The Sect Leader System-Chapter 321 - Maneuvering

Benton didn’t feel great about the situation. He’d used Yang Xiu and Yang Ru as bait to attract enemy higher realm cultivators, putting the twins in danger. He’d also allowed them to watch him execute one of those cultivators, which wasn’t exactly what he considered exemplary behavior.

Once he’d finished dispatching the woman, he Teleported the twins back to the compound that was to serve as their base for the duration of the tournament.

Benton sighed. “What I did today is not something I want you two, or any other sect members, to consider a good thing. Unfortunately, this …” He almost said world before hasitly correcting himself. “This continent is not run by the rule of law. No sect or the Emporer’s faction is strong enough to enforce justice. Thus, we have to make our own. Which leads to injustice. Understand?” 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Yang Ru quickly nodded.

His sister, on the other hand, said, “They wanted to attack us, juniors way weaker than them, in defiance of all custom, Master. Obviously, they deserved what they got.”

“In a way, I have to agree with you. I mean, I did kill one of them and maim the other. But here’s a question for you—do I deserve to be executed?”

“Of course not, Master!”

“Why not? I killed a junior. I could have Teleported Fatty Ren to the city and had him fight her instead.”

“But… But…”

“From the perspective of protecting our sect, my actions were completely justified. From the perspective of our enemies, my actions were a gross violation of social norms. If they had the necessary power, they’d punish me. Why does our perspective matter more than theirs?”

She opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.

“It’s a difficult question,” Benton said. “My bottom line is that I will protect my sect members with my dying breath, consequences be damned. And I don’t regret that. I’d rather tens or hundreds or even thousands of enemy Golden Cores lay slaughtered than for any of you to be hurt. But I can still wish none had to be killed, and by explaining all this to you, I truly hope that, one day when you may be in a position to take a different path, maybe you will decide to be merciful. Understand?”

“Yes, Master,” they chorused.

But they didn’t. Not really. Maybe Yang Ru was beginning to have an inkling as to what Benton tried to teach them, but Yang Xiu was too engrained in the cultivator culture to comprehend. He just hoped he had time to reach her before she truly stepped out in the world. The thought of her embarking on a path of pursuing face and vengeance was depressing, and the example he’d set for her so far hadn’t exactly been a sterling one.

“On the plus side,” Benton said, not wanting to end on such a depressing note, “you two did great work over the last few days. Our enemies now know that threatening our juniors is a truly perilous activity. Because of your actions risking yourselves, your fellow sect members are safer. Gratitude.”

He cupped his hands.

Yang Ru grunted while Yang Xiu looked quite pleased with herself.

After the two departed, Benton proceeded with his next political maneuver—crafting a gift for Qiu ZhenKang. The what was at least quite easy. He was a Metal aspected sword wielder. One of Benton’s base model blades that created an amplified qi attack would be fine. After all, masterworks that combined formations and blacksmithing were quite valuable and should easily surpass the value of anything the man currently owned.

Of course, Benton being Benton, he considered going over the top and crafting something unique. The idea of VoidFire called to him, not that he had any more than a vague thought of what such might entail, but the name was super cool.

Keeping the gift a bit more down to earth held two distinct advantages, though.

One, the sword was supposed to signal to their enemies that it was payment for services rendered, implying that the inclusion of the clan in the tournament was actually to the benefit of the Rising Tide Sect instead of those allied against it. Thus, a rift would possibly be formed between those allies and the City Lord’s faction. If Benton went too all out, his largesse might be seen as so far in excess of his gain that it would have the opposite effect.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Two, possessing a unique, crazily powerful sword would be dangerous for the man. He was a functionary in the Golden Core realm, not a powerhouse, and the City Lord only provided so much protection. Given how Benton’s really interesting blades had been fought over at auction by outside factions, being the known possessor of one without enough strength to hold onto it would not be a good thing.

Thus, Benton stayed disciplined for once and stuck to his original plan. A blade with self repair and Sharpness arrays that amplified Metal attacks channeled through it by a factor of ten was a really good gift, but it wasn’t so ridiculous as to put the man’s life in jeopardy.

As luck would have it—or, you know, planning and judicious use of Time Manipulation—Benton finished crafted just as a steering committee meeting was scheduled to end.

He popped into the venue, drawing everyone’s attention. “I hope I’m not interrupting. Just have a quick bit of business with the Esteemed Qiu ZhenKang.”

That particular meeting was public, so besides a representative from each of the factions—the aforementioned Qiu Zhenkang, Kang Ya-Ting, Mao Biya, and a Jade Chameleon Golden Core who Benton didn’t recognize—there were a decent number of onlookers.

Perfect. Just as he and Kang Ya-Ting had planned.

The City Lord’s representative, for his part, remained impassive as Benton approached, which also was planned. Kang Ya-Ting was quite familiar with the man’s temperment and predicted his reaction well. To onlookers, he would appear completely neutral to what was occurring, which could be interpreted as him having foreknowledge.

The next part took a bit of acting on Benton’s part. He couldn’t exactly say, “Hey, thanks for inviting the clan for us!” Instead, he had to imply it in a way that didn’t seem to imply anything of the sort. Luckily, according to Kang Ya-Ting, cultivators tended to be a paranoid lot, seeing conspiracies in the most minor of acts. All Benton had to do was not be over the top, and he’d be fine.

For anyone else, those instructions would have been easily followed. Benton, naturally, struggled.

“Friend Qiu,” he said, internally wincing as the words left his mouth. “This one wants to express his gratitude for the service the City Lord provides to this great city and the efforts you personally have put into making sure the tournament is an outstanding event. No one values the rule of law more than I do, and more than anyone else here, that is what you stand for. I hope you will accept this minor token of my esteem and appreciation.”

Benton really, really wished he’d written up what he would say in advance and ran it past someone. Anyone. Was that way too over the top, or was it what was expected from cultivators with all their flowery language and nonsense?

He pulled the sword from his ring and held it out toward the man, who remained just as impassive as when Benton had appeared.

“Gratitude, Sect Leader Chao Su,” Qiu ZhenKang said without even paying much attention to what he was being given. “This one appreciates your acknowledgement and gratitude.”

When he actually looked at the sword, his eyes actually widened slightly. “Sect Leader, are you sure? This gift exceeds my expections greatly.”

If Benton would have been in a position to visibly let out a sigh of relief, he would have. Those words were perfect. His enemies would surely interpret them as Benton overpaying the agreed upon amount for a service.

He cupped his hands and lowered his head far more than was required for a Nascent Soul addressing a Golden Core. “Your dedication to this city, its people, and the tournament deserve nothing less.”

The crowd was muttering. Mao Biya looked absolutely livid. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she rose and either attacked him flat out or spit in his face. Well, his or Qiu ZhenKang’s.

Glorious.

Kang Ya-Ting, of course, kept up a completely neutral expression, so Benton would have to ask feedback later. The other man, the Jade Chameleon, appeared contemplative and, weirdly, almost pleased.

How odd.

His task more than adequately accomplished, Benton Teleported out before he could accidentally ruin it somehow.

Later, after giving Kang Ya-Ting time to return to his sect and settle in, Benton Teleported to the elder’s study.

He cupped his hands. “How did this lowly one do, Friend Kang? And give it to me straight. I can take criticism.”

“There were … hiccups in your performance, Friend Su. Referring to Qiu Zhenkang as friend was not a good idea. The speech itself wasn’t bad, though, but it was his slip that really made things absolutely perfect.” Kang Ya-Ting paused. “Frankly, it’s good to discover that there do exist tasks that you aren’t good at.”

Benton laughed. “Get to know me well enough, and I’m sure you’ll find many, many things. Were my late wife still with us, she could have provided you with a detailed list.”

“You were married, Friend Su?”

Benton tried not to talk too much about his life back on Earth for obvious reasons, and discussing it with the spymaster for the Poison Claw Sect’s branch was absolutely the wrong person to start with. He shrugged. “You live long enough and many people pass through your life. Some have much more impact than others.”

“Understood, Friend Su.” Kang Ya-Ting went on to share his belief that Mao Biya, at least, would take the bait. The Jade Chameleon Sect would have a hard time restraining her even if they wanted to.

Of course, they’d first bide their time. They didn’t yet know exactly what service Qiu Zhenkang had performed for Benton, after all. Assuming that the clan did lose to, or even failed to dominate, their Rising Tide opponents in the tournament, however, Mao Biya was sure to draw the exact conclusion that Benton wanted her to.

Perfect.

While he’d never been one for office politics, making big maneuvers like he’d done earlier that day was actually kind of fun. Employing a secret agent spy. Coming up with all kinds of cool toys … uh, tools. Acting. What wasn’t to like?