Jin LiJuan was not having a good day. A peak rank six spirit beast—the equivalent of a peak Foundation Establishnt cultivator—wanted to form a temporary bond with her. Which was bad because she hated spirit beasts. But it was good because the thunderbird was obviously quite powerful even for its realm. Fighting alongside it would surely lead to her making a valuable contribution to the sect.
Mostly, though, the day was confusing.
Master had told her she couldn’t be a beast tar because, since she’d bonded Ganzou, she couldn’t use a technique like the ones tars used. She tried to rember his exact words but couldn’t. The impression she’d gotten, though was that she could only bond one beast.
Leizhenzi said that wasn’t true. Master obviously couldn’t have been wrong, but she easily could have misunderstood. He’d given her a lot of information all at once. Naturally, Jin LiJuan’s first impulse had been to send a ssage to Master asking for advice, but that had been hours and hours ago. According to everyone, he usually returned ssages quite quickly.
She didn’t know what to do. Did she even want to bond the beast? Not a ntion a third beast as well? The thought of advancing Ganzou to rank six and fighting with an extrely powerful team held interest. Even if she had very little ability, her teammates could carry her if they were good enough.
The Rising Tide Sect had no one participating in the highest level of the Foundation Establishnt rank. If she could not only join but do well, that would bring great honor to the sect.
Pan Jiang said that small sects who were invited to the tournant rarely stood out. Winning one or two rounds was considered a good showing for such a cultivator. He couldn’t rember ever hearing about a top ten finish in a category.
If Leizhenzi’s friend was as strong as he and Ganzou, any bout would essentially be three against one. As long as she could simply stay back and not get taken out, there was a chance that her team would do really well, right?
She was so tempted. Ever since even before she joined the sect, she’d been nothing but a burden to everyone around her. Bonding Leizhenzi was her chance to do sothing beneficial.
But doing so also felt like a betrayal of her parents. They’d been killed by spirit beasts. Bonding Ganzou had been an accident. She had made a choice, but if she’d known the full consequences beforehand, she definitely might have decided differently. To continue down the sa path would dishonor the mory of her parents.
Of course, Leizhenzi had stated multiple tis that the bond he wanted to form was temporary. It would expire soti soon after the tournant. So was making use of beasts for a benefit really a betrayal? Maybe her father would have approved. They did, after all, raise chickens for eggs and cows for milk. What she was doing would be no different.
Right?
Jin LiJuan sighed. It felt different. Bad. But also like a good idea.
Which brought her right back to how confused she was.
If there was one path she never envisioned for her life, it was one where she embraced fighting with a nagerie. Master was right. The heavens were laughing at her.
Luckily, Leizhenzi respected that she had to wait for Master’s advice, so she didn’t have to decide imdiately. There was only so long his patience would last, though. Hopefully, one of those blue paper dragons would appear any minute.
Even when the ssage ca, however, it was unlikely to solve all her problems. Master would only tell her if the bond could be done, not if she should do it. He left those kinds of selections to his disciples. She was sure he’d say sothing like, “You have to know your own mind.”
If she knew her own mind, she wouldn’t need his advice!
What to do? What to do? What to do?
It was late afternoon, and Benton still hadn’t gotten around to seeing Jin LiJuan. Honestly, he was feeling a bit guilty over his absence, but he had to bring Kang Ya-Ting back to the city first, which required waiting for him to finish his visit with his granddaughter.
Benton sighed. When you were dealing with teenagers, so degree of angst was inevitable, and the odds of two of them suffering a crisis at once grew exponentially with every one you added. He wasn’t necessarily putting the needs of Kang Lin over Jin LiJuan as much as he simply bowed to the exigencies of the situation.
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Besides, Kang Lin really needed the personal attention. Having him and her grandfather show they cared about her wouldn’t resolve what she was going through, but it would help. If they were on Earth, Benton would have given her a great big hug, but his current society frowned on such things.
Bumr that. She could really use one.
Anyway, the fact that they’d made a Lightning Source for her had obviously touched her. It had just as obviously not solved her problem. Unfortunately, no one but her could figure that out.
Anyway, finally it was ti to find Jin LiJuan. He started by Teleporting above the area where she’d last camped. While hovering in the air, he quickly sensed her and her new friend.
It was quite an interesting state of affairs. As evening was nearing, the rest of the expedition had returned to find a peak rank six beast chilling at their campsite. To say that they didn’t know how to handle the situation was an understatent. The looks they were casting at the apparently oblivious thunderbird were quite amusing.
One more Teleport brought Benton down to the gathering. “Greetings, Esteed Thunderbird. I’m assuming you’re the scion of the Lord and Protector of the Eternal Celestial Peak?”
At Benton’s appearance, the thunderbird imdiately grew reverent. It kowtowed before him. “Esteed Sect Leader. My great, great, and so forth and so on, grandfather sends his greetings. This lowly one did not an to disturb you. This lowly one was inford that it was permissible to approach the Esteed Sect Leader’s disciples.”
“It’s all good. You did absolutely nothing wrong. I’m here solely at Jin LiJuan’s request to help her with such an important decision.”
“Gratitude, Esteed Sect Leader.”
Benton turned to his disciple. “So, Jin LiJuan, what exactly is the question?”
She explained that she was confused both about whether she could form a temporary bond with Leizhenzi and about whether she wanted to.
“I see,” Benton said. “As to the first, it is my understanding from Leizhenzi’s grandfather that beasts can bond with a cultivator who has already bonded another. To be honest, I believe that knowledge to be unknown to almost all humans, including myself until very recently.”
Jin LiJuan appeared shocked at the admission.
“I know much, Li’er, but no one, not even , knows everything. You should never expect perfection from people, only that they do their best.”
She cupped her hands.
“Honestly, the knowledge not being known makes sense. It’s rare for a human to find one beast that is compatible with their qi aspect, much less multiple ones.” He chuckled. “Chalk this crazy confluence of events up as yet another advantage of your particular situation.”
The look on her face told him she was absolutely conflicted about whether it was a good or a bad thing.
“As for the second,” he said, “I cannot advise you as to if you should or not, only explain the advantages and disadvantages.”
“Yes, Master,” she said, obviously dejected.
Sotis it was very difficult not to jump in and work out the kids’ struggles for them. Evelyn had been quite firm on that issue, though. He could give advice. He could lead the kid to water. But he couldn’t make them drink.
Given that all their children had turned out to be fine adults, he wouldn’t start second guessing his wife anyti in the near future.
“Leizhenzi,” Benton said instead, “will you explain your purpose for bonding Jin LiJuan and your plan?”
The thunderbird brought his wings in front of him in a passable imitation of cupping his hands. “Of course, Esteed Sect Leader. This one wishes to compete in the tournant but cannot do so without a bonded cultivator. Luckily, Junior Sister Jin LiJuan is perfectly suitable for such a bond—a temporary one, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Benton said.
“Since this one will compete in the top Foundation Establishnt division, this one will help Ganzou hunt for the next several weeks, raising him to rank six, which will also raise Junior Sister to the equivalent rank.”
“And her note ntioned sothing about another team mber?”
“Oh! Yes, of course. Due to Junior Sister’s particular situation, she can bond almost any beast, but there is no need for quantity when you have quality.” The giant bird stuck out its chest. “Winning the top division at the tournant is not easy, though, even for a thunderbird with this one’s strength. It’s especially difficult since a bout would be over the mont Junior Sister is unable to continue regardless of the status of Ganzou and . Thus, we need protection for her, and I have the perfect candidate in mind, a defensive specialist.”
“There you have it, Jin LiJuan,” Benton said. “The advantage is that you advance to the peak of Foundation Establishnt and lead a powerful team that may have a legitimate chance of going far in the tournant.”
He paused, a little frustrated. All the sect mbers were way too gung ho about the competition. “Personally, I don’t think you kids should get too serious about competing. My advice is to try your best and have fun. If you walk away having learned sothing and even perhaps made a friend or two, then you’re a winner as far as I’m concerned.”
He sighed. “But a lot of our sect mbers would really get a kick out of you doing well. And you’d be doing our neighbors a favor, which is always a good idea.”
The girl looked more unsure than anyone he’d ever seen. “I’d have to bond two more beasts, Master! You know the effort one took.”
“There is that, which is a good reason both to do it and not to do it, depending on your goals. Other than that, I’m not seeing a lot of downside. My understanding from Leizhenzi’s grandfather is that the bond is safe, and if it isn’t, I will do everything in my not inconsiderable power to make things right for you.”
She looked like she was about to cry, which broke his heart.
“I wish I could make this easier for you, Jin LiJuan, but I can’t. It’s your decision, and I will neither endorse it nor forbid it. Even worse, I have to point out that, as you currently are, you’re unlikely to make the cut to represent our sect. For Leizhenzi, however, I promised his grandfather that I would let him participate if one of my sect mbers agreed to bond him. Thus, if you really want to go to the tournant, bonding him is definitely your best chance.”
She buried her face in her hands. Poor kid.
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