Writeathon Status: 27 Chapters, 54,844 Words
Teng Wuying broke from his cultivation cycle unsure of why he’d done so. Something told him that danger was near. But what danger and where?
He sensed the area around his cave. There was no one else nearby. No cultivator, anyway, and any possible mortal was of no concern.
So why had his subconscious drawn him from cycling?
He was probably just on edge. Only two and a half days had passed since he’d arrived at his present location, not nearly long enough to get fully used to the surroundings. Maybe some spirit beast had brushed up against the edge of his sense.
Yeah. That made sense.
Just as he was about to dive back into his cultivation method, though, someone popped into existence in front of him. And not just anyone. Chao Su.
Oh shit!
The jig was up. He’d be captured and hauled back to the city in disgrace. Probably have his cultivation restricted. His goal of acquiring the Trials Pagoda had just gotten a lot more difficult.
Teng Wuying let out a huff. “How did you find me?”
The sect leader seemed bemused. “It wasn’t hard.”
“As expected from my nemesis.”
“Your … nemesis?”
“Of course. It was I who set my brother on a collision course with you and I who arranged the ambush.”
“I see. And, sorry, but what’s your name again? I think I’ve seen you around. You were at the steering committee meetings, right?”
Teng Wuying frowned. Chao Su was pretending not to know who he was. Which made sense. Never give an enemy the satisfaction they seek.
“I am, as you well know, Teng Wuying.”
“Teng, huh? The name sounds familiar. Are you associated with the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House?”
“You can drop the act. My family and I are highly placed in the Jade Chameleon Sect.” Teng Wuying almost added “as you can clearly see from my robe” before remembering part of his disguise had been to change to a different outfit.
“Ah. Used to be, then, I’d say.”
“Excuse me?”
“The Jade Chameleon Sect is no more, just a bunch of juniors running around at the moment. Thus, you and your family used to be highly placed. Can’t exactly still be since it no longer exists.”
Teng Wuying had always known there would be a cost for failure. He supposed the final death of an already failing sect was one he could live with. No matter, he’d join up with the Swift Blizzard Sect.
Ugh. Mao Biya. She probably hated his guts at right about that moment. Better to join the Poison Claw Sect. Yeah. That would work. He’d start as a lowly clerk but his expertise would be so valuable that he’d work his way up to elder in a few decades. Then, as a true ally of the Rising Tide Sect, he could finally figure out a way to seize control of the Trials Pagoda.
As plans went, it wasn’t the most well laid out, but it was workable. And, at the moment, that was all he needed.
“Okay, then. I’m ready,” Teng Wuying said. “Take me away.”
The bemusement returned. “Why would I take you anywhere?”
“For my punishment, of course. My sect lost. To the victor goes the spoils. And so on and so forth.”
Chao Su chuckled. “I’m not going to arrest you. I’m going to kill you.”
Though his tone was light, his eyes were hard. Starsteel. By the heavens, the man was serious!
For the first time in a long while, a sliver of doubt made it’s way into Teng Wuying’s consciousness. “You can’t do that. I’m your nemesis!”
Chao Su outright laughed at that statement. “You said that before, and it sounds just as delusional the second time. Maybe a cave spider back there somewhere considers you its nemesis. But me? Sorry, man.”
“You don’t understand. I arranged literally everything bad that happened to you. I pointed Teng Jian at you. The only reason your sect was invited to the tournament was because of me. I contacted the Order. Do you know how much work it took to assemble sixteen Nascent Souls in one place? Sixteen!”
“Uh … bravo? I’m not sure how you want me to respond to that.”
He was being mocked. Chao Su was mocking him. The price of failure was even higher than Teng Wuying had understood.
“I get that your nephew was an idiot and an opportunist,” Chao Su said. “And, as much as I hate to admit it, your brother was probably justified in trying to make me pay. What was your deal, though? Did they mean that much to you?”
“Of course not! Teng Chun was a moron and his father a musclehead. Neither were worthy of the Teng name.”
Chao Su nodded as if he understood. “If it wasn’t personal, what was it?”
“The Trials Pagoda. I want control of it. The person who does can rule the world.”
Chao Su chuckled again. “Oh you poor fool. The Trials Pagoda is soul bound to me. The instant you killed me, you would have lost it forever, anyway.”
Teng Wuying felt his jaw drop. Soul bound? Was such a thing possible?
Before he could even begin to answer that question, he felt something else, like he felt when he stood to a powerful Nascent Soul but even more intense. He tried to use a technique he’d found that helped with such symptoms but discovered he couldn’t use his qi.
Then, there was no time to determine what was happening because Chao Su launched an attack, a small metal sphere. Teng Wuying knew what happened when—
***
Zou Tian had been expecting the paper dragon ever since learning that Master had returned to the sect a few minutes prior, and its contents were exactly what he had anticipated.
Zou Tian,
You are hereby summoned to the sect leader’s office. Proceed there immediately.
Normally, he would have been worried. The shorter the message from Master, the more trouble the person receiving the message was typically in. Given the brevity and the lack of a signature, Master was truly upset. Not to mention the use of “hereby.” That was a dead giveaway as well.
Still, Zou Tian, though he hurried to the appointment, wasn’t concerned. He’d known the meeting was coming, and he’d given much thought to his response.
The door was open when he arrived, which was a new tactic on Master’s part. Only Master, Senior Brother Yaun Yaozu, and Sun Hua were already present. Zou Tian cupped his hands to each of them and waited. Others had surely been invited.
Soon after, he was proven correct. Senior Brother, Senior Sister, and Jin LiJuan arrived within the next couple of minutes. As soon as the young girl and her wolf entered, the door slammed after them on its own.
Another sign of Master’s displeasure.
The assemblage was as expected. Master’s presence was a necessity, of course, as the judge and, if necessary, executioner. Sun Hua would take notes. Zou Tian, Senior Brother, Senior Sister, and Jin LiJuan were the four Foundation Establishment cultivators who had taken part in the fight. With increased realm came increased culpability.
Only Senior Brother Yuan Yaozu’s status was unclear. As a Nascent Soul, he might be counted upon to judge the juniors. As someone had signed off on the plan, he might just as easily be facing punishment along with them.
“You five know why you’re here, obviously,” Master said.
Five. That cleared up Senior Brother Yuan Yaozu’s position—one of the accused.
Zou Tian stepped forward. “We do, and I do, Master. The others followed my lead. I believe you will remember that you have counseled them to consider my advice?”
“Considering your advice and following you blindly into danger are not the same thing.”
That was a good point, which Zou Tian had been sure that Master would point out. Clear leadership had still been established, however.
“May this lowly one ask a question, Master?” Zou Tian said.
“You just did. But fine.”
There was a little lightening of Master’s tone as he’d pointed out the question of asking permission to ask a question. He always grew either amused or annoyed at that situation. Zou Tian had bet on amusement.
“Is the Rising Tide Sect worth dying for?”
Master didn’t immediately answer, and Zou Tian hadn’t expected him to. The question did not have an easy response.
“In your mind,” Zou Tian said, “it must be. Or to state it more accurately, you believe that its members, if not the organization itself, are worthy of the ultimate sacrifice, considering that you have risked yourself multiple times.”
“I have,” Master said through tight lips.
“We, your sect members, believe that the sect itself is worthy of that same risk. It has given power to the previously powerless, even when those powerless possessed none of the qualities that a sect normally seeks. Most of those who are its members would have, in fact, already been killed were it not for your recruitment. It has brought a sense of belonging to many who had no family. From your own lips and witnessed by the very heavens, it is to be a force for good in this sometimes evil world. Our belief is considered, not simply the whim of young adults.”
“If your goal is to save a fellow sect member, I have always said that could be considered a worthy sacrifice.”
Master’s response did not answer the fundamental question, and he surely knew it. Zou Tian smelled blood.
“And the sect itself? If it fails, most of us will return to our former lives.” Not the people in that room, of course, but the villagers and the F and E ranks would not find a home in another sect. “Those so affected will die before their time, so does not protection of the sect equal protection of the sect members?”
Master glared at Zou Tian. The point was obviously somewhat weak, but he wasn’t finished.
“Protecting the sect goes well beyond just protecting its members, too. Our members yearn to do great things. Wan Ai has plans to distribute vitamins and healing pills to commoners throughout the continent. Jin LiJuan wants to form a protective force such that no one ever suffers the loss of their parents from an attack like the one on hers. Sun Hua has talked about how an efficient distribution system could make it so that no one on the continent ever experienced another winter of starvation. Without the Rising Tide Sect, none of those things are possible.”
Master hesitated, and Zou Tian knew at that moment that he’d won.
“There is only one entity crucial to the sect. Only one entity is the glue that binds us together. Only one entity provides the techniques and cultivation methods and equipment and protection from those who would tear us down. You are the Rising Tide Sect. Without you, it and we do not exist and cannot continue to exist.”
Master closed his eyes.
“You believe that it is better for you to die than for any of us to be harmed,” Zou Tian said. “We believe that it is better for all of us to die than for you to be harmed. We understand your feelings, but we believe ours are more grounded in fact.”
Master reopened his eyes, but he also frowned. “If you had not been there, I could have retreated.”
“Could you have?” Zou Tian said. “Physically, yes, you had that ability, but realistically, you had no idea what your enemies would do with a group of sixteen Nascent Soul cultivators and no target in front of them. They could have destroyed the sect or Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town or both. The square was the only place where you could contain their damage.”
“I could have contained it if you hadn’t been there.”
“If we weren’t there, you would have died when they suppressed you. Besides, we retreated as soon as they started attacking the pylons.”
All had gone according to the plan up to that point. Then one Qi Gathering junior had gotten clumsy.
“Kang Lin died,” Master said.
“You fixed her.”
“Still, she died.”
“Better her and all of us than you,” Zou Tian said, his voice resolute.
Master turned to Yuan Yaozu. “And you agree with them?”
The Nascent Soul disciple paused, considering his response. “Honestly, I try to respect your wishes, but you are worth an infinite number of juniors. If only you are left, you can completely rebuild everything from the ground up in a small number of years. Even the most talented of them are still powerless juniors in the grand scheme of things.”
Master blew out a breath. “I don’t like what you did, but I understand it. Going forward, I hope not to put myself in that kind of situation again, so you don’t feel the need to protect me. From this moment on, however, none of you will make a plan like that one without me knowing about it. Understood?”
“Yes, Master,” they all chorused, including Senior Brother Yuan Yaozu.
Just as Zou Tian had anticipated.