Though Benton had never regretted his choice of careers back on Earth, he had to admit that his life hadn’t been the most exciting. Besides a few nice trips—seeing the Colosseum in Ro and glowing lava flowing across a nightti landscape at Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii stood out—most of the big events he’d experienced centered around his family. He grinned thinking about the birth of his first grandchild.
That was then, though, on a whole different planet. He’d been given the opportunity to start fresh, to experience a life of excitent and adventure, and he planned to embrace that chance.
So far, so good, too. The decision to beco a sect leader, though maybe not as powerful as the other two choices, fit him perfectly. The only hiccup so far was Su’s instincts telling him that the demonic cultivators might track him down if they ever discovered that he lived. Still, if his grandson’s stories were any indication, having a System would make all the difference even against the greatest of odds. He just had to leverage the power it provided.
Speaking of which, a box popped up.
Prepare for System integration. Beginning in ten seconds.
(Hint: It’s good that you’re already seated.)
Knowing what to expect after the last such warning, Benton braced himself. Not that it would do any good.
His atypical pessimism turned out to be on target, as the searing pain inflicted inside his skull rivaled the mory integration in intensity. The experience did seem to pass quicker, at least. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to endure too many more instances like that.
The musing instantly brought a subset of Su’s mory to the fore, clearly telling him that to be a cultivator was to embrace pain. Challenging the heavens was not for the weak or timid.
Great.
The next popup box made the pain worth it.
Welco System Host! The Sect Leader System is designed to help you build a sect that will defy the heavens.Sect Na:Not ChosenSect mbers:0Sect Points:100Shop Points:0Host Cultivation:NoneHost Techniques:Nonenus:[Cultivation thod][Technique][Quest][Perk][Advancent][Shop - LOCKED]
Gaining access to a System was everything that Benton had expected and more. It was just so neat. He couldn’t wait to get started.
The first two lines were self-explanatory. He’d not established a sect yet, chosen a na for it, or recruited any mbers.
The next line, though, seed important.
“System, what are Sect Points?”
Sect Points are a resource used to create cultivation thods and techniques for sect mbers. When mbers advance a minor realm using one of the cultivation thods so created, Host will receive one point. Bonus points will be awarded upon advancent to the next major realm. A Sect Point is likewise awarded when a mber advances to Lesser Success of a technique so created and then to Great Success and two points when advancing to Mastery.
Sect Points can also be used to advance Host’s cultivation and understanding of techniques.
Okay. That was pretty understandable. Benton would make an investnt of points by creating a cultivation thod and/or technique for a mber and would, hopefully, gain a profit when that mber advanced. The minor downside was that the point pool drawn from to invest in his mbers was the sa one used to make himself stronger. He’d have to manage the usage carefully as he doubted there was any way to run a debt. If, for instance, he decided to imdiately use all one hundred points to make himself strong, there would likely be no way for him to ever gain any more.
“System, what are Shop Points?”
Sects run on resources, and a beginning sect simply isn’t likely to run across enough assets on which to build a solid foundation. Through completing quests and reaching certain milestones, Shop Points will be awarded to assist Host in gaining crucial resources, be it pills, weapons, talismans, or materials and tools needed to build formations.
(Hint: Shop Points are provided in limited quantity. It is advised to pursue other ans of acquisition, such as purchasing from rchants or training sect mbers in the arts of production, to the greatest extent possible.)
That explanation was, as his grandkids would say, #asexpected.
The next two lines were a bit concerning but not exactly surprising considering Su’s mories. His cultivation had been reset to the beginning. The good thing was that, if he was understanding things correctly, all he had to do was use points to increase his level, so there was presumably no worry about any potential damage done by the demonic cultivator’s attack interfering with his future advancent.
As soone who’d previously reached the middle of the Foundation Establishnt Realm, Su’s instincts were making him feel more than a little anxious about sitting in the depths of a forest with no cultivation at all, tempting Benton to spend so of those points imdiately. He resisted that urge, however. There was no way he would move from his current location before making himself stronger, and he’d obviously spend the necessary points quickly if anything threatening erged into the clearing around the pond. Until then, he felt like he had ti to gain more information by exploring all the tabs before making any decision.
“System, please show the Cultivation thod nu.”
Welco, Host, to the Cultivation thod Creation nu.
Select Cultivation Realm:
Qi Gathering
Foundation Establishnt
Golden Core
Nascent Soul
Nihility
Ascension
Half Immortal
True Immortal
Immortal King
Immortal Emperor
Heavenly Saint
Celestial Being
Su’s instincts boggled at that list. So of those realms existed only as rumors of legends, but presumably, the System would allow him to create cultivation thods for them. Did that an all he had to do to reach those realms was earn enough points? That was a question for much later, though. He needed to focus on what was important for the beginning of his journey.
“System, can I go through the process of creating a cultivation thod without spending any points?”
Host will be given the choice to commit at the end of the creation process. If commitnt is declined, no Sect Points are charged.
Perfect!
“System, for this test case, I select Golden Core.”
Cultivation Realm set to Golden Core.
Sect Point Factor set to four.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Select Applicability:
Targeted to Specific Qi Aspect
Sliding Scale (Specify)
Any Qi Aspect
Benton understood little of details of that nu, so he had a lot of questions.
“System, what is the Sect Point Factor?”
The Sect Point Factor is the number by which the initial value of the cultivation thod will be multiplied to calculate the final value of Sect Points required to create the thod. The Sect Point Factor for the Qi Gathering Realm is one. Foundation Establishnt is two. Nascent Soul is eight. And so on.
Wow. That progression would get expensive fast. He’d have to carefully watch his points if he didn’t want a single Immortal Emperor to bankrupt his entire sect.
“System, what is a qi aspect?”
Each user’s qi is uniquely aspected to that individual. Two users might both posses a fire aspect, but one may be the smokey fla burning wet wood in a campfire in order to char spirit beast at while the other may be the glowing embers in the hearth of a fireplace used to warm a family. Cultivation thods may be tailored specifically to a particular qi user’s aspect. In that case, the thod would be much more difficult to cultivate and would be much less powerful for anyone not possessing that exact aspect. thods may be more generally applied to a broader category such as fire or set to apply to any qi user. The broader the application, the more Sect Points are required to be used.
Okay. That made a lot of sense.
“System, how many Sect Points are required to target a specific user’s aspect?”
The initial value to apply a cultivation thod to a unique qi aspect is ten.
Ouch. That number was a full ten percent of his starting value.
“System, how many points will be returned when a Qi Gathering mber reaches Foundation Establishnt?”
Assuming the mber started from the beginning of the Qi Gathering Realm with a created thod, the total Sect Points earned when the mber reaches Foundation Establishnt is twelve.
Yikes. The profit margin was kind of low.
“System, if we apply the sa scenario going from the start of Foundation Establishnt all the way to Golden Core, would the mber return twenty-four points from an initial investnt of twenty?”
Host’s calculations are correct.
“System, if I were to create a Qi Gathering thod and set the Applicability to any aspect, what would the cost be?”
The Sect Points required to create a cultivation thod for the Qi Gathering realm that is accessible to all qi users is twenty-five.
Ouch. Double ouch. That quantity was one quarter of his initial funds.
“System, how much would a sect mber going from beginning to Foundation Establishnt with that thod earn ?”
The sa as with the previous example. A mber starting from the beginning of the Qi Gathering realm with a created thod will earn you a cumulative total of twelve Sect Points upon reaching Foundation Establishnt.
Wait. That answer didn’t make sense.
“System, so I’d lose thirteen Sect Points?”
For that one mber, Host would lose thirteen Sect Points. Correct.
That qualification at the start of the answer was interesting. Benton was apparently missing sothing important.
“System, can I give the sa thod to multiple sect mbers?”
Yes.
“System, how many sect mbers can use the sa thod and what is the additional cost per mber?”
The Sect Leader System does not regulate the number of mbers that may use a cultivation thod or technique, and Sect Points are only charged for the initial creation.
That ant that the number of points that he could earn for his twenty-five-point investnt was essentially infinite. At a return of twelve points per mber, almost everything the third mber on earned would be pure profit.
Targeting the thod to a specific person was cheaper, but it had a much lower profit ceiling. Unless he was bingo on points, why would he ever choose to use that option?
“System, besides the reduced cost, is there any other advantage to tailoring a thod to a unique qi?”
A user cultivating a thod perfectly suited to their unique qi aspect will find that advancent between realms cos faster and easier, more power is obtained, and a better foundation is built than if the user had used an equivalent, broader thod.
Okay. The whole thing was starting to make a lot more sense. If you have an aweso recruit that you want to be ultra powerful, feed that recruit uniquely attuned thods and techniques. anwhile, profit from the sect’s rank and file who are stuck using the generic ones.
That setup was not as egalitarian as his Earth sensibilities wanted, but according to Su’s mories, that was just the way a cultivation world worked. There simply weren’t enough resources for everyone to receive the best ones.
And that standard operating procedure really made sense given the numbers that System had thrown at him. Ten points here and ten points there and twenty-five over there and he’d be flat busted in a heartbeat. Waiting a year or two to gain a asly profit of two points was just too slow.
The other side of the coin was that his sect was going to need protection, and the higher ranked mbers were simply going to be better equipped to provide that than anyone else. Benton had no choice but to prioritize talent when it ca to spending.
“System, please continue with the creation process. I choose Sliding Scale, any qi user that has an aspect even tangentially related to fire may use.”
Sliding Scale selection accepted.
Please allocate 100 Cultivation thod Creation Points in the following three categories:
Ease
Power
Foundation
Based on the previous answer, he felt pretty good about what those three categories ant. But it was better to make sure, starting with the absolute basics.
“System, what do these categories actually do?”
Cultivation thods provided by the Sect Leader System are, in general, easier to use, produce more powerful results, and build a stronger foundation than the cultivation thods commonly found on this world. The categories allow the Host to add bonuses to each of these categories.
“Okay, System, what I heard is that my sect mber will already be better off than those of other sects just from the base cultivation thod without any of the Creation Points being used, but you’re making the thod so overpowered that I can add a bonus to any or all of these categories on top. Correct?”
Yes.
Benton asked in turn about each of the three categories. Ease was a asure of the difficulty of using a thod. A sect mber would be able to progress from the start to the peak of each minor realm using a thod with Ease set to one hundred much faster than with a thod that had Ease set to zero.
Power in the context of the creation nu referred to how much qi the cultivation thod would add to the sect mber’s pool with each advancent and how much the thod would increase the strength of the sect mber’s intrinsic qi aspect.
Foundation was a asure of the stability of cultivation developed by using a thod. A sect mber would be able to breakthrough from the peak of a minor or major realm to the next using a thod with Foundation set to one hundred much easier than with a thod that had Foundation set to zero.
All three categories were important considerations for a cultivator, and the fact that Benton could determine how much weight to give each was amazing.
He thought he understood the hundred points as well but wanted to make sure.
“System, please elaborate on how the points are distributed and what the exact impact of those are.”
Cultivation thod Creation Points allow the Host to customize a cultivation thod to fit the sect’s priorities. If the Host desires a thod that is balanced between the three, set two categories to thirty-three and the third to thirty-four. If the Host prioritizes cultivation speed above all else, set Ease as the highest of the three. Likewise for Power if strength is desired above all else, and Foundation if advancent to the next major realm is all important.
That explanation really clicked with Benton. He’d really need to think about what was most important to him. Did he need his mbers to ascend the realms as quick as possible or to be able to easily defeat opponents of the sa realm or was increasing the height the mbers could eventually reach the most important criterion?
“System, please set Foundation to fifty, Power to twenty-five, and Ease to twenty-five.”
Cultivation thod Creation Point allocation selection accepted.
Please provide a na for Host's cultivation thod.
Ugh. Benton hated naming things.
“System, please na the thod the Suprely Ultimate Heaven Defying Blaze of Glory but for Test Purposes Only thod.”
Na accepted.
Congratulations, Host, on the creation of the Suprely Ultimate Heaven Defying Blaze of Glory but for Test Purposes Only thod!
Would Host like to create this thod for eighty Sect Points?
Yeah, that was a hard no. Still, he wanted to make sure he understood the process before he officially declined.
“System, could you display the calculation thod used to arrive at eighty points?
Applicability set to Sliding Scale (all qi aspects even tangentially related to fire): Initial Value = 20 Sect Points
Sect Point Factor = 4.
Total Sect Points = 20 x 4 = 80
Good. He’d successfully grokked the explanations. Perfect.
“System, I do not want to create this thod. Please delete it.”
Decision not to create the cultivation thod accepted.
Host has 100 Sect Points Remaining.
That was fun. Benton couldn’t wait to see what was next.
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