Chapter 84 – Home Again, Home Again, Jiggitty Jig
Considering how little time Benton had actually spent in the village, it felt strange for him to consider it home. The small, decrepit place filled with starving people besieged on all sides by spirit beasts was his future, though, and that made it home.
The amount of spirit beasts was a bit concerning, more so than he would have thought. The density of them near the village had increased significantly in the time since he'd left, and there were mainly rank twos nearby compared to rank ones before. There were even visible scratches in the Orange Vigor Spirit Wood wall near the gate. Benton doubted if a rank three would be strong enough to make those, meaning a beast of an even higher rank might have been there.
The differences were a clear indication that something was pushing the lower ranked beasts further and further out.
Back where Benton had grown up, afternoon thunderstorms had been commonplace. Not every storm produced a tornado, but some of them did. That was how he'd thought about the chances of a beast tide when he'd left the village. There was a definitely a thunderstorm, but there may or may not be a tornado.
The conditions at the village currently were along the lines of a tornado watch. Conditions were right for a twister, but that didn't mean one would form. The same went for a beast tide.
Only time would tell if that watch would become a warning, meaning a tornado was on the ground. Or in this case, that a tide was coming.
A clamor arose inside the walls when the guards noticed the caravan coming, an event that had to be both unexpected and almost unprecedented in their recent memory. The gate remained closed for several minutes even after the caravan stopped right outside of the village.
Finally, Mo Jian appeared atop the wall, and his eyes went wide. He cupped his hands. "These lowly ones feared that the Esteemed Master Cultivator was lost."
Benton shrugged. "Better late than never. Can we enter? I've got a lot of people and kids out here."
"Of course. Of course."
After a couple of shouts from Mo Jian, the gates opened, and the caravan rolled inside.
"Forgive me, but though these ones are glad that the Esteemed Master Cultivator has returned, where is the food?" the mayor said.
"Right here." Benton walked to an open spot on the plaza just inside the gate and waved his hand. As soon as he'd finished speaking, two wagons overflowing with food appeared.
Mo Jian's eyes widened, and he bowed lower than he ever had before. "Gratitude, Esteemed Master Cultivator."
"The contents of both those wagons are yours as agreed. I hope that we can now start to build some trust between us."
"Of course, Esteemed Master Cultivator."
Benton wasn't entirely pleased with that response. It was entirely polite and appropriate, but it was also distant. He was seeking a closer relationship but, with a bit of reflection, understood that such could only be achieved with time.
"All these people are my disciples, and I will be responsible for their food," Benton said. "I do need places for them to stay for a short while, so if you can arrange that, I would be grateful."
"It shall be done, Esteemed Master Cultivator."
"Good. The two of us need to meet later for more discussion, but I want to see Mistress Zhong first. I'll be at your house in two hours."
Benton needed to secure land for his new sect, an ongoing mutual commerce agreement between the town and the new sect, and terms for recruitment. He could see that discussion going one of two ways—the mayor rolling over and giving him whatever he wanted or the mayor trying to make things as difficult as possible.
"That is satisfactory, Esteemed Master Cultivator."
Benton almost frowned. He'd stated what would happen, not made a request for the mayor to approve. For the sake of building a working partnership, though, it was probably best not to press the issue.
Bringing only Hao Cheng and the other nine orphans from Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town along, Benton walked to the orphanage, where he was received by a very excited Mistress Zhong.
"Master! You returned!"
"Of course I did. I promised, didn't I?"
She grinned. "Master did."
"So, how have things been over the last few months?"
"Does Master want the good news or the bad news first?"
"Good." Better to get the easy stuff out of the way and deal with any trouble second.
"All the disciples have doing great, Master. I've had the young ones cultivate five hours per day like you suggested, the rest of their time filled with continuing their studies and play time. They're really enjoying their new strength and energy. Let's just say I'm very glad both that I now have help and that the three of us have been able to stay ahead of their cultivation."
"That's great because I have ten more for you to take care of. Don't worry, though. I'm not going away again for a while and, even then, hopefully not for nearly so long. We'll also have more people to teach the kids." Benton introduced Hao Cheng, who in turn supplied the names of the other nine children.
Mistress Zhong called Xiao Rong to get the new orphans settled.
"The biggest surprise I have for you," Mistress Zhong said after the newcomers had departed, "is Wan Ai's progress."
"I know! Fifth minor realm, and I bet she's near the sixth by now! She did awesome."
"How did you… Master truly is unfathomable."
Benton couldn't help but notice how much Mistress Zhong's attitude toward him had changed. "You seem … to have a different attitude from when I left?"
"Master, this one … I … The changes have been amazing. I have so much more energy. None of the kids who started cultivating have even gotten the sniffles. It's everything you promised and more. And no one went hungry. And then, well, I maybe started to doubt a little, but you came back. You came back!"
If her words represented the attitude of everyone in the house, he had truly managed to produce loyal followers. That possibility made him feel a lot better about his burgeoning sect.
"Let's find Wan Ai," Benton said. "I have some stuff for her."
They found the shy girl in a room that had been repurposed for cultivation. She stood up at their entrance and offered a deep bow.
"This lowly one greets Master."
"Wan Ai, you have done amazing. I am so proud of your diligence. To reach the peak of the fifth minor realm so quickly!"
The girl timidly stared at the ground.
"I have presents," Benton said.
She looked up. "Presents, Master?"
"Remember the maxim of any sect. Hard work is rewarded with more work." He pulled three books from his ring. "First these. One beginning book each on growing herbs, preparing herbs, and basic alchemy." Next, he produced a small pile of herbs and seeds. "These are what you're going to be dealing with, so you can get familiar with them. We've got a lot of work to do. I'm going to get you some help, but you're going to be in charge."
"Me, Master?"
"Of course. You're one of my core disciples. There aren't many of my members who are as important as you."
She looked stunned.
"I wasn't finished with the gifts, though." He pulled an alchemy set from the ring and showed it to her. "And finally…" The knife he'd purchased for her appeared in his hand.
She looked overwhelmed. "Gratitude, Master."
"Actually, the real present is this." Benton pulled a jade with the dagger technique he'd created for Zou Tian. "Learn this in your spare time. It's for both self-defense and to aid with your herb preparation." He created a new technique that he set to any qi aspect and handed her a second jade. "This one is the important one for you, Foundational Herb Gathering and Preparation. The books will help you advance the technique some, so I still want you to read them. The real way to get the technique to Large Success, though, is practice, and you're going to be getting lots and lots of that."
He and Mistress Zhong left Wan Ai to soak in all that had just happened, and he made a mental note to send Yang Xiu to check on the younger girl later.
"I've made a decision about the sect," Benton told Mistress Zhong. "After my members reach the third minor realm of Qi Gathering, they can start learning techniques. Usually one at a time unlike with Wan Ai. So far, I've mostly had everyone start by choosing a weapon technique, but I'm not sure what to do about the children."
Mistress Zhong shivered. "I was just envisioning eight hyper superhuman children running around with weapons, and my first instinct was to say no. The world is a dangerous place, though, and they are now cultivators. They must be able to defend themselves."
Benton nodded. He really wanted her input on how to proceed.
"I think we should proceed but with two caveats. They should all learn the same weapon, and they should only use the weapons when in an organized class taught by someone."
"That's fair. It might be a few days, but I can easily arrange for classes. Thank you for your advice."
She nodded graciously.
"Oh, wait," Benton said. "You said something about bad news."
Mistress Zhong's face fell. "Something happened, but I'm not sure how bad it actually is. Jin LiJuan ate some spirit beast meat a couple of weeks ago. She was impatient that you hadn't returned and was convinced that eating it would let her cultivate. She's been in bed since."
That wasn't good. Both his Pill Basics technique and Su's memories said that Bad Things happened to mortals who were exposed to too much qi.
"Take me to her," Benton said.
Mistress Zhong let him to the girl's bed. He scanned her.
Name:Jin LiJuanAffiliation:Prosperous Gray Forest Village OrphanageAge:12Cultivation:NoneTechniques:NoneSpiritual Roots:GQi Aspect:NoneG spiritual roots and no qi aspect. It was worse than he had feared.
As soon as Mo Jian had found subordinates to coordinate the sudden housing crises that the cultivator had thrust upon the village, he summoned Guang Yin to his house.
"Yes, Honored Mayor?"
"The cultivator returned. With food. And with a host of newcomers. There were over forty of them."
"That's … unexpected, Honored Mayor."
"You're darn right it's unexpected, Guang Yin! What does it mean? What does he want with us? The spirit wood can't be that valuable to him to go through all this trouble."
"I don't know, Honored Mayor."
"And what was with that pin he and his disciples wore?"
"What pin, Honored Mayor?"
"All three were the same. A green snake."
Guang Yin's eyes went wide. "A green snake. Are you sure, Honorable Mayor?"
"I'm not so old as to be blind yet. Of course, I'm sure."
Guang Yin legs grew shaky, and he sat down. "When this one had dealings with the Righteous Rain Sect, it was always with very junior members. Outer sect only, Honorable Mayor. I never even met an elder."
"Okay. Great anecdote, I guess, but what does it have to do with anything?"
"The pin. That's the symbol of the Poison Claw Sect, Honorable Mayor. They're one of the big four, now big three I guess, sects on this continent. They are as important as the Righteous Rain Sect was."
Mo Jian took a deep breath. "What does it mean that he's wearing it, then?"
"It means that anyone he meets should treat him like a member of the Poison Claw Sect, Honorable Mayor. But it's even more significant than that. It means he drew the attention of sect elders. Highly placed sect elders. In a way, he represents the Poison Claw Sect. His honor is their honor. It means we have to treat him as an elder of one of the most prestigious sects on the continent."
Mo Jian groaned. "Just what we needed."
"It could be a good thing, Honorable Mayor. It means whatever he is doing here has the tacit blessing of one of the big three sects. Maybe he is here to clear out the beasts and restore wood production."
"I'll believe that when I see it."
Chapter 85 – Feast or Famine
There was absolutely nothing that affected Benton's emotions more than a sick or injured child, and the sight of poor, suffering Jin LiJuan shivering under her covers hit him right in the heart.
"M-Master?" she said, waking as he entered the room. "Master! You're back."
"Shh. It's okay. Just rest."
"I wanted to cultivate, Master, and you said you'd be back in two months. Two. It was three. And I wanted to cultivate." Tears streamed down her cheek.
"I know. I understand."
"It's going to be okay, right Master? Whatever I did you can fix, right?"
Benton didn't think so. Nothing from either his Pill Basics technique or from Su's memories even hinted at a cure for someone whose spirit roots had literally been burned out.
"You need to do what I tell you to do," he said, "and right now, that's to rest. Sleep. Obey Mistress Zhong."
"Yes, Master. Of course, Master." She turned over and closed her eyes like she'd somehow drifted immediately off.
Shaking his head at the little girl, Benton walked toward the room's exit.
"Master?" she called.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't … I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Li'er. It's okay."
Benton liked people depending on him. He liked responsibility. He liked taking care of others. But that responsibility suddenly weighed on his shoulders like a ton of bricks.
How was he going to fix her? Could he fix her?
"System," he said internally, "is there any technique that I can learn or that I can create for a disciple that will allow me or that disciple to heal Li'er?"
No.Benton let out a frustrated breath. There was only one more card left to play.
"System, is there a pill or set of pills I can buy to heal Li'er?"
Information on pills is not available. Please complete the Found a Sect Quest to unlock the Shop in order to access that information.Well, that wasn't a no, so hope lived. Of course, it wasn't a yes, either.
He waited until he and Mistress Zhong had walked well out of the child's earshot to speak. "How disappointed would she be if she could never cultivate?"
"I've tried to prepare her for the possibility, Master. Lightly. Just hints. It did not go well. I think it would crush her. She's already hanging on by a thread. Can you do anything?"
"I don't know. For now, no. Soon, maybe? I truly do not know. Any solution is a longshot, though."
To even find out if he had a shot at healing her, he needed to found his sect. Of course, it wasn't like completing that very quest wasn't already the top item on his To Do list. That System response just gave him another reason to hurry.
Next stop, the mayor's house. Well, after lunch, anyway. He had all those meals he was sure the kids would enjoy, and he'd told Mo Jian to meet in two hours. It wouldn't do to turn up early.
As expected, the kids original to the Prosperous Gray Forest Village loved the exotic street vendor food from the city, especially the desserts. The ones from the town enjoyed the meals, too. It was just that they'd been eating the cuisine for a month already.
Finally, Benton reached the mayor's house.
After a servant let him in, the mayor greeted him. "Esteemed Master Cultivator, welcome to this lowly one's humble home."
Benton wondered what had happened in the last hour for him to suddenly rate a "this lowly one" in lieu of the "this one" he'd received at the gate.
After a few more pleasantries and the mayor serving tea, they got down to business.
"All the cards on the table," Benton said. "Your village is in bad shape. The beasts have worsened since we left. Even if there's not a beast tide, I don't see how any of you can survive without help. Do you have any hope of receiving that help from anyone other than me?"
The mayor sighed. "No, Esteemed Master Cultivator. This lowly one has no way of protecting or feeding his citizens without assistance and no way to get the assistance. Further, these lowly ones can't even flee as it's too dangerous."
"Thank you for admitting that." Benton paused. "This is going to be a long conversation. Is there any way you can drop the whole long-winded honorifics and third person stuff?"
"This … I can do that."
"Thank you again."
The mayor cupped his hands and bowed slightly.
"To be frank," Benton said. "I want to start a sect. That's why I brought so many people with me."
"Here?"
"Yes. The village is a perfect location for me due to the beasts, the wood, and the mountain. And the sect will be a great boon to you and the villagers as well. You'll gain cultivators to cull the beasts, a way to get your goods to market, and a way to feed your people," Benton said. "It's what I call a win-win, and I'd like for you and me to be partners in getting things set up."
"What exactly do you mean by partners?"
"I mean that the village and the sect treat each other cordially. That both sides understand and act like what helps one helps the other instead of nickel and diming each other by having to trade favors for every single little thing."
"Nickel and diming?" The mayor stumbled over the unfamiliar words.
"An expression that means we don't charge each other for tiny services. If a beast is threatening the town, I don't try to get you to perform a favor for me in return for killing it. If I need someone to take care of the orphans for a few hours while the sect members are busy, you don't charge me for the time."
"I see."
"That doesn't mean we can't work out a broader framework for our partnership. I don't expect your people to do work for free. I just want your people and mine to both feel like we're in this together and neither of us try to put one over on the other guy."
"What kind of framework did you have in mind?" The mayor again stumbled over the unfamiliar word.
"How about I list out some things I need from the village and what I'm willing to give in return? Then you can tell me what I might add to the giving part and if any of the asks are more difficult than I imagine."
"That sounds acceptable."
"Okay, the first thing that I need is land on which to build my sect. The land needs to be big, a hundred acres at minimum with the option of expansion later, and its ownership wholly granted to me for whatever use I want. It should be located to the southeast so that it lies between the village and the source of the spirit beasts."
"In the spirit of … partnership, that ask is relatively minor. We have unused farmland aplenty, and the village appreciates your desire to put your sect in a protective position."
Good. The mayor was being cooperative. Things might work out better than Benton had expected.
"Next, I need enough Orange Vigor Spirit Wood to build a wall around, say, five acres of the land to start with along with the labor to cut it and to help building the wall."
"That might be a problem."
"How so?" Benton said.
"Assuming you're providing protection for the harvesters, I don't see a huge problem providing the labor required to gather the wood because Guang Yin's men have experience working in dangerous conditions. Converting the wood into planks and such can be done inside the village. Building the wall, though? I assume you want to match the height and general construction of the one around the village?"
"Yeah. Bigger even. Twenty feet tall at least."
"That's a massive undertaking, meaning we'd have to find scores of people willing to work outside the village's wall in order to build a wall around the sect. No matter how much you assure them it's safe, I don't think you're going to get enough volunteers to build it in less than years."
"If that were an issue," Benton said, "I could just have my sect members provide labor, but I'd rather them do other things with their time. Besides, I've got a better idea. We build the wall inside the town in huge sections. Then, we just have to put them together around the sect."
"And how are you going to transport them there?"
Benton made the mayor's table, tea set and all, disappear into his ring. "It's surprisingly roomy in there."
"Big enough to…"
Benton nodded.
"That's…"
"I know."
"If that's the case," the mayor said, "I think we can come to an arrangement on the wall building, but I'd rather wait until all your asks are on the table, which I expect to be returned, before talking compensation."
"Great," Benton said, making the table reappear. "Next ask is recruitment. Once we get the wall built, I'm going to want twenty-five villagers to join my sect to fill specific roles. Each person will be allowed to refuse, in which case I will ask someone else until we have enough who accept to fill all twenty-five positions. I expect you to assist in finding people who would best fit the roles I'm looking to fill."
"That sounds reasonable as long as each person has a choice."
"In return, I'm willing to provide cultivation methods to you, four town administrators of your choosing, and twenty younger people to serve as village guards so your defense against the spirit beasts won't solely rest on me."
"What about talent level?"
"I can tell you the talent level of anyone you pick before you finalize your choices."
"That's generous of you, but it wasn't my actual concern. You seemed to have picked orphans at random when you were here previously. Surely all those kids weren't sect material."
"Hardly," Benton said. "No sect that I know of would have taken them."
"Then I have a concern about exactly what your sect will be doing with them."
Ah. The mayor suspected he might be a demonic cultivator or have some kind of nefarious use for low talent recruits.
"I have committed, and will continue to commit, to do everything in my power to bring each and every one of my sect members to at least the Foundation Establishment realm as long as they follow my instructions and are diligent in their cultivation."
The mayor frowned. "Committing to doing everything in your power is … something. That doesn't commit you to a result, though."
"No, it doesn't, and that's because I cannot guarantee that each and every one of them will reach Foundation Establishment. Cultivation is not one plus one equals two. Cultivation is one plus one usually equals two but could end up at five or twenty or one half. I believe my cultivation methods and expertise will result in a minimum of eighty to ninety percent of the F ranked talents reaching Foundation Establishment within five years."
Benton was actually sandbagging those quantities by more than a little bit. Assuming he got access to pills at some point, he could do a lot better than both that percentage and that timetable. Even if the Shop disappointed, the Poison Claw Sect could provide what he needed to get most sect members through bottlenecks even if the resultant toxicity guaranteed their journey wouldn't make it pass Foundation Establishment.
The mayor still looked skeptical.
"Would it help if I told you that Elder Kang Ya-Ting of the Poison Claw Sect in Sixth Flawless Flowing City was quite impressed by both the breadth and quality of the techniques and cultivation methods I can offer my sect members? Heaven grade. Top heaven grade."
"You're being honest?"
"Completely."
The mayor sighed. "Everything else you've told me has panned out so far, so I'm going to extend my trust to you on this. If the cultivation methods that you pass out don't live up to your claims, that's going to erode what trust we've managed to build."
"I understand. You will not be disappointed."
"If you're willing to do everything you said, plus continue to provide us with food and supplies we need to survive, I have no choice but to make the deal in principle."
"Fantastic!" Benton said. "We can hammer out the details later. Percentages of the sale of wood each of us get, rates for daily labor, etc. The thing I need immediately, today, right now, is a deed to the sect's land."
"I have just the place in mind, an abandoned farm that shouldn't be too overgrown. It had about thirty acres of fields. The area around it is unowned wooded lands. There should be no issue in writing an official letter as the Village Mayor assigning you as the owner of about one hundred fifty acres."
"Perfect. I think we should celebrate this momentous occasion with a feast."
The mayor winced. "Uh…"
"How about this—the food is on me if you'll provide the labor."
Chapter 86 – What Wasn't Lost Has Been Founded
Benton was so excited he could barely stand it. His goal was so, so close. He just had to wait for the official letter deeding the land, and he could found the sect and complete the quest.
The mayor was diligently working on the letter. That task shouldn't take more than an hour tops.
Meanwhile, Benton was on his way to deliver food to the people who'd been designated to prepare it.
He arrived at the house the mayor directed him to and discovered it was owned by the same lady who had traded him vegetables for boar meat all those months ago.
"Good to see you again," he said.
The woman cupped her hands and bowed low. "This lowly one is pleased to see the Esteemed Master Cultivator as well."
"Great. I was told that you're the one who will be setting up the feast for this evening?"
"This lowly one is coordinating the efforts of many, Esteemed Master Cultivator."
"Perfect. You let me know what you need, then. I have everything we provided the village as far as rice and flour and all that stuff goes. I also have a few luxuries such a certain fruits and sugar and honey. Additionally, my disciples had a chance to hunt purely mundane animals near the city, so I can give you whatever game meat you want—more boars or rabbits or maybe deer? I've even got a bear if that would be better."
The woman was a bit overwhelmed at first but quickly regained her composure. The two discussed options, and Benton unloaded three tables full of ingredients for her to use before leaving.
Next, he needed to find his disciples and hadn't thought to inquire as to where they were housed. It turned out that he needed no such directions. His spiritual sense was up to the task. There were six individual cultivators scattered about the village that he assumed were the harvesters, a big grouping in the direction of the orphanage, and one more large grouping.
Bingo.
That second large grouping turned out to be an inn where a lot of his disciples were to be housed. Some of them would be sent to various other empty houses because the inn wasn't big enough for everyone, but they were conveniently all in the common room when he arrived.
He quickly gathered his council around.
Ugh! He'd forgotten Mistress Zhong and Wan Ai. They should be included.
For the next meeting, he resolved to remember to invite them. Things were finally moving, and he didn't want to delay any longer. Of course, retrieving them wouldn't take long, and he knew he was being unreasonably impatient. He wanted to complete the sect founding before the feast that night in order to make it a true celebration, though.
"Alright, everyone, now that we've made it to the village, we have a lot to do. Events are going to start happening fast and furious. As soon as we can get everything arranged, I want every single disciple to go with me out to our sect's new site where we will conduct a small ceremony to officially found it."
Several of his disciples, mostly led by Yang Xiu, broke out in a cheer. He honestly wasn't sure if they were excited for their own sakes or if they were just picking up on his enthusiasm.
"Okay," Benton said, "Three tasks. First, Yang Xiu, Yang Ru, and I are going to do a quick sweep to the southeast to cull beasts. We won't get all of them in the time we have, but we'll knock them down some to make things a little safer. Second, Zou Tian, find the orphanage and tell Mistress Zhong what is happening. She'll need to quickly arrange to have a non-disciple watch the remaining kids and gather her charges at the gate. Third, Ye Zan, begin planning for how we're going to keep everyone safe, including at least three mortals and eighteen kids, both in transit to the site and back and while standing in the middle of a field surrounded by spirit beast infested forest."
Benton knew he was rushing things, but he was tired of talking. He wanted to get things done! Besides, they'd all just spent three weeks traveling excruciatingly slowly through similar spirit beast infested forest. He and the twins would eliminate threats before they got anywhere close, and Ye Zan and his guards had enough experience to handle both the logistics and any leakers that got past to threaten the group.
"Any questions?" Benton said.
There were none.
"Fantastic. Meet me at the gate in a half hour or so. Yang Xiu, Yang Ru, you're with me. Try to keep up."
Benton dashed toward the gate with the siblings at his tail. "Once we get out of town, spread out fifty yards or so on either side of me. We're not trying to find every beast, just to thin them out. Safety is your most important priority. Don't get hurt. Run or yell for me if you get overwhelmed. Speed is your second priority. An injury that puts a beast out of commission for the rest of the day is just as good as a kill if it means you don't have to break your stride. Understand?"
"Yes, Master," the two chorused.
The trio made a very quick sweep, Benton keeping his Foundation Establishment realm speed down so that the twins could keep up. Though he didn't know exactly which plot of land the sect would be on, that was okay. He needed to clear out beasts in a wide area and aimed toward the greatest concentrations.
Mainly, they found mostly rank twos, and all of them went down quickly to spear thrusts from him or Yang Ru or to an arrow from Yang Xiu.
There were several rank threes in the area as well. Benton handled those himself. Not that he didn't trust the twins' ability. It was just that he was confident he could do it fast without any risk. The siblings were more evenly matched with beasts of that level, and while he was sure they would win any fight, he greatly preferred the two treat opponents of that rank with caution instead of worrying about speed.
None of the three of them faltered at all during the massacre. Benton swept his kills into his ring, but the twins didn't have time and left theirs where they lay.
In less than the thirty minutes he'd allotted, they were back at the gate, and, as he'd requested, Zou Tian and Ye Zan had all the rest of the disciples gathered there as well.
"Be right back," Benton said.
He had one more person who was necessary for the ceremony—the mayor.
Mo Jian, along with the official letter deeding the land to Chao Su, was soon retrieved, and the entire entourage made their way carefully out of town. Benton and the mayor lead with the twins at the tail. Ye Zan and his guards formed an outside perimeter.
The fifty-six people made quite the procession.
Ye Zan's precautionary measure of having the guards form up outside the others turned out not to be needed as Benton's purge had done its job. Only a lone spirit beast came within sight, a small gray squirrel.
Benton attacked it as soon as it appeared. In order to not upset the children with the blood and mangled body, he used twenty-five void qi to literally make the beast disappear almost as soon as he struck it, pausing the implosion only long enough to withdraw the spear without damaging it.
Following the mayor's instructions, Benton soon found himself in the middle of a large, wide-open, weed filled space that had once been farmland.
"This should just about be the center of the cleared area," the mayor said. "I can have one of the town administrators accompany you to stake out the exact boundaries of your land whenever you want."
"That would be perfect," Benton said. "Right now, though, I just need to confirm that I own all the empty territory in each direction, correct?"
"Correct."
"Everyone, stay right here for a moment," Benton said.
He didn't want to perform such a momentous ceremony in the middle of an empty field, especially when his ring was full of buildings. The question was which one to use. Due to the spirit beasts, he wanted something that was open to the outside so that the guards could both see him as he made his speech and keep line of sight with any approaching threats.
The amphitheater would have been absolutely perfect, but it required a hillside to be dug out for it to fit correctly. Likewise, a lot of his buildings had foundations that would need to be fit into holes, so creating the sect grounds wasn't going to be quite as easy as just plopping down buildings out of his ring.
The arena was probably his best bet as it was the only other open-air structure he'd grabbed and required much less excavation than the amphitheater. He pulled the building out of his ring into the air and used the fast processing power of his Foundation Establishment realm mind to mentally measure how big the pits for the footers needed to be and where they needed to be placed. Once finished, he stored the structure back inside the ring.
Where exactly to place the building was a tougher job. He wanted all his most crucial sect building to go in the center of the clearing, and the arena, though important, didn't quite meet the criteria for upper echelon. He'd prefer it go a little bit away from the central district, and he'd also prefer not to have to move it.
After a moment's consideration, he decided on a spot a good seventy-five yards from the group.
Benton pulled the shovel he's bought from Xun Wu from the spatial ring and got to digging. What would have taken Benton days to accomplish as a Qi Gathering cultivator and weeks or months as a mortal, took him less than half an hour.
By Earth standards, that would have been a terribly long time to wait for a ceremony to begin. For inhabitants of his current world, it was nothing. Soon after the arena was set into place, all the disciples and the mayor were ushered inside.
Ye Zan stationed four guards at the top of bleachers, one at each of the cardinal directions, and Benton had the rest of the disciples sit in a single section near the floor. Standing in front of them on the arena's sandy floor wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind, but he hadn't possessed the necessary forethought to grab a stage from somewhere.
Well, he'd just have to make do with one of the wagons from his ring. Not the fanciest of platforms but it was better than being flat on the dirt. Marginally.
Benton took a moment to gather himself before speaking. Back on Earth, he'd never been the one to address the entire company. He'd just been one of the guys in the audience while the CEO spoke.
Neither had Benton been the one to set the goals for the organization. That task, too, had fell to the CEO and others way higher on the org chart than Benton. He was feeling more than a little bit out of his comfort zone as he began to talk.
"My dear disciples, Honorable Mayor, thank you for gathering with me today for this auspicious occasion. I came to this area just about seven months ago knowing no one. My first encounter was with Yang Xiu and Yang Ru, and the two have become to feel like my own children to me. Since, I've had the occasion to meet more and more people, and some of them, all of you, agreed to help me in my dream of forming my own sect.
"And that's why we are here today at this location.
"When forming any organization that one hopes will stand the test of time, one must first ask, 'What is this organization? What does it stand for? What is its purpose?'
"Those questions are answered by this organization's name, the Rising Tide Sect. We have a saying where I'm from, 'A rising tide floats all boats.' It is that saying that defines our organization and what we seek to accomplish. We seek to lift each other up. To support one another. To allow those around us to rise even as we seek the heavens ourselves.
"That is the organization's purpose, but what does it stand for?
"The Rising Tide Sect is a righteous sect, and I mean that not simply in the context of opposing demonic sects but in the true meaning of the word. Our members seek righteousness. We protect the innocent. We punish the evil. We are bound by our word.
"I ask each of you to make this promise to me, that from this day forward, you swear to be a righteous, honorable member of the Rising Tide Sect, to diligently pursue your cultivation and techniques, and to obey those in the sect who have authority over you.
"In return, I make this promise to you. Each of you will be valued as family. None of you are trash because your talent is of a less than stellar rank. You will always have an honored position here. For those of you that are E and F ranked, I will personally use every resource at my disposal to ensure that you reach at least the Foundation Establish realm. For those of you who seek to challenge the heavens, I will support you in any way that I can to help you reach immortality.
"I hereby make that oath!"
At that very moment, lightning flashed in the cloudless sky and thunder crashed with a tremendous boom.
Whoa! Benton hadn't realized how big a deal making an oath was in his new reality, but though surprised, he recovered quickly so as to not lose momentum.
"Each of you who commits to your promise as a sect member, stand and yell, 'We so swear, Sect Leader!'"
Almost as one, the fifty-one disciples seated before him stood, and all fifty-five yelled, "We so swear, Sect Leader!"
Fifty-five small flashes of lightning split the sky, blinding everyone for an instant. A tremendous wave of thunder crashed.
"I hereby declare the Rising Tide Sect to be officially established and each of you to be its founding members!"
As his new sect members began cheering, a notification popped up.
Host has completed the Found a Sect Quest.
Shop has been unlocked. Additional System Functions have been unlocked. New Quests are available.
Yes. Finally. That moment was a long time coming.
"Congratulations, everyone! Tonight, we celebrate! Tonight, we feast!"