The Sect Leader System-Chapter 304: Well Equipped

Yuan Yaozu welcomed the message to meet with the sect leader. If nothing else, it relieved his boredom. After so many years of being stuck at the peak of Golden Core and being essentially unable to cultivate, he was still working his way back to spending the majority of his time engaged in the activity.

And since the message was noted to have been sent to both him and Zou Tian, Yuan Yaozu knew the exact topic—preparing the young man for his upcoming mission.

The new Nascent Soul sighed. In none of his planning for that mission had he envisioned the youngster reaching Foundation Establishment before leaving. Not that the advancement was bad for his chances of success. The exact opposite was actually true. No, the issue was that Chao Su somehow pulled off another miracle.

Qi sources? Time dilation rooms? Those were not features a small sect possessed, that any sect possessed. Maybe some all-powerful megasect somewhere with Nihility realm cultivators running things had access to such treasures, but locally, such things were unheard of even as myths and legends.

Yuan Yaozu had definitely tied himself to the right horse, but he couldn’t help but wonder what ridiculous thing would be introduced next and when. He almost laughed as he flew to the Administration Hall. Who knew? Today might be the day that he saw a new wonder.

Zou Tian, the sect leader, and that efficient gem of an assistant were all present when he arrived, and Chao Su wasted no time getting started.

“I anticipate being very busy for the next little while, Zou Tian, and decided to get you set up now so that, in my haste, I don’t forget anything later. Ready?”

The boy cupped his hands.

“First of all, I need guarantees from all three of you that everything I reveal today will be held in the strictest confidence.”

Zou Tian and Sun Hua were quick to agree.

“Of course, Sect Leader,” Yuan Yaozu said. “It’s important that any secrets related to Zou Tian’s mission not be discovered by other sects.”

Chao Su, for some reason, appeared chagrined. “I, uh, actually was concerned more with not wanting to spoil the surprise before I can give some of this stuff to my other sect members, but sure, let’s go with your reason. It sounds better.”

At first, Yuan Yaozu believed the comment to be one of Chao Su’s jokes. The sect leader was, after all, rather prone to such. But his expression seemed genuine.

He really was more concerned with the reaction of his disciples than other sects gaining an advantage? Was he truly so powerful that nothing anyone else did actually mattered? Chao Su truly was unfathomable.

“First, your new storage device.” Chao Su pulled out a necklace instead of a ring, and an old one at that. “I made this personally. Do you like that it’s the characters for Wan Ai’s name?”

Zou Tian’s face reddened as he cupped his hands.

“Since you’ll already be wearing a contingency ring, I thought adding another one would be suspicious whereas a distressed necklace, especially one equipped with the finest concealment formations I could supply, wouldn’t occasion much interest.”

Chao Su really was a master with arrays. Yuan Yaozu never would have known the necklace was a storage device without being told.

“The thin silver veneer is worn in places to show cheap copper underneath, so no one should think it valuable enough to steal,” Chao Su said. “Underneath that, of course, is the good stuff, metal from an actual meteorite that had picked up a spatial attunement. Cost me a pretty penny, but I’ve got enough of it to make at least a hundred more.”

He handed the device to Zou Tian, who seemed inordinately pleased.

“How much storage space, Master?”

“About the size of this building? Plus or minus a room or two.”

While the boy took the information in stride and the assistant didn’t bat an eyelash, Yuan Yaozu couldn’t keep his eyebrows from rising.

The volume of a full building? Most sect leaders didn’t have the space in theirs larger than the equivalent of a decent sized room.

“I also didn’t like how poor the preservation characteristics were on the devices I bought from the Poison Claw Sect,” Chao Su said. “They probably only sell the good stuff to their elders.”

Yuan Yaozu had seen the rings gifted to the young girl, Jin LiJuan. It wasn’t as big or as good as his own, but neither was it severely lacking. Anything better was extremely rare and expensive.

“You’ll find that this one can hold ice for months without it melting. Maybe years.” Chao Su shrugged. “This is the first one I made myself, and it’s not quite up to par with the one I have. Once you return from the mission, hopefully I can provide you with something better.”

Zou Tian cupped his hands again. “Gratitude, Master. I’m sure it will be more than sufficient.”

If Yuan Yaozu hadn’t had centuries of practice schooling his expression, he was sure his absolute bemusement would have been revealed. It was like the sect leader said, “Sorry for giving you this trash storage device that is orders of magnitude better than even Nascent Souls on this continent have access to. I’ll do my best to get you, a Qi Gathering brat with middling talent, something better later.”

Absurd. It was simply absurd. Was there nothing that Chao Su couldn’t do or provide?

“Speaking of rings, though, your contingency ring is very obviously identical to the rest of the sect members’, which will surely give you away,” Chao Su said. “So I made you a new one.”

What he handed over looked to be made of inexpensive copper and something that possessed sentimental value to the wearer moreso than being actually expensive. Replacing the original with the one with a cheap appearance was prudent. Looking too well off would likely get the boy mugged, and while he could certainly defend himself, doing so had the possibility of exposing him.

“Next, outfits.” Chao Su pulled three from his ring and placed them on a table. “The first, as you can see, is a simple but well made shirt and trousers combination that should place you as someone in the worker class, neither too rich nor too poor. It has a shield formation with a concealment array worked into the threading that will react to an attack, draining a qi capacitor that I built in. I had to keep the amount low so as to conceal it, so it won’t withstand too many hits. Hopefully, the defense will be enough to hold off an attacker until you can get out of the jam, or you can recharge it with a spirit coin from your storage device.

“The next is one of the new standard sect battle robes.” Chao Su proceeded to list off a series of features, each more outlandish than the next.

Protection from physical and/or qi attacks was the most common array used on clothing, but Yuan Yaozu bet the Rising Tide Sect’s were far superior. He’d test it with the boy before he left for his mission.

The other features, though… Temperature and gravity control? How and why? And self cleaning, self reparining apparel for mostly Qi Gathering brats? Such things were usually reserved for sect elders.

The extravagance of the sect leader knew no bounds.

“The final outfit is the coup de grace,” Chao Su said, using a strange language for the last part. “It’s your ninja warrior suit, a shinobi shozoku. This one amplifies your Stealth. Its formations enhance your connection with Shadow and muffle every part of you that could lead to detection—sight, sound, smell, and even qi signature, though you don’t need any help in that regard. It will even turn you invisible for a short time. Just be careful to only refill the capacitors when you’re safely hidden because the qi signature while replenishing it can be much more easily detected.”

“Yes, Master.”

“The protection arrays are also more robust on this one as it’s made for combat. Not only that, but it can also enhance your physical performance, allowing you to jump higher, hit harder, etc. Just remember that those activities will drain the batteries quickly. Which is why the suit has the option of running fully off stored qi or drawing on spirit coins directly. Understand, though, that, despite my efforts, there is really no way of completely concealing large qi sources.”

Wow. There was something that the sect leader couldn’t do. Yuan Yaozu didn’t know whether to be shocked or relieved. He settled for a bit of both.

Chao Su placed a handful of greater spirit coins into an internal pouch on the suit and turned to Yuan Yaozu, who engaged his spiritual sense.

“I can detect a very faint trace, Sect Leader. Probably not enough to give him away if he’s hidden in an area with a high qi concentration, but enough to make me give him a second glance if I’ve already spotted him. Of course, just seeing that outfit would make him stand out.”

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“Not if he’s in camoflauge mode or invisible. You’ll love those.” Chao Su laughed. “Let’s move on to the next item, though.” He pulled out four jade slips and tossed those to the boy. “Your cultivation method and the three techniques you requested. The first uses external qi to enhance your perception. It’s closely aligned to Shadow qi, so I believe using it will be difficult to detect, especially as your skill level improves. Test it with Yuan Yaozu before you leave.”

Zou Tian cupped his hands.

“The shield is pretty much the sect standard, just Shadow aspected. I’m sure you’re very familiar with the idea.”

Zou Tian nodded, as did Yuan Yaozu. Formations could be readily made to respond automatically to stimulus. Techniques couldn’t. He had no idea how the man, even as a Formations Master, had figured out how to merge that trait into a shield technique.

“The last one is the most fun—Backstab!” Chao Su said. “It was expensive, double the normal cost, but it literally does double damage as long as the target doesn’t see you. That means you should be able to penetrate a beast’s shield with a single strike even up to the peak of rank six. Only Yang Ru can do something similar.”

The boy appeared profoundly grateful, as well he should. He was being gifted a technique that any sect would go to war to obtain.

More important, though, was the revelation the sect leader had just made. Just like with the Trials Pagoda, the techniques he provided cost him some unspecified currency or resource.

Yuan Yaozu filed away that bit of data for further thought.

“Just as crucial as the power,” Chao Su said, “the technique’s extreme affinity to Shadow qi will help minimize the chances of anyone sensing its use.”

Zou Tian cupped his hands.

Next, Chao Su pulled three pills from his ring. “I’m sure you know what to do with these?”

“Yes, Master.”

Yuan Yaozu hadn’t seen those yet and couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

“When taken together after reaching Foundation Establishment but before cultivating, these will expand a cultivator’s qi pool by ten percent or so. Though, given Zou Tian’s extreme affinity, I’m personally hoping he hits fifteen percent.”

Ah. Yuan Yaozu had heard rumors that the Poison Claw Sect alchemists were working on something similar, though they hadn’t made much progress. It shouldn’t have surprised him that Chao Su would be so far ahead as to be actually employing the pills.

He then pulled out a large stack of thick, rectangular pieces of paper, each sized to fit easily in someone’s palm. On the side of the paper that Yuan Yaozu could see was the sect’s logo with the characters, all in blue, for “Rising Tide Attacks!” underneath. He had no idea of the purpose of the paper.

“You three are the first to see our new sect talismans,” Chao Su said. “They’ll let you do all kinds of crazy stuff that should be out of reach for your level, and best of all, they’re collectible!”

Collectible talismans? Yuan Yaozu didn’t understand as the two terms didn’t go together. Talismans were rare and expensive. Even a basic Foundation Establishment level attack took many hours to produce and cost hundreds of thousands of qi in spirit coins form to purchase. That whole stack couldn’t be for one young sect member. There had to be hundreds there.

Further, they were items made to be used. Why would anyone collect them?

“How do they work, Master?” Zou Tian said.

“It’s the easiest thing in the world. You simply follow the instructions on the card.”

“Instructions, Master?”

“Let’s demonstrate.” Chao Su looked through the stack and pulled out two cards right next to each other. “These are identical Teleport Cards, both charged with a thousand qi use of the technique. That’s enough to move you anywhere within about a fifty foot diameter. Which probably doesn’t seem like much, but remember that limit is a straight line distance that doesn’t take into account elevation and walls don’t matter. It’s meant to be a utility effect on the battlefield moreso than a way to get from place to place.” He handed the two pieces of paper to Zou Tian. “Read the instructions.”

“Form a picture in your mind of a place nearby that you’ve visited. Rip the card.” The boy paused. “What does, ‘Don’t be where your enemy expects you to be’ mean, Master?”

Chao Su laughed. “It’s just flavor text, there to add a bit of interest.”

Both the boy and the assistant appeared just as confused as Yuan Yaozu, but none of them made any comment about the oddity. It was to be expected when dealing with the sect leader.

“Now, for the test,” Chao Su said. “Do what the card says and use the other one to return.”

Yuan Yaozu thought that the Rising Tide Sect’s junior members were coddled compared to any of the Big Three, but he couldn’t say that those members weren’t loyal or that they didn’t follow directions well. The boy got a brief glazed look in his eyes before ripping the paper and disappearing.

A second later, the boy Teleported back to the exact spot where he had been standing.

Yep. Those really were talismans. Powerful ones, too, if the first one was any indication.

True Teleportation was a rare skill. Besides Chao Su, Yuan Yaozu had never met anyone who openly employed the ability. Apparently, that scarcity was about to change. Every junior member of the entire sect would soon have access to it.

He couldn’t even imagine the impact of such a thing when news got out.

Currently, there was little reason for all but the most secure places to use formations to ward against Teleportation, and the presence of a single cultivator with a technique to do so only necessitated changes for certain locations. Hundreds or thousands of junior cultivators possessing that ability, though, was a completely different story.

Worse, the only man on the continent with the ability to guarantee protection from intrusion by the technique was the one giving it away like passing out candy to children.

“I have three versions of the Teleport—the thousand qi one you just used, a ten thousand qi one, and a one hundred thousand qi one.” He pointed to a number at the top of the paper. “This shows the amount of qi used. Low Teleports you to another room, middle will take you across a major city with plenty of juice to spare, and high should bring you all the way back here from Sixth Flawless Flowing City. I’m giving you ten of the low, five of the mid, and one of the high.”

As Chao Su continued to go through the list of talismans he was simply giving to the young man, Yuan Yaozu grew more and more incredulous. The boy would be carrying with him devices expensive enough to buy a good portion of the city. But did the sect leader advise him to treat them as treasures only to be used in the direst of circumstances? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

No. He told the kid to use them whenever they were needed. To use his judgment. And that it was better to use a card than to take a risk.

Yuan Yaozu couldn’t help but blow out a long breath at the sheer absurdity, especially since all the sect members going to the tournament were to be similarly outfitted with talismans, even if with not the absurd quantity given to Zou Tian.

Absurd. Truly, absolutely absurd. With the likely power of Chao Su’s techniques, the lowliest of his Qi Gathering members could hold off against a Nascent Soul. If enough of them banded together, they’d probably could defeat one.

Absurd!

As excited as Chao Su seemed to be to give all the equipment he’d dispersed so far, his face visibly lit up when it came to the next category—spy tools. He referred to himself as Q for some reason.

“To be honest, I couldn’t decide if I was going for a ninja or, as Jethro Bodine would say, a double naught spy, so I think I basically tried to split the difference. Check this out.” Chao Su placed nearly a hundred identical throwing knives on the table along with two bands. “Your Backstab technique will also teach you the use of throwing knives, giving you a needed ranged attack. Go ahead and store these in your necklace.”

Zou Tian did so.

“Now, put one band on each wrist.”

Zou Tian naturally did that as well.

“Now, do this.” Chao Su made a motion with his right arm, drawing it sharply up and back.

When the boy replicated the motion, a knife appeared in his hand.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Chao Su said. “I mean, you could have just practiced and learned how to do that just by manipulating the storage device, but the bands simplify the process. You don’t even have to think about it. Besides, the bands have other functunalities as well.”

Zou Tian brought the knife down and studied it for a moment.

“It’s tough, will accept your Shadow qi easily, can be recalled to the armbands, and has a self destruct array that will make it explode. Great for distractions and to not leave evidence or weapons your enemy can use behind you.”

“Gratitude, Master.”

“This next one is cool, too.” Chao Su brought from storage a … pair of boots? “Try them on.”

Zou Tian did.

“Now, use your beast core to channel just a smidge of qi into them, the smallest amount you can manage.”

Suddenly, the boy lifted several inches above the ground before falling back down.

“I’m really not sure why you’d ever need to use those.” Chao Su shrugged. “Honestly, I just thought they were neat. On the other hand, please don’t forget about them. According to the lore, you’ll probably end up in a situation where the only way to salvage your mission is to use them.”

Lore?

From the boy’s reaction, he apparently found nothing strange about the remark, so Yuan Yaozu didn’t say anything, either.

“Those actually lead to another purpose of the bands, by the way. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t achieve stable flight with just the boots as they were just too unbalanced. No unusable, mind you, but difficult. If you channel an equal amount of qi into the bands, though, you should find the whole system much more user friendly.”

Chao Su went on for a long time, pulling item after item from his ring. He had listening devices, what he called a hidden camera—whatever a camera was—along with a method of viewing what the camera and “bugs” recorded, tracking devices that would stick to an enemy, a writing brush that turned into a knife—!?!—, candy that when chewed activated qi inside and could be placed as an explosive for whatever reason, and something he called a wristwatch that contained a beam of Light qi he termed a laser.

“Alright, this is the last thing.” Chao Su pulled a glider from his ring.

Only that one looked nothing like the ones the other four Foundation Establishment cultivators got. For one thing, it was smaller. And sleeker. And black. With no embellishments like the feathers for the phoenix wings.

“This is equipped for both speed and stealth. You pilot it bent over in a three-point stance to reduce your wind resistance and profile. It’s designed to cut down on wind noise, and at low speeds, it’s basically silent. It’s also faster and more maneuverable than ninety-nine percent of Golden Cores on a flying sword, and it enhances your ability to hide using Shadow. It can also go full invisible for quite some time. Remember, however, that there’s no way for me to fully hide qi usage. You’ll be hard to detect but not undetectable.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I also added some extra features that are too cool for words, starting with this.” Chao Su pressed a button at the back of the craft, and thick white smoke began pouring from the back before he pressed it again, cutting the smoke off. “To obscure you from sight.”

Yuan Yaozu seriously doubted any cultivator advanced enough to be flying in pursuit of the boy would be deterred in the slightest by the smoke. Then again, the kid could turn invisible. If he could completely cut off his qi usage…

“I’m a bit bummed that I couldn’t figure out a legitimate use for an oil slick to dissaude aerial pursuit, but it is what it is. The glider does have this, though.”

There was a handle at the front of the craft clearly designed for the pilot to hold on to, and it had another button prominently placed in the center. Chao Su pressed it. Three rods popped out, one from the front of each wing tip and one from the front of the craft.

“Rotate the handle like this to choose your qi type—Earth, Fire, Gravity, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Sound, Void, Wind, or Water. Then depress this other button, and the glider will shoot qi attacks of that type of qi from each of the three rods. If it suddenly stops shooting, that means you ran out of that type of spirit coin, so you’ll need to either reload from your ring or switch to a different type.”

The sect leader paused a moment before saying, his voice eager, “So what do you think?”

The sect leader reminded Yuan Yaozu of a child showing his parents a drawing he’d made in the dirt, seeking praise.

“Very impressive, Master,” Zou Tian said with, to all appearances, complete sincerity.

Impressive was one word for it. Crazy was another. That being the case, Yuan Yaozu couldn’t claim that the boy wouldn’t be the most well equipped spy he’d ever seen.