The Sect Leader System-Chapter 333: The Clan’s Karma?

Gao Zian hadn’t expected to be treated well or even fairly by the sects, but being locked out of the tournament grounds without being given the chance to gather the clan’s belongings went beyond the pale. And there was nothing he could do about it. Even if the gate guards didn’t have substantial backing—which they most assuredly did—they were both of a higher minor realm of Foundation Establishment than he was. His Body Cultivation might have allowed him to fight one of them, but he doubted the entire rest of his clan, including two Foundation Establishment subordinates, could handle the other one.

As the patriarch, he was responsible for the safety of his clan members, a large portion of whom were standing behind him, and they were all in a dire situation. Since the Jade Chameleon Sect had ejected them from the grounds, it was clear that the sect would not be providing transport back.

With no other choice, they’d have to walk, which was doable for even the weakest of the nearly fifty Bronze Body Cultivators. They had the necessary strength and stamina, after all.

The problem was that the journey would take at least two months, which meant they needed food and water. Portable shelters. Money.

Some of that they possessed. Not enough, but some. But all of it was back with their tents. Inside the compound. Which they weren’t allowed to enter.

Basically, they were left with the clothes on their backs and whatever coins they happened to have on them.

Gao Zian had no idea how they’d make it back without starving. Sure, hunting and foraging could provide some nourishment. Unlike Spiritual Cultivators who needed less sustenance the further they progressed, the clan’s Body Cultivation made them require more food than a mortal.

If they left the city without supplies, some would die along the route. That outcome was guaranteed.

One option, obviously, was to seek work and save enough to buy adequate supplies. But he suspected that the Jade Chameleon Sect would thwart any such plan.

Gao Zian sighed. It might be that they’d all be killed as soon as they got out of sight of the city, anyway. The only things preventing that outcome were all the eyes watching and the resultant loss of face.

He never should have accepted the invitation to attend the tournament.

Just as he was about to turn back to his clan members and explain just how grim their situation was, a voice called out, “Gao Zian! Hey! What’s up?”

What’s up?

There was only one person who Gao Zian knew that spoke in such an odd manner, but he hoped—no, he prayed—to the heavens that it wasn’t that person. But the voice had come from the sky, and he couldn’t help but look.

Above him, floating effortlessly, was Chao Su. If there was one person in the city who both had the power to do anything he wanted and didn’t care a lick about face, it was that monster.

Gao Zian had feigned an association with Chao Su, which was one reason for the Jade Chameleon Sect’s poor treatment of the clan. That treatment likely would have been the same regardless just due to the clan’s utter failure to defeat a single one of the Rising Tide members.

Looking at the man, who was grinning like a loon, Gao Zian was vividly reminded of how much their supposed friendship was an act. There was nothing preventing the madman from destroying all of them on a whim. The sooner he was sent on his way, the better.

Gao Zian swallowed hard before cupping his hands. “This lowly one greets the sect leader.”

“Why are you outside the gate? Why does it look like the guards won’t let you in?”

“It is of no matter, Sect Leader. Truly.”

Chao Su frowned, an expression that terrified Gao Zian more than anything his entire life had.

“They did that thing where they kicked you out and didn’t even let you collect your stuff, didn’t they?” Chao Su shook his head slowly. “What a cliché. Are they going down a checklist from the Evildoer’s Guide to Being Evil or something? I mean, surely they could be more original than that.”

As expected of a monster, his objection wasn’t regarding how contemptible the act was but rather the lack of cleverness.

“There is no need to concern yourself, Sect Leader. We were just leaving.”

“Without your stuff?”

“Material possessions burden the soul, Sect Leader.”

Gao Zian almost gaped at the nonsense that just left his mouth, but it seemed to work. Chao Su nodded as if he’d heard something profound.

“That’s a good one. I may use that sometime.”

“Feel free, Sect Leader.”

Anything to get rid of him.

“Why don’t y’all come back to the compound and share a meal before y’all hit the road?”

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

“We’ve—”

The stomach of one of the clan juniors grumbled at just that moment, ruining telling Chao Su that they’d already eaten. And with that excuse burned, Gao Zian floundered for an alternate reason.

“Whatever you’re about to say, it’s nonsense. I insist.”

“Apologies, Sect Leader, but the guards won’t let us back in.”

“Oh really? We’ll see about that.”

Even though the pressure from Chao Su’s Aura wasn’t directed at him, Gao Zian winced just from being so near it, the memory from the stands almost forcing him to his knees just from the pure sympathy of seeing the two guards bear the brute of the force.

“Is what Patriarch Gao Zian says true? Will you refuse entrance to my guests?”

“N-no, S-sect L-leader.”

The pressure disappeared as quickly as it had sprung into being.

Chao Su cupped his hands in the direction of the head guard, not that he noticed the mockery as he was too busy trying to regain his wits.

“Gratitude,” Chao Su said before turning his attention back to Gao Zian. “Ready to eat?”

Despite being one of the most powerful men on the planet, Benton didn’t throw his weight around often. He honestly didn’t want to get in the habit of it. Better to remain polite and low key, just as he’d been in his life on Earth.

And he thought he was doing pretty well at that, too. Sure, people respected him because of his position as a Nascent Soul Sect Leader, but personally, he was positive that everyone saw that he was, at heart, a nice guy.

When it came to bullies, though, that was something he simply couldn’t tolerate. And to see an entire clan being pushed around by the Jade Chameleon Sect… well, that just really got his goat.

Not to mention that Benton felt like the entire thing with the clan was at least partially his fault. The least he could do was treat them to a meal and get their stuff back before they departed the city.

Considering how much the Jade Chameleons already hated him, it wasn’t like one more strike against him would make any impact on their relationship.

After cowing the guards and sending a message dragon back to Sun Hua, Benton escorted the clan back to the Rising Tide Sect compound. His assistant, ever efficient, had food waiting for them by the time they arrived.

Perfect.

Leaving the new kids to visit with his sect members, Benton escorted the patriarch to a nearby private dining room.

“So how screwed are you guys?” Benton said as soon as they both were seated.

“I’m sorry, Sect Leader?”

“You have few supplies and little money, right? The Jade Chameleon Sect probably flew y'all here and, since things didn’t go their way, are now hanging you out to dry. Is that an accurate assessment of the situation?”

The patriarch gritted his teeth. “Yes, Sect Leader.”

“I’m not trying to rub it in.” Benton paused. “Look, I know I bear some of the blame for your situation. The least I can do is make sure you get your stuff back and get home safely.”

Gao Zian didn’t say anything for a moment, and silence stretched uncomfortably. “Why?”

Benton’s first impulse was simply to answer, but he decided to take the opportunity to gain the measure of the man sitting across from him. “I’ll turn that question right back on you. Imagine that your enemy brought in a small faction solely to try to hinder you. Because you’re so powerful and so awesome, though, you flipped the script, made both your enemy and the small faction look like idiots.”

The patriarch clenched his fists.

“Granted,” Benton said, “you are not responsible for the actions of the small faction. They had a choice, albeit probably an undesirable one, not to go along with the enemy’s plans. That faction’s leader is, after all, a grown ass adult who has agency.”

Gao Zian took a deep breath.

“Still, that faction doesn’t seem evil or anything and it did end up in dire straits at least partially due to your actions,” Benton said. “So, in that situation, would you help and why?”

The patriarch took only a short moment to consider. “In that situation, Sect Leader, my honor would require that I provide some assistance to the extent that I could and that it did not cause undue stress on my clan’s resources.”

Benton thought that response was excellent, well in line with his own thoughts. “Does it surprise you, then, that others would make a similar choice, or do you think you’re the only moral person on the continent?”

Gao Zian pursed his lips. “When dealing with sects, my experience has been not to expect honorable behavior, Sect Leader.”

“I get that, and to be honest, circumstances have not always allowed me to operate in a manner in which I’d consider to be particularly exemplary. That being said, I prefer to treat others fairly unless I have no other choice.”

The patriarch slumped, tension easing from his shoulders. “What form of help do you propose, Sect Leader?”

“Nothing extravagant. Getting your stuff back will be a trivial matter. The JCSB alliance doesn’t seem ready for a full-on attack yet, and no guards are willing to stand against me without significant backing. Besides that, I have a number of options for transport.”

The patriarch nodded.

With Gao Zian on board with the idea of Benton helping, the discussion delved into logistics. The best options for getting all the patriarch’s people back to their clan was to either transport them there directly—which involved Benton personally escorting them since he couldn’t just Teleport them since he’d never been there—or to provide them with them with flying devices.

The latter was a lot simpler and didn’t require him to be apart from his sect members.

“You’ll simply gift me a glider?” Gao Zian said, his voice incredulous as he stared at the one Benton had pulled from his ring.

“Yeah. It’s no big thing. I give them to all my sect members when they reach Foundation Establishment.”

Gao Zian’s eyes grew huge. “This… Sect Leader, this device is worth more than all the equipment my clan possesses combined.”

“Really? You guys are that poor? I hadn’t realized.”

Extreme poverty obviously existed in the world, just like it had back on Earth. Benton knew that. But it was an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of thing. He really had no idea of the struggles the man before him must go through just to keep his people alive.

Benton naturally wanted to help, and there was a really obvious win-win situation before him—induct the entire clan into the Rising Tide Sect. The clan would get a massive increase in quality and quantity of cultivation methods and techniques and material wealth, and Benton would get more Sect Points.

Perfect.

Except… He was coming to realize exactly how much of an advantage membership in his sect gave. The System offered benefits that no one else on the continent, maybe even the world, could. Those benefits led to power, and power, it was said, led to corruption.

Inducting a small number of family members from Sixth Flawless Flowing City into the main branch was one thing. He could keep an eye on them and make sure they didn’t abuse that power. Forming a new branch sect was another thing entirely.

Gao Zian seemed like an upright dude and all, but Benton had a responsibility to make sure that he didn’t create powerhouses who would do the world more harm than good.

But how? Who knew what evil lurked in the hearts of men… or something like that.

If only there were a way to measure how good—for values of good—someone was.

When put like that, the answer struck Benton immediately—karma.