The Sect Leader System-Chapter 310: A Legendary Beast

Jin LiJuan had a choice to make. Master had arrived, so there was no more putting her decision off. Did she want to attend the tournament, even at the expense of betraying the memory of her parents, or did she want to give up the opportunity to contribute to the sect that had done so much for her?

Both options had horrible drawbacks, and she simply couldn’t pick which was worse. She needed help, and since Master would give her no further guidance, there was one source of counsel left open to her.

“Master,” she said, “which direction is the village?”

He turned and pointed behind him.

She got down on her knees and kowtowed toward where he pointed, the best guess of where her family’s farm had been that she could figure.

“Honorable Mother. Esteemed Father,” she said internally, keeping her forehead pressed into the dirt. “I don’t know what to do, and I need your help. Beasts killed you, and I want to wage war against them so that no other child suffers as I did, so that no other parents are killed. I want to protect.

“But the only way for me to gain that power is to embrace beasts. I have bonded with one of them—I didn’t mean to, I swear, but I did it seeking power. So it was my fault.—and Ganzou—that’s the beast’s name—isn’t really that bad. He guards me. And cuddles up to me when it’s cold at night. And I’m sorry, but I just can’t hate him any longer.

“I accepted that I need him to fight other beasts. He makes me strong. Soon, I’ll advance my cultivation higher than Senior Brother and Senior Sister. They are so amazing. I wish you could have met them.

“Liking one beast isn’t that bad, right, Honorable Mother and Esteemed Father? You wouldn’t hate me for that even if it is dishonoring your memory, would you? I promise that I’ll use the power he gives me for the right purpose. To protect. I will bring honor to the family name.

“Now, though, the path to strength means bonding even more beasts, and I don’t know if I should do it. Please Honorable Mother and Esteemed Father, tell me what to do. Give me some sign of what you will your filial daughter to do.”

She rose to a kneeling position and cupped her hands, waiting.

Several minutes passed, and she became aware of Pan Jiang, Master, Leizhenzi, and others staring at her. She ignored them. Her parents would answer. They’d been too poor to always provide her with enough food, but they’d always done everything they could for her.

Unless they were so angry about Ganzou that they would ignore her plea.

No. They wouldn’t. They loved her. Even if they were angry, they still loved her.

Behind her, there arose a fuss, and she glanced back. Deng Meixiang had an arrow nocked and pointed at the sky, so Jin LiJuan turned her attention there.

A bird. A spirit beast, only a rank two, flew above them with something in its mouth. Deng Meixiang’s arrow flew true and struck its neck, penetrating all the way through.

The bird, now clearly mortally wounded, dropped whatever was in its mouth, and the object fell toward Jin LiJuan.

She stared blankly at the object as it got lower and lower, finally plopping to the ground right in front of her.

It was a fish. A red fish.

Esteemed Father had always loved fish, a delicacy the family had found a way to afford only a couple of times in her memory. Moreso, he referred to it as a food of abundance. Eating it was said to bring good luck.

Not only that, but the fish was red, the color of luck, joy, and prosperity.

Jin LiJuan’s heart swelled. Her faith had been rewarded. Her parents really did still look out for her, and they weren’t angry about Ganzou. The red fish clearly meant that they gave her permission to bond the new beasts as well.

“Gratitude, Honored Mother. Gratitude, Esteemed Father.” Her eyes teared as she kowtowed three times in the direction of her family’s farm.

She was so relieved to have the decision taken from her. So grateful. “My parents have spoken. I shall bond Leizhenzi and his friend.”

As she stowed the gift in her ring to eat later—she felt her parents would be disappointed in her if she didn’t—the rest of the expedition members, even Pan Jiang, looked at her like she had lost her mind, but she didn’t care. She knew. She knew.

Master seemed to understand, and that made her glad.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go meet this friend.”

Leizhenzi appeared just as baffled as everyone else about the fish and the announcement, but he was quick to obey. He immediately took to the air, followed by Master who rose from the ground as naturally as breathing. She pulled her glider from her spatial ring, waited for Ganzou to hop on, and flew after them.

Jin LiJuan was positive that Leizhenzi could have distanced himself from her easily, but he seemed to set his pace based on how fast she could go. At least he was considerate.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

They continued for a half hour or so until reaching a large pond on the side of the mountain. Her sense told her there was a peak rank six beast in the water, and Leizhenzi confirmed that the presence was his friend when he descended to the shore. She and Master landed right behind him.

“Come out, please!” Leizhenzi yelled. “These humans want to meet you.”

“No!” a voice shouted from the water.

“She’s agreed to bond us. We can win the tournament.”

“Ugh! Not this again. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, I’m not interested.”

The thunderbird had come across as a wise, powerful, and knowledgeable beast. For the first time since meeting him, Jin LiJuan suspected he wasn’t quite as wise and knowledgeable as he made himself seem.

She glanced at Master. He clearly struggled to keep from laughing.

Great.

“C’mon. I need you,” Leizhenzi said. “She’s weak. You’re the only one who can protect her, and without her being defended, the wolf cub and I can’t win.”

Jin LiJuan frowned. Yes. Okay. She was weak compared to the other team members, but wasn’t it rude to say so right in front of her?

“How would I even get there?” the voice called. “I can’t fly, and I’m too big for anyone to carry.”

Master cleared his throat. “I can probably assist with that.”

“Who’s the human? I can’t sense him at all.”

“That’s the Sect Leader. The one Granddad told me about. Don’t mess with him.”

“Apologies, Sect Leader,” the voice said.

Despite Master’s valiant effort, a few chuckles escaped. “No worries. If you really don’t want to go to the tournament, we’ll leave you alone, but if it’s just a matter of logistics, I’m sure I can come up with a number of solutions.”

A shape, a quite massive one, rose from the center of the pond. A dome? No, a shell. A giant turtle’s shell, easily twenty feet in diameter, emerged from the water.

“You can transport me, Sect Leader?”

“Absolutely. I’ll have to pop back to the sect to do some crafting, but I have two options for you. One, a floating platform that Jin LiJuan can tow behind her glider. Between Gravity control and structural reinforcement, it’ll handle your size with no problems. Two, a beast pouch, a spatial bag big enough on the inside for you and an entire ecosystem but small enough on the outside—and light enough—to attach to her belt.”

Master shrugged. “Those were just off the top of my head. If you don’t like either, I’m sure I can figure something else out.”

“You can really do those things, Sect Leader?” the turtle said.

Leizhenzi spoke before Master could. “He gifted Granddad those hands, remember?”

“Oh yeah, the Lord really likes those. Quite impressive.” The turtle let out a huff. “You really need me?”

“I’m afraid that my disciple will not be quite up to the level of the competition in time for the tournament. Without a proper defender, your friend, Leizhenzi, doesn’t have much of a chance.”

The turtle hesitated, and silence stretched. Leizhenzi opened his beak, but Master shushed him.

“Fine, then,” the turle said finally. “If you can make me a beast pouch as you described, I will accompany this big idiot to the tournament.” The turtle turned to Jin LiJuan. “On my honor, future bonded, not a single offensively shot mote of qi or propelled weapon shall come in contact with your body.”

Jin LiJuan did the only thing she could do. She cupped her hands. “Gratitude, Esteemed Turtle.”

Another awkward silence descended for way too long before Master spoke. “About that habitat? Want to come with me to the sect? That way, you can make sure it meets your specifications.”

“Gratitude, Sect Leader, but how would I get there?”

“Teleportation, of course. I’ll have you there in an instant, and the crafting shouldn’t take long. A few minutes tops. Then, we can adjust to your taste.”

The turtle and Leizhenzi looked at each other, clearly surprised. They probably weren’t used to dealing with someone who could manipulate Time.

“Gratitude again, Sect Leader. I guess … I’ll go?”

No sooner had the turtle spoken than it and Master disappeared. Leizhenzi’s eyes darted about, clearly searching for them.

“They’ll be back soon,” Jin LiJuan said. “Probably.”

Kang Lin knew two things for sure. One, she was in a really bad mood. Two, she had no valid reason to be as ill tempered as she was.

If past her saw her at that moment, past her would have slapped her upside the head. She was a disciple of, perhaps, the most powerful cultivator she’d ever seen, had access to treasures the likes of which she’d never dreamed of, and her Master and her grandfather had just collaborated to create a Time dilation room with a Lightning qi source solely for her.

Ridiculous.

She should be absolutely ecstatic. Instead, she just couldn’t help but feel that she was undeserving of anything she’d been given.

So instead of doing something productive like sparring with Yang Xiu or practicing one of her techniques, she found herself strolling aimlessly around the sect grounds. She was outside the Administration Hall when a giant turtle materialized between the building and the gate. Her spiritual sense put it at the very peak of rank six, nearly a full major realm more advanced than her.

A giant turtle. Materialized. A major realm higher than her.

Some part of her knew that she should be worried or at least surprised. But she wasn’t. She was at the Rising Tide Sect. Why wouldn’t a giant turtle at the equivalent of the peak of Foundation Establishment materialize out of nowhere?

Yang Ru and Yang Xiu, followed by Huang Yimun and other guards, rushed out of the Martial Pavilion. Their faces showed a lot more alarm than Kang Lin felt. They soon slowed, though, looking relieved, and as Kang Lin continued walking in a circle around the giant beast, she figured out why. Master was there with it.

“Everyone, meet… Actually I didn’t catch your name?” Master said.

“Apologies, Sect Leader. I don’t have one.”

“No name? Really? Doesn’t that get confusing?”

The turtle made a motion with its head that Kang Lin could only interpret as the equivalent of a shrug. “It can’t be helped, Sect Leader. Only a primary beast such as the Lord, an extremely powerful human, or a human a beast is bonded to may give a beast a name.”

“That seems … awfully restrictive. Who came up with that?”

“It is as it has always been, Sect Leader.”

“Hmm. Am I a powerful enough human to give a beast a name?”

“Of course, Sect Leader.” The turtle appeared … hopeful? “The Lord speaks of you as an equal.”

“Would you like a name?”

“This lowly one cannot imagine a greater privilege than to be granted a name by one as powerful and as respected as the Sect Leader.”

Kang Lin couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Talking beasts were not common, especially those below the equivalent of peak Golden Core. The beast was obviously powerful, and yet it respected Master enough for him to give it a name? To consider the prospect a privilege?

Ridiculous.

“To be honest, naming isn’t one of my strong suits,” Master said, “but in this case, I have a thought. You’re under no obligation to accept it if you don’t like it, but where I’m from, there is a story about a legendary turtle who was both wise and a fierce fighter. He originated an important martial art that many still use to this day. His name was Oogway. It would please me greatly if I could call you that.”

The turtle straightened its neck, purely oozing gravitas. “Sect Leader, it is my honor to accept. From tis moment on, I am Oogway.”

Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous.