The Sect Leader System-Chapter 281: Worries, Leadership, Rewards, and Gratitude

Kang Lin was quite curious about why Master had called for her and the twins to meet with him. If it was about the tournament, why was she being included, and if it concerned the expedition, why hadn’t Jin LiJuan been invited?

Either way, Kang Lin would find out soon enough. After a luxurious bath and a not quite as decadent meal from the cafeteria, she definitely felt much better. Roughing it in the wilds was an accepted part of being a cultivator, and with her elevated realm and the convenience of a storage ring, a lot of the downsides were much easier to handle. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

That being the case, it was called roughing it for a reason. Just the ability to get truly clean again was an enormous boon. She almost felt pleased. Until she again considered the results of the expedition.

Yang Ru has surpassed her once again. His new use of his Momentum Transfer technique was sure to make him a star in the tournament. He wouldn’t win the lower Foundation Establishment division, of course, since he was just in the first minor realm, but only the best of the best from the other sects would defeat him.

A membership in which she was definitely not included.

Though Yang Xiu hadn’t made any obvious advancements, the casual manner in which she dealt with even peak rank fours left no doubt that she was much stronger than Kang Lin.

She was falling further behind. The twins would eclipse her soon, and that wasn’t even counting what would happen when they gained access to the qi sources that Master was creating.

Not for the first time, she wondered why anyone was still even giving lip service to her and Yang Ru marrying. Sure, Master and Yang Ru offered assurances that it would all work out okay, but that wasn’t how sects worked. With her roots upgraded to B-, her use of Lightning qi, and the status of her family within her sect, she would normally be a good match for just about anyone.

The problem was that Yang Ru wasn’t just anyone. Not only was he one of the heirs apparent of a sect that, though small at the moment, had a profound future ahead of it, but he had A ranked talent. Once he showed himself to be a powerhouse at the tournament, his pedigree would be firmly established.

Kang Lin should never have been considered a proper match for him in the first place.

In contrast to her doubts were those assurances provided by Master. Just thinking about the solution to how she might keep up with Yang Ru, Dual Cultivation, triggered many emotions in her. The actual mechanism made her blush, and she couldn’t help but be a little curious about the process. And she also couldn’t help but give in somewhat to her most greedy impulses at the thought of her cultivation progress being eased. Cultivators routinely killed for resources that provided lesser benefits than what she imagined.

Mostly, though, she didn’t know whether she was flattered that Yang Ru would consider sacrificing so much of his own advancement for her or if she should be disgusted at herself for the need. She mostly settled on both simultaneously.

Then there were the practicalities. Such a method only worked with small differences. The gap between A and B- should qualify in that regard, but what happened when he began using the qi source to accelerate his cultivation. She’d never be able to keep up then, no matter how often they practiced the method.

Her face reddened at the thought.

She firmed her resolve. Once the qi sources were created, she’d observe their actual impact. If it exceeded a reasonable amount, she’d return to the Poison Claw Sect and leave behind the absurd notion of marrying Yang Ru.

The decision made her much more melancholy than she had thought it would, and she had to school her face so the twins didn’t detect her mood when she rejoined them. Instead, she exchanged cheerful greetings with the two and launched into a discussion about what Master could possibly want as they made the short journey to the Administration Hall.

Sun Hua met them at the entrance and escorted them to Master’s office, joining them inside.

“Greetings, all,” Master said. “I have two topics for today. The first is that I wish to express my extreme gratitude to the three of you who accompanied Jin LiJuan on the expedition. I had meant for it to be a training opportunity for all of you, but I saw that you spent a lot of effort focusing on the weakest member of the group. That kind of caring for your fellow sect members is what I want the Rising Tide Sect to exemplify, and thus it is an action that I want to reward. Gratitude.”

Master cupped his hands and bowed slightly to each of the three. “I’ve decided to grant each of you a new technique.”

That announcement lifted Kang Lin’s mood. As a member of an allied sect, she didn’t earn contribution points aside from that one mission, and Master had already given her so much that asking for another technique felt greedy to her. But with both newest ones at Large Success, it would be a good time for her to add another one.

“The main reason for this meeting, however, is to discuss tournament preparations,” Master said. “Kang Lin, I included you because you have actual experience with the tournament in question. Do you mind lending us some of your wisdom?”

Saying she had experience with the tournament was overstating matters a bit. She’d only been eleven years old the last time it was held. Though she’d attended, it was as a child, and she didn’t exactly have any great insights about the event. Still, giving them her opinion was the least she owed him.

“Of course, Master.”

“Excellent. First of all, we need to address the elephant in the room.”

Kang Lin vaguely knew what an elephant was, though she’d never seen one. To her understanding, they were enormous creatures. Why would there be one in a room? She had no idea.

“Though I left determining participation up to the pavilion heads,” Master said, “I can’t help but be concerned about Jin LiJuan. As one of our few Foundation Establishment cultivators, I’m assuming you’ve considered automatically awarding her a place?”

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Yang Xiu nodded.

“You noticed the problem, right?” Master said.

“She’s not ready, Master,” Yang Xiu said, “and I don’t know if she’ll get ready in time, either. The advancement of her skills is too slow.”

Master grimaced. “I hate to take the opportunity away from her, but I suppose we must. Maybe that message would be best coming from me instead of one of you three.”

“Maybe none of us need to tell her, Master?” Kang Lin said.

“Explain.”

“We give her the opportunity. Yang Xiu is already planning a tournament. Why would there be an expectation on her part that she had automatic entrance? She’ll have to showcase her abilities to earn a spot.”

Master stroked his chin. “I see. Interesting. Yang Xiu? Yang Ru?”

“I like the idea, Master,” Yang Xiu said. “I wouldn’t expect her to have to beat any of the three of us to be allowed to go, but we should be able to come up with something that makes sense.”

Yang Ru grunted his assent.

“Great! That was a much better solution than I anticipated,” Master said. “Next subject, I think that one sect member other than me should be designated to be the overall person in charge of the tournament for our sect. Four of the five best candidates are in this room, and Zou Tian has other concerns he needs to deal with.”

He looked at Sun Hua. “I doubt you’re even considering participating, right?”

“Correct, Master.”

“Normally, I’d still consider you as probably my top resource for something like this. Your organizational and logistic skills are top notch. Unfortunately, I think a better use of your abilities is to continue what you’re doing running the sect while I’m otherwise occupied, which is much too heavy a burden to give you additional responsibilities on top of.”

She swallowed hard. “Yes, Master.”

He turned to Kang Lin. “You’d be an excellent choice to lead the effort. Between your knowledge of the event and the players and your overall competence, any sect would be happy to have you in charge.”

She knew a “but” was coming. At least, she hoped there was.

Master didn’t disappoint. “But you’re not a member of my sect. I don’t think the optics are right. What’s your opinion?”

Kang Lin wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by optics, but she got the general gist. “If your desire is to show that the Poison Claw Sect and the Rising Tide Sect are close allies, having me run your participation in the tournament sends that message, but I’m almost positive your goal is to take advantage of the boost to your reputation that the invitation is providing. Choosing me would do serious damage to that objective.”

“Exactly my thoughts. Which means you’re out.” Master turned to the twins. “You two are both great, but I wish you were more seasoned in regard to organization and logistics. This will just have to serve as a learning experience for one of you. Until after the tournament is over, one of you will lead that effort while the other will serve as the sole head of the Martial Pavilion. Can I leave it to you two to decide which is which?”

The two stared at each other. If anyone had ever given off “pick me, pick me” energy, it was Yang Xiu. Her brother, typically, grunted his consent. He could be more stubborn than anyone Kang Lin ever met if he truly had an opinion about something, but if he didn’t care, he really didn’t care.

“I’ll run our tournament entry, Master,” Yang Xiu said.

“Works,” Master said. “Yang Ru, all you need to do is select the martial members attending the tournament.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Sun Hua, please give Yang Xiu all the administrative and logistical help you can manage but remember that your first job is running the sect. If you’re unable to help her with something, let her know that.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Kang Lin, I’d really appreciate it if you could advise Yang Xiu as much as you feel comfortable doing. This is one of those areas, though, where it’s not something I’m comfortable asking as your master, so it truly is your call.”

Kang Lin almost snorted. Of course, she’d help. For one thing, the amount she felt she’d gained from her master and his sect was well in excess of anything she’d contributed. For another, she still loved Yang Xiu like a sister even as the possibility of that becoming a reality became dimmer by the day.

“Understood, Master.”

“Great, gratitude to all of you once again,” Master said. “Sun Hua, all that I have left is distributing techniques to these three, so no need for you to stick around if you don’t want.”

“Yes, Master.” And with that, the assistant and sometimes sect leader left the room.

“Who’s first?” Master said.

One person obviously volunteered for the position.

“A while back, we talked about me modifying my qi aspect, Master,” Yang Xiu said. “Can I still do that?”

“The same conditions apply.”

She explained a minor change she wanted to make that would give her access to Razor Edge Sharpness as a qi element. Kang Lin was pretty impressed, thinking the solution offered maximum effectiveness with minimal impact. Master agreed, giving Yang Xiu the permission she sought.

“I’m assuming that boon was in lieu of the offered technique?” Master said.

“Well… uh, actually…”

“Spit it out, Yang Xiu,” Master said.

“Having access to the new element won’t do me much good if I don’t have a technique to apply it, right Master? What do you think about modifying my Slippery Arrow technique to make it the Slippery Sharp Arrow technique?”

Master did that thing with his eyes like he was reading something no one but him could see. “It’s not full price, but I still have to pay half.” He sighed. “I forgot how expensive teenage daughters could be.”

Kang Lin didn’t think that he even realized that he’d essentially called Yang Xiu his daughter, but the girl certainly did. She actually teared up.

“What?” Master said, obviously noticing the glistening eyes. “Really. What happened?”

“Nothing, Master. Thank you, Master.”

He frowned but moved past it. “Okay, then. I’ll give you your new technique after you pass your trial.”

She cupped her hands. “Gratitude, Master.”

He turned to Kang Lin. “Any thoughts on what you might want?”

Her first thought was to refuse the offer. After all, she hadn’t felt that she’d actually done anything to warrant such a reward. The value of a top heaven grade technique far, far eclipsed the minor help she provided to the young beast tamer. But Kang Lin’s pragmatic side won out. That and knowing that her grandfather would ream her out good for passing up such an opportunity.

Since she already had a weapon technique and a shield technique, the two most obvious choices were a movement technique or a ranged qi attack. The latter was a nice to have, though. The former would be incorporated into every fight. Besides, she hadn’t even reached Mastery with her Foundation Establishment level spear attack yet. The choice was obvious.

She cupped her hands. “Gratitude, Master. This lowly one requests an upgrade to Lightning Dash, the movement technique that I mastered in the Qi Gathering realm.”

“Good choice.” After a few more of those eye movements, he pulled a jade slip from his ring and tossed it to her.

She immediately dove her consciousness into the slip and was astounded by the new technique. It was called Path of Lightning, and it was everything she wanted and more. Whereas her old movement skill had simply boosted her straight line speed, the new one built on the same patterns of activating internal qi to use her muscles for acceleration to allow her to move quickly in any direction she chose.

It also went so much farther than that, though,

The technique, when she chose, wrapped her in pure Lightning and propelled her from one spot to another. She’d have to test the results, but she guessed that the movement would be faster than the eye could see. Such a powerful technique would automatically catapult her fighting prowess to near the top of her tier in the tournament, assuming she got it to at least Large Success prior to the matches starting.

Of course, a technique that powerful came with a downside—moving so fast by manifesting pure Lightning cost a good portion of her qi. She’d have to use it sparingly. Still, even just a single step at that speed would make her spear thrust almost impossible to defend against.

Kang Lin smiled wide. She had a lot of practicing to do, but she knew she would love the results!

If not for the huge breach in decorum it would be, she would have hugged him. Instead, she settled for cupping her hands again.