Benton hadn’t expected his visit to the two girls to be such a bumr. Wan Ai was a smart kid who had done so well with alchemy and cultivation that he’d gained a lot of confidence in her abilities. He hated to lay such a heavy burden on her, but he didn’t have ti to take on every task himself.
The eting with Jin LiJuan had been lighter. She was clearly doing much better since he’d created that formation for her bed that literally chased away bad dreams. The Quiet Mind technique seed to be helping as well, and she hadn’t even reached Small Success with it yet. And she’d had no problem accepting responsibility for her own success by hunting for her own cores once she was ready.
His problem with her was that he felt so bad sending her potentially into harm’s way. Most of his earliest sect mbers felt like kids to him, but they were in the mid to late teens, old enough to be taking on responsibility even if he had a hard ti considering them adults. Twelve, on the other hand, was still a little kid by any asure. Certainly not ready for adult actions like fighting spirit beasts with her life literally on the line. But everything he had learned about cultivation told him that she needed to earn her own power. Giving her the cores would be more dangerous for her in the long run than having her hunt them herself.
At least his other chores had gone fine. Since he’d used Ti Manipulation, inscribing the three arrays around the amphitheater had taking only minutes instead of hours, and two sessions of spirit coin generation, for two minutes or twenty hours depending on one’s viewpoint, had produced close to thirty-six hundred greater coins. Not bad.
Of the items on his task list, that left the council eting. Fortunately, between his ssenger dragons and his extrely capable assistant, they were all waiting for him on the third floor of the Administrative Hall. He Quickstepped down there and found his fifteen previous official council mbers; his two new ones, Sun Hua and Mo Nuying; his regular guest attendee, Kang Lin; and his two new guest attendees, Kang Ya-Ting and Yuan Yaozu.
It was ti to start planning for the big fight.
Of course, the first step was to make sure that a big fight was actually inevitable. Which, honestly, he kind of hoped it was. That sect, after all, had killed Ye Zan. They deserved to be wiped off the face of the planet. Period.
The only reason he was even bringing the subject up was because he knew it was better to swallow his pride than to risk any more of his sect mbers being hard. After all, there was always the possibility that he could lose. And if that was the case—so be it. He’d lived a long life on Earth and had thoroughly enjoyed himself so far on this planet that no one seed to have a na for.
The thought of another one of the kids dying, though. No. Just no. He couldn’t accept that outco. If the best way to protect them was to kowtow to those jerks, that was what he would do.
“How sure are we that the two Nascent Souls can’t be reasoned with?” Benton said. “After all, I have significant treasures I could offer as bribes, such as cultivation thods, techniques, and access to the Trial Pagoda.”
Kang Ya-Ting answered imdiately. “While your offerings would more than suffice under almost any other circumstances, the loss of face the Jade Chaleon Sect suffered was trendous. You killed or destroyed the cultivation of nearly half their Golden Cores and literally laid waste to their branch sect. If they don’t utterly obliterate you and your entire sect, they can never restore their honor.”
Benton searched the room for anyone else willing to voice an opinion.
Yang Xiu obliged him. “Why are you even considering peace, Master? They killed Ye Zan.”
“To honor his mory.”
She stared at Benton, clearly not understanding his answer.
“Ye Zan gave his life protecting this sect. If I go out there and attack those cultivators when there is even a tiny chance that I could have convinced them to be peaceful and my actions cause the eventual death of soone in this room or one of our other sect brothers or sisters not present with us right now or even the weakest, least talented mortal villager, how can I say that I was acting on his behalf? The truth is that I would have been acting for because it was the action I wanted to take. To honor Ye Zan is to take the path that most likely leads to all of you living long and fruitful lives.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not ant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Yuan Yaozu gave a sharp nod. “Well said.”
“Master,” Zou Tian said, “I agree one hundred percent with your sentint. The thought of endangering Wan Ai sickens . But I think Honored Elder Kang Ya-Ting has the right of it. These Nascent Souls aren’t coming to talk. They’re coming to send a ssage and to kill.”
Benton had co to rely on Zou Tian’s analysis. Thus, having Zou Tian agree with Kang Ya-Ting’s position actually lent a lot more weight to the position than just the elder saying it.
“I know you don’t know , but since I was invited to attend, I assu I can voice my thoughts?” Yuan Yaozu said.
“Of course,” Benton said. “All are welco to speak here.”
The peak Golden Core cultivator cupped his hands. “Those n were dead the mont their formations were disrupted. Their most fervent desire is to go out in a blaze of glory for the honor of their sect, especially if they think that even their deaths will serve the sect’s greater good. They likely know about everything you can offer. Either they’ll kill you and reap the spoils, or they’ll die and fulfill their ultimate purpose.”
Yikes. That was a depressing thought.
Benton took a deep breath. “Kids, no matter what happens, if you are ever in a position that you feel you must die to preserve the sect’s honor, take a step back, find soone stronger than you, and have that person slap you silly.”
Tension had been building because of the heavy topics, and his comnt relieved so of the pressure. There were a lot of smiles and even so chuckles.
“Seriously,” Benton said, “don’t forget what this sect stands for. Follow Ye Zan’s example. The only valid reason to sacrifice yourself is to save another. Got it?”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Honestly,” Benton said, “the opinions you all hold regarding the possibility of talking it out with the Jade Chaleons match mine. I’ll wait for them between the towers behind the shield, just as I did for our visitors today. I will not attack first, but I will not be surprised when they do. Neither will I try to halt matters once they begin. Good enough?”
No dissent was voiced, and neither did he see any expressed on faces.
Benton didn’t want to go over the specifics of his plan with the group. Not that there was anyone present that he distrusted, but well… Kang Ya-Ting was not enough of a friend to support him purely out of altruism, and Benton didn’t know the new guy at all.
Besides, it seed to Benton that battle plans were things that really should be shared only with those with need to know, and since he was the only one who would be fighting, no one else really needed to know.
He did, however, ask for any suggestions and advice. None of the kids, not even Zou Tian, had anything for him. Of course, they all believed he had vastly more experience than they did. Not even his actual sect mbers with a little age had any suggestions as battle with Nascent Souls was far beyond their ken. Even Kang Ya-Ting was silent.
“Lad,” Yuan Yaozu finally said when no one else spoke, “Nascent Souls are tough. It’s extrely difficult for even one at the peak of that realm to defeat two of them acting together. And make no mistake—the cultivators the Jade Chaleons are sending after you each have more combat experience than all the Golden Cores you defeated put together. If you have a way to kill them, don’t hold back. Don’t fool around or try to be showy or try to hide your strength. Take them down fast and hard.”
Benton cupped his hands toward the old man. It wasn’t the most optimistic of outlooks, but it was good to hear it straight.
“The Grand Defensive Formation may or may not hold long,” Benton said. “It can definitely handle a few shots, and I plan to exit its boundaries as soon as the festivities begin. If they concentrate solely on , the shield should stay up. The towers will be attacking them, though, so they may concentrate on taking down the formation to eliminate that threat. Either way, you should remain safe behind the secondary shield in the amphitheater. It, too, will ward off several shots, but they should have no reason to attack it as long as I’m in the fight. If they do attack it, their reason will probably be to distract my attention, thinking to force to defend you. In addition to feeding it coins to keep the shield active, those of you able to manipulate qi externally can feed your qi into one of the nodes I made on the inside of the protective array. If they start attacking the amphitheater, I need you and the rest of the sect to hold out as long as you can.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Alright, my understanding is that the Jade Chaleons would think that attacking before dawn is a loss of face?” Benton said.
“Correct, Friend Su,” Kang Ya-Ting said.
“Then I want everyone, sect mber and villager, safely ensconced in the amphitheater no later than an hour before dawn. All of you are to make sure that my order is carried out and that no one is left behind. Understood?”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Very well. Dismissed.”
Benton Quickstepped up to his office. He had a lot of thinking to do, starting with additions to his combat capabilities. He’d been considering the fight against the cultivators that had killed Ye Zan, especially about what worked and what hadn’t. The analysis definitely gave him a few ideas, and he had all those Sect Points just sitting there waiting to be used…
Reviews
All reviews (0)