no idea how happy I am that you broke through. Tell me about your trial.”

“First of all, this one never would have made it without the advice of his diligent and knowledgeable juniors. They told me to persist until I figured out the trick. And that’s what I did. I owe my success to them. The sect leader is wise to have had them escort me to the shop.”

“Of course. Of course.”

Truthfully, Benton had just been using the four as a matter of convenience, so he could get back to work. But it hurt no one to think he had intended that outcome from the start.

Fatty Ren proceeded to relate the tale of his trial, and Benton praised the big guy vociferously. His new capability was worthy of that praise. He’d already been a powerful fighter and adding in the ability to absorb enemy qi attacks would significantly increase that prowess, making him formidable indeed.

The energy stored in his fat was basically supercharged qi, a lesser version of that which was powered by a Golden Core cultivator’s Concept. Benton couldn’t wait to see how much more powerful that energy stored in his fat would become when Fatty Ren eventually mastered his own Concept.

Wow. His future was bright.

“Okay,” Benton said when the tale was over, “the first step is to get you a cultivation method. Do you have any preferences?”

“Preferences, Friend Su? I mean, I would not expect you to be able to provide a method tuned to my element, of course. Gluttony is quite rare. I used a very general scripture at Qi Gathering and thought myself quite lucky that the Righteous Rain Sect found an appropriate Foundation Establishment method for me.”

“Fatty Ren! As if I wouldn’t supply you with a proper cultivation method. Who do you think I am?”

The man looked genuinely shocked. “Sorry, Friend Su. It’s just…”

“Don’t worry about it. In fact, I like that you’re so surprised. My disciples here are no fun at all. They just take everything in stride.”

It was obvious that the big guy didn’t have any idea how to respond to that. Judging from Fatty Ren and Kang Lin, the key seemed to be getting new people in to show off to, and the more the newbies knew about sect stuff, the more impressed they were.

Benton grinned. “The kind of preferences I was referring to was stuff like, if you had a chance to rate the importance of three aspects of the cultivation method, say ease of cultivation so that you can advance quickly, the power the method provides, or the chances of it letting you reach Nascent Soul, which would you say was the most important?”

He'd happened on the question mostly by accident, but now that it had been asked, he was really happy with it. One of the two worst parts of the process was assigning the values to the attributes. Having the person who would be using the method pick them out was genius.

In fact, if he recalled correctly, he’d done the same thing with Kang Lin, and it had turned out pretty well.

He’d have to remember to make it a habit.

“I don’t think a lowly one like me would have a chance at making Nascent Soul, Friend Su, so that aspect holds little importance for me.”

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Benton didn’t respond. Frankly, reaching that high was a crap shoot for most people. He was positive that he could get the twins there, but he honestly had no idea how many resources he would have to spend to do so. Making that promise to anyone else just wasn’t reasonable.

He’d do what he could for all his sect members, obviously, but a silent determination to help was different than getting their hopes up.

“Advancing quickly isn’t a priority, either, Friend Su. Traveling from the start of Golden Core to the peak, if one is lucky enough to reach that far, takes longer than I would have lived total as mortal.”

That way of looking at things was good, going back to the fact that cultivation was definitely a marathon especially at the higher levels. It wasn’t unusual for Golden Cores to remain in seclusion for years cultivating.

“That leaves power,” Benton said.

“That is does. Power. I like that, Friend Su.”

Based on the big guy’s preferences, Benton assigned ten to Foundation, fifteen to Ease, and the other seventy-five to Power. A few moments later, he handed a jade slip containing the Gluttonous Consumption cultivation method to Fatty Ren.

The big guy immediately dove his consciousness into the slip. “Friend Su,” he said after he finished perusing the method, “this is too much.”

“Nonsense. I’m counting on you to protect my people when I’m unavailable. If anything, it’s not enough.”

“I…” Fatty Ren cupped his hands. “Gratitude, Sect Leader.”

Benton had not paid much attention to the big guy’s techniques previously, but it was time to do so.

Name:Fatty RenAffiliation:Rising Tide SectAge:35Cultivation:Golden CoreQi Available:102,489Techniques:Flowing Shield - Mastery Flowing Steps - Mastery Righteous Rain Sword Art - Mastery Seeker of Food - MasterySpiritual Roots:CQi Aspect:Ever hungry consumer of all

“Tell me about your techniques,” Benton said. “The sword art is self explanatory, but what is Seeker of Food?”

The big guy seemed shaken. “Friend Su knows all my techniques? How?”

Benton shrugged. “One grows older. One acquires abilities. You know how it goes.”

It was always good to build upon his old monster mystique.

“S-seeker of Food does at it is named, Friend Su. If there is food nearby, I can sense where it is and how much energy it contains. It’s not really all that useful, but it was the only technique the Righteous Rain Sect could find that was specifically suited for a Gluttony element user.”

“Interesting,” Benton said. “I’m assuming Flowing Steps is your movement technique and Flowing Shield is, of course, your shield.”

“Yes, Friend Su. Those of the standard techniques the sect gave to members who did not cultivate the Water element.”

“Got it.” Such a powerful fighter would really benefit from an attack technique specifically attuned to him, but there was a matter to discuss first. “How much do you know about the Golden Core realm and Concepts?”

“I feel like I know enough, Friend Su. As I neared the peak of Foundation Establishment, I got guidance from a knowledgeable cultivator who is part of the Emperor’s faction.”

“Ah, I guess being Town Lord comes with some advantages, then?”

“Yes, Friend Su. I am not an important part of that faction, but I was raised to nobility in order to take the title.”

“Will the fact that you joined my sect cause issues?” Benton hadn’t even thought about that possibility and was, frankly, a bit annoyed and concerned that Fatty Ren hadn’t brought it up.

“Not at all, Friend Su! Having been raised from a sect, it is expected that I would want to eventually either rebuild my former one or join another. If my membership causes a conflict, I will simply resign my position as Town Lord. They never invested much into me, so there will be no ill will if I leave.”

Okay. That made sense. They’d needed someone to lead a dying town and were willing to elevate that person to minor nobility to fill a hole. Benton could see how Fatty Ren would be considered expendable after twenty years of service in that position.

“Good,” Benton said. “Obviously, the most important part of reaching Golden Core is forming your Concept, so I expect most of your time to be spent either doing that or cultivating. However, both are long-term pursuits. I wouldn’t expect you to actually form your Concept for years yet.”

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“It is as you say, Friend Su.”

“In the meantime, I could give you a couple of techniques. I think one would really help with your combat potential, and the other would just be a convenience. Do you think you have the bandwidth to take on learning new techniques with everything else you have going on?”

The term “bandwidth” clearly confused Fatty Ren for a moment, but he slowly seemed to grok the meaning. “A peak Foundation Establishment cultivator should know a lot more than four techniques, Friend Su, especially when only two of them are in the proper realm. The only reason I don’t know more is because I haven’t had access to any. This lowly one would greatly appreciate the chance to learn more.”

That wasn’t the response that Benton had anticipated, but how could he say no to such a passionate request? “Very well.” He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. “I actually had three ideas and planned to ask you to choose between the two attack techniques. Instead, I’ll tell you all three, and you can pick the two you want.”

Fatty Ren cupped his hands. “Gratitude, Friend Su.”

“First, the convenience technique. As you likely know, it can take a year or more for a Golden Core cultivator to advance far enough to be able to manipulate qi in a manner suitable for using a flying sword without a specific technique. To shortcut that process, I can simply give you a technique that makes the use of one much easier. You could potentially be flying today.

“Second, a technique that efficiently channels your stored energy through your sword instead of your fists.

“Third, a technique that channels your stored energy into a ranged attack. You’ll lose power in the process, but it will give you an option that you currently lack.”

“Question, Friend Su?”

“Go ahead.”

“The first does seem convenient, Friend Su, but why spend the time to learn something that I’ll pick up eventually as I work on my Concept?”

“Exigencies of the moment, my friend,” Benton said. “I fear that times are about to get interesting, and while I’m hopeful that most fights will center around me, there will be times when I need you to protect your sect mates. The time it takes you to get from the town to the village might matter a lot. Your movement technique exceeded my expectations, but it’s not nearly as fast as flying.”

“For the good of the sect, then, I will accept the flying technique, Friend Su, and for my second, I choose the ability to channel energy through my sword.”

“Not the ranged option? It would make you more versatile.”

“I am a simple melee fighter, Friend Su. I’m not sure I could make proper use of such a technique.”

“Understood,” Benton said. “Staying true to yourself is important for any cultivator, and that truism only becomes more important the higher you advance in realm.”

He created a generic Flight of the Cultivator technique for twenty Sect Points that any of his sect members would be able to use in the future. It was a bit of a qi hog, though, so he doubted that anyone save maybe the twins would have a big enough pool to use it before Golden Core.

The Gluttonous Sword technique, costing only six Sect Points, was specifically attuned to Fatty Ren, and the look on the big guy’s face when he figured out that fact was priceless.

He was also allowed to pick out one of the excess flying swords, ending the distribution of goodies portion of the conversation. The next part wouldn’t be as fun, but it was probably more important in the long run.