Chapter 147 - 52-58

Chapter 52 - The Cat Is out of the Bag

Benton sat on a quite comfortable seat next to Yang Xiu in the stands overlooking the arena. Below, Yang Ru and the young sect idiot waited for the duel to begin.

Kang Ya-Ting entered the stands and sat nearby. The first words out of his mouth were, "So, Orange Vigor Spirit Wood?"

Yikes. That guy didn't pull any punches.

"A valuable commodity," Benton said.

"It is interesting when a resource that has been unavailable suddenly pops up on the market again. Such an occurrence makes one curious about the party making the sale and about what other deals that party might be involved in. Like arranging for the production of one hundred spears suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Purchasing three wagons full of food. Making the owner of the Swift Hunter Weapon Vault quite happy by buying a mass quantity of bows and arrows. Inquiring about enough herbs to bring one hundred people up to the peak of Bronze body cultivation."

Kang Ya-Ting paused for a reaction, and when he didn't get one, he continued. "That party has been busy indeed. One might wonder what the party intends with such purchases. Perhaps the party wishes to form a sect and seize control of the riches of resources in that area?"

The cat was well and truly was out of the bag, and Benton had no easy way to explain away his actions, especially since one of his impressionable young disciples was sitting right next to him. She readily accepted when he occasionally stretched the truth to avoid attention, but he suspected it might impact her growing trust in him should he outright lie to get out of a tight spot.

Time to come clean. For values of coming clean, that was. In a creative manner would be best.

"This one and his disciples happened upon a village that was in bad shape, beset by spirit beasts and unable to leave their walls. The upcoming winter was sure to bring starvation. This one promised to bring their product to market and return with supplies. This one further intends to train and arm cultivators in the area to cull enough beasts to return the village to a thriving community."

There. His statement wove in enough facts to sound authentic without mentioning the whole sect founding issue. More importantly, the story didn't make it seem like Benton was tied to the area in any way. Just passing through and helping out.

Under the circumstances, it really was the best he could do.

"What cultivators are there in the area?" Kang Ya-Ting said.

"This one intends to teach the villagers."

"From memory, that village is quite small. It is unlikely that there will be many with the necessary potential to be worth teaching."

"What potential is required to learn enough to defend the village from low level spirit beasts? Given a weapon and a suitable technique, low to mid Qi Gathering is enough, especially when combined with Body Cultivation. All but a negligible percentage of people can attain that much."

"It is expensive and time consuming to do that, though."

Benton chuckled. "This one has plenty of time, and the wood paid for most of the costs."

He glanced down at the arena floor. Was the duel ever going to start?

"The Esteemed Master Cultivator bargained three wagons full of Orange Vigor Spirit Wood in return for a promise and actually intends to follow through on that promise? And further to spend valuable time and resources to build up the village?" Kang Ya-Ting said.

"Of course."

Man, were they ever going to start the duel? Ever?

"Are not the inhabitants of Prosperous Gray Forest Village mortals with no way to hold a cultivator to account?"

"They are," Benton said. "This one considers keeping his word to be of paramount importance. To not do so would impugn this one's honor."

"That is an interesting sentiment for a wandering cultivator." Kang Ya-Ting seemed genuinely perplexed. "The Esteemed Master Cultivator must be getting something out of the deal. Is it the spirit wood that is so valuable? In the grand scheme of things, this one is not sure it's worth that much effort."

Benton shrugged. "This one has lived a long life and done many things, and one overarching lesson has been that one reaps what they sow. Karma is real."

The best part about that statement was that it wasn't a lie at all. He'd thought a lot about why he'd been given a choice of where to go after dying on Earth and being able to select a cool System. His rewards had to have been because of how he'd lived his first life.

"Helping others and being faithful to one's word build Karma." Benton smiled. "This one hopes not to die for a long, long time, if ever, but if that happens, this one is confident that the next life will be even better."

He glanced at Yang Xiu, who cupped her hand and bowed toward him.

"This one sees," Kang Ya-Ting said.

In contrast to the words spoken, Benton was pretty sure the man didn't understand at all. Sects gave a kind of face to the concept of Karma, but few seemed to truly embrace all the implications of it.

Finally, though, a sect elder entered the arena and started talking, and Kang Ya-Ting cut off his interrogation to focus on the duel. The rules as stated by the elder were matched closely to similar bouts from Su's memories save for the particulars of the arrays. Most if not all sects had some method of keeping spars non-lethal, but the ones in this arena were top notch, definitely much better than anything the Flowing Tiger sect had.

Benton needed to get something like it for his people. That day was a long way away, though. He hadn't even properly founded his sect yet.

"Impressive arrays," Benton said. "This one thought that your sect only maintained a small presence in Sixth Flawless Flowing City and that your main location was elsewhere?"

Kang Ya-Ting appeared a bit sheepish. "Not many outsiders visit the main sect lands, so the function and appearance of the facilities here have taken on outsized importance."

Ah. The three sects in the area all visit each other's base in the city, and they got into something of an arms race to see who could make their digs the most opulent. Made sense.

Benton turned his attention to the arena as the duel began, and the start went according to his expectations. Yang Ru stood still, and Pan Jiang got mad about it.

As instructed, Yang Ru channeled his inner Keanu Reeves from The Matrix, and Benton chuckled. The taunt worked even better than expected. Pan Jiang totally lost it and started sprinting.

Kang Ya-Ting grimaced.

After the first two exchanges, Benton thought the exchange of pointers was going to turn out to be, well, pointless. That opinion didn't change when Pan Jiang fell to the ground after suffering a minor strike.

"No offense, Esteemed Cultivator," Benton said, "but your disciple doesn't seem to have as much expertise as I'd anticipated."

The man sighed. "He is coddled too much. Any who could and would challenge him are kept far from the sparring rings when he is present. This one has argued against such treatment, but this one's advice has fallen on deaf ears. Perhaps the results of today's contest will change some minds."

Benton did give the kid some credit. After brushing himself off, he gave it his best effort, even after it was clear to everyone watching that he simply wasn't good enough.

Yang Ru looked up to the stands, asking permission with his eyes to end the fight.

Benton had hoped to see his disciple in action against someone of a similar realm and skill level, but the young sect member just wasn't up to the challenge. Continuing it was pointless. He nodded.

Kang Ya-Ting seemed more resigned than angry. "Congratulations to the Esteemed Master Cultivator's Disciple."

The man's attitude was not due to his disciple being trounced. That outcome would hopefully be to the kid's benefit. Since he no longer thought himself invincible, he had the opportunity to actually start learning.

No, the underlying cause of the man looking like someone who'd come to terms with his unfortunate fate was the same reason Benton had manipulated the man into the bet in the first place.

"How valuable is the sword?" Benton said.

"Extremely. It was a gift from the child's father. Heads are going to roll at it being lost."

Benton gave him a look.

"Not this one's head. Others. But as his master, some, shall we say, negative consequences are sure to come this one's way."

"Would it benefit the Esteemed Master Cultivator if this one's disciple didn't take the sword?"

"This one could not ask the Esteemed Master Cultivator to do that. The blade was fairly won."

Though Kang Ya-Ting's words refused, his face and tone held only hope.

"It turns out that this one could use a favor or two from a cultivator who belongs to one of this city's sects," Benton said.

"Ahh. Tell me more. Maybe this one can help."

"This one has managed to make the acquaintance of a couple of young people."

"This one sees. The prohibitions against cultivators recruiting. Were these young people tested?"

"No tests. One helped us with some trouble against a gang, and this one fears he might be in danger if left here. The other is learning how to craft the Orange Vigor Spirit Wood, which may be of some assistance to this one in the future. Both can swear using any truth test required that they were not tested in any way."

"That seems a simple enough matter to resolve, but the Esteemed Master Cultivator mentioned two favors?"

"Yes. As we discussed, this one will be taking wagons of food back to Prosperous Gray Forest Village. A company of mortal guards might dissuade bandits and save this one from personally protecting the merchandise. If the Esteemed Master Cultivator could find a group willing to perform such a function, this one could avoid running afoul of any suspicions of recruiting."

"That also seems like a simple enough matter to resolve. How many guards was the Esteemed Master Cultivator seeking?"

Benton shrugged. "At least eight. No more than twelve to fifteen. Whatever the Esteemed Master Cultivator thinks best. This one would prefer a group who already knew each other and were willing to work together."

"What experience level?"

"Honestly, no experience necessary. This one is the true threat. They only need to look the part. This one will teach them everything they need to know and give them weapons and uniforms." Benton paused. "Unfortunately, this one doesn't know when they might return to this city, so perhaps finding young men and women with a desire to see the world might be for the best?"

"These two favors seem too easily fulfilled, considering what is being given up."

Benton shrugged again. "Neither this one nor this one's disciple has any need for a sword, especially not one likely to borrow future trouble. Besides, it is hoped that this arrangement might lead to goodwill between this one and the Poison Claw Sect."

For the first time since he'd met Kang Ya-Ting, the man actually smiled. "This one appreciates the sentiment and thinks the Esteemed Master Cultivator is on a path to becoming a friend of the Poison Claw Sect."

"Wonderful."

Benton watched as Kang Ya-Ting conveyed the information about the sword not changing hands down to the elder in charge of the contest. Yang Ru didn't appear to care one way or the other about the development. In contrast, Pan Jiang seemed overjoyed.

Yang Ru needed to be compensated in some way, though. He had won a valuable sword but wouldn't get to own it or sell it.

Benton decided to give him fifteen thousand contribution points. Sure, they were worthless right now, but he could envision a day when one of the orphans from the village spent hours tending to spirit herbs just to earn ten of them. On that day, Yang Ru would be more thankful for the points than for the sword he had no use for.

"This one thanks the gracious Esteemed Master Cultivator for the chance for our disciples to exchange pointers," Kang Ya-Ting said. "The contest turned out to be more fortuitous than this one expected."

Benton felt the same. In fact, he was actively thinking of ways he could strengthen ties with the sect. If one of the three nearest sects took an interest in the area around Prosperous Gray Forest Village before he earned enough points to reach Nascent Soul, he was vulnerable, especially given what Kang Ya-Ting already knew about Benton's plans. Having one of those sects as an ally would go a long way to mitigate that weakness.

He had an idea about how to move the Poison Claw Sect even further toward seeing him in a highly favorable light, but it had a big downside. First, though, he had to see if it was even possible.

"This one has a question but doesn't know if it might offend," Benton said.

"Ask away. Unless the question is truly beyond the pale, this one promises not to take offense."

"Does Pan Jiang not have a sword technique?"

Kang Ya-Ting sighed. "His family's technique is not suited for his wood aspected qi. The sect, of course, has a vast library of sword techniques, but he has rejected all of them as not being good enough. Perhaps after his showing today, he will finally choose one of them."

Benton couldn't have asked for a better situation. As a parent, he knew that the fastest way to a man's heart was to do something nice for his kids, and if the techniques produced by the system were as good as Benton suspected, providing one to the young master would be a huge boon. If that didn't solidify his relationship with Kang Ya-Ting and the sect, nothing would.

Two problems. One, as best as Benton could judge from Su's memories, the System's techniques were really good. Su wasn't someone who had graded such things, though, so it wasn't clear exactly how good.

Benton didn't know how the sect would react if given a really top-grade technique. He doubted they'd try to rob him to see if he had more, right? They still had to be wondering exactly how high his cultivation was, making any attempt at force dangerous.

Two, creating a sword technique for Pan Jiang would cost Sect Points and, since there was a zero percent chance that the young master would ever join Benton's sect, there was exactly no way to recoup those points. Of course, a technique only cost three points, but that was for one specifically tuned to an exact qi aspect.

Benton internally quailed at the thought. Turning over such a thing to anyone outside his disciples was a complete non-starter. A perfectly tuned technique was not something one could run across; it would be obvious that he had created it. Revealing that ability was a one-way street to having every sect in the world trying to compel him to create techniques for them.

Hard pass.

The alternative was to spend a whopping eight Sect Points to create one that could be used by anyone with a wood qi aspect. At least his creation could be useful to his own sect members in that case, but he was planning on focusing on spears. Who knew how far down the road it would be until he happened to have a member who could use it?

Nope. He wouldn't see any points returned for the immediate future. If he was going to provide a technique to the Poison Claw Sect, he'd be trading eight out of only thirty-three available Sect Points for a completely unknown amount of favor from a sect with whom he currently had only the most nebulous of relationships.

Was it worth it?

The answer—a hard maybe.

Kang Ya-Ting had made the connection between Benton and Prosperous Gray Forest Village. The Poison Claw Sect knew where Benton would be setting up his sect, and he didn't have nearly enough personal power, even if he used all his points, to counter an entire sect, much less three. All he had were bluffs and … goodwill.

Currently, his bluff of being a Nascent Soul cultivator or above and what little goodwill he'd managed to create by not taking the sword were not nearly enough of a buffer between the power of the sects and his impending obliteration.

In contrast, eight points represented four minor realms in Foundation Establishment or two in Golden Core. But those levels were only helpful if there were fighting, and fighting meant the chance of Benton or his disciples dying. He would much prefer the situation not get to that point.

Benton had no way to even estimate how much of a chance at peace those eight points would purchase. Heck, it might even make being attacked more likely.

In the end, he really felt like his and the twin's survival might very well depend on how favorably the Poison Claw Sect viewed him. He quickly ran through the relevant menus and had the System create the Strong Oak Sword Technique.

"This one came across something in his travels that might prove to be of benefit to the Esteemed Master Cultivator." Benton removed the new jade slip from his ring and presented it to Kang Ya-Ting.

"Oh?" He immediately dove his sense into the slip. "This! What is this?"

"Is there a problem, Esteemed Master Cultivator?"

"This jade slip contains a Heaven grade sword technique suitable for a Qi Gathering cultivator with wood aspected qi. You—" Kang Ya-Ting paused. "Excuse this one for his rudeness. The Esteemed Master Cultivator happened to have such a technique in his ring?"

Heaven grade? Really? That was high quality indeed. The highest.

According to Su's memory, that grade on a sword technique—the most commonly used weapon by cultivators—made for those in the Qi Gathering Realm—the most common realm of cultivator—was literally priceless even if it was limited to those with a wood aspect. Such things were not even sold at the most exclusive of auctions, much less given away.

Benton did his best to channel his inner super-powerful nearly immortal cultivator who knew all and had seen all. "One travels. One collects things. That technique is not useable by my disciples and, thus, is of no import to me. If it is a help to the Esteemed Master Cultivator, please have it with my blessings."

Kang Ya-Ting was rendered absolutely speechless.

Benton had stepped into murky waters. On the plus side, he'd proven himself a valuable ally. In doing so, however, he'd shown himself to be potentially exploitable.

Kang Ya-Ting had to be thinking things like: Did Chao Su have more of the slips? How high was his cultivation actually? Could that ring be taken from him?

Benton's life had just gotten a lot more complicated.

Chapter 53 - Lessons from a Train Bound to Nowhere

Kang Ya-Ting excused himself from the mysterious cultivator, Chao Su, as quickly as was polite, telling him to treat himself and his disciples to one of the various restaurants on the sect grounds—free of charge, of course.

The sect leader was in secluded cultivation back at the main sect mountain, so Kang Ya-Ting, not even sparing a brief moment for a word with his disciple, rushed out of the arena and straight to the elder who had been placed in charge of the Sixth Flawless Flowing City branch.

"Elder Dai! Elder Dai!"

"What has gotten you acting like a wet behind the ears recruit, Ting'er?" Dai Shuren shook her head. "Rushing in here like a fool."

Kang Ya-Ting didn't respond with words. He simply pushed the jade slip into her hands, and of course, her immediate reaction was to dive her spiritual sense into it.

Her expression took on the same expression he imagined his had when he'd done the same. "Where did you get this?"

He quickly relayed the story starting with Pan Jiang arrogantly confronting what he thought were trash wandering cultivators on the street to his inability to sense Chao Su's cultivation to being manipulated into betting the Pan family sword to the results of the duel to the presentation of the gifted technique.

"Astonishing," she said when he'd finished. "And this Chao Su just happened to be carrying this technique in his ring and was willing to give it away for nothing in return?"

"The odds against him having a Heaven-grade wood-aspected sword technique that was absolutely perfect for Pan Jiang are astronomical. Unless, of course, he's got a whole library of techniques in that ring. Then having this particular one isn't so strange." Kang Ya-Ting knew that avarice was shining in his eyes, but he couldn't help himself.

"And is it possible he's really in the Nascent Soul realm?"

"It's either that or he's got an amazing treasure that hides his cultivation. I can't know for certain which is more likely, but my guess is that he really has reached that high or higher."

Elder Dai scoffed. "Higher? Really?"

"He certainly possesses the wisdom of someone of great age, belying his apparent youth, and in my experience, it is those of great age and the highest of cultivation levels who tend to gather amazing treasures. Besides, he'd have to be an idiot to display something like that jade slip and not have the ability to defend himself. And of all the things he may or may not be, I'd stake my reputation as an elder on him not being an idiot as one of them."

"What do you advise then?" Elder Dai said.

"I want the contents of that ring. Really want it. But I fear that this is one of those decisions that can easily end up with the entire Poison Claw Sect becoming a smoking crater."

"It's a matter of risk versus reward, then. Trying to take his ring from him conveys a potentially high reward but at a correspondingly high level of risk. On the flip side, it costs us almost nothing to make him a friend of the sect, which gives us unknown future rewards but with almost no risk." She sighed. "I'm going to have to defend whatever decision I make to the sect leader, and there's just too little information. Let's see what the sect's internal arrays have picked up of this Chao Su's conversations."

Benton hoped he'd done the right thing in gifting the sword technique to the Poison Claw Sect. The sense he'd gotten was that Kang Ya-Ting was an honorable man. For a cultivator, anyway.

Still, he couldn't help but feel that his fate was hanging in the balance as Kang Ya-Ting did whatever he rushed off to do. Benton's sense of unease was so great that he couldn't even enjoy the excellent meal the Poison Claw sect was providing and not just because they had "poison" in the name.

Apparently, he wasn't doing a great job of hiding his unease, either.

"Is Master okay?" Yang Xiu said.

Benton's desire to protect the kids from his concerns warred with his philosophy that leveling with them would provide a better foundation for their future as sect leaders. He was also well aware that he had to be very conscious as to what he said. It was likely, almost guaranteed, that the sect had ways to listen in on their conversation.

"In some ways, we came out of the day in fantastic shape. Yang Ru dominated, and I was thoroughly impressed in every way." He smiled at the boy, who uttered a pleased grunt in response. "We arranged for Zou Tian and Shi Long to accompany us when we leave town, which is a load off my mind since I'd promised that result to each of them. And Kang Ya-Ting is going to handle finding additional guards for us, so that removes a small burden from my task list and greatly eases potential strife with the authorities over the plan. Combined with having bought everything I wanted save for stocking up on pills, we've accomplished the vast majority of what we wanted here in the city."

The twins tensed, knowing that a "but" was coming.

"But one of our goals was to avoid the complications that arise from drawing the attention of any major sects." Benton gestured to the restaurant. "We have managed to fail that task most spectacularly."

"This lowly one apologizes, Master," Yang Ru said.

"Nonsense. It's not your fault. When you encountered Pan Jiang, you followed my instructions perfectly."

Yang Ru nodded.

"I don't even think it was my fault for sending you two out alone," Benton said. "I made the best decision that I could at the time."

He paused for a moment, reviewing his thought process. "The likelihood of a sect member, of a stereotypical arrogant young master sect member at that, being in such a low rent area of town and happening to see you two was, as far as I could tell, negligible. It was just a thing that happened. Life is like that sometimes.

"Would I have rather we didn't encounter him and that we weren't sitting here right now instead of the warehouse? Yes. But I don't regret our actions. We're playing the hand we were dealt with aplomb. Deciding when to bluff and when not to. Placing the right bets. Now, we just have to know when to walk away and know when to run."

Good old Kenny Rogers. Benton sure had been sad when he heard about the legend's death.

Huh. Imagine him on a litrpg world. Would he be a gambler? A bard?

"Anyway, I'm just not too sure about how the sect is going to react to the value of the technique that I gifted them," Benton said. "I obviously feel confident that I can handle anything they can throw at me if they try to compel me to gift them more treasures."

Yeah. No. He didn't feel confident at all, but the kids didn't need to know that. And the Poison Claw Sect absolutely couldn't know that.

"My main worry is that they know that I clearly care for the two of you," Benton said, "and you two, while very talented and skilled for your age and realm, just aren't quite ready to punch up as high as might be necessary. I fear that I might not be able to keep you safe, and leveling this place in retribution would be cold comfort if I had to bury one or both of you."

There. He'd see what the sect made of that bluff. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that rot.

Kang Ya-Ting and Dai Shuren stood in the branch sect's array master's pavilion. A recording replayed the conversation between Chao Su and his disciples word for word in high quality sound.

Sweat broke out on Kang Ya-Ting's brow as he listened. Chao Su, for all that he seemed like a friendly guy, said exactly what was expected of an old monster who had no doubt he could make the heavens bend to his will.

"These disciples of his," Elder Dai said, "they seem to be his weak point."

"So, we what? Kidnap them? Ransom them for treasures? Taking advantage of an opportunity that falls into our lap is one thing. Measures such of those are on a whole different level of ruthlessness. We are a righteous sect."

She sighed. "You're right, of course. I would not be able to justify such actions to the sect leader for any amount of potential treasure. If we're going to take from him, we'd have to be straightforward about it, and that just seems like too much of a risk. I mean, it's possible that he's lying, but if so, he's doing a convincing job of it. As far as I can tell, it's just as likely he is exactly what he presents himself to be."

He nodded. "It's good that he ran into one of our sect members instead of a Jade Chameleon, huh?"

"You're right about that. I'll authorize friend tokens for him and his two disciples."

Kang Ya-Ting cupped his hands toward her. "Thank you, Shur'er."

Chapter 54 - Coming Up Roses

Benton and the twins were just finishing dessert in the restaurant when Kang Ya-Ting met them.

He immediately cupped his hands before giving each of the three a decorative metal pin. The piece of jewelry was the shape of a green snake and had a clasp on the back. "The Poison Claw Sect thanks the Esteemed Master Cultivator for his most gracious and prized gift. Though these tokens do not intrinsically represent an iota of the value of the gift given, this one hopes the Esteemed Master Cultivator will treasure the friendship represented by the tokens just as much as the sect treasures his technique."

Well, in pure monetary terms, treasuring the pins just as much as the technique might be stretching it a bit if Benton had been a normal cultivator. Since he could whip up as many as he had points for, though, the calculation was a little more complicated. He wouldn't trade a Sect Point right now for just about any amount of silver taels.

On the other hand, a pin that signified the Poison Claw Sect's friendship might one day prevent a conflict that would otherwise cost lives. The small piece of jewelry represented that the wearer was valued by the sect and should be treated as a member by the public and other sects. For the members of the Poison Claw Sect, it meant the bearer had the favor of the sect's elders, signifying that messing with them was a huge risk.

Friendship with the sect was only a step below being an ally, a position that took years of fruitful exchanges to receive. It was everything he had hoped for and more.

Benton immediately clipped the pin to the left breast of his robe and bade the twins to do the same. He cupped his hands to Kang Ya-Ting. "This one understands the honor inherent in the presentation of the token and accepts that its value far exceeds the humble gift offered by this one."

"Nonsense. This one's gift was clearly the inferior. Esteemed Master Cultivator's technique is unique under the heavens."

"This one's technique was but a trifle, nothing in comparison to the friendship of the mighty Poison Claw Sect."

"This one appreciates the Esteemed Cultivator's high esteem for his sect, but that technique is a treasure to ignite the avarice of a monk."

What followed was a long conversation in which each of the two participants praised the others' gift to the high heavens while denigrating their own. As Benton got into the spirit of the contest, making wilder and wilder claims, the twins looked on in bemusement.

By the end, though, Kang Ya-Ting seemed well pleased.

"If this one may enquire, are there any specific benefits of the pin that this one and his disciples might avail themselves of?" Benton said.

"Well, to begin with, the Esteemed Master Cultivator and his disciples are welcome guests of the Poison Claw Sect and, as such, are entitled to use the facilities both here in the Sixth Flawless Flowing City branch and in the main sect lands. Such guest rights include entrance to baths, the right to stay in special lodging areas, free meals at participating sect restaurants, access to unlimited training and sparring areas, and discounts at shops. If one were to need, for example, pills, one would find that the Poison Claw Sect alchemists are renowned as superior throughout the region and that the offerings available inside the sect grounds far outstrip those found anywhere else in the city."

If that reference to buying pills wasn't a blatant admission that the sect had spied on Benton's earlier conversation with the twins, he didn't know what was, and obviously, they were going to refuse the offer of lodging. Too many ears around.

"Of course," Kang Ya-Ting continued, "any facility requiring contribution points to enter, such as cultivation areas equipped with arrays to increase qi density, will require special permission. A reasonable amount of such usage has been allocated already, and the Esteemed Master Cultivator or his disciples need only contact me to arrange for entrance."

That accommodation was a surprise. Special cultivation areas were highly coveted by sect members, and usage came at a premium of contribution points. For an outsider to be allowed in demonstrated that the person was held in very high regard indeed by the elders.

"This one unfortunately has errands that will occupy the rest of the day." Benton had to go pick up the bows and other stuff he'd ordered from the Swift Hunter Weapon Vault. "This one would definitely like to access the alchemy shop, however. Would tomorrow work?"

"Of course."

There was one more ask that Benton had, but that one would require him leaving the twins at the Poison Claw Sect while he ran his errand. His thoughts as a person from Earth was that the whole being designated as a friend of the sect setup could be a trap, that leaving his disciples behind was too dangerous. According to Su's memories, however, no sect would dare even the smallest of slights against one granted such a high-level guest right. The loss of face would be tremendous.

"This one hesitates to impose on our host's generosity, but the thing that is most desired is to see the disciples truly tested in spars against similarly accomplished cultivators. Would it be possible for the sect's trainers to evaluate them so that they could be matched with appropriate opponents? This one would enjoy watching those bouts tomorrow."

"That idea sounds delightful," Kang Ya-Ting said. "Judging from the prowess this one has observed thus far, such spars will be just as beneficial for the Poison Claw Sect members. This one will not only accompany the Esteemed Master Cultivator's disciples to the trainers but give them a personal tour of the sect grounds."

Benton's immediate impulse was to tell the kids to behave and mind Kang Ya-Ting, but those admonitions would be treating them like children, not the adults that their society considered them to be and the future sect leaders Benton hoped they'd become. Instead, he simply told them to have fun.

All in all, his trip to the Poison Claw Sect had resulted in everything coming up roses. The rest of the day was more aggravating.

To begin with, he felt strongly that he needed to conceal exactly how much of a treasure his spatial ring really was. After all, he had no idea how close the decision to treat him as a friend of the sect instead of simply trying to take his treasures from him had been. Discovering that he carried a storage device so vast that Su wouldn't have even been able to comprehend the size of it might tip the scales for the elders to change their minds.

That particular deception meant he had to use a wagon to pick up the weapons instead of just showing up and sweeping it all into his ring.

A bad thought hit him. Kang Ya-Ting knew about all Benton's purchases, meaning that Benton would have to leave town with everything in wagons. Crap! The food alone filled the three he had. Pills were small and would fit in a regular sized ring without a problem, but he'd need to procure more cargo space for the weapons, the fabric, and the herbs. He would have to find at least three more wagons and oxen to pull them, and they'd all have to be bought instead of rented.

There went some of his stash he was planning on spending on pills.

An even worse thought hit him. He was drawing a lot of attention. Spies were everywhere in sects. News of him being named a friend of the Poison Claw Sect had surely reached the Swift Blizzard and Jade Chameleon. One or more of the three big sects in the city were likely to follow him when he left to return to the village.

Man, he was going to have to use a wagon train until any pursuers gave up, if they even did. That meant no simply stowing everything in his ring and taking the direct route through the forest. The new route would add a month or more to his travels.

Oh well, what must be done would be done. The village had survived for years on its own. It could wait some extra number of weeks for their food delivery.

Not that anyone save perhaps the orphans and maybe Zhong Wen were expecting him to return in the first place. Besides, this world wasn't like Earth. There were no cell phones, no texting if one were going to be five minutes late. Being a month later than anticipated on a long trip was just a part of the hazards of travel.

By the time he'd finished ruminating on the trip home, he'd reached the warehouse. Though the twins typically handled most of the wagon-driving, Benton had picked up enough skill to be able to get from Point A to Point B. Slowly. With many angry pedestrians left in his wake. Which were the circumstances when he arrived at the weapons vault and those when he returned to the warehouse.

Next, off to find more wagons and oxen. Great. He just loved dealing with the huge smelly animals.

Maybe he should wait for the twins to return. That job seemed like a good learning opportunity for his disciples.

Chapter 55 - Loose Lips Sink Ships

Yang Xiu was more than a little nervous because Master had left her and Yang Ru alone at a strange sect with no instructions other than to, "Have fun."

"Esteemed Master Cultivator," she said to Kang Ya-Ting, "this lowly one and her brother are a bit lost as to what to do. Please guide us."

"Oh, so this one is your brother? You look quite similar in age."

She cupped her hands. "Yes, Esteemed Master Cultivator. These lowly ones are twins."

"Enough with that Esteemed Master Cultivator nonsense. Your master and I are friends. You can call me Elder Kang."

"Yes, Elder Kang," the two chorused.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The elder said with a grin. "Let's begin our tour of the sect grounds."

He was much nicer than Yang Xiu had expected him to be. Master was quite casual and nice once you got to know him, but from the stories, other cultivators weren't like that. Of the two higher level ones she'd encountered, though, both were actually pleasant. Maybe the stories were wrong.

As they walked, Elder Kang pointed out many buildings and what their purpose was. The grounds in Sixth Flawless Flowing City were miniscule compared to the sect's main location, so they only had three pavilions onsite—alchemy, arrays, and martial.

The elder called these three the core pavilions necessary for any sect. Alchemy provided cultivation aids that healed, directly provided qi, cleared meridians, and assisted with breakthroughs. Arrays aided in defending the sect grounds, increasing qi density, and many other benefits that were too countless to name. And of course, the martial pavilion was where sect members learned how to fight.

He turned to Yang Ru and said, "Don't judge the sect on the performance of Pan Jiang. He's a bit of a special case."

"Of course, this lowly one will not do that, Elder Kang."

"So, twins you say. How you came to be Chao Su's disciples must be an interesting story."

Without giving it much thought, Yang Xiu told the elder an abbreviated story of how the two were forced out of their village and how Master saved them and taught them to cultivate.

"You're, what, fifteen now?"

"Yes, Elder Kang," she said. "Though our birthday is coming up in a couple of months."

"Oh, so you're coming up on having been with Chao Su for two years?"

"Oh no, Elder Kang. These lowly ones met Master less than five months ago."

"I see, and you're at, what, the fifth minor realm or the sixth?"

It was at that point that Yang Xiu realized that the man might be trying to get information out of her that Master wouldn't want known. It would be rude to not answer his questions, though, and she had no talent at twisting the truth like Master did.

For an instant, she considered trying to turn the speaking duties over to her brother, but Yang Ru would likely be even worse than her.

"Sixth, Elder Kang. Is that fast or slow?"

"Assuming you're near the peak of sixth, extraordinarily fast."

The man was definitely pumping her for information. He clearly knew exactly what realm they were in, including that they were nearing break throughs.

Okay. She had to come up with a reason for their fast cultivation. What would Master prefer him to think—that the two of them were supremely talented or that Master has the ability to raise average disciple up quickly?

Given the whole discussion about recruiting and the fact she'd foolishly revealed how they met Master, it felt like the elder finding out how talented they were would lead him to believe Master had a way to determine potential. She guessed that Master would prefer the elder not come to that conclusion.

Of course, Master wouldn't have left her in such a situation if he didn't have confidence in her. Or if he didn't care all that much what the elder found out. But that didn't seem right.

She was so confused.

Well, the only thing she knew for a fact was that, even when something that felt like it was bad happened, Master was able to make things turn out just fine. All she had to do was her best and report the truth back to Master when she next saw him.

Feeling much more confident, she said, "This lowly one is gratified to hear Elder Kang say that. These lowly ones didn't have anyone to compare ourselves to."

"You two must be quite talented. Did your master ever tell you what rank your spiritual roots were?"

Time to lie her butt off, which felt wrong but also right. She thought Master would approve.

"Master said he didn't have access to a … something?"

"A testing array?"

"Yes! That was it." Yang Xiu smiled at him, feigning gratefulness. "Anyway, Master said that our talent didn't matter to him. Apparently, the cultivation method Master gave us was so good these lowly ones would be able to use it whether we were supremely blessed or … gutter trash."

"Heaven grade?"

"This lowly one wouldn't know, Elder Kang, but Master said the method would make it easy and quick for us to advance, especially with the pills he gave us."

"Qi condensing or meridian cleansing?"

"I apologize, Elder Kang, but this lowly one doesn't know. Maybe both. These lowly ones did not ask."

The elder hmmed. "Taking too many pills can be dangerous. You can ruin your cultivation base."

"With respect, Elder Kang, but without Master, this lowly one would be a concubine of the man who had our parents killed, and my brother would be dead. If it serves Master's purpose for us to advance quickly through the first major realm before stagnating, we will still be better off than we would have been."

"That is a good point. Your master is lucky to have such loyal and diligent disciples."

"If it helps ease your concern, Elder Kang, this lowly one does not think Master plans on our cultivation being anything less than the best he can help us achieve. Master apparently has no small amount of expertise in using pills to advance cultivation."

"That may very well be the case. Your master is a man of many talents and much mystery."

Yang Xiu would have let out a relieved sigh if she weren't concentrating so hard on schooling her expression.

The last place on their tour was the martial pavilion, where Elder Kang turned them over to another elder, on old man with the name Pan Cai. His family name immediately put both the twins on alert.

"Greetings Esteemed Master Cultivator," the two chorused.

"Elder Pan is fine." His voice was stern, and he stared at each of them appraisingly in turn until settling on Yang Ru. "Are you the one who beat up my cousin?"

"The duel was fair, Elder Pan," Yang Ru said.

The man laughed. "I know. I was just kidding. You did us all a favor by knocking some sense into the kid's head. Would that it sticks this time."

The twins looked at each other, Yang Xiu's saying, "Is this guy for real?" Yang Ru's replied back, "I guess?"

"Anyway, let's get on with what you came here to do," Elder Pan said. "Starting with the young man. What is your realm and what techniques do you use?"

The two looked at each other again, Yang Ru's saying, "Is it okay to answer?" Yang Xiu's replied back, "That's sensitive information, but Master told us to do this, right?"

"Qi Gathering minor realm six, Elder Pan," Yang Ru said. "My main technique is combat fundamentals of spear use, which I have advanced to Mastery, and I have recently started learning one for stone skin, which is still at the Small Success stage."

"I see. And the young lady?"

"Same minor realm, Elder Pan. My main technique is fundamentals of the bow, which I have mastered, and I have been working on a perception technique for a moderate amount of time, having only advanced it to the Small Success stage."

She hated to admit that failure, but honestly, she was having a hard time with the new technique. After doing so well with both weapons, she had thought herself something of a genius, but to her chagrin, the newest one had disabused her of that notion.

"Excellent. Truly excellent," Elder Pan said. "You both have a strong foundation in weapon arts. Mastery at your age is to be commended. And either you or your master chose well for your secondary techniques."

The elder had each of them demonstrate their strength, speed, agility, and weapon skills against wooden dummies.

"Excellent," he said when they'd finished. "You both truly have mastered your respective weapon techniques, and those techniques must be very high quality. Your moves are much better than I would have anticipated for your age, as was your qi usage. Not many of my students are a match for you in efficiency or quantity available."

The twins were somewhat disappointed by the elder's pronouncement.

"Is there no one for us to spar, Elder Pan?" Xan Xiu said. "Master really wants to see us in a challenging fight."

The man laughed. "Oh, I didn't say that none of them can challenge you. Fear not, I have your measure and think I can scare up an opponent or two. If your master wants to see you have to go all out to win, he will not be disappointed."

Kang Ya-Ting marched into Dai Shuren's cultivation room, eager to share information about his latest encounter with Chao Su and his disciples.

"Yes, please come in, Elder Kang. Thank you for knocking so politely and then waiting to be announced, Elder Kang."

He chuckled nervously. "Apologies, Elder Dai. I got a little too excited about my news."

"Well, don't keep me waiting, then. Report."

"According to the girl, she and her brother are both at the peak of the sixth minor realm and have been cultivating less than five months."

"Five months to reach the sixth realm?" she said. "Surely, the girl was lying. That's three months faster than even our most talented sect members."

"Possibly. My spiritual sense placed her at the peak of the sixth realm, so that part was definitely truthful. The part about the five months is a lot less clear. She didn't appear to understand that the information was important until after she said it. It felt like a genuine slip of the tongue."

"A-ranked talents then? How did he find them?"

Kang Ya-Ting nodded. "Exactly my thoughts. She says he randomly encountered them in the woods. She also says her advancement is solely due to Chao Su's easy and fast cultivation technique and his expertise in giving them pills."

"How plausible is that?"

"Well, the technique he gifted us was heaven grade. It's definitely not out of the realm of possibility that he had access to cultivation methods of a similar quality. Note that it would definitely be methods plural, though. My sense tells me the boy cultivates a fire-based method and the girl an ice-based one."

"Did he raid a Heavenly Tier Sect's library?" Dai Shuren said. "How could one man have access to so many treasures?"

"It does give even more credence to him being at Nascent Soul or above."

"Unfortunately, you're right," she said. "We still can't draw any definitive conclusion on whether he has access to a way to test spiritual roots, either."

"With all the techniques and cultivation methods he's carrying around, it makes sense that he has something like the orbs we carry around to recruit at the remote villages. The girl didn't mention anything like that, though. Further, she claimed Chao Su didn't care one way or the other. And you'll remember that he's assured me that those two boys he recruited here in the city can swear on a truth stone that they haven't been tested."

"Which means either he truly doesn't care if they're trash…"

"Or he has a way to determine the quality of one's spiritual roots without the person knowing," Kang Ya-Ting said.

"Should we put a hold on approving the two young people he wishes to leave the city with him?"

"Honestly, I've never even heard of that kind of ability. We might be projecting a little too much power onto him. His story for how he encountered both of the boys checks out. One worked for a gang keeping an eye on Chao Su until he turned the kid. The other dreamed of becoming a blacksmith but was working in a shop selling weapons. Chao Su apparently needed someone willing to learn how to craft with spirit wood and took advantage of the opportunity." He shrugged. "Maybe he wants them for exactly the reasons he stated."

"You're probably right. No sense looking for a fantastic explanation when a mundane one will do."

"Exactly. Even if he had that ridiculous ability, what would be the odds that two boys he happens to run across are supremely talented?" Kang Ya said. "And even if they are D or C or even B, we lose nothing by letting him have them."

"Agreed."

"The good news is that I have one way to check at least part of the girl's story. Chao Su has asked for access to the alchemy shop tomorrow. We'll see then if he truly is an expert with pills."

Chapter 56 - If You're Not Cheating, You're Not Trying

Benton thought he was doing pretty well for being on a cultivation world for less than six months. Between Su's memories of his experiences as a cultivator and his own life lessons from sixty years on Earth, he had plenty of mental resources to draw upon in any given situation to guide him down the right path.

That opinion lasted until Yang Xiu told him about what happened with Kang Ya-Ting.

His experience had failed him. Su had never played in the big leagues of sect politics. The most he had to worry about as far as intrigue went was trying to hide a new technique from his fellow sect members so he could unveil it during the next tournament.

Benton's lapse was more inexcusable. He had dealt with interoffice politics for decades. The only defense he had was that he'd never had much to hide from his bosses, so he'd never sweated it when his protégés had been forced to spend time with one of them.

He had never even considered the possibility that the Poison Claw Sect Elder would pump his disciples for information. Granted, he should have, but the thought simply didn't enter his mind.

Well, done was done. No use fretting over it.

After he assured Yang Xiu that her performance was well within his expectations, good even, he sent her away and played a mental game of "How Screwed Was Benton?".

Based on what she had shared with Kang Ya-Ting, The Poison Claw Sect elders had to suspect one of three things about Benton.

One, he had the ability to supply cultivation methods that were so good and easy to use that it made the talent level of the disciple nearly meaningless. Honestly, that one didn't represent a change from what they already probably thought. In their heads, his ring surely was full of heaven-shattering jade slips, considering the technique he'd suppled to Pan Jiang.

Two, Benton had the ability to easily and without the subject's knowledge determine the rank of a subject's spiritual roots. That one, by far, was the one he most wanted to hide. As with his ring and his ability to produce heaven grade cultivation methods and techniques on demand, such a skill would make him stand out too much. That ability just wasn't something that a normal cultivator could do, no matter how high the realm.

Once they discovered he had one unique secret ability, they'd be far more inclined to try to find out if he had any others. That result had to be avoided at all costs.

Three, he was an expert at using pills to advance cultivation. That suspicion might be the most problematic one but not because he didn't want the elders to believe he had such an ability. It actually fit the persona of the ancient expert high level cultivator he was creating.

No, the problem was that Yang Xiu had outright told Kang Ya-Ting that Benton he could do such a thing, and the sect would have plenty of opportunity to test him at the alchemy shop the next day. His entire relationship with them was built on a foundation no sturdier than a house of cards. One kick could send the whole thing crashing down, and his disciple being caught in such a lie was likely to be just that kick.

There was no help for it. He couldn't let the sect know that Yang Xiu lied about Benton's ability, and proving his expertise would make them less likely to think that he had the ability to detect the rank of spiritual roots. His only choice was to prove that he was, in fact, an expert in using pills to advance cultivation.

The problem was that he simply didn't possess any such proficiency. Su's education on the subject had been only as extensive as any other outer sect member. In other words, he was taught that pill toxicity was, in general, a Bad Thing and that he should avoid it.

Yeah. That advice was just so helpful. Thanks, Elder Qin.

Try as he might, Benton could think of no other option. He was going to have to use Sect Points.

"System, I'd like to add a technique, please."

Please specify the technique to add."Something that gives me expertise in administering pills to disciples to advance their cultivation and/or otherwise make them stronger without harming them."

Host currently has twenty-seven Sect Points.

Spend one Sect Point to attain Pill Basics – Small Success?

He hated spending the point. Partly because that twenty-seven was already looking paltry but also because he was breaking his ten percent rule.

Well, if the current situation wasn't an emergency, he didn't know what was.

"Yes. Spend the point."

A flood of information and memories about using pills was downloaded directly into his brain. He knew, in general, how much toxicity was too much depending on a bunch of factors, what pills were good in combination, in which minor realm the usage was most effective, and a great number of other things.

In general simply wasn't good enough, though, to impress the Poison Claw Sect with his expertise and certainly not to begin applying the knowledge to his disciples.

"System, please advance Pill Basics to Large Success."

Choice confirmed.

Host currently has twenty-five Sect Points.

More knowledge inundated his head, filling in the gaps. He of course considered using two more points to advance to Master in order to make him even more of an expert, but as a practical matter, Large Success seemed sufficient for his immediate needs. The remaining gaps in his knowledge seemed to mostly involve more esoteric topics, especially concerning the higher realms.

Unfortunately, the technique didn't tell him everything he needed to know.

In order to use most of the knowledge given by the technique, he had to know the purity of the pill. Su's memory indicated that most shops only ranked pills by a very wide grade, which was way too inexact for his purposes, and that those grades weren't always completely accurate, making the ranking almost worthless for him.

Besides, if he wanted to portray himself as an expert, could he really be constantly asking the shop attendant, "Hey, how good is the pill? What is it again?"

Nope.

He needed the ability to look at a pill and just know everything about it.

Yep. It was time.

"System, I'd like to buy the Analyze technique that we previously discussed."

Choice confirmed.

Host currently has twenty-four Sect Points.

Setting aside the question of whether his interactions with the System could properly be categorized as "discussions," his points were rapidly shrinking.

"You're going the wrong way. You're going the wrong way."

Funny movie.

Even worse, he knew, simply knew, that Small Success wasn't going to give him enough to even bother with. Might as well rip off the Band Aid.

He sighed. "Advance Analyze to Large Success, please."

Choice confirmed.

Host currently has twenty-three Sect Points.

That should do it. No more bleeding his supply of Sect Points tonight.

He spent the rest of the evening scanning everything he could with his new technique.

Object:Small StoneQi Rank:NoneGrade:NoneUse:Possible weapon if thrown by hand or sling. Possible building material for gravel road or in an aggregate.Value:NegligibleOther:N/AYes!

Object:Silver TaelQi Rank:NoneGrade:NoneUse:Buy things with it. Melt it and use the silver for crafting.Value:1 Silver TaelOther:N/A 

Neat.

He borrowed Yang Ru's spear.

Object:SpearQi Rank:Foundation EstablishmentGrade:Heaven, topUse:Weapon. Kill things. Defense.Value:50,000 Silver TaelsOther:This System-wrought weapon is unique. Nothing crafted by man can compare.What the huh? Fifty thousand taels? Yikes.

Benson pulled out one of his pills.

Object:Major Healing PillQi Rank:Suitable for mortals up to cultivators in the Foundation Establishment realmGrade:Heaven, top; 100% PurityUse:Heal gravest of injuriesValue:10,000 Silver TaelsOther:Will return any user up to Foundation Establishment from brink of death to fully healed but still can be used on mortals with no ill effects.He had been so worried when he'd given the twins both the Spiritual Root Refinement Pill and the Qi Condensing Pill, but he need not have. If those were anything like the one he scanned, the kids were never in any danger. The pills were simply too high quality to hurt them.

The more he experienced the System, the more he realized what a huge cheat it was.

Benton chuckled. He was cheating so he must be trying.

So far, he'd been focused on just setting up a sect, surviving, and helping some kids and the village with no further goals. Which made sense. There were still challenges aplenty to overcome, and the System only became truly overpowered when he had enough recruits for a proper sect.

Once he got things running, though, he could do more. Much more. Change the world more.

There was so much misery in the world. Intense poverty. The haves literally being able to kill the have-nots with impunity.

Systemic issues were not easy to solve, though. Better—and worse—men than him had tried. And the people in power tended to be invested in keeping the status quo, and surely there were many ancient immortal or nearly so cultivators that would curb stomp anyone making waves.

Benton needed to put some thought into what he actually wanted to accomplish, but that was for another day. One thing was for sure. His life as a cultivator was going to be a lot more interesting than his last.

Chapter 57 - All the World's a Stage

Benton was both dreading and looking forward to the trip to the alchemy shop. The former emotion was because a single mistake could have grave consequences, not just for himself but for the twins and all the orphans back in the village and the two boys he'd made promises to in the city.

He certainly had picked up a lot of responsibilities in a short time, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Most of his adult life had been spent as a husband and father and grandfather and accomplisher of honey-do lists and provider and a million other titles great and small.

The biggest lesson he'd learned in those sixty years was to find joy and laughter and happiness where he could. Which brought him to the second of those emotions, looking forward to the trip.

In his past life, he'd always laughed easily, but honestly, he'd mostly been kind of boring. Staid. Solid. Dependable. Average.

With the System, he had a chance to stand out, to embrace playing a role he created for himself. Being … theatrical. Yes. Theatrical.

He was going to walk into that shop and put on a show. Before leaving the warehouse, he gave himself a little reminder of the character he was about to play.

"You are a Nihility realm cultivator who has lived thousands of years. You have seen everything, so nothing stresses you out. You are unshakeable. Unflappable. You don't know everything, but you do know an awful lot. For a while, you lost your way, considering yourself better than everyone else and thinking your cultivation was the only important thing in the universe. Then, you lost your family, and you realized that you better appreciate what you have when you have it because you might find it gone tomorrow. Live in the moment. Enjoy yourself."

Benton grinned. He had this.

And bonus, the character he was playing would be a lot more casual with Kang Ya-Ting now that the two were acquainted. So long ridiculous speaking in third person nonsense.

Benton walked to Poison Claw Sect with the twins and Zou Tian. The latter was going to stick with him for the morning while the twins used a cultivation room they'd arranged the previous day. They'd all meet up at the arena later for the twins' spars.

Kang Ya-Ting met Benton and Zou Tian at the alchemy shop.

"Showtime," Benton thought.

He entered a room filled wall to wall with narrow shelves holding small bottles, each containing one to five pills. A wood counter built over a glass display case and more bottles of pills behind it blocked off the back part of the room. An apparently middle-aged woman stood behind it.

First step, examine the wares. The first pill he looked at was for minor healing, Qi Establishment realm. Its purity was only sixty-three percent, though. He wouldn't give one of those to someone unless they were dying, and it was their only shot. The bottle next to it held two pills of the same type. Seventy-two percent.

While Zou Tian stood quietly in the corner, trying, and almost succeeding, at blending into the woodwork, Benton picked up one bottle after another. It felt like he examined the shelves for an hour, spot checking. He found all kinds of pills—Qi Condensing, Meridian Cleansing, Major and Minor Healing, Poison, Explosive, Barrier Breaking for Qi Gathering to Foundation Establishment and from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, Detoxification, Beautification, Fasting, Spiritual Concealment, various resistances, etc.—but all save one had purities between sixty and eighty-nine percent.

He brought the sole exception up to the counter. "How much for this one?"

The woman picked up the bottle and looked at a symbol on the bottom. "Ten taels, so eight with the Esteemed Master Cultivator's discount."

"Ten? For this? Are you sure?"

"This lowly one apologizes, Esteemed Master Cultivator, but even failed pills require effort and resources to make. Ten is the lowest the shop can go, especially with your discount. Since the shop has a preservation array, its efficacy will remain constant without ever degrading, and this lowly one guarantees that someone will eventually buy it at that price."

Benton was becoming more than a little perplexed. "What exactly do you think this is?"

"A Black Fire Adder Poison Pill with only fifty-one percent purity. As the Esteemed Master Cultivator surely knows, purity matters less when dealing with poisons."

Benton wondered if the pill was a set up to test his knowledge and discernment, but if so, she was an even more amazing actor than he was.

"The only reason I'm interested in this pill is because it's the only one with high purity I found," he said. "Ninety-eight percent. It's a Black Fire Qi Concentrating Pill."

Usable by someone with a qi aspect related to fire, it would help a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment realm slightly increase the density of his qi.

"I mean, it's not super expensive or rare or anything," he continued, "but I'd put a value of a hundred taels on it at least."

The woman frowned and looked at Kang Ya-Ting.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Benton said.

Kang Ya-Ting grinned. "Perhaps a test is in order."

"Sure. We betting?"

"This one has learned his lesson about wagering with the Esteemed Master Cultivator."

Benton laughed. "So, the Esteemed Elder would bet on me succeeding? The honorable attendant certainly seems ready to take some of that action."

"This one could never take money from his subordinates."

Benton laughed again. "Fine. What's the test?"

The woman disappeared into the back and returned with a bottle holding a single deep purple colored pill.

"What can the Esteemed Master Cultivator tell this one about that pill?" Kang Ya-Ting said.

Yeah, they totally hadn't prearranged that at all. Benton was really glad he'd prepared himself by taking the two techniques even if he lamented having to spend four of his precious Sect Points.

A quick scan told him all he needed to know.

"It's a pill that grants resistance to mucus." Mucus? Really? Should he be worried about being attacked by mucus? "Good purity for the difficulty involved in creating it. Ninety-three percent. Thirty-five hundred taels. Kind of expensive, but I guess that, if ya gotta fight a mucus monster, you probably should pony up the cash for one."

"That is amazing," Kang Ya-Ting said. "Are you a master alchemist?"

"No! Not at all. In fact, I am truly terrible at alchemy." That part was true enough. Benton hadn't ever tried, and Su never could get the hang of it. "A long time ago, one of my fellow outer sect members—a really long time ago—was a junior in the alchemy pavilion. He convinced me to try it. Let's just say that things didn't go well. I'm not sure if they were able to save the furnace or not."

Kang Ya-Ting smiled politely at the anecdote. "This one is curious about the Esteemed Master Cultivator's sensing abilities, then. What the Esteemed Master Cultivator just did is not simple."

Benton feigned a wince. "That guy from the previous story? He wasn't quite as talented as the rest of the cohort and felt pressure to keep up. And he was an alchemist."

"So he…"

"Yeah. Way more pills than were good for him. Burned his meridians and pathways irrevocably." Benton paused, feigning reflection. "Man, I haven't thought about him in … centuries." He shook his head like trying to dislodge a memory. "Anyway, I didn't consume a single pill for years afterward, vowing not to do so until I completely understood the effect of everything put into my body. It took a long time, and I fell behind my cohort. In the end, though, here I am, and they … aren't."

"This one sees."

"So, the Black Fire pill," Benton said to the woman. "Will you take a hundred?"

"It's priced at ten," Kang Ya-Ting said. "The Poison Claw Sect will honor that price."

"I feel like I'm cheating the alchemist." Benton stroked his chin. "How about this—if the alchemist can craft a similar pill that's ice aspected in the next five days, I will pay two hundred taels. In fact, I'll pay the money now and will return after that time to pick up either the pill or the money."

The woman looked at Kang Ya-Ting, who nodded. "That is acceptable, Esteemed Master Cultivator. Should this lowly one start a tally of purchases so the Esteemed Master Cultivator can pay all at once?"

"Uh, no offense or anything, but I'm kind of disappointed by the offerings. I'm not willing to have my disciples use any pill of such low purity. I more than anyone knows what pill toxins can do to cultivators trying to build their basic foundations."

The woman looked at Kang Ya-Ting again, and again, he nodded. "This lowly one will be right back."

She was going to go get the good stuff. Finally.

"This one has a question," Kang Ya-Ting said.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Why is the Esteemed Master Cultivator buying the Black Fire Pill and paying a premium to commission one for ice?"

"Well, Yang Ru can use the fire one, but I don't want to buy him a pill and not one for his sister. You know how kids can be if you appear to favor one over the other."

"This one meant to inquire as to why the Esteemed Master Cultivator would give his disciples such a pill," Kang Ya-Ting said.

"Oh. You don't know."

"Know what?"

"What that pill can do when combined with two other pills."

Kang Ya-Ting frowned.

"Honestly," Benton said. "I kind of just wants to tell the Esteemed Elder. It's fun playing the wise old man who knows all sorts of ancient wisdom. On the other hand, this kind of feels like information that should be traded instead of given."

"The Poison Claw Sect would never pressure a valued friend to reveal his secrets."

"Now the Esteemed Elder is just playing hardball." Benton chuckled. "Fine. You got me. I'll at least tell the Esteemed Elder what the combination does."

Kang Ya-Ting leaned forward.

"If the twins take the correctly aspected pill along with the other two right after—and I mean immediately after—advancing to Foundation Establishment, the combination will increase their qi pool permanently by ten to twelve percent."

"Truly?"

"Truly."

The woman returned to the counter with a case and began taking pills from it. Benton immediately picked one up and scanned it. Qi Condensing pill, ninety-two percent purity. Better, but still not what he wanted.

In the end, he found six Qi Condensing pills at ninety-seven percent purity and above, three Meridian Cleansing pills in the same range, a Foundation Establishment Breakthrough pill at ninety-five percent, five minor healing pills all at ninety-eight percent, a major healing pill at ninety-seven percent, and after a bit of deliberation, selected ten more minor healing pills in the ninety to ninety-three percent range. He figured that, if one were desperate for healing, a little bit of pill toxicity was a small price to pay.

There were, of course, other high purity pills in the case but none he had an immediate use for. There was a Fasting Pill that was so, so close to one hundred percent that he almost bought it, but he had literally thousands of hot meals in his ring. Food wasn't a problem.

The total cost was fifteen thousand silver taels, twelve thousand after his discount which was much less than he'd budgeted, but then again, he'd figured on buying a lot more. He would have bought a lot more had he not taken the Basic Pills technique. Learning what low purity pills did to a cultivator's body turned him off using all but the finest ones.

Was he being overly cautious? Probably. Using a single pill in the eighties most likely wouldn't have much impact, especially if the disciple in question was of low talent who would probably advance no higher than Foundation Establishment. But even traces of toxicity built up over time and were difficult to completely get rid of before reaching Nascent Soul.

Benton wondered how many cultivators failed to make it to that vaunted realm due to just that issue.

The good news was that he had extra money, nearly forty-eight thousand taels, and nothing pressing he needed to spend it on.

One thing he wanted to start preparing for was that blessed day when his disciples started hitting Foundation Establishment. There were two things each of them would require—a weapon and a storage ring. At least, he considered the later a necessity. Most probably would place it into the category of a luxury.

How cool would it be if he could present each of his disciples with one of each when they broke through?

He already had the weapons, bows or spears depending on the cultivator's focus, so he only needed the rings.

"Does the Esteemed Elder happen to know of any shops that sell spatial rings?"

Kang Ya-Ting did, but he gave directions instead of accompanying the guests. "This one apologizes, but there are duties of an elder which need attending. Surely the Esteemed Master Cultivator is accustomed to such matters."

"Of course. Think nothing of it."

"Thank the Esteemed Master Cultivator for his gracefulness. We will meet again at the arena later."

The directions turned out to be excellent, and Benton and Zou Tian had no problem finding it. Thirty minutes and forty thousand taels after the discount later, Benton walked out with ten rings on a leather cord around his neck.

Chapter 58 - The Best a Man Can Get

Kang Ya-Ting remained in the alchemy shop until Chao Su and his young … ward were well out of sight. The boy was interesting in that the elder had almost forgotten he was in the shop.

That the boy could evade notice meant he was manifesting his qi aspect even though he was a mortal. Such a thing wasn't unheard of, but it was rare.

Some people, even wizened cultivators, believed a display like that one meant the mortal would automatically have great talent, thinking that the potency of the spiritual roots somehow led to the ability. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The boy had just as much chance of a being an F or any other rank as a random person on the street.

The real reason the boy was able to blend into the space was that the boy's qi aspect was abnormally strong.

That strength was both a blessing and a curse. It meant that every technique the boy used that closely aligned with his aspect would have a greater effect than if it were used by another person of a similar rank. It also meant that it was vastly more difficult for the boy to use cultivation methods and techniques that didn't align closely with his qi aspect.

Finding such resources could challenge even a mid-sized sect, but Kang Ya-Ting figured that issue wasn't much of a problem for Chao Su.

Did he recruit the boy because his talent with shadows, a sought-after trait for assassins? Hmm. Probably not. Chao Su simply didn't seem like the type to employ those kinds of methods. He also wasn't likely to have been of the belief that the boy was supremely talented due to the qi manifestation.

No, the most likely reason the boy ending up with Chao Su was exactly what he had said. The boy found himself in danger due to helping them avoid any more entanglements than were necessary with a local gang. Chao Su definitely seemed the type to be loyal to those who assisted him.

That small mystery resolved, Kang Ya-Ting turned to the attendant. "He knew not only the type of pill, but the purity and price as well. Is that usual?"

"At the level he displayed?" the attendant said. "No. Not usual at all."

"Could he perhaps apply that level of insight to examining a cultivator with his spirit sense?"

"Oh no, Esteemed Elder. This one didn't mean anything like that. Any alchemist can pick up a version of what he can do. Even this one can determine a pill's general purity just from years and years of working in a shop. None of that helps at all in learning to discern information about fellow cultivators."

"I see. Try to put into context, then, how unusual his ability is."

"He displayed three distinct skills, Esteemed Elder. First, he has a good sense of a pill's value, but that ability is relatively common. Anyone who buys or sells lots of them will pick that up. He also displayed immense knowledge. Detecting that mislabeled pill like that? This one missed it. The master alchemist who priced the pills missed it. A lot of people in the chain missed it. He didn't. But that doesn't necessarily indicate any special ability with qi. It probably just means he's seen a lot of pills in his lifetime, many more than this one has.

"The third skill was the amazing one, but anyone could achieve it. One simply needs to spend literal centuries honing and fine-tuning their spiritual sense to detect the most minor of fluctuations in a pill's makeup. This one can't imagine the time and patience it took to develop that ability to the degree he showed. He is a true expert."

"While you were in the back, he told me that the concentration pill can be used in combination with two other pills to permanently increase a cultivators qi pool," Kang Ya-Ting said. "Do you think he was telling the truth?"

The woman's eyes went wide. "This one thinks that information needs to be reported to the head of the alchemy pavilion."

"I see."

In retrospect, he and Dai Shuren had probably been letting their imaginations run away with them. A Nascent Soul realm cultivator had all the time in the world to study things that interest them. Spending so much effort working with pills that one became an expert was much more likely than Chao Su having an ability they'd never even heard rumors about anyone else having.

Benton and Zou Tian made it to the arena in plenty of time for the spars, not that the sect wouldn't have held the start for them anyway. Kang Ya-Ting introduced the martial pavilion elder, Pan Cai, who was very complimentary toward the twins. From a different cultivator, Benton might have thought the guy just blowing smoke, but Elder Pan really seemed like a straight shooter.

"This one has actually arranged for two contests for each of your disciples. First, a demonstration against the sect's top Qi Gathering practitioner with their respective weapon, followed by a spar with a sect member of a similar realm that this one chose to be a particularly challenging matchup."

"Perfect. I'd like for them to be truly tested. Adversity brings growth."

Benton didn't know how prophetic his words would be.

Yang Ru was first up for the demonstration. He and a young lady stood facing each other a few feet apart. Both held spears.

Benton scanned the girl.

Affiliation:Poison Claw SectAge:16Cultivation:Qi Gathering - Minor Realm NineQi Available:???Techniques:???Spiritual Roots:C+Qi Aspect:Forked lightning ripping the sky asunderOoh. Nice. She was at the peak of Qi Gathering, and she was the first actual cultivator he'd seen with the lightning aspect. Sixteen could be a bit old to have not reached Foundation Establishment, but that could be due to many factors. Like maybe she had just turned sixteen and she'd been recruited half a year or more after her fourteenth birthday. Sects only visited villages once a year, after all. Most kids weren't inducted literally as soon as they came of age.

More importantly, she was the top spear user of her realm present in the city. She should be able to give Yang Ru a run for his money.

"What do you think, Zou Tian? Who will win—Yang Ru or the girl?"

"This lowly one wouldn't dare venture a guess, master."

The kid was so stiff. Well, he'd loosen up eventually. The twins did.

"Who is the girl?" Benton said.

"Kang Lin," Kang Ya-Ting said proudly.

"Daughter?"

"Granddaughter."

"You dog. Congratulations."

The same elder who had overseen the spar between Yang Ru and Pan Jiang entered the arena and immediately gave the rules. Both contestants must remain in position, not moving more than a foot in any direction, and the goal was to disarm their opponent, which would result in an award of three points. Any touching of the body counted a point against the person doing the touching. Match point was eleven.

After both contestants signaled their understanding, the match started, and it went exactly how Benton had expected. Elder Kang's granddaughter wiped the sand with Yang Ru. The lightning qi aspect showed itself in her speed and her agility, and she clearly had much, much more experience fighting cultivators than he did. Against a spirit beast, they might be an even match but not in contest like that one.

Final Score—Kang Lin eleven, Yang Ru one. The girl had gotten a little aggressive with one of her thrusts and touched his finger when she disarmed him, costing her the shutout.

Overall, Benton came away quite impressed by the young lady. She was poised and purposeful in every move she made.

As soon as the ending was announced, Yang Ru sank to ground in a lotus position, meditating deeply.

Kang Ya-Ting and Pan Cai both looked a little embarrassed and apprehensive at the result.

"The Esteemed Elders think I'll be angry because his disciple lost the match?" Benton said.

"Apologies for this one's granddaughter, Esteemed Master Cultivator. She did not give your disciple much face."

Benton smiled widely. "Nonsense. She did great. Exactly the kind of thing I wanted to happen. The Esteemed Elder should be proud."

"The Esteemed Master Cultivator is pleased?" Pan Cai said.

"Of course, because… on second thought, this is a good learning opportunity." Benton turned to Zou Tian. "Pop quiz, why am I happy?"

The boy clearly had no idea what a pop quiz was, especially since Benton had switched to English for the words, but he tried gamely enough to answer the question. "Master is happy because … the defeat can … make Senior Brother better?"

"Exactly. Winning or losing that contest doesn't matter in the slightest. There were no stakes. No consequences. I mean, face? Who cares? He has mastered his spear technique. He surely thought himself the mighty knower of all that was knowable regarding the spear. Now, he really knows something important—that mastery of a technique does not mean mastery of the wider concept of fighting with a spear. Maybe this fight will propel him to new heights of greatness. Maybe one day he'll be in a life and death struggle and the lessons learned today will save him."

The two elders looked contemplative.

"Do you know what I'm most happy about, though?" Benton said.

Zou Tian thought about it for a moment. He stared down at the area where Yang Ru was busy consolidating his gains from the fight. "Senior Brother's reaction to the loss, Master?"

"Yes. Two for two. Great job, Zou Tian." Benton grinned at him. "Yang Ru didn't rage at the heavens due to the unfairness of the contest. He didn't sink to the depths of despair because he let me down by losing or some other nonsense. No, he immediately did what he needed to do to become better. What a great disciple!"

While they'd been talking, more than a score of young cultivators had swarmed the arena setting up all matter of targets, signaling that the next competition would be an archery contest.

"Did the Esteemed Master Cultivator choose his disciples' weapons?" Elder Pan said.

"I did."

"Interesting choices. Some look down on spears and bows, say that they're peasant weapons. Bows in particular are frowned upon."

Benton grinned. "Some people are idiots."

Elder Pan chuckled in returned, in a manner that certainly seemed genuine. "This one agrees but would like to hear the Esteemed Master Cultivator's reasoning."

"Well, not much to tell, really. We were going to be fighting spirit beasts mainly, and against those, range is good. More range is better. The spear keeps jaws and claws at bay. The bow allows a Qi Gathering cultivator to hop up into a tree and engage from afar."

"But for the long term?" Kang Ya-Ting said. "Does the Esteemed Master Cultivator plan to have his disciple abandon the weapon?"

"Of course not!" Benton said. "Look, I understand the point. A high realm cultivator can simply blast away with qi, so why use the bow? Well, if I'll tell the Esteemed Elder why. Obviously, no one has unlimited qi, not even Nascent Soul and above. At a certain level, it takes qi to deal damage, and attacking at range also requires qi to get that attack to your opponent. The bow is more efficient, using the body's strength combined with mechanical force to push the damaging qi to the target, and if a stronger, faster launch is needed, you can still add that oomph with qi. You'll still end up saving more than someone launching the same attack with qi alone."

Apparently, neither of the elders expected such a spirited defense, and all of them fell into silence.

It didn't take the crew long to clear the sand, and soon Yang Xiu and a young man entered the arena, both holding their bows and with their quivers ready. Like Kang Lin, the new sect contestant was in the ninth realm, though only fifteen years old with C- talent.

The elder once again announced the rules. There were eleven targets. Closest to the center for each target earned a point. Most points at the end won. They would alternate who went first, and since going second conveyed a slight advantage, the Poison Claw Sect member would start the contest, meaning he was first up one more time than Yang Xiu.

Kang Lin had held multiple advantages over Yang Ru, including more experience sparring against cultivators, the contest favoring agility over strength, and the two being forced to remain essentially stationary. From Benton's initial observations, the archery contest seemed to be a more even match, but the targets weren't all straightforward. He was sure there was an inherent advantage for the young man baked into it somehow but wasn't sure of the specifics at a glance.

The first two targets were exactly what Benton would have expected from an archery competition. One was placed twenty-five yards from the starting line and the other seventy-five. The two split the points, with Yang Xiu winning on the longer of the two. Both were close, though, with less than an inch determining the victor for each target.

The third had a ten-foot wall between the start line and the target. The boy walked to the wall, looked around it to take in the target's position, returned to the start line, and shot nearly vertically. The arrow arched over the wall and actually hit the target, though nowhere near the center.

Yang Xiu did her best, but she'd never tried a shot like that. Her arrow stuck in the ground a few inches shy of the goal.

The fourth target was odd. A narrow pole stood between the starting point and dead center on the target. To the right of the pole was a wall, six foot tall and three wide, positioned parallel to the line between the archer and target.

The purpose of the pole was clearly so the archers couldn't fire directly at the bullseye. Perhaps the goal was to see which of them could get closest to the pole without hitting it and causing the arrow to stray off to one side? That reason was clearly in Yang Xiu's mind as the feathers from her arrow literally grazed the pole as the arrow passed.

She grinned, clearly thinking she'd won the point, until her opponent stepped up to the start. He shot so that his arrow deflected off the wall and hit the bullseye.

The rest of the contest went similarly. Yang Xiu was clearly talented at archery, but she also clearly had no experience with the kind of trick shots required to win that competition. Still, she never gave up, winning three more points to lose the match seven to four.

Mirroring her brother, she sank into meditation at the conclusion of the contest. The only difference was that she had enough social grace to congratulate the young man who beat her before doing so.

All in all, Benton thought he'd found about the best disciples a master could want.