Chapter 52 - The Cat Is out of the Bag

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

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

Yikes. That guy didn’t pull any punches.

“A valuable commodity,” Benton said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



“This one intends to teach the villagers.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Of course.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“This one sees,” Kang Ya-Ting said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kang Ya-Ting grimaced.

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

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

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

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

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

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

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

Kang Ya-Ting seemed more resigned than angry. “Congratulations to the Esteemed Master Cultivator’s Disciple.”

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

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

“How valuable is the sword?” Benton said.

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

Benton gave him a look.

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

“Would it benefit the Esteemed Master Cultivator if this one’s disciple didn’t take the sword?”



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

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

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

“Ahh. Tell me more. Maybe this one can help.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What experience level?”

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

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

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

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

“Wonderful.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“This one has a question but doesn’t know if it might offend,” Benton said.

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

“Does Pan Jiang not have a sword technique?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hard pass.

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

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

Was it worth it?

The answer—a hard maybe.

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

“Is there a problem, Esteemed Master Cultivator?”

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

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

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

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

Kang Ya-Ting was rendered absolutely speechless.

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

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

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