The Sect Leader System-Chapter 341 - Rift

Yang Xiu didn’t get truly angry often. Master had come into her life at its lowest point, and since, she’d experienced heights she never could have even dreamed. She deliberately put aside the trauma and tragedy that had led up to their meeting and instead focused on the positives and potential of her future.

Between when she’d met Master and the current day, the only time she’d felt so absolutely livid was when the Golden Core from the Jade Chameleon Sect had killed Ye Zan.

If he had fought against a cultivator of equal status and died, she would have been angry and upset and saddened, but ultimately, she would have accepted that such things happened to cultivators. Challenging the heavens meant risking death.

Instead, his death was caused by juniors being targeted by an existence so far above them that they had no chance. The Jade Chameleon Sect had shown themselves to be honorless curs that day, and she would see the entire sect suffer to the maximum extent possible.

The tournament match she witnessed triggered a visceral fury in her that was in no way second to the day of Ye Zan’s death.

Yang Xiu had been quite tolerant of Kang Lin’s actions. She was, after all, clearly going through something that had her struggling immensely. Not only that, but after what Yang Xiu had experienced at the hands of Fang Wei, she was the last person who would advocate pressuring a young woman to marry anyone not of that young woman’s choosing.

Sure, she thought the girl was being silly. The arrangement was obviously good for both parties. Kang Lin would gain resources that far outstripped anything her sect could provide, ones that surpassed even what she’d get for simply being Master’s disciple and, in doing so, would prove herself filial in her duty to her family by finding a talented match.

Yang Ru needed someone to protect, to be a rock for. She’d provide purpose for his life above and beyond his duty to the sect.

Her humor would balance his stoicism. His solidness would steady her lack of confidence.

A mutually beneficial, balanced relationship. It was what the town elders strove for, and Yang Xiu was positive her parents would have approved.

All that being the case, Kang Lin had absolutely no obligation to marry, or even date, Yang Ru.

Yes, her actions in the past had hurt Yang Ru. He didn’t show it much, but the breakup had been devastating for him, leaving him floundering and unsure of what he did wrong or what he could do to fix matters.

But she hadn’t intended that hurt. She likely would have cushioned it if she could have. Yang Xiu bore her no malice for it. Those types of things just sometimes happened.

It was no one’s fault.

But the pain she had inflicted upon had during that match had been completely unacceptable. Physical and emotional and public. Continuing to strike him with fully charged lightning bolts when it was clear he’d stopped defending himself. Rubbing it in that she did not want him. And doing both those things with thousands of people watching.

Kang Lin had done nothing to mitigate the abuse she inflicted. Not for one second had she given consideration to Yang Ru or his feelings. She’d simply done what was in her best interest.

Yang Ru was clearly the better of the two and would have won if he’d bothered to try. Kang Lin knew that. She should have simply resigned when she realized the match would not be a fair fight.

But she didn’t. Instead, she took advantage of the situation and came out the victor. Never before had she acted so much like a ruthless cultivator.

There was no cause for her actions. Blood feuds had been started over less.

Yang Ru exited the arena floor. To anyone who truly knew him, he was clearly barely holding himself together. He bypassed the entrance to the stands where the rest of the sect was seated and instead headed directly toward the compound.

Huang Yimun dispatched several guards as an escort.

Good.

Kang Lin wasn’t far behind in leaving the arena floor, her to cheers of her fellow Poison Claw Sect members. All of them were elated that she’d advanced to the final eight of the division, seemingly oblivious to how callously she’d treated Yang Ru.

Yang Xiu clenched her fists. Her hands ached to summon her bow and nock an arrow. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was on her feet marching toward Kang Lin.

It didn’t take long to reach the girl.

“You and me,” Yang Xiu said, “we’re done. Not friends. Definitely not sisters. Don’t come back to the Rising Tide Sect. You’re no longer welcome.”

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“What? Yang Xiu—”

“I said we’re done. Do not let my name touch your lips again, and you better pray to the heavens that you lose a match before you have to face me.”

With that, Yang Xiu spun and headed back to the Rising Tide Sect’s section.

To say that Kang Lin was stunned was a massive, massive understatement. The thing with the match and Yang Ru had not gone how she’d expected, but she didn’t think she could have handled it any differently. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him, but he’d practically insisted.

No girl in her sect would have handled the situation any differently.

He should have kept his qi shield up. Only an idiot dropped it in the middle of a tournament match. And no one—no one!—forfeited a chance at the top eight. The resources. The prestige. Cultivators worked for years just for a chance to finish so high in the rankings.

Now that spot was hers, a spot that she didn’t deserve. Her mind was still reeling from that development when Yang Xiu approached.

The girl had been a true friend, more so than anyone in the Poison Claw Sect. There was no trying to gain an advantage—not that she needed to with her talent—and no backstabbing. When Kang Lin had broken up with Yang Ru, Yang Xiu’s own brother, she had been disappointed but understanding. There had been no pressure to get back together with him.

Which made her actions a few moments ago so confusing and frustrating.

For one thing, there was always an undercurrent of steel beneath Yang Xiu’s often playful exterior. But it was hidden deeply. Even when faced with a potentially deadly attack from a Golden Core cultivator, she didn’t flinch and traded barbs like he was no more powerful than a random fishmonger at the market.

It was honestly hard to associate the happy and adventure seeking girl with a powerful cultivator with an A+ ranked Ice aspect. Evidence of that element played no part in how she acted.

Until a moment ago.

She’d let her full frigidity into the open. There was no joy. No soft core of humanity to balance the deadliness of her realm and talent. No warmth.

Left behind was a cold, ruthless killer, someone whose only objective was the absolute destruction of her enemies. And Kang Lin now counted among that number.

But why?

Yes, she’d rejected Yang Ru again, but there’d been no real prior objection. And, sure, she’d inflicted some minor amount of pain on him, but nothing compared to what they’d done to each other in some of their spars. Even she and Yang Xiu had caused each other more pain than that.

Kang Lin didn’t understand what she’d done, but she’d clearly opened up a rift today between her and Yang Xiu. Worse, she’d caused friction between her family and the heirs of the Rising Tide Sect, stars whose power was sure to shake the foundations of the continent when they grew into their own. Worse still, she might have opened a gap between two allied sects just as a war was about to break out.

That argument, witnessed by the entire crowd, had not been a simple spat between friends. It was a potential disaster.

Kang Lin needed to talk to her grandfather but not where they could be observed. She’d go straight to his study. He surely understood the ramifications of what just happened even more clearly than she did. As soon as he could get away from the matches, he’d find her.

She rushed from the area.

Yang Xiu felt strange.

During her short exchange with Kang Lin, Yang Xiu somehow expended all her rage. Instead of the hot, burning cauldron taking the place of her heart, a ball of cold replaced it. Nothingness. Not apathy, per se, but her feelings were definitely muted. And she couldn’t find it within herself to care.

She sat silently watching the next couple of matches. When it was time for her to take to the arena floor, she calmly and steadily marched down the steps and out onto the sandy terrain of the battleground.

Though she’d read the name of her opponent the previous day, she didn’t remember it. Honestly, she simply didn’t care. It didn’t matter. Neither did the fact that he was from the Jade Chameleon Sect.

The boy across from her postured, flexing his muscles and aiming the sun’s reflection from his sword at her eyes. She didn’t respond to his display of arrogance and gamesmanship, not verbally. Not physically.

Instead, she simply observed, her eyes cataloguing his every movement.

The announcer called his name, and he didn’t bow to her. Neither did she bow to him.

For a moment, Yang Xiu felt conflicted, like she should have offered him courtesy. That it was important to do so. But she couldn’t bring herself to care. She simply watched.

As the time for the match’s start drew close, his right foot twitched, and she knew. He’d use a movement skill, try to close with her before she could make use of the advantage of her ranged attack.

Such a tactic wasn’t exactly a revelation. Any opponent of hers only had three options—get close, use their own ranged attack, or hide. And the arena floor offered little protection. Pitting any shield against her efficient arrows was reckless at best, leaving them with only two effective choices.

Part of her mind acknowledged that he was one of the top sixteen combatants in the entire division and probably had much experience fighting ranged opponents. He obviously either thought himself so fast that he could avoid her arrows until he closed on her or so tough that a few hits didn’t matter.

Old her would have laughed at his foolishness. New her simply decided on the best counter.

The match started. He darted, as expected, to the right. Two arrows were on the way before he’d taken a single step.

He smirked, clearly not worried about her attack. His shield could easily withstand two hits. By the time, she readied another shot, he’d be nearly to her. Even if he had to take one or two more, so what?

But neither of her arrows hit him.

The first landed just in front of his left foot, impaling itself in the sand.

His foot impacted the slight obstruction. It wasn’t enough to cause a stumble, but the unexpected obstacle threw him off his stride by a minute amount.

The second arrow careened off a wall and traveled parallel to his leg, arriving just as he was adjusting his left foot. His shin struck the shaft.

Again, the impact was minor, but he was still accelerating, attempting to reach her before another arrow could be nocked. One obstacle was easily overcome. The second … wasn’t.

The boy stumbled. He tried valiantly to catch himself, but he was moving too fast. His balance was too precarious.

He face-planted in the sand.

After that, it was an easy matter for her to pepper him with arrows. His shield gave out long before he gained his feet, and he surrendered.

Her job complete, Yang Xiu turned and left.