Chapter 138 - 158-164

Chapter 158 – Celebrate Good Times

Despite Benton's reservation about the Trial Pagoda being a point sink, he pulled the trigger, confirming that reward as his selection, and the System stowed the building in his spatial ring. The time taken to bathe and deal with the prompts allowed a decent amount of his qi to be restored, but he still decided to consume ten spirit coins to add another one hundred thousand units back into his pool.

With the tide finished, he wasn't expecting to run into any danger, but it was better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.

Clean and replenished enough to handle any dangers he realistically might encounter, Benton could finally go to the village and check on everyone. Just as he was about to head that direction, however, he took a second to think about his next actions and discovered that he really wanted to perform one more task first.

He Quickstepped to the sect grounds and looked for a good spot for the new pagoda.

It would be a central building for the Rising Tide Sect, something that made the sect extraordinary. He wanted to give it pride of place instead of hiding it away. Unfortunately, with only the arena having been sited, it was hard for him to visualize exactly how the grounds were going to take shape.

He had mentally designated an area away from the arena to be the sect's central administrative complex, so he picked a location there that seemed like it would work and placed the Trial Pagoda. Unlike with the structures he took from the Righteous Rain Sect, there were no visible foundations to deal with. Instead, when he placed the building, he got a pop up.

Does Host want to confirm this location for the Trials Pagoda?"Yes, please."

The prompt made him think that the placement would be permanent, but he could deal with that condition. The other buildings could be maneuvered around it. After all, one of them had to be the first to be sited.

Foundations grew out of the bottom of the building and burrowed into the ground.

Neat.

While he didn't know the exact layout of the area, he did know that he wanted the Contribution Points Shop to be near the Trials Pagoda because he planned to designate Peng Zhen as the one responsible for managing access to the trials. To an extent, anyway. Obviously, the merchant would have to coordinate with Benton for ones involving death stakes and for permission to use Sect Points, but the actual schedule and the amount of contribution points to charge the trial-takers wasn't something that the sect leader needed to concern himself with.

There was a small two-story building that he had planned to use for the shop as it was perfect for the application. It had a relatively large open area on the first floor that could be turned into a sales floor, plenty of storage space in back rooms, and living quarters upstairs. The entire Peng family should fit easily with space to spare.

Benton quickly removed the building from his ring, took a look at the alignment of the foundations, and stowed it back inside. Before he started digging, though, he had a thought. When he'd set up the arena, he didn't have nearly the understanding of techniques or the plethora of Sect Points that he currently did. He'd had to actually dig out spaces for the foundations by hand.

He was no longer so simple.

"System, I'd like to buy an Earth aspected technique to dig out foundations. Please confirm purchase to Mastery."

Technique creation confirmed.

Host has learned the technique, Foundation Excavation – Mastery.

Host has 812 Sect Points available.

The new technique worked like a charm, allowing him to quickly and easily place the new Contribution Points Shop adjacent to the new pagoda.

Nice. That technique would come in super handy when he placed the rest of the sect buildings.

Time to go visit the kids.

He Quickstepped in the forest just outside the village gate and used his spiritual sense to find a spot clear of people in the plaza. One more Quickstep, and he was inside.

"Master!" Yang Xiu yelled.

Yang Ru, Kang Lin, Ye Zan, Jin LiJuan, and a lot of the others were there, meditating. All looked up at Yang Xiu's shout. They all had smiles on their faces as big as the one on his.

"All of you, great job," Benton said. "I cannot adequately express how proud of you I am. Now, someone tell me what happened after I left."

It wasn't that easy, of course. Each of them had parts to interject, and Benton did not spare his praise as they related their harrowing adventure, especially when they told him about the badger that had made it inside the wall.

He was quite displeased with himself when he heard that. The thought of a beast going underneath the shield hadn't even occurred to him, and considering the number of animals that burrow, it definitely should have. It was only luck and the talent of his amazing disciples that prevented the entire village from being destroyed.

Another concern was that his super-fast arrows hadn't gotten the job done at all. The higher ranked beasts had dodged them … as easily as he could have. He really should have thought of that as well. A homing function would have been better than making them faster. The formation would have been a lot harder, but the results would have been worth it.

The FEDs had also been almost worthless. His disciples had been too scared of the large explosions hurting nearby friends that they'd never actually used any of them.

In contrast, he was so happy with his disciples that he could barely stand it. Yang Xiu, Yang Ru, Kang Lin, and Zou Tian had all defended against beasts well above their level, and Ye Zan, Jin LiJuan, and the others had shown true bravery and commitment in the face of what must have looked like certain death. When they finished the story, he singled each of them out by name and told them how incredible he thought their actions were.

And of course, they all wanted to hear his story, so he related how the seventh, eighth, and ninth waves were actually pretty easy. More tedious than anything else as his biggest priority had been making sure none of the beasts escaped past him.

The cyclops, on the other hand… Since various Poison Claw Sect members like Pan Jiang were in the audience, Benton couldn't give the gathering the true blow by blow as those details would have given way too many clues about his actual cultivation level, but he did let them know that it was an intense fight and that the Big Boss of a beast tide was much stronger than an average beast of the same rank.

"With the beast tide officially over, though, we have two very urgent tasks to accomplish," Benton said.

"Of course, Master," Yang Xiu said. "We're ready to obey. What would you have us do?"

"Number one, receive your rewards. Number two, celebrate!"

There were laughs and cheers all around.

"To the victors go the spoils," Benton said, "and you all stand victorious. Gather all the sect members and any villager who wants to come at the arena as quickly as possible. I think you're going to like what I have for you."

With the tide over and so many beasts killed, the area around the village and the sect was safer than it had ever been. Benton didn't detect a single spiritual signal in range of his sense save for his sect members and their allies. He made sure to tell that to those assembled and have them pass it on to the others.

It was nearing nightfall when the last person took a seat in the stands. All the sect members and the Poison Claw Sect allies attended, of course, along with several hundred of the villagers.

Benton looked around at the five to six hundred people who had gathered in the stands and smiled. They'd come so far and would only continue to advance. He was so pleased about their response to what could have been a disaster. Even the villagers had shown calmness and fortitude, not complaining at all during the entire beast tide.

Speaking of not complaining, though, he couldn't help but notice that Jin LiJuan was shivering. Even though she was only at the first minor realm of Qi Gathering and had a horribly damaged circulation system, she was a cultivator. It was rare for one to come down with an illness.

"Are you okay, Li'er?" Benton said.

"Y-yes, M-Master."

"Why are you shivering? Are you sick?"

"N-no, M-Master. I'm f-fine."

"Nonsense. You can barely talk your lips are trembling so hard."

"Master," Mistress Zhong said. "The child is cold. The mortals and those early on the path of cultivation notice temperatures more than we do."

Ah. He supposed it was getting close to winter. Trivial concerns like whether the weather was hot or cold wasn't even noticeable to him anymore. But having had his attention called to it, he noticed that the villagers were all huddled together and had on coats or wore blankets wrapped around them.

Luckily, he could do something about their comfort.

"Tell me when you start to feel warm enough, Li'er."

She looked confused but nodded.

He triggered his Area Temperature Manipulation, increasing the heat until Li'er told him to stop.

"There," he said. "Nice and cozy."

"Gratitude, Master," Li'er said, grinning at him.

He took that expression as a rare treat. The kid did not smile often.

After removing a wagon from his ring to use as a podium on the arena floor, he took his position atop it. The crowd grew silent in anticipation.

"Once again," Benton said, "I cannot adequately express how impressed I am with how all of you handled an extremely stressful and dangerous situation. Even though I would prefer to always be with you to provide protection, that luxury simply will not always be possible. That I can depend on you to help and defend each other is an enormous boon, one that deserves to be rewarded."

His words had an immediate impact, especially to all who had not been present in the plaza earlier. He had a hard time fully understanding what he meant to these people, but it must have been something profound because a few words of praise elevated the mood even higher. There were smiles on practically all faces.

Of course, part of that might have been the promised rewards…

"As you made your way to the arena, you may have noticed two new buildings. The smaller of those is the new Contribution Points Shop." Benton looked around until he found who he was looking for in the crowd. "Peng Zhen, that building is now yours. You'll find housing space for your family upstairs."

"Gratitude, Master."

"The larger structure adjacent to it is the Trials Pagoda." Benton paused for a moment to let the impact of the statement sink in. "Once per day, one person approved by Peng Zhen and me and requiring payment of contribution points to do so may enter the pagoda for the purpose of undertaking a trial. He and I will talk later to discuss the criteria for doing so."

The villagers, of course, had no idea what such an announcement portended. Neither did most of his sect members who, until very recently, had been mortals and knew little about the world of cultivators. Yang Xiu looked excited, either because she'd read about trials in a story or something or because she just expected that anything coming from Master was sure to be interesting.

The best reaction was from Kang Lin, who had grown up in a prominent family in a major sect. Her jaw literally dropped. She surely knew what a Trials Pagoda was, and Benton figured she never anticipated being able to see one.

"If you partake of the first trial, you will be able to work on improving either a chosen technique or your cultivation. This trial requires only contribution points to partake, and as the trial has no real risk, Peng Zhen may schedule your participation. While this trial is helpful to move you along your cultivation journey, please remember that taking the trial means that no one else will be able to use the pagoda that day. For those of you who are not bottlenecked, slots for this trial will be the absolute lowest priority."

Benton grinned as he waited for the implications of his statement to sink in but ended up being disappointed. In Su's memory, all cultivators feared bottlenecks as a potential end to one's challenge of the heavens. His sect members, on the other hand, had no reason to fear such a thing. Even for the lowest talented ones, the journey thus far had been smooth.

Only the Poison Claw Sect members and the old harvesters truly understood what Benton said, that the trials were a potential path to breaking bottlenecks.

Oh well, he was used to failing to get the reaction he wanted. Some people were just no fun.

"If you partake in the second trial, you will be able to modify your qi aspect. Note that this action can result in a very profound change as your qi aspect is something that is integral to who you are as a person. Choosing to take this trial is something that requires careful consideration. On the other hand, the results can be profound as adding a new element to your repertoire could be a game changer. Unfortunately, though, participation requires a small amount of a limited resource that only I can contribute, so it requires my permission."

The announcement of the second trial produced more of a reaction than the first. He could see wheels spinning in the heads of Yang Xiu, Zou Tian, and others as the potential revealed itself. Kang Lin just looked flummoxed.

Benton grinned. She was fast becoming his absolute favorite person to tease.

"If you partake in the third trial…" He paused, allowing the tension of the moment to build.

A lot of the audience literally leaned forward in their seats.

"If you successfully complete the third trial, you will be able to improve your spiritual roots by one minor step."

Finally, he got the reaction he had been looking for. Even the villagers understood the importance of the rank of one's spiritual roots as it was the sole determining factor in acceptance to most sects. They also knew that it was incredibly rare to change such a thing. After all, only a very few of his most talented sect members so far had been afforded that opportunity.

To hear that any of them could possibly do so was of profound relevance.

Benton couldn't wait to announce that all of them would be allowed to advance one minor step free of charge. The reactions were sure to be hilarious.

Chapter 159 – Trials and Tribulations

Kang Lin waited in the stands of the arena, eagerly anticipating Master's presentation to begin. When he announced that there would be rewards, she was sure that, considering the source, it would be something over the top and nearly impossible.

She was not disappointed.

A Trials Pagoda was a thing of legend. No sect on the continent had one, but a few larger, more powerful sects in other places had found or established such wonders. Enough stories had made their way to the continent that she was familiar with the concept.

To see one for herself was truly amazing.

Obviously, as a mere disciple and not a Rising Tide Sect member, she would not get to experience a trial, but it was enough for her to simply be present at its unveiling. She exchanged a glance with Pan Jiang, who sat next to her. He looked just as excited as she felt.

Kang Lin was glad the young scion was also there as a witness as it meant that nothing Master said tonight would be a secret. She was mentally composing her message to Grandfather even as the announcement continued.

When Master started talking about specifics of the first trial, her ears really perked up. Prizes for trials were typically things like a spiritual weapon or a rare, valuable herb or a good technique or cultivation method. Instead, the very first reward had the potential to break bottlenecks.

What?

When the other sects found out about that possibility, they'd surely be lining up for a chance to use it, considering how many old monsters were out there languishing at their current level unable to move forward. The news might cause a riot.

The second trial was no less heavens shattering. No wonder Master was able to use so many different types of qi. He had access to a trial pagoda that gave out new aspects as prizes like they were pieces of candy.

Kang Lin had never heard of such a thing. She'd never even imagined it was possible.

Then, he told them about the final trial. To improve one's spiritual roots was a major advancement. The only way she knew of involved vastly expensive pills that required a minimum of a Golden Core level alchemist and several almost impossible to find ingredients to make. And those pills could only be consumed prior to the start of cultivating.

A method of increasing an existing cultivator's spiritual roots was unheard of. Literally. Every alchemist had searched in vain for such a thing and not found it. The fact that a new, small sect had it was going to cause major waves.

She hoped that Master was as strong as he seemed. He would need to be to keep the sect safe.

The fact that he'd defeated a rank ten beast that commanded a tide and apparently suffered no ill effects from the battle boded well in that regard. She was sure that Grandfather would spread that story around to at least give other sects pause.

"There are a couple of very big caveats that go with the third trial, however," Master said. "One, that resource that I talked about earlier that only I can provide? The third trial consumes a not insignificant amount. Two, failing the trial risks death, and I don't currently know what percentage of applicants pass or fail or what percentage might die. I'm going to be very reluctant to let anyone try this trial. Understood?"

"Yes, Master!" All the core sect members yelled in response, leaving the rest of the audience looking at each other.

Kang Lin felt a bit of relief. The limitations on the use of the pagoda for the most heavens shattering of the effects was a good thing. The big three sects would already be eyeing the small new sect that had sprouted in their midst with suspicion, fear, and avarice. That the new sect couldn't easily advance all their members to the peak of S rank talent would soothe some of the hotheadedness.

The news would definitely present challenges and opportunities for the Poison Claw Sect. Having established friendly relations already was a benefit in that they were in the best position to profit from Master's many impossibilities. If the other two decided to destroy the Rising Tide Sect, however, it could put her sect in a difficult situation.

Kang Lin was very glad that people much higher in realm than her would be making such life and death decisions. At the same time, she hoped they'd stand strong with her Master and her new friends.

"On the plus side, I do have another surprise for you. All current sect members—" He looked directly at Kang Lin and smiled. "—and disciples will soon receive the option of increasing their spiritual roots by one minor step at no cost. Additionally, anyone joining the sect or becoming my disciple in the future will receive this same boon."

Kang Lin was absolutely floored by that revelation. In fact, if anyone besides Master had said it, she literally would not have believed it. Such a thing should not be possible. She wasn't sure that it was possible.

It couldn't be, right? That bonus was too heavens shattering to be real.

"Be aware, however," he said, "that the process is quite painful."

Yang Xiu, Yang Ru, Xun Wu, and Peng Hanying all nodded vigorously.

"You do not have to accept this boon," Master said. "It is not in any way a requirement for being in this sect. In fact, I will not tolerate anyone in this sect looking down on another sect member for their choice in this matter. The pain is nothing to scoff at. I hate that some of you will have to suffer through it."

Kang Lin did not understand him at all. How could anyone, even a mortal, pass up the opportunity to improve their spiritual roots simply because it hurt? That choice would be insane.

She would have spoken up, but she was so utterly flabbergasted by the entire concept of such a choice being real that the possibility of someone refusing it was a bridge too far.

"Okay," Master said, "why don't we spread out so that all the Rising Tide Sect members and my non-affiliated disciple have some room?"

The arena had space for over a thousand people to sit, and only about half the seats were in use. The non-cultivating villagers all moved en masse to the opposite side, leaving plenty of room for the rest of them to spread out.

It was quite a surreal experience for Kang Lin. Yet again, Master was proclaiming to be about to do something that was literally impossible, and everyone around her trusted that he was telling the absolute truth. The problem was that she believed him, too. She'd already seen too many ridiculous claims become reality for her to have any doubt.

No. She couldn't just sit there and say nothing. A mass changing of spiritual roots was too much. It was a direct challenge to the heavens. She would not remain silent.

Kang Lin stood. "Master, you can't do this."

He looked puzzled as if what he was about to do was completely normal and any claim otherwise was just silly. "Why not?"

"Because it's impossible. I mean, a lot of the stuff you do is impossible, but this is really, really impossible. It's… I mean… You just can't!"

Master smiled. "I know. You're right. It is impossible."

Kang Lin let out a breath. Good. It had just been a joke. She didn't understand the humor, but he'd just been teasing her. Or them. Or something.

"Just because something is impossible, doesn't mean I cannot and will not do it anyway, though," Master said. "This is a cultivation world. We are meant to challenge the heavens. Anything can and will happen."

What? But…

On top of the wagon down on the sand, Master did that thing where his eyes moved rapidly around, and suddenly, the late evening sky grew even darker. Lightning flashed.

"Oops," Master said, still smiling. "I think I've made the heavens angry."

If there was any lesson that Benton had learned from his years serving corporate bigwigs, it was, "Never let them see you sweat."

Internally, he was sweating up a storm. Just before he confirmed his choice to select the enhanced spiritual roots reward for his sect members, the sky flashed lightning. And it wasn't just any lightning. It was tribulation lightning.

He could feel the power contained in those clouds in his very bones.

Still, he kept a smile on his face for his sect members and made light of the situation. No reason to make them worried. He'd either survive the experience or he wouldn't.

Not that he was planning on leaving something like that to chance. Tribulation lightning was nothing to play around with. Many cultivators had their paths ended due to it. And he, fortunately, was a cheating cheater who cheats.

"System," he said internally, "I'd like to form a Concept of an Anti-Tribulation element. This element's sole purpose is to neutralize tribulation lightning. Please confirm purchase of the Concept to Mastery."

Concept creation confirmed.

Host has learned a Concept for Anti-Tribulation – Mastery.

Host has 796 Sect Points available.

There. Now when the lightning hit, his shield would be super effective against it. He just hoped that would be enough.

Kang Lin tensed.

One heard stories about cultivators undergoing a tribulation, of course, but it wasn't something any sane person ever wanted to witness, much less experience. Few if any who suffered heavens' lightning survived to tell the tale. Though Master appeared confident that he'd make it through just fine, she was positive that she was about to witness his end.

When she'd come to the village, it had been at the direction of her grandfather. She was to gather information for him as to what was happening with the mysterious and powerful Chao Su and, if it didn't appear too unsafe, gain experience by participating in the beast tide. Her instructions were to flee at the first sign of danger.

Since then, she'd made friends. More than friends, actually. Yang Xiu was more like a sister. Yang Ru was a potential fiancé. And Kang Lin had found a Master, and she was discovering that he meant a lot more to her than she'd thought.

She didn't want him to die, but there was nothing she could do about it. None could come between the heavens and its target.

At the same time, it was impossible for him to survive. Only literal legends were able to come through such an experience alive. She estimated his chances to be one in a million at best.

The first bolt formed, splitting the sky with a violet burst. It lanced toward Master, and he didn't even attempt to evade, standing strong and tall against it, against the heavens.

The lightning exploded when it hit him, but no damage was done to the surroundings. Master glowed with purple light.

When the blast and the accompanying thunder faded, Master still stood, looking as fresh and uninjured as he had been before the blast.

Impossible. Kang Lin literally didn't believe her eyes.

Then another bolt formed and hit him. And another. And so on until a total of five lightning strikes exploded against him.

None so much as fazed him. Not a hair on his body was singed as far as she could tell.

Master truly was unfathomable.

"Well, now that little bit of excitement is over," he said, sounding completely unperturbed, "why don't we get on with the reward?"

His eyes made the funny motion again, and she felt something. It wasn't intrusive. Instead, it was just like she had a certainty that, if she chose to meditate at that time, she would improve her spiritual roots.

She'd never experienced enlightenment, but the way she felt mirrored the accounts of it that she'd read.

Considering that Master had just undergone a tribulation for her to have the chance to improve her roots and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, she surrendered to the moment and sank into a lotus position.

From her experiences so far, the Rising Tide Sect treated impossibilities as just another thing that happened. She might as well go along for the ride.

Master was rubbing off on her; she couldn't wait to explain everything that happened to Grandfather. Just imagining his reaction made her smile.

Chapter 160a – Arc 1 Epilogue

Benton shook his head. Kang Lin and every single one of his sect members had all chosen to embrace the pain in order to improve their spiritual roots by a single minor step.

Every. Single. One.

They were all in the stands in front of him in the lotus position, suffering. Occasionally, a grunt or a cry would escape from one or the other of them, but overall, they were mostly silent, the most intense expression of their agony a quiet writhing when they couldn't quite keep still.

On one hand, he was so very, very proud of them. They'd accepted whatever cost was necessary for a small but crucial improvement in their status. On the other, he was horrified. Was the gain worth the pain?

He wished he could suffer for them. Instead, all he could do was stand watch over them as they endured.

Benton had waited for a little while after the cultivators began experiencing the intense pain before he released the villagers. He wanted them to see for themselves just how much the process hurt because they'd all be making that same decision for themselves in the future. It was better they went into it with open eyes, and he was quite serious about not looking down on anyone who chose not to take the improvement.

Not that he believed anyone would decline based on recent evidence.

Cultivation worlds were crazy.

If he'd made the same offer on Earth, some percentage would surely have taken him up on it. There were always driven people in any crowd, willing to overlook momentary discomfort for future gain. But he was positive most would have simply told him, "No thanks."

The process took around twelve hours, and he stood there, watching over them, not doing anything else other than scanning with his spiritual sense the entire time. If they were willing to undergo such agony, the least he could do was to remain vigilant.

Finally, though, all of them finished, and viewing the status of several of them revealed that they had, in fact, improved their spiritual roots. Kang Lin was now a B-, and he hoped that making a jump to the next major rank would soothe her feelings about a potential match with Yang Ru.

Not that Benton planned to push that particular relationship any more at all. He'd got them started talking. If things worked out between them, he approved. If not, they were both great kids, great catches. He was sure that both of them would eventually find happiness.

Jin LiJuan advanced to F, which was actually quite a feat considering the state of her channels. He held her hand to check her cultivation and found it improved but still in bad shape. She would find cycling a bit easier, though. That was something.

Overall, everyone was quite happy when he told them the results. Despite their ordeal in obtaining their new rank, they apparently found the outcome worth the suffering.

He shook his head again. Cultivators.

Wan Ai and the three Foundation Establishment level cultivators all looked to have come through the experience just fine, but the low to mid ranks appeared to be absolutely wiped. It was nearing noon of the next day, and they hadn't had any good rest for a while. He sent everyone back to the village with street food from his ring and instructions to eat quickly and go to sleep.

After the arena cleared out, Benton remained behind, directing his attention to his To Do list. With the beast tide complete, there was little danger remaining. It would be a while, months probably, before even rank ones started returning to the area. Most of the sect members could fight such a beast one on one. By the time beasts became a threat, the wall would be finished, and his sect would be even bigger and his members more powerful.

All of those factors meant there was nothing preventing him from moving the sect to the grounds. He just had to start placing buildings. That was one task for him.

His other major goal was to get to Nascent Soul. The fight against the rank ten beast had been an eye opener. Benton was very powerful for his realm, but auras were no joke. A strong enough opponent could end him and everything he was trying to build.

He needed to get his sect to one thousand members quickly. That was his second task.

There were other smaller goals that needed accomplishing, and he would work on those as they came up. For the moment, though, it was good to keep his eyes on what the most important priorities were.

It was time to increase the number of sect members by adding another fifty. The mayor was indisposed, having just improved his spiritual roots, but he and Benton had worked out lists many, many inductions in advance. Everyone knew exactly when their turn was, so Benton only had to return to the village and find one of the mayor's still mortal administrators to get the word around.

Soon, he completed the ceremony, and as expected, each of the new sect members had received the option to increase their spiritual roots as well. And also as expected, each of them had chosen to do so.

Cultivators!

Benton didn't know what the future would bring. He was positive there would be new dangers and new challenges. Overall, though, he couldn't think of a better group of people to have standing next to him as he faced all that was to come.

They were his new family. Obviously, no one could replace Evelyn or his children or his grandchildren, but he was … happy.

He pulled up his status.

Sect Name:Rising TideSect Members:262Disciples:57Sect Points:840Shop Points:138Host Cultivation:Golden Core - Minor Realm NineQi Available:5,647,745Host Body Cultivation:Gold - Minor Realm NineHost Mind Cultivation:Higher - Minor Realm OneHost Soul Cultivation:Manifestation - Minor Realm OneHost Techniques (Qi Gathering):Basic Archery – MasteryBasic Spear Combat – MasteryExpert Golden Core Cultivation – MasteryGeneral Knowledge of Mind Cultivation – MasteryGeneral Knowledge of Soul Cultivation – MasteryKnowledge of Rank 1 Formations – MasteryKnowledge of Rank 2 Formations – MasteryKnowledge of Rank 3 Formations – MasteryNascent Soul Cultivation Knowledge – MasteryPill Basics – MasteryHost Techniques (Foundation Establishment):Absolute Speed Enhancement - MasteryAnalysis – MasteryAura Defense - MasteryAutomatic Reaction Variable Shield – MasteryChain Lightning – MasteryFolded Space Quickstep – MasteryExtreme Area Temperature Manipulation – MasteryFoundation Excavation - MasteryHealing – MasteryLayered Variable Shield Breaker with Void Finisher Weapon Augmentation – MasteryMeditation – MasteryPause Time – MasteryPerception – MasteryRank 1 Formation Construction – MasteryRank 2 Formation Construction – MasteryRank 3 Formation Construction – MasteryRank 1 Formation Construction Acceleration – MasteryRank 2 Formation Construction Acceleration – MasteryRank 3 Formation Construction Acceleration – MasteryRank 1 Inscription – MasteryRank 2 Inscription – MasteryRank 3 Inscription – MasterySeeking Speeding Arrow – MasteryStealth – MasteryVariable AoE Gravity Burst – MasteryVariable AoE Shield – MasteryVariable Spirit Coin Manifestation – MasteryHost Techniques (Golden Core Concepts):Anti-Tribulation - MasteryEarth - MasteryFire - MasteryGravity - MasteryHealing - MasteryIce - MasteryIllusion - MasteryLight - MasteryLightning - MasteryMetal - MasteryMomentum - MasteryPoison - MasterySmell - MasterySound - MasterySpace - MasteryTemperature - MasteryTime - MasteryVoid - MasteryWater - MasteryWood - MasteryMenus:[Cultivation Method][Technique][Quest][Perk][Advancement][Shop][Sect]

Chapter 160c – Arc 2 Prologue

When Teng Wuying imagined climbing to a high position in the Jade Chameleon Sect, he never envisioned quite so much paperwork. As he signed one report and picked up another, his assistant stepped into the room.

"Your Esteemed Brother, Teng Jian, has successfully broken through the seventh minor realm of Golden Core, Esteemed Elder," she said.

"Understood. No instructions at this time," he said, dismissing her.

The moment had finally come. It was time to inform the hot-headed Teng Jian of the death of his son, Teng Chun, at the hands of a cultivator named Chao Su.

Hmm.

Between the weaselly worded missive from those simpletons at the Poison Claw Sect and the message his spies had intercepted from Pan Jiang regarding the beast tide, Teng Wuying had no doubt the region's newest sect leader could easily kill his brother. Which was not a problem. Such an outcome was, in fact, good.

The problem was blowback. Teng Jian wasn't a weapon to be pointed with precision. He was more like a disaster to be aimed in the general direction of an enemy.

Either way, it would definitely be best if he heard the news from a somewhat friendly face.

Teng Wuying quickly made his way to the designated cultivation cave and waited patiently outside. Well, more like impatiently. It took more than a half hour for his brother to emerge.

"Ji'er, congratulations on your advancement. The seventh minor realm is quite impressive."

Teng Jian scowled. "Why are you here, brother? Has something happened or is there a mission for me that is so urgent that I can't even have a decent meal before you approach me with it?"

"The former, I'm afraid," Teng Wuying said. "I don't know how to tell you this, but Teng Chun has fallen."

"Man or beast?"

"Man, but—"

"Who?" Teng Jian said, his eyes narrowed into thin lines.

"A new sect, The Rising Tide, has been formed in the old village kept by the Righteous Rain Sect. Your son encountered the sect leader on the road. They fought."

"How many people are in this sect?"

"A couple hundred," Teng Wuying said, "all lower realms except the sect leader."

"I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. When I return, this Rising Tide Sect will no longer exist."

Perfect. Except that, if Teng Jian somehow survived, not providing him all the relevant information could be a bad thing. A very bad thing.

"The sect leader recently killed a rank ten beast that led a tide," Teng Wuying said reluctantly. "He did so in a solo battle and apparently emerged unscathed."

"Nascent Soul?"

"If he actually faced and defeated a rank ten, he'd almost have to be." Teng Wuying shrugged. "We have no corroboration of that, however, only an intercepted message of what he told his sect members. Considering how easily the tide was resolved, I'd be shocked if he encountered higher than a rank eight. My best guess is that he's Golden Core."

Teng Jian frowned. "I'll bring Chen Jingguo and Hu Huiqing. Brother Huiqing will draw out the sect leader by attacking his people. Jing'er and I will ambush him when he responds."

As Teng Wuying had feared, there was no reasoning with his brother. No measured, careful response or planning. Just attack and salt the ground. Destroy everything. Which was fine if he succeeded. If he didn't, it was Teng Wuying who would have to deal with the consequences, which might include an attack on the sect annex in Sixth Flawless Flowing City.

Something told him that being around for that event would be bad for his health.

Hmm.

The main sect grounds were beautiful in the winter. Perhaps a visit was in order.

Chapter 161 – Volunteer

Nighttime neared as Benton watched over the fifty newest inductees into the Rising Tide Sect.

The experience was not a pleasant one. They all writhed in agony. He was pretty sure he hadn't previously actually seen anyone make a motion he'd describe as writhing, but that was the only word that fit.

It was like they wanted to sit still, but they were in so much pain that they couldn't. Ergo writhing.

Before they'd started the process, they'd all appeared completely positive that improving their spiritual roots would be worth the pain. He dearly hoped that they all kept that same opinion when they finished.

Benton was almost positive he wouldn't if he were them.

Be that as it may, it was his second time in a very short period watching over a large group undergoing the improvement. He was, frankly, getting a little bored.

Honestly, he was really eager to begin setting up the sect buildings. It wasn't like anyone or anything could attack the arena while he was outside nearby. He could get all the pavilions and the required housing placed before morning. They could be fully using the grounds tomorrow.

The problem was that his new sect members were completely vulnerable as their bodies went through the upgrade. A single rank one beast could kill everyone in the stands without anyone raising a finger against it. Even if such an outcome was extremely unlikely, Benton just didn't feel comfortable leaving them alone.

Besides, these people were suffering for the good of the sect. It was his responsibility and his duty to watch over them. He just wished the job wasn't so boring.

Since he'd told all the veteran sect members to rest until tomorrow with the only acceptable activity besides sleep being cultivating if they wanted to, he didn't expect anyone to relieve him of that boredom.

Literally just as he'd finished having that thought, Yang Xiu showed up at that arena. He should have known.

"Master, this disciple has a question."

If she was starting so formally, she surely wanted something, and it was probably something she knew he wouldn't want to grant. Poor girl. It would be a lot easier for her to get her way if he didn't already have decades of experience fending off requests from kids and grandkids.

"Please ask, Disciple."

"Well, Master, you see, I got to thinking," Yang Xiu said. "You told us that the Trials Pagoda could be used only one time per day. I was wondering exactly when that reset."

So that was her game. Interesting. And not a bad point, really.

"Daybreak."

"Ah."

His answer clearly broke her from whatever she'd planned to say next. She probably thought he'd say nightfall or midnight or something closer to the current time.

"Well, at any rate, if… Has anyone claimed the first spot, Master?"

There it was.

"No," Benton said, "actually no one has, since, you know, I told everyone to rest tonight."

"Oh."

Of course, Yang Xiu and Yang Ru were the two least in need of rest to consolidate their newly improved spirit roots. They were two of the highest three ranked disciples in the sect in terms of talent as well as being the two highest sect members in terms of realm. Additionally, they'd gone through the process once already.

Benton felt that it would do no real harm for her to try the pagoda tonight, not that he would let her off quite so easily.

"I was thinking, Master, that it's a darn shame to waste resources."

"You're right. We have all those beast corpses that need to be gathered and processed. With their high qi content, they don't decay nearly as fast as mortal animals, but they will need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. It's good of you to volunteer!"

Her face fell, and he almost chuckled. She purely hated skinning and deboning beasts.

"Actually, I was thinking about a different resource, Master."

"Really? Which one?"

"The … Trials Pagoda, Master? You said it could only be used once a day, and if no one else uses it, that opportunity will just disappear. If that happens, we can never get it back." She started out plaintive but warmed up as she went along.

Benton made a big show of frowning. "And what, pray tell, would you do in the Trials Pagoda?"

That was the question she wanted. He could tell because her eyes practically sparkled with joy. And because she literally clapped her hands. But mainly the eye thing.

"My qi aspect, Master. It's great for combat, but I want to embrace the scouting role you chose for me when you recommended my perception technique. Sure, I can learn a non-aspected technique or try to work my aspect into one somehow, but imagine how much more effective I'd be if my aspect actively supported such a thing!"

Okay. That was well reasoned. He'd honestly thought her request would be a little more out there.

"What specific adjustment are you planning on making?" he said.

That question took the wind out of her sails as she visibly deflated.

"I was hoping you could help me with that, Master. You seem so good with qi elements."

"No. Sorry. I can't."

"Oh."

The look on her face… She obviously wasn't used to him refusing her requests.

"Yang Xiu, I cannot express this strongly enough. Anything regarding your qi aspect, especially something as fundamental as actively altering it, has to come from you and only you. I can't help you. Kang Lin can't help you. Yang Ru can't help you. Us helping you now could cripple you later."

"But what if I get it wrong, Master?"

"There is no right and wrong. It is what you think it is. The problem comes if someone or something external tries to impose their vision of what your qi is on you. Does that make any sense?"

"No, Master. Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It's not your fault. This is something that you should be learning and experiencing over the next couple of years as you advance through Foundation Establishment, not something to decide at minor realm one. The long and short of it is that you can only enter the Trials Pagoda for this purpose if you both have a concrete idea in mind of exactly what change you want to make and you are absolutely positive that the change resonates with the core of your being."

She signed. "I'm guessing that I won't be allowed in the pagoda tonight, then, Master."

"Not for that purpose…"

"For improving my spirit roots again, Master? That would move me to S-!"

"No!"

She was so excited that he hated to burst her bubble, but he wanted to clamp down on that idea fast and hard.

"For one thing," he said, "you could die if you fail. Until I know more about the process, no one in our sect will be allowed to even try. For another, you've already improved your roots twice in less than a year. Too much change too fast isn't good for your cultivation base."

"Yes, Master."

She looked suitably chastened. For an instant. Then, she smiled.

"So I can work on a technique then, Master? My shield is not coming along nearly as well as I'd like."

"Peng Zhen and his family have already moved into the upper floor of the shop. Tell him that you have my permission but that you'll have to negotiate contribution points with him. I want a full report about the trial after you're done!"

"Yes, Master!"

She practically skipped out of the arena.

Yang Xiu couldn't care less about her contribution points. She had tens of thousands of them, and they seemingly came to her from doing what she was going to do anyway. When Peng Zhen proposed a thousand to enter the lowest of the three trials, she readily agreed.

The important thing was that she was to be the first in the entire sect to use the pagoda. Her brother would be green with envy when he found out.

From the outside, the pagoda didn't look like anything special. It was two stories and, like the arena and the new Contribution Points Shop, painted in shades of blue. The door was a regular wood door, which opened with a regular old pull on a regular handle. The space beyond was … nice? Wood floors. Empty except for a white pedestal.

She'd been expecting the décor to be more mystical or something. Not that she was disappointed. It was just that…

Well, okay, maybe she was a little disappointed.

She walked up to the pedestal, and nothing happened.

There was a white sphere, an orb maybe, that appeared to be made of marble or some kind of polished stone with black and gold flecks mixed in. She touched it.

A weird blue box popped up in front of her eyes.

Welcome to the Trial Pagoda, Disciple Yang Xiu. You have the choice of one of the following three Trials:

Advance Cultivation or Technique

Add or Modify Qi Aspect

Improve Spiritual Roots

Yang Xiu clapped her hands. Ethereal blue boxes popping up in her vision that referred to her by name? That was what she expected. She should have known that Master wouldn't let her down.

Obviously, the first trial was the reason she was in the pagoda, and the most responsible, dutiful part of her urged her to select it. A more impulsive side of her couldn't help but be a little curious about the other choices, though.

After putting a bit of thought into it, she began to understand what Master was trying to tell her about her qi aspect. It was a deeply personal thing, and no one but her could figure out what worked. Which was unfortunate as such esoteric thinking wasn't one of her strong points.

She'd figure it out eventually, though. There was nothing she couldn't accomplish once she put her mind to it.

Yang Xiu grinned. That confidence was definitely new. Back in her village, she would never have thought to be that sure of herself, but with Master's teachings, she really thought she could do anything.

But she realized she was getting distracted, so she returned her focus to her task. Her primary Foundation Establishment technique was already at Large Success, an amazing accomplishment. The shield was … more difficult for her. It just wasn't coming along nearly as well as she wanted it to, even though she'd at least managed to get it to Small Success.

She really wanted to buy her third technique, one that would use external qi to augment her perception, but since she had the option of modifying her qi aspect, it made no sense to add that technique until she solved the issue of exactly what the modification should be. Which might take forever.

For all she knew, it might take her days or even weeks to figure it out.

Well, she definitely didn't have the solution at the moment, so there was no way she could pick that trial. And she was forbidden from picking the third trial for at least another year.

On the other hand, Master seemed interested in the workings of the pagoda. What would happen if she tried to choose one of those two forbidden trials? Would the pagoda let her? That would be good information for Master.

She grinned. He'd probably praise her for her initiative in testing the pagoda's workings.

"Esteemed Trials Pagoda, please let me try the trial to improve my spiritual roots."

Worst case scenario, she could just quit or something if it actually let her attempt it.

Selection to Improve Spiritual Roots requires an expenditure of sect resources and approval from Sect Leader Chao Su.

Contacting Sect Leader Chao Su.

Sect Leader Chao Su says, "Yang Xiu, stop playing around and pick the correct trial, or I swear that I'll let every single person in the village go through the pagoda before you."

Oops.

"Esteemed Trials Pagoda, please let me try the trial to advance my Automated Slippery Ice Shield."

Chapter 162 – A Slippery Solution

Contrary to Yang Xiu's expectations based on Master's previous announcement, the Trials Pagoda sent a request to him to approve attempting a trial to improve her shield technique instead of simply immediately okaying it. Master, however, apparently did give his assent because the next thing she knew she was standing in a room that was unfamiliar to her. The floor was covered with some sort of springy material, and one wall was filled with mirrors.

Other than her and the mirrors, the space was completely empty.

A gangly man with long bushy hair and an equally unkempt beard appeared, wearing a dirty grey cultivator's robe. Overall, his appearance was more someone she would have expected to see begging for food on the streets of Sixth Flawless Flowing City than a powerful expert martial artist. The only thing that gave her pause was that she couldn't sense his cultivation level.

"Take the shield," he said.

"What shield?" Before the last word was fully formed, a triangular shield about the width and length of her torso popped into being at her feet. "Oh."

It lay face down with two leather straps for her arm on top. At first, she thought it was made of metal, but when she bent to grasp the straps, she realized that it was actually constructed of a thin layer of ice.

Interesting.

Yang Xiu hadn't known exactly what to expect from the trial, but she'd thought that it would be something like how she normally trained her shield technique. Either Kang Lin or Yang Ru would throw weapons or qi at her while she tried to form her shield quickly enough to block. The method had worked well enough to get her to Small Success, albeit slowly.

Apparently, the Trials Pagoda had a different approach in mind as it was supplying her with an actual shield made of ice instead of relying on her to conjure one.

As she slung her arms through the leather straps, she expected the ice's cold to sting, but it didn't. In fact, it didn't feel cold at all. The entire weapon was room temperature.

"Get ready," the man said. "A large sphere will be shot at you from that aperture."

Before she could ask the obvious question, a hole about the diameter of Yang Ru's head appeared, hovering in the air at about chest height several yards away from her. On the other side of the hole was … nothing that she could make out. Just a grey void.

"The sphere will be both fast and powerful," he said. "Prepare yourself. I will count down from three."

Given the distance away and height of the aperture, she hastily placed the shield in front of her chest and, she thought, readied herself.

"Three. Two. One. Go."

She didn't even see the sphere. She didn't really even feel the impact. One instant, she was standing, ready to receive the blow. The next, everything went black.

Literally everything. There was nothing around her but blackness. And not in an it was dark or she had her eyes closed and she couldn't see kind of way, either. It felt like she was the only thing in existence.

"You have died," the man's disembodied voice said. "Continue the trial or quit?"

Uh.

On one hand, she didn't even know what happened, so how could she fix it? On the other, she wasn't one to give up so easily.

"Continue."

As soon as the word left her mouth, she was back in the room.

"Prepare yourself," the man said, once again standing in the room with her. "I will count down from three."

Yang Xiu took a deep breath and took her preparations much more seriously. She dropped her back leg and really braced herself. The entirety of her not inconsiderable strength was focused on blocking the sphere.

"Three. Two. One."

She used her perception skill and focused on the hole. The shot wouldn't take her by surprise again.

"Go."

Her concentration and resolve succeeded. Somewhat. In that she actually felt the sphere make contact, blowing right through the shield and her chest and coming out of her back.

The event only lasted a fraction of a second, but it hurt. A lot.

Then, she was back in the black space.

"You have died," the man's disembodied voice said. "Continue the trial or quit?"

There had to be something she was missing. The trial couldn't be unwinnable, but she didn't see how she could stop something so strong that it could pass through the shield and her body without being hindered in any way and so fast that she couldn't even see it move.

She gritted her teeth. "Continue."

The next six times, she did the exact same thing. Braced herself. Studied the sphere as much as she was able. Experienced brief, blinding pain. Died.

After eight failures with no sign of a way forward, she began to feel just a touch of despair. Maybe the trial was too tough for her. Maybe she should just quit. Tell Master. Ask his advice for the next time.

And completely waste the opportunity for today's trial for the entire sect by failing.

Master would be so disappointed in her. Not that he'd say anything. In fact, he'd probably console her. But she would be disappointed in herself, so he would have to feel the same way.

That line of thought did raise an interesting question—what would Master tell her to do? As she stared into the infinite blackness, she pondered the answer.

He'd say to work smarter, not harder.

No. He'd said something like that before, but it didn't fit the situation exactly. She did need to work smarter, though. That was the key. How to work smarter.

He'd say, if you can't win, cheat.

No. That wasn't it. He always said that he cheated, not that his disciples should.

He'd say, go back to the root cause.

Yes. That was the answer. What was the root cause of the problem?

Easy. The sphere was too strong and too fast. So she should … slow it down and make it weaker.

No. That didn't make any sense. The purpose of the trial was to improve her shield.

Yes. Something about the exercise was supposed to improve either her technique in using the shield or her knowledge of it or, most probably, both.

So what was she supposed to learn?

The shield couldn't stop every attack.

That lesson made sense. If Master attacked her, his qi would shred her shield like it was wet paper. She didn't see how that helped her.

From the man's instructions, he seemed to fully expect her to be able to block the sphere. But that made no sense. It was too strong and too fast.

Could she modify her shield? That idea was worth a try, and for the next five attempts, she tried adding her qi to the shield, managing to add some ice in the center so that it was a bit thicker.

The sphere was not impressed.

Okay. That didn't work. So what could she try next?

After a bit of thought, she circled back to the root cause. She refused to think that the trial was designed to teach her about futility or to give up, so there had to be a way to stop the sphere. With her shield.

Or, rather, with the shield provided by the trial.

"Continue," she said.

Yang Xiu found herself back in the room. Again. She'd honestly lost count of how many times she'd died by that point.

"Prepare yourself," the man said. Again. "I will count down from three."

"Wait for a moment. I want to study the shield."

The man didn't say anything, but neither did he begin counting.

Yes! Maybe that meant she was on the right track.

She turned the shield over so that the straps rested on the floor and ran her fingers over the ice.

It was slick, more slippery than anything she'd ever encountered. Master had introduced her to the idea of friction and had explained to her that her qi aspect was probably pretty close to an ideal frictionless surface. He'd laughed after saying that and claimed that he wouldn't be at all surprised if it actually was frictionless.

Then he'd laughed out loud and said something about a spherical horse*? It didn't make any sense to her.

The point was that the shield was so slippery that everything that touched it should slide right off. That was basically the idea that she held in her mind about her qi aspect. Absolute slipperiness. Even other forms of energy, other forms of qi, should slide right off.

So why wasn't the sphere sliding off?

Because it couldn't. It was hitting a flat surface straight on at incredible speed with incredible force. Any inclination that the sphere had to slide to one side or the other was overwhelmed by the force pushing it forward.

Or something. She wasn't very good at what Master referred to as physics. He'd said that it wasn't his area of expertise, either.

The takeaway was that she couldn't help but be curious about what would happen if the shield were angled instead of flat. It was worth a try, right? Worst case scenario, she'd just die. Again.

"I'm ready," she said. "Proceed with your count."

She angled the shield about thirty degrees.

"Three. Two. One. Go."

No blackness. And nothing hurt. She glanced behind her. A portion of the room's wall was just gone.

"Congratulations," the man said. "You have passed the trial."

*In the version of the joke that I heard, there was a trainer at a local racetrack that was tired of losing, so he brought in three experts to help him get better performance out of his horses. The first was a scientist. He studied what the horses were eating and proposed a new diet. The second was a statistician. He studied all the races and the factors impacting each one. He advised the trainer to run his horses on a muddy track as they performed better than average in those conditions. The third was a physicist. He said, "In the case of the spherical horse…"

Chapter 163 – Placemaking

Benton frowned as he received a notification. Not a half hour had passed since he had sent Yang Xiu to the Contribution Points Shop to arrange payment with Peng Zhen for a trial.

Well, she must have accomplished that task because the System informed Benton that she had requested to participate in a trial. He was sure he'd been very clear on exactly which trial she was to pick. Her mission was to advance her shield. In fact, he'd explicitly told her she wasn't allowed to attempt to improve her spirit roots again for another year.

Why, then, was he receiving a notification asking his permission for her to do that very thing? What was she thinking?

He shook his head.

No. She did not have his permission.

He bet that, when he asked her why she'd selected that trial, she'd say something like she was just testing the pagoda's functionality. The little scamp!

It occurred to him that the kind of thing she had just pulled had made him very angry when he was parenting his own teenagers. Since he transitioned to grandfather mode with Greg's birth, though, such antics amused him more than anything else. Evelyn would have been rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him were she present.

Most of all, she'd just be glad he'd found a new family to love.

A short time later, a new popup appeared, informing him that Yang Xiu had selected the correct one, and immediately after the notification, she disappeared from his senses.

Her vanishing was not something he'd expected to happen, and he almost rushed to the pagoda to investigate. Before doing anything in haste, he calmed himself. The Trials Pagoda was a product of the System, and it had told him that the one she was attempting was completely safe. He doubted that she'd died.

He pulled up his status and checked, finding he still had two hundred sixty-two sect members and fifty-seven disciples. That information confirmed that she was still alive.

The trials probably occurred in a separate dimension or something. Once it was over, she should re-appear.

Yeah. It would be fine. He just needed to be patient.

At first, Yang Xiu coming to the arena with her request had helped to relieve his boredom, but the added tension of worrying about her made the wait even worse.

Hours passed, and he grew more and more anxious. He knew it was irrational. The System had told him that the trial-taker would not be harmed, but he did not like being unable to sense her.

And worries about her safety led to other worries. Even if she emerged unscathed, it was possible for her to fail the test. He worried about what that would do to her confidence. Not to mention that it would hurt her pride when the rest of the sect found out.

A while later, though, there was a popup.

Host's Disciple, Yang Xiu, has reached Automated Slippery Ice Shield – Large Success.

Host is awarded one Sect Point.

Host has 847 Sect Points available.

As expected for such a talented disciple, she'd passed. He didn't know why he'd been worried. Such a good kid!

Immediately after the notification, she reappeared to his spiritual sense, though she remained completely immobile.

Ah. Consolidating her gains. Great kid!

After another hour or so, she ran to the arena.

"Disciple reporting to Master."

Ever since she started hanging around with Kang Lin, Yang Xiu had started randomly being more formal with some interactions. Benton didn't know if she was trying to act more like she felt a true sect member should act or if the manner of speech amused her.

If there was one thing that he had learned about parenting teenagers, it was that it just wasn't worth trying to micromanage the small stuff. He and Evelyn had never tried to control their children's hairstyles or, for the most part, their clothing choices.

They focused on the important things. Did the kids do their schoolwork? Were they respectful? Did they stay out of trouble?

In other words, pick your battles.

Overall, Yang Xiu was a fantastic kid. Diligent. Respectful. Responsible. If she wanted to be a bit more formal in her speech, so be it.

"Master listening to Disciple."

Of course, his resolution to let her choose her words for herself didn't mean he wouldn't gently tease her about it.

She looked chastened. "The trial was a success, Master. I raised my shield technique to Large Success."

Yang Xiu went on to tell him about the trial, about how the spheres were unblockable and how she died multiple times. That news concerned him, of course, but after he questioned her about the experience, it seemed like there was no mental trauma associated with it. One instant she was alive and the next she was in a void being told she had died.

Though she seemed fine, dying over and over again couldn't be healthy for her psyche. He'd have to monitor the situation. If future trials used the same methodology but made the process of dying linger, he might have to consider not allowing his disciples to use the pagoda.

More tests were needed before he could make such a decision, though. He'd have Yang Ru attempt an improvement next, following the pagoda's reset, and pending how that went, Kang Lin would be the next up. Both would be instructed with the strongest possible admonition to give up on the trial if it was in any way traumatic.

He trusted them to adhere to the letter and spirit of his orders even if they didn't want to follow them.

With Yang Xiu having finished her report, he sent her back to the village with instructions to return at first light with her two fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Since he'd ended up waiting on pins and needles for her to get finished with the trial, most of the night had passed, and his newest sect members began finishing up the fiery ordeal of having their spiritual roots enhanced. Somehow, they all seemed happy with the experience despite looking like they'd all been run through the wringer.

After another hour, the fifty new cultivators were all on their way back to the village, and he was finally free to begin placing buildings. The current sect grounds consisted of an old farmer's field overgrown with weeds, shrubs, and grasses. Not the most auspicious of locales, but that was okay. He was focused on what could be, not on what was.

He envisioned a wall surrounding the entire area with a gate in the direction of the village as that would be where almost all traffic came from. Upon entering, he wanted all the main sect buildings to be front and center.

From various projects he'd been involved with over the years, he knew that creating a sense of place was very important. Or at least, the architects and developers had claimed that it was very important. One had gone on and on about how necessary it was to activate the ground plane, whatever that meant.

Benton had little idea what exactly placemaking entailed, but he was enthusiastic to give it a go.

There were three buildings already sited—the arena far from the eventual gate, the Contribution Points Shop, and the adjacent Trials Pagoda. The latter two were on the outskirts of what he termed his Central Business District in the direction of the arena.

Hmm.

In his mind, there was a large avenue leading from the gate through his new sect. Both sides of the avenue would be lined with his most important buildings, making everything easy to find. Ancillary facilities could be located on side streets leading behind the buildings on both sides. Housing would be in a different area entirely.

Perfect.

The first large structure a visitor saw when entering the gate should be the Administration Hall, a four-story pagoda he'd stored in his ring for that purpose. He wondered how close to the wall it should be, though.

There definitely should be a gap between the wall and any buildings. That space would be used for guard shacks and for defensive forces to muster and what have you. Probably a fifty-yard distance between the wall and the structures would work.

Those decisions made placing the first structure easy. The Administration Hall went fifty yards from the eventual location of the gate on the north side of the planned avenue. Even better, the actual installation went lightning fast with his new technique for excavating foundations.

He removed the hall from the ring, held it in the air with his gravity burst, dug out the foundations in the appropriate places with his technique, and lowered the gravity to allow the building to gently fall into place.

Awesome.

Across from it, he placed a five-story library. As of yet, he only had a few dozen books to store in it, but that amount would expand over time.

Next to the library, he placed the Lecture Hall, a building that reminded him a lot of something he'd find on a college campus but with an eastern flare. It was a more short and squat than most of the beautiful tall pagodas that housed the other functions, but the architect had done a good job of making it fit in with the surrounding buildings. The important thing was function, anyway, and it contained rooms that would fit up to several hundred for a single presentation all the way down to very intimate one on one study nooks.

Obviously, he also needed a space other than the arena where he could gather the entire sect, and next to the Lecture Hall seemed logical. Benton placed the Amphitheater there. As indicated by its name, it was an open-air facility, but its big advantage was that it held seating for close to five thousand people. It would be quite some time before the Rising Tide Sect outgrew it.

He hadn't checked on its formations yet, but he was willing to bet that it included one to protect the occupants from the elements. If not, he was positive that he could create one. The Amphitheater was destined to become the sect's new home for meetings and inductions and all kinds of other official functions.

Moving back to the other side of the street, he placed the five-story Martial Pavilion next to the Administration Hall. He figured that it would be his most important and most used pavilion as almost every sect member would be required to learn a weapon skill.

Eventually, when their sect was large enough to rival the big three, it would be okay for specialist crafters to forego learning to fight, but until then, everyone needed to know the basics of defense just in case the sect was attacked.

Benton paused in his thoughts.

Actually, he wasn't sure if it would ever be okay for any cultivator to completely ignore combat skills. The world was too dangerous. Unless one truly planned to never leave the walls of the sect, the ability to defend oneself, at least to some extent, was a requirement.

He hated that fact, but it was the truth. Maybe a part of his long-term plans should be to make the world safe enough that not everyone was required to know how to fight. To do that, he'd need to establish the rule of law, which would require him to become so powerful that he could bring to heel anyone who stood against whatever justice dispensing organization he created.

Wow. His thoughts sure had turned heavy. Creating the place for his sect was supposed to be a happy occasion.

Benton banished those concerns, turning back to the fun project of building his physical sect. Next to the Martial Pavilion, he placed what he considered to be his second most important pavilion—Alchemy. Though the structure was only three stories, he expected it to be of incredible importance. Once he got Wan Ai and others up to speed producing nearly perfect pills, he'd start saving a lot of Shop Points. Her advancement was definitely one of his most important priorities.

He paused for a second. How lucky was it that she was so dedicated to cultivation? Despite her less than stellar roots, she was next closest to advancing to Foundation Establishment, and the sooner she accomplished that task, the better.

Departing from the main avenue, he placed the Bath House dedicated to Body Cultivation behind the Alchemy Pavilion. It wasn't a structure that demanded a place of prominence, but it would be much visited as he would require all his sect members to eventually reach at least peak Bronze Body Cultivation. And obviously, the building needed to be close to the alchemists who created the baths for the sake of efficiency.

Back on the main avenue, he installed the third of the major pavilions, Formations, next to the Alchemy Pavilion. At the moment, the math-oriented profession was the least developed with only five members and none who could even make the simplest of arrays. Like with alchemy, it played a major role in the development of all sects, so getting them up to speed was another priority.

Benton had a choice to make with his next placement. One side of the avenue was lined with all the pavilions and four total buildings. There were only three on the other side, creating an imbalance.

Not counting the Outer Sect, he had three pavilions left to install—Woodworking, Blacksmithing, and Healing. His first impulse was to keep all the pavilions on one side of the street, but that didn't make sense as he had nothing to go opposite them.

Hmm.

It was fine. All of them didn't have to line up next to each other as long as they were in the same area. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd end up adding more later. Those would probably end up on side streets or even farther away from the CBD.

Okay. Decision made, then. He'd balance the buildings on each side.

It was logical to keep Woodworking and the forge next to each other as they were similar types of craft and worked closely together, so he put those on the side next to the Amphitheater. That left the Healing Pavilion to go next to the building for arrays.

Great. That left only the auxillary building for the fletchers, which naturally went behind the Woodworking Pavilion.

Finished, he stood at one end and looked at his future main avenue. Big tall beautiful buildings lined it.

Of course, it wasn't perfect. There was no stone path yet for the actual road, and the area was still overgrown. There were no decorative trees or anything else.

But it was a start. A good start.

Chapter 164 – Goodbye Home

Benton grinned, happy that he had the core of his sect placed. The Administration Hall, the Library, the Lecture Hall, the Amphitheater, six pavilions, and a couple of auxiliary buildings had been installed near the eventual gate. A short distance away were the Contribution Points Shop and the Trials Pagoda. Farther on was the arena.

That was a great start.

With the work locations clearly established, he needed places for all his people to live and chose the large empty area opposite the arena to build the residential section. On his way there, he dropped the cafeteria, a large, single-story building that had enough kitchen space and seating capacity to handle roughly five hundred people at once. As long as everyone didn't go for meals at exactly the same time, it should work as the main eating location until sect membership reached into the thousands. Which was why he sited it where he did, halfway between the Central Business District, which he referred to mentally as the CBD, and the housing area.

Once he reached the sector he'd selected, his first placement was the Outer Sect Pavilion, an eleven-story building that contained sixty apartments easily capable of holding up to one hundred eighty sect members, more if they really wanted to stuff them inside. He planned to mainly use it for children and temporary housing for new, non-village recruits.

Dotted around the area along planned curved roads much like a suburban development back in the good old US of A, he placed twenty family homes of various sizes and configurations and thirty single dwellings favored by many cultivators belonging to various sects.

Hmm.

All told, he could easily house about three hundred members, which was good. The capacity slightly exceeded the current membership. On the negative side, he was all out of dwellings from his ring, and the Rising Tide Sect was growing rapidly. There was no way he'd be able to fit all the people in the village into the current structures on the sect grounds.

To do so, he'd need to begin either building his own houses or moving ones from the village onto the grounds. Neither of those options appealed to him, though. All the structures taken from the Righteous Rain Sect, while having various appearances, had a certain aesthetic similarity that he liked. The village houses would clash terribly, and the time required to build new ones while maintaining any kind of architectural conformity would be problematic.

It seemed like a visit to Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town was in order in the near future. Which was a good idea on multiple fronts. For one thing, he had kind of promised Fatty Ren a solution to his cultivation stagnation, and recruiting the large Town Lord might just be a way to speed up the growth of the Rising Tide Sect so that Benton could get to Nascent Soul even faster.

He would feel much better about the security situation if he were stronger than any known cultivator on the continent. Fighting against an opponent with an aura had not been easy or fun. If that opponent had been a human with scores of mastered techniques, Benton may not have won.

Adding that out-of-town trip to his mental To Do List, he moved on to his next priority—getting the sect moving in the right direction. The beast tide had been a positive in many ways. Lots of sect members had made significant improvements. Pretty much everyone had gotten at least some experience out of the deal. The sect would be flush with material wealth from all the spoils from the beasts they'd killed. And best of all, no one had gotten killed. The village hadn't even suffered any significant damage.

The event couldn't have gone any better.

It had, however, disrupted his plans. Production on the wall had completely ceased, and for the most part, separation of sect members into their various pavilions had been abandoned as most everyone concentrated on learning weapon skills. Almost no progress had been made on pill production, and efforts to increase knowledge of formations for anyone but himself had been severely hampered.

Of course, the news wasn't all bad in terms of crafting. Forging and fletching had both proceeded at a fantastic pace, putting those sect members ahead of where they might have otherwise been. Body Cultivation had also been pushed heavily. There was no way so many would have advanced so far absent the threat presented by the tide. And obviously, the number of hours spent practicing weapons had been immense, putting almost everyone further along the path toward Mastery than he would have expected.

Still, the sect needed to be able to win the peace just as much as being able to prevail in war. They needed crafting and production, not just weapons and fighting. His disciples needed to build and create.

Starting in the morning, he'd refocus everyone on those tasks.

He Quickstepped to the village and found Yang Xiu cultivating in her house.

"Cancel my orders to have the three Foundation Establishment cultivators come to me at dawn. We need a council meeting instead. Oh, and I forgot to reward Pan Jiang and the other Poison Claw Sect members for their assistance. Ask them to attend as well."

"Yes, Master."

As the sun was still in the process of rising, all the council members—Yang Xiu, Yang Ru, Zhong Wen, Wan Ai, Zou Tian, Shi Long, Ye Zan, Hou Yazhu, Xun Wu, Peng Zhen, Zi Delan, Mo Jian, Guang Yin, Xiang Da, and Pan Xiaolian—arrived at the arena accompanied by Kang Lin, Pan Jiang, and the other four Poison Claw Sect members who had participated in the beast tide.

"Today represents the end of an era," Benton said sadly.

All the assembled cultivators looked at him with confusion writ large on their faces.

"It's our last council meeting at the arena," Benton said. "In fact, we'll no longer be using the arena for meetings or inductions at all. From now on, it will be for spectated sparring and tournaments only. Council meetings will be held on the third floor of the new Administration Hall and inductions and any meetings requiring the entire sect will be held in the amphitheater."

They looked just as confused. Perhaps they were all too young to mourn small changes, but he would always remember the arena as being more to the sect than simply a place to house fights. It would always be the sect's first official building. In a way, they were saying goodbye to the sect's first home.

"I'll try to be brief. The purpose of today's meeting is to reset the direction of the sect now that the beast tide is past." Benton turned to Guang Yin, the old wood harvester. "One very high priority is to get the wall built around the sect grounds. Full speed ahead on production."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Benton met the mayor's eyes. "Another high priority is to get the last couple of induction classes into their respective pavilions. Interview each person and assign them based on their interests. Alchemy and Formations need the most help long term but are the most ill equipped to get people started. I'll take a personal interest in helping organize both of those. Martial is useful both in the short and the long term and is ready to accept and train new members. If anyone is waffling between Martial and something else or can't decide, try to push them to that decision.

"Woodworking, forging, and healing should be pretty straightforward. If the person was already at least apprenticed in one of those fields and wants to continue, then it's a no brainer. Otherwise, use your judgment. We also need to get started growing herbs. That will be a new pavilion. If we don't have at least five farmers already, let's prioritize that for the next induction."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

"All of you who are pavilion leaders," Benton said, "I know administration is a responsibility that takes time away from other tasks, but it is crucial to the sect's long term success. Please think about how you want to organize your pavilion and how you can both teach and utilize new members. I'm available if you have questions."

Some of his leaders would have no problem, especially experienced masters like the expert blacksmith, Xun Wu, the harvester, Guang Yin, and the old healer, Pan Xiaolian. If anything, they could teach Benton a thing or two. Others, like Wan Ai, were overwhelmed by even the thought of leading others. But that was okay. He was confident she'd grow into the role. Which she would very much need to do. Production of the baths needed to continue while they shifted their training to create pills.

"One final task," Benton said. "I left the corpses of the sixth, seventh, and eighth waves where they died. I want three teams, each led by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to go out and collect the spoils."

He could see the obvious question on their faces. "Go ahead and ask."

"Why didn't you just collect them, Master?" Yang Xiu said.

"Anyone care to answer that for me?"

No one spoke for a moment, and as Benton had half expected, it was Zou Tian who finally came up with an answer.

"Experience, Master."

"Good," Benton said. "Elaborate."

"Everything that you do for us is something that we don't get to experience doing for ourselves. Even though storing bodies in a spatial ring is a relatively easy thing to accomplish, it is an important task that needs doing."

"Exactly. But you left off that it's also an opportunity to gain contribution points, which is important to the sect and its members. I want each of the three teams to include a Foundation Establishment cultivator and one guard, but I want the actual work of finding and separating the bodies to be accomplished by regular sect members, the lower ranked, the better. Understood?"

"Yes, Master."

"Great, now the final topic for today, rewards for our allies." Benton turned to Kang Lin. "As my disciple, you're able to participate in the same rewards as the Rising Tide Sect members. I hope that you're not too terribly disappointed not to also share in the same bounty as your actual sect members."

She smiled. "No, Master. This one is not quite that greedy."

Ha. He did like her playful nature and really hoped things worked out between her and Yang Ru. She would be good for him.

"Good," Benton said. "Pan Jiang, may I please check your cultivation?"

The boy, of course, assented.

"Not bad," Benton said. "Earth grade method?"

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Hmm.

"Okay, I think you're best off advancing to Foundation Establishment with the method and techniques you're currently using. How about an IOU that you can claim for a new method or technique of your choice once you advance?"

Pan Jiang nodded enthusiastically.

"Deng Meixiang," Benton said. "Is it okay if I check your cultivation?"

"Of course, Sect Leader," the archer said.

Benton kept his face expressionless, but he wanted to grimace. His best guess was that the girl's cultivation method was rated low profound at best. Still, she was talented enough that she'd probably reach Foundation Establishment. Eventually. Maybe.

He explained that situation to her.

"I can offer you a new cultivation method for Qi Gathering and can even reset your cultivation if you want. Your other option, though, is the same one that I gave Pan Jiang. I can give you a top heaven grade Foundation Establishment cultivation method once you advance."

The look of avarice on her face at the thought of what he offered was almost funny, but it was tempered with the realization that she wasn't guaranteed to ever make that breakthrough.

Benton sighed. "How about this—if you take the Foundation Establishment option, I'll also promise to provide pills for your breakthrough if your bottleneck takes more than six months?"

He didn't like committing his dwindling supply of Shop Points, but with having so many Sect Points, he could always simply master alchemy to a high enough extent that he'd be able to create the necessary pills.

"Yes, Sect Leader. Gratitude, Sect Leader!"

The evaluations of the other three kids were similar, and Benton ended up making them each the same offer. The number of points he'd be spending on creating Foundation Establishment techniques would have made him apoplectic not that long ago, but he wouldn't be attuning the methods to their exact qi aspects. Some of his sect members would probably be able to use them eventually.

The Poison Claw Sect kids deserved the boon for their service to his sect, and he could afford to give it to them. Besides, he wanted it known far and wide that the Rising Tide Sect gives great benefits to those who help it.

He wanted their reputation to be as a fantastic friend and a fearsome enemy. The rewards he was giving were the first step to establishing the former. Hopefully, he'd never have to demonstrate the latter.